Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Wholesale inflation fell

Wholesale and Producer Price Index decreasing. Results of backing away from a war posture. Some of which is the result of a ceasefire. Oil prices increasing again after war was declared again by Tr__p. I suspect higher gasoline prices even if not driven by oil or processing costs. It can always be blamed on the […]

O Canada, You Are Better Than We

Confessions of a deeply embarrassed American. Politics and Prejudices and other musings – Jack Lessenberry July 1 was Canada Day, the official celebration of Canada’s birth as a nation, and for the second time in three years, I went to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, to celebrate and watch the fireworks from my hotel on St. […]

Quote of the day

It’s another example of how we are in this weird and uncanny political moment in which Trump’s politics have broken free of the constraints of public opinion. (It’s reminiscent of a mob bust-out where you rapidly strip a business of its value with no concern for the future because you’re just going to burn it […]

If YoY “PPI is less than CPI, producers do not feel under pressure to make cost (i.e., payroll) cuts”

“Producer price declines are ‘less good’ than consumer price declines, and on net that’s ‘bad‘”  – by New Deal democrat I pay a lot less attention to producer prices than to consumer prices. Partly that is because in the past few decades, the PPI has tended to be coincident with the CPI rather than leading […]

Yes, Virginia, there’s arsenic in your rice

Whenever you read the conspiracy theories about fluoridated water, it’s a good idea to remember that much of the world’s water is naturally fluoridated. Indeed, the correlation between natural fluoridation and lower incidence of dental caries is what lead to artificial water fluoridation. There are plenty of other things to fret about if that’s how […]

Two books for the sestercentennial

By now, we all know the Cliff Notes version of American’s founding: Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, the colonists defeated the British at Yorktown and Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Adams and Franklin wrote the Constitution, which the 13 colonies/states ratified enthusiastically. As an antidote to those cliché histories, I read a couple of good books […]

June CPI: never look a gift horse in the mouth

– by New Deal democrat Never look a gift horse in the mouth. June’s CPI was that kind of gift horse, reversing all of the factors that have recently surged during the Iran war. As a bonus, inflation in shelter (1/3rd of the weight of the index) continued to abate. Let’s start with the overall view. […]

Rubio Goes Back and Forth on the Fees for the Hormuz Strait. He Needed Permission . . .

Trump’s new policy drew attention to remarks Rubio made just weeks earlier, while on a visit June 23. A visit he paid to the United Arab Emirates. It was then he slammed the prospect of transit fees in the waterway in a caution to Iran. June 23, 2026: Marco Rubio’s warning ‘no country’ can charge […]