“Bernanke said, in essence, that he wasn’t a magician.” …
The Yin-Yang Economy
Last week, with sequestration pending, President Obama and others warned of airplanes falling from the sky, tainted meat being served and schools being closed because of teacher layoffs. The budget…
The Black Cloud in the Silver Lining
All I want for Christmas is a new economy. Ours is broken. While there are a few positive signs that optimists can latch onto, it appears that either the country…
WOW! Manufacturing Index Up 0.2%!
“Been down so long, it looks like up to me.” Furry Lewis This is what passes as positive economic news these days: The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) reported Thursday…
News You May Have Missed
With the election season in full swing, dominating the airwaves, Internet and print media, you may have missed some of the other news from the past week. Here are a…
U.S. vs. China
As China has emerged as a world power, it has increasingly been a case of Us (as in U.S.) vs. Them. Not in military combat, fortunately, but in day-to-day trade…
Unemployment Drops … Just In Time for the Election!
The unemployment rate has finally dropped below 8% to 7.8%! Or has it? Really? The latest numbers are a head scratcher. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (that’s BLS, not BS)…
This Is Progress?
Economic growth for the second quarter of 2012 officially has been revised down to 1.25%, which is below the lowest previous estimate. In an effort to stimulate the economy, the…
Going For Broke
So The Fed is “all in.” QE3, the third round of quantitative easting, will continue until the unemployment rate drops to an acceptable level. The implication is that buying bonds…
When a Lower Unemployment Rate Is Bad News
Want to reduce the unemployment rate? Stop looking for a job. More than 300,000 workers dropped out of the labor force in August, while employers added just 96,000 positions. In…