Omission Watch: This Should Put an End to the 'Flat Wage' Myth, But It
January 20th, 2007 9:34 AM
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released what it calls its Usual Weekly Earnings Report for the Fourth Quarter of 2006 on Friday.This is one of the more important reports the BLS releases because:It looks at the earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, excluding part-timers, business owners, and the self-employed. It looks at individuals, not households or families. Unlike most reports, it…
AP Writer: Bush 'Rejected' Kyoto Treaty, Though Senate Never Ratified
January 16th, 2007 8:13 AM
In an article (HT Instapundit) decrying the alleged environmental waste in the United Arab Emirates, Associated Press writer Jim Krane gave voice to the environmental strain of Bush Derangement Syndrome when he claimed:But the oil-rich Emirates is considered a developing country, and even as a signatory to the United Nations Kyoto protocol on global warming, is not required to cut emissions. The…
'Surprise': Forecasts for 4th Quarter GDP Growth Are Revised Upwards
January 14th, 2007 10:13 PM
Lordy, Lordy (HT Instapundit), the economic "surprises" don't stop. The report is from AFP:Economists are hastily upgrading their forecasts for the US economy after a series of surprisingly strong reports suggesting the so-called "soft landing" may be over and growth is accelerating.Over the past week, surprises have come in stronger-than-expected reports on US job creation, the trade balance and…
Retail Sales: AP Reporter Describes A Probable Real Improvement as 'Sl
January 12th, 2007 10:18 AM
Associated Press reporter Martin Crutsinger reported this morning that retail sales in December came in better than expected:
Retail sales rose in December at the strongest pace in five months, indicating that the all-important holiday shopping season turned out better than original reports indicated.
The Commerce Department said Friday that retail sales increased 0.9 percent last month, the…
Nobody Makes Lemonade into Lemons Better Than AP's Business Reporters
January 11th, 2007 9:47 AM
An unbylined report on unemployment claims by the Associated Press is a classic of the genre (bold is mine):
The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims dropped by 26,000 to 299,000 last week on a seasonally adjusted basis. It marked the first time jobless claims have fallen below 300,000 since the week of July 22.
The improvement was much better than the decline…
Coverage of Voter ID Law Court Cases Depends on Result
January 7th, 2007 10:24 AM
Last week, a Federal Appeals Court upheld Indiana's Voter ID law (HT Volokh):
Appeals court upholds voter ID law
INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana's law that requires voters to show photo identification at the polls is not too burdensome, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago said Thursday in a 2-1 ruling that upholds the 2005 law.
..... The 7th U.S. Circuit Court questioned arguments that…
Bush Economy Long-Term Employment Growth Is Looking Quite 'Clintonian
January 5th, 2007 4:39 PM
Today's announcement there were 167,000 net new jobs in December (196,000 counting revisions to prior months), and that the unemployment rate held steady at 4.5%, made me wonder how job growth during the Bush prosperity compares to job growth during comparable periods in the 1990s.
The answer -- Pretty darn well:
