Author Archives: Popular Economics Weekly

Unknown's avatar

About Popular Economics Weekly

Harlan Green is editor/publisher of PopularEconomics.com, and content provider of 3 weekly columns to various blogs--Popular Economics Weekly, Financial FAQs and the Mortgage Corner.

Yellen + Jackson Hole = Higher Growth

Popular Economics Weekly New Fed Chairman Janet Yellen plus a few other major central bankers at their annual Jackson Hole conference seem to have committed a heresy by advocating full employment as the goal of central bank policies, above and … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Housing, housing market, Keynesian economics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Leading Indicators, Housing, Show More Growth Ahead

Financial FAQs It looks like the US economy is kicking into high gear from its winter slump, as the Conference Board’s just released July Index of Leading Indicators (LEI) jumped 0.9 percent, the highest it’s been this year. It is … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Housing, housing market, Macro Economics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Where is the Inflation?

Financial FAQs Stocks and bonds are rallying, as it looks like inflation is still falling, rather than rising. This is good news for investors, but prices aren’t rising enough to boost economic growth yet. Boosting inflation seems to be the … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Macro Economics, Politics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lower Household Debt, Housing, Now Boosting Growth

The Mortgage Corner In another sign that this could be a better growth year, builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes rose two points to 55 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Housing, housing market, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Consumers Healthier with Lower Household Debt

Popular Economics Weekly Household debt continues to decline, which will free more disposable income for consumers, which should be a sign that consumer spending, the main driver of economic growth, will continue to grow. That has to be why Q2 … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Housing, housing market, Macro Economics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Don’t Forget the Millennials—Part II

Financial FAQs We have talked before about the upcoming Millennial, or Gen Y generation that will number more than 80 million eventually, 7 percent higher than their baby boomer parents that gave us such high economic growth in the 1980s … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Housing, housing market, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

More Jobs–What About Incomes?

Popular Economics Weekly The U.S. in July added 209,000 jobs last month outside the farm sector, the Labor Department said Friday. Although hiring tapered off after a 298,000 gain in June, the U.S. has generated at least 200,000 jobs in … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Macro Economics, Politics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Consumer Confidence In A ‘Goldilocks’ Economy

Popular Economics Weekly Once upon a time, the U.S. was considered to have a “Goldilocks” economy that was neither too hot nor too cold; where inflation was moderate, yet there was full employment. This last happened in the late 1990s … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Macro Economics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pending Home Sales Remain Strong

The Mortgage Corner The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, declined 1.1 percent to 102.7 in June from 103.8 in May, and is 7.3 percent below June 2013 (110.8), reports the National Association of Realtors. … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Housing, housing market, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Restricted Credit Will Impede Housing Recovery

Financial FAQs As if we need more evidence that the Consumer Protection Finance Bureau and government regulators have listened to the wrong people when drafting their Qualified Mortgage requirements (that lowers the maximum debt-to-income ratio to 43 percent for non-agency … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Housing, Politics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment