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Economy

1 Sep 2006

Job Growth Just About Right

Economy
Although slower than the pace of last winter, recent employment gains have been just about right. On a percentage basis, employment growth is about equal to population growth.  Unemployment is 4.7%, which is about normal, …
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31 Aug 2006

States Benefitting From Exports

Economy
Export growth has been strong nationally (14% in the last 12 months).  Marple’s Pacific Northwest Letter points out that exports have been quite strong in this neck of the woods.  That led me to look …
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27 Aug 2006

Productivity Data

Economy
A couple of weeks after the quarterly GDP report, the government tells us the news on productivity: output per hour.  Here’s the Cliff Notes:  if GDP was up a lot in the quarter, then productivity …
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23 Aug 2006

Soft Landing or Hard?

Economy
Today’s gloomy home sales news is adding to the concern about recession. A couple of prominent homebuilders have been quoted as saying that this housing downturn has been harsh.  One said harsher than in his …
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20 Aug 2006

Will Housing Pull Us Into Recession?

Economy
Bloomberg News has a great interview with Robert Shiller.  Shiller is probably in as good a position as anyone to assess the impact of the real estate market on consumer psychology.  He’s a Yale professor …
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16 Aug 2006

Housing is Really Dropping Now

Economy
What’s that Tom Petty song, Free Falling?  That’s the way housing looks right now. The survey of home builders attitudes looks the same: These data confirm yesterday’s news that sales of existing homes were declining, …
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15 Aug 2006

Producer Prices Not So Benign

Economy
The headlines are positive.  The Wall Street Journal says "Core Wholesale Prices Decline, Suggesting Inflation Is Easing."  The year-over-year charts seem to confirm this: However, headline PPI features the "finished goods" category.  Look this month …
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