02 | February | 2012

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Superbowl Economics

Mark J. Perry | February 2, 2012, 10:24 pm

1. Tickets on StubHub!: $2,000 to $20,000. 2. Hotels: $500 per night, 4 night minimum. So that’s a minimum of $6,000 for two people just for tickets and lodging!

Carpe Diem

New Index: Listrak Shopping Cart Abandonment

Mark J. Perry | February 2, 2012, 10:16 pm

LITITZ, PA– – Listrak, an email marketing solutions provider for the leading internet retailers, today launched the e-commerce industry’s first daily and six month average Shopping Cart Abandonment index, which tracks cart abandonment rates of online shoppers from the company’s … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy

Is Israel about to attack Iran?

Danielle Pletka | February 2, 2012, 4:53 pm

The Washington Post’s David Ignatius is regurgitating—er, reporting—that Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is fretting Israel is going to attack Iran in “April, May or June.” There’s some speculation that’s why Israel canceled the 12th joint Austere Challenge military exercise … read more >

Economics

The Swiss keep their anchor in the Eurozone

Daniel Hanson | February 2, 2012, 3:58 pm

Acting Swiss National Bank head Thomas Jordan seems determined to stay the course on devaluing the franc, as I mentioned he would following Hildebrand’s resignation. In the FT today, he says: We will enforce this minimum rate with the utmost … read more >

Politics and Public Opinion

Why the unemployment rate might fall to 8.1 percent by Election Day—and why it’s bad news for Obama

James Pethokoukis | February 2, 2012, 3:51 pm

The big brains over at Hamilton Place Strategies have produced a new white paper that tries to project the unemployment rate on Election Day in November. Now, the U-3 rate has dropped rather sharply since August, to 8.5 percent from 9.1 percent. … read more >

Economics, U.S. Economy

A chart that finally reveals the real unemployment rate

James Pethokoukis | February 2, 2012, 3:10 pm

The official, U-3, unemployment rate is 8.5 percent. But that number plays off a shrunken base of potential workers that the Labor Department considers part of the active work force. But what if you started counting as unemployed all those … read more >

Economics, U.S. Economy

Like Steve Jobs said, those manufacturing jobs aren’t coming back

James Pethokoukis | February 2, 2012, 2:53 pm

Pew has put together five charts looking at the long-term unemployed. They’re all pretty incredible/scary, but this one really stands out, I think: And here is some context: The Great Recession and its aftermath saw a significant increase in the … read more >

Economics, Energy and the Environment

Who supports Keystone?

Kenneth P. Green | February 2, 2012, 2:41 pm

The question of whether the Keystone XL pipeline, to bring oil-sand oil down from Western Canada to the Gulf Coast, rests on politics, which, often enough, rests on public opinion polls. And here’s some recent polling data: Source: www.energyvisually.com It’s … read more >

Economics, U.S. Economy

Jonathan Chait seems to be ‘Coming Apart’ over income inequality

James Pethokoukis | February 2, 2012, 2:01 pm

New York magazine’s Jonathan Chait doesn’t much like Charles Murray’s new book, Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010. In particular, he doesn’t like that Murray links the increasing social polarization of America to the abandonment by poor and working-class whites … read more >

Carpe Diem

Underground Energy Revolution in PA Without Any Government Interference, Just Consumer Greed

Mark J. Perry | February 2, 2012, 1:50 pm

PENN LIVE — “It’s an underground energy revolution happening in the basements of home after home, throughout the midstate and across Pennsylvania. For the fiscal year that ended in September, the gas utility UGI completed more than 7,300 residential and … read more >

Lean In… to Government?
Sheryl Sandberg's runaway best-selling book Lean In has managed to offend both the Left and the Right. Sandberg touts female hard-headedness, yet also calls for an elaborate government- and employer-supplied support system for women. […]
Are American Voters Racist?
Racial prejudice plays a very small role in American politics, but a highly disciplined sense of self-interest on the part of one group may play a very large role in the way the federal government functions. […]
The Perpetual Passion for Paper
Paper is becoming less important in some respects, but its strengths — prestige, utility, permanence, and security — are more essential than ever. […]
Could California Make a Comeback?
An unexpected glimmer of hope might cast a new light on the Golden State. […]