News Story of the Day: the wealth of Americans is the most it has ever been in the nation’s history. For the first time since its inception, U.S. wealth has surpassed $100 trillion in the first quarter of 2018, up from $99.7 trillion in the previous quarter.
Here are other highlights of the Federal Reserve’s Household Wealth Report (First Quarter):
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Net worth for households and non-profit groups rose by 1% q/q, or $1.03t, to $100.8t, according to Fed’s financial accounts report, previously known as flow of funds survey,
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Value of corporate equities declined $290b after surging $867b,
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Household debt increased at a 3.3% annual rate after a 4.6% pace at the end of 2017,
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Household real-estate assets rose by $432.4b; owner’s equity as share of total real-estate holdings climbed to 59.7% from 58.9%,
It’s going to be a bloodbath out there when the bubble bursts.
Chart of the Day: so, who is the most at risk to U.S. protectionism (destructionism)? Right now, Canada and Mexico are at the top of the list, but there are a dozen of other countries that will endure the pain of the 18th century trade practice.
Illustration of the Day: Rosie O’Donnell, are you OK?
Quote of the Day: as a followup to an earlier post, here is former President Ronald Reagan warning about the dangers of protectionism and the virtues of free trade:
Over the past 200 years, not only has the argument against tariffs and trade barriers won nearly universal agreement among economists, but it has also proven itself in the real world, where we have seen free trading nations prosper while protectionist countries fall behind.
America’s most recent experiment with protectionism was a disaster for the working men and women of this country. When Congress passed the Smoot-Hawley tariff in 1930, we were told that it would protect America from foreign competition and save jobs in this country – the same line we hear today. The actual result was the Great Depression, the worst economic catastrophe in our history; one out of four Americans were thrown out of work. Two years later, when I cast my first ballot for President, I voted for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who opposed protectionism and called for the repeal of that disastrous tariff. Ever since that time, the American people have stayed true to our heritage by rejecting the siren song of protectionism.
Tweet of the Day: the government and busybodies in neighborhoods have nothing better to do than hassle children running lemonade stands. Well, one company has decided to come to their rescue. Good for them!
Kids across the country are getting busted for operating lemonade stands without a permit. We’re taking the lead to #SaveLemonadeStands by paying for kids’ fines + permits this year. For every RT this gets we’ll donate $1 (up to $500,000) to help kids next year + beyond.
— CountryTime (@CountryTime) June 7, 2018
Video of the Day: this week, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Masterpiece Cake, which was a victory for conservatives and libertarians. But did it miss the point?
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