Category: Business Columnists

From the Very Beginning, Recession Not Inflation Risk

Commentary  Sure, you can say that only a few people are openly talking about one. The latest headline from the World Bank adds to a small list of official warnings. Everyone else in authority remains relatively sanguine, at least outwardly. But that’s how these things start. Not too long ago, the word was taboo. Then…


Inflation Is a Weapon of Destruction

News Analysis Just how bad can inflation get in the United States? Don’t trust the experts at the top to tell you. The Biden administration assured us that rising prices were transitory. If you listened carefully to their words back then, and knew something about economics, you could know it wasn’t true. They claimed that…


Treasury Secretary Admits Inflation Blunder

Commentary  Clearly, I have a deep respect for economics and economists. However, there are times when economists are more like wayward weather presenters than trained economic analysts. Ever so often, an economist is so far off-base that the economy suffers an attack and Americans take a hit, like damage from an unannounced storm. While the…


Can India Overtake China and Become Asia’s Economic Engine?

Commentary U.S. President Joe Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) on May 23. The pact, we’re told, “seeks to strengthen economic partnership amongst participating countries with the objective of enhancing resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.” Participating countries include South Korea, Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia,…


On Economics, the White House Is Gaslighting

The latest polls show that 83 percent of the public believes that the economy is performing poorly or not so good. The top problem is of course inflation running at 8.4 percent officially but real-time data clocks it closer to 12 percent, and transportation at 22.4 percent. The flip side of rising prices is declining…


Is the West Slipping Away From China?

Commentary As the old saying has it, “nothing lasts forever.” This truth is beginning to dawn in China. Rising costs, abusive policies, and, more recently, COVID-19 and war sanctions have prompted Japan and the West to rethink China’s exposure. Money is flowing elsewhere. Beijing would have to change much to bring back the former flood…


Soaring Oil Prices: An Unnecessary Hit to a Vulnerable Economy

Commentary  Soaring oil prices are not only a serious threat to travelers, crazy high fuel prices seriously disrupt businesses, the economy.  They even promote wars. There are a number of reasons for the current surge in oil prices. The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy is primarily responsible for the overall rise in all prices.  Without the…


Deficit Reduction. Is It Reality or a Mirage?

Commentary  Recently, the Administration started taking a victory lap on deficit reduction. Of course, the deficit remains the bully-pulpit of fiscal conservatives, so going into a midterm election, it is not surprising to see it used for political advantage. In remarks May 4, President Joe Biden cited reductions during his presidency: “The bottom line is…


How Many Remote Workers Only Pretend to Work?

Elon Musk keeps making headlines for saying true things that no one else seems willing to say. Last week, he wrote a memo to all Tesla employees ordering them all back to the office, 40 hour per week, period. And it must be the real office, not some WeWork-like outpost of office expats sipping lattes…


A ‘Goldilocks’ May Jobs Report, But …

Commentary May jobs printed at 390,000 new jobs above the consensus estimate of 325,000. The unemployment rate was 3.6 percent, unchanged from last month, but down from last May’s 5.8 percent. The labor force participation rate was 62.3 percent, up from the 61.1 percent that printed in May 2021. The Labor Participation Rate was 62.3 percent, up 10 basis…