Category Archives: Economics

U.S. Macro in Two Simple Charts

Posted on March 11, 2011 by macromon

To understand the U.S. economy go no further than the following two charts.  In 2009 and 2010, public sector borrowing was more than 100 percent of total net domestic credit flows.  Federal government borrowing was 93 percent of these flows.   … Continue reading →

Posted in Credit, Economics, Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy, Policy, Sovereign Debt, State and Local Government | 4 Comments

The Global Economy’s Unstable Equilibrium

Posted on March 8, 2011 by macromon

We’ve put together this nice little graphic which reflects our view the global economy is in a very unstable equilibrium and list many of the issues and headwinds it faces.   Global economic growth, based on monetary or credit induced asset … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Charts, Economics, Policy, Politics | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

The Tax on Consumers of Higher Gas Prices

Posted on March 2, 2011 by macromon

We want to re-post our gas price sensitivity matrix, which illustrates how various prices will impact individual consumers given their average miles driven per day.  We had to make an assumption on the automobile’s gas mileage so we took the … Continue reading →

Posted in Crude Oil, Economics, Electric Vehicles | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Connecting the Dots: The Coming War Between Generations

Posted on March 1, 2011 by macromon

Almost everyday the newspaper headlines across the country warn of problems with local government budgets centered around public sector employee wages and benefits.  Today one read,  County Pension System Hits Tipping Point.  The other day it was how one city … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget Deficit, Currency, Demographics, Dollar, Economics, Employment, State and Local Government | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Will Higher Prices Show Up in the CPI?

Posted on February 24, 2011 by macromon

Great ‘toon from the Economist.  Maybe the bureaucrats can argue that the higher commodity price component of goods and services is only temporary and can be counted as a surcharge as not be be included in the inflation stats.  On … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Food Prices | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

History Shows Why Prognosticators Should Be Discounted

Posted on February 21, 2011 by macromon

(click here if chart is not observable) 1927-1933 Chart of Pompous Prognosticators 1.  “We will not have any more crashes in our time.” – John Maynard Keynes in 1927 2.  “I cannot help but raise a dissenting voice to statements … Continue reading →

Posted in Charts, Economics, General Interest, Policy, Politics | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

“Better Than Rubin” – 12 Things You Don’t Know About Tim Geithner

Posted on February 16, 2011 by macromon

Noam Scheiber’s piece in The New Republic, The Escape Artist: How Timothy Geithner survived, is a good read and very informative.  If you have a few minutes have a look.   Here are 12 points we found interesting about our … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Policy, Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Global Pain of Rising Food Prices

Posted on February 15, 2011 by macromon

We found some excellent data from a March 2010 USDA report on cross-country food expenditures and to no surprise lower income countries are getting slammed by the recent price spike.  The table is fairly self-explanatory showing the proportion of expenditures … Continue reading →

Posted in Commodities, Economics, Geopolitical, Policy, Politics | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Trend Reversal in Apparel Prices?

Posted on February 14, 2011 by macromon

Good piece in the USA Today about the headwinds the clothing industry is facing and the  expected reversal of the almost 20-year decline in apparel prices. The USA Today/AP reports, Clothing prices have dropped for a decade as tame inflation … Continue reading →

Posted in BRICs, Charts, China, Commodities, Economics, Technology | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Egypt’s economy close to meltdown – Debka

Posted on February 9, 2011 by macromon

We highly recommend you read the latest from Debka on Egypt.  Here is the money quote: A high-ranking US source in Washington told debkafile’s sources that the situation in Egypt is so appalling that a military takeover of the regime … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Egypt, Geopolitical, Politics | Tagged , , | 1 Comment