The Angry Bear

This article (MedPage Today) popped up in my In-Box and I believe it is a good average – person on the street (high school education?) read if you want to understand “why,” why getting vaccinated is not a failsafe solution, You still have to socially distance, stay out of bars even if the owner is an ass, wear facemasks amongst other people, etc. so as not to catch Covid. The MedPage Today article explains why you should be vaccinated even if the...

Focus on Fracking: US crude supplies at a 24 month low, gasoline supplies at a 22 month low, total supplies at a 42 month low; August global oil shortage was 2.77 million barrels per day Natural gas prices at 7 1/2 year high near a 12 year high before falling back; US crude supplies at a 24 month low, gasoline supplies at a 22 month low, total supplies of crude plus all products at a 42 month low; US exports of distillates at a 6 month low; global...

August housing construction shows stabilization, following interest rate moderation This morning’s report on August housing permits and starts shows that the stabilizing of mortgage rates in the past few months has now stabilized housing construction. Housing starts increased 3.9% m/m, and total permits increased 6.0%. The less volatile single-family permits increased 0.6%. As a result, the overall trend for all three metrics for the past...

I have found Ten Bears in our comments section from time to time. I also followed the link to his blog “Homeless on the High Desert” and read a few of his posts. In “We’ve been over this before . . . ,” Ten Bears makes the point of migrants, people leaving their homeland to find better land in which to live will continue to go to other lands to live. They will go for food, water, safety, etc. Much of their leaving or all of it is due to pollution...

Disasters and threats tend to be politically unifying.  Public approval of George W. Bush jumped after the 9/11 attacks, and trust in government increased.  Donald Trump’s approval rating was highly stable due to increasing polarization, but even he enjoyed a small increase in approval at the start of the covid epidemic, and trust in government edged up slightly.  With covid, however, the rally-around-the-flag effect was short-lived.  For many...

Median household income and housing affordability Let’s take a look at the affordability (or not!) of housing since there is no economic news of note today (Monday). Last week the Census Bureau released their annual report on median household income for the US, covering 2020. Since this is the best measure to gauge housing affordability, rather than average wages or income, this is a good time to update this information. Median household...

I am sure there are better places to eat in northern Texas where the restaurant owners understand why people would want to wear a mask. Natalie Wester and her husband, Jose, went to hang out in North Dallas suburban sports bar with some friends on September 11 – LOVE BY LIFE “He (owner) added that his restaurant (pictured) is a private business and has (he) the right to refuse service to customers wearing a mask.” He said: “I’ve spent my...

Trip Notes Slept > 8-hours last night. Took off from Las Vegas, New Mexico yesterday morning and headed to Holbrook, Arizona.. If you are ever near Los Vegas NV, you might want to stay in The Plaza hotel, a blast from the past, still done up with a nineteen century interior. Bourbon was good as well as the food. Rooms comfy and styled in a similar motif as the rest of the hotel. Allan Affeldt started the restoration (more to come) of The...

CPI Rose 0.3% in August on Higher Prices for Food, Energy, New Vehicles, Furniture and Appliances; Commenter and Blogger RJS at MarketWatch 666 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Consumer Price Index: All Items for the United States [USACPIALLMINMEI], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/USACPIALLMINMEI, September 19, 2021. The consumer price index rose 0.3% in...