Employment, US PMI’s, Factory orders, Japan sales tax, HK, MMT comments

Headline number looks promising. The question is whether employment will lag the other indicators that are decelerating, or provide the support that turns them around. And note the .1 drop in the work week is equivalent to maybe to something over 100,000 jobs: Highlights That sound you hear is the economy revving up. Nonfarm payroll […]

Housing, Freight, Infrastructure, Trump advice, MMT hysteria, Cooling real estate markets

Tax Reform Exacerbates Sales Cooldown in the U.S. (WSJ) U.S. tax reform has exacerbated a gradual cooldown in U.S. home sales over the past year in certain parts of the country, according to research from realtor.com. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2018, allows homeowners to deduct mortgage […]

Earnings, New issuance, UK services, Germany, MMT comments

Expect Pre-Earnings Frowns to Turn Upside Down (WSJ) Analysts polled by Refinitiv think earnings per share for companies in the S&P 500 will be down 2% from a year earlier. The number of companies that have had negative first-quarter earnings warnings so far has outpaced those with positive preannouncements by a 2.8-to-1 ratio—well above the […]

MMT on CNBC, Oil sale, Growth forecast

Well done Professor Kelton! Stephanie Kelton explains Modern Monetary Theory This is particularly ridiculous: U.S. offers up to 6 million barrels of oil from emergency reserve (Reuters) The U.S. Energy Department said on Thursday it is offering up to six million barrels of sweet crude oil from the national emergency reserve in a sale mandated […]

MMT in the headlines, Housing starts

The notion behind what is called “Modern Monetary Theory,” or MMT, is that as long as the Fed can keep interest rates low without sparking inflation, the national debt and budget deficit won’t be an issue. MMT has been espoused by politicians including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders of […]

News headlines- weakness continues, Mtg apps, Pending home sales, Confidence, ADP employment, MMT articles

Apple says China sales fell 27% last quarter (Nikkei) Apple’s net sales in greater China, including the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, fell 27% on the year to $13.17 billion for the three months ended Dec. 29 in results announced Tuesday. This marked the first downturn there in six quarters. Combined sales elsewhere, including the […]

MMT article, Mtg purchase apps, Pending home sales

Very friendly article! Modern Money Theory Explained (Vice) Nice increase but year over year remains weak: Highlights With the rise in mortgage rates taking a pause, purchase applications for home mortgages rose by a seasonally adjusted 6.0 percent in the February 23 week. But unadjusted, purchase applications were down 1.0 percent from the prior week, […]