via WSJ
Source:
What a Penny Saved Costs
SUDEEP REDDY
WSJ, JANUARY 6, 2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123120956010956387.html
I do not know which makes a man more conservative—to know nothing but the present, or nothing but the past. —John Maynard Keynes, The End of Laissez-faire (1926) Ch. 1
The 3 high profile earnings reports last night, NKE, ORCL and RIMM, all provided positive surprises and they are the main catalyst for the pre opening rally. Today is also quad witch expiration and the S&P quarterly rebalancing. China is taking another step forward in cooling their property mark set by requiring at least a 50% down payment on any purchases of land. This follows a tax on the sale of homes made within 5 yrs of purchase. Also, late yesterday Fitch said that Chinese bank's have off balance sheet transactions that are masking the true credit condition of their...
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January 7th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Bah! Ridiculous. Those calling “Frugality Trap” when the savings rate is 0-2% are absurd! If THAT is really, the problem, then I can assure you that THAT is NOT the problem. If our economy can’t survive with a savings rate of 2% then it’s not the savings rate that is the issue; it’s our foundation.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Good point zebov. At 2% that would get you what, one mortgage payment if your laid off?
January 7th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
If you want people with middle or lower incomes to spend more, you have to pay them more. Our current problem is all the money piled at the top. How much of a couple of billion can you really spend?
January 8th, 2009 at 2:16 am
I’d love to see another graph aside those two — median wage since 1980.