Category Archives: Demographics

Great Escape: 63 M Spend 15 min per Day as Pretend Farmers

Posted on August 16, 2011 by macromon

Cool infographic from the Atlantic on The American Identity According to Social Media. Americans are followers: Nearly half of all Americans are now members of at least one social network, double the proportion of just two years ago. Americans have … Continue reading →

Posted in Charts, Demographics, Economics, General Interest | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

64% of Americans Can’t Handle a $1,000 Emergency Expense

Posted on August 11, 2011 by macromon

This is a stunning stat and shows how out of touch Washington and Wall Street are with Main Street.  Imagine if gas prices spike $2.00 per gallon.    CNN writes, A majority, or 64%, of Americans don’t have enough cash … Continue reading →

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Sovereign Debt and Geriatric Deadbeats

Posted on July 18, 2011 by macromon

In the spirit of our earlier post, The Clash of Generations, we point you to an interesting piece, Geiatric Deadbeats, written by Ali Alichi of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).   He argues the age of a country’s population is inversely … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Demographics, PIIGS, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk, State and Local Government | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Clash of Generations

Posted on July 18, 2011 by macromon

Thomas Friedman is “connecting the dots” in his New York Times column piece over the weekend, The Clash of Generations.    The Global Macro Monitor posted a similar piece, Connecting the Dots: The Coming War Between Generations,  back in March. During … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Bonds, Demographics, Egypt, Fiscal Policy, Geopolitical | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

China’s Collasping Demographic and the End of Chimerica

Posted on March 23, 2011 by macromon

…by far the most massive falloff in young manpower is set to take place in China. Over the next 20 years, by the Census Bureau‘s projections, this key working age group will be falling in China by fully 100 million … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Demographics, Economics, Geopolitical | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Connecting the Dots: The Coming War Between Generations

Posted on March 1, 2011 by macromon

Almost everyday the newspaper headlines across the country warn of problems with local government budgets centered around public sector employee wages and benefits.  Today one read,  County Pension System Hits Tipping Point.  The other day it was how one city … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget Deficit, Currency, Demographics, Dollar, Economics, Employment, State and Local Government | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

How U.S. Income Groups Get Squeezed By Food Prices

Posted on February 2, 2011 by macromon

Take a look at the chart we’ve constructed from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics 2009 Consumer Expenditure Survey.  It conveys a sense of how Egypt’s poverty combined with the sharp rise in food prices sparked the political revolt against … Continue reading →

Posted in Commodities, Demographics, Food Prices | Tagged , | 13 Comments

The Next Shock: Are We Better Prepared?

Posted on January 27, 2011 by macromon

Here’s an interesting video from Davos.  Fareed Zakaria moderates a panel discussion on the next potential macro shock.  The panel includes JP Morgan’s CEO,  Jamie Dimon.  Go to 15 min 55 seconds into video and listen to Dimon’s brilliant response … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Demographics, Geopolitical, Video | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Nonlinear thinking: Going Gaga Over Transformative Tech

Posted on January 10, 2011 by macromon

One of the great problems of asset bubbles is not only the creation of too much capacity, but the misallocation of resources.   Our good friend and market guru extraordinaire, Barry Ritholtz, wrote of one such case back in 2005,  during … Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, Black Swan Watch, Demographics, Employment, Equities, Technology, Video | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Graying of Calfornia’s Flower Children

Posted on January 9, 2011 by macromon

Well this is a depressing chart and remember California usually leads the nation.    We fear us baby boomers risk eating all the  “seed corn” and leaving nothing for the younger generations to invest in their future, which the quality … Continue reading →

Posted in Bonds, Budget Deficit, Demographics, Muni Market, Policy, Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment