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

New Deal democrats Weekly Indicators for September 4 – 8 2023

Weekly Indicators for September 4 – 8 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. The tug of war between the headwind of high interest rates and the tailwind of low commodity and consumer inflation continues. As usual, clicking over and reading will bring you right up […]

Open Thread September 9, 2023 Where do Americans mingle the most?

A question being asked by The Economist; Where do Americans mingle?, Vienna Virginia  Sit-down chain restaurants foster more cross-class mixing than any other institution. Sit-down chain restaurants, like Olive Garden, Chili’s, and Applebee’s are prime sites for many Americans. Restaurants bring Americans together more than any other private or public institution and eclipse bars, churches, petrol […]

Jimmy Kimmel and Candidate Jimmy McMillan said rents were too high. What about drug prices?

Excellent take on Drug Pricing as written by Dr. N. Adam Brown at MedPage Today. In 2016 the 21st Century Cures Act was passed by the House. The intent was to make it easier for pharmaceutical companies to bring new drugs to market and short cut the clinical trial processes. Health Affairs had this to […]

Anchor Brewing is on its last kegs, sorry its last legs.

Another story where culture clash and the company buying the business does not understand the process. How that would happen, I am not sure. However, this is a clash of cultures and a misunderstanding of the company’s capabilities. Anchor Brewing and Its Workers Anchor Brewing is on its last kegs, sorry its last legs. and just […]

Despite 6+ month low in initial claims, yellow caution flag remains

Despite 6+ month low in initial claims, yellow caution flag remains  – by New Deal democrat Last week the initial claims numbers justified restarting the yellow caution flag. This week initial jobless claims declined -13,000 to a 6+ month low of 216,000. The 4-week moving average declined -8,500 to 229,250. With a one-week lag, continuing claims […]

Utah officials sued over failure to save Great Salt Lake

In Arizona, much of its water is drawn from the Colorado River. As everyone knows, The Lake Colorado Eiver Reservoirs dropped ~150 feet since 1983. It gained water due to the recent hurricane and also a large snowfall this last year. It still has not returned to prior levels. Meanwhile, the state of Arizona continues […]

Scenes from the August employment report – and a warning

Scenes from the August employment report – and a warning  – by New Deal democrat The weekly lull after last Friday’s employment report will end tomorrow. In the meantime, let’s take a deeper dive into a few important trends in that report. First, the unemployment rate rose 0.3% to 3.8% – which is totally not surprising […]

Ford UAW Contract Offer Includes Pay Increases, Tiers Eliminated

I am watching the evolution of the American automotive industry from combustion engine driven vehicles to electric driven vehicles. It is interesting to hear about all the potential blood to be spilled as management eventually whacks labor and plants to make the move from combustion to electric vehicles. It is inevitable as a new workforce […]

Vehicle sales, residential, and manufacturing plant construction

Vehicle sales and residential and manufacturing plant construction continue to outweigh general manufacturing downturn  –  by New Deal democrat No important economic news today, but on Friday in addition to the employment report we did get our typical 1st of the month snapshot of manufacturing, vehicle sales, and construction, so let’s look at each. The ISM […]

What makes ultra-processed foods so bad for your health?

Not too much has changed in the process food industry. Baloney, salami, hot dogs, sweet rolls, etc. are still the same. Process foods consists of any “raw agricultural commodities that have been washed, cleaned, milled, cut, chopped, heated, pasteurized, blanched, cooked, canned, frozen, dried, dehydrated, mixed or packaged or anything done to them altering their […]