In the mail I recently got an advertisement pack that contained various business coupons. Huntington Bank had this offer if you opened a checking account:
I then took a look at the back for the details. Get ready to get an IRS 1099-INT tax form if you accept the $150.
Dr. Ed Yardeni has put together a post showing the consumer has saved dollars YTD on gasoline prices, the savings is being eaten up by higher medical expenses.
Last week, I observed that while consumers are spending less of their budgets on gasoline, they are spending more on health care. The latest data through January show that the percentage of current-dollar consumption for gasoline plunged from last year’s high of 3.2% to 2.1% in January. Consumers saved $133 billion (saar) on gasoline over this period.
On the other hand, the percentage of their outlays for health care goods and services rose from last year’s low of 20.0% during March to 20.6% during January. I received lots of inquiries about this topic. Most readers want to know if this is attributable to Obamacare, which seems to have raised health insurance premiums, deductibles, and copays. I think so, but I don’t have the data to corroborate this conjecture.
Health care consumption includes spending paid for by both insurance and government programs, as well as out-of-pocket costs. Presumably and anecdotally, the latter have risen sharply. However, that wouldn’t necessarily bloat overall spending, though more out-of-pocket outlays would depress spending on other goods and services.
JustFactsDaily.com (link here) put out another question pertaining to crimes committed by non-U.S. residents in Texas. Here is the question and answer:
Over the course of their criminal careers, how many crimes have the 145,000 non-U.S. citizens booked into local Texas jails between June 1, 2011 and December 31, 2014 been convicted of thus far?
Correct Answer
More than 100,000
Just Facts obtained this information from the Texas Department of Public Safety (link here). Here is the breakdown of the criminal offenses and how serious of individuals law enforcement are dealing with.
According DHS status indicators, over 145,000 criminal aliens have been booked into local Texas jails between June 1, 2011 and December 31, 2014. During their criminal careers, these criminal aliens were charged with more than 389,000 criminal offenses. Those arrests include 795 homicide charges; 45,641 assault charges; 12,029 burglary charges; 45,608 drug charges; 496 kidnapping charges; 28,507 theft charges; 31,266 obstructing police charges; 2,648 robbery charges; 4,039 sexual assault charges; and 5,952 weapons charges. Of the total criminal aliens arrested in that timeframe, over 96,000 or 53% were identified by DHS status as being in the US illegally at the time of their last arrest.
According to DPS criminal history records, those criminal charges have thus far resulted in over 181,000 convictions including 336 homicide convictions; 17,382 assault convictions; 5,513 burglary convictions; 23,920 drug convictions; 172 kidnapping convictions; 13,097 theft convictions; 16,128 obstructing police convictions; 1,159 robbery convictions; 1,913 sexual assault convictions; and 2,638 weapons convictions.
Of the criminal aliens associated with these arrest and convictions, over 95,000 or 66% were identified by DHS status as being in the US illegally at the time of arrest.
Just Facts Daily posted the following question:
In the U.S., what portion of all trash (measured by weight) is recycled, burned for energy, or composted?
Answer: 46%
You can read more facts on trash at JustFactsDaily.com
Joel Kotkin published an article titled “Misunderstanding the Millennials” (read here). Very fascinating data driven article which debunks the idea that millennials (generation born after 1983) are seeking their place of residency in urban environments.
Data obtained in this article shapes a lot of business decision making for various entities and why listening to theorists who “want” urbanization compared to what the consumer wants is critical. Here are some of the findings:
in a 2010 survey by Frank Magid and Associates – where would be their “ideal place to live,” more millennials identified suburbs than previous generations, including boomers. Another survey, published last year by the National Association of Homebuilders, found that 75 percent of millennials favor settling in a single-family house, 90 percent preferring the suburbs or even a more rural area but only 10 percent the urban core.
only 20 percent of millennials live in urban core districts; nearly 90 percent of millennial growth in major metropolitan areas from 2000-10 occurred in the suburbs and exurbs.
A full 82 percent of adult millennials surveyed said it was “important” to have an opportunity to own a home. This rose to 90 percent among married millennials, who generally represent the first cohort of their generation to start settling down.
Another survey, this one by the online banking company TD Bank, found that 84 percent of renters ages 18-34 intend to purchase a home. Still another survey, this one from Better Homes and Gardens, found that three in four saw homeownership as “a key indicator of success.”
In a 2014 survey by the Demand Institute (sponsored by Nielsen and the Conference Board), millennials also were found to favor suburbs, embrace homeownership and crave more space, much like previous generations.
The numbers are in and sports investing broke records in 2014 for betting revenue. ESPN supplied the breakdown:
The state’s 187 sportsbooks won $227.04 million off of the $3.9 billion wagered on sports in 2014. Both amounts are all-time records, according to Nevada Gaming Control.
Football, per usual, carried the load. The sportsbooks won $113.73 million on college and pro football in 2014, a giant 40.73 percent increase from 2013. Overall, $1.74 billion was bet on football in 2014, $12 million more than in 2013. Nevada Gaming Control does not track pro and college football separately, but sportsbook managers estimate the NFL accounts for around 55-60 percent of their annual football handle. From September through December, the books are up $98.16 million on football.
In comparison, the books won $54.2 million on basketball and $21.2 million on baseball in 2014. Both numbers were down, 8.36 percent and 26.88 percent, respectively, from 2013.
Found this interesting data nugget here via Chinese Restaurant News:
there are nearly 41,000 Chinese restaurants in the United States, three times the number of McDonalds franchise units (and at $17 billion in annual sales, at a par with the gargantuan hamburger chain).
Hoosier Econ 