Reverie

"There will always be bull markets followed by bear markets followed by bull markets." - John Templeton
 

By the time Roosevelt launched his antitrust assault on Standard in 1907, that company’s market share had fallen from more than 90 percent in the late 1890s to 68 percent. And when Standard was broken up four years later, its market share was down even further, to 64 percent.

 

Nobel laureate Ed Prescott, in his famous 2004 paper "Why Do Americans Work So Much More Than Europeans?" shows that workers spend considerably more hours working when marginal tax rates on their incomes are lower. So basically, over time people will reduce the number of hours they work, economic growth slows down, and less revenue is collected. As Prescott’s work show, the effect is even stronger as government benefits grow.

The Eagles' greatest-hits album has topped Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” to retake its crown as the best-selling album ever, the Recording Industry Association of America revealed, according to the Associated Press.

I'm very worried that Cortez will displace Stormy in the starry-eyed press. Stormy is my favorite political commentator.

The latest world climate report from the BP Statistical Review of World Energy finds that in 2017, America reduced its CO2 emissions by 0.5%, the most of all major countries. This despite withdrawing from the Paris Accords.

It might be best if the middle class did not see the graphs that I have foolishly reproduced below. Really stunning.

3.4 million jobs have been added during Trump’s 19 months, but that’s fewer than the 3.7 million during Obama’s last 19 months.  Inflation-adjusted wages rose a quarter of a percent per year under President Obama, but have declined under Trump.

One interesting factor seems to be the retiring of older workers being replaced by younger cheaper ones.

An Ohio historical society was planning a reenactment of a battle from the French and Indian War for October. A western Shawnee group objected to the misuse of their clothing and history and got the state to cancel the event and forbid any such event on state property.

This is what Brennan said: "“Trump’s … performance in Helsinki exceeds the threshold of ‘high crimes and misdemeanors.’ It was … treasonous.” Now I understand you can say just about anything now, but that is a lot. It is curious in the culture that a gender or racial slur would have received much more attention and criticism.

So Hilary says, “You could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables … racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic. … Some of those folks … are irredeemable, but … they are not America.”

And Gov. Andrew Cuomo can say, “We’re not going to make America great again. It was never that great.”

And they can expect everyone to agree? Or at least not be angry?

Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges, admitting that he coordinated with Donald Trump to buy the silence of two women and directly implicating the president for the first time in a scheme to violate campaign-finance laws. Now is this bribery of a private person? Can that happen? Or is it extortion?

Proof of my liberal creds: Twenty-four inmates received associate's degrees through an innovative collaboration between Wesleyan's Center for Prison Education and Middlesex Community College.

Elizabeth Warren's recent speech on her vision of the future American economy veers dangerously into specifics. It is going to be fun watching this play out in the national debate because it is a truly dangerous--if revealing--position.

The Neanderthal -- Denisovan story is interesting.

In a recent survey, two-thirds of all medical residents (75%) ranked a good work schedule and call hours as the most important factor when looking for a job – more than starting salary and compensation (66%) and potential for career advancement (29%).

Good news: A “controversial” working group within the Food and Drug Administration has begun discussion of importing drugs from other countries as a way to bring down US prices, according to Dan Best, a senior adviser on drug pricing in the Trump Administration.

Bad news: Reuters reports the European Medicines Agency announced Monday that heart drugs with an active ingredient produced by a second Chinese company, Zhejiang Tianyu Pharmaceutical, were being recalled from the EU market “after detection of a toxic impurity that may cause cancer.”

Since the destruction of tools, skills, infrastructure, and productive resources by necessity creates the need for rebuilding, does such damaging and destructive behavior imply a pro-growth policy?

The Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Livability Index report ranks cities around the globe based on stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Pittsburgh was named the 32nd most livable city in the world out of 140. The unit is the research and analysis division of The Economist Group and the world leader in global business intelligence. Vienna, Austria replaces Melbourne, Australia as the most livable city in this year's report. Pittsburgh came in second-best of all the U.S. cities, behind Honolulu, Hawaii. 

Aaaaannnnnnddddd.......two graphs: