Despite the Trump Administration’s best attempts to bury this report, you should read it.
Continue reading
This Doesn’t Look Like a China Getting Ready to Capitulate to Trump
From Bloomberg:
Source: Bloomberg, 21 November 2018.
Just sayin’…
Side observation: From my reading of the article, the Chinese approach to “freedom of the financial press” is very Trumpian. Or alternatively, the Trump approach to freedom of the press is very Xi-ian.
Introducing DBnomics
Researchers have long relied upon the St. Louis Fed’s FRED and ALFRED databases for (primarily) US series. Now, Banque de France, CEPREMAP and France Stratégie have launched a new free database of international macro data, DBnomics.
When Can We Stop Winning? Midwest Ag Edition
“I’ve never seen things this bad,” Altom said. “I know several farmers who hired lawyers, to see if they can sue over the [soybean and corn storage] pricing and fees issues.”
“Who is Paying for the Trade War with China?”
That’s the title of a new report published by a consortium of European academic institutes, and written by Benedikt Zoller-Rydzek and Gabriel Felbermayr. I don’t have a problem with the analysis, which is mostly straightforward. It’s just a problem with the title.
Wisconsin GDP Surge Revised Away
New figures released by the BEA, incorporating annual benchmark revisions, indicate Wisconsin has been growing more slowly than previously thought; Q/q growth in 2018Q2 was ranked 48th in the Union. This outcome is illustrated in the following map.
Wisconsin Employment Declines, Previous Revised Down
Figures released by DWD suggest a slowdown in Wisconsin.
Odds on a Trade Truce: Soybean Edition
The gap between US and Brazil soybean prices is (finally) shrinking:
Continue reading
Always Learning: They Make 300 Feet White Bags
For soybeans, among other things.
Source: Bloomberg. Notes: 300-foot plastic bags sit filled with soybeans and corn. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Continue reading
Which Observation Is Not Like the Others: US Inward FDI Again
Plotting nominal dollar value of inward FDI understates the collapse in inflows. Here is the ratio to GDP, and — considering how FDI covaries with the stock market’s level — the real S&P 500 (As I recall, working on this topic during the dot.com boom, the dollar’s strength was the other important factor — but that hasn’t changed much over the last three years.)