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

Negative May and YoY real retail sales add to the foreboding signals of a recession next year

Negative May and YoY real retail sales add to the foreboding signals of a recession next year Nominal retail sales for the month of May declined -0.3%, and April was revised down by -0.2% to +0.7%. This reduces April’s number, after inflation to +0.4%, followed by a “real” decline in May of -1.2% after rounding. […]

Pence’s Letter of Explanation Written on January 5th

As taken from “Letters from an American,” June 12, 2022, Prof. Heather Cox Richardson “Yesterday, Politico’s Betsy Woodruff Swan and Kyle Cheney reported on January 5, 2021, then – vice president Pence’s attorney Greg Jacob wrote a three-page memo concluding what the president and his supporters were demanding Pence do the next day would break the 1887 […]

April Trade Deficit Decreases on Lower Imports

RJS: MarketWatch 666 ~~~~~~~~ Summary: April Trade Deficit Decreased by a record 19.1%, Led by Lower Imports of Consumer Goods and Industrial Supplies and Materials ~~~~~~~~ Our trade deficit was 19.1% lower in April, as our exports increased while our imports decreased. The  Commerce Dept report on our international trade in goods and services for […]

Auto and Light Truck Emission Rules are Still Problematic

“New Auto Emissions Rules Have a Loophole You Can Drive a Light-Duty Truck Through” (treehugger.com), Lloyd Alter, December 2021 ~~~~~~~~ President Biden and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have revised the existing greenhouse gas emissions standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks. Rolling back in four years the rollbacks the Trump administration implemented to change […]

What Mo Said

All this we’ve been hearing about the sanctity of the Second Amendment? Seems that what the Second really means is that Americans have the right to buy assault weapons to use to exercise their right to overthrow the government. That big surge in AR-15 purchases after the election of Barack Obama? Turns out that it […]

Weekly Indicators for June 6 – 10 and a comment on COVID

 by New Deal democrat Weekly Indicators for June 6 – 10 and a comment on COVID I’m still traveling, so light posting for a couple days more. In fact, I neglected to post a link to my Weekly Indicators on Saturday. A bit tardy, here it is. Conditions across all time frames do not look so good, […]