– by New Deal democrat Let me start with my usual reminder that real retail sales is one of my favorite economic indicators, because it tells us so much about the state of the consumer, and since consumption leads employment, it is a short leading indicator for that as well. In October retail sales rose 0.4% […]
Trump and his minions may not believe in global warming, but people whose livelihoods depend on understanding climate change—bankers, insurance companies and the military—know it’s real. So do non-humans whose livelihoods are compromised by climate change: “Native fish populations will likely continue their decline off of Massachusetts’ coast, while species from further south will move […]
– by New Deal democrat Initial claims have now completely reverted to trend after their recent hurricane-induced blip. Initial claims rose 3,000 for the week to 217,000, while the four week moving average decreased -5,750 to 221,000. With the typical one week delay, continuing claims declined -11,000 to 1.873 million: On the more important YoY basis, […]
No, the 1% aren’t the job creators—that’s the middle class and working class. Tax cuts for the 1%, of course, don’t create jobs, they just create greater wealth disparity: “The authors set out to examine all instances of major tax reductions on the rich in 18 OECD countries between 1965 and 2015 and identify the […]
NY Fed: Mortgage Originations by Credit Score, Delinquencies Increase, Foreclosures Remain Low; Calculated Risk Newsletter The NY Fed released the Q3 Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit this morning. Here are three charts from the report. The first graph shows mortgage originations by credit score (this includes both purchase and refinance). Look at the difference in credit […]
– by New Deal democrat Today’s CPI report for October generally showed stable monthly increases, but slight increases in YoY comparisons. But as usual, it was almost all about the usual culprit of shelter, as more fully parsed below; to wit: – Headline CPI increased 0.2% for the month, the fourth month in a row […]
We had rooftop solar on our house for eight years before we moved. Half the price was paid by Ameren, the electric utility, and we got a 30% tax rebate on the balance. Even with that steep discount, we never got back our put, even in nominal dollars. Solar panels are much cheaper now, and […]
Robert Devereaux, MD wrote a piece on upcoding at MedPage. “The Trouble With Upcoding Extends Far Beyond Ethics.” This is a topic I have touched upon a couple of times and have experienced myself. Fix the issue I am telling you about if you can or pass me along to someone who can. “The practice […]
Why does it take, take a seven-foot-tall former professional basketball player to deliver the bad news. What about? How the citizens of the US misinterpreted the pricing of a dozen eggs as a bellwether for the US economy. The news is the economy was not bad. We weathered a pandemic because a president and a […]
Tuesday, November 12, 2024 – by New Deal democrat On Friday I wrote about how the Fed likely contributed, via hurting aspiring homeowners, to the outcome of the Election last week. Today I want to take a look at another issue – wages. As it happens, while I was writing this Paul Krugman put up […]