May 2015 -

Chicago’s Wall Street Reprieve Spurs Rally Before Junk-Bond Sale

May 27, 2015 Jeremy Parkinson Business 0

Wall Street is giving the Second City a second chance. The price of Chicago’s most-actively traded bond has erased almost all of the decline that followed Moody’s Investors Service’s May 12 decision to cut the city to junk. Buyer confidence has been bolstered because banks aren’t seeking penalties related to the downgrade, anticipating Chicago would […]

Oil Slump Has Calgary Awash in Vacant Office Space

May 26, 2015 Jeremy Parkinson Real Estate 0

CALGARY, Alberta—When Mayor Naheed Nenshi broke ground on Brookfield Place, this city’s signature skyscraper project, he said the energy capital was “well into an arms race” of tall-building construction. That was in the fall of 2013, amid a boom fueled by high oil prices that had the commercial real-estate market in Canada’s oil capital rivaling […]

Ten Ideas To Save The Economy Step 5: How To Reinvent Education

May 21, 2015 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

<< Read Step 1: Making The Economy Work For The Many, Not The Few – Step 1: Raise The Minimum Wage << Read Step 2: Making The Economy Work For The Many, Not The Few – Step 2: Make Work Family Friendly << Read Step 3: Ten Ideas To Save The Economy – Step 3: Expand Social Security […]

EUR/USD Drifts Lower During Trading

May 21, 2015 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

The EUR/USD pair fell during the day again on Wednesday, but we are starting to approach an area that I believe will be rather supportive. I think that somewhere between the 1.11 level and the 1.10 level we will find enough support to turn things back around. After all, breaking above the 1.10 level was […]

Productivity Forecast

May 21, 2015 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

Labor productivity is the key to our standard of living, as we said in our recent article. In this one we discuss determinants of productivity and its forecast. Labor productivity is determined by three factors: labor quality, capital, and everything else, usually called total factor productivity. Labor quality varies, to nobody’s surprise. Some workforces are highly […]

When The Current Housing Bubble Finally Bursts

May 21, 2015 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

Bubbles are followed by echo-bubbles, and the bursting of the second bubble ends the speculative cycle. If we have learned anything in the past 20 years of massive asset bubbles and equally massive declines when the bubbles finally pop, it’s this: those caught up in the expansionary phase of the bubble cannot believe the bubble that’s […]

Advance Auto Parts Q1 Earnings Miss Estimates, Rise 6.2% Y/Y

May 21, 2015 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

Advance Auto Parts (AAP – Analyst Report) operates in the U.S. automotive aftermarket industry and is primarily engaged in selling replacement parts (excluding tires), accessories, batteries and maintenance items for domestic and imported vehicles. It is the largest automotive parts provider in North America. The company enhances profits through its relentless focus on store expansion. The rise in […]

Chicago Fed: U.S. Economic Growth Remains Sluggish In April

May 21, 2015 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index’s three-month average (CFNAI-MA3) ticked higher in April, but growth remained below the historical trend for the third month in a row. The latest string of three consecutive negative values represents the longest stretch of below-trend data in nearly two years. Still, CFNAI-MA3 inched up to -0.23 last month and so it […]

EC Can REITs Sustain Their Gains?

May 21, 2015 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

Since the so-called Taper Tantrum of 2013, real estate investment trusts (REITs) have been taking their cues from the Federal Reserve Board. Recall, the tantrum was when the market got spooked about the prospects of an abrupt withdrawal of Fed accommodation. Rates on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note shot up 135 basis points (82 percent) […]

RBC Capital’s Top 5 Favorite Internet Stocks

May 21, 2015 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

With the first quarter of the 2015 behind us, Mark Mahaney of RBC Captial was able to offer some insight into his favorite large-cap Internet stocks. Looking back at the first quarter, Mahaney noted that trends within the Internet sector remained consistent. The analyst divides the sector into stocks that garner revenue through advertising, retail, or travel. […]