Here is today's news about China: Growth collapse: The World Bank lowered its forecast for GDP growth in China to 2.8%, a big drop from last year's 8.1%. Belt and Road: The B&R initiative was designed to spread Chinese influence and goodwill in the developing world. Instead, it's been badly managed and is now being ...continue reading "A one-day look at some of China’s problems"
I was noodling around some stuff this afternoon and happened to end up at the USDA website. Today they released their monthly meat report, and it gives you a pretty good idea of why hamburger is more expensive than it was last year: The price of a 750 lb feeder steer has gone up 13%. ...continue reading "Here’s why the price of beef has gone up so much"
This is the Fountain of Apollo in the gardens of Versailles. The top photo is the view from the palace side looking out toward the Grand Canal. The bottom photo is taken in the other direction, looking up from the fountain to the palace.
The votes are in! By early afternoon on Tuesday, Russia’s state news media had reported what it described as preliminary results showing gigantic levels of support for joining Russia. The RIA state news agency reported votes of 98.19 percent in favor in Zaporizhzhia and 96.97 percent in Kherson in the south, and 97.91 percent in ...continue reading "Eastern Ukraine votes overwhelmingly to show its love for Vladimir Putin"
The Wall Street Journal reports that lumber prices have plummeted back to their pre-pandemic levels: Lumber prices have fallen to their lowest level in more than two years, bringing two-by-fours back to what they cost before the pandemic building boom and pointing to a sharp slowdown in construction. ....Two-by-four prices nearly tripled the prepandemic record ...continue reading "The cost of lumber has plummeted"
Yesterday, the attorney general of Texas—the top law enforcement officer in the state—made an idiot of himself trying to avoid a process server who was delivering a subpoena for a federal court hearing today. Ernesto Martin Herrera, the process server, tells the story. Be sure to read to the end. When Herrera arrived at Ken ...continue reading "Texas attorney general is afraid of the long arm of the law"
Which of these headlines seems more informative to you? The top one just gives you a number with no context. Is it a big number? A small one? Is it for one year? How does it compare to the rest of the budget? The other two headlines give you context: the loan program will amount ...continue reading "The student loan program will cost . . ."
I've been off my chemo regimen for the past six weeks, but it doesn't seem to have done me any harm: The last time I was tested was four weeks ago. Since then, I've gone from 0.76 to 0.79. That's nothing. And in this case, no news is good news. Now that I'm back on ...continue reading "Health Update"
I learned today that the average net worth of a household in the bottom 50% set a record last quarter of $67,000. That's good to hear. Except for one thing: Total net worth for all households has gone up 7x since 1990. So a record doesn't mean much unless that record is at least 7x ...continue reading "Raw data: Net worth of the poor, the middle class, and the rich"
I took this picture in Bayeux, home of the Bayeux Tapestry. It's nothing special, but I like its pristine serenity. While I'm looking at it, I can believe for a few moments that there's nothing wrong with the world.
You heard it here first, but now the Wall Street Journal confirms it: August apartment asking rents nationally fell 0.1% from July, according to a report from property data company CoStar Group. It was the first monthly decline in rent since December 2020, the company said. Other surveys also showed rent declines of various degrees. ...continue reading "We are now experiencing rent deflation"
The Washington Post tells the story today of Tom and Acey Hofflander: Amid a national shortage of home-care workers that deepened during the covid-19 pandemic, the couple spent much of this year on a private agency list waiting to be assigned a professional home-care aide. But over four months, from April to August, no aides ...continue reading "Is there really a shortage of home health care workers?"
I guess I'll never understand totalitarian regimes: Officials in Russian-occupied territories in eastern and southern Ukraine were forcing people to vote “under a gun barrel,” residents said on Saturday as staged referendums — intended to validate Moscow’s annexation of the territory it occupies — entered their second day. What's the point of this? Everyone knows ...continue reading "Why the fake referendums in Ukraine?"
Having written a technical preface a couple of days ago, it's now time to write a review of Brad DeLong's Slouching Towards Utopia. I'd like to keep this tolerably short, but even as I type these words I know that's not in the cards. Don't say you weren't warned. OK then. Roughly speaking, I'd say ...continue reading "“Slouching Towards Utopia”: The actual review itself"
The Wall Street Journal tells us that the stock market is plummeting: Dow Closes at a 2022 Low as Growth Fears Roil Markets Wave of selling sweeps across the globe But it's actually even worse than that. Here's something you don't usually see: Adjusted for inflation, the market is down 25% from its peak, not ...continue reading "The stock market is down even more than you think"
From the Wall Street Journal: Business surveys published on Friday indicate that economic activity in Europe declined sharply in September, raising the risk of recession in one of the world’s industrial powerhouses as governments grapple with surging prices and disruptions from Moscow’s attack on Ukraine. With Asian economies also struggling with rising interest rates and ...continue reading "Inflation panic is destroying the world"
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