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DID YOU KNOW?
Australia - the country that has experienced just 4 recessions in the past half century (1974-75, the second in 1982-83 a third in 1991-1992, and the most recent in 2020) - wants to reach 82% renewable energy by 2030. With 300 days of sun per year on average and lots of wind, this may be possible. GDP Annual Growth Rate in Australia has averaged 3.37% from 1960 until 2023, compared to the US's 3.12%. Currently coal accounts for about 75% of Australia's electricity generation, followed by gas (16%), hydro (5%) and wind around (2%). Australia's air quality is 123rd in the world (The US is 99th). The US has had 10 recessions since 1945.
DID YOU KNOW?
The current housing cycle began with accelerating prices in early 2020, continued with prices dipping in 2022, and ended early this summer when prices returned to their peak. This period was extreme by three measures:
- From February 2020 to the peak in 2022, prices soared by 45%—a rate that was matched only during the 2003-09 cycle.
- The acceleration, peak, fall, and recovery played out unusually quickly. The 1977 and 1989 cycles took 5 years. The 2003 cycle took 10 years. This one played out over 3.
- All regions participated in the volatility. In 2003-09, large cities drove most of the price action. This time prices boomed in even the sleepiest of small towns. (Aziz Sunderji)
DID YOU KNOW?
The small coastal community of Newport Coast, Calif., and its 92657 ZIP Code, located in Newport Beach in Orange County, had the priciest median residential listing price in the U.S. in July 2023, according to data from Realtor.com. (WSJ)
DID YOU KNOW?
Want to see how China's economic pains influence global markets - including ours - quickly? Tesla's car prices have come down again (almost 20% on some models!) because of China market pains....and competition! (Mercedes just showed a 450-mile-range EV that can re-charge in 15 minutes for an additional 200 miles)......this equates to DEflation.
DID YOU KNOW?
The US maple syrup industry is around $1.5 billion! Vermont, New York and Maine are the top producing states, and produce about 80% of the maple syrup in the nation. (Lauren’s roommate is from Vermont and they make maple syrup)
DID YOU KNOW?
The top one percent of earners paid about 42% of the income tax revenue in the US, accounting for 10% of the government’s total federal tax revenue. Californian one percenters paid 16.13% of the national income tax, while New York’s paid 8.34%, Texas' paid 7.85% and Floridians paid 7.58%. (YAHOO)
DID YOU KNOW?
Electricity rates in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are double those in Louisiana, Arkansas and Washington! Louisiana benefits when natural gas prices are low and Washington derives about 65% of its electricity from hydro electricity which is consistently cheap and clean (although not 100% clean as the systems can emit methane). Hawaii and Alaska have the highest rates. Electricity rates in Kansas dropped the most in August.....almost 15%!
DID YOU KNOW?
The U.S. dollar is facing challenges from developing countries that are threatening its status as the global reserve currency. The BRICS group is at the forefront of challenging the U.S. dollar status. Nearly 2 dozen countries have already ditched the U.S. dollar fearing U.S. sanctions could hurt their economies and wanting to strengthen their own currencies and economies. In March 2023 the ASEAN block was the first to decide not to use the U.S dollar for cross-boarder transactions, followed by the BRICS alliance in August 2023.
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