Economists on Jeopardy

Don't Worry, Your Never McFar...

...from a McDonalds restaruant, if you are in the US. The fartest distance between McDonalds in the continental 48 states is 145 miles.

"between the tiny Dakotan hamlets of Meadow and Glad Valley lies the McFarthest Spot: 107 miles distant from the nearest McDonald’s, as the crow flies, and 145 miles by car!"

Not Very Stimulating: 49 of 50 States Have Lost Jobs Since The $787,000,000,000.00 Stimulus Package Passed

From the House Ways and Means Committee:

"The table below compares the White House's February 2009 projection of the number of jobs that would be created by the 2009 stimulus law (through the end of 2010) with the actual change in state payroll employment through September 2009 (the latest figures available). According to the data, 49 States and the District of Columbia have lost jobs since stimulus was enacted. Only North Dakota has seen net job creation following the February 2009 stimulus. While President Obama claimed the result of his stimulus bill would be the creation of 3.5 million jobs, the Nation has already lost a total of 2.7 million – a difference of 6.2 million jobs. To see how stimulus has failed your state, see the table below."

Neat Interactive Map of US Housing Foreclosures

Check out how the worst of the foreclosure market seems to be concentrated in just a few states. Play with the map here, or click on the map.

The Invisible Hand At Work. Wal-Mart and Amazon.com Have A Price War

Competition.

"Wal-Mart triggered the online skirmish Thursday when it began selling its 10 most anticipated hardcovers for $10 apiece when pre-ordered on its Web site. Amazon matched the offer hours later and Wal-Mart then chopped its price to $9. Friday morning Amazon had matched the price."

Read more here.

DOW 10,000

While the Dow Jones just hit 10,000, reaction was much more muted than the first time 10 years ago. Here, the journal writes about the caution many traders have about the economy going forward, especially about the national debt, soon to reach $12,000,000,000,000.

"Reaction this time was more muted than the first time the Dow closed above the 10000 mark, on March 29, 1999, when traders popped Champagne and passed around "Dow 10000" baseball caps. "People don't believe it, they don't trust it, they are nervous, they are anxious," said Andy Brooks, head of stock trading at money-management group T. Rowe Price. "Most of us can't believe the year we have just been through, where you made and lost so much money."

"But in the longer run, many of the problems that worry investors will need to be resolved, such as the high levels of bad loans and securities on bank balance sheets, the weakness of the real-estate market and the nation's heavy consumer and government debt. "We don't see a catalyst that would immediately drive the economy lower, but there certainly is some risk that the market could retrace its gains" since they have come so rapidly, says Bruce McCain, who helps oversee $20 billion as chief investment strategist at Cleveland's Key Private Bank."

Another Debt Chart, This One Even More Depressing

Current debt projections, unless changes in spending and taxes are made. Read more here from economist John Taylor.

United States Debt to GDP Ratio

Ships That Don't Move: The Global Recession Takes its Toll

The current recession has seen the biggest decline in global trade since the great depression, and can be exemplified by the ghost fleet of ships seen off the coast of Singapore, below.

As the Daily Mail writes: "The biggest and most secretive gathering of ships in maritime history lies at anchor east of Singapore. Never before photographed, it is bigger than the U.S. and British navies combined but has no crew, no cargo and no destination - and is why your Christmas stocking may be on the light side this year."

US National Income vs. The World

Here is an very interesting interactive chart comparing Gross Domestic Product around the world. Click on the image below to compare a nation's income based on region, religion, population, language, and much more.

Need Some (Facebook) Friends... Here's a price

Want some new facebook friends? You can have them easily... for a price. 7.6 cents per friend, precicesly.

As PC World Writes: "For a piddling 7.6 cents per friend, Usocial will deliver 5000 new buddies to your Facebook account. That's $654.30 worth of lovin' from people you'll never meet..."

Back in Business

Redonomics is back after a long and restful summer. Please check back for many updates this fall. Thanks for stopping by Redonomics.

Photos from Japan Trip

Great Advice on Budgeting From SNL

Global Economic Pain

Read more here from the Journal, for an excellent perspective on the global recession, and the stats show it is a bad one.

A Tough Market For College Grads

An excellent story in the Minneapolis-StarTribune today highlights the difficult job market facing college grads today:

"Just 19.7 percent of 2009 grads who applied for a job have one so far, down from 51 percent at the same point in 2007, according to a new survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Those employers say they plan to hire 22 percent fewer graduates than last year. Another survey by the group shows the average starting salary dropped 2.2 percent from the same time last year."

Let's hope these students do graduate with high-interest credit card debt in addition to their student loans. For the current unemployment rate, the worst in 25 years, check out my previous post here.Above photo: St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN

AP TEST REVIEW ON FACEBOOK

You are invited to attend an AP Economics review event on Facebook, hosted by David Mayer, a friend of mine and a Teacher at Churchill High School in San Antonio, Texas.

Here is the link:

MACRO: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=90215276873

If you have any questions, post it at this site and a highly qualified teacher will answer your question.

15,000 Views, Check it Out!

15,000 views, of video I took from these students performing Georgian music and dancing from my Study Tour to the beautiful Republic of Georgia with the Council for Economic Education. Read about it here, page three, and check out the video.

8.9%, - 5,700,000 Jobs Now Lost Since Recession Began

1st Quarter GDP Down 6.1%

Read more here, from the Wall Street Journal.

The Trillion Dollar Campaign

The Zimbabwean Newspaper, from Zimbabwe, is drawing attention to the dire situation in Zimbabwe with a Trillion dollar campaign.

From the Zimbabwean: "In Zimbabwe, the money is so worthless, that banknotes are cheap alternative to paper - meaning its cheaper to use the notes themselves for printing onto than buying the paper with the currency.. The Zimbabwean newspaper calls upon South Africans to “Fight The Regime That Crippled a Country”. The call to arms is written on worthless Zimbabwe bank notes… using billboards, wall posters and via direct mail to South Africa’s top corporate executives. The creative and eye-catching campaign has caused a stir on the streets of Johannesburg and has been reported by media around the world. One of the most eloquent symbols of Zimbabwe’s collapse is the Z$100 trillion dollar note, a symptom of its world record inflation. This note cannot buy anything, not even a loaf of bread and certainly not any advertising, but it can become the advertising - a powerful reminder about Zimbabwe’s plight and the need to hold someone accountable. The Mugabe regime has destroyed Zimbabwe. It has presided over the brutal oppression of the opposition, a cholera crisis, massive food shortages and the total collapse of the economy. Furthermore anyone brave enough to report this has been bullied, beaten and driven into exile. One such group is ‘The Zimbabwean newspaper.'"

I Know Some Call Economics The Dismal Science, But Seriously Mr. Summers...

Here is the President's Top Economics Advisor, Dr. Larry Summers, falling asleep today while the president speaks on the economy. Read more here.

Four Bears

State Job Losses Since The Recession Began

This is an interesting chart showing what states have lost the most jobs since the recession began. You can click on the map to go the the Wall Street Journal interactive activity.

A Quick Quiz of Past AP Econ Test Questions... From The N.Y. Times

Click here to take the quiz.

North Korea at Night

So as North Korea spends most of their resources on the military, there is obviously little left for everything else, like economic development and feeding their population.

Charting The Stock Market: Ups and Downs, Mostly Down

So is the market heading for a huge dip? Click on the picture to enlarge.

More Worthless Zimbabwe Paper

To Protest the massive hyperinflation, the the Zimbabwean Newspaper created an ad campaign featuring huge posters, wall murals, flyers, and even billboards all made out of trillions of Zimbabwean dollars. Check out the photos from the newspaper’s Flickr Photo Stream.

"The Mugabe regime has destroyed Zimbabwe. It has presided over the brutal oppression of the opposition, a cholera crises, massive food shortages and the total collapse of their economy. Furthermore anyone brave enough to report this has been bullied, beaten and driven into exile. One such group is ‘the Zimbabwean Newspaper’. However, not content with having hounded these journalists out, the regime has slapped an import ‘luxury’ duty of over 55% on them which makes the paper unaffordable for the average Zimbabwean. In order to subsidize the paper they need to sell it in England and South Africa, to raise the foreign currency. A unique campaign was devised to promote the paper to raise awareness and increase readership. One of the most eloquent symbols of Zimbabwe’s collapse is the Z$100 trillion dollar note, a symptom of their world record inflation. This note cannot buy anything, not even a loaf of bread and certainly not any advertising, but it can become the advertising, it can be a powerful reminder about Zimbabwe’s plight and the need to hold someone accountable. Link.

Every Breath You Take - The Fed

GDP By Country: G-20 Players

Click on the above picture for a neat interactive graphic of GDP, Debt, Inflation, and more for the G20 Countries.