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

March Industrial Production Rose 0.9% to Highest on Record

RJS; MarketWatch 666 Summary: March industrial production: G17 release on Industrial production and Capacity Utilization for March indicates industrial production rose 0.9% in March after rising by a revised 0,9% in February and a revised 1.0% in January, which left production 5.5% higher than a year ago. Industrial Production Rose 0.9% to Highest on Record in […]

Healthcare Sector Indicators and Insights

This is mostly a C&P with editing involved. Taken from Altarum Health Sector Economic Indicators, and “Insights from Monthly National Health Spending Data through December 2021.” I have added the link Altarum to return to the original article. Without the additional government spending covering Covid costs and a recession during 2020 -2021, overall healthcare spending […]

Weekly Indicators for April 18 – 22 at Seeking Alpha

by New Deal democrat Weekly Indicators for April 18 – 22 at Seeking Alpha My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. While I was writing about mortgage rates during the week, the yield curve did some re-tightening, enough to make a difference in the long term forecast. As usual, clicking over and reading should […]

SPR and Oil Supplies Low, same with Distillates and Products

RJS, Focus on Fracking Summary: Strategic Petroleum Reserve at a 20 year low, US oil supplies at a 14 year low after record jump in exports; distillates supplies at a 14 year low, total oil + products inventories at an 8 year low; a total oil + products exports at a record high The Latest US Oil Supply and Disposition Data from the EIA […]

Mortgage rates continue to rise

Mortgage rates continue to rise; once the backlog in construction is cleared, this will likely kill housing No important economic news today (April 22), but an important negative trend in interest rates is continuing. Mortgage rates are now at 12 year highs. The weekly data from Freddy Mac’s weekly survey shows rates increased to 5.11% […]

Jobless claims: more 50+ year lows

Jobless claims: more 50+ year lows Initial jobless claims declined -2,000 to 184,000, another 50+ year low. The 4 week average rose from 4,500 to 177,250, compared with the all-time low of 170,500 set two weeks ago. Continuing claims declined -58,000 this week to 1,417,000, a new 50 year low (but still well above their […]

Happy Earth Day!

(Dan here….late to Angry Bear from Econospeak) by Barkley Rosser Happy Earth Day!   Yes, today is the 53rd Earth Day.  I participated in the first one when it was held in Madison, Wisconsin on April 22, 1970, just as the environmental movement was really getting going.  There were observances elsewhere around the US, but […]

Housing starts show continued strength in March, while single family permits indicate softness ahead

Housing starts show continued strength in March, while single family permits indicate softness ahead The continued strength in total housing permits and starts shown in this morning’s report for March was surprising; but the series with the most signal and least noise, single family permits, betrayed weakness.  While typically permits, especially single family permits, lead […]

The IMF’s Proposed Policies on the Management of Capital Flows

by Joseph Joyce The IMF’s Proposed Policies on the Management of Capital Flows The IMF’s views on the advantages and drawbacks of capital flows have substantially evolved over time. The Fund reversed its opposition to capital controls in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2007-09, when it adopted the “Institutional View on the […]