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

Scenes from the October jobs report

Deceleration and deterioration, but no downturn signaled  – by New Deal democrat No economic news of note today or tomorrow, except the (very late) Q3 Senior Loan Officers Report this afternoon, which will tell us about the state of credit, but is anticipated in much more timely – i.e., weekly – fashion by the Chicago Fed’s […]

What News Was in My In-Box, November 9, 2022

Some Good Commentary this week. I would pay attention to the articles on Medicare Advantage. There has been a lot of complaints. If you are on Traditional Medicare, Be careful as they have been switching people over to Advantage Plans without asking. Sounds like the Fed believes people have too much cash in savings according […]

Making Friends in the New Global Order

by Joseph Joyce Making Friends in the New Global Order U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen gave a talk at the Atlantic Council last April on the future role of cooperation in the global economy. In October Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and its Minister of Finance, gave an address at the Brookings Institution that presented a similar […]

Hence Extractive

An economy (noun) is a social entity’s aggregate activity of producing, distributing, and consuming goods and services. Economics (noun) is the study of economies. The various aspects, attributes, and metrics things associated an economy are sometimes referred to as economics (noun). An economic policy is intended to influence or control the behavior of an economy. […]

Medicare’s $200 billion Gross Drug Spend

Medicare is almost $200 billion in gross drug spend: Who gets the blame? — 46brooklyn Research This is a complex issue as there are many moving parts to drug pricing and their costs. Perplexing in describing the drug spend issues would seem appropriate. I am not even sure if this long post will adequately define […]

New Deal democrat’s Weekly Indicators for October 31 – November 4

“Weekly Indicators for October 31 – November 4″ at Seeking Alpha.  – by New Deal democrat My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. Data doesn’t move relentlessly in one direction, and this week there was some improvement in some of the indicators I follow. As usual, clicking over and reading will bring you up […]

Wages versus Product Markup

Courtesy of EMicheal in comments. Kind of the point, I have been making for a while now. Labor wages are not the big driver of inflation. Corporations are increasing non-cost related prices and blaming it on inflation. But it’s not because of inflation. It is a cause of inflation. The public newscasters are selling their wares, ignorance, or lies […]

October jobs report: late cycle deceleration and deterioration

October jobs report: late cycle deceleration and deterioration  – by New Deal democrat With the sharp increases in interest rates, and the complete stalling of real consumer spending measured YoY, since early this year I have expected employment to follow suit, decelerating over time to a stall. And the three month average in employment gains […]

The Fed appears determined to cause a Volcker-like recession

The Fed appears determined to cause a Volcker-like recession  – by New Deal democrat Yesterday the Fed raised rates another 0.75%. In the past 8 months, the Fed has raised rates a total of 3.75%. This is one of the steepest increases in interest rates ever, only exceeded by the pace of the two 1970s […]