The principle but opposed beliefs about austerity are 1) that budget cuts balance national books and 2) that they kill the stimulation necessary to rekindle economic growth during and after a recession. UK employment…
The economic “recovery” in the U.S. has not helped the income of most Americans. That seems counterintuitive. A recession is supposed to depress pay, and pay is supposed to rebound in a recovery. But,…
Chart Consumer spending moved down fairly sharply in September. It is not just a sign of slowing. If a new Gallup tracking poll is right, improvements in consumer activity that occurred in late 2010…
People who think investment bankers make too much money have converged on Wall St. to protest that executives there earn millions and they do not. Bankers who barely survived the credit crisis and the…
The Institute for Supply Management showed an above-red reading this morning in the manufacturing sector. This month’s ISM Manufacturing reading came in at 51.6% for September versus 50.6% in August. Bloomberg was calling for…
The Obama administration has suggested the U.S. sell $22 billion in “unwanted” assets over the next decade to raise money. That is such a small figure that it is hardly worth mentioning. To put…
Ben Bernanke and friends at the FOMC gave their decision on interest rates today. As you would expect, there was little that could be formally done with Fed Funds at the near-0%, but the…
Several economists have described the past 10 years of the U.S. economy as a “lost decade” for the middle and lower classes. Very little has been said about the decade ahead, which is on…
The American Jobs Act, which will cost $447 billion to create employment, may be offset by the drive of local, state and even federal governments to balance their books. President Obama’s proposal may help…
One by one, Federal Reserve regional presidents have begun to admit that another recession has started, or at least is on the horizon. Some have made suggestions about what can be done, but none…
One of the core proposals President Obama will make to Congress this week is the creation of an infrastructure bank that will provide funds to repair tens of thousands of miles of U.S. roads…
The California jobs market is as bad as it has been for six decades. But, its plight is better than that of many smaller regions, as measured by both unemployment and housing. One problem…
President Obama is set to unveil his new jobs packages. They are meant to bring down unemployment from above 9%, where it has been since just after the start of the recession. His probable…
It seems as though Ben Bernanke and friends inside the Federal Reserve are not really seeing eye to eye per the minutes of the August 9, 2011 FOMC meeting. There is arguably an identity…
Ben Bernanke is not going to jam a new stimulus or easing package in any form of QE3 by the sound of his highly awaited speech in Jackson Hole today. The indication is that,…