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

A Few Sunday Morning Reads

Niagara Falls: Some things never change, Carbon Upfront, Lloyd Alter. In 1882 Oscar Wilde noted that “Niagara will survive any criticism of mine. I must say this, however, that it is the first disappointment in the married life of many Americans who spend their honeymoon there.” (Calling it the second disappointment is a misquote) I recently […]

Replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

“This success can translate to a more transformative and permanent paradigm shift for US energy policy, but the DOE’s success paves a clear path to future successes.” The SPR strategy being, “how long can the US hold out against a hostile Middle East?” The Saudis appear to favor trump over other US politicians. Maybe appeasing […]

Real business sales estimate: up 0.3% in April, but still below January peak

Real business sales estimate: up 0.3% in April, but still below January peak  – by New Deal democrat Let me start today by re-upping this graph of the current state of the coincident indicators mentioned by the NBER as data that they track: As I wrote earlier this week, the two positives keeping the economy […]

A Better Way (Potentially) to Fund Rural Hospitals

The issues being addressed in the second part of the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform or CHQPR ORG, report reviews what is causing small rural hospitals to close. Provided is also glimpse at a solution to fix and maintain small rural hospitals which can not maintain the necessary facility and service to local […]

Initial and continuing claims: yellow caution flag reinstated

Initial and continuing claims: yellow caution flag reinstated  – by New Deal democrat Initial claims rose sharply last week, up 28,000 to 261,000 (an 18 month high). The 4 week average rose 7,500 to 237,250, still lower than its April peak. Continuing claims, with a one week delay, declined -37,000 to 1.757 million: When we […]

The hard Financial Lessons for Two Entities

The End of Easy Money: Bankruptcy Filings Pile Up at Fastest Rate since 2010, Wolf Street, Wolf Richter. t’s turning into a banner year for corporate bankruptcy filings. Easy Money has caused all kinds of excesses, fueled by yield-chasing investors, in an environment where the Fed had repressed yields with all its might. Those yield-chasing […]

Scenes from the employment report: an important trend in self-employment; and real aggregate payrolls

Scenes from the employment report: an important trend in self-employment; and real aggregate payrolls  – by New Deal democrat We’re still in the week of drought following the payrolls release last Friday. Today let’s take a look at a few more items of interest from the Household Survey side. As you probably recall, the bottom […]

Open Thread June 8, 2023 New SCOTUS Ruling

Open Thread June 4, 2023, Angry Bear, angry bear blog Just a thought, and this is new at this moment. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined with the court’s liberals in affirming a lower-court ruling finding a likely violation of the Voting Rights Act in an Alabama congressional map with one majority Black […]