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

Stale data watch: manufacturers’ new orders soared in November — more evidence of AI data center building?

 – by New Deal democrat With another likely government shutdown looming at the end of this week due to DHS funding, we are still playing catch-up from the last one that ended in November. This morning’s edition of stale data was durable goods manufacturing for November. One of the stories of the latter part of last […]

Minnesota

Been to Minnesota camping and canoeing in the boundary waters. Other than swatting mosquitos, it was invigorating the two weeks I was up there. The only other place I have camped (with family this time) was northern Wisconsin on Madeline Island. What has happened in Minnesota is not reminiscent of the state I know of […]

Women in Clinical Trials

The facts remain that many women were not included in clinical trials which a hole in the testing wider when the numbers are compared to Men in Clinical Trials. No doubt, there is a difference in reaction to various medicines. Throughout history, doctors have considered women’s bodies atypical and men’s bodies the “norm,” despite women […]

New Deal democrats Weekly Indicators January 19-23

 – by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. The trends from last year are continuing so far this year. On the plus side, initial jobless claims are very low while stock prices continue near all time highs, and consumer spending is on a tear. On the minus side, the US$ started […]

Another ICE murder in Minneapolis

ICE murdered an ICU nurse in cold blood yesterday. I would love to see ICE completely defunded and disbanded. Do we need immigration and customs enforcement? Sure. But this program isn’t doing that. It’s simply being used by the Trump Administration as a provocation to justify martial law. At the end of January 2026, the […]

Changes in Employment

I do not know if readers are keeping up with the news on employment or not. So, I decided to go back to December and grab one of Dean Baker’s commentaries on Manufacturing Jobs lost during Trump’s first year. Since the beginning of 2025, the economy has been losing jobs, This was not just in […]

Economic cycle indicators update: the Autumn Shutdown Stall

 – by New Deal democrat Now that we have the very important personal income and spending data through November, here is a look at the widely acknowledged monthly indicators that the NBER has highlighted in determining whether the economy is continuing to expand, or is contracting. The below link includes nonfarm payrolls (blue), industrial production (red), […]