Economy News

from AIER

Established 1999

New England, USA

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Daily Economy

  • •

    Business Investment Shows Some Life

    Durable goods orders were flat in August, but core capital goods posted their third straight gain, according to data released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday. Orders for durable goods – items meant to last three years or more – were unchanged in August following a 3.6 percent jump in July. In general, durable-goods orders…

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    AIER’s Beautiful Campus In Early Autumn

    The leaves haven’t changed much yet, but the grass is still a lovely green on AIER’s scenic campus in the Berkshires as autumn sets in. I snapped these photos during a late afternoon earlier this week.

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    Facing Criticism of ‘Value Added’ Teacher Evaluations

    In light of my recent research brief about teacher value-added models, which estimate teachers’ contribution to student achievement, I was interested to read a recent Atlantic article by E.D. Hirsch. Prof. Hirsch has been an influential voice in education reform for decades, and from the article’s title, “Don’t Blame the Teachers,” one can guess that…

  • •

    New Home Sales Pull Back in August

      Sales of new single-family homes fell in August after posting strong gains for much of the past year. Sales came in at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 609,000, down from 659,000 in July, a drop of 10.7 percent.  However, that is 33 percent above the September 2015 rate of 457,000. New home sales have…

  • •

    The Value of Practical Experience

      Picture: 2016-2017 academic year interns at AIER. From L to R: Sakshi Pareek (Drexel University); Fahd Zia (Lee High School) ; AIER’s Max Gulker (standing); Kevin Deptula (Williams College); Jacob Broude (Williams College). When AIER interns arrived on campus last week, their academic counselors were happy that students would be getting practical experience in…

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    My Mini Days

    The car was a wreck when I found it. It was British Racing Green and had been left to rot under a spruce tree.

  • •

    The MINI: At Globalization’s Crossroads

    Not too long after World War II, the United Kingdom was second only to the United States as the   largest builder of cars, and the biggest exporter. Think about the world order in those days: This was before the auto industries of Japan and Germany, or for that matter, China began exporting their products.  Auto…

  • •

    The Value-Added Teacher Modeling Conundrum

    “Value-added” teacher models are being used less at the same time that evidence of their usefulness is increasing, according to a new research brief out today from the American Institute for Economic Research. Value-added models show the difference between how students perform on a standardized test, and how they were expected to perform. Such models…

  • The Value of a Sullied Vacation

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    The Value of a Sullied Vacation

    Some workers get one vacation per year, so when a vacation goes wrong, the loss beyond money is the distress of losing that trip as well as the loss of benefits from having had a week to relax

  • Warren Buffett’s Portfolio is Irrelevant to Us

    •

    Warren Buffett’s Portfolio is Irrelevant to Us

    I was recently at a lecture about investing and the inevitable question was posed to the lecturer at the end of his presentation: “So, how are YOU invested?” The question came from a good place. The attendee just wanted to know how the lecturer applies his knowledge to his actual investments. The problem is that…

  • •

    Business Investment Shows Some Life

    Durable goods orders were flat in August, but core capital goods posted their third straight gain, according to data released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday. Orders for durable goods – items meant to last three years or more – were unchanged in August following a 3.6 percent jump in July. In general, durable-goods orders…

  • •

    AIER’s Beautiful Campus In Early Autumn

    The leaves haven’t changed much yet, but the grass is still a lovely green on AIER’s scenic campus in the Berkshires as autumn sets in. I snapped these photos during a late afternoon earlier this week.

  • •

    Facing Criticism of ‘Value Added’ Teacher Evaluations

    In light of my recent research brief about teacher value-added models, which estimate teachers’ contribution to student achievement, I was interested to read a recent Atlantic article by E.D. Hirsch. Prof. Hirsch has been an influential voice in education reform for decades, and from the article’s title, “Don’t Blame the Teachers,” one can guess that…

  • •

    New Home Sales Pull Back in August

      Sales of new single-family homes fell in August after posting strong gains for much of the past year. Sales came in at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 609,000, down from 659,000 in July, a drop of 10.7 percent.  However, that is 33 percent above the September 2015 rate of 457,000. New home sales have…

  • •

    The Value of Practical Experience

      Picture: 2016-2017 academic year interns at AIER. From L to R: Sakshi Pareek (Drexel University); Fahd Zia (Lee High School) ; AIER’s Max Gulker (standing); Kevin Deptula (Williams College); Jacob Broude (Williams College). When AIER interns arrived on campus last week, their academic counselors were happy that students would be getting practical experience in…

  • •

    My Mini Days

    The car was a wreck when I found it. It was British Racing Green and had been left to rot under a spruce tree.

  • •

    The MINI: At Globalization’s Crossroads

    Not too long after World War II, the United Kingdom was second only to the United States as the   largest builder of cars, and the biggest exporter. Think about the world order in those days: This was before the auto industries of Japan and Germany, or for that matter, China began exporting their products.  Auto…

  • •

    The Value-Added Teacher Modeling Conundrum

    “Value-added” teacher models are being used less at the same time that evidence of their usefulness is increasing, according to a new research brief out today from the American Institute for Economic Research. Value-added models show the difference between how students perform on a standardized test, and how they were expected to perform. Such models…

  • The Value of a Sullied Vacation

    •

    The Value of a Sullied Vacation

    Some workers get one vacation per year, so when a vacation goes wrong, the loss beyond money is the distress of losing that trip as well as the loss of benefits from having had a week to relax

  • Warren Buffett’s Portfolio is Irrelevant to Us

    •

    Warren Buffett’s Portfolio is Irrelevant to Us

    I was recently at a lecture about investing and the inevitable question was posed to the lecturer at the end of his presentation: “So, how are YOU invested?” The question came from a good place. The attendee just wanted to know how the lecturer applies his knowledge to his actual investments. The problem is that…