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

Jobless claims: the positive regime change continues, suggesting a lower unemployment rate ahead

 – by New Deal democrat Let’s take our normal weekly look at jobless claims. As a general reminder, these are a good high frequency short leading indicator for the economy as a whole, and also somewhat noisily for the monthly unemployment rate. In the past several months, I have highlighted what appears to be a “regime […]

Manufacturing Headcount has Been Decreasing in the US for Years

It is no surprise to see it still decreasing. It would still be decreasing with a different president too. Much of my experience has been spent in helping companies with the use of flow through analysis of manufacturing and materials. When I read this short piece, it was no surprise that it has not improved. […]

Lipstick on a pig

Musk’s Tesla brand is becoming toxic. The unsold cyber trucks are accumulating in large lots. Sales of Tesla sedans have slumped, partly because Musk himself is a toxic brand and partly because of competition. Looks like Musk is crying “uncle.” “Elon Musk, who turned an upstart electric vehicle maker into an industry-changing powerhouse, is pulling […]

Regional Fed manufacturing indexes suggest rebound continued in January, with continued inflationary (tariff-related?) pressures

 – by New Deal democrat Although the last federal government shutdown has been over for 2.5 months — and a new one might begin this weekend — with the exception of a few headline indicators like inflation, industrial production, and employment, most of the data is still lagging by at least one month, i.e., it has […]

Wealth Tax in California

I follow Robert Reich daily missives on his site. I did subscribe to it. Robert has a habit of commenting on issues or things I would like to know more about. I do agree with much of what he says so it may be one reason why I read him. The topic of today’s commentary […]

Repeat home sales indices for November indicate continued rebalancing vs. new home prices — at a glacial pace

 – by New Deal democrat For the past year, my view has been that the housing market is in recessionary territory, although that has not translated to the economy as a whole. As per usual, home sales lead house prices; and that trend continued with the Case Shiller and FHFA repeat sales house price indexes through […]

Book Review: “Land is A Big Deal”

Taxing land and not improvements according to the value of the land? Sounds like a novel idea. Review: Land is a Big Deal – The one-handed economist, Daniel Zetland OB recommended this 2022 book by Lars Doucet (LD) because I was asking for advice on lowering rents in the NL. LD writes with a different style from […]

Trump administration urges Supreme Court to find California’s redistricting map unconstitutional

Trump is continuing his effort to skew state voting districts starting with California. If SCOTUS agrees with Trump, the decision could have influence on how other states align their voting districts.  SCOTUSblog (Jan. 23, 2026, “California Redistricting,” Amy Howe The Trump administration on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to block the new congressional map adopted by […]