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

November housing permits and starts: the biggest news is not even a headline

November housing permits and starts: the biggest news is not in the headlines  – by New Deal democrat The report on housing construction for November was very much a tale of two very different trends – and the most important one will almost certainly be under-reported. Housing permits issued declined to 1.342 million annualized, the lowest […]

Repurchase of Oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserves

US to purchase more oil to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). DOE Announces Repurchase of Oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Department of Energy, DOE. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Petroleum Reserves, December 16 announced that it will start repurchasing crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). This repurchase is […]

Job growth beginning in Q2 looks to be substantially revised downward

Job growth beginning in Q2 looks to be substantially revised downward  – by New Deal democrat Last week the Philadelphia Fed published a working paper suggesting that in the second quarter of this year only 10,500 jobs were actually added, rather than the 1,047,000 as indicated by the monthly Establishment survey.  Here’s their graph: Here’s what you […]

A Look at Drug Pricing 2020, Costs, and Why – “Redux”

Commenter Arne asked how we would transition from today’s healthcare system to a Single Payer format. I do not have the answer immediately at hand. I have to look for it. I do want to review what we have learned to date and stated on Angry Bear already. I do have a number of posts […]

New Deal democrat’s Weekly Indicators for December 12 – 16

Weekly Indicators for December 12 – 16 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. The coincident indicators, especially employment, are hanging on by the proverbial skin of their teeth. I don’t think they roll over until gas prices stop declining. In any event, clicking over and […]

Nancy Altman wants to Turn Social Security into Welfare for All

AB writer, commenter and Social Security expert, Dale Coberly provides a different take on whether “President Biden Should Direct the Social Security Administration to Stop Penalizing Marriage.” ~~~~~~~~ Nancy Altman wrote the following piece, which appeared in PROGRESS AMERICA, on December 16, 2022 as well as Common Dreams.  I thought it needed a response because […]

What Is The Bielefeld School Of Economics?

What Is The Bielefeld School Of Economics? by Barkley Rosser @ Econospeak  This piece is about a paper I have just written for a special issue to appear in a journal I used to edit about the late economist, Peter Flaschal. Who most of you are probably thinking, although maybe not all of you? He […]

The status of the coincident indicators

The status of the coincident indicators  – by New Deal democrat In addition to real GDP, which is only updated quarterly and with a lag, the NBER has indicated that it relies upon four other datapoints in determining the onset month of a recession: payrolls, industrial production, real income less transfer payments, and real manufacturing, wholesale, […]

The Political Economy of Effective Altruism

The Political Economy of Effective Altruism by Peter Dorman @ EconoSpeak Back in the day, I used to give talks on child labor.  I would always begin by saying that boycotts and shaming of corporations, while understandable as an emotional response, were unlikely to do much for the world’s children.  This was because very little […]

November real retail sales turn down, return to negative YoY

November real retail sales turn down, return to negative YoY  – by New Deal democrat Real retail sales is one of my favorite indicators for both the current economy and the jobs situation 3 to 6 months ahead. This morning nominal retail sales for November were reported down -0.6%, which only takes back about 1/2 […]