Monthly Archives: February 2021

January Home Sales Exceed Expectations

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Calculated Risk The Calculated Risk/FRED graph shows that new-home sales are approaching the 2000 level at the start of the last housing bubble that ultimately resulted in the Great Recession (blue bars are recessions). But that doesn’t … Continue reading →

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Retail Sales Start 2020’s Boom

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly Calculated Risk It looks like the 2020’s economy is beginning to roar as retail sales jumped 5.3 percent in January 2021, and 7.4 percent since last January. This is just as President Biden’s approximately $1.9 trillion American … Continue reading →

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Another ‘Roaring Twenties’–Part II?

Posted on February 13, 2021 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs UMichSentiment For some kind of ‘Roaring Twenties’ recovery to happen, Nobel Prize-winner Joe Stiglitz warns in Project-Syndicate that we must pass President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. “Biden’s proposed spending plan is urgently needed. Recently released data … Continue reading →

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The American Rescue Plan Must Pass

Posted on February 10, 2021 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly Calculated Risk The number of job openings was little changed at 6.6 million on the last business day of December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday. Job growth slowed in January with just 49,000 net … Continue reading →

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January Employment Barely Rises

Posted on February 5, 2021 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly Calculated Risk The unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage point to 6.3 percent in January, while nonfarm payroll employment changed little (+49,000), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The US labor market continued to reflect … Continue reading →

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Q4 Growth Weakens

Posted on February 2, 2021 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly Calculated Risk This Real Gross Domestic Product graph dating from 1959 shows that the US economy in 2020 had its worst contraction since the end of World War II. No surprise given we have the worst COVID-19 … Continue reading →

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