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

August JOLTS report: a pause in deceleration, but the trend remains intact

August JOLTS report: a pause in deceleration, but the trend remains intact  – by New Deal democrat Last month I concluded my post on the July JOLTS report’s sharp declines by noting that “None of these statistics move in a straight line, so it would be a mistake to project this report’s relatively big moves […]

Consumer spending holds up well in August, despite ending of disinflation

Consumer spending holds up well in August, despite ending of disinflation  – by New Deal democrat  As I have repeated for the past several months, in the current economy the personal spending and income report is just as important as the jobs report. That’s because, despite the downturn in manufacturing production and many parts […]

Scenes from the August employment report – and a warning

Scenes from the August employment report – and a warning  – by New Deal democrat The weekly lull after last Friday’s employment report will end tomorrow. In the meantime, let’s take a deeper dive into a few important trends in that report. First, the unemployment rate rose 0.3% to 3.8% – which is totally not surprising […]

August jobs report: deceleration shows up in spades

August jobs report: deceleration shows up in spades  – by New Deal democrat My focus remains on whether jobs growth continues to decelerate, particularly manufacturing and residential construction jobs, but also total construction and goods production jobs as a whole; as well as watching for the increase in jobless claims to translate into a higher […]

YoY initial claims restart the yellow caution flag, suggest unemployment will rise towards 4.0%

YoY initial claims restart the yellow caution flag, suggest unemployment will rise towards 4.0%  – by New Deal democrat I’ll post on personal income and spending a little later. But first, initial jobless claims declined -4,000 to 228,000 last week. The more important 4 week average increased 250 to 237,500. With a one week delay, […]

Open Thread August 31, 2023 Mixed News Topics

Not Everything We Call Cancer Should Be Called Cancer, rsn.org. The NYPD Denied Our Request for Body Camera Footage of a “Friendly Fire” Killing. Here’s How We Got It Anyway, ProPublica, Mike Hayes. Clarence Thomas officially discloses private jet trips on GOP donor Harlan Crow’s plane, CNN Politics, Ariane de Vogue and Devan Cole. Stay […]

Update on CMS implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act on its 1st anniversary

Passing along information on Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, one year out, and the impact on the US. Update on CMS implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act on its 1st anniversary, ACA Signups, Charles Gaba via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) (note: this press release actually came out on August 16th):

Initial Jobless Claims, Continue to Suggest Slow Weaking

Initial claims improve weekly, continue to suggest slow weaking  – by New Deal democrat [Reminder: I’m still traveling, so with no economic news, don’t expect a post tomorrow.] Initial jobless claims declined to 230,000 last week. The more important 4 week average increased to 236,750. Continuing claims, with a one week lag, declined slightly to […]

Unlike homeowners, home builders can alter their product and pricing point

Unlike homeowners, home builders can alter their product and (much more flexibly) their price point  – by News Deal democrat Yesterday I noted that home builders, unlike existing homeowners trying to sell their existing house, have flexibility in the size and amenities of the house they will build, as well as the price they are […]

Coronavirus special update: the annual summer wave has arrived

Coronavirus special update: the annual summer wave has arrived  – by New Deal democrat As I wrote at the beginning of this year, I would only post Coronavirus updates if there appeared to be something significant happening. And there is. There is a completely new alphabet soup of XBB subvariants that are competing with one […]