Sweden has 2.8 hospital beds per 1,000 citizens. France has 6.6; Germany, 8.2. Yet Swedes live slightly longer http://t.co/WLvILqgok3
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Category Archive: United States
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US Unemployment Rate Falls to 7.5 Percent, Strong Upward Revisions for Job Growth
The report on the U.S. employment situation for April released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics contained some good news, with the unemployment rate falling to 7.5 percent, its lowest since late 2008. Payroll jobs rose by a better than expected 165,000, and upward revisions to previous months made job market performance for the [...]
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April Payrolls Rebound
Maybe the spring slowdown isn’t as slow as we thought. Private-sector payrolls increased by a net 176,000 in April on a seasonally adjusted basis, or roughly in line with expectations, the Labor Department reports. In addition, March’s initially estimated 95,000 increase has been substantially revised up to a 154,000 gain. In other words, the odds still look favorable for expecting modest [...]
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The April Jobs Report Shows Continued Slow Growth, Bought at Great Cost
Summary: The news media focuses on the month-to-month changes in the jobs report, which consist mostly of noise. Strong months confirm the optimists; weak months confirm the pessimists. In fact the trend of growth remains the real story, with the US economy near stall speed — supported only (like the other developed nations) by massive multi-year fiscal and monetary stimulus. [...]
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April Employment Report Preview
Recent economic data, especially since mid-March, has taken a turn for the worse. Initial jobless claims have shown fluctuations that defied seasonal adjustment processes. Just as I (accurately) suggested last month, it is a time for caution. I will elaborate on my reasoning in the conclusion, but let us first review the expectations for Friday’s report. [...]
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A Story for May Day: The Fed, Apple, and Trickle-Down Economics
The Fed’s policy of keeping interest rates near zero is another form of trickle-down economics. For evidence, look no further than Apple’s decision to borrow a whopping $17 billion and turn it over to its investors in the form of dividends and stock buy-backs. Apple is already sitting on $145 billion. But with interest rates so low, [...]
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FOMC Leaves Policy Unchanged
The FOMC concluded their two-day meeting by holding policy constant, as expected. The assessment of the economy was largely unchanged. From March: Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in January suggestsa return to moderate economic growth following a pause late last year. Labor market conditions have shown signs of improvement in recent months [...]
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Mirabile Dictu! Republicans and (Some) Democrats Agree, Diss Obama Pick Mel Watt for Head of FHFA
Wellie, we finally witness an exception that proves Krugman’s rule about hopeless partisan rancor. Republicans and quite a few Democrats gave the raspberry to Obama’s nomination of Mel Watt to replace Ed DeMarco as the head of the FHFA, which oversees Fannie and Freddie. To give a bit of context: for DeMarco has become a [...]
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ADP: Slower Slow Growth For April Payrolls
The labor market’s growth slowed again in April, according to today’s ADP Employment Report. The 119,000 net gain in private payrolls last month is the smallest increase since last September. It’s also a sign for expecting that Friday’s official jobs report from the federal government will also reflect a tepid rise in the pace of hiring. “Job [...]
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Case Shiller: Home Prices Rise in February 2013
Data through February 2013 showed average home prices increased 8.6% and 9.3% for the 10- and 20-City Composites in the 12 months ending in February 2013. For data junkies, you can access more than 26 years of history for these series in full by going to homeprice.spindices.com. Additional content on the housing market may also [...]
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Recession and Austerity Good for the Rich
This Real News Network interview with James Henry gives yet another vantage on our have versus have-not economy. Henry comments on a new Pew study that found that in the early stages of the “recovery,” from 2009 to 2011, the net worth of the top 7% in the US increased while those of the rest [...]
