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

Jobless claims continue to paint a much more positive picture than the unemployment rate

 – by New Deal democrat [Note: An update to my OS the other day has nuked my ability to post graphs. For now, I will post links to FRED graphs that you can access. For this post, I am only using one such link. If I am unable to resolve the problem, drastic action may be […]

Senators Wrestling Over Almost Everyone Else’s Health Care Except for Theirs

Out of all of this back and forth, nothing occurred. According to what I have read, the Senate had until the 15th to decide. Yes, No, or otherwise. So, millions of people are faced with increasing ACA insurance costs. Approximately 2 million others will be kicked off of Medicaid. Congress goes home for Christmas. Those […]

Real retail sales contract; depending on inflation report may signal further job losses

– by New Deal democrat [Note: An update to my OS the other day has nuked my ability to post graphs. For now, I will post links to FRED graphs that you can access. If I am unable to resolve the problem, drastic action may be required.] Angry Bear can post the images while NDd […]

Nordic data centers could heat homes

Data centers consume immense amounts of energy, much of which is given off as heat (see: 2nd law of thermodynamics). In much of the world, the heat just goes into the environment. In Finland and Sweden, efforts are underway to use that waste heat for home heating. “• Microsoft and other companies are building large-scale […]

Americans Are Being Hurt by Republican/Tru_p Economic Policies

Robert Reich in his latest commentary (“Why Americans are going batsh*t over the cost of living”) details what is going on today in the economy with Trump’s involvement. Overall? Not good . . . The Bureau of Labor Statistics (which can still be trusted!) reports today that just 64,000 jobs were added to the economy […]

Combined October and November jobs report: a hairs-breadth from recessionary, at best

 – by New Deal democrat At Last this morning we got some up to date labor data from the federal government, but only partially. The Establishment Survey was updated for both October and November, while the Household Survey was not conducted at all for October, and so jumps from September to November. In November virtually all […]

ACA Healthcare Extension

Taking this from Health Affairs which addresses the solutions and the issues. It is too long to post at Angry Bear. I am providing a link above. “No Clear Front-Runner to Extend ACA Healthcare Subsidies.” Some details. Plans When It Can Happen Satisfying the Fears of Ineligibles Receiving Healthcare Who Goes First and Saving Citizens […]

Casino hours

If it hasn’t already been obvious for the past three decades, the stock market is dominated by gamblers, not investors. And gamblers don’t keep banker’s hours, peeps. “Nasdaq, one of the world’s largest exchanges that is home to tech companies Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN), is planning to submit paperwork with the U.S. […]

What do vehicle miles traveled and gas usage tell us about the economy?

 – by New Deal democrat To be updated by NDd. Today is the last day of our data drought before the onslaught of delayed reports that begins tomorrow with the November jobs report and CPI.  In the meantime, there is a commenter on another economics site who generally believes that everything is OK as along as […]