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

Back to back quarters of Corp. profit declines… What could it mean?

I saw this tweet today… Just fyi, the US stock market has never NOT crashed post back to back quarters of corp profit declines — Keith McCullough (@KeithMcCullough) January 6, 2016 Profits peak when the economy reaches its effective demand limit. A recession eventually follows. How much can the psychology embedded in the tweet move […]

Is there a model in which a Country which borrows in it’s own currency has a Greek style crisis ?

usa = Greece ? A challenge. Paul Krugman asks how a country like the USA could have a Greek style crisis. In his Mundell-Fleming Lecture Krugman defined Greek style crisis twice ” a Greek-style crisis of soaring interest rates” and ” a Greek-style scenario of higher rates and a slump in the real economy” . […]

Ireland still isn’t back

Ireland remains, in some circles, a poster child for austerity’s success: It paid off its bailout loan early! It regained its 2007 Gross Nation Income per capita in 2014! Unemployment is only 8.9%! Don’t believe the hype. Paul Krugman recently pointed out that Ireland’s employment performance continues to be dismal, especially in comparison with currency-devaluing, […]

Some Great Reads on a Wintery Night

Been taking some time to recoup from back surgery (8 inch gash Lumbar area), catch my breath, and find some more interesting topics on which to write. There are some awesome reads out there if you just take some time to search for them. – Another Christmas gift from Dean Baker; The Effort to Divert […]

Inventories to Sales Ratio Rising

By way of JimH in the comments section, the ratio of inventories to sales has been rising through 2015. (link to graph) Through the 1990’s and into the 2000’s, inventories were dropping with such things as advances in supply chain management and point of sale inventory control. However since the crisis, that trend is reversing. […]