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

BP Softens tone on 2030 oil output cut to reassure investors

by Ron Bousso Reuters A brief on what BP is doing. My guess is they are going to cut output to drive the market. It could be that other oil companies could fill the gap or move with BP. However, they prefer trump in office so making Biden look bad is a realistic plan for […]

April producer prices reflect some building pressure from a strong economy with full employment

 – by New Deal democrat Tomorrow and Thursday a plethora of data will be released, on consumer inflation and spending, production, housing, and jobless claims. In the meantime today we got a chance to look at upstream pressures on inflation. And those upstream pressures do seem to be building slightly, reflecting a strong economy with […]

Overall and core Consumer Price Index (CPI) both increased by 0.4 percent in March

It appears rent, transportation, and medical care services are the culprits holding up a decrease in inflation. Medicare does not surprise me at all. Harvard School of Health blames the rise of prices on administrative expenses, corporate greed and price gouging, and higher utilization of costly medical technology. What to Look for in the April […]

Generic Drugs Antitrust Case

Pharma companies providing pharmaceuticals exclusive to them have vast amounts of control in availability and or pricing. Either can result in increased costs to the patient. Economist Timothy Taylor reviews one particular instance with Teva Pharmaceuticals. Collaboration with other companies to control pricing appears to be Teva’s Director of Strategic Customer Marketing Nisha Patel’s strong […]

Weekly Indicators May 6 – 10 by New Deal democrat

Weekly Indicators for May 6 – 10 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. The majority of short leading and coincident indicators continue to show strength rather than weakness. This week it was commodity prices’ turn to show that the global economy is getting stronger. As […]

Oil industry is Writing Executive Orders for Trump to Sign

In preparation for a renewed reign of the insurrectionist, energy sources and their associations are writing up executive orders to reverse much of what Pres. Joe Biden has done over 4 years. If you recall, the same was done after Barack Obama left the presidency. Many or most of Obama’s initiatives were reversed by an […]

The Household Survey isn’t the only data series sending up caution flares

 – by New Deal democrat I’ve written two posts earlier this week delving into the big divergence between the Establishment Survey portion of the Employment Report, which shows moderate growth, and the Household Survey, which is most consistent with a recession already having started. At any given time, some data will be positive and some […]

Republican U.S. States Sue EPA over Strict Power Plant Emission Rules

US Republican attorneys general sue to stop EPA’s carbon rule, Reuters, Clark Mindock Republican attorneys general from 27 U.S. states and industry trade groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA on Thursday. They seek to block an EPA landmark rule requiring sweeping reductions in carbon emissions from existing coal-fired power plants and new natural […]

Initial claims jolted awake from snooze-fest by highest number in almost nine months

 – by New Deal democrat After several months of snoozing at almost identical weekly levels, initial jobless claims awoke with a bit of a jolt this week, increasing by 22,000 to 231,000, the highest weekly number since last August. The four week average unsurprisingly also rose, by 4,750, to 215,000. With the usual one week […]