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Did You Know?
In the first quarter of 2025, domestic investment, particularly private domestic investment, saw a notable increase, rising 21.9% during the period. The overall US economy contracted 0.3% in the first quarter, partly due to a decrease in government spending and an increase in imports - 41.3% - in anticipation of higher tariffs.....all before the tariff announcements of April 2nd.
Did You Know?
And you thought home insurance rates were only rising in Florida and California.... The top five biggest increases in 2024 were in:
- Utah: +59%
- Illinois: +50%
- Arizona: +48%
- Pennsylvania: +44%
- Nebraska: +35%
Florida was #13 and California #21 on the list.... These are the factors that have driven up rates:
- Climate-related: Wildfires, flooding and severe weather events are damaging more homes
- Inflation: Rising labor, construction and building material costs have made homes more expensive to build and repair.
- Reinsurance: The reinsurance market is tight and rates have increased as providers pass the cost onto customers
- Weak regulatory oversight: State insurance commissioners have given insurers much more leeway in raising premiums.
These are some ways to reduce premiums, besides shopping around for competitive bids:
- Bundle home and car insurance
- Evaluate what coverage you do and don't need.
- Raise deductibles.
- Improve your credit.
Did You Know?
Top 5 influencer marketing trends
Micro-influencers take the lead
Authenticity reigns supreme over polished content
Money is moving from paid advertising to influencer marketing
Say yes to long-term relationships
Video will become the dominant format
Did You Know?
UPS will shut 73 leased and owned buildings by the end of June and reduce its labor force by 20,000 people amidst concerns about the economy slowing. The company expects to save $3.5 billion from its initiatives in 2025. (WSJ)
Did You Know?
Where does the fabric on your couch come from? US Textile mills employ about 85,500 people in the U.S, a nearly 80% drop from 25 years ago. In 2024 the U.S. imported more than 1.6 billion square meters of textiles used in making furniture, enough to cover about 300,000 football fields...... up about 60% from 1 billion square meters in 1999 while the US population has grown over 24% in that same period. The U.S. is still the 2nd-largest exporter of textile-related products in the world. The U.S. textile industry supply chain—from textile fibers to apparel and other sewn products—employed 471,046 workers in 2024. In 2019 the US produced $30 billion of yarns and fabrics via 112,575 jobs. Around 1000 times more people were employed to make a yard of fabric 100 years ago compared to today. In 1942 the textile industry employed 1,34 million people....by 1965 it had dropped almost 68% to 800,000 people. In 2024, the U.S. produced approximately 14.41 million bales of cotton.....up 30% since 1980. higher productivity, far fewer jobs.
Did You Know?
The newish 7% State capital gains tax in Washington State on sales exceeding $250,000 didn't apply to Jeff Bezos who made his fortune in the state.....because he moved to Florida ...so when he sells 12 million worth of shares for roughly $2 billion he saves $140 million in taxes....yup, the rich are mobile! Several states have lost billions in revenue because wealthy people have relocated to other lower tax states.
Did You Know?
California State is now the fourth largest economy in the world - with a higher nominal 2024 GDP ($4.1 trillion) than the country of Japan....higher than the countries of India and the UK too! California certainly has its challenges, but wow.....that is impressive on any level! California's population is about 39.5 million and Japan's 123 million.....which makes California also 3X more economically productive per capita. California's GDP is almost double that of Russia's even though Russia's population is 369% larger.
Did You Know?
Cape Town was voted the #1 city in the world for 2025 based on a survey of over 18,500 TIME OUT global participants.... Cape Town faced fierce competition from the likes of Bangkok (#2), Melbourne (#4), London (#5), and New York City (#3). New Orleans , Chicago and Los Angeles also made the TOP 40. Cape Town scored highly across the 44 different criteria used in the survey, with 82% of Capetonians describing their city as beautiful, and 97% of locals saying it makes them happy. Cape Town has huge challenges too: massive unemployment, poverty, reliance on government support and homelessness. Their young mayor has managed however to spur lots of affordable housing, improved services and infrastructure and has incentivized keeping the city clean by paying people for every bag of garbage collected.... being extremely reliant on tourism for jobs and revenue compels them to keep the city attractive - and safe - for visitors.
Did You Know?
DERBY-FLATION? The total purse of tomorrow's Kentucky Derby is around $5 million, more than double what it was 10 years ago.
Did You Know?
South American wealth is set to get a boost: MercadoLibre - the "AMAZON" of South America - went public on the Nasdaq in 2007 at $18 a share - it’s now trading at over $2,200 - and is the most valuable company in Latin America, with a market cap of $112 billion.
"A 3% revenue dip at LVMH isn’t about product fatigue or failure. It’s about affluent consumers saying, ‘Not now',"
- Chandler Mount, Affluent Consumer Research Company.
Inspiration of the Week:
"If you live in the past, you're depressed. If you live in the future, you're anxious. If you live in the present, you're at peace.” Lao Tzu
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