Tuesday, January 03, 2006
My take on the economy
-As some of the overall increased energy costs were passed through to core prices of goods and services, people had less money to spend on alcohol and became more optimistic about jobs and the economy.
-Increased optimism reflexively led to job growth, which in turn fueled raises in teen allowances.
-The pullback in energy prices to pre hurricane levels fueled early holiday consumer spending particularly among teens whose allowances increased.
-Demand for retro-style t-shirts, with depictions of 7-UP, The Pink Panther, Betty Boop, and AC-DC, made in China drove a wedge further into the ever-widening trade deficit.
-Core inflation remained subdued as China manipulated its currency in order to dominate the U.S. retail apparel market for retro-style t-shirts.
-Moderate labor compensation gains coupled with relatively wide profit margins are expected to lead to larger than expected executive bonuses supporting the housing sector, which has been propped up by speculation among people with more money than they know what to do with.
-Meanwhile, companies are expected to increase their purchase of gift cards given as employee Christmas gifts, which employees are expected to use purchasing retro-style t-shirts, further exacerbating the trade deficit problem.
posted at 6:19 PM
