– by New Deal democrat Under normal circumstances, this would be the morning I would slice and dice the first important consumer data for the month: retail sales. With the government shutdown continuing with no end in sight, all we have are several dart-throws. The Chicago Fed’s final Advanced Retail Trade report for September indicated +0.5% […]
This is a rambling commentary pulling from an Angry Bear writer and two articles. I believe I have it all in order. Most recently Joel discussed Academia with an eye on colleges, “The end of the golden age for academia.” As he points out: “Recent months have brought terminations of 120 staff members at Boston […]
I retired while working at Tier 1s in the world of American and German automotive companies. If I was not in China or the Philippines, I was in western and eastern Europe going to suppliers. Mostly, this was automotive component production for American automobiles and pickups. As you read this piece, I believe you will […]
In his continuous effort to control the media cycle and distract from the Epstein files, Trump has been threatening China on and off with huge tariffs. But as usual, it looks like it’s bluster. Why? “America has made an unusually directional economic bet that is at this moment totally dependent on Chinese rare earth exports. […]
I am X-military, having served during the Vietnam conflict where many of my friends died or were injured. If you chat with me about your war stories, I will probably just nod my head. My overseas duty was with 8th Marines in Cuba as a 2881 MOS even though I was deadly with an M14. […]
“even if Trump’s push to establish authoritarian rule is defeated, it will take many years to recover what we’ve lost.” I have been thinking of this all along. Domestically? Tr_mp has been breaking the nations gains down. What comes to mind is reducing the minimum wage for federal contractors, rolling back rules that strengthening overtime […]
I’ve written previously about the shortage of primary care physicians in the US. In principle, one way to address this shortage is to admit more international medical graduates as physicians. But an historic barrier to this solution is the requirement for US residency training. Some states are passing laws allowing international medical graduates if they […]
– by New Deal democrat I am currently on vacation, and as the shutdown continues with no end in sight, the only sources of economic data are from the Fed and its regional banks, the States (unemployment claims and sporadic updates on tax withholding), and private sources. In other words, I might play hooky several days […]
– by New Deal democrat Among the economic data that is not being reported due to the federal government shutdown are initial and continuing jobless claims. Which, as I pointed out last week, is interesting because they were reported during the lengthy 2013 shutdown and for at least part of the 2018-19 shutdown. But both […]
Briefly: Prices are up. The unknown is whether and how much tariffs are impacting prices. Much can be influenced by news reports to the public. Prices did increase on imports. Are Tariffs Raising U.S. Retail Prices? Econofact The Issue: Tariffs on imported goods have risen steeply since President Trump’s second inauguration, to the highest level […]