…last week, oil prices are suddenly in free-fall mode. The dramatic reversal should bring relief to drivers (and nervous central bankers) very soon. US oil prices plunged by 5.6% to…

…market, $386.4 million in the large group market, and $321.1 million in the small group market. Although $1.1 billion in rebates is not a lot of money in the multi-trillion…

…par—100—but in any event greater than the current market value). I’m inclined to argue there is optimism in the current market that will not be there in two weeks: it’s…

…artificial selection (a.k.a. human-directed selection, a.k.a….breeding). In many cases, the visible hand of government creates more efficient markets. Free-market advocates tend to ignore the reality that market-generated constraints often act…

…price discovery is socially useful. I don’t think that market price discovery is socially useful. Recall it can be very hard to beat the market even if market prices are…

…would share them. First, like recessions these is not a set definition of a bear market. The generally accepted rule of thumb is over a 20% market decline. Since I’m…

…that there were so little competition in “the market for superpremium ice cream” that choice was narrowed to a single brand and prices became astronomical. What if “the market for…

…force participation ratio is low because of this weak labor market – i.e., because people have been involuntarily excluded from the labor market. Today’s employment report gives me a chance…

Mark Thoma had a tweet asking if the stock market is in a bubble. I do not think so. The market PE on trailing operating earnings is 15.5 and my…

…the market’s freedom, and will inevitably go wrong. By this view, if some people aren’t paid enough to live on, the market has determined they aren’t worth enough. If others…