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

Killing us softly

mRNA vaccines proved transformational in the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, they’ve allowed a rapid pivot to attack new variants. They saved tens of millions of lives worldwide, and prevented long COVID in survivors. “Infectious disease experts say the mRNA technology used in vaccines is safe, and they credit its development during the first Trump administration […]

“Recession watch” for the economy as a whole

“Recession Watch” instituted for US economy, as economically weighted ISM indexes indicate present contraction  – by New Deal democrat Two months ago, in response to the new orders components of the economically weighted ISM manufacturing and services indexes, I hoisted a yellow flag “Recession Watch.” That continued last month as well. This month the economically […]

Back from the Dead and Very Much Alive . . . Detroit

I was living in Livingston County, Michigan where all the white folk go. Don’t get me wrong some of the other counties east of Livingston County were nice places too. We were in white suburbia and distant from the City of Detroit. Not so distant as to ignore the city decaying. We watched and whined […]

“A relentless and holistic campaign against women’s autonomy and health”

Writing on Women’s healthcare and Healthcare in general has been my bailiwick in the past. With the death of Dan and losing some of Angry Bear’s writers as they aged out or just moved on left me with no choice but to expand my vision. It appears our president has a vision also and that […]

“Recession watch” for economically weighted ISM indexes, and residential construction spending, continues

 – by New Deal democrat Since Friday featured the very salient jobs report – and its immediate fallout – I delayed reporting on two other important reports that typically start the month – the ISM manufacturing index, and construction spending – until today. As it turns out, they only amplify the message from the employment report […]

Make China Great Again

Trump slapped a 50% tariff on Brazilian coffee. Guess that will show them! “China has approved 183 new Brazilian coffee companies to export products to the Chinese market, according to a social media post of the Chinese embassy in Brazil on Saturday. “The measure, a boon to local exporters after the United States government’s announcement […]

Where are all the Democratic donations?

Ever since November 2024, when Donald Trump took over all three branches of the federal government, there has been no shortage of navel-gazing pieces posing as political analysis of why Democrats are unable to get their voters to the polls. One theme has been that the party is been chasing dollars, and to be successful, […]

Unemployment Rises in July

Unemployment increases in July. Job growth is slowing and numbers for the two preceding months were lowered to 19,000 in May, down from 144,000 and 14,000 in June, down from 147,000. Were these unusual? According the BLS, they were somewhat larger than experienced in the past, The size of these revisions were “larger than normal,” […]

Trump Effects Showing Up in the Economy

Worthwhile read if you have five minutes. Trump Effect Starts to Show Up in Economy (The Wall Street Journal) Kareem Talking Trump . . . SUMMARY: A chaotic rollout of tariffs is starting to filter through to price tags on store shelves. An immigration crackdown is beginning to weigh on jobs growth, measured by federal surveys. […]

New Deal democrat Weekly Indicators July 28 – August 1

 – by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. In the middle of writing the post yesterday afternoon, the news broke that T—-p had fired Erika McEntarfer, the Commissioner of the BLS, for the crime of publishing jobs data that he did not like. For the moment, she has been replaced by her […]