Monday, October 28, 2013

Lettuce Prey


Click to enlarge.

Let us pray that the wages of production and nonsupervisory manufacturing workers will finally be able to keep up with the price of lettuce over the long-term.


Click to enlarge.

Let us also pray that the remaining 12 million manufacturing employees (down from nearly 20 million in the late 1970s) will not soon be replaced by even more automated systems and outsourcing.

And lastly, let us pray that SNAP benefits will be cut for all participants in November 2013. May this new era of American manufacturing employment provide all that we could possibly ever want or need and may we remain recession-free well into the distant future.

In Ted Cruz' name we pray. Amen.

October 26, 2013
How Washington’s “Crucifixion” Of Ted Cruz Made Him A Tea Party Saint In Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa — As an audience of 600 Republicans awaited the arrival of Sen. Ted Cruz Friday night at the Iowa Events Center, conservative Christian activist Steve Scheffler came to the podium to give thanks to God for the Tea Party savior — and plead for more principled conservative leaders like him willing to “be crucified for their belief system.”

The ballroom full of amens that followed went a long way toward explaining why Cruz — fresh off a failed crusade to dismantle Obamacare that resulted in a 16-day government shutdown and a political disaster for his party — has been greeted with such adoration by Tea Party crowds in recent days.

Source Data:
BLS: CPI Database
St. Louis Fed: Average Hourly Earnings of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees: Manufacturing
St. Louis Fed: All Employees: Manufacturing

3rd Time's the Curse

The following chart shows nominal department store sales (in black) compared to the federal funds rate (in red).


Click to enlarge.

On the off chance we were to enter a recession while still in ZIRP, then what exactly would we expect the Fed to do?

Oh, wait. I forgot that it is common knowledge that the Fed has permanently put a stop to recessions. Never mind. Silly question.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Exponential Illusions vs. Linear Reality


Click to enlarge.

The low points are following a linear trend, implying that growth is slowing over time. If it took 30 years for real net worth per capita to roughly double from 1982 to 2012, then it will take 60 years for it to roughly double again. That's assuming we even should extrapolate past history into the distant future of course. I for one am skeptical, especially now that we've entered a "QE Trap".

"I sensed the Fed’s full attention is now devoted to the question of whether and when to 'taper' its purchases of longer-term Treasury securities, leaving officials little time to think about long-term costs and scenarios," he writes. "The same could be said for the market participants I met with in New York and Boston, where the typical response was 'we haven’t thought that far ahead' or 'it’s tomorrow’s problem.'"

The high points are following an exponential trend, implying that the bubbles are growing exponentially over time (relative to the linear base line). I expect an epic failure that even mainstream economists can see coming if we get anywhere near that blue trend line again. Note that the data only goes through June of 2013. The stock market's up another 7% since then. To the moon, Alice!

This chart is more disturbing if one factors in that the federal, state, and local debts are not included in the household net worth as calculated by our government. That's not quite true. We get credit for owning them as households, just not as owing them. Win win. Perhaps we'll someday find an alien species that we can bill instead of American households. That must be the thinking.

If my net worth is $10,000 and I loan it all to the government then the government would claim my net worth is still $10,000. If the government then spends the $10,000 to keep the government running then my net worth is still $10,000. I'd only be in big trouble if the government actually taxed me $10,000 to pay me off. But why do that? Stick with what works! Deficit spending for the win!

The chart is even more disturbing if one factors in rising wealth inequality. I doubt that real median net worth would make such an optimistic looking chart. That's just my way of saying that there are parts of this economy that were financially subprime heading into the Great Recession and they remain financially subprime. In fact, there were 34% more households on SNAP in July 2013 than were on SNAP in October 2009. How's that for a recovery!

And lastly, who would have thought that the Fed could make the average household so much richer simply by helping us earn even less interest on our savings. Genius! And sustainable? Well, who can really say for sure?

Sarcasm abounds. To the moon! Alien species! Government running! Optimistic! Sustainable! Beware, it's a bungle out there. Seriously.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Friday, October 25, 2013

Help Wanted: Low Pay, High Risk

October 25, 2013
Special Report: Help wanted in Fukushima: Low pay, high risks and gangsters

Hayashi, 41, says he was recruited for a job monitoring the radiation exposure of workers leaving the plant in the summer of 2012. Instead, when he turned up for work, he was handed off through a web of contractors and assigned, to his surprise, to one of Fukushima's hottest radiation zones.

He was told he would have to wear an oxygen tank and a double-layer protective suit. Even then, his handlers told him, the radiation would be so high it could burn through his annual exposure limit in just under an hour.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Total Fertility Rate


Click to enlarge.

August 1, 2013
Fertility forecast: Baby bust is over; births will rise

The total fertility rate in the USA is predicted to rise from a 25-year low of 1.89 children per woman in 2012 to 1.90 in 2013, according to the U.S. Fertility Forecast report released today by Demographic Intelligence.

1.89 to 1.90! Color me impressed! A few more years of that and we might even make it back to the declining long-term trend line. As a side note, it takes a rate of 2.1 to maintain a stable population. Otherwise, immigration for the win! It's the land of the free. What could possibly go wrong?

Among women aged 15-44, those who attend religious services weekly or more have 1.42 children, compared with the 1.11 children of women who rarely or never attend.

Women who attend religious services weekly intend to have 2.62 children, and those who rarely or never go want to have 2.10 children.

The following chart shows real annual religious construction spending per capita (August 2013 dollars).


Click to enlarge.

I'll leave the trend line as an exercise for the reader. Got crayon?

I'm not a religious person but I can say this. Over the long-term, we appear to be ZIRPing to Japanese hell in a handbasket. The future's so bright I gotta buy glasses.

Source Data:
Demographics of the United States
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

This Christmas Season Filled with Hope and Wonder!

The following chart shows quits in the retail trade industry.


Click to enlarge.

September 4, 2013
Abused Retail Staff Quits With Epic Resignation Letter [UPDATE]

Dear Jamie,

Since you decided to say "cancer is not an excuse" and think it's OK to swear at your employees like you do ALL the time ... WE QUIT. THIS is why you can't keep a store manager longer than a year. YOU ABUSE your roll AND staff. ENJOY the fact that you lost a store manager, co-manager, and key holder in the middle of Back to School. THINK next time you treat people the way you do. We Aren't Allowing It Anymore.

Niki, Jess, TJ

See Also:
WikiTubia: Charlie the Unicorn

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Waste Not, Want Not (Musical Tribute)

The following chart shows the amount spent on sewage and waste disposal construction as a percentage of wages and salaries.


Click to enlarge.



Waste not, want not

If you do not waste anything, you will always have enough.

I must admit that some posts are done mostly for the puns.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The Glass Driving Ceiling


Click to enlarge.

A glass driving ceiling is a political term used to describe "the unseen, yet unbreakable barrier that keeps a society from exponentially growing the number of miles driven each year, regardless of population increases and the level of automobile advertising dollars spent."

See Also:
Glass Ceiling

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed; Custom Chart

Investment Advice vs. Used Car Advice

The following chart shows how much production and nonsupervisory investment advice employees are earning compared to their used car dealer counterparts.


Click to enlarge.

Forehead. Desk. Whack. Whack. Whack.

Source Data:
BLS: Employment

Thoughts on the Employment Report

Today's employment report was exceptionally weak.

It's worse than the headline numbers suggest. That drop in the unemployment rate from 7.3% to 7.2% isn't all it is advertised to be. Some might even call it mostly rounding error. The following chart uses the data that's used to calculate the rate.


Click to enlarge.

Note that the unemployment rate actually fell less than 1/2 of 0.1%, give or take statistical error (which is no doubt quite high). The rate was rounded up in August and rounded down in September.

Three days ago I posted the following chart.

October 19, 2013
Unemployment Rate: What's the Worst That Could Happen?

Click to enlarge.

As seen in the next chart using today's new data, we bounced solidly off the bottom of the channel.


Click to enlarge.

We are tracking the worst-case scenario with alarming precision. If we continue to do so, then the unemployment rate will soon begin to rise again (confirming that the Fed has not permanently put a stop to the business cycle, much to the surprise and dismay of those embracing risk assets at any price).

It's not all bad news though. Sue Herera of CNBC told us today that 80% of 20-year-olds don't trust the stock market. That means 20% still do! Amazing! Once they've paid off all that monstrous student debt, find employment someday (hopefully in a field that requires a college degree), paid for health care, and possibly helped support their parents in retirement, they can invest whatever is left into it. Just think of all that remaining cash flow!

This assumes of course that we don't have another recession that pops all that optimism.

Don't let it concern you that the unemployment rate of those aged 25 and higher with college degrees rose from 3.5% to 3.7% over the last month. That's probably just sampling error and not the start of a new trend. If nothing else, the unemployment rate of those aged 25 and higher without a high school diploma fell from 11.3% to 10.3%. Whew! We needed that in order to get that unemployment rate headline number to fall. It would have been anarchy without it!

In summary, it was a fantastic employment report for our short-term financial system, and isn't that all that really matters? It means ZIRP will continue to be with us longer than most expect, which is kind of funny when you think about it. The end of ZIRP is always two years away!

This post does include some sarcasm. Just look for anything even remotely optimistic to spot it.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Employee Hours Worked: Durable Goods / Nondurable Goods

The following chart shows employee hours worked in durable goods divided by employee hours worked in nondurable goods. I'm looking for signs of excess.


Click to enlarge.

I can't speak for you, but I see plenty.

Source Data:
BLS: Employment

Private Hours Worked per Capita (Musical Tribute)

The following chart shows the 12-month moving average of annualized private production and nonsupervisory employee hours worked per capita.


Click to enlarge.

By looking at hours worked instead of the number of those employed, we will not be swayed by the illusionary job growth created by more people working but with fewer hours worked each.

And we wonder why the economy is doing so poorly since 2000?

Let's zoom in a bit and look at growth rates.


Click to enlarge.

As seen in the chart, the growth peaked at just over 2%, just like it did heading into the Great Recession.

The first derivative (growth) is still positive. However, the second derivative (change in growth) is looking toxic. It was looking similarly toxic in August of 2007. In hindsight, August of 2000 was no picnic either. There was less advance warning then though.



It’s dangerous
I’m fallin’
There’s no escape

Nothing is locked in stone. I'm not claiming to be able to accurately predict the future here, although I am definitely not optimistic. We all better hope that there is an escape, otherwise we'll enter the next recession while still in ZIRP. With the stock market hovering at record levels, a party that would be. Not.

In any event, I will be shocked if this is a great Christmas season for retailers. I stand by my relatively long standing prediction that the next recession will hit on or before October of 2014. And yes, if I am correct we'll still be in ZIRP when it hits. Sigh.

This is not investment advice.

Source Data:
BLS: Employment
St. Louis Fed: Population

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Unemployment Rate: What's the Worst That Could Happen?


Click to enlarge.

October 17, 2013
Chicago Fed's Evans: Unemp Cld Hit 6% Before FOMC Raises Rates

WASHINGTON (MNI) - Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said Thursday he could "easily envision certain circumstances in which the unemployment rate could go below 6% before we moved the fed funds rate up."

As seen in the chart above, I could easily envision circumstances in which the unemployment rate never reaches 6%, not that you'd ever hear that from the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President. At least not publicly.

This is not investment advice.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

There's a Sucker Reborn Every Minute


Click to enlarge.

2019 or bust!

October 25, 2007
Future Bright, But A Ways Off

On the positive side, Moody's Economy.com chief economist Mark Zandi strongly believes that the bottom in new-home sales is hitting now, the fourth quarter of 2007.

"It's going to be so bad, that it's going to be hard to be even worse in the first quarter of 2008," Zandi said at the National Association of Home Builders 2007 Fall Construction Forecast Wednesday in Washington.

On the down side, this comes from a guy who bought a house in Vero Beach, Fla., in the last year, thinking that he was buying at or near the bottom of the market. Oops.

"I caught the falling knife," Zandi said of his recent home purchase.

October 11, 2013
Written Testimony of Mark Zandi

The private economy is on the verge of stronger growth, more jobs and lower unemployment.

That Mark Zandi, what a hoot!

See Also:
The Big Picture: The Abysmal Track Record of Moody’s Mark Zandi

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Friday, October 18, 2013

Our Economic Rocket Requires More Industrial Lifeblood (Musical Tribute)

The following chart shows the 6-month moving average of the monthly commercial and industrial loan growth at all commercial banks.


Click to enlarge.



April 14, 2009
FRB: Speech--Bernanke, Four Questions about the Financial Crisis

Credit is the lifeblood of market economies...

Update:

I originally posted that this chart was showing the annual change. It is showing the monthly change. Sorry about that! The conclusions and the data remain the same though, as only the description of the chart changes.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Government Expenditures vs. Wages

The following chart shows government total expenditures divided by wage and salary accruals.


Click to enlarge.

The future's so bright I gotta wear rose-colored trend channels.

In all seriousness, I believe with every fiber of my being that we will someday return to the red trend channel. The Great Recession got us there last time. I wonder what we'll call the next one.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Science Is Hard (Musical Tribute)

The following chart shows the 12-month moving average of annualized production and nonsupervisory scientific research and development services employee hours worked per capita.


Click to enlarge.

Science is even harder when the funding dries up.

October 15, 2013
US Government Shutdown Forces Closure of Antarctica Research Stations

The National Science Foundation has run out of money. It cannot go forward without its proposed $465 million budget. In a statement on its website, the NSF announced, “all field and research activities not essential to human safety and preservation of property will be suspended.”



Source Data:
BLS: Employment
St. Louis Fed: Population

Dividend vs. Wage Stability


Click to enlarge.

Eight sigma events are totally sustainable. Don't let the naysayers tell you different.

This is not investment advice. It has been infused with sarcasm for your viewing pleasure though.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Gonna Pop Some Tags (Musical Tribute)

The following chart shows the 12-month moving average of annualized production and nonsupervisory apparel (nondurable goods) employee hours worked per capita.


Click to enlarge.



I wear your granddad's clothes
I look incredible
I'm in this big ass coat
From that thrift shop down the road

Source Data:
BLS: Employment
St. Louis Fed: Population

Monday, October 14, 2013

The Sarcasm Report v.179 (Musical Tribute)

October 14, 2013
Macy's to open on Thanksgiving for the first time

I'm in Macy's at least once a week telling them that they better @#$%ing well have those doors open by 8pm on Thanksgiving Day if they know what's good for them. @#$% their workers! If I'm there, then they @#$%ing need to be there too!

The department store chain cited increasing demand from shoppers for the earlier opening.

Excellent! I also gave them a serious ultimatum that I wasn't going to buy a @#$ @#$% @#$%ing thing unless they kept those @#$%ing doors open for at least 24 hours. I was extremely polite about it I assure you, although I did have a few choice words for the store manager.

In a release issued late Monday, the Cincinnati-based chain said it will open its doors at 8 p.m. on that day and will remain open for 24 hours straight until the close of business on Friday, which is usually about 10 p.m.

Excellent. It's nice to see Corporate America bend to the will of the people for a change. This is no time to be @#$%ing around with my holiday season. I want to go from my dinner table directly to their cash register. Sleep's for @#$%ing losers! It's the only way I can enjoy all that the holiday season has to offer. It starts with the slow digestion of the turkey dinner and ends with an all-night shopping spree. There's just no @#$%ing way I can @#$%ing wait until Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful. They should be @#$%ing thankful that they are giving me exactly what I repeatedly demanded.

Don't just assume that all the @#$% within this post is profanity. This is a sarcasm report. It can be whatever you want it to be. It might even be references to Candy Mountain goodness. Who knows! ;)

Lost in America

The following chart shows the 12-month moving average of annualized production and nonsupervisory RV parks and recreational camps employee minutes worked per capita.


Click to enlarge.



Source Data:
BLS: Employment
St. Louis Fed: Population

Collection Agency Employment

The following chart shows the 12-month moving average of annualized production and nonsupervisory collection agency employee minutes worked per capita.


Click to enlarge.

Optimists might point to this chart as proof that a new age of prosperity is upon us. Collection agencies are no longer needed! Hurray!

Pessimists might point to this chart as yet another "sure thing" employment growth story that ended with an exponential trend failure.

See Also:
Idiom: Squeeze blood out of a turnip

Source Data:
BLS: Employment
St. Louis Fed: Population

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Let Them Eat Cake


Click to enlarge.

August 2, 2013
SNAP Benefits Will Be Cut for All Participants in November 2013

These cuts will likely cause hardship for some SNAP participants, who will include 22 million children in 2014 (10 million of whom live in “deep poverty,” with family incomes below half of the poverty line) and 9 million people who are elderly or have a serious disability. Cutting these households’ benefits will reduce their ability to purchase food. This cut will be the equivalent of taking away 21 meals per month for a family of four, or 16 meals for a family of three, based on calculations using the $1.70 to $2 per meal provided for in the Thrifty Food Plan.

The future's so bright, I gotta wear night vision goggles.

See Also:
NO BREAD TODAY: My future's so bright, I gotta wear night vision goggles.

Source Data:
BLS: Consumer Prices

Restoring the Prosperity of the Roman Empire

The following chart shows the 12-month moving average of annualized production and nonsupervisory coal mining employee minutes worked per capita.


Click to enlarge.

We seem determined to restore the prosperity of the Roman Empire one year at a time. Coal mining jobs for the win!

Don't let the naysayers get you down with all their talk of newfangled automated processes and the rolling over of the 2nd order polynomial trend line in blue. Coal is where the jobs of the future will be. We'll mine it all by hand if need be, just to keep the employment reports looking good.

History of coal mining

In Roman Britain, the Romans were exploiting all major coalfields (save those of North and South Staffordshire) by the late 2nd century AD.

The Fed would never allow this modern and financially innovative economy to fizzle yet again. You can take that to the bank. No, sir. Recessions are a thing of the distant past, much like the explosive growth in coal mining employment. Just gotta keep the faith!

Despair.com: Potential

As a bright-eyed kid, you once harbored dreams of a future in space. But face it, the only moon you’ll ever step foot on will belong to passed-out, drunken, former bright-eyed aspiring astronaut losers who are, unfortunately for you, your peers. Nice going, Buzz!

See Also:
Sarcasm Disclaimer
Trend Line Disclaimer

Source Data:
BLS: Employment
St. Louis Fed: Population

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Our Rose-Colored Economy

The following chart shows the 12-month moving average of annualized production and nonsupervisory florist employee minutes worked per capita.


Click to enlarge.

The Fed can lead consumers to flowers, but it can't make them buy. The linear trend in blue ended in 2001. It has been replaced with an exponential decay trend in red. Let's zoom in for a closer look.


Click to enlarge.

It would very much appear that the monetary placebo is wearing off again. Note that annualized florist employment minutes per capita are rolling over (as also seen in late 2000 and late 2007).

August 9, 2013
Has Twig Snapped in Wellesley?

Are they on vacation? There was no note on the door mentioning such a thing and besides, Twig’s web site points out that they are closed only two days per year, and a plain old Thursday in July isn’t one of them.

August 11, 2013
Wellesley florist Twig files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Twig, the fancy floral shop at 50 Central St., that we reported earlier this week had mysteriously shut its doors, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Florist - Starting a Florist Business

Do you think now is a good time to start up a wedding flowers business? Do you think the market is oversaturated yet? Regarding oversaturation, with the heavy encouragement to be a stay-at-home mother or father, I have noticed people are looking for ways to "control" their work weeks. Jobs such as floral design may seem to be a nice way to supplement a family income. What I have noticed is that they quickly realize that the hours are taxing; there is no such thing as 9-to-5. Do I believe that there is oversaturation? Yes. Yet it's quickly thinned as soon as it begins.

Emphasis added (in red).

This is not investment advice. If it was investment advice, I might suggest that there were probably better times in all of recorded history to start a florist business. I'd probably also mention that about the only thing rose-colored about this economy long-term is the glasses.

Source Data:
BLS: Employment
St. Louis Fed: Population

2013 Retail Christmas Outlook

The following chart shows the 12-month moving average of annualized production and nonsupervisory employee hours worked per capita in sporting goods stores, women's clothing stores, and hobby, toys, and game stores. I'm attempting to track an old school Christmas gift theme (a little something for everyone).


Click to enlarge.

Been there, done that

To have experienced the topic under discussion, to the point of boredom or complacency.

Needless to say, I'm not optimistic. This is not investment advice.

Source Data:
BLS: Employment
St. Louis Fed: Population

Friday, October 11, 2013

Our Well-Grounded Economy

The following chart shows production and nonsupervisory employee hours worked in long-distance general  freight trucking by hours worked in air transportation.


Click to enlarge.

Expectation:

Bald Eagle with Fish (Yathin S Krishnappa)


Realization:

Pygoscelis papua (Stan Shebs)


Source Data:
BLS: Employment

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Our Undead Recovery (Musical Tribute)

The following chart shows the 12-month moving average of annualized production and nonsupervisory death care services employee minutes worked per capita.


Click to enlarge.



Source Data:
BLS: Employment
St. Louis Fed: Population

The Signs of Recovery

The following chart shows the 12-month moving average of annualized production and nonsupervisory sign (durable goods) employee minutes worked per capita.


Click to enlarge.

New businesses need signs. Right?

The signs aren't looking so good, both short-term and long-term.

Update:

After further review, I noticed that the chart's data was per capita and not per 1,000 people. That's been fixed.

Source Data:
BLS: Employment
St. Louis Fed: Population

Investment Advice Insanity

The following chart shows the 12-month moving average of annualized production and nonsupervisory investment advice employee minutes worked per capita.


Click to enlarge.

As seen in the long-term trend, the "expert" advice is spewing exponentially. It's as if the floodgates have been opened. That said, it looks like we're starting to run out of greater fools again though. Oh oh.

The next chart shows the 12-month moving average of how much these financial "experts" are paid per hour in inflation adjusted terms.


Click to enlarge.

Is it any wonder they are so optimistic? Stocks for the long run, blah, blah, blah. Now cough up $38.20 (February's recent peak) or forever be priced out!

As a side note, who really believes the advice is nearly twice as good as it was in 1991? We might need to hedonically adjust that advice inflation to factor in dotcom bubbles, housing bubbles, subprime fiascos, debt crises, higher unemployment, $100 oil, perma-ZIRP, and what not. Few "experts" could have seen that coming! Can't blame them for the perfect despair storm. The view out the rear view mirror looked fantastic!

This is not investment advice.

Update:

After further review, I noticed that the first chart's data was per capita and not per 1,000 people. That's been fixed.

Source Data:
BLS: Employment
St. Louis Fed: CPI
St. Louis Fed: Population

Monday, October 7, 2013

Debt vs. Wages


Click to enlarge.

If the prosperity of the 1980s and 1990s taught us one thing, it is that the key to long-term prosperity is simple. We need to increase total debt relative to wages at a rate not less than 2.7% per year but not more than 2.9% per year. Sustainability above all else!

So let's put our thinking caps on and decide how we're going to keep the prosperity trend alive. Will it be more debt, less wages, or both?

Despair.com: Illusions

He who chases rainbows may eventually catch tornadoes.

See Also:
Sarcasm Disclaimer

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Real Output per Hour (Musical Tribute)

The following chart shows the annual growth in real output per hour of the nonfinancial corporations sector. I'm using the semiannual data to smooth it out a bit.


Click to enlarge.



Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Nonfinancial Corporations Sector: Real Output Per Hour

It's Different This Time

October 6, 2013
Mish: Reader Question on Robots: What are People Supposed To Do For Their Livelihoods?

One could have asked the same question right before the railroad boom-bust, right before the great depression, right before the internet boom-bust, and right before the housing boom-bust.

As seen in the following chart, those who asked right before the internet boom-bust are still asking the same question, and rightly so.


Click to enlarge.

So here we are. Unless it's different this time, there will be another advance of some kind that is highly likely to create jobs. I cannot say what or when.

What if it is different this time? I'm certainly a believer that it is. Then what? I was hoping Mish would have an answer for that. No such luck. I therefore offer the following answer to fill in the gap.

1. God will provide.
2. Free markets will provide.
3. Got cardboard box?

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: All Employees: Total nonfarm

Housing Output vs. Farm Output


Click to enlarge.

"They aren't making any more land."

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Housing Output / Farm Output

Saturday, October 5, 2013

National Lampoon's Federal Vacation (Musical Tribute)

October 5, 2013
House passes retroactive pay as shutdown enters first weekend

WASHINGTON— The fifth day of the partial shutdown of the U.S. government brought no signs of a breakthrough as House lawmakers passed a bill that would eventually reimburse furloughed federal workers for lost pay.

The measure, which passed 407-0 Saturday, was part of an effort to "ease the pain" of the first shutdown since 1996, said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia. He and fellow Republican leaders called on President Barack Obama and Democrats in the Senate to negotiate on a spending deal.

We've gone from unpaid government shutdown to fully paid government vacation! Genius!



This is what I love most about Congress. They tackle the really tough problems and always come out on top.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Our Used Merchandise Growth Industry

The following chart shows employees working at used merchandise stores divided by all retail trade employees.


Click to enlarge.

The "sure thing" parabolic trend has been replaced with the "sure thing" exponential trend.

The future's so bright I gotta buy used rose-colored glasses.

Source Data:
BLS: Employment

Tired of Malinvestment?

The following chart shows the number of employees at tire dealers divided by annual vehicle miles traveled.


Click to enlarge.

Since the depths of the recession, we've been hiring more and more tire dealer employees. We're seeing no increase in total miles traveled though. Think that's going to be sustainable over the long-term?

If the trend channel in blue represents rising productivity, then what does the trend in red represent? Rose-colored glasses?

Malinvestment

Malinvestment is a concept developed by the Austrian School of economic thought, that refers to investments of firms being badly allocated due to what they assert to be an artificially low cost of credit and an unsustainable increase in money supply, often blamed on a central bank. This concept is central to the Austrian business cycle theory. Austrian economists such as Nobel laureate F. A. Hayek advocate the idea that malinvestment occurs due to the combination of fractional reserve banking and artificially low interest rates misleading relative price signals which eventually necessitate a corrective contraction—a boom followed by a bust.

Based on the chart above, malinvestment at tire dealers seems more than likely to me. Where else do you suppose it is appearing? Or did I just get lucky and think this one up in isolation?

Before you answer, I started with the premise that I would see malinvestment in tire dealers. I then went looking for malinvestment. Being able to include the "tired" pun was just a bonus.

It would not surprise me if this very same malinvestment theory could be applied to retail trade in general. For example, picture retail salespeople and mall traffic. I do not have easy access to reliable mall traffic though, so this chart will have to suffice for now.

Who really believes that malinvestment based growth is sustainable over the long-term? I sure as heck don't.

This is not investment advice.

Source Data:
BLS: Employment
St. Louis Fed: Total Vehicle Miles Traveled

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Cracks Forming in the Recessionary Dam

St. Louis Fed: Smoothed U.S. Recession Probabilities

Smoothed recession probabilities for the United States are obtained from a dynamic-factor markov-switching model applied to four monthly coincident variables: non-farm payroll employment, the index of industrial production, real personal income excluding transfer payments, and real manufacturing and trade sales. This model was originally developed in Chauvet, M., "An Economic Characterization of Business Cycle Dynamics with Factor Structure and Regime Switching," International Economic Review, 1998, 39, 969-996.

The following chart compares the recession probabilities seen starting in 2006 to those seen starting in 2012. I'm looking specifically for the formation of tiny cracks in the dam.


Click to enlarge.

What a structural engineer might say: "The cracks are growing again. Might want to get that fixed before it fails entirely again."

What Jamie Dimon might say: "So we're kind of confident that you'll see growth over the years as America recovers."

Reality Check: Kind of Confident = Not Confident

Nobody who is truly confident says kind of confident, just like nobody who is truly pregnant says kind of pregnant.

May 18, 2012
Recession Prediction

I'm going to predict the next recession will hit on or before October 2014.

For what it is worth, my long-term prediction stands. That said, the odds of making it to October 2014 seem smaller now. As I have stated previously, I am not at all optimistic about this year's Christmas season.

This is not investment advice. I am being kind of sarcastic though, in honor of Jamie Dimon.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Smoothed U.S. Recession Probabilities

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Vehicle Sales per Civilian Employed


Click to enlarge.

The irresistible force in blue is just about to hit the immovable wall in red.

In my opinion, this "sure thing" growth "driver" is just about over. It's possible that we crash through the wall a bit, but it's not sustainable over the long-term.

October 1, 2013
Auto Sales Fell in September, Hurt by Early Labor Day

“September had only 23 selling days,” said Kurt McNeil, G.M.'s vice president for United States sales operations. “All of this goes a long way in explaining the month-to-month decline” in the annual rate of industrywide sales.

You will note that he said it goes a long way. He did not say it goes the entire way. Go figure.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart