By Richard Holden, UNSW | August 16, 2018 As American baseball legend Yogi Berra once supposedly quipped, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” Three years ago the crisis was in Greece, now it’s Turkey. Another European summer and another European economic crisis. It’s tempting to say that being in Europe is all the two situations… Read More »
(NewsUSA) | August 15, 2018 As back-to-school time sets in, personal finance becomes more complicated for many families. Some have students away from home for the first time, others have expenses for tuition, and of course the many purchases associated with the start of school: backpacks, lunch bags, clothes, books, dorm room furnishings, not to mention… Read More »
By Kevin Judge | August 12, 2018 Now that New Jersey has legalized sports betting, what will happen to your friendly neighborhood bookie? The so called “numbers rackets”, illegal lotteries , was once a cash cow for organized crime but were driven out of business by State lotteries. As government blessed sportsbook spreads across the… Read More »
By Kevin Judge | August 11, 2018 Attempts to ban consumer products have inconsistent and often unsatisfactory results. Bans can influence supply and demand by limiting availability and increasing costs, there may still be demand at the price of acquiring the item illegally. Demand can be a hard thing to reduce and suppliers will emerge… Read More »
By Jerry Davis | August 10, 2018 On Aug. 2, Apple became the first U.S. public corporation to achieve a US$1 trillion valuation, making it the largest company in the world – by one measure at least. A New York Times article proclaimed that this milestone “reflects the rise of powerful megacompanies” that control a… Read More »
By Gregory C Mason | August 9. 2018 Social and anti-poverty activists have greeted the dumping of Ontario’s basic income pilot project with the usual lamentations. These critics of the new Conservative government argue the funds allocated to the project is a pittance compared to the costs of poverty, and we have missed out on learning about… Read More »
By Stephanie Leiser | August 8, 2018 It’s a game for the rich. AP Photo/Steven Senne Stephanie Leiser, University of Michigan The Trump administration wants to change the way capital gains are taxed to factor in inflation. To many, this may sound like a technical change of little consequence. To others, such as the Tax… Read More »
In the late 1970s, economists from around the world were visiting a South American nation for a conference. After one of the sessions, four of them – a Pole, a Soviet, a Texan, and a New Yorker – walked out together to get some lunch. An excited young newspaper reporter approached them, and tried to… Read More »
An economics graduate student was crossing a road one day when a frog called out to him and said, “If you kiss me, I’ll turn into a beautiful princess.” He bent over, picked up the frog and put it in his pocket. The frog spoke up again and said, “If you kiss me and turn… Read More »
(NewsUSA) | August 3, 2018 It’s a good thing no one joins the armed forces to get rich, because it turns out a higher percentage of military families are in debt than civilians. And that has one New Jersey company ticked off enough to do something about it. According to a report by the Financial… Read More »