The Radford Free Press – Page 199 – All life is problem solving.

Weekly Summary / austerity, Case-Shiller Index, Conference Board, consumer confidence, durable goods, housing starts, incomes, inventories, ISM Index, jobless claims, unemployment /

A Mixed Week Ends Well

February 1, 2013

There was a flurry of economic news this week, most of which was encouraging. The economy is in decent shape. Not great, just decent. We began, on Monday, with a strong showing from durable goods, which grew 4.6% in December. The problem with this is that the growth was skewed by aircraft orders which are […]

Commentary / bank reform, banking, Geithner /

Geithner’s Poor Legacy

January 30, 2013

It’s my turn to comment on Tim Geithner’s unfortunate legacy at the Treasury Department. I think that, by and large, that legacy has to be seen through the lens of Wall Street. He was an ally of Wall Street, he bent over backwards to help Wall Street, and will forever be associated with an overly […]

Economics / austerity, business investment, consumption, demand, durable goods, economic policy, GDP, government spending, growth, inventories, real estate, trade /

The Economy Trips Up – Or Does It?

January 30, 2013

Oh dear. Two days ago I suggested things were looking up. Today we hear about fourth quarter economic growth. GDP – the measure we use, rightly or wrongly, as a yardstick for economic growth – fell very slightly, by 0.1% at annual rates, in the fourth quarter last year. The brouhaha Monday, if you recall, […]