Econ70

Net March job growth was 236,000, the smallest increase since 12/19, except for -268,000 in 12/20. This, along with rising first-time unemployment claims, reduced job openings, and the decline in the work week, point to a softening but still strong…

The Friday File: To improve the odds of getting the interior Oreo cream to glom onto both the top and bottom biscuit when twisted, researchers at MIT used a rheometer to squish and twist the biscuits in opposite directions. After…

While generative artificial intelligence (think ChatGPT) may eliminate white collar jobs, unlike previous technological breakthroughs which came for blue collar jobs, the fear of large job losses is ludicrous. Electricity, telephones, the internet, and other innovations have never reduced the…

Prior to Covid, the percentage of new products and services was about 18.5%. Due to Covid, supply-chain breakdowns, inflation, rising interest rates, bulging inventories, and changing work patterns, the percentage of new goods and services fell to 16% in 2022,…

By ridding GDP of components that are trendless and volatile, to get at the inflation-adjusted underlying growth of GDP, economists calculate real final sales to private domestic purchasers (RFSPDP). RFSPDP includes household spending and private residential and nonresidential construction. After…

Starting 5/1/23, OPEC will reduce oil production by about 1.1 million bbl/day. What is most interesting is that OPEC already cut production by two million bbl/day back in 10/22, yet prices kept falling. The key question is, with this cut,…

The Friday File: To reduce the national debt by $100 billion, the Interior Department is selling naming rights to the Liberty Bell to Taco Bell. Henceforth, the bell will be the Taco Liberty Bell. Relatedly, the Lincoln Memorial will soon…

In January, for the seventh month in a row, M-o-M home prices declined. While this is the longest streak since 2012, the good news is prices declined just 0.2%, the second smallest decline since this streak began. Nationally, prices are…

In 1992, three million U.S. passports were issued, and 18 million Americans, 7% of the population, had one. In 2006, 12 million were issued, and 70 million persons had a passport, 23% of the population. In 2019, 21 million passports…

In 22Q3, 22Q4, and 23Q1, the percentage of banks tightening lending standards for residential mortgages was low and flat at about 2%. Auto loans are a different story. After also holding at 2% in 22Q3 and 22Q4, the percentage tightening…