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

What Happened To Paying Off The National Debt?

A week ago, this commentary by Bill McBride was up on Calculated Risk. A bit of history dating back to 2001. A very timely post and one which fits in with what was happening today with the National Debt. Take note of who was pushing less stringent regulation, tax cuts, etc. It will pay for […]

AAR: March Rail Carloads and Intermodal Decreased Year-over-year

AAR: March Rail Carloads and Intermodal Decreased Year-over-year by Calculated Risk on 4/07/2023 03:25:00 PM From the Association of American Railroads (AAR) Rail Time Indicators. Graphs and excerpts reprinted with permission by AAR to Bill McBride. Click on graph for larger image. This graph from the Rail Time Indicators report shows the six-week average of U.S. Carloads in 2021, 2022 and […]

MBA: “Mortgage Delinquencies Increase in the Fourth Quarter of 2022”

Calculated Risk: MBA: “Mortgage Delinquencies Increase in the Fourth Quarter of 2022” calculatedriskblog.com, Bill McBride by Calculated Risk on 2/16/2023 01:42:00 PM From the MBA: Mortgage Delinquencies Increase in the Fourth Quarter of 2022 The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties increased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.96 percent of all loans outstanding at the end […]

DOT: Vehicle Miles Driven Decreased year-over-year in June

Bill McBride at Calculated Risk (8/23/2022 02:21:00 PM) had this report on mileage driven for June 2022. I am sure as Bill suggests gasoline prices may have played a role in the decrease. I wonder too if Covid kept people from travelling too? One of the links to the DOT page also shows travel by […]

Bill McBride, Krugman, and Business Insider

Congratulations Bill. Joe Weisenthal at Business Insider offers some hyperbole in The Genius Who Invented Economics Blogging Reveals How He Got Everything Right And What’s Coming Next, but also offers well deserved praise for Bill McBride and Calculated Risk.  Paul Krugman in the NYT posts  All Hail Calculated Risk and praises Bill’s work as well. Bill […]

CR on employment/population ratio

A really well done basic reading of the employment to population ratio is done by Bill McBride at Calculated Risk, and includes a mention of Paul Krugman’s article on the same topic. It is best to pay a visit to follow the reasoning and the detail involved. The implications are certainly also worth exploring.

More Detail on Working the Refs

So there are several comments to my previous post. Ignoring the a good one from Dr. DeLong, several people are taking umbrage at my unsubtle suggestion that the effect on employment being suggested is, to be polite about it, rather creative. kharris begins, “So let me see if I have this right. If anybody tries […]

Today in "Economists Are NOT Totally Clueless" (Part 1 of 2 or 3)

The WSJ collects reactions to the release of the latest Case-Shiller index. Let’s look at two, just for fun: One in four mortgages are currently underwater. Foreclosure and delinquency rates, which hit a record high at the end of the third quarter of 2009, are therefore likely to continue to rise, perhaps sharply. In addition […]

What Brad DeLong Said: Rest in Peace Doris Dungey, "Tanta"

UPDATE: For those who read here and not at CR, a link for Donations. We knew she was home with her family, but it was over the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday… Calculated Risk: Sad News: Tanta Passes Away: My dear friend and co-blogger Doris “Tanta” Dungey passed away early this morning. I would like to express […]