– by New Deal democrat Today’s GDP report for Q2 was pretty much as we expected, i.e., payback from the front-running of import tariffs in Q1. But as usual, my main focus is on the two long leading components. The headline was a 3.0% annualized increase in real GDP, rebounding from the -0.5% decrease in Q1 […]
The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, keeping its benchmark range at 4.25% to 4.5%. In his remarks, Fed Chair Jerome Powell explained the committee’s view that “the economy is in a solid position.” However, growth has moderated, he said, and consumer spending has slowed in the first half of the year. What’s […]
– by New Deal democrat Yesterday’s JOLTS survey for June continued to be consistent with a “soft landing” scenario. This is good news, particularly on a relative basis, since the actions of the new Administration, especially on trade, have exacerbated the fear that this might transform into a “hard” landing, a/k/a a recession. As a quick […]
One of the icons of right-wing fairytale economics is the Laffer Curve. It purported to show that if taxes were raised too high, the tax income would fall. Casual inspection revealed that there were no labels on the ordinate or abscissa, so it was impossible to say at what level of taxation “too high” occurred. […]
– by New Deal democrat This morning’s repeat home sales reports from the FHFA and S&P Case Shiller were not good news for sellers – but very good news for future consumer inflation readings. On a seasonally adjusted basis, in the three month average through May, the Case-Shiller national index (light blue in the graphs below) declined […]
Briefly: Political polling of what the population in the United States could be thinking today? I know what I would br thinking of thinking of besides Tr__p’s first six months. Early on, I believe Tr__p was polling lower than other presidents in office for six months. Given the state of the economy as compared to […]
You don’t have to be looking to buy or sell a home to know there’s a nationwide problem with the housing market. Of course, some locations are stressed more than others. And the stress spills over into the rental market. I’m certainly no expert. We lived in our first house for 35 years. That was […]
As one commenter elsewhere stated: “Rural America hospitals in red states have been closing at an epidemic rate because the states refused to expand Medicaid under the ACA. Rural hospitals in blue states generally survive. The red states do not seem to care. Congress has not passed bills to save those red state rural hospitals” […]
The results of US Postmaster General Louis Dejoy’s efforts to improve US Postal Service in the United States. Steve Hutkins and Mark Jamison have been following USPS issues for years and they have been featured on Angry Bear going back to 2016. This particular piece has been taken from Steve Hutkins site: “Save the Post […]
– by New Deal democrat There was no big economic news today, despite the report on durable goods, which declined -9.3% in June — after a 16.5% advance in May. Simply put, it was all about aircraft orders from Boeing. Take out transportation, and orders rose 0.6% in May and 0.2% in June. The more important […]