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

Real retail sales back to negative YoY

 – by New Deal democrat The Bonddad Blog Here is today’s update on one of my favorite indicators: retail sales. In April they were unchanged on a nominal basis. Adjusted for inflation they declined -0.3% for the month. They are also down -6.2% from their 2021 peak and -2.9% since January 2023: On a YoY basis, they […]

February 2024, total net Electricity production

The good news is electricity productivity is up. Natural gas is fueling the productivity increase in the Americas while its usage decreased globally. Coal usage is down. Too bad Manchin did not move West Virginia to better economics. Fossil fuels are still a large part of the production of electricity. In February 2024, the total […]

Clarence Thomas’ Ruling Shocks Supreme Court Analysts

AB: For years, Clarence sat in silence and did not say much. It was only when Roberts took over, did he begin to make his mark as a justice. He will probably be remembered as one of the worst appointments to SCOTUS. Before his appointment, he told a story about dependency on welfare. Thomas opposed […]

Role Of Medicaid Accountable Care Orgs In Maternal Health

by Laura B. Attanasio and Kimberley H. Geissler Health Affairs This article is the latest in the Health Affairs Forefront series, Accountable Care for Population Health, featuring analysis and discussion of how to understand, design, support, and measure patient-centered, cost-efficient care under the umbrella of accountable care. ~~~~~~~~ The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of any industrialized […]

April consumer prices: still an interplay of gas and house prices, with a side helping of motor vehicle insurance

 – by New Deal democrat First, a programming note: I’ll post about retail sales later today. Consumer inflation in April continued essentially to be an interplay between shelter and gas prices, with a side helping of auto insurance and repairs. During late 2022 and early 2023, shelter was still accelerating or steady at a high […]

BP Softens tone on 2030 oil output cut to reassure investors

by Ron Bousso Reuters A brief on what BP is doing. My guess is they are going to cut output to drive the market. It could be that other oil companies could fill the gap or move with BP. However, they prefer trump in office so making Biden look bad is a realistic plan for […]

April producer prices reflect some building pressure from a strong economy with full employment

 – by New Deal democrat Tomorrow and Thursday a plethora of data will be released, on consumer inflation and spending, production, housing, and jobless claims. In the meantime today we got a chance to look at upstream pressures on inflation. And those upstream pressures do seem to be building slightly, reflecting a strong economy with […]

Schools in One Virginia County to Reinstate Confederate Names

Schools in One Virginia County to Reinstate Confederate Names, The New York Times, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar substack SUMMARY: After a meeting that lasted for hours, the Shenandoah County school board voted early Friday morning to restore the names of three Confederate officers to schools in the district. With the vote, the district appears to be the first […]