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

Biden’s First Meeting Remarks with Republican Congressional Leaders

I wish Biden’s advisors had given him some dialogue rebutting McCarthy’s plan for cuts in programs. It is this type of jawboning which make convince some, not all, citizens the need to change their minds. What is the harm, Republicans will bring to the economy over and above what the FED will incur on Labor. […]

Clarence Thomas tuition: Why the latest revelation is the most insulting of all

This is an interesting piece done by Dahlia Lithwick. Basically taking up the history of why judges do not take gifts from commoners. Unless of course, the commoner has money and is influential. Ok, so Justice Clarence Thomas is getting a few greater than normal bucks and gifts on the side. Problem two arises in […]

So one of trump’s Trials ends

“An Ominous Warning to the E. Jean Carroll Jury,” The Atlantic, Juliette Kayyem Interesting but foreboding piece in The Atlantic. In the dismissal of the jury, the judge took a moment to suggest the jury not engage in conversation or be publicly identified. Typically and after trials, the judge will dismiss the jurors by thanking […]

Inflation ex-shelter increasing at 1.0% annualized rate since last June; core inflation with actual house prices only up 3.0% YoY

Inflation ex-shelter increasing at 1.0% annualized rate since last June; core inflation with actual house prices only up 3.0% YoY  – by New Deal democrat Two months ago, I “officially” took the position that inflation had been conquered, and that, properly measured, the economy had actually been experiencing deflation since last June. With revisions, the […]

The Constitution, Obama and raising the debt ceiling

In an effort to slow down the severe recession as well as the persistently high unemployment rate following the 2007-08 Financial Crisis, the government increased federal spending. As a result, the federal debt reached its limit on multiple occasions from 2008 to 2011 which led to a series of increases of the debt limit. In 2011, […]

Credit conditions worsen, and likely to worsen further due to Debt Ceiling Debacle II

Credit conditions worsen, and likely to worsen further due to Debt Ceiling Debacle II  – by New Deal democrat The Senior Loan Officer Survey, which measures credit on offer by banks, and the demand for credit by their customers, was released yesterday afternoon for Q1, and the news – unsurprisingly – was not good. Credit conditions […]

“Successful people have successful friends.”

The Atlantic’s Brooke Harrington has an article about Justice Thomas’s friendship with people outside the court which includes gift-giving. There is no reciprocation of “its my turn now to buy the dinner.” The gifts are far more than just a lunch or dinner at a much-desired restaurant. That there are no rules defining ethical behavior […]

Scenes from the April employment report: the Fed just can’t kill the employment “beast”

Scenes from the April employment report: the Fed just can’t kill the employment “beast”  – by New Deal democrat There’s no economic news this morning, so let’s take a closer look at some important trends from last Friday’s April jobs report . As I and many others wrote, an important theme was that the deceleration […]

April jobs report: deceleration continues, with sharp downward revisions to previous months’ gains

April jobs report: deceleration continues, with sharp downward revisions to previous months’ gains  – by New Deal democrat My focus for this report continued to be whether the leading sectors and other indicators continued to decline, and whether the pace of growth continued to decelerate. While the deceleration in growth did occur – and substantially […]

Bankrupt Bed Bath & Beyond goes after Container and Shipping Companies

Bankrupt Bed Bath & Beyond goes after container shipping lines, freightwaves.com, Greg Miller Kind of an interesting story if true. Bed, Bath, and Beyond contracted for a specific number of containers to haul their ordered product from one destination to the US. From the way the allegations go, the Container Company/Shipper failed to provide the […]