Articles About Economics

As well-known national retailers like Circuit City and Linens ‘n’ Things go out of business, one high-profile merchant saw its profits fall just one percent during the third quarter of 2009.  Venerable Tiffany & Co. — renowned for its signature blue box – recently raised its year-end forecasts after reporting an uptick in domestic and […]

Homeowners facing foreclosure will soon be able to rent their homes from the government controlled Fannie Mae. Called Deed to LeaseTM,  the program lets homeowners transfer ownership of their home to Fannie Mae. They then sign a one-year lease, with the option of month-to-month extensions available.  Fannie Mae will try to sell the homes during […]

When President Bill Clinton signed legislation to repeal the Depression-era Glass-Steagall Act in 1999, he handed Wall Street  a victory that likely contributed to the recent financial meltdown. Glass-Steagall’s repeal eliminated barriers between normal banking activities – deposits and lending – and riskier areas such as derivatives trading. “The capital-market rules are going to change,” […]

There’s a rather odd correlation between the New York Yankees winning the World Series and Wall Street.   A Yankee win historically has coincided with a bull market.  An analysis by Standard & Poor’s Capital IQ reveals an average of double-digit yearly returns from stocks when the Yankees win the World Series.  By contrast, the stock […]

A report by India’s Economic Times indicates that up to 11 multinational firms including Wells Fargo, Standard Chartered and Ingersoll Rand set up back office facilities in India during the 3rd quarter of 2009. A research firm, Everest Group, says this bodes well for the overall business momentum in India picking up in 2010.  Two […]

You can be President Barack Obama’s Chicago next-door neighbor for just $1.85 million. That’s the listing price for the 17-room 1906-vintage brick house at 5040 South Greenwood Avenue owned by Bill and Jacky Grimshaw since 1973. The house had been on the market for an unspecified sum since September, but a price had to be […]

The Federal Reserve is considering regulating banks’ pay policies to make certain they discourage employees from making the irresponsible gambles that led to 2008’s financial meltdown.  The Fed’s proposal would apply to thousands of banks, including some that did not receive bailouts. Under the Fed’s proposal, the central bank would review – and could say […]

The markets are keeping a close eye on a transaction that may jump start the commercial property debt market, even though the Federal Reserve has expressed some uneasiness with the deal.  If the transaction is successful, it could pave the way for the initial sale of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) under the government Term Asset-Backed […]

The Western European commercial real estate bright spot is the activity by German investors, according to the latest Global Capital Trends report from Real Capital Analytics (RCA).  “In April, the Germans raised a half billion Euros — approximately $690 million – for their open-ended funds.  That is in addition to the billion Euros raised in […]

Although the Great Recession has created hardships for millions of Americans, it has been the stimulus for a giant sale of consumer items.  Houses in some Detroit neighborhoods can be purchased for the price of a new car.  Everything from big-screen televisions to clothing are being sold at deep discounts.  Hotel rooms cost approximately 20 […]