– by New Deal democrat As usual we start the month with two important reports on the leading sectors of manufacturing and construction. First, the ISM manufacturing index showed contraction yet again, with the headline number “less negative” by way of increasing from 46.8 to 47.2, and the more leading new orders subindex declining sharply […]
by Prof. Heather Cox Richardson The Democratic National Committee today released a platform that lays out the history of the last four years and explains how and why the Biden-Harris administration has oriented the United States government toward ordinary Americans. It is in many ways a snapshot of the United States of America in this […]
A bit of The Atlantic’s Anne Lowrey on high prices and increasing prices. The article says there are few or great tools a president has at their disposable. I beg to differ on Annie’s comment. One of those tools a President Kamala has is take the issue to the citizenry making the case many of […]
AB: That the US is still playing around with costly old technology and pollutes the environment is unbelievable. In the end, it will come back and haunt the later generations as energy and resources become more expensive. Ford Motor Co. is ramping up production of its F-Series Super Duty pickups with a $3 billion investment to keep […]
– by New Deal democrat The second point of economic data released this morning, retail sales, were also positive. On a nominal basis, retail sales in July rose 1.0%. After adjusting for inflation, they rose 0.8% to the highest level so far this year. The below graph norms both real retail sales (dark blue) and […]
FTC to Launch Inquiry into Higher Grocery Prices by Lucille Barilla @ Retail Wire FTC Chair Lina M. Khan highlighted the FTC’s recent work to stop corporate lawbreaking that raises prices for Americans, including uncovering evidence of corporate conduct that may raise the price of gas, grocery prices, working to lower the cost of many asthma […]
Credit conditions in Q2 improved, and are typical of an economy having come *out* of a recession, not going in to one – by New Deal democrat The Senior Loan Officer Survey, the premier quarterly measure of the loose- or tight-ness of bank lending, was published yesterday for Q2. And since lending conditions are a […]
July jobs report: Establishment survey weak (but still positive), Household survey (even more) recessionary – by New Deal democrat In the past few months, my focus has been on whether jobs gains are most consistent with a “soft landing,” i.e., no further deterioration, or whether deceleration is ongoing. In the last several months I have also […]
Repeat home sales were benign in May, forecast continued downtrend in shelter CPI in months ahead – by New Deal democrat First, a brief administrative note: I am traveling this week, so posting is going to be sporadic and delayed. I’ll get to this morning’s JOLTS report later today or tomorrow morning. With that out […]
Scientists have concluded a few years ago the Earth has entered a new climate state. This is one not seen in more than 100,000 years. Read elsewhere, that conclusion was part of a climate assessment report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2021. In 2024, we are threading in new temperature events which […]