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

Volkswagen’s Bumpy Road to New Technology

Just like American companies, Volkswagen made the jump to EVs the technology of which is still being developed and just before the pandemic. Of course, the pandemic created an economic desert where people cut buying anything other than essentials. Fewer vehicles sold leads to an abundance of uncovered costs and debt. Can’t reduce the costs […]

FTC and grocery giants debate who real competitors are

More on the FTC investigating Albertsons and Kroger as to whether they are truly competitors. The issue being how much of the market-controlled now by each and what would result after Kroger acquires Albertsons. Both the FTC and Unions argue “FTC argues different stores have different use cases. FTC lead attorney Susan Musser noted “you […]

Labor Market Conditions – Sahm

Yes, I get occasional commentaries from this substack. No, I am not going to post it all here. Follow the link after you read what I did post of Claudia Sahm’s here. Labor market conditions. – by Claudia Sahm Tomorrow (9/6) is the jobs report for August 2024. There is intense attention for any clues […]

August jobs report: for the first time, including revisions, more consistent with a hard landing

 – by New Deal democrat My focus continues to be on whether jobs gains are most consistent with a “soft landing,” i.e., no further deterioration, or whether there is further decline towards a recession.  For a change, this month the Establishment report was the weakest in several years, if still positive. Meanwhile the Household report rebounded […]

Strikes start at top hotel chains as housekeepers seek higher wages and daily room cleaning work

CNBC The plight of hotel workers in cleaning up after residents who stay for a few days and leave the room in a wreck. The pay id the minimum that can be made. The hazards are such a worker can become readily sick. from exposure. I am sure the pandemic caused issues. Plus, people do […]

Economically weighted ISM indexes show an economy on the very cusp of – but not in – contraction

 – by New Deal democrat Recently I have paid much more attention to the ISM services index. That’s because, since the turn of the Millennium, manufacturing’s share of the economy has contracted to the point where even a significant decline in that index has not translated into an economy-wide recession, as for example in 2015-16.  When […]

What are we To Do With the Phillips Curve ?

The Phillips curve plays a central role in the policy debate (this is partly due to the fact that debaters have finally learned to ignore very highly theoretical and unrealistic DSGE models).  Just to review, the Phillips curve should show a negative relationship between unemployment and actual inflation minus expected inflation (it has been defined this way since […]