Weekly Economic Update: October 11-15
Overview: Retail sales rose 0.6% in September; the topline CPI edged up 0.1% in September; the core CPI was unchanged. The topline PPI rose 0.4% in September; the core PPI increased 0.1%. The trade deficit widened 8.7% to $46.3 billion in August. Business inventories rose 0.6% in August. The Tr...
Self-Denial of Domestic Oil & Gas Resources Puts the Nation at Risk
What nation imposes domestic drilling bans when it has to import oil? In 1982 when the oil price was declining, Congress instituted drilling bans on the outer continental shelf (OCS) off the Atlantic, Pacific, and Eastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) coasts and kept them in place for two and one-half decad...
Self-Denial of Domestic Oil & Gas Resources Puts the Nation at Risk
Weekly Economic Update: October 4-8, 2010
Overview: The economy shed 95,000 jobs in September as the unemployment rate held steady at 9.6%. Consumer credit fell by $3.3 billion to $2.414 trillion in August. The ISM index rose 1.7 points to 53.2 in September. Pending home sales rose 4.3% in August. Factory orders fell 0.5% in August. I...
Was the Deficit in Fiscal Year 2010 Really Lower than in Fiscal Year 2009?
Was the Deficit in Fiscal Year 2010 Really Lower than in Fiscal Year 2009? Last Thursday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released their monthly budget summary for the month of September. A quick glance at the review’s top line numbers might lead one to believe that the FY2010 deficit was ...
Employment declined by 95,000 in September; unemployment rate unchanged at 9.6%
September Employment and Unemployment: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released a report today on employment and unemployment for September (pdf summary available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf). Highlights of the report:
Higher Taxes Fund More Spending, Not Deficit Reduction
Weekly Economic Update: Sept. 27 - Oct. 1, 2010
Overview: GDP growth for the 2nd quarter was revised slightly upwards to 1.7%. The Case-Shiller home price index rose 0.6% in July. Personal income increased 0.5% in August as spending rose 0.4%. Construction spending was up 0.4% in August. The ISM index fell 1.9 points to 54.4 in September. Au...
Unwinding Obamacare (IV) - Cadillac Tax Revenues
Last Friday afternoon, the Office of Personnel Management released the new 2011 rates for health insurance plans under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB). While this information was previously only relevant to federal employees, it now has implications for individuals and their he...
