It has lost 14.8 percent of its purchasing power to inflation (in 2018 dollars) since then, and it now has 28.6 percent less purchasing power than it did in 1968. Indeed, if the federal minimum wage had kept up with worker productivity since 1968, the inflation-adjusted minimum pay would be $24 per hour. Should the […]
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Investors in gold and silver choose to buy precious metals to protect their money during recessions and other financial crises. Is it, however, worthwhile? Is it beneficial to diversify your portfolio by investing 10% to 15% of your money in gold and silver bars and coins? The stock market follows a cyclical pattern. They go
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Inflation, or the gradual increase in the price of goods and services over time, has a variety of positive and negative consequences. Inflation reduces purchasing power, or the amount of something that can be bought with money. Because inflation reduces the purchasing power of currency, customers are encouraged to spend and store up on products
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Correction: The original item on January 21, 2020 stated that the hourly wage was $24. On March 16, 2022, a spreadsheet error was discovered and repaired. The data in this page have been revised throughout. For a complete explanation, see Dean Baker’s post. Until 1968, the minimum wage not only kept pace with inflation, but
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Exchanges establish starting margin requirements for futures contracts as low as 5% or 10% of the contract to be traded. A futures account holder can open a long position in a crude oil futures contract for $100,000 by posting only $5,000 initial margin, or 5% of the contract value. In other words, the account holder
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The total monetary or market worth of all finished goods and services produced inside a country’s borders in a certain time period is known as GDP. It serves as a comprehensive scorecard of a country’s economic health because it is a wide measure of entire domestic production. What is the current GDP figure? Retail and
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Retail and wholesale trade industries led the increase in private inventory investment. The largest contributor to retail was inventory investment by automobile dealers. Increases in both products and services contributed to the increase in exports. Consumer products, foods, feeds, and drinks, as well as industrial supplies and materials, were major contributors to the growth in
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You might be wondering what futures are. A futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell a commodity or security at a predetermined price at a future date. The vast majority of futures contracts fail to deliver the underlying commodity or security. Because most futures transactions are purely speculative, they provide
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Gold has long been thought to be a good inflation hedge. In reality, many people have looked to gold as a “alternative currency,” especially in countries where the national currency is depreciating. When their own currency fails, these countries often resort to gold or other strong currencies. Gold is a genuine, tangible asset that, for
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Most people who follow the financial markets are aware that events in Asia and Europe can have an impact on the US market. How many times have you awoken to CNBC or Bloomberg reporting that European markets are down 2%, that futures are pointing to a weaker open, and that markets are trading below fair
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