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

July producer prices: economic tailwind weakens, but still in place

Missed this analysis on Friday. July producer prices: economic tailwind weakens, but still in place  – by New Deal democrat Normally I don’t pay too much attention to the producer price index, but because the steep decline in producer prices has been such a boon to businesses, and a big tailwind for the economy as […]

Initial jobless claims: a little soft, but continued expansion signaled

Initial jobless claims: a little soft, but continued expansion signaled  – by New Deal democrat I’ll put up an analysis of this morning’s CPI later. In the meantime, initial jobless claims rose 21,000 last week to 248,000. The more important 4 week moving average rose 2,750 to 231,000. With a one week delay, continuing claims […]

July jobs report: almost across the board deterioration in leading sectors

July jobs report: almost across the board deterioration in leading sectors  – by New Deal democrat My focus remains on whether jobs growth continues to decelerate, and whether the leading indicators, particularly manufacturing and construction jobs, as well as the unemployment rate (which leads going into recessions) have meaningfully deteriorated. Almost all of these items […]