All posts by Alison Meadows

About Alison Meadows

Alison Meadows has a PHD in Economic Trends in Modern Times and is a known writer who focuses on hedge fund investments. Meadows, her husband, and three kids live in Boston, where she grew up and attended college. Contact Alison at alison[at]businessdistrict.com

Rising Home Prices Helping Work Force Get to the Jobs

Economy, , , ,
Homes are Selling in Improved Real Estate Market
Homes are Selling in Improved Real Estate Market

Historically speaking, one of the great assets of the United State workforce has been its ability to get up and go to where the jobs were. A thriving real estate market gave people the freedom to sell their homes and move to a better job, helping people to climb the affluence ladder.

For the past five years a different reality has existed in the US job and real estate markets. The sluggish, if not comatose, real estate market hindered people from moving to either a better job, or in many cases, to any job. Not that there were many jobs to be had, but even in the few instances when there was, someone whose home mortgage was “underwater”(they owed more on their homes to the bank than what their home could actually be sold for,) could simply not afford to move, and was therefore stuck.

Today this vicious cycle seems to be ending, as home prices rise, and buyers are entering the marketplace, and more jobs are coming available.

“Until the real-estate market picked up, people wouldn’t even consider a move without the certainty that they could sell their homes,” said Jerry Funaro, vice president of global marketing for TRC Global Solutions, a domestic and international relocation service based in Milwaukee.

“Companies are now more inclined to make offers since we’re seeing real estate markets across the country coming back,” he said. “Last year, the pace of business started to improve and that momentum has continued in 2013.”

New Book Claims Budget Cuts Kill

Economy, ,

A new book co-authored by physician-epidemiologist Sanjay Basu and political economist

Austerity Can Kill
Austerity Can Kill

David Stuckler claims that severe budget cutbacks and austerity programs have seriously compromised the health of citizens throughout Europe and America.

In the meticulously researched book, “The Body Economic: Why Austerity Kills,” due to come out next month, the authors examine the connection between economic crisis and health issues of populations. They claim that the recent severe austerity placed on governments has seriously hurt, and in some cases lead to the deaths of, thousands, if not millions of people.

David Stuckler explained that,

“Austerity is having a devastating effect on health in Europe and North America. The harms we have found include HIV and malaria outbreaks, shortages of essential medicines, lost healthcare access, and an avoidable epidemic of alcohol abuse, depression and suicide, among others.

“Our politicians need to take into account the serious, and in some cases profound, health consequences of economic choices. But so far, Europe’s leaders have been in denial of the evidence that austerity is costing lives.”

Crowded Roads Sign of Improving Economy

Economy
Bring lunch when traveling on the 405
Bring lunch when traveling on the 405

So far this year road traffic has been getting worse. Not to worry, because according to INRIX, this is a sign that the economy is getting out of grid lock.

The relationship between congested roads and an improving economy is easy to understand, says INRIX CEO Bryan Mistele. More people going to work; more trucks making deliveries to businesses; equals more vehicles on the roads.

On the other hand, although it is a sign of a stronger economy, the slower traffic means wasted fuel and time, to the tune of $121 billion in 2011.

The INRIX report also listed the country’s worst roads as far as congestion is concerned, for the year 2012. It is not a shock that the roads in New York City and Los Angeles can sometimes feel more like parking lots than throughways.

1.    Cross Bronx Expressway: is not too express. This road in the northern part of NYC was ranked the most crowded in the country, costing commuters about 6 days stuck in traffic in a year.

2.    San Diego Freeway (I-405 Southbound): It might be free, but this crowded LA road is at its worst on Tuesday mornings, when it costs travelers 50 minutes of their precious time to drive just eight miles.

3.    Van Wyck Expressway: Back in New York, this connecting road between Queens and Brooklyn has an average speed of 10 miles per hour on Thursdays between 4pm and 5pm.

4.    Santa Monica Freeway: On this Los Angeles east-west artery it can take one hour to travel the 15 miles from Lincoln Boulevard in Santa Monica to Alameda.

5.    Riverside Freeway: Commuters lost about 6 days in a year traveling on this Los Angeles byway.

INRIX is a provider of traffic information to car manufacturers and commercial fleets. The company then analyzes the data and provides traffic reports and long-term analysis.

World Bank Aims to End World Poverty

Economy, , , , ,
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim

Officials of international finance are solidly behind the new goal of the World Bank to put an end to extreme global poverty by the year 2030. The leaders emphasized that the focus of the World Bank should be making sure that the world’s most impoverished populations will reap the benefits from strong growth and improving affluence in the developing nations of the world.

“For the first time in history we have committed to setting a target to end poverty,” World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said on Saturday. He made his statement after a meeting of the World Bank’s Development Committee. “We are no longer dreaming of a world free of poverty; we have set an expiration date for extreme poverty,” he added.

The World Bank set the goal to reduce extreme poverty down to only 3 percent throughout the world. This will be accomplished by targeting the most impoverished 40 percent of people now living in each country of the developing world. Currently the economies of developing countries are growing at an annual rate of 6 percent on average. Millions of people are being removed from the ranks of the extreme poor and an expanding middle class is also creating growth of economic inequality.

“We recognize that sustained economic growth needs a reduction in inequality. Investments that create opportunities for all citizens and promote gender equality are an important end in their own right, as well we being integral to creating prosperity,” the Development Committee said.

Statistics reveal that global poverty has been reduced substantially over the past 25 years. In 1990 the percentage of people living in extreme poverty throughout the world was 43 percent. In 2010 that number was down to only 21 percent, and continues to decline. Most of the world’s poorest people live in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. China has been able to successfully cut extreme poverty over the last several decades.

Capital Business Investment Up in January

Economy, ,

In the largest increase in over a year, the month of January saw US companies purchasing machinery and factory goods at a rate of increase of 7.2 percent over December’s figures. This number, despite fears of tax hikes and sequestration (budget cuts), registers among economists as a sign of increasing confidence in the US economy.

Increased capital purchases, especially long after the holidays have passed, bodes well for the economy, as it’s a sign that production is pushing ahead, with a hoped-for increase in jobs and decrease in unemployment.

Aircraft and defense orders are not included in these figures. If sequestration causes the Defense Department to slash its budget, then this sector could adversely affect the economy as a whole. Because orders for aircraft fell in January the total factory orders in January was really down by 2 percent.