Initial and continuing jobless claims continue moderating trend Initial jobless claims declined 8,000 to 210,000 last week, continuing above the recent 50+ year low of 166,000 set in March. Meanwhile, the 4-week average rose by another 7,250 to 206,750, compared with the all-time low of 170,500 set seven weeks ago.  Continuing claims also rose from […]

Kind of how we got to today’s environment of protecting various types of bullet-spewing-weapons. May 26, 2022 Professor Heather Cox Richardson One of the key things that drove the rise of the current Republican Party was the celebration of a certain model of an ideal man, patterned on the image of the American cowboy. Republicans […]

RJS, Focus on Fracking Summary: Natural gas rigs at a 32 month high; DUCs at a record low; 4.5 month Drilled but Uncompleted Wells (DUC) backlog is lowest in 7 years; completions remain 17% below prepandemic average… This Week’s Rig Count The number of drilling rigs running in the US increased for the 74th time over the […]

It appears that, vaccines nonwithstanding, COVID-19 will be endemic for a long time. Enforcing masking and social distancing/lockdowns are not sustainable in American society. We need engineering fixes that don’t depend on each person’s sense of civic responsibility. Kevin Drum points to two engineering fixes that would dramatically reduce infection rates: better ventilation and installation […]

by Joseph Joyce The Rising Dollar The foreign currency value of the dollar has been rising. The nominal broad dollar index of the Federal Reserve shows the dollar has increased by about 9% since its low point a year ago while other indexes register larger gains. What does this mean for the U.S. and other economies? The appreciation […]

American Impotence “The evenly-divided Senate approved the legislation – formally known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – on Wednesday in an 88-11 vote, garnering strong support from both Democrats and Republicans. The House of Representatives passed it by 363-70 last week.” Do Americans really think politicians who eagerly approved a $777 billion military-industrial […]

New home sales get walloped New single family home sales got walloped in April, declining -16.6% for the month compared with March, and down -26.9% from one year ago. Measured from their most recent peak last December, they are off -29.6%, and measured from their pandemic peak of August 2020, they are down a whopping […]

I started writing this a while back. Never put it up, was too busy doing other things like writing about healthcare and trying to finish a long post on pharmaceutical pricing replete with how the PBMs function and the kickbacks, discounts, chargebacks or rebates, cash discounts, free goods contingent on a purchase agreement, upfront payments, […]

Inflation reversals as unique markers of Boom and Bust cycles vs. Fed interventions As I’ve already mentioned a couple of times, I am seeing posts from the usual DOOOMERS warning that a recession is imminent, if we’re not already in one. Typically – again, as per usual – they cite data that they never bothered […]