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

How long until the historically tight jobs market reverts to trend?

How long until the historically tight jobs market reverts to trend?  – by New Deal democrat There are some very unusual cross-currents going on in the housing sector, revealed by yesterday’s existing home sales report. But it will take some time-intensive organization to present it to you, so I’m saving it for (hopefully) Monday. In the […]

Jobless claims: close but no cigar for the red flag

Jobless claims: close but no cigar for the red flag  – by New Deal democrat Initial claims declined -9,000 to 228,000 last week, and the four week average declined -9,250 to 237,500. Continuing claims, with a one week delay, rose 33,000 to 1.754 million: More importantly for forecasting purposes, initial claims are up 7.0% YoY, the […]

Not All Non Profit Hospitals Deserve Tax Exemption Status

This is the third or forth I have seen concerning Non-Profit hospitals. The issue being whether a Nonprofit hospital provide enough nonprofitable care to be considered nonprofit which entitles them to tax exemptions. As the authors discuss, some for-profit hospitals provide greater nonprofit care. Read on and I am sure there will be more to […]

June housing report: a tale a two diametrically opposed sectors

June housing report: a tale a two diametrically opposed sectors  – by New Deal democrat Yesterday I wrote that housing under construction, along with new vehicle sales, were two important reasons that no economic downturn had occurred yet. Today’s report on housing construction for June showed two almost diametrically opposed trends: single family houses had […]

Industrial and manufacturing production continue to falter

Industrial and manufacturing production continue to falter  – by New Deal democrat I frequently call industrial production the King of Coincident Indicators, because so often the turning point in this metric has been at the peaks and troughs of the economy as a whole. That has not been the case since last September, when this […]

June retail sales continue to falter, with the important exception of motor vehicles

June retail sales continue to falter, with the important exception of motor vehicles  – by New Deal democrat As usual, retail sales is one of my favorite indicators, because it tells us so much about the 70% of the US economy that is consumption, as well as being a short leading indicator for employment. It […]

Profit Motive Isn’t Working in Healthcare

Or with contract doctors . . . ER Dr. Ming Lin is calling attention to the increasing influence of large corporations in the practice of medicine and its detrimental effects on physicians and healthcare workers. What we have is one employee facing down a healthcare corporation. The chances of an employee winning are minimal unless […]

US: Nonprofit Hospitals Chase Low-Income Patients on Debts

This is more of an introduction to the Human Right Watch Org and the review of healthcare in the United States. The topic is no surprise as we have touched upon this in earlier commentaries. In this short piece they are finding private nonprofit hospitals are not so nonprofit. Indeed, they are skimping on healthcare […]

New Deal democrats Weekly Indicators for July 10 – 14

Weekly Indicators for July 10 – 14 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. Several indicators that had been stubbornly positive throughout the decline in leading metrics as of this past week finally turned either neutral or negative. Much as the dominant punditry at the moment is […]

The American working class is doing better, thank you very much

The American working class is doing better, thank you very much  – by New Deal democrat With the release of the CPI report earlier this week, I can update several measures of average middle class American income. Real average hourly wages increased 0.2% in June, and are up 1.6% from one year ago: Real aggregate payrolls […]