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

An update on yield curve dynamics

An update on yield curve dynamics So I submitted this wonderful piece to Seeking Alpha Tuesday morning, and figured I would just link to it today. But as in the best laid plans of mice and men, somehow it reverted to a draft without ever being reviewed by the site’s editors, which means it isn’t […]

“The Opportunity Cost of Socialism”

“The Opportunity Cost of Socialism” Why is the Council of Economic Advisers producing party political propaganda for the GOP? As many folks have pointed out, the “report” is rather bizarre. My favorite part is Figure 1, which summarizes Milton Friedman’s argument that people spending “their own money” are “more careful how much to spend and on what […]

New home sales bombed in September

New home sales bombed in September Needless to say, this morning’s report on new home sales was another big miss in the housing sector. Not only were sales a new 12 month low, they were the lowest in nearly 2 years, and are off over -150,000 from their peak 10 months ago: Typically new home […]

September existing home sales: yet another poor housing report

September existing home sales: yet another poor housing report While existing home sales are roughly 90% of the entire housing market, they are much less important as an economic indicator because they do not have the knock-on effects of construction improvements, and less of the landscaping and indoor improvements, that new homes do. But they […]

Kevin Hassett and Irwin Steltzer Join in on the Fiscal Dishonesty

Kevin Hassett and Irwin Steltzer Join in on the Fiscal Dishonesty Brad DeLong is annoyed at the latest from Irwin Stelzer: Hassett and others in the administration point out that despite a hefty reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, government revenues rose by $3.3 trillion in the fiscal year just ended. […]

September JOLTS report: a jobs market moving from thriving to hot

September JOLTS report: a jobs market moving from thriving to hot Tuesday’s JOLTS report once again confirmed the very good employment report from one month ago, with two series making all-time highs and one an expansion high: Quits ust below their all-time high set one month ago Hires made a new all-time high Total separations […]

Absolute Decoupling and Relative Surplus Value: Rectification of Names

Jargon is a heck of a drug: If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success. The discourse of global warming/climate change is lousy with jargon. This rampant obfuscation gives science […]

Tracking Trump’s tariffs: US vs. Canadian rail loads

Tracking Trump’s tariffs: US vs. Canadian rail loads Let me start out by saying that there is an excellent case for the US imposing a VAT (“value added tax”) similar to those enacted by Canada and European countries in order to recapture the losses due to far lower wages in China and other developing countries. […]

MBS Must Go

MBS Must Go The grisly details of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi now coming out make it clear that the one thing that would really clear the air would be for 33-year old Muhammed bin Salman bin Abdulaiz al Sa’ud (MBS) to be replaced as Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and to be removed […]

Extended comments on industrial production, housing permits and starts at Seeking Alpha

by New Deal democrat Extended comments on industrial production, housing permits and starts at Seeking Alpha My take on the Industrial Production report yesterday, and my extended take on the housing permits and starts report this morning, are both up at Seeking Alpha. You can click on the respective links to access them. In each case, the YoY comparisons […]