On April 1, 2006, the financial news trumpeted that the FASB was taking, as Andrei Postelnicu put it in the Financial Times, ’significant steps in reforming the way companies report pension liabilities.’ The Financial Times article (FT.com, April 1, 2006) goes on to say, ‘The move aims to increase the transparency of financing for […]

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, “total January exports of $114.4 billion and imports of $182.9 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $68.5 billion. Total 2005 exports of $1,272.2 billion and imports of $1,995.8 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $723.6 billion.” The January trade deficit, annualized, represents a […]

Federal Reserve flow of funds table F105 shows that the cost of state and local government to citizens has been steadily escalating over the last five years. Taxes and other receipts of state and local government increased 2.7% in 2002, 5.5% in 2003, 6.2% in 2004, and 6.7% in 2005. Most state and local government are not […]