The Angry Bear

Weekly Indicators for January 30 – February 3 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. While yesterday’s blockbuster jobs report dominated the monthly reports, several important weekly reports, notably the 4 week average of retail sales as measured by Redbook, and the temporary Staffing Index, weakened further to new post-pandemic lows. On the other hand, January tax withholding payments had...

My daughter gave me Emma Southon’s book “A fatal thing happened on the way to the forum” for Christmas. Apart from my longtime interest in history, there was a particular reason for this choice. Rebecca took five years of Latin in middle school and high school. She got a 5 on the Latin AP exam, which entitled her to college credit, although I’m not sure whether Colorado State awarded that credit on her transcript. Along the way, she learned 33 words...

I have been negligent and have not followed up on Steve Hutkin’s “Save The Post Office” commentaries. There is a lot going on at the USPS. Appointing two new postal governors to the USPS board is an important issue. Important to the nation if it is ever going to wrestle the USPS away from Louis DeJoy and Corporate interests such as UPS, FedEx, etc. Is Biden still considering appointing two new postal governors? Save the Post Office, Steve...

President Biden has so far insisted he will not negotiate over the debt ceiling.  This makes sense on one level.  The Republicans are threatening to blow up the economy to get the Democrats to agree to – and share the blame for – unpopular budget cuts.  It is easy to see why Democrats want to resist going down this path. Just saying “no” to negotiations may not work But in the real world things are not so simple.  The House Republicans may pass...

January jobs report: like a sports car at maximum acceleration    – by New Deal democrat My focus on this report was on whether manufacturing and construction jobs turned negative or not, and whether the deceleration apparent in job growth would continue. Both of those were answered emphatically in the negative. Here’s my in depth synopsis. HEADLINES: 517,000 jobs added. Private sector jobs increased 443,000. Government jobs increased...

Black History Month is in February if you do not know it. Prof. Heather Cox Richardson celebrates it with a mixture of past and present facts, points, and references to it. Some of her points are ugly. Amongst her reverence to Black History Month is the detail of how the Battle Hymn of the Republic came to be. “February 1, 2023,” Letters from an American, Prof. Heather Cox Richardson On February 1, 1862, in the early days of the Civil War,...

This post is another part of a mini-series I am doing on healthcare and shootings. First, why the designation of bullet – spewing – weapons in this post? It eliminates the discussion of whether we are talking about a pistol, a bolt action Springfield, a semi-automatic Garand, a M14 with a twenty-round clip, a M60. or a Thompson Sub. There is a cost to owning a bullet – spewing – weapon. A cost which many people refuse to understand. There is...

JOLTS and jobless claims: the labor market remains a strong positive  – by New Deal democrat The message from the JOLTS report for December yesterday and jobless claims for last week today is that the labor market remains the strongest sector of the economy, with plenty of unfilled job openings, and almost no layoffs. Initial jobless claims last week declined -3,000 to 183,000, and the 4 week moving average declined -5,750 to 191,750. Both...

Democracy Under Threat in Peru! — The Long Downtrodden Majority of Peru are Complaining About Being Governed by a Minority Elite That has Subjugated Them for Some 500 years! — The first headline was the one we read and heard. The second one; too long, too complex. How can it be that a minority elite of European descent can rule a democracy for 200 years now? By keeping the indigenous majority poor and ill-educated then using the...

Editorial by EMPLOY AMERICA on The Fed Chair’s 25bp hike which are aligning with the Fed’s consensus and market beliefs and Powell’s expectations of continuing inflation risks. Gotta make sure the chance of inflation is really dead. Poking at it with 25bp hike now, making sure it is dead, and two more rounds of the same in the near future. Good take by Skanda Amarnath of EMPLOY AMERICA on Fed Chair Powell’s beliefs. Skanda’s belief is the...