Get your cool back for the weekend with this funky ode to shitty cars…

Tips for holiday home buyer deal making. Plus home price maps for San Francisco.

If we don’t address entitlement spending, no other elements of this month’s fiscal cliff negotiations matter.

Personal Income and Outlays (October 2012) Personal Income – Month/Month +0.0% Consumer Spending – Month/Month -0.2% PCE Price Index — Month/Month 0.1% Core PCE price index – Month/Month 0.1% Personal Income – Year/Year  3.1% Consumer Spending – Year/Year 3.1% PCE Price Index — Year/Year 1.7% Core PCE price index – Year/Year 1.6% Some of the [...]

GDP (3rdQ2012 – second estimate) – GDP was revised from +2.0% to +2.7% – The GDP deflator (a measure of inflation) was 2.7%. The increase looks good until one looks inside.  According to BEA, GDP was made up of the following components: – real personal consumption was +1.4% compared with 1.5% in 2ndQ – Durable [...]

Stephen Colbert’s INSIDE Inside The Fed diagram, plus his take on the Fiscal Cliff.

New Home Sales (October 2012) New Home Sales (Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate) 368,000. Previous was 389,000. Mortgage Applications (week ended 11/23/2012) Purchase Index – Week/Week +3.0% Refinance Index – Week/Week -2.0% Composite Index – Week/Week -0.9% We have mixed messages: purchase applications are up and New Home Sales are down. While the fall in New [...]

Rates holding record lows despite lots of good economic data. Here’s a rundown.

Manufacturing Chicago Federal Reserve National Activity Index (October 2012) – Index Level -0.56.  Previous was 0.00. Dallas Federal Reserve Manufacturing Survey (November 2012) This is a survey index of manufacturers in Texas. Business Activity Index was -2.9.  Previous was +1.8.  October had been the only positive month since June. These data further support the notion [...]

This Thanksgiving, enjoy the best holiday movie clip of all time. You’re welcome.