tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576Tue, 13 Oct 2026 20:23:29 +0000EconomyFactoidsAdvertisingOilInflationLaborMediaThe FEDWWWCommoditiesHealthHome PricesMortgagesUnemploymentAutomobilesBanksChinaReal EstateSEMWorkCreditEpidemiologyEuropean UnionGDPGoogleHousingIndiaInternetMicrosoftNewspapersPiracySearchWall StreetAfricaCouponsDVRDrugsExchange RatesForeclosuresHIV/AIDSHealth Care CostsInterest RatesIranIraqLogisticsPharmaceuticalsSomaliaStagflationTVTerrorismTiVoTradeUSe-commerce3DAfghanistanAlzheimer'sAmazonAppleArtArthur B. LafferBailoutBlanace of TradeBrandsBrowserBulgariaCPICTRChromeChryslerCircumcisionConsumer ConfidenceDefense spendingDerivativesDigital CamerasDogsElectronic Medical RecordsEvolutionFDICFederal Budget DeficitFemale Genital MutilationFirefoxFordGMGoldGulf of AdenHispanicHome SalesHybridIEIRSInsuranceJapanJobsKindleLeicaLocal advertisingMarketsMicrosoft Xbox 360Millward BrownMinimum WageMobileMoviesMozartMozillaMusicNew York CityNickelNintendo WiiOrganized CrimePetsPlatinumPoliticsProductivityRealDRetail SalesSEOSocial NetworkingSoftwareSony Playstation 3TARPTaxesUPSUnionsVideo GamesWagesYahoocredit default swaps (CDS)deflationiPadiPhoneoutsourcingOutsourced market, competitive and web analysishttp://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)Blogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-5245055892552812267Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:45:00 +00002010-02-04T17:45:22.601-05:00AmazonAppleiPadKindle"Citi analyst Mark Mahaney estimates that Amazon will sell 3.5 million Kindles this year and 100 million eBooks.  He estimates total Kindle hardware and eBook sales (assuming the $9,99 price) to come to $1.9 billion, or 5 percent of Amazon’s estimated total revenue for 2010.  If Amazon can’t hold the line on the $9.99 price, it will be harder to sell 100 million eBooks and there might http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2010/02/kindle-vs-ipad-ebook-wars.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-7769194125258783473Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:17:00 +00002009-04-17T18:48:32.471-04:00CPIdeflationEconomyInflationAfter showing an uptick in January, retail sales dropped in both February and March from year-ago levels, dashing hopes that the recession in the US was bottoming out. Consumer spending accounts for 70% of US economic activity, so it is widely watched as a harbinger of things to come in the broader economy. With joblessness hitting record highs, consumer uncertainty rising, and admonitions that http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2009/04/us-retail-sales-resume-falling-after.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-8075512400909228430Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:14:00 +00002009-03-22T16:02:16.575-04:00Home PricesHome SalesMortgagesNational Association of Realtors ReportExisting Home Sales Drop -5.3% in January 2009 from December 2008 Existing home sales:December 2008: 4.74 million annual paceJanuary 2009: 4.49 million annual pace-5.3%45% of total sales involve distressed property, including foreclosuresHome sales price:January 2008 median price: $199,800January 2009 median price: $170,00-14.8%Average 30 year mortgage (http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2009/02/national-association-of-realtors-report.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-1559737866412563713Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:25:00 +00002009-02-25T13:47:11.216-05:00Consumer ConfidenceGDPInflationJobsMortgagesUnemploymentFed data released Tuesday (2/24/09):Delinquency rates on home mortgages in 4th quarter 2008: Almost 7% of outstanding mortgagesUnemployment rate in 4th quarter 2008: 7.6%, expected to rise to 8.8% this yearThe Consumer Board's Consumer Confidence Index: 25, lowest level since data were first collected in 1967February 2009 views on the job market:"Jobs are hard to get": 48% of people surveyed, http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2009/02/fed-data-released-tuesday-22409.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-5920774035314098060Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:07:00 +00002009-02-25T13:17:57.416-05:00BailoutBanksEconomyMortgagesTARPIn a negative feedback loop, job loses and falling corporate profits are creating new loan defaults, hurting banks beyond the original damage caused by the home mortgage crisis. The banks' falling stock prices together with the loan defaults make it harder for them to raise capital and more reluctant to lend. All of this saps spending by consumers (which makes up 70% of the US economy) and http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2009/02/depression-recession-how-we-got-here.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-150267614875006019Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:04:00 +00002009-02-25T13:05:27.506-05:00ArtMortgagesIconic photographer Annie Leibowitz has hocked her entire ouevre for 10 million pounds to help pay the mortgages on the homes she inherited from lover Susan Sontag. Leibowitz is famous for her photographs of iconic figures such as John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Demi Moore pregnant, Michelle Obama (for the March 2009 cover of Vogue Magazine) and Queen Elizabeth. And they say the recession will end by http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-bad-are-times-photographer-annie.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-1797189129251720934Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:18:00 +00002009-02-25T13:24:50.726-05:00Electronic Medical RecordsHealthHealth Care CostsBoth former President George W. Bush and President Obama have endorsed the goal of having electronic health records in wide-spread use by 2014, just five years from now. But previous efforts to introduce electronic patient records into the health care system have not gone far.According to a report released by the New England Journal of Medicine in 2008, 83% of physicians polled had no electronic http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2009/01/obama-hopes-to-boost-number-of-health.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-7622614566568149371Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:08:00 +00002008-11-18T05:20:49.402-05:00DVRFactoidsMediaTiVoTVAccording to a survey by J.D. Power and Associates, DVR adoption in the US among paid TV subscribers rose from 38% in 2007 to 44% in 2008.DVR Adoption in the USThe Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that DVR ownership in the US was 3% in 2002 and rose to 35% in 2008.Technology Adoption Rates in the US, 1996 - 2008http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/11/dvr-adoption-rises-quickly-in-us.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-3162782031189452799Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:52:00 +00002008-11-18T04:55:41.309-05:00AutomobilesFactoidsLaborA total of 3 million workers were employed in the automotive and related fields as of September 2008.Auto Industry Workers by Segment, as of September 2008http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/11/auto-industry-workers-by-segment.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-1278169811395333342Sun, 09 Nov 2008 01:53:00 +00002008-11-18T04:35:54.817-05:00LaborUnemploymentUSThe unemployment rate crept up to 6.5% in October from 6.1% in September. This is the highest it has been since 1994. So far in 2008, 1.179 million jobs have been lost.US Unemployment Rate: 1994 - 2008In retail sales, usually the last bastion of employment for those thrown out of other jobs, the cumulative number of jobs lost since November 2007 ( a year ago) is 325,000.Cumulative Jobs Lost in http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/11/us-unemploymkent-rate-1994-2008.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-4879783293319757907Wed, 29 Oct 2008 02:17:00 +00002008-10-28T22:25:23.685-04:00Defense spendingEconomyGDPAfter reaching 38% of GDP during World War II, defense spending dropped below 5% of GDP in the years immediately following the war, rose to nearly 15% at the start of the cold war as the US rearmed and built up its stock pile of atomic weapons, declined through the late '50s and early '60s to 7%, jumped again during the Vietnam War to 10%, declined throughout the '70s and early '80s, headed up http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/10/defense-spending-as-percent-of-gdp-1940.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-768979263610387229Wed, 29 Oct 2008 01:43:00 +00002008-10-28T23:30:22.329-04:00CreditEconomyIndiaIt looks like credit woes are pretty much the same around the world. The Indian middle-class, enjoying rising prosperity, has gotten caught up in fast-rising revolving credit card debt that they seem to little understand and have difficulty managing.Unsecured loans and credit card receivables more than three months overdue: 7%-9% of total loans outstanding this year; expected to rise to 15% http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/10/india-gets-caught-up-in-whirlwind-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-4813844568635810731Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:39:00 +00002008-10-28T21:36:13.223-04:00Arthur B. LafferEconomyFactoidsMarketsThe nominal definition of a bear market is one in which securities prices drop 20% over a period of time. In today's Wall Street Journal Arthur B. Laffer reminds us what a real bear market is:I saw up close and personal Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush succumb to panicked decisions to raise taxes, as well as Jimmy Carter's emergency energy plan, which included wellhead price controls, http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/10/what-real-bear-market-looks-like.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-1419160676352232107Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:16:00 +00002008-10-07T12:20:36.895-04:00credit default swaps (CDS)DerivativesEconomyFactoidsUnemploymentUniversity of Chicago Economist and Nobel Laureate Gary Becker on the state of the economy:U.S. unemployment 1931-1941: 25 percentU.S. unemployment September 2008: 6.1 percentThe main problem with the modern financial system based on widespread use of derivatives and securitization is that while financial specialists understand how individual assets function, even they have little understanding http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/10/main-problem-with-modern-financial.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-5723618670802436380Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:05:00 +00002008-10-07T11:11:33.394-04:00AdvertisingZenithOptimedia today lowered its forecast for advertising growth both in the US and worldwide.Zenith, whose forecasts are closely followed by the industry, said it expects ad spending in the U.S. to grow just 1.6% this year and by less than 1% in 2009. In June, the ad-buying firm, a unit of Publicis Groupe, predicted growth of 3.4% and 2.6%, respectively, for this year and next. World-wide, http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/10/economic-realities-knock-advertising.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-6498707198073173491Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:29:00 +00002008-10-06T09:51:05.021-04:00FactoidsHealthIndiaNew York CityAccording to the government, there are 35 working public ambulances with life-saving equipment to serve the needs of a population of over 14 million in New Dehli, India. This greatly contributes to the loss of life during terrorist attacks when the "golden hour" turns into the "golden four hours".By way of contrast, there were 1,363,893 ambulance runs in New York City in 2007 (population est. http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/10/number-of-ambulances-in-new-dehli-india.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-7631031202664760738Thu, 02 Oct 2008 23:36:00 +00002008-10-03T10:49:13.537-04:00ChinaCommoditiesInterest RatesI was amazed to discover to what extent demand for commodities world-wide is driven by growth in China. In 2009 Deutsche Bank forecasts that almost 100 per cent of the growth in demand for aluminum, around 80 per cent of the growth in demand for iron ore, oil, and steel, and 60+ per cent of the growth in demand for copper will come from China.Forecast of China's Share of the Growth in Demand for http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/10/china-drives-growth-of-global.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-5414353849418569397Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:05:00 +00002008-10-02T14:22:15.083-04:00AutomobilesHybridToyota: Prius, starting price $22,000; Lexus; HighlanderHonda: Insight, starting price below $20,000, to launch at the Paris Auto Show this month (Oct. 2008); CivicGM: Volt, launch in 2010Chrysler: Launch in 2010Ford: EscapeToyota plans to sell 160,000 Priuses in the US this year.Honda plans to sell 100,000 Insights in its first year in the US.Hybrid Vehicle Market Share in the US2008 Total http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/10/hybrid-vehicle-market-share-in-us.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-3452042560783307017Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:41:00 +00002008-10-02T13:49:27.635-04:00AutomobilesEconomyU.S. auto sales reached a 15-year low with a double digit decline in September as sales of cars and light trucks fell 27% to 964,873 units in September (2008), down from 1.31 million a year earlier, according to Autodata Corp. Tightening credit, a financial system in shambles, and consumer fear all contributed to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 12.5 million units, down from 16.19 millionhttp://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/10/us-auto-sales-and-automobile.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-8804151200588680871Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:41:00 +00002008-11-18T04:30:30.235-05:00AfricaGulf of AdenOilPiracySomaliaTerrorismA report by Chatham House.Summary:Piracy off the coast of Somalia has more than doubled in 2008; so far over 60 ships have been attacked. Pirates are regularly demanding and receiving million-dollar ransom payments and are becoming more aggressive and assertive.The international community must be aware of the danger that Somali pirates could become agents of international terrorist networks. http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/10/piracy-in-somalia-threatens-global.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-8864324177163499979Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:49:00 +00002008-09-28T16:50:53.917-04:00AfricaCircumcisionFactoidsFemale Genital MutilationHealthHIV/AIDSCircumcision rates of newborns worldwide has dropped dramatically since World War II, except in the US where the rate has dropped from 64 percent of newborn males to 57 percent of newborn males. Doctors fear this is a serious public health issue since circumcision defends against many forms of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. Arguments against the procedure include fear of http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/09/circumcision-rates-of-newborns-drop.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-7889551358826452612Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:15:00 +00002008-09-28T13:25:31.445-04:00FactoidsHealthHealth Care CostsInsuranceEmployer health care insurance cost trends continued their upward march in 2008, rising an average of 5% from 2007. This is a far cry from the 13% to 14% increases of five years ago, but it still makes employer paid health care one of the greatest benefits to employees in the US. The costs for family coverage in 1999 were an average of $5,900. In 2008 family health care insurance coverage http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/09/employer-health-care-insurance-costs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-3801081153923583980Sun, 28 Sep 2008 07:12:00 +00002008-09-28T03:35:31.160-04:00EconomyEuropean UnionInflationThe FEDInterest rates in the US remain 2 1/4 points lower than those in the EU, despite greater consumer price inflation in the US. The Federal Reserve in the US is charged with both keeping inflation under control and stimulating the economy, while the EU central bank's mandate is only to keep inflation in check.Interest Rate and Consumer Price Inflation Trends - US & EUSource: WSJhttp://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/09/interest-rates-consumer-price-infaltion.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-7878363055071999341Sun, 28 Sep 2008 07:02:00 +00002008-09-28T13:08:46.506-04:00BanksEconomyFactoidsFDICOver 3000 banks failed during the savings and loan crises, and the run up to it, in the '80s and '90s. By comparison, bank failures post the S&L crisis of the '80s have been minuscule by comparison. But the ones of late have been gigantic in size.Bank Failures during the S&L Crises of the '80s and NowSource: WSJhttp://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/09/over-3000-banks-failed-during-savings.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575179104225361576.post-7126081442700595292Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:23:00 +00002008-09-25T10:25:50.645-04:00EconomyForeclosuresHome PricesHousingReal EstateWall StreetAt the core of the Wall Street crisis lies unresolved issues with the housing market in the US. This is the rot at the core of investment banks' holdings. Unfortunately, the data still does not paint a pretty picture about the housing market. The inventory of unsold, previously owned homes stands at a high approaching 12 months. This means there is a pipeline of 12 month's worth of sales in http://thenumbersguru.blogspot.com/2008/09/housing-woes-at-base-of-wall-streets.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ira The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon)0