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

Status of the Global Oil Issues caused by a US President

Report on Oil coming out of the middle east as Trump and Iran try to find common ground. This is way out of the ordinary and pretty much did not have to occur except for an oversized ego in the western hemisphere trying to make his mark globally. I am sure people will remember this […]

Michigan Candidate’s Agenda to Root Out Corruption in Washington

Talking Election Politics Hers . . . It has been five years since we lived in Michigan. Mallory took office in 2019 as a State Senator. She appeared competent and I did support her running for office. Apparently, she has done well enough and is popular enough to run as a Federal Senator. Her opponent’s […]

Mike Johnson touches the third rail

You may have seen that Speaker Mike Johnson wants Social Security to be “fixed” after the midterms. The fact that he wants to wait until after the midterms tells you everything you need to know. He’s using “fixed” in the sense of what you do to your dog if you don’t want puppies. Republicans know […]

Producer prices suggest 5%+ YoY CPI, and very soon

 – by New Deal democrat I just wanted to drop a brief note about this morning’s PPI report. In May headline producer prices rose 1.1% for the month (the second such increase in a row), and on a YoY basis increased 6.5%. Final demand goods prices are up 9.1% YoY, and final demand services up 4.9%: […]

More evidence for the return of post-pandemic seasonality in jobless claims

 – by New Deal democrat Last week I wrote that “we’re coming up on the one year anniversary of that change of regime, so it will be interesting to see if the negative YoY comparisons continue, or if they fade away. This week’s numbers are noteworthy in that regard, because they suggest that – maybe – […]

Whatever we’re paying him, it’s too much

The NYT published an article reporting that RFK Jr has abandoned most of his responsibilities: “Mr. Kennedy has shown little interest in managing the details of work in his department, according to multiple colleagues,” Sheryl Gay Stolberg wrote in the article. “Instead, they say, he is single-mindedly focused on his top priorities, including food recommendations […]

May CPI is “less bad,” but bad enough to edge consumers closer to recessionary income levels

– by New Deal democrat Just as forecast by the Cleveland Fed, the CPI in May increased 0.5% – less than the increases in March and April, but still too high. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, increased only 0.2%. The YoY% gains both also increased, to 4.2% and 2.8% respectively. to increase to […]

Changing of the Guard at the FED

I did not get a chance to post this commentary about the last day for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell who stepped down as the Chair. Just to be clear, he was succeeded by Kevin Warsh. Powell did break precedent by remaining on the Fed’s governing board as a governor. He will serve out the […]

More on the Kennedy Center Name Change

“‘Trump’ Kennedy Center Gets SLAPP-ed,” Taken from “Above the Law,”   Liz Dye on June 08, 2026 Bravo As we wait to see if the Kennedy Center complies with Judge Cooper’s order to take Trump’s name off the building by June 12, the arts center lost yet another legal battle on Friday. This time it was Judge Tanya […]