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

New Deal democrats Weekly Indicators for January 12 – 16

– by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. With the yield curve close to completely normal and mortgage rates at or near 3 year lows, and the housing market reacting to those, the longer range picture is improving. But what is going to drive (in more ways than one) the immediate […]

Action/reaction

In an effort to extort Greenland from Denmark, Trump has ordered a 10% tariff on goods from EU nations that have opposed the US expropriation effort beginning in February. He has threatened to raise that to 25% if they don’t capitulate. A couple of points: • The tariffs are mostly a nothingburger for EU economies: […]

Views of Supreme Court Remain Near Historic Lows

Not too surprised by this finding. It can be said, SCOTUS has not been overly supportive of US citizens. In fact, their decisions have denigrated regular citizens greatly. Maybe my view point is tilted in a less than favorable viewpoint? One case comes to mind with the state providing legal support in a trial. In […]

Book Review: “The Edge of the World”

Review: The Edge of the World – The one-handed economist I picked up this 2014 book by Michael Pye due to my recent interest in histories of Europe (my new “homeland”), and I found it fascinating. The subtitle (A Cultural History of the North Sea and the Transformation of Europe) shows why it may be interesting to me, […]

Industrial production sets new post-pandemic high in December – but mainly due to utilities

– by New Deal democrat Industrial production is much less central to the US economic picture than it was before the “China shock,” but it remains an important if diminished economic indicator, particularly since the month it has peaked in the past has typically been the month the NBER has chosen as the economic cycle peak. […]

Mistaken Deportation of Massachusetts college student – My A**

Deliberate abuse of the legal system without checking for legitimacy. If you as a citizen were to disobey or disregard a Federal Judge. More likely than not, you would find yourself in a jail (state or federal) somewhere. This is what happens when a rogue element takes over society. Nothing of reason or law remains […]

Let them eat cake

The privileged elitists on Trump’s cabinet can’t help themselves. They broadcast how, like Trump himself, they’re out of touch. “Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins made waves this week with claims that the Trump administration’s revamped food pyramid leaves plenty of room for Americans to maintain a healthy diet for as little as $3 a meal. “In […]

Important scenes from the (recessionary?) December jobs report; was July a cycle peak?

 – by New Deal democrat Last Friday I summarized the jobs report as “show[ing] a contracting jobs market in all important metrics except the headlines (which, for the record, were positive).  …[A]lmost] all of the important leading metrics … were negative, [including the] goods-producing sectors – manufacturing, construction (including residential construction), and temporary jobs – declined, as […]