Two Trump (who else?) executive orders were issued in March (2026) which basically cause minority borrower additional hoops to jump through or road blocks to loans. In fact, the claim by this administration, the removal these mortgage protections will promote access to mortgages and remove barriers. The National Fair Housing Alliance® us claiming the opposite […]
– by New Deal democrat One of the things I used to harp on was that many forecasters make the mistake of simply taking an existing trend and projecting it forward. Often it is paired with the idea of “all things being equal,” i.e., that there won’t be countertrends in other sectors of the economy. […]
This Krugman commentary is from the last week of April. It touches upon the Middle East, the consequences of attacking Iran, and oil. In other words, it is still relevant to what is happening. A good recital of how we got to where we are today. All due to Trump’s neediness to be the man […]
– by New Deal democrat Consumer spending is about 70% of the economy, and retail sales is our first wide measure of that spending. For the second month in a row, this morning’s update for April was unsurprisingly dominated by what happened at gas stations. Nominally, total retail sales rose 0.5% in April, But after […]
I’ll admit that gas prices at the pump have no significant effect on me. I live close to everything I need to be in person (food, healthcare), and I drive a sub-compact fuel-efficient car. I combine trips and keep my tires inflated. The reality is that oil prices affect much more than your personal mobility. […]
– by New Deal democrat I want to write an extended discussion of the April retail sales report released this morning, to tease out the effect of the spike in gas prices, but first let me do my usual weekly update on jobless claims. These have historically been a good short leading indicator for the economy, […]
The inflationary, “K”-shaped T—-p economy – by New Deal democrat There are times when the economy is undergoing such a profound shift that there is suddenly a lot to say. This is one of those times. I have been meaning to put up a post like this for several weeks. Let me at least make some […]
Talking national debt. “Paying interest on a growing debt. not spent on education, healthcare, roads and bridges, social safety nets, or (if we actually needed more spending on it) national defense.” “Psst: What No One Will Tell You About the National Debt (But I Will),” Robert Reich You really need to know this . . . The […]
Brief Four minute read with graphs and tables. The Consumer Price(s) Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in April, after rising 0.9 percent in March. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported May 12, 2026. The biggies here? Energy rose 3.8 percent in April, accounting for over […]
– by New Deal democrat As almost universally anticpated, the April CPI continued to reflect the big increase in gas prices – although it didn’t pack quite the wallop that March did. Headline CPI increased 0.6%, following March’s +0.9%, causing the YoY% gain to increase to 3.8%. Meanwhile the core measure increased 0.4%, causing the YoY% […]