industrial production

No Hole Puzzle, From Autos An August Stumble

By |2020-09-15T19:31:34-04:00September 15th, 2020|Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

For a couple of years there, the oil patch was the heaviest contributor to the idea, at least, that the US economy had been booming. It never really boomed, of course, but on the industrial side investment and production throughout offshore and shale really were boosted and all predicated on the idea that Jay Powell’s (and the unemployment rates’) inflation [...]

China’s Hole Puzzle

By |2020-09-15T18:34:34-04:00September 15th, 2020|Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

One day short of one year ago, on September 16, 2019, China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported its updated monthly estimates for the Big 3 accounts. Industrial Production (IP) is a closely-watched indicator as it is relatively decent proxy for the entire goods economy around the world. Retail Sales in the post-Euro$ #2 context give us a sense of [...]

Meaning Mexico

By |2020-08-24T18:39:53-04:00August 24th, 2020|Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

It took some doing, and some time, but Mexico has managed to bring its car production back up to more normal levels. For two months, there had been practically zero automaking in one of the biggest auto-producing nations. Getting back near where things left off, however, isn’t exactly a “V” shaped recovery; it’s only halfway.Two months of zero production are [...]

Inflation Hysteria 2, China Style

By |2020-08-14T20:03:49-04:00August 14th, 2020|Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

Forget scripted television. If you want Game of Thrones-style palace intrigue, you can do no better than Beijing in 2020. There are all sorts of rumors floating around, few of which can ever get confirmed. It’s not that there are rumors but rather how many of them, and how they don’t seem to be stamped out with the usual regularity [...]

It Doesn’t Just Disappear From the “V” Side

By |2020-08-14T17:17:31-04:00August 14th, 2020|Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

Imagine you are locked in your home and can only go outside of it to purchase the bare necessities (this would’ve sounded ridiculous in every year before 2019). For simplicity’s sake, let’s assume that you normally spend $100 every month, half of that on the basics. Thus, for the month preceding this lockdown you’d have laid out the full hundred [...]

A Japanese Stall?

By |2020-07-22T17:32:03-04:00July 22nd, 2020|Bonds, Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

In sharp contrast to the sentimental deference towards central bank stimulus exhibited by Germany’s ZEW, for example, similar Japanese surveys are starting to describe potential trouble developing. Like Germany, Japan is a bellwether country and a pretty reliable indicator of global economy performance. Both of these places had solidly indicated the globally synchronized downturn long before it was recognized in [...]

Of Incomplete Plans and Recoveries

By |2020-07-17T18:12:31-04:00July 17th, 2020|Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

At the monthly press conference China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) now regularly gives whenever the Big Three economic accounts are updated (this time along with quarterly GDP), spokesman Liu Aihua was asked by a reporter from Reuters to comment on how the global economic recession might impact the Communist government’s long range goal of reaching its assigned GDP target. [...]

Europe Losing Momentum With Its Biggest Positives Ever

By |2020-07-08T19:55:30-04:00July 8th, 2020|Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

Italy had been one of hardest hit countries, if not the worst for a good while. For months rather than weeks, life was shut down in an effort to get ahead of COVID-19 while it ravaged seemingly unchecked. It became a buzzword of sorts, the name of the nation synonymous with the pandemic itself. Don’t be Italy.As a result, the [...]

Looking Ahead Through Japan

By |2020-06-29T18:06:14-04:00June 29th, 2020|Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

After the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Tokyo with tales seemingly spun from some sci-fi disaster movie, all eyes turned to Japan. Cruisers had boarded the vacation vessel in Yokohama on January 20 already knowing that there was something bad going on in China’s Wuhan. The big ship would head out anyway for a fourteen-day tour of Vietnam, Taiwan, [...]

Go to Top