/ , , , /

Unemployment: Very Mixed

Today’s employment report from the Department of Labor has an odd feel to it. The figures are always adjusted for seasonal factors so whenever we read about the ‘new claims for unemployment assistance’, we are not looking at the raw data, but at a figure manipulated to offset any peculiar and recurring movements. The typical […]

/ , , /

Retail Sales: Not Good

There is nothing worse than heading off for your summer holidays underneath cloudy rain-filled skies. Your spirits sag just as much as your damp clothes do. Why the meteorological reference? Retail sales for June were decidedly wet. The major retailers report sales on a monthly basis and so we can get a reasonable look at […]

/ , , , , , , , /

Stimulus Debate Heats Up

You have to love it when a politician starts rambling on about Keynesian economics. Even when he’s wrong. Today’s Financial Times has this quote in it: ‰ÛÏI thought the outdated and discredited Keynesian economic theory behind the effort was misguided, and I was convinced it wouldn‰Ûªt work,‰Û? he said. ‰ÛÏUnfortunately, recent economic data has validated […]

«< 478 479 480 481 482 >»