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

The bottoming process in existing home sales continues, as YoY price comparisons increase

The bottoming process in existing home sales continues, as YoY price comparisons increase  – by New Deal democrat The bifurcation of the housing market between new and existing home components continues, as existing home sales continue near their bottom, but with a little improvement. Specifically, in January sales increased 120,000 on an annualized basis from an […]

The good news on jobless claims continues

The good news on jobless claims continues  – by New Deal democrat The good news on jobless claims continued this week, as initial claims declined -12,000 to 201,000. The four-week moving average also declined, by -3,500 to 215,250. Continuing claims, with the usual one-week delay, declined -27,000 to 1.862 million: Needless to say, this also helped […]

Biden’s high-tech problem in Michigan

Hemlock Semiconductor continues as an independently run entity with two shareholders: Corning Inc. owns 80.5%, and Shin-Etsu Chemical owns 19.5%. Hemlock specializing in specialty glass, ceramics, and related materials and technologies used in semiconductors. Biden has a high-tech problem in Michigan, Christine Mui, Politico, 02/20/2024 Some Information Corning Incorporated is an American multinational technology company specializing in specialty glass,  ceramics, and […]

Perceptions of inflation vs. wage growth: why the divergence?

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2024 Perceptions of inflation vs. wage growth: why the divergence?  – by New Deal democrat My recent travels included visits to cousins and their children on both sides of my family. Without any prompting from me, inevitably the table talk turned to the state of the economy. Rather than Bigfoot the opinions […]

Asymptotically we Will all be Dead

This will be a long boring post amplifying on my slogan “asymptotically we will all be dead.” I assert that asymptotic theory and asymptotic approximations have nothing useful to contribute to the study of statistics. I therefore reject that vast bul of mathematical statistics as absolutely worthless. To stress the positive, I think useful work […]

Data shows anti-union ‘right-to-work’ laws damage state economies

I believe Angry Bear has touched upon Right to Work several times now; here, here, and now today. This brief touches upon RTW laws damaging state economies. Data show anti-union ‘right-to-work’ laws damage state economies: As Michigan’s repeal takes effect, New Hampshire should continue to reject ‘right-to-work’ legislation, Economic Policy Institute, Jennifer Sherer and Elise […]

New Deal democrats Weekly Indicators for February 12-16 2024

Weekly Indicators for February 12 – 16 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat I am back from my travels, so it’s time to catch up. There’s no significant economic news until tomorrow, but in the meantime I neglected to link to my weekly high frequency indicator wrap-up, which was posted at Seeking Alpha. As usual, […]

Some USPS History and the Latest

Some history While debating the original Post Office Act, Alexander Hamilton and others argued the post should support itself and make money for the rest of the government. Others, including George Washington and James Madison, didn’t seem to care whether it turned a profit. Jonathan Trumbull, the speaker of the House of Representatives in 1792, observed that […]