Archive of posts filed under the Economy category.

Deleveraging by American Consumers Continues

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Consumers in the U.S. started fixing their finances last year. This process has gained momentum in the last quarter and this week we learned that the savings rate reached a high of 6.9%. Americans have been reducing their debt and spending less during the past few quarters. Household liabilities fell to 131.1 % of disposable …

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Two More Causes of Budget Deficits Faced by Many U.S. States

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This article is a followup to my earlier post titled Why Are So Many U.S. States Facing Budget Deficits? which generated some interesting comments from Seeking Alpha readers. In addition to fall in property, income, sales tax revenues and rise in social benefits spending some readers pointed out that the main culprits are the compensation …

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U.S. Federal Government Spending on Social Benefits Is Rising

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Have you ever wondered how much the U.S. Federal Government spends on the various social benefit programs?. My analysis shows that federal spending on social benefits is rising fast. Source: Flow of Funds Accounts of the United States report, 1Q-2009  & BEA NIPA tables Data for 2009 is for the first quarter annualized. The huge …

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Why Are Many U.S. States Facing Budget Deficits ?

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Many states in the U.S. are facing budget deficits this year. According to one estimate states collectively will face an estimated $80 B in deficits. California is one of the states with a huge budget shortfall. Today the rating agency Fitch downgraded California to A-minus and is just eight days away from issuing IOUs unless …

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Composition of Total Mortgage Amounts Outstanding in the U.S.

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In the residential real estate market, foreclosure activity continues to be a major drag though it decreased in May relative to April. Last year a record 3.1 million filings were made. RealtyTrac predicts this year  a total of 4 million foreclosures.Businessweek predicts the housing market to recover sometime in 2012. The Commercial  Real Estate (CRE) …

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