Tag Archives: US EConomics

– by New Deal democrat Jobless claims: troublesome trend continues, but no yellow flag yet Initial jobless claims is one of the few remaining positive short leading indicators. But as I’ve noted for the past several weeks, the trend is troublesome. This week initial claims rose 4,000 to 230,000, and the 4 week moving average rose 1,000, also to 230,000. Continuing claims one week previous rose 62,000 to 1.671 million: Initial claims...

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...

Scenes from the November employment report: the short leading jobs indicators – by New Deal Democrat Every month as part of my post on the jobs report, I run through the changes in those measures which are short leading indicators for the economy. There were some significant developments in the past several months, so let’s take a closer look here. Here’s a historical look at temporary help services, residential construction jobs, and...

“States Should Use New Guidance to Stop Charging Parents for Foster Care, Prioritize Family Reunification,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, cbpp.org, Diana Azevedo-McCaffrey. This article was referenced at “Mike’s Blog Round Up,” Crooks and Liars, by Batocchio, on October 22, 2022. The Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children & Families is allowing states to end the practice of charging parents for costs associated...

New factory orders remain an economic bright spot  – by New Deal democrat New factory orders for October were reported this morning. I normally don’t write about them, because they are very noisy, but since at the moment they are one of the few bright spots among the short leading indicators, let’s take a look. Total new factory orders rose 1.0%. “Core” orders excluding defense and aircraft rose 0.6%: “Core” orders have been flat for 2...

Anne Lowrey at The Atlantic recognizes a shortage of housing overall and mostly in the cities. “The U.S. Needs More Housing Than Almost Anyone Can Imagine.” Just how many houses, what is the number? How many homes must the expensive coastal cities in the US build to become affordable for middle-class and the working-poor families? Over the past few weeks, Anne asks a number of housing experts that question. Anne expected a straightforward...

Weekly Indicators for November 28 – December 2 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. First the long leading indicators turned. Then the short leading indicators turned. Now the coincident indicators are weakening to new expansion lows almost every week. The silver lining is: the first long leading indicator may already have hit its worst levels. As usual, clicking over and reading...

A Tale of Two Recoveries podcast from the Roosevelt Institute compares the recoveries between now and the Great Recession. What’s Changed since the Great Recession? The shifts in economic policy thinking over the last decade helped produce today’s record-breaking recovery. Heidi Shierholz: “The economy is not like the freaking weather, right? Like it really is a policy choice. The difference in the speed of the recovery really, really...

As I read Dean Baker’s perspective on Low Income families, I find it hard to believe. The market in the Southwest has dried up due to high prices and interest rates. One or the other has to be lower to attract buyers. Builders have not lower prices and bank rates have remained high. One builder was complaining of a lack of interest in a rate at 6%. Coupling to a higher price this is very true. It is also taking anywhere from 6 to 12 months to...

Economic Policy After The Midterm Elections  Will economic policy change much aa a result of the midterm elections? After all, the GOP has taken the House of Representatives, if only narrowly, with inflation and the economy supposedly the top issue, especially for those supporting the GOP. Will this reappearance of “divided government” have an impact on economic policy? My bottom line is probably not too much, although there is the serious...