The average apartment rent in Manhattan has risen more than 20 percent over the 12 months ending 31 July, climbing to $5,113, according to brokerage firm Douglas Elliman. In July 2021, the average rent was $4,009. Studio apartment rents averaged $3,191, one-bedroom flats $4,277, and two-bedroom units $5,810. Landlords’ concessions, such as free redecorating or...
Category: TRENDS ON THE U.S. ECONOMIC FRONT
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MEDIAN HOME SALE PRICE RISES UP DESPITE SLOW DOWN
The median selling price of a U.S. home in this year’s second quarter jumped 14.2 percent, year over year, to $413,500, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The median price was higher in 184 of the 185 metro areas the NAR monitors. Prices slipped 0.7 percent in Trenton, N.J. In 80 percent of...
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CONGRESS PUSHES FED TO SPEED CREATION OF A DIGITAL DOLLAR
A bipartisan group in the U.S. House of Representatives is pressing the U.S. Federal Reserve to move faster in creating a national digital currency. The group fears leadership in digital currencies by China and private cryptos might threaten the U.S. dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency, The Wall Street Journal reported. (See “China’s Digital...
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PUBLIC PENSION FUNDS BLEEDING MONEY
U.S. public pension funds—those that support firefighters, police officers, and other retired public employees—lost a median 7.9 percent in the fiscal year ending 30 June, according to the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service, the funds’ worst drubbing since 2009 during the Great Recession. The funds shrank by 8.9 percent during April, May, and June this...
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PRODUCER PRICES SLOW THEIR PACE OF GAINS
Producer prices—what businesses charge each other for goods or services—rose at a 9.8-percent annual rate in July, their slowest increase since last October, the U.S. labor department reported. June’s increase was 11.3 percent. On a monthly basis, the producer price index (PPI) fell 0.5 percent during July, the sharpest one-month slide since April 2020 when...
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INFLATION SLOWED IN JULY
In the U.S., the pace of price increases slowed in July to 8.5 percent, year on year, compared to 9.1 percent in June, which was a 41-year peak, the labor department reported. Energy prices downshifted last month, with gasoline prices falling 7.7 percent. The U.S. average price for a gallon of regular gas was down...
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HOUSING AFFORDABILITY HARDEST IN 33 YEARS, NAR SAYS
It is now harder to afford to buy and own a home than at any time in U.S. history, according to the housing affordability index published last week by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The NAR notched its index at 98.5 in June, higher than any time since June 1989, when the index stood...
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ECONOMIC UPDATE – MARKET OVERVIEW
The world is on the precipice of an unprecedented economic calamity. As we have thoroughly detailed in The Trends Journal over the years with facts and indisputable data… the game is rigged. Thus, it is difficult to forecast a precise time and date for the calamity to become “official.” Need more “rigging” proof? Read this...
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AMTRAK SHOWERS BONUSES ON EXECUTIVES RUNNING ROTTING RAILROAD
In fiscal year 2021, Amtrak gave top executives the highest incentive bonuses in years, despite the company’s mediocre financial performance and weak ridership during the COVID lockdown, The New York Times reported. Of the railroad’s 12 top executives, nine took in bonuses between $230,000 and CEO Stephen Gardner’s $293,000 last year. Gardner has received more...
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U.S. SENATE VOTES TO KEEP THE WALL ST. GANG FROM PAYING FAIR TAXES
The tax break for carried interest, which favors hedge fund managers and private equity executives, was targeted by Democrats in the Inflation Reduction Act but was removed after Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) demanded it be erased before she would support the bill. The so-called “carried interest loophole” is a wrinkle in the tax law that...