Connecting the Dots

Just as an army moves on its stomach, an economy moves on ships, trucks, and planes. They carry the goods whose purchase adds up to growth.

The way you feel about yourself affects your behavior... and the economy.

The logic of Donald Trump’s multi-front trade war, if there is any, is increasingly obscure. The tangled mix of policies isn’t accomplishing its stated goals and seems unlikely to ever do so. Meanwhile, it hurts the Americans it should supposedly help.

To wrap up Memorial Day weekend, here’s a column I wrote last December. Recent trade war developments make it still highly relevant.

People are worried robots will take their jobs. That’s a legitimate fear sometimes, but it’s not new. It is just another step in a process that started long ago.

The yield curve isn’t the only sign recession is coming. Rising corporate hubris says the same thing.

Almost every day brings comforting news on the trade front. They’re talking! Someone went to Beijing! Someone else is optimistic!

It’s not a good sign for your health if your blood pressure drops too low. It can cause dizziness and fainting and, in severe cases, can even be life-threatening.

Some things are too important to leave to politicians. One such thing: the money supply. That’s why the Federal Reserve Board is (at least in theory) an independent agency.

If you follow daily market action—something I don’t usually recommend—it’s pretty clear investors don’t like tariffs or other trade restrictions.

Looking at the official unemployment rate, American workers should be pretty happy. Almost everyone who wants a job has one.

Technology and the economy are like an ouroboros, one of those snake-eating-its-tail symbols. You don’t know where one ends and the other begins.