You might think universities would be immune to the financial pressures of the non-academic marketplace. You would be wrong. Brandeis University is struggling financially, and recently fired their resident string quartet, the Lydian String Quartet* after 40 years, to save $275,000. Other universities that, unlike Brandeis, have medical schools, are also struggling with their budgets. […]

And quite frankly, Trump is not interested in Americans and Families unless they are a part of the 1-percenters in Income. To be in the top 1% of earners, you’re looking at an average annual income of $819,324. The top 0.1% of Americans earn an average of $3,312,693. These are same people who benefit the […]

– by New Deal democrat After two weeks of being highly elevated YoY, initial claims returned to a more “normal” range this week, as except for Florida, hurricane disruptions largely disappeared. For the week initial claims declined -15,000 to 227,000. The four week moving average increased 2,000 to 238,500. With the typical one week delay, […]

Trump is promising lots of tariffs if he’s elected. Make no mistake: American consumers pay tariffs, not the exporting country. US consumers will be hit by (a) increased cost of imported goods, and (b) increased cost of domestic goods, as domestic producers raise prices to match imports. Econ 101. Trump is promising to lift taxes […]

He wanted generals like Hitler’s, a leader he sometimes praised. “Do you really believe you’re not loyal to me?” Trump asked then–chief of staff General John Kelly. Kelly was clear: “I’m certainly part of the administration, but my ultimate loyalty is to the rule of law.” October 22, 2024 – by Prof. Heather Cox Richardson […]

 – by New Deal democrat In the past number of months, I have been looking for a rebalancing of new vs. existing home sales. The sharp increase in mortgage rates beginning in 2022 locked many existing homeowners into their houses, since they could not afford the concomitant increase in mortgage payments that would accrue from […]

Getting the vote out has been a big factor in voting. Much of voting today is done via mail. The U.S. Postal Services plays a large role in making sure votes are delivered on time. The graph below is from the September 30, 2024 review of the USPS performance resulting from the America Plan. A […]

When I was growing up, I viewed being a physician as the zenith of achievement for someone interested in science. That changed when I got to college and became interested in research. I realized I didn’t have the temperament for a physician (OK, maybe a radiologist or a pathologist) and I became a lab rat. […]

Results taken from Company Reports: “GM Releases 2024 First-Quarter Results and Raises Full-Year Guidance,” General Motors Company GM Story Reported by William Gavin at Quartz: beats Wall Street’s expectations again for third-quarter earnings and raised its outlook for the full year GM is having a great year as it posts Q3 earnings beat General Motors […]

– by New Deal democrat One of the well-established long leading indicators is corporate profits. Typically they peak a year or more before the onset of a recession. And the reason makes sense: if there is profit pressure that lasts longer than a single quarter, i.e., it looks like it may be forming a trend, […]