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02 Sep 2010 10:31

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U.S.: WHOO: Illegal immigration dips by nearly 67 percent

  • 850,000 number of people who illegally entered the U.S. between 2000 and 2005 (which is huge)
  • 300,000 number of people who did the same thing between 2007 and 2009; this is a pretty big deal source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Aug 2010 10:04

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Biz: Consumer spending up, personal incomes less so, savings down

  • 0.4% the increase in consumer spending last month
  • 0.2% the increase in personal incomes last month
  • 0.3% the decrease in savings rate last month source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Aug 2010 10:38

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Tech: Top sign the BlackBerry Torch launch isn’t really going so well

  • $99the current price of the new phone on Amazon source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Aug 2010 21:00

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U.S.: Robert Gates does the unthinkable: He proposes cutbacks

  • 10% cut in Defense Department contractors proposed source
  • 3,000 jobs could disappear thanks to the massive contractor cuts and other proposed cuts
  • $530B the size of the Defense Department’s budget, which usually increases 2-3 percent yearly
  • 1% the amount the budget will increase next year, which is why they need to make cuts
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jun 2010 20:42

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Biz: Own a home in the Gulf? To put it simply, you’re screwed. *sigh*

  • 10%
    decline     the amount the oil spill could depress home prices in the Gulf region
  • $4.3
    billion     the actual financial figure you could put on that total (holy crap) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jun 2010 10:47

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Biz: Ah crap: After a solid streak of retail increases, sales go down

  • +0.6% the increase in retail sales in April; that’s pretty good
  • -1.2% the decrease in retail sales in May; that’s really bad
  • sevennumber of months of increases before May’s decrease source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 May 2010 11:07

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Biz: Private businesses less responsible for people’s income than ever

  • 41.9% of personal income comes from private wages and salaries
  • 17.9%of personal income comes from government programs source

 

  • » What this means: Simply put, it’s an unsustainable trend. The government raises money through taxes on wages and salaries, and with many people out of work and benefits making up a larger share of personal income, the government is on the hook for more of people’s collective personal incomes. Part of this, yes, is due to the stimulus. Once the economy gets back in tip-top shape, will the numbers go up? Maybe. But the numbers were going down even before the recession due to the increase in benefits.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

21 May 2010 13:18

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Biz, U.S.: BP’s oil-siphoning tally looks less impressive than it did yesterday

  • 5,000 number of barrels BP said it was recovering per day yesterday
  • 2,200 number of barrels the company says it’s recovering per day today source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 May 2010 10:41

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Biz: Fewer people making jobless claims; workers starting to get lazy

  • 7,000 fewer initial jobless claims
    than last week (it’s still fairly high,
    at 444,000, though)
  • 3.6% increase in worker productivity
    this quarter the smallest increase
    in a while source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Apr 2010 20:13

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Tech: Microsoft’s great quarter not amazing; Wall Street whines loudly

  • +6% Microsoft’s boost in sales this quarter, a new record for the company
  • +35% Microsoft’s rise in income this quarter, great but not eye-popping
  • -4.5% fall in share prices after the news; where’s the love, guys? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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