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

The Long Reach of U.S. Monetary Policy

by Joseph Joyce The Long Reach of U.S. Monetary Policy The spillover of U.S. monetary policy on foreign economies has become an active area of research. Analysts seek to identify the channels of transmission between the policy stance of the Federal Reserve and foreign interest rates and credit extension. The usual account is that an […]

Regional Fed Manufacturing Indexes Improving

Regional Fed Manufacturing Indexes Improving It’s been a really slow newsweek so far, with no important data until tomorrow.  Until then, here’s a note of interest. This morning’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey was the third regional report in a row (after Richmond and Dallas in the last week of January) to show a strong rebound […]

Who “Got” Iraqi Oil?

Who “Got” Iraqi Oil? Not the US. Dick Cheney collaborated with US major oil companies in a plot to at least take over operating the oil production in Iraq, OPEC’s second largest producer and exporter, if not get to own the oil itself outright (which has not happened as oil in the ground was and […]

Production, transportation, and sales show a stalled economy

Production, transportation, and sales show a stalled economy Below is a graph I put together in a discussion of transportation that I’ll probably post next week at Seeking Alpha. The idea behind the graph is that (1) everything that is produced needs to be transported to market; i.e., the two metrics should move essentially in […]

Housing analysis at Seeking Alpha; updated jobless claims

Housing analysis at Seeking Alpha; updated jobless claims I have a more detailed analysis of yesterday’s very positive housing permits and starts data, and what it means for the economy for the rest of this year, over at Seeking Alpha.  As usual, clicking over and reading helps reward me a little bit for my efforts. This […]

The Debate within Unions over Health Care is about the Nature of Unionism Itself

The Debate within Unions over Health Care is about the Nature of Unionism Itself Casual observers of the political scene got an insight into union politics when a small storm erupted over a flyer distributed by Nevada’s Culinary Union attacking Bernie Sanders and his Medicare for All proposal. Politico has a piece surveying similar disputes in other states […]

Bloomberg’s Plan for Reskilling America: The Quid without the Pro Quo

Bloomberg’s Plan for Reskilling America: The Quid without the Pro Quo The Intercept usefully preports Michael Bloomberg’s proposals for higher education, focusing on plans to upgrade workforce skills along the lines desired by employers.  Here’s the selection they excerpted that covers this, worth reading carefully: There’s a lot here that would be useful to businesses located […]

Weekly Indicators for February 10 – 14 at Seeking Alpha

by New Deal democrat Weekly Indicators for February 10 – 14 at Seeking Alpha My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha.Several of the coincident indicators that turned positive one week ago turned right back to negative this week. The bifurcation between the producer and consumer sides of the economy continues. As usual, clicking over […]