Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Jobless claims: troublesome trend continues, but no yellow flag yet

– by New Deal democrat Jobless claims: troublesome trend continues, but no yellow flag yet Initial jobless claims is one of the few remaining positive short leading indicators. But as I’ve noted for the past several weeks, the trend is troublesome. This week initial claims rose 4,000 to 230,000, and the 4 week moving average […]

What News Was in My In-Box, Dec. 7, 2022

Assorted topics this time. Consumerism was actually the first topic on the list of links in my In-Box. I am interested in seeing how the US negotiates with the Taiwanese on a new plant and what the US will do with Supply Chains. It is not as simple as what many people think. You should […]

November employment report

Scenes from the November employment report: the short leading jobs indicators – by New Deal Democrat Every month as part of my post on the jobs report, I run through the changes in those measures which are short leading indicators for the economy. There were some significant developments in the past several months, so let’s […]

New Guidance for States to Stop Charging Parents for Foster Care

“States Should Use New Guidance to Stop Charging Parents for Foster Care, Prioritize Family Reunification,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, cbpp.org, Diana Azevedo-McCaffrey. This article was referenced at “Mike’s Blog Round Up,” Crooks and Liars, by Batocchio, on October 22, 2022. The Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children & Families is allowing states […]

New factory orders remain an economic bright spot

New factory orders remain an economic bright spot  – by New Deal democrat New factory orders for October were reported this morning. I normally don’t write about them, because they are very noisy, but since at the moment they are one of the few bright spots among the short leading indicators, let’s take a look. […]

US Needs More Housing to Meet Demand and Costs

Anne Lowrey at The Atlantic recognizes a shortage of housing overall and mostly in the cities. “The U.S. Needs More Housing Than Almost Anyone Can Imagine.” Just how many houses, what is the number? How many homes must the expensive coastal cities in the US build to become affordable for middle-class and the working-poor families? Over […]

New Deal democrat’s Weekly Indicators for November 28 – December 2

Weekly Indicators for November 28 – December 2 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. First the long leading indicators turned. Then the short leading indicators turned. Now the coincident indicators are weakening to new expansion lows almost every week. The silver lining is: the first […]

A Tale of Two Recoveries

A Tale of Two Recoveries podcast from the Roosevelt Institute compares the recoveries between now and the Great Recession. What’s Changed since the Great Recession? The shifts in economic policy thinking over the last decade helped produce today’s record-breaking recovery. Heidi Shierholz: “The economy is not like the freaking weather, right? Like it really is […]

Census and WaPo at Odds Over Effect of Inflation on Low-Income Families

As I read Dean Baker’s perspective on Low Income families, I find it hard to believe. The market in the Southwest has dried up due to high prices and interest rates. One or the other has to be lower to attract buyers. Builders have not lower prices and bank rates have remained high. One builder […]

Economic Policy After the Midterm Elections

Economic Policy After The Midterm Elections  Will economic policy change much aa a result of the midterm elections? After all, the GOP has taken the House of Representatives, if only narrowly, with inflation and the economy supposedly the top issue, especially for those supporting the GOP. Will this reappearance of “divided government” have an impact […]