Articles About Economics

The Federal Reserve is considering new action to simultaneously stimulate the economy and prevent the possibility of deflation.  Charles Evans, President of the Chicago Fed, recently said that the central bank needs to act to prevent the inflation rate from falling, saying the U.S. economy faces a “bona fide liquidity trap” and that additional accommodation […]

A small, weathered, blue-gray house in Denmark, ME, set off a national uproar about the foreclosure crisis when its owner, Nicolle Bradbury, lost her job and stopped paying her mortgage two years ago.  The family, which includes Bradbury’s disabled husband and two children, lives on food stamps and welfare. When the bank started to foreclose […]

As I caught up on my New York Times reading over the weekend, I was struck by how consuming an issue this foreclosure legal mess has become.  It is on the front page, on the Op-Ed page and on the inside.  Well summarized in newspapers and well noted in the blogosphere. This issue has progressed […]

Mortgage rates have hit a record low.  According to Freddie Mac, rates for 30-year mortgages fell to 4.27 percent from 4.32 percent in just one week.  At the same time, safe-haven government debt is more appealing to investors than ever, according to a Freddie Mac survey. The low rates may be a sign that housing […]

Two years after the global financial meltdown and collapse of Lehman Brothers, world leaders seem to have reached an impasse over crucial proposals designed to prevent the same devastating scenario from occurring in the future.  The stalemate is so serious that there may be little chance that needed changes will be made. Executives at the […]

Two significant threats to the economy are receding, although the recovery still has a long way to go. One of the threats was the specter of deflation – which has not occurred since the 1930s – now belied by the 0.3 percent inflation rate reported for August, and driven primarily by rising food and energy […]

Who’s right about the state of the economy and commercial real estate – the bulls or the bears?  Robert Knakal, chairman of New York-based Massey Knakal Realty Services, weighs both sides to help us cut through the mixed messages. In a recent interview for the Alter NOW Podcasts, Knakal noted that the bulls like to […]

Chicago’s downtown office market started its long-awaited recovery in the 3rd quarter, with a slight decline in the vacancy rate reported following seven consecutive quarters of decline.  According to statistics provided by CB Richard Ellis, the vacancy rate fell to 17 percent from 17.3 percent across all property types.  Class A space has the lowest […]

Todd Henderson is a University of Chicago law professor; his wife is a physician at the prestigious university’s hospital.  Although the family earns more than $250,000 a year, lives in a pricey house in the upscale Kenwood neighborhood, employs a nanny and sends their children to private schools, Henderson is upset with President Barack Obama’s […]

Although foreign investment in United States commercial real estate doubled in the 1st half of 2010 compared with 2009, activity is still sluggish, thanks to the slow economy and a lack of trophy properties offered for sale.  Currently, the United Kingdom is the hottest international destination for investment, according to Jones Lang LaSalle research.  So […]