The Angry Bear

November 28, 2023, Letters from an American, Prof. Heather Cox Richardson I broke this down into various topics which makes it a bit more directed. Prof. Heather covers broad and interesting territory on the nation’s political activities. Pence: Here at home, the 2024 presidential campaign is heating up. This morning, Katherine Faulders, Mike Levine, and Alexander Mallin of ABC News broke the story that former vice president Mike Pence had...

Forecasting a further upturn in the unemployment rate: what works?  – by New Deal democrat Yesterday I read a post over at Seeking Alpha in which the author confidently predicted a recession in Q1 next year, based exclusively on the NAHB builder sentiment index. Here’s his accompanying graph, comparing builder sentiment with the unemployment rate 17 months later: In case you didn’t already figure it out, the graph forecasts a 7%...

AB: IEA will not allow me to change any wording. Anything in italics or leads with an AB in front is my wording. I believe the following (charts and brief summation) to be a good explanation of where the US stands at far as changes in energy and usage. A little background concerning our home. We live in a mostly electricity using house in terms of energy usage. Our fans are driven by DC (inverters) electricity. We have a heat pump to supply heat...

Maybe you have noticed this and maybe you have not? The USPS or the United States Postal Service does not sell stamps at a huge discount. You may get a few bucks off at Costco. It is not going to be 25% or 50% off what they are sold for as shown here: Lower left-hand corner of the first roll of stamps. Imagine that! The USPS selling 1st class mail stamps for 16.99 cents a stamp? Yeah, right. Facebook allows this advertising scheme of cheap...

Driven by frozen inventory, repeat home prices continue to increase, but downward pressure on shelter inflation remains  – by New Deal democrat Our last piece of important housing information for the month was released this morning; namely repeat home sale prices as measured by the FHFA and Case Shiller. The former increased by 0.6%, and the latter by 0.3%, continuing their increases since the beginning of this year: On a YoY basis, the...

Buy or rent Housing in 2023? Cost of buying has surpassed the cost of renting in 2023. Blame high house prices and soaring mortgage rates. Since 2020 nominal house prices have climbed by roughly 40%. In the same period the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose from 3.1% to 7.3%, lifting the mortgage repayments on a typical house by more than 50%.  Is it cheaper to rent or buy property? economist,...

I have followed Steve Hutkins and retired Postmaster Mark Jamison for years now. Both Mark and I have had conversations both on and off Angry Bear. It appears we are nearing the end of the reconstruct of the USPS. Whether it works as well shy 50,000 employees with the expectation civilians on their own can manage without the experience of their help, service, and delivery remains to be seen. Long read and a worthy read with links! Delivering for...

Two year low in new home prices and turndown in sales show renewed pressure caused by increased mortgage rates  – by New Deal democrat Once again, this morning’s report on new single family home sales shows that the compete bifurcation of the new vs. existing home markets continues. Unlike existing homeowners, many of whom are shackled in place by 3% mortgages, new home builders can offer price incentives and downsize floor plans to increase...

Comparing energy efficiency of boiling water: household appliances Michael D. Eissenberg, BSME, PE, Leed AP*, and Joel C. Eissenberg, Ph.D.* *co-corresponding authors Abstract Kitchen appliances use various mechanisms to heat, with differences in energy sources and geometry. The goal of this study was to compare energy efficiency across common household appliances. To facilitate comparison, 1 L of water was used as the heating substrate...

With this particular American Hospital Association letter, I pulled out the particular points in which the AHA is pointing out and filing complaints. The balance of the letter can be found at the link above, in the title (below), or in the attached PDF file at the end of this post. Unfortunately, it is too long in making its legitimate points. Insurance typically have a delay in payment which is normal fact. Every plan has different rules for...