One hundred years ago, the leading British economics journal (edited by John Maynard Keynes) published an article and a response from two women authors: Eleanor Rathbone and Millicent Fawcett. Despite writing in the Economic Journal, neither had professional training in economics. But they were clearly recognized as experts with opinions that economists hear.
It happened again. Tax receipts soared in the US after the recent tax cuts. U.S. state and local government tax revenue climbed to $350.2 billion in the first quarter of 2018, a rise of 5.8 percent compared with the same time period in 2017. Individual income tax collections had big gains for a second-straight quarter with a 12.8 percent increase to $107.4 billion in 2018’s first quarter.
In the past two weeks, emerging markets have seen the highest outflows since September 2015. Additionally, the Chinese market and its currency have completely round-tripped from the January highs.
Many employers provide parking to employees who commute to work, which can be viewed as an untaxed fringe benefit of their jobs. The value of this benefit depends on where the parking is located. If the employer is in a uncongested suburban or rural area, where parking is generally free for everyone, then the value of this fringe benefit is low. But if the employer is in the part of an urban area with traffic congestion and where parking usually has a monetary price, then the value of this benefit can be higher.
The fundamental problem of the last OPEC meeting is the evidence of the division between two groups. One, led by Iran, which wants higher prices and deeper cuts, and the two largest producers, Saudi Arabia and Russia, who support a more diplomatic position.
Melting pot or salad bowl? For decades now, these two contestants have been slugging it out in the contest for most appropriate metaphor for how the cultures and ethnicities of America fit together. But my preference is to think of America as chocolate fondue.
Catching a falling knife is never a good idea. A strong dollar (USD), moderation of GDP and earnings growth estimates are happening at the same time as global economies continue to increase fiscal and trade imbalances.