Seattle-area home-price growth from current boom has surpassed last decade’s bubble – No sign of slowing, even though prices have been surging for six years

By Mike Rosenberg 24 April 2018 (The Seattle Times) – As the Seattle area continues its run as the nation’s hottest real-estate market, it has now seen home prices surge upward for a full six years — with more growth in home values during the current boom than during last decade’s bubble. [cf. How the […]

Upswing in global growth won’t last forever – IMF says world must prepare now for leaner times ahead

17 April 2018 (UN News) – While the world economy continues to show broad-based momentum, a new report released Tuesday by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is warning that there may be choppy seas ahead, caused by increasing protectionism or tit-for-tat trade wars.“Global growth is projected to soften beyond the next couple of years,” said […]

Mapping inequality: How U.S. cities are divided by income

By Tanvi Misra 27 February 2018 (CityLab) – In Philly’s Center City live its richest residents—those who can pay the premium for that walkable, amenity-rich, green neighborhood. But just across the river, blocks away from the lush, expanding campuses of the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, the visual landscape of the city changes: Pawn […]

Global shadow banking assets hit highest level since at least 2002 – In 2016, shadow banking grew by 8 percent to $99 trillion and now represents 30 percent of world financial assets

5 Mar 2018 (Central Banking) – The assets of “other financial institutions” grew to their highest level since 2002 in 2016, the Financial Stability Board says. Total assets of OFIs increased by 8% to $99 trillion in 2016, the body says in its 2017 report on the global shadow banking sector, published today (March 5). […]

The looming epidemic threat – “We are not ready for a serious epidemic, an epidemic that would be more infectious and would spread faster than Ebola did”

Dr Jonathan D Quick 18 March 2018 (The Guardian) – Somewhere out there a dangerous virus is boiling up in the bloodstream of a bird, bat, monkey or pig, preparing to jump to a human being. It’s hard to comprehend the scope of such a threat, for it has the potential to wipe out millions […]

How the 2008 financial crash made cities unaffordable worldwide – Property markets in the world’s major cities have “synchronised”, leaving behind nations and citizens

By Nathan Brooker 14 March 2018 (Financial Times) –  In the stormy spring of 2008, the UK’s worsening property downturn was yet to hit Sloane Street in central London. A full year after the start of the credit crunch and the run on Northern Rock — which started a slide that would see more than 20 […]

Under Trump’s watch, U.S. national debt tops $21 trillion for first time ever – Consumer credit card debt surpasses $1 trillion

By Kathryn Watson 17 March 2018 (CBS News) – About a year ago, President Trump pledged to eliminate the national debt “over a period of eight years.” But for the first time in history, the national debt surpassed $21 trillion this week, according to the U.S. Treasury. The landmark comes shortly after Congress passed, and […]

Amid soaring inflation, life is a daily struggle in Venezuela – “We are barely surviving. If prices keep rising, I don’t know what we’re going to eat.”

By Mariana Zuñiga 12 March 2018 CARACAS, Venezuela (NBC News) – Antonio Perez, 73, a semiretired real estate agent, woke up at 5 a.m. to stand in line outside a bank to cash his monthly pension. His breakfast was a cup of coffee.By the time he arrived, there were already 140 people there waiting to […]

Overdue U.S. credit card debt hits seven-year high at $11.9 billion – “Now it’s time to the pay the piper”

By Alistair Gray 28 February 2018 NEW YORK (Financial Times) – Overdue US credit card debt has reached a seven-year high, underlining the difficulties faced by many consumers in spite of the strong performance of the economy.Banking sector data show consumers were at least three months behind repayments or considered otherwise distressed on $11.9 billion […]

Graph of the Day: Percent of U.S. children earning more than their parents, by year of birth, 1940-1985

By Raj Chetty, David Grusky, Maximilian Hell, Nathaniel Hendren, Robert Manduca, and Jimmy NarangDecember 2016 (The Equality of Opportunity Project) – A defining feature of the “American Dream” is upward income mobility: the ideal that children have a higher standard of living than their parents. Our work shows that children’s prospects of earning more than […]

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