Mike Norman Economics

Hear me out. Face our fears. Togther!

Yesterday, the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the interest rate target for the ninth consecutive time (they didn’t meet in January) claiming that they had to do this to stop inflation accelerating and restoring price stability. Except inflation already peaked in the March-quarter 2022 as a result of the driving factors abating. Further, none of the major driving factors are remotely sensitive to domestic interest rate movements. The RBA’s excuse is that there are dangerous domestic demand...

GOP sees higher rates and higher taxes as the enemy… Cuts to Medicare and Social Security are off the table.Defaulting on our debt is not an option.But neither is a future of higher taxes, higher interest rates, and an economy that doesn’t work for working Americans. pic.twitter.com/KhLEEhaNNx— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) February 6, 2023 Democrats = Higher taxes + higher interest rates… GOP = lower taxes + lower interest rates

If this happens, we can all retire in 2 years.

There are three main steps needed to calculate a consumer price index.Determine weightings based on consumption.Go out and measure prices in the economy.Aggregate the measured prices into sub-indices which are in turn aggregated into an overall price index.Statistical issues ensue. Bond EconomicsInflation Index Calculation BasicsBrian Romanchuk

Op-ed by MMT economist Yeva Nersisyan.The HillLowering inflation isn’t a job for a one-trick ponyYeva Nersisyan | Associate Professor of economics at Franklin and Marshall College

In response to a question on how the sanctions environment would affect the energy market, bin Salman told an industry conference in Riyadh: "All of those so-called sanctions, embargoes, lack of investments, they will convolute into one thing and one thing only, a lack of energy supplies of all kinds when they are most needed".ReutersSaudi minister warns sanctions, underinvestment may cause energy shortagesRelatedEurope was forced to abandon [cheap] long-term contracts and make the...

Forecasting recession for the end of year unless construction data reverses. Single variable thinking based on one key factor only, or is he onto something?MacrocosmForecasting a recession with construction dataPhilip PilkingtonSee alsoAmid labor-supply constraints and economic shocks, the case for productivity-boosting interventions is clear. Unless US policymakers use a combination of investment and incentives to reverse negative productivity trends, the US will achieve modest growth, at...

Video and transcript. The video is from  4 days ago. The transcript takes a couple of days to prepare.Naked CapitalismThe Economics of the Ukraine Proxy War with Michael Hudson and Radhika DesaiDanny Haiphong at the Left Lens channel interviews Michael Hudson and Radhika Desai

Geopolitics, the global economy, and the future. Longish but important. Brave New WorldJeffrey D. Sachs – The New GeopoliticsJeffrey D. Sachs | University Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, where he directed The Earth Institute from 2002 until 2016. He is also president of the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network and a commissioner of the U.N. Broadband Commission for Development. He has been adviser to three United Nations...