Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Classicalism and Revolution

Classicalism and Revolution, Econospeak, Barkley Rosser  For those of you of a branch of Orthodox Christianity still using the Julian calendar, such as the Russian branch, Merry Christmas! I am tempted to comment on the situation in Kazakhstan, but I think we do not know what is going on there yet, so not now. Instead […]

Oil supply near 10 yr low; big hit to gasoline output & demand

Commenter and Blogger RJS, Focus on Fracking US oil supplies near a 10 year low; biggest hit to gasoline output & demand since 2020 lockdownStrategic Petroleum Reserve at a new 19 year low; total crude supplies near a 10 year low; gasoline production and gasoline demand fall by most in 21 months; gasoline supplies rise by most in 21 […]

More signs of real tightness, while new jobs added are (seasonally?) disappointing

December jobs report: more signs of real tightness, while new jobs added are (seasonally?) disappointing There were three big questions I had going into this jobs report: 1. whether the big decrease in new jobless claims to a half-century low would translate to another big top-line number in the jobs report2. is wage growth holding up? […]

First post on Angry Bear 2003

(Dan here…just a ‘for example’ of the econ blogosphere for your curiosity) February 14, 2003 3:20 am Income and Consumption by Angry Bear So here’s the bit of information that lead me to finally decide to put my two cents on the web. Dave Neiwert reports that the 2003 Economic Report of the President contains language referring […]

Initial and continuing jobless claims: 2022 starts out where 2021 left off

Initial and continuing jobless claims: 2022 starts out where 2021 left off The labor market in 2022 started out where it left off in 2021, as new claims increased slightly, by 7,000, to 207,000. The 4 week average of new claims increased 4.750 to 204,500: Readings this low haven’t been seen in half a century. […]

Imagine, if you will, a game of musical chairs

November JOLTS report: imagine, if you will, a game of musical chairs, New Deal democrat Imagine a game like musical chairs, except that some players are the chairs (employers) as well as people who want to sit in the chairs (potential employees), and players, both sitters and chairs, are continually entering and exiting the game. […]

This Life: faith, work, and free time

This Life: faith, work, and free time The blurbs on the first few pages of Martin Hägglund’s This Life are so surprisingly accurate that it would be hard to describe the book with an original superlative. “Monumental!” “Powerful!” “Important!” “Electrifying!” “Profound, thoughtful, compelling, and insightful!” Those blurbs were not idle puffery. All that is left for me to […]

Sherman Act, Part 2: The Small Farmer Pitchfork Army

Agricultual Economist and Farmer Michael Smith, Sherman Act, Part 2: The Small Farmer Pitchfork Army Most are now aware of the Biden Administrations recent announcement and press briefing for a plan to combat prices in the meat industry. If not, you can find a bit of information here:  Readout of President Joe Biden’s Event with […]

Insurrection

To say that the Republican Party since Nixon had pandered to the lowest common denominator isn’t quite accurate, is it? Probably because the term is derived from the arithmetical least common denominator which makes one think of a unique number. Perhaps lowest common denominator was a more polite way of saying that the Republican Party […]

First data releases of 2022 confirm manufacturing strength, construction slowdown

First data releases of 2022 confirm manufacturing strength, construction slowdown The first December data, the forward-looking ISM manufacturing report, has been released. Yesterday construction spending for November was also released. Let’s take a look at both. The ISM index, especially its new orders subindex, is an important short leading indicator for the production sector. In […]