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

The game of musical chairs in the jobs market intensifies to all-time highs

March JOLTS report: the game of musical chairs in the jobs market intensifies to all-time highs In March, as this morning’s Census Bureau JOLTS report shows, the game of musical job chairs in the jobs market has actually intensified to all-time levels. Specifically, both job openings and quits made all-time highs, and total separations during […]

What effect will over-ruling Roe have on public opinion and the mid-term elections?

Assuming the Supreme Court issues a sweeping opinion overruling Roe, how will this affect the upcoming midterm elections?  This question is being widely examined, e.g., here, here, here.  My take is that the key issue is whether the personal stories of women (and teenagers) affected by abortion restrictions get told. First, a brief review of […]

Manufacturing and construction start out the month with positive prints

Manufacturing and construction start out the month with positive prints As per usual, the new month starts with updates on manufacturing and construction. The ISM manufacturing index, and especially its new orders subindex, is an important short leading indicator for the production sector. This remained positive, but there has been a definite slowing in the […]

Why Is Any of This a Surprise?

As CNN reports . . . “Sen. Susan Collins: Referencing the Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade (Politico) is ‘completely inconsistent’ with what Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh ‘said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office.’” Wow, whata surprise! Political appointees to SCOTUS might fib a little, ok more than […]

Roasting McConnell and his attacks on SCOTUS Independence

Jacob Seitz, “Twitter Users Roast Mitch McConnell After Statement on Roe v. Wade (dailydot.com)“ Comments from Twitter , , , As one commenter put it bluntly, “Get Bent McConnell.” In the statement, Republican Senate Leader McConnell refers to the leaked majority opinion drafted by Justice Samuel Alito as a “stunning breach” and an “attack on […]

March New Home Sales Reported 8.6% Lower on Record Prices

RJS, MarketWatch 666 Summary: New Home Sales Reported 8.6% Lower on Record Prices in March, after Prior Months Sales Revised Much Higher The Census report on New Residential Sales for March (pdf) estimated that new single family homes were selling at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 763,000 homes during the month, which was 8.6 percent (±12.9 […]

Stealth

First the usual warning – I am both ignorant and intellectually arrogant.  It should be assumed that I don’t know what I am talking about. Stealth technology hides airplanes, drones, and cruise missiles from radar which uses high frequency radio waves.  It does not hide them from radar which uses radio waves of wavelength a […]