PRICES & SPENDING • Feb 2013 • Volume 2 / Number 4
Gold prices during and after the Great Recession
Gold, a highly valuable precious metal, has many practical uses that span multiple industries. Historically, one of the primary uses of gold has been to make ornamental objects, such as jewelry. Malleability is one of gold’s special properties, allowing it to be hammered into sheets, drawn into wires, and cast into different shapes.
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Recent articles
Coal: A key player in expanded U.S. energy exports
In a November 2012 report that received significant attention in the media, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted that the United States will be nearly energy self-sufficient by the year 2035. Justifications for this claim include reports of declining oil consumption, the unlocking of natural gas resources through new technologies, and overall increases in U.S. energy production.
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Patterns of homeownership, delinquency, and foreclosure among youngest baby boomers
The recent decline in the housing market was preceded by strong growth for over a decade. From the fourth quarter of 1995 to the fourth quarter of 2005, homeownership rates increased from 65.1 percent to 69.0 percent.1 In the 1990s and early 2000s, mortgage originations grew six-fold, from $459 billion in 1990 to $2.9 trillion in 2005. Over this same period, mortgage delinquency rates (around 4.5 percent) and foreclosure rates (around 1.2 percent) remained low between 2000 and 2005.2
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Injuries, illnesses, and fatal injuries in mining in 2010
Fatal injuries in the mining industry declined throughout the 20th century. From 1900 to 1945 there were more than 1,000 fatal injuries every year in coal mining alone, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) began collecting fatal injury data in 1992, there have been no more than 60 fatal injuries in coal mining in any given year, and fewer than 200 fatal injuries per year for all workers in the mining industry as a whole. Despite such improvements, fatal injury rates in mining remain more than four times higher than the average for all industries, and high-profile accidents continue to make headlines.
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