Wouldn't it be nice if we could actually save time...you know gather-up the time we waste and actually put it into a bottle for our future use?  In many aspects of life disparities exist that dramatically differentiate us. For instance, there are the:

• rich & poor
• educated & uneducated
• handsome & less handsome
• healthy & infirmed

The great equalizer is time - we all have the same 24 hours each day and what we make of it matters to our family, friends, employer and of course to ourselves.  One of the most poignant talks I ever experienced regarding the value of good time management was titled The Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams by associate professor Randy Pausch of Carnegie Mellon University, who delivered an abridged version of his last lecture on an October 2007 Oprah show.  One of many things that struck me was about time; he said “Being successful doesn’t make you manage your time well. Managing your time well makes you successful.”  This statement carries significant weight because Randy was delivering his last lecture after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died shortly thereafter in July of 2008 but provided us with a profound reminder that life is precious and we need to use our time, as long or short a span as it is, wisely and deliberately.

[More]

By Sue Z. Hart, President of NAWIC Puget Sound Chapter.

A topic that bleeds heavy on my heart this month is the state of the economy. I know we have been here a while, and there are some signs that it is starting to slowly turn around. Money and position have never been a driving force for me, and yet it is a very important part of how we are able to live. People on the other hand are a priority. How the economy is affecting people I care about bothers me.

This is not the place to talk politics. We need to do our part by voting and being involved. Sometimes who and what we vote for isn’t enough, and then we must work within those guidelines.

Mother Theresa was known to turn down invitations to attend anti-war rallies but said she would be happy to attend a rally for peace. Some would say they are the same thing, but no, they are not. One focuses the attention to what we don’t like and the other focuses on what we want. Which do you think generates a more progressive energy? If we are fighting, we are losing. Regardless of the economy and our politics “we all bleed red.” Believe and be passionate in what you do but not at the cost of another persons life, physically or emotionally.

[More]

By Matthew Gardner, Gardner Economics LLC
October 4, 2010

What to Watch This Week

• Orders for aircraft gave overall factory order a boost in July, but it is likely that this will not be seen again in the August data. We will see a slight (0.1 percent) decline in this number.
• Pending home sales, which rose modestly last month after the sharp drop seen post tax credit, will likely see further modest gains. But, to put his in perspective, we are still almost 20 percent below the same period last year.
• Mortgage applications, which have been rising, should see further modest gains in purchase applications. However, the top line figure will likely still be down as refinancing continues to slow (see a discussion of this lower in this column).
• Consumer credit, which has been on the decline since August of 2008, is certain to continue to drop from the July figure of $827 billion. I am putting the decline at a little over $1 billion.
• By far the most important release of the week comes in the form of non-farm payroll data for September. I believe that we will see a split figure for the month with overall payrolls declining by about 15,000 (still a hangover from Census hiring), but private payrolls will expand by about 50,000. We have seen the private sector expand modestly every month in 2010, and I anticipate that this will continue.

[More]

By Matthew Gardner, Gardner Economics LLC
August 23, 2010

What to Watch This Week

• Existing home sales for the month of July will be announced on Tuesday, and I expect that we will see further declines to an annualized rate of 5.14 million units from June's number of 5.37 million. We will continue to experience a "payback" following the high demand from buyers that took advantage of the tax credit, which will weigh down transactions. Additionally, and as I have said before, I am noting that buyers appear to be in no big hurry to transact, and this too will pull the number down.
  Year-over-year home prices have seen some stabilization in recent months, and it will be interesting to see where this number ends up considering 32 percent of June’s transactions were distressed sales which generally sell for lower prices.
• Durable goods orders for July should swing upward from its negative figure last June. Manufacturing has been hit hard, and I am hopeful for a good figure here.
• New home sales, which jumped last month, are likely to see an additional uptick, but I am slightly cautious here. The increase that we saw in June was partly attributable to a downward revision in May's figures. Still, I am looking for an increase to 338,000 units (annualized) from 330,000 in June.
• Initial unemployment claims, which were not at all good last week, are likely to remain elevated at just below the 500,000 mark. This is certainly not good, but I discuss my reasoning for not being totally despondent with the numbers below.
• The latest estimate for U.S. GDP is likely to be revised lower, and I am looking for a figure of 1.4 percent from the initial estimate of 2.4 percent. All indications are that the government overestimated growth last quarter.
• Revised consumer sentiment figures for August will remain basically where the advanced figures were (or maybe just a hair higher) than the 69.6 number announced earlier this month.

[More]

By Matthew Gardner, Gardner Economics LLC
August 2, 2010

What to Watch This Week

• General consensus is that we will see a reduction in construction spending when figures are announced today; However, I am not so sure. The improved sales that were announced last week may lead to a moderate increase in residential construction, but this may also be offset by weakness in the commercial sector.
• Personal incomes should rise, although the increase will be very modest. My model is calling for a 0.2 percent increase following May's 0.4 percent rise. We are not in an inflationary environment at the present time.
• Auto and truck sales numbers are also likely to see a modest bump that will be led by autos, but we will likely see a reduction in truck sales. Numbers are, however, well off the pre-recessionary levels.
• I will be focused on payroll numbers when they are announced on Friday, and I am predicting that we will see a modest rise following the 125,000 decline seen in June. As I mentioned earlier this month, June's decline was a result of laying off 225,000 Census workers, and in fact, private payrolls expanded by 83,000. I am looking for a modest gain in the July figures.
• Consumer Credit, which has been on the decline since October 2008, will continue its downward trend. We saw a very substantial reduction in revolving debt levels (-10.5 percent year-over-year), and this will continue to slide as banks contract further and consumers continue to try to deleverage.

  [More]