Financial Markets

April 27, 2014
In Russia now, and 35 years ago in the US, stagflation is a tough problem.
Published by Elaine Schwartz at April 27, 2014
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When Did We Get “Tough Love” From the Federal Reserve?

Demonstrating Russia’s current plight, this graph so perfectly illustrates stagflation: When GDP sinks and inflation increases, the stagflation that results is tough to cure. If monetary […]

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April 11, 2014
Detroit Bankruptcy Requires Life Support
Published by Elaine Schwartz at April 11, 2014
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Should Detroit Sell Its Art?

During 2009, a still life painted by Henri Matisse was sold at a Christie’s auction for $46 million. The Detroit Institute of Arts owns Poppies, also a […]

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March 11, 2014
Weekly Economic News Roundup and driving behavior
Published by Elaine Schwartz at March 11, 2014
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Venezuela Has Cheap Gas But No Cars

At the official exchange rate, Venezuelans pay 5 cents a gallon for premium gasoline while the real price is closer to one half penny a gallon. The […]

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February 16, 2014
Downton Abbey Economics
Published by Elaine Schwartz at February 16, 2014
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What Can We Learn From Downton Abbey Economics?

Downton Abbey can tell us a lot about the British economy…but not everything. We know the aristocracy is struggling. Many of the 700 families who had […]

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February 13, 2014
Weekly Economic News Roundup and financial bubbles
Published by Elaine Schwartz at February 13, 2014
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Problems With Grade Deflation

The number of hours we study is down and our grades are up. Between 1961 and 2003, full time college students diminished their study time from […]

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January 23, 2014
everyday economics and tax impact
Published by Elaine Schwartz at January 23, 2014
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One Reason That $1.1 Trillion is Not So Much

The Congress just agreed on $1.1 trillion in federal spending. But let’s look a bit more closely… Each year, I give my class a federal budget […]

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January 11, 2014
consumer spending history
Published by Elaine Schwartz at January 11, 2014
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Happy Birthday to a Great Father (of our economy)

When you sing happy birthday to Alexander Hamilton today, please just think of an upward sloping (logarithmic) economic growth line:   Today, 257–or maybe 259–years ago […]

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November 28, 2011
Published by Elaine Schwartz at November 28, 2011
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The First Credit Default Swap

Some of the euro zone’s problems actually started with the Exxon Valdez oil spill. After the 1989 Exxon Valdez calamity, when an Alaska jury said that […]

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November 14, 2011
Published by Elaine Schwartz at November 14, 2011
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European Ties

How to picture the US/European economic partnership? You could think of Skippy Peanut Butter. Owned by Unilever, a multinational based in the UK and the Netherlands, […]

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November 5, 2011
Weekly Economic News Roundup and Hollywood gender gap
Published by Elaine Schwartz at November 5, 2011
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Leaving the Euro

Would you like to win 250,000 British pounds? Predicting that a nation’s euro zone exit would be catastrophic unless properly managed, a UK businessman has sponsored […]

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November 3, 2011
Published by Elaine Schwartz at November 3, 2011
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Are You A Good Investor?

Good investing takes us to our emotions. But not quite how you might expect. Our brains don’t like random events. Instead, we prefer patterns, especially pleasing […]

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November 2, 2011
Published by Elaine Schwartz at November 2, 2011
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Default Deja Vu

Between its independence in 1829 and 2006, Greece has had 5 defaults or debt reschedulings that occupied a total of 50.6 years.  Described by Rogoff and […]

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