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

Jobless claims suggest continuing, but resolving seasonality issues

– by New Deal democrat Initial jobless claims have been relatively subdued for the past month. Some have suggested that this is a byproduct of the large immigrant deportations which have recently taken place. Last week I noted that, “comparing the SA and NSA readings in the past several months suggests that [unresolved seasonality] has affected […]

New home sales: the final shoe in the housing sector has dropped

– by New Deal democrat In this month’s report on new home sales for July, the most important news was at the tail end, which I’ll get to last. As per my usual intro, while new home sales are the most leading measure of the housing market, they are very noisy and heavily revised – which […]

Budget negotiations:  funding health insurance, or protecting democracy, science, and universities?

Congress needs to pass a funding bill by the end of September to avoid a government shut down.  In theory, the Democrats should have some leverage in these negotiations due to the need for 60 votes in the Senate.  Unfortunately, as Jonathan Bernstein details here, the Democrats have few good options negotiating with Republicans and […]

Cranks to run one’s public-health agencies

What is possibly be “our best defense against future pandemics?” mRNA technology saved America’s bacon in 2020. RFK Jr. has been active defunding it. As taken from American Prospect. Since Joel was working on this technology and also received the test doses, I am sure he could add to this piece. 🙂 May 2025 finds […]

Intel and Trump Administrative Reach Historic Agreement

“Intel and Trump Administration Reach Historic Agreement to Accelerate American Technology and Manufacturing Leadership,” Intel Newsroom SANTA CLARA, Calif.– Intel Corporation today announced an agreement with the Trump Administration to support the continued expansion of American technology and manufacturing leadership. Under terms of the agreement, the United States government will make an $8.9 billion investment […]

New Deal democrats Weekly Indicators for August 18 – 22

 – by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. There were no big changes this week, but what continues to stick out in the data as far as I am concerned is just how strong consumer spending continues to be: weekly retail spending was up nearly 6% YoY, and restaurant reservations – […]

If you Have Not Experienced it yet? Expect Slower Mail Delivery

This commentary by Steve Hutkins outlines the plan Louis Dejoy put in place as the US Postmaster General. I am not too sure where the plan is at in actions at this time. If you are experiencing slower mail delivery, then it has been implemented in your area. Citified areas are less likely to experience […]

Jobless claims suggest our recent good news has been more unresolved seasonal quirks

AB: This is an excellent NDd recital on a not so good jobless claim report. Employment is not improving and as NDd states it appears to be remaining the same. The tariff game Tr__p is playing is not helping the economy and is just another burden in cost which we will all pay. This is […]