So... what happened to asset classes in 2011? Bonds crushed equities. Real assets were mixed. More important (to me)... what happened to me ...

An ugly (yet improving) chart shows the number of hours worked per person... Which, when combined with real GDP leads to a new high in GDP p...

Greg Mankiw outlines who earns the 0.1% of national income: Here is an interesting paper that answers the question. Some highlights from ...

Bloomberg details: Confidence among U.S. consumers rose in December to the highest level in eight months as an improving job market helped ...

LA Times details the (lack of) savings: Consumer spending last month grew faster than people’s take-home incomes as households cut their sa...

BusinessWeek details: The index of U.S. leading indicators climbed more than forecast in November, a sign that the world’s largest economy ...

The WSJ details: The U.S. economy expanded less than thought during the third quarter as consumer spending fell short of an earlier estimat...

In response to my post Some Perspective on Housing , reader Tom Lindmark commented: It would be interesting if you could take the time seri...

Washington Post puts some perspective on the new housing data: Builders broke ground on a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 homes ...

I try to steer clear of politics for the most part here at EconomPic , but the thought of Gingrich in any position of power frightens me (he...

Economic Data Breaking Down CPI Real Retails Sales per Capita Real Retail Sales Ex Autos and Gas Makes New High Consumer Credit (Excluding ...

SF Gate details: Overall consumer prices increased 3.4 percent in the 12 months ended November, the smallest year-over-year increase since ...

With almost each Treasury holdings release, the mainstream media claims China is selling Treasuries, when in reality purchases are just flow...

Bloomberg details: The import-price index climbed 0.7 percent, the first increase in four months and followed a 0.5 percent drop in October...

Following this morning's post on real monthly retail sales , a few readers asked to see the chart adjusted for population growth. I'...

Bloomberg details the latest retail sales: U.S. retail sales rose in November at the slowest pace in five months, indicating faster job gro...

You never want to read too much into any short-term trend, but take a look today's market performance, as well as the "correction...

Bloomberg details: The trade deficit narrowed in October to the lowest level of the year, reflecting a drop in imports that will help give ...

Aleph Blog outlines why he believes "behemoth" companies (i.e. firms with a market value greater than $100 billion) trade at rel...

From table D.3. of the Fed's Flow of Funds , we see that as the private sector deleverages , the public sector has added even more debt,...

Bloomberg outlines: U.S. consumer borrowing rose in October to the highest level in two years, propelled by gains in non-revolving debt lik...

Source: Investment Postcards via The Big Picture

Economic Data Traction on the Jobs Front... Headline vs. Actual Construction Decline Bottoming ISM Manufacturing Moves Higher The Importan...

First the (very strong) "headline", then the details. The WSJ with the headline: The U.S. labor market strengthened in November a...

SF Gate details: Four of the six largest automakers by U.S. sales beat expectations, boosting industry sales to a 13.6 million seasonally a...

The AP reports: U.S. builders spent more in October on homes, offices and shopping centers, pushing construction spending up for a third st...

ISM Reports: WHAT RESPONDENTS ARE SAYING ... "Business still holding its own. Some growth in margin now that some of the raw materials...

The WSJ details the potential good news on the job front: Private-sector jobs in the U.S. rose by 206,000, according to a national employme...

It depends on the time frame you are looking at. The below charts show real appreciation (after inflation), by city where available, going b...

BusinessWeek details: Consumer confidence climbed in November by the most in more than eight years as Americans grew more upbeat about empl...

I wrote back in early October that financials have been an important factor in risk asset performance for the better part of the past four ...

What was down (risk assets), was up, then down again. What was up (Treasuries), was down, then up again. Below is an assortment of sector ET...

Industrial production within Europe for the month of September was ugly (see here ), but nothing compared to new orders made during the same...

Stagnant wages and outsourced production (reduced expenses for corporations - higher unemployment / underemployment for individuals), combin...

Bloomberg details: The economy in the U.S. expanded less than previously estimated in the third quarter, reflecting a drop in inventories t...

Lots of interesting topics in the PEW Research Center's The American-Western European Values Gap . Here's one... Note: bringing up r...

U.S. (Pointing Up) Leading Indicators... Full Steam Ahead Retail Sales Ratchet Higher Capacity Utilization vs. Inflation Employment (Ugly / ...

Whether or not the U.S. can truly break away from European concerns is still an open question, but recent economic data points to a decrease...

The BLS released their latest Business Employment Dynamics report that breaks out positive change in employment (by expansions and new busi...

Update: the Yahoo Finance data for LMVTX that I had used appears to be wrong (no clue why and quite frankly concerning). The chart has been ...

Marketwatch details: The output of the nation’s factories, mines and utilities rose 0.7% in October, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday in ...

FT Alphaville details: The 30-year German bond yield is close to a record low, around 2.48 per cent at pixel time. France might be able to ...