Author Archives: James_Hamilton

December retail sales

Disappointing yes, but the financial press is getting a little carried away.

Was 25, now we have 50. Do I hear 75?

I thought it might be helpful to summarize some of the background on how we got into our present mortgage mess.

The weak performance of auto sales continues, with a new twist.

No cheer for the New Year from the numbers released this week.

2007 ended like it began, only worse.

We wish a merry Christmas to all our readers and friends.

Currently available data on consumer spending make it very unlikely that we’ll see negative real GDP growth for the fourth quarter.

Mark Thoma calls attention to this Washington Post article by Wharton Professor Dean Foster and Oxford Professor Peyton Young:

Stuart Staniford and colleagues continue to provide a great service for the rest of us in compiling the facts about new oil discoveries.