Where’s the inflation? Oil prices have risen by about 50% this year, while the dollar has weakened by about 10% (on a trade-weighted basis), which raises import prices. We would typically expect both of these effects to generate inflation. Yet most measures of inflation still show it at historically very low levels. However, this CBSMarketwatch.com […]

I’m sure you are all waiting with bated breath for the answer to the question posed in my mystery map post. Despite my error, the first two commenters had the right guess, and the third, Andy, figured out the error: I vote for NFL cities also – figuring that IA is mistakingly taking the place […]

A transfer pricing review from one of the Big Four accounting firms notes that the The American Jobs Creation Act allows for deductions for income attributable to U.S. production activities. This review also notes that: section 482 principles to allocate gross receipts between the different activities (for example, the activity of roasting coffee beans qualifies […]

Expectations were for another quarter point hike, and true to form, Greenspan did not disappoint those market expectations (he never does): The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to raise its target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 2 percent. The Committee believes that, even after this action, the stance of […]

The dollar has hit a record low already this morning against the euro, of over $1.30 per euro. The yen/dollar exchange rate is still hovering at about 106. I suspect that the Japanese CB has stepped up their purchases of dollars in the last week or two… Kash

Musings about the problems inherent in the Electoral College are still floating about; see Josh Marshall for one thoughtful example. And I have to agree with Marshall; I would have felt mighty uncomfortable if Kerry had won Ohio, and thus the presidency, while 3.5 million more Americans voted for Bush. I think the Electoral College […]

Donald Evans is leaving his position as Secretary of Commerce. And I can’t imagine how it will make the slightest difference to anything: At Commerce, Evans backed Bush’s economic policies enthusiastically. He traveled the nation, talking with small business groups, extolling the benefits of lower taxes and reduced regulation. Nevertheless, Evans left no discernible mark […]

Over the weekend, I happened across a list of cities. After a few seconds, I noticed something odd about them: the areas comprising the list were overwhelmingly Blue, not Red. Here’s a map in which the states containing the cities on the aforementioned list are color-coded based on how their cities voted (click to enlarge): […]

I had hoped to write this post for Roger Altman and Gene Sperling as they advised President-elect John Kerry on how to reverse George W. Bush’s fiscal mess. Two recent discussions pose the problems facing President Bush in his second term. Daniel Gross of Slate writes: The fiscal record of the past four years has […]

Brad DeLong’s The Simple Arithmetic of Social Security Privatization suggests how Bush’s “reform” might work for someone nearing the age of 50. The word is that the Bush administration will shortly propose the diversion of 2% of the taxable Social Security payroll to private Social Security accounts… Since benefits for the next generation or so […]