November housing permits and starts: the biggest news is not in the headlines – by New Deal democrat The report on housing construction for November was very much a tale of two very different trends – and the most important one will almost certainly be under-reported. Housing permits issued declined to 1.342 million annualized, the lowest number since June 2020, and before the pandemic the lowest since July 2019. The even more reliable...
Read More »Repurchase of Oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserves
US to purchase more oil to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). DOE Announces Repurchase of Oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Department of Energy, DOE. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Petroleum Reserves, December 16 announced that it will start repurchasing crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). This repurchase is an opportunity to secure a good deal for American taxpayers by repurchasing oil...
Read More »The status of the coincident indicators
The status of the coincident indicators – by New Deal democrat In addition to real GDP, which is only updated quarterly and with a lag, the NBER has indicated that it relies upon four other datapoints in determining the onset month of a recession: payrolls, industrial production, real income less transfer payments, and real manufacturing, wholesale, and retail sales. The below shows all four, with the exception that, because real...
Read More »What News Was in My In-Box, Dec. 14, 2022
Rents decreasing, CPI slowly decreasing, and questions on whether any of this is due to the FED’s actions. Industrial production is still the same and gasoline prices have dropped. According to New Deal democrats’ analysis, real sales and real income have increased (still lower than they were one year ago), and payrolls have continued to increase but at a decelerating rate. Jobless claims have not yet reached the signal a recession point yet. If the...
Read More »Brief overview of the current state of the economy
A brief overview of the current state of the economy – by New Deal democrat This week we get the final most important data of 2022, with consumer prices tomorrow and industrial production and retail sales Thursday. The Fed will also be making its final rate hike decision of the year. Next week and the week after, the only data will be housing construction and prices, plus personal income and spending. So let’s take a look at few salient...
Read More »The Meaning of a Food Label Expiration Date. Is there one?
Having worked for Oscar Mayer buying food labels and packaging, this article caught my eye. Oscar Mayer is an old company and was left pretty much alone by its owners until Kraft got involved. A big time of the year was July 4th for hot dogs. The author is going to tell you the food labels on products are not looked at and reviewed. If he means “good until such” date. I am sure there is data backing it up. Somebody i Quality reviewed the data backing...
Read More »What News Was in My In-Box, Dec. 7, 2022
Assorted topics this time. Consumerism was actually the first topic on the list of links in my In-Box. I am interested in seeing how the US negotiates with the Taiwanese on a new plant and what the US will do with Supply Chains. It is not as simple as what many people think. You should know how the product is made. The US is sorely lacking in Supply Chain planning. The expertise is concentrated in mathematics rather than on the floor actual...
Read More »What News Was in My In-Box, Nov. 30, 2022
Healthcare and the Environment appear to be the issues talked about in this installment of links. It was pretty clear this week in what showed up in my In-Box. Two of the topics I marked and suggesting you might read them. One is Healthcare Insurance Claim denial. The other is Solar Panel efficiency. I am not surprised healthcare insurance is denying claims because they can. The longer they can delay a payout the more money they make. The...
Read More »Are railroads to blame for the rail strike threat?
Just doing a review of the potential strike being by railroad workers. To sum up the issue(s), proposed wage increases barely keep up with inflation, health care premiums nearly doubling, and a lack of paid sick days in the agreement. It doesn’t sound like that much of a big deal. More in a bit. In recent years, railroads reduced the workforce by 30%. Or, a smaller workforce is moving more freight. Smaller workforce results in less Overhead and...
Read More »Five Stats making ASC Healthcare execs nervous
As I have said before, I get many things in my In-Box. Beckers Healthcare ASC News Review is one of them. If you do not know what an ASC is, I have included a definition. U of M Hospital has a few of the around Ann Arbor. Ambulatory Surgery Center = modern health care facilities focused on providing same-day surgical care, including diagnostic and preventive procedures. The stats in this news clip I thought were interesting enough to post...
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