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

Did July’s headline jobs number miss business closures, and so overcount job gains?

Did July’s headline jobs number miss business closures, and so overcount job gains? A few issues arose with regard to last Friday’s jobs number; in particular, the effect of government jobs in the form of Census and teaching jobs, whether seasonal adjustments are unhelpful at this time; and whether the birth/death model used by the […]

“Executive Order” Versus “Executive Action” Such As A Memorandum

“Executive Order” Versus “Executive Action” Such As A Memorandum  Most of the news media has reported that President Donald J. Trump has signed four “executive orders” involving extending unemployment benefits at a $400 rate, deferring (or ending?) payroll taxes for Social Security (opposed by both parties in Congress), extending a ban on evicting renters, and […]

Topical thread

by rjs Once again, here are the links to this week’s coronavirus news collections, as posted overnight at Econintersect: 09 Aug 2020 – Coronavirus Disease Weekly News 09August 2020 09 Aug 2020 – Coronavirus Economic Weekly News 09August 2020 New coronavirus cases in the US were down another 10% this week, and the week’s virus death toll was down by […]

An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Make Election Mail Free

Mark Jamison’s commentary on USPO matters have been featured at Angry Bear Blog a number of times over the years. A retired postmaster, Mark Jamison serves as an advisor, resident guru, and a regular contributor to Save the Post Office. Mark’s previous posts concerning the USPO can be found here at “Save The Post Office” […]

Initial and continuing jobless claims: back to being “less awful”

Initial and continuing jobless claims: back to being “less awful” This morning’s initial and continued jobless claims resume the trend of “less awful” numbers. New jobless claims fell to under 1,000,000 for the first time on an un-adjusted basis – 984,192, to be specific (gold in the graph below). After seasonal adjustment, they declined 249,000 […]

July jobs report: a very good *relative* gain – perhaps the last

July jobs report: a very good *relative* gain – perhaps the last HEADLINES: 1,763,000 million jobs gained. Together with the gains of May and June, this makes up about 42% of the 22.1 million job losses in March and April. U3 unemployment rate declined -0.9% from 11.1% to 10.2%, compared with the January low of 3.5%. […]

How To Measure Quarterly Changes In GDP Can Make A Big Difference

How To Measure Quarterly Changes In GDP Can Make A Big Difference We have had dramatic headlines and commentary in recent days since the BEA issued its initial estimate of quarterly changes in GDP, which they do not officially measure on an shorter time period. This is a measure of the average GDP in one […]

From the archives: The Source and Remedy of the National Difficulties

 With a minimum of editing or preface, I am reposting this one from February 2009. Next year will be the bicentennial of the publication this astonishing but undeservedly obscure pamphlet. One “event” that I am conducting to celebrate the anniversary is posting of around 65 questions that I have mined from the text. I hope […]

Weekly Indicators for July 27 – 31 at Seeking Alpha

 by New Deal democrat Weekly Indicators for July 27 – 31 at Seeking Alpha My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. The two most noteworthy short leading indicators, stock prices and initial jobless claims, have started to go in two different directions in the past several weeks. As always, clicking over and reading should […]