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

Is Iran Blockage Impacting Global Oil? Some Detail . . .

Economic Information from Oil Price.com concerning reserves and pricing based on global interests and actions. In a bit of a flux right now. Not much stability and a lot of rent taking by the oil and gasoline industry. Some detail. More at the Oil Price site. “Oil Ignores Escalation, Logs Biggest Weekly Drop Since 2025” […]

As expected, March consumer inflation packed a (possibly recessionary) wallop

 – by New Deal democrat As anticipated, the March CPI packed a wallop, up 0.9% for the month and causing the YoY% gain to increase to 3.3%, while core CPI was a tame 0.2% with a YoY% gain of 2.6%. Because of the impact of that big number, I am departing from my usual format to […]

Global Disruptions Due to Trump’s War

Disrupting the Global Economy and Iran is Doing Quite Well Aluminum Disruptions Due to Bombing, Construction Physics The world’s largest aluminum smelter in Bahrain was hit by an Iranian drone, bringing production offline. [Bloomberg] Other aluminum smelters in the area have cut production due to inability to ship through the Strait. This, in turn, has […]

Recessionary signals in February?

“Recessionary signals in February personal income and spending, but some bright spots as well”  – by New Deal democrat Personal income and spending are among the most important monthly indicators of all, because they give us a detailed look at consumption by the broad range of American households. And since consumption leads employment, they also […]

Losing in Iran?

It’s consistent with how other countries, organizations, and people have defeated him. We are supposed to negotiate before the war, not during it. Trump was not going to do it anyways. He had another 12 threats to make. Some remarks by Robert Reich. And the fool to both the world (and Israel too) is looking […]

minimum wages

“Adjusting minimum wages for inflation is a necessary yet modest step toward protecting affordability for low-wage workers: The case of California’s Fast-Food Council,” Economic Policy Institute Modern labor markets—particularly those that low-wage workers participate in—are characterized by significant employer power. Low-wage employers rarely if ever negotiate pay with workers, instead posting take-it-or-leave-it wage offers. Further, […]

The consequences of mafia style bust-outs and military belligerence for interest rates

 – by New Deal democrat While there isn’t any big economic news today, there certainly was action overnight in response to the latest TACO. As I type this, oil is back down to $90/barrel, and stock futures are soaring. This for something (correctly I think) framed as a “fragile cease fire” by J.D. Vance. But […]

Theme song of the Davy Crockett TV series from 1954–1955

Just a few thoughts and then Professor Heather will bring us to the reality of this administration. I did watch the D.C. TV series as a kid. Fake raccoon skin caps were a hot item. We did not have one and other kids did. If I remember correctly, Disney had some episodes about Mr. Crockett […]