News

I guess we should begin with the Big Headline of the hour.  Just-released Producer Price information. The Producer Price Index for final demand advanced 0.1 percent in May, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Final demand prices declined 0.2 percent in April and 0.1 percent in March. (See table A.) On … Read More

An ounce of Prevention column today ahead of the weekend. Which is when colliding ideologues could really light up headlines, social media, and light off a huge market decline if trigger-point events occur. Before we get to that, however, there is the CPI figures just out.  And anyone besides us curious about the perp count … Read More

This is way past stupid now. People like us, getting up to read the NFIB Small Business Optimism index, so we can fine-tune our ride into the future…  And instead, we’re slapped hard in the face with stupid domestic Marxist bullshit. WAR REPORT: LOS ANGELES UNDER SIEGE. LA protests live: Trump orders Marines to the … Read More

Today we draw an uncomfortable but increasingly relevant parallel: Southern California may become America’s Gaza. The radical left, which has been working for decades to destroy America, really “strutted their stuff” starting Friday with violent protests in Los Angeles over ICE and other federal agencies doing their jobs. Elaine and I were abhorred as L.A. … Read More

Amateur Radio is a dandy hobby. Actually, it’s the “King of Hobbies,” said my late friend Don Stoner – author of many books of radio and computers. You need all conceivable skills to master ham radio. It’s not just soldering, mechanical assembling, but it can be 3D printing, woodworking, welding, arborist work, heavy equipment operator.  … Read More

No, Peoplenomics is not going yellow journo on you. But every once in a while a crime comes along that catches Ure’s eye; there’s a systemic angle to it. So we begin there today. Then back onto our regular path – Friday’s Consumer Debt report and the Jobs picture and CPI ahead. Please more than … Read More

Cue the Silhouettes (1957) brothers and sisters! “Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 139,000 in May, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in health care, leisure and hospitality, and social assistance. Federal government continued to lose jobs. The unemployment rate … Read More

As long-time readers of Urban and Peoplenomics will recall, I often use a “thinking tool” called Directorate 153.  It’s a fictional shadowy government collective, hidden in plain sight, that provides a thinking reporter a credible way to “think the unthinkable.” This morning, a memo from D153 is worth considering,  As to whether it’s fact or fiction we leave … Read More

Brace for 2026: a world where money’s just paper, and survival hinges on food, water, and grit.  Oh, sure, the prelims are already underway,  But remember this is all foretalk before foreshock. Later, as Iran-Israel clashes, Putin’s rage, and Ukraine’s nuclear risks collide with solar flares and fentanyl-laced groceries, global harvests could plummet 30%, starving … Read More

From our AI stack: I’ve reviewed the article you shared: “War Breaks Out – Between the AIs” on HiddenGuild.dev. It presents a compelling argument about the subtle ways major tech companies might be influencing user perceptions of AI tools through platform-specific behaviors. Key Insights: Platform-Induced Friction: The article suggests that browsers and operating systems may … Read More

10-hut!  No, not as in the ultra-nationalist goose-stepping “10-hut!!!” No. We’re simply focused on 10 AM today.  Because that’s when a three-way (kinky econ?) split of financial attentions will occur. JOLTS report from Labor will give a sense of where the Jobs Picture is heading. Global Manufacturing PMI will hint at whether the Consumers are … Read More

The Preview of the Week seems like a good starting point (as always) on Monday. See, there’s a trick to living (relatively) stress-free: Make a list of all the crap you need/should get done.  then just work through it in an orderly basis. I’ll get to my list for the week in a minute (no one … Read More

No particular topic this edition – pictures of me doing tree work and mowing the yard which ate up a block of six-hours Saturday wouldn’t matter much – and it won’t do your yard any better. It occurred to me, however, that a word about “doing” might be useful.  Part of an early-morning conversation with son … Read More