How our GDP complex prevents us from asking: happiness or growth?
All of the questions this week about whether or not the US economy has fallen into recession missed an important consideration: What if the GDP measure we all focus on is itself deeply flawed? It is a heretical question, because there is a “GDP complex” here. There is a whole apparatus (economists, bankers, government officials and forecasters) of people whose livelihoods are based on measuring GDP, which is held up as the overall and final method of measuring economic health, or even social, of a country. And of course GDP growth is never quite “correct”. It’s too fast or too…
Read More »Columbia Threadneedle’s Nick Ring: ‘I took a low ego for granted’
When Nick Ring left the office of Threadneedle Investments on his last day in 2015, little did he know that he would return four years later as chief executive of its European business. The 56-year-old joined Threadneedle in October 2008 as head of product, leading the company to a global role following its merger with sister company Columbia Management in 2015. Despite being successful working in asset management the first time around, moving up the career ladder meant Ring traveled more than he would have liked. “I’ve always put family first,” says the father of three. “In 2015, the balance…
Read More »House lawmakers send inflation relief and family financial support bill to Senate
The Chamber ended quickly its relief from inflation and the family is supporting the bill on Friday before sending it to the Senate. During the final discussion of HB 1001(s)Democrats reiterated one last time that the bill was good, but it didn’t go far enough to support families and children. Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) called the bill a “camouflage” for the state’s repeated failure to provide family support in the past. And, he said, the bill is a response to an abortion bill that none of them have seen. “If people had been ready for a session after 49 years…
Read More »Live News Updates from July 1: Crypto in Focus as FTX Buys BlockFi, Voyager Digital Halts Trading, Eurozone Inflation Hits Record
Several economists took the knife to their second-quarter GDP forecasts following a disappointing consumer spending report that added to concerns about a slowdown in the US economy. Some forecasters even think the world’s largest economy will contract for a second consecutive quarter, crossing the threshold of a technical recession. Personal consumption rose 0.2 percent in May, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, missing economists’ expectations for a 0.4 percent increase. That represented a drop from the downwardly revised 0.6 percent increase in April, suggesting that spending was weaker in those months than previously thought. A revision on Wednesday of the first-quarter…
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Shares rally to best month since November 2020
U.S. stocks rallied on Friday to end a three-day winning streak and end the S&P 500’s best month since November 2020. On Friday, the S&P 500 gained 1.4%, the Dow gained 1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.9%. Friday’s close also marked the last trading day of the month, with the benchmark S&P up 9.2% for July, while the Nasdaq gained 13% for the month. That rally marked the Nasdaq’s biggest monthly gain since July 2020. The rally caps a month that saw inflation data hit another 41-year high, GDP contract for the second straight quarter and the Fed raise…
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The video game industry has a hangover from COVID
The video game industry is suffering from a COVID hangover that even a bottle of Pedialyte and a bacon, egg and cheese can’t fix. After explosive growth throughout the pandemic, game sales are finally plummeting back to Earth. Both Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Sony ( SONY ), two of the world’s leading gaming companies, revealed this week that their gaming divisions experienced a year-over-year drop in revenue as rising inflation affects the industry. It’s not just hardware and gaming sales that are taking a hit. Players are also spending less time playing than last year. Both Microsoft and Sony…
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VAALCO Energy: The Merger News Wiped $50 Million (NYSE:EGY)
cta88/iStock via Getty Images VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: ONE) made a splash when he did announced on July 14 it would merge with TransGlobe Energy Corporation (TGA). VAALCO would acquire TransGlobe’s stock on a stock-for-stock basis agreement; each TGA share would exchange for 0.6727 VAALCO shares, representing a premium of 24.9% per TGA share. After the deal, VAALCO shareholders would own 54.5% and TransGlobe shareholders would own 45.5% of the combined company. The market did not like the news: barchart.com EGY shares fell 16% after the announcement, while TGA only gained 5%. At the close of July 14, the combined…
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The Retiree Dividend Portfolio: Recent Purchases and Limited Trades
Torsten Asmus For those of you who have followed my work, this is a change I decided to make for several reasons. Items require some manual work to update spreadsheets and keep track of dividends coming into accounts. recently years I have added more graphs/charts in the hope that it will add value to readers and bring clarity to what I am trying to do. In the process of doing this, I’ve made it harder for myself to continue to produce consistent articles and make sure the quality doesn’t suffer. Here are some additional reasons to separate the operations into…
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