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

United States’ Fiscal Policy in a Global Context

A comparison of US Fiscal Deficit prompted me to post this at Angry Bear. I believe it will be interesting to see how Trumps fiscal policies playout over the next four years. Check out The Guardian’s Economics Editor’s commentary on Trumps economic plans. The Issue: With continued high fiscal deficits likely for the foreseeable future, […]

Student Loan Updates 2024

It does not look like students holding loan debt and looking for relief will get any relief soon. Newly minted President Donald Trump is in the revenge mode. That would include help from Republicans. Like any new administration looking for revenge, this one will attack the weakest element. It does not mean that Student Loan […]

Investing in the hoax market

Trump says global warming is a scam and a hoax. He promises to cut federal funding for green programs and to ramp up fracking and drilling. He can certainly do the former, but business controls drilling and fracking, and the price of oil is dictated by international supply and demand, not the whims of the […]

Early Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Numerics for November 2024

Just some economic analysis about good economic growth in the month of November 2024. Something the public seemed to have missed along the way. 2023 and 2024 appears to have had good growth even with high Fed rates. See chart below. Commerce Data Show Strong Economic Gains Due to Americans Making and Spending More November […]

The Aftermath of the 2024 Election

US Citizens awaken to their new world. Prof. Heather Cox Richardson at “Letters from an American” has a good take on what is taking place three days after the 2024 Election. She states people are beginning to realize what will take place once a Trump presidency and a mostly Republican Congress begins to implement the […]

How the Fed helped Doom the Democrats

 – by New Deal democrat This is not a formal post about Tuesday’s election. But with the benefit of “revealed preference” a/k/a 20/20 hindsight, it’s pretty clear that the Fed rate hikes were an important part of why Kamala Harris and the Democrats failed. Because we may or may not be experiencing a “soft landing” […]

Renewables 2023

Renewables 2023 – Analysis – IEA 2023 saw a step change in renewables capacity additions, driven by China’s solar PV market. Achieving the COP28 target of tripling global renewable capacity by 2030 will hinge on policy implementation. Summary: I have read through this several times now. It is difficult to pull together all the detail […]

Jobless claims: back to almost completely normal and neutral

 – by New Deal democrat Initial jobless claims continued their return to normalcy this week, as they increased 3,000 to 221,000. The four week moving average declined -9,750 to 227,250, which is tied for the lowest number except for two weeks in five months. Continuing claims, with the typical one week delay, rose 39,000 to […]

Economy on Solid Ground “Before Election”

US consumers keep economy on solid ground ahead of election – By Lucia Mutikani Reuters WASHINGTON, Oct 30 (Reuters) – The U.S. economy grew solidly in the third quarter. Consumer spending increasing at its fastest pace in 1-1/2 years and inflation slowing sharply, continuing to defy forecasts of a recession, and outperforming its global peers ahead […]