Joseph Stiglitz is calling for an honest and open debate on the debt ceiling and future expenditures and whether there is any relationship between the two. He states the expansion of the debt ceiling has no relationship between it and laws having future expenditures. The debt ceiling has no bearing on legal expenditures. It is […]
Housing update: sales have bottomed, prices in process – by New Deal democrat No important economic news today. Yesterday existing home sales were released, but their economic impact isn’t all that important, except as it can confirm what has been happening with new houses under construction. And confirmation is what it gave us. First, *sales* […]
As of today, Trump seems well-positioned to win the Republican nomination. The basic dynamic is familiar from 2016 – Trump has a strong base of committed supporters, the opposition will likely be divided, and many Republican primaries are winner-take-all or winner-take-most. Couple this with the bump in support Trump got after his indictment in NY, […]
Jobless claims: yellow caution flag persists – by New Deal democrat In response to last week’s big jump in new jobless claims to 264,000, I wrote that it might be an outlier vs. the beginning of a rising trend. This morning claims fell back to their previous average range, at 242,000. The 4 week average […]
Democracy Alerts – Democrats Reintroduce Bill to Expand U.S. Supreme Court – Democracy Docket, I am certain this bill will not pass in the House. In any case, it puts SCOTUS on alert as to their politics. I would like to see Congress develop a code of ethics for SCOTUS which might go further than […]
Why hasn’t he been here? It was maybe a decade ago when I was working for Stone Ridge, an automotive company. I was in Boston visiting a plant and picking up on their purchasing of connectors I was also cost modeling those connectors. While there, I took an evening to meet Dan Crawford for the […]
A Fed nightmare? Housing permits and starts confirm improvement from bottom, multi-unit construction sets new record high – by New Deal democrat Housing construction is perhaps the single most important method by which the Fed seeks to translate its interest rate policy into effects on the economy. To be blunt, the Fed’s sledgehammer attempt via […]
This is an interesting commentary by David Zipper in his talk with Henry Grabar. Henry is the author of “How Parking Explains the World.” The AB title is from two questions. David was asking Henry to explain. If you have lived in or near a large city like Chicago, you are always on the hunt […]
March total business sales strongly suggest that real total sales have entered a downturn – by New Deal democrat Today’s final significant economic report was total business sales for March. This is a nominal figure; the “real” number won’t be updated until personal income and spending is reported for April in two weeks. And here, […]
I believe the true complaint is people will not work for long for an employer who screws them over on wages. They will take a job. And then the first change they get, they will leave for another job offering higher wages and better benefits. Especially now, when Labor is “still” scarce. Unless of course, […]