I just put the first year in but retail sales were revised to 1992. 2014 was down. This is why I wrote a "down" on the entire report since the revisions overall are much less than originally reported.
now that i’ve actually looked at the retail sales report, rather than relying on someone else's headlines…March’s sales were revised down to $436.8 billion from the originally reported $441.4 billion, but because February sales were revised down from $437.6 billion to $431.0 billion in a benchmark revision, the reported percentage increase from February to March rose from 0.9% to 1.1%…
"Under the agreement, the Senate will vote Thursday on an African trade deal, and then a customs and enforcement measure that includes many of the trade protections Democrats feared would be lost, including a provision that targets currency manipulation by China and trading partners ... After voting on the Africa and enforcement measures, the Senate will return to the debate on the fast-track legislation."
What will happen with TPP now? Per "Popular Resistance" ...
After the defeat of fast track for TPP in the Senate, the next steps will require the Democrats and Republicans in the House to reach agreement on how to proceed on four bills:
1) Fast track trade authority.
All indications are that a majority in the House oppose fast track and with the senate vote, that majority is likely to be solidified and perhaps expanded. House leadership is unlikely to bring the bill to the Floor unless they have majority support.
2) A customs bill that includes enforcement against currency manipulation.
The currency manipulation enforcement is opposed by Republicans and the White House. The administration does not think it can finalize negotiations on the TPP if it includes enforcement against currency manipulation. Obama might even veto a bill that included currency enforcement.
3) Trade Assistance Authority (TAA) which would provides support for workers who lose their jobs.
Republicans also oppose the TAA, but seem willing to negotiate on that issue.
4) A law that would provide for favored trade for developing nations in Africa.
McConnell has offered to bring to the floor a package combining fast-track, which is also known as Trade Promotion Authority, and Trade Adjustment Assistance, which helps workers displaced by foreign competition. But McConnell has refused to combine those bills with the customs and enforcement act, which includes language cracking down on currency manipulation, and a package of trade preferences for sub-Saharan Africa.
April retail sales printed a gooseegg, March was revised down 0.1% to 0.8%, and March retail inventories were up just 0.1%...i will be very interested to see how the BEA handles that...
If this is true. About time. Unbelievable Obama going to Portland....to see NIKE while ISIS grabs Iraq oil refineries!!!!! See where his priorities lie!
i'm sure some of the March imports went to consumers, but it seems impossible that the majority could have...there was a 20% increase in current dollar imports of consumer goods, vs a 1% increase in retail sales, so everything unloaded off the ships didnt get consumed in March...there are similarly large increases in imports of capital goods and most other categories...if they weren't consumed in March, where would they go, if not to a warehouse someplace?
you're right that they're not part of March wholesale inventories, the value of which was up by 0.1% after February was revised down by 0.1%...maybe they'll show up in retail inventories...
it's a conundrum, because that big jump in imports looks to subtract points from GDP, especially with the negative 16% deflator, and we have to know where they were added...i know that GDP convention for net exports is (X-M), but neither exist in isolation...exports add to gross domestic product because they represent that part of our production that was not consumed or added to investment in our country, and imports subtract from GDP because they represent either consumption or investment that was not produced here...if those imports weren't included in March consumption or investment, then they shouldn't subtract from GDP..
Hi-Lex Controls, an automotive technology company, took Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to court in 2013 after becoming suspicious that the company had been systematically cheating it over 19 years. After reviewing evidence in the case, a judge ordered the insurance company stop charging the hidden fees — and order it to pay Hi-Lex Controls $6.1 million. An actuary from the consulting firm Milliman Inc. testified under oath that many other insurers engaged in the same practices.
I Agree with you entirely on this and have personally seen an email from my former employer outlining 10 steps to force older workers to quit. After working 30 years for one firm I have learned that "over qualified" really means too old, expensive to insure etc. Ageism is rampant in the American workplace today and nobody wants to address it. At all. Dedication, talent, experience today have all been trumped by younger, more tech savvy workers. My dear friend Camille is HR president for a huge American corporation and flat out told me "We know younger workers will change jobs on average 8 times between the age of 20 - 30 and are ok with this because technology is ever increasing and since millennials are "me first" I have been forced to accept this by our board of directors. Their response to me regarding our experienced senior workers was "get them out as quickly and discreetly as possible". No .. in America as technology moves ahead the value of a worker and the time they are treated fairly in the work place decreases. Camille summed it up for me thus: "When you hit 40 your employment to termination clock starts at 45 it picks up speed. At 50 you can expect that false faults in your performance will be found at 55 ... they want you gone". What millennials will find due to the fact technology is ever moving faster their clock will begin to start at 35". They will not deal with it as well as the boomers.
"The creation of Fox News in 1996 was an event of deep, yet unappreciated, political and historical importance. For the first time, there was a news source available virtually everywhere in the United States, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with a conservative tilt. Finally, conservatives did not have to seek out bits of news favorable to their point of view in liberal publications or in small magazines and newsletters. Like someone dying of thirst in the desert, conservatives drank heavily from the Fox waters. Soon, it became the dominant – and in many cases, virtually the only – major news source for millions of Americans. This has had profound political implications that are only starting to be appreciated. Indeed, it can almost be called self-brainwashing – many conservatives now refuse to even listen to any news or opinion not vetted through Fox, and to believe whatever appears on it as the gospel truth."
With all this fine weather we've been having lately, and the low gas prices, I had expected better.
I just put the first year in but retail sales were revised to 1992. 2014 was down. This is why I wrote a "down" on the entire report since the revisions overall are much less than originally reported.
now that i’ve actually looked at the retail sales report, rather than relying on someone else's headlines…March’s sales were revised down to $436.8 billion from the originally reported $441.4 billion, but because February sales were revised down from $437.6 billion to $431.0 billion in a benchmark revision, the reported percentage increase from February to March rose from 0.9% to 1.1%…
I seriously doubt that Fiorina will attempt to run as a populist, but I think she may be telling the truth about not trusting China.
"Under the agreement, the Senate will vote Thursday on an African trade deal, and then a customs and enforcement measure that includes many of the trade protections Democrats feared would be lost, including a provision that targets currency manipulation by China and trading partners ... After voting on the Africa and enforcement measures, the Senate will return to the debate on the fast-track legislation."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/13/senate-trade_n_7277314.html
My previous rants on Africa being the next "emerging market"...
October 25, 2014 - Offshoring to Africa — or Outsourcing to Robots?
http://bud-meyers.blogspot.com/2014/10/offshoring-to-africa-or-outsourci...
June 30, 2013 - Obama Hypes Africa for more Sweatshops
http://bud-meyers.blogspot.com/2013/06/obama-hypes-africa-for-more-sweat...
June 30, 2013 - Power Africa: Obama and his Globalist Administration
http://bud-meyers.blogspot.com/2013/06/power-africa-obama-and-his-global...
What will happen with TPP now? Per "Popular Resistance" ...
After the defeat of fast track for TPP in the Senate, the next steps will require the Democrats and Republicans in the House to reach agreement on how to proceed on four bills:
1) Fast track trade authority.
All indications are that a majority in the House oppose fast track and with the senate vote, that majority is likely to be solidified and perhaps expanded. House leadership is unlikely to bring the bill to the Floor unless they have majority support.
2) A customs bill that includes enforcement against currency manipulation.
The currency manipulation enforcement is opposed by Republicans and the White House. The administration does not think it can finalize negotiations on the TPP if it includes enforcement against currency manipulation. Obama might even veto a bill that included currency enforcement.
3) Trade Assistance Authority (TAA) which would provides support for workers who lose their jobs.
Republicans also oppose the TAA, but seem willing to negotiate on that issue.
4) A law that would provide for favored trade for developing nations in Africa.
McConnell has offered to bring to the floor a package combining fast-track, which is also known as Trade Promotion Authority, and Trade Adjustment Assistance, which helps workers displaced by foreign competition. But McConnell has refused to combine those bills with the customs and enforcement act, which includes language cracking down on currency manipulation, and a package of trade preferences for sub-Saharan Africa.
SOURCE:
https://www.popularresistance.org/senate-deals-stinging-defeat-to-obama-...
Other articles on the new report for the Roosevelt Institute entitled “Rewriting the Rules”:
New York Times: Report by Clinton Adviser [Joseph E. Stiglitz] Proposes ‘Rewriting’ Decades of Economic Policy
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/05/12/report-by-clinton...
TIME: Here’s the Secret Truth About Economic Inequality in America
http://time.com/3855971/us-economic-inequality/
Washington Post: The Emerging Populist Agenda
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-emerging-populist-agenda/2015...
Wall Street Journal: NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio Hails Elizabeth Warren As ‘A Powerful Voice’
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2015/05/12/nyc-mayor-bill-de-blasio-hail...
Interntional Business Times: Bill De Blasio Income Inequality: NYC Mayor Slams Washington For Not Helping Middle-Class Families
http://www.ibtimes.com/bill-de-blasio-income-inequality-nyc-mayor-slams-...
Capital New York: De Blasio touts report, emerging ‘movement’ in D.C.
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2015/05/8567882/de-blasi...
ABC News (video starts after ad) Democratic Duo Putting New Pressure on Hillary Clinton (Warren's sppech, then De Blasio speaks 6:30 minutes into video.)
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/democratic-duo-putting-pressure-hil...
Just when you start a small lap of victory, this.
April retail sales printed a gooseegg, March was revised down 0.1% to 0.8%, and March retail inventories were up just 0.1%...i will be very interested to see how the BEA handles that...
That's unbelievable! They did it! I'm really shocked. Maybe there is hope after all.
Just 40 votes were required to block fast-track for Obama on the TPP trade agreement — and 45 votes prevailed in stopping this terrible trade deal.
The votes were mostly along party lines. Forty-two Democrats, two Independents, and one Republican voted "Hell no!"
Only two Senators broke ranks with their party on this vote — Tom Carper (D-Delaware Inc.) voted "yea" and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) voted "nay".
The "no shows" who didn't bother vote on this very important issue were:
Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Marco Rubio (R-FL)
Make what you will as for the reasons for those who didn't vote.
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm...
* Senator Bernie Sanders Celebrates Victory By Promising A Long Battle To Defeat TPP
http://www.politicususa.com/2015/05/12/bernie-sanders-celebrates-victory...
* Did Barack Obama Just Lose to Elizabeth Warren?
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/05/barack-obama-elizabeth-warre...
The queen of offshore outsourcing Fiorina? I don't believe it for a second and that's she must have simply read the polling data.
If this is true. About time. Unbelievable Obama going to Portland....to see NIKE while ISIS grabs Iraq oil refineries!!!!! See where his priorities lie!
(May 12, 2015) "Senate Democrats gang up to delay fast-track trade bill"
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/12/us-usa-trade-idUSKBN0NX0B32015...
Also, here's a very good and detailed article about ISDS:
(May 12, 2015) "Why Warren Is Right and Obama Is Wrong on Fast Track’s Threat to Wall Street Reform"
http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/2015/05/why-warren-is-right-and-o...
i'm sure some of the March imports went to consumers, but it seems impossible that the majority could have...there was a 20% increase in current dollar imports of consumer goods, vs a 1% increase in retail sales, so everything unloaded off the ships didnt get consumed in March...there are similarly large increases in imports of capital goods and most other categories...if they weren't consumed in March, where would they go, if not to a warehouse someplace?
you're right that they're not part of March wholesale inventories, the value of which was up by 0.1% after February was revised down by 0.1%...maybe they'll show up in retail inventories...
it's a conundrum, because that big jump in imports looks to subtract points from GDP, especially with the negative 16% deflator, and we have to know where they were added...i know that GDP convention for net exports is (X-M), but neither exist in isolation...exports add to gross domestic product because they represent that part of our production that was not consumed or added to investment in our country, and imports subtract from GDP because they represent either consumption or investment that was not produced here...if those imports weren't included in March consumption or investment, then they shouldn't subtract from GDP..
Hi-Lex Controls, an automotive technology company, took Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to court in 2013 after becoming suspicious that the company had been systematically cheating it over 19 years. After reviewing evidence in the case, a judge ordered the insurance company stop charging the hidden fees — and order it to pay Hi-Lex Controls $6.1 million. An actuary from the consulting firm Milliman Inc. testified under oath that many other insurers engaged in the same practices.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/05/11/17317/court-case-shows-how-hea...
Great you covered this, unexpected. I had another family situation, couldn't get to it.
But why would imports show up in wholesale inventories? They are "entering the country" in the report, many going directly to consumers.
I Agree with you entirely on this and have personally seen an email from my former employer outlining 10 steps to force older workers to quit. After working 30 years for one firm I have learned that "over qualified" really means too old, expensive to insure etc. Ageism is rampant in the American workplace today and nobody wants to address it. At all. Dedication, talent, experience today have all been trumped by younger, more tech savvy workers. My dear friend Camille is HR president for a huge American corporation and flat out told me "We know younger workers will change jobs on average 8 times between the age of 20 - 30 and are ok with this because technology is ever increasing and since millennials are "me first" I have been forced to accept this by our board of directors. Their response to me regarding our experienced senior workers was "get them out as quickly and discreetly as possible". No .. in America as technology moves ahead the value of a worker and the time they are treated fairly in the work place decreases. Camille summed it up for me thus: "When you hit 40 your employment to termination clock starts at 45 it picks up speed. At 50 you can expect that false faults in your performance will be found at 55 ... they want you gone". What millennials will find due to the fact technology is ever moving faster their clock will begin to start at 35". They will not deal with it as well as the boomers.
Bruce Bartlett wrote an 18-page paper: How Fox News Changed American Media and Political Dynamics
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2604679
"The creation of Fox News in 1996 was an event of deep, yet unappreciated, political and historical importance. For the first time, there was a news source available virtually everywhere in the United States, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with a conservative tilt. Finally, conservatives did not have to seek out bits of news favorable to their point of view in liberal publications or in small magazines and newsletters. Like someone dying of thirst in the desert, conservatives drank heavily from the Fox waters. Soon, it became the dominant – and in many cases, virtually the only – major news source for millions of Americans. This has had profound political implications that are only starting to be appreciated. Indeed, it can almost be called self-brainwashing – many conservatives now refuse to even listen to any news or opinion not vetted through Fox, and to believe whatever appears on it as the gospel truth."
The author behind the paper: Bruce Bartlett @ Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Bartlett
The owner of Fox News: Rupert Murdoch @ Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Murdoch
So now companies and Republicans are criminals for protecting the freedoms of businesses and their owners (and workers). Unbelievable.
Pages