Category: The Economy

Three-course Valentine’s prix fixe dinner for 2: Bisque of Maine Lobster, Duck Confit Cassoulet, Muscat Poached Apricot Tart. The tab: $70 per person—or $100 if you want the optional wine pairings. At these prices, it’s hard to believe there’s a recession on—but then, it’s even harder to woo a girl with a bucket of Popeye’s. Lots of actual…

Roughly 1 in 1.72 (58%) American adults own a credit card, but an additional $620 billion in cold, hard currency is in circulation. That’s a lot of money—more than $2,000 per American in fact—but most of it actually does not circulate in the United States. Instead, a report from the United States Treasury Department (PDF) estimates that roughly 370…

Someone has been saying yes to drugs, and the proof is likely in your wallet. According to a study released in August by scientists from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, up to 90% of paper money in the US carries traces of cocaine. The researchers analyzed 234 bills, in denominations from $1 to $100, from…