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

An update on yield curve dynamics

An update on yield curve dynamics So I submitted this wonderful piece to Seeking Alpha Tuesday morning, and figured I would just link to it today. But as in the best laid plans of mice and men, somehow it reverted to a draft without ever being reviewed by the site’s editors, which means it isn’t […]

“The Opportunity Cost of Socialism”

“The Opportunity Cost of Socialism” Why is the Council of Economic Advisers producing party political propaganda for the GOP? As many folks have pointed out, the “report” is rather bizarre. My favorite part is Figure 1, which summarizes Milton Friedman’s argument that people spending “their own money” are “more careful how much to spend and on what […]

New home sales bombed in September

New home sales bombed in September Needless to say, this morning’s report on new home sales was another big miss in the housing sector. Not only were sales a new 12 month low, they were the lowest in nearly 2 years, and are off over -150,000 from their peak 10 months ago: Typically new home […]

Abigail Spanberger Taking Dave Brat to the Wood Shed

If you have not seen this yet, take a moment, watch, and listen. It makes you feel good about being a Democrat. This is the 7th District Virginia’s Elissa Slotkin, Abigail Spanberger running for the Congressional Representative in Virginia. After verbally wondering if Dave Brat knows which Democratic candidate she is, listen to her remind […]

Claiming Voter Fraud, Trump Is Poised To Disregard a Democratic House Victory

HuffPost Politics: New York Times columnist Economist Paul Krugman fears that President Donald Trump’s insistent complaints of “voter fraud” are a setup to deny the legitimacy of a Democratic majority in the House should the party win in the midterm elections. Those who don’t believe such a scenario is possible “haven’t been paying attention,” the […]

September existing home sales: yet another poor housing report

September existing home sales: yet another poor housing report While existing home sales are roughly 90% of the entire housing market, they are much less important as an economic indicator because they do not have the knock-on effects of construction improvements, and less of the landscaping and indoor improvements, that new homes do. But they […]

Kevin Hassett and Irwin Steltzer Join in on the Fiscal Dishonesty

Kevin Hassett and Irwin Steltzer Join in on the Fiscal Dishonesty Brad DeLong is annoyed at the latest from Irwin Stelzer: Hassett and others in the administration point out that despite a hefty reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, government revenues rose by $3.3 trillion in the fiscal year just ended. […]

Weekly Indicators for October 15 – 19 at Seeking Alpha

by New Deal democrat Weekly Indicators for October 15 – 19 at Seeking Alpha My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. Between them, high interest rates and tariffs are affecting the readings in all three timeframes. As usual, clicking on the link and reading the post puts a little coin in my pocket, as […]