Tag Archives: US EConomics

Niagara Falls: Some things never change, Carbon Upfront, Lloyd Alter. In 1882 Oscar Wilde noted that “Niagara will survive any criticism of mine. I must say this, however, that it is the first disappointment in the married life of many Americans who spend their honeymoon there.” (Calling it the second disappointment is a misquote) I recently visited with my daughter Emma’s family, and not much has changed since 1882, or at least since my kids were...

“This success can translate to a more transformative and permanent paradigm shift for US energy policy, but the DOE’s success paves a clear path to future successes.” The SPR strategy being, “how long can the US hold out against a hostile Middle East?” The Saudis appear to favor trump over other US politicians. Maybe appeasing trump is easier than satisfying a real president focused on the nation they represent rather than himself and ego. In any...

Real business sales estimate: up 0.3% in April, but still below January peak  – by New Deal democrat Let me start today by re-upping this graph of the current state of the coincident indicators mentioned by the NBER as data that they track: As I wrote earlier this week, the two positives keeping the economy in expansion are real spending on services, and jobs. The other indicators are either flat or down from their peaks. In fact I’ve...

Along with getting paid what you are worth is the story, you need a college degree in order to get paid more. That is kind of true if you complete higher education in a field which pays more. What if you do not pick the right field and you are burdened with debt? Your pay is low and it may take a decade, or two or even three to dump the student loan. And if you do not get a degree? Some education “may” be better than no education. The pay may be...

Initial and continuing claims: yellow caution flag reinstated  – by New Deal democrat Initial claims rose sharply last week, up 28,000 to 261,000 (an 18 month high). The 4 week average rose 7,500 to 237,250, still lower than its April peak. Continuing claims, with a one week delay, declined -37,000 to 1.757 million: When we had a similar spike a month ago, it turned out to be a artifact of mis-reporting by Massachusetts, so take this with a...

The End of Easy Money: Bankruptcy Filings Pile Up at Fastest Rate since 2010, Wolf Street, Wolf Richter. t’s turning into a banner year for corporate bankruptcy filings. Easy Money has caused all kinds of excesses, fueled by yield-chasing investors, in an environment where the Fed had repressed yields with all its might. Those yield-chasing investors kept even the most over-indebted zombies supplied with ever-more fresh money. But that era has...

Scenes from the employment report: an important trend in self-employment; and real aggregate payrolls  – by New Deal democrat We’re still in the week of drought following the payrolls release last Friday. Today let’s take a look at a few more items of interest from the Household Survey side. As you probably recall, the bottom line employment numbers in the 2 reports diverged sharply in May, with the Establishment survey showing a 339,000...

It appears Primary Care is becoming a hot market practice for nonhealthcare US retail and healthcare corporations to invest in today. Big corporations are chasing the Primary Care market worth about $260 billion in 2022, which is big enough to attract attention. The other factor is a shift from FFS healthcare model to a Fee For Value healthcare model. There is a potential for increasing costs in the latter. Primary care disruptors could capture...

One of my favorite topics, Inflation, Labor, and how Labor impacts Inflation. Or does it? Have We Whipped Inflation Now? cepr.net, Dean Baker The inflation hawks have been getting their way with the Fed for the last 14 months, but it looks like the Fed is prepared to call at least a temporary truce in its war on inflation, foregoing the opportunity to raise interest rates at its meeting this month. That would be good news for tens of millions...

This is an interesting take on small hospitals and also covering smaller hospitals in small towns or rural areas. It is an issue as the larger hospitals buy them up. Rather than invest in them, they close them down. One reveal is those hospitals closings coming as a result of what private insurance pays for patient care. This is an issue which both state and federal governments. should be addressing. Why are 600+ rural hospitals at risk of...