Common Cents Blog
Usually, the Employment Situation report is the biggest story on the first Friday of the month. Internally, we call this economic release “the granddaddy of them all,” and pore over the underlying data to determine how…
Having lived most of my life in Alabama, I can probably tolerate higher temperatures better than someone who has never left, say, Maine. Conversely, I undoubtedly fare much worse in colder weather than our imaginary Mainer…
On Wednesday night, five of us had dinner at a restaurant here in town. A member of our party told a frustrating story about going to the dentist, where the dental hygienist did everything but mop…
This week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced inflation was dead. As in kaput. Or at least that is what some of the headlines would have had you believe. Better put, the BLS announced the…
This morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released “The Employment Situation – June 2023.” It reported the U.S. economy created 209K net, new payroll jobs last month. 60K were in the public sector and 149K…
Today’s societal discord suggests Americans aren’t on the same page about who, or what, we are as a country. While differences of opinion are to be expected in society, a dismissal or misunderstanding of what unites…
After last week’s news cycle with the inflation gauges and FOMC meeting, this week felt like something of a breather. To that end, the biggest headline had nothing to do with the economy or the markets.…
This week, the Federal Reserve didn’t raise the target overnight lending rate. The industry has called this a pause in the tightening cycle, as it expects one more rate hike before the Fed calls it quits.…
This morning, the Wall Street Journal had an excellent article about the relatively sharp slowdown in venture investing and its impact on startup companies. Let’s just say it isn’t good. Deal flow is down. Cash is…
Although I have never understood the mania over the Star Wars franchise, I like a good science fiction yarn. To that end, I really enjoyed The Matrix, at least the first movie of that particular series.…