The last few weeks oil prices have been moving higher and few analysts seem to understand the full story. If there is any commodity that trades at a one world price it is oil. So the recent weakness in West Texas Intermediate ( WTI) is very unusual and stems from temporary bottlenecks. Over the last […]
by Rebecca Wilder Chart for the day: Growing on Imports Or should I say barely contracting on imports. In the traditional sense, growth in imports does not make a whole lot of sense. Normal economies import and export things, such that statistical agencies subtract the dollar amount of things that are made in other economies but […]
by Rebecca Wilder Follow up to yesterday’s post: Euro area consumption and Investment in Q2 2013 Yesterday I illustrated the unsustainable accounting growth engine of imports occurring in the euro area (EA). Today I’ll present more of a forward looking analysis on private domestic demand within the euro area: consumption and investment. If current levels of […]
by Rebecca Wilder Unhealthy developments across the euro area labour market There are many ways to define rebalancing within the euro area: relative prices, trade, productivity, unit labor costs, etc. I’d argue that one could see it in the employment data as well, although it will take a long time to work its way through. Basically, […]
by reader rjs Employment Summary: 195,000 Payroll Jobs Added in June; Household Survey Shows 432,000 More are just Working Part Time On its face, the headline increase of a seasonally adjusted 195,000 new jobs reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its June Employment Situation Summary was a respectable monthly increase and better than […]
I just got an email from LIS (the group that runs the Luxembourg Income Study and Luxembourg Wealth Study) giving notice of a new book: Income Inequality: Economic Disparities and the Middle Class in Affluent Countries Contrary to the title, there’s a whole section on wealth inequality. The book’s 17 chapters by 17 established researchers/research […]
by Rebecca Wilder State GDP shows a manufacturing rebound in 2012 State GDP shows the following in 2012: durable goods manufacturing and finance and insurance are primary drivers of cross-sectional growth. This confirms the national story, according to the BEA. A state-level breakdown shows strong (a surge in) economic activity in North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, and […]
Lots of desperation talk these days by Republicans hoping to win future national elections by increasing their share of the “missing” white vote, while ignoring all those brown people. (Sean Trende’s piece seem to be the epicenter at this moment.) Nate Cone drives a very effective stake through the heart of that zombie ambition here, with […]
Frances Coppola sums up and expresses a great deal of great thinking in her recent Pieria piece, The wastefulness of automation. I’d like to highlight one point, one that I’ve been pondering for a long time. There’s one area where machines — until they get sentient — can’t replace people (here from her response in comments): only […]
It’s really hard to kill this meme. Note the label on this graph from today’s Free Exchange post: Now change that heading to read “Business borrowing.” Sort of gives a different impression, right? The idea that the problem’s on the supply side is pervasive, and false or at least wildly overblown. Lending rates are at […]