The Angry Bear

Patrick J. Micharls RIP, Econospeak by Barkley Rosser  I have just read an obituary in today’s Washington Post of Pat Michaels, who died a week ago of unreported causes at age 72. He was long identified as one of the most influential “climate skeptics” in terms of policy, playing an important role in blocking the US from joining the Kyoto Accords in the 1990s and long a prominent figure in media debates on outlets such as the old “Crossfire”...

The Eurozone is not an optimum currency area. The Euro as such was a bad idea to begin with. Notably, this was the standard view of US economists. The North American argument (originating in Canada) was that a currency should be used in an area within which people are willing to move to get a job. The original argument was that the US dollar zone and Canadian dollar zone were not optimal areas and that Western Canada should have the same currency as...

I have discovered that there are still people who think that adopting the Euro was a good idea, or at least not a bad idea, or at least not a catastrophe. They seem to have decided that the Greek fiscal tragedy is a minor issue. I will leave it out of the discussion. My view is that the Euro *and* the Stability and Growth Pact have worked together to endanger the project of European integration. There are strange developments of far right,...

There is a lot of noise about the shortage of semiconductors. I am not going to explain it all here. You will find the explanation of manufacture in the articles. It takes weeks to grow wafers and then Fab semi-conductors. Not maintaining orders for semiconductors creates shortage when production starts up again. The purchase of semiconductors has changed since I was in it in 2008 chasing automotive OEM caused shortages. Growing the wafers could...

“Ford Plans to Gut Workforce, Cut Thousands” – 24/7 Wall St. (247wallst.com), Douglas A. McIntyre Gasoline or electric is the question for product. Ford could take a gradual change to electric from gasoline. It does not appear to be in the cards for Ford CEO Jim Farley. The Ford CEO wants to get a jump on technology and be a leader in improving the environment improve Ford margins according to “24/7 Wall St. And they are going to do this how? Ford...

Increasing trend in jobless claims continues; on track to give recession warning in November Initial jobless claims rose another 7,000 to 251,000 last week, an 8 month high. The 4 week average rose 4,500 to 240,500, a 7+ month high.  And continuing claims also rose 51,000 to 1,384,000, which is 78,000 above their 50 year low set on May 21: Three weeks ago I noted that reviewing the entire 50+ year history of initial claims, “there are almost...

We are firmly into an ENSO phase in the United States that could be regarded as the essence of the word dire. Milestones in Texas the past two weeks from a drought, weather, and a livestock production perspective are coming fast and often. Largely throughout the entire west – it’s hot, dry, and uncomfortable, both from a producer perspective but also as a common person, and more so for livestock out on the range with very little way of seeking...

Existing home sales now down 25% from peak; but price increases keep steamrolling on Although existing home sales are less economically important than new home sales, what has been happening with their prices, given the experience of the housing bubble and bust 15 years ago, is of added importance. The simple summary is that sales have declined precipitously, while price appreciation keeps stubbornly rolling on due to (still!) a severe lack of...

A collection of interesting reads, news, and articles from the last week. Healthcare “Fauci to Retire by End of Biden’s First Term” (medscape.com), “Biden’s chief medical officer (Fauci), who has also been director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, told Politico he is not planning to wait for COVID-19 to disappear before retiring.” “Three Key Strategies for Combatting Nurse Turnover” | MedPage Today,...