Consumer spending falls

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Oct 30, 2009 in Blog | 0 comments The day after good GDP news we find out that the U.S. consumer, sans economic incentives like “cash for clunkers” and “first time homebuyers tax credits,” wasn’t in the mood to spend money in September. Cash flow was reined in to the tune of 0.5%. That marks the biggest drop since December of 2008. That was in the heart of the recession as the U.S. tightened its...
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What is Iran up to right now?

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Oct 29, 2009 in Blog | 0 comments Today the U.S. press will be full of stories stating that Iran is ready to talk nukes. The Iranians certainly know how to work the press. The press loves “talks.” Mostly because “talks” are newsworthy and it means that there is something to report. However, the Iranians have been promising “talks” for many years now. You see, long ago the Iranians (like the...
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It’s official, GDP rises

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Oct 29, 2009 in Blog | 0 comments In case you haven’t heard U.S. gross domestic product expanded at 3.5% in the third quarter. That number exceeded the consensus estimate from economists of 3.2%. This is the first rise in GDP since the second quarter of 2008. Technically this means that the recession is over, but try telling that to workers still unemployed. The positive GDP result was driven by consumer spending which was...
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News indicates shakiness

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Oct 28, 2009 in Blog | 2 comments Perusing the newspapers this morning it is difficult to feel super positive about the economic recovery. Before taking these in turn let’s establish the appropriate context for evaluating these stories. Context: The financial markets rose very strongly from March thru August, racking up gains that normally take 5-7 years to accumulate. It was clear that the financial markets were pricing...
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Hear here first

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Oct 26, 2009 in Blog | 0 comments For many months now here on ze blog I have been saying that this recession would hopefully be different from most. Specifically I have been hoping that the U.S. consumer would reduce its debts. The idea is that for the long-term economic health of the nation that the U.S. could not continue to spend more than it earned. Most economists, investors and business journalists have been saying that...
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Existing home sales surge

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Oct 23, 2009 in Blog | 0 comments Last month saw a surge in existing home sales. Specifically, they were up 9.4% vs. last year’s same time period. This sharply contrasts will August’s 2.9% fall. So why the sudden surge? First, and most importantly home prices continue to fall. We have a term for that in economics: supply and demand, baby. Low demand with fixed supply = falling prices. This is born out by the...
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Upping the ante in the US-Russo crisis

Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Oct 23, 2009 in Blog | 0 comments Yesterday U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden spoke publicly in Romania. The content of his speech was designed for two audiences: all of the countries along Russia’s western border and for Russia itself. Specifically he stated: “The United States stands against the 19th-century notion of ‘spheres of influence.’ We will not tolerate it, nor will we be co-opted by it…...
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