Paulitical Economy™
A snapshot of what’s going on in the world’s economy.
Episodes
49 episodes
Post 367: The War on Cash, Business and the Next Generation
Father’s Day trumps Mother’s Day. Don’t shoot the messenger.Comparing Uber with Lyft. I’ve started using Lyft more often.Canada’s youth are suffering from bad government polic...
Post 366: Central Bank Policy That Resulted In Unaffordable Homes and Basic Necessities
Clorox continues to struggle to grow its top line. And its share priceA look at real residential real estate price appreciation over the years in: CanadaU.S.A.ChinaUK<...
Post 365: Home Sizes Shrink as Their Prices Soar And Spirit Soars No More
Home Depot is still experiencing slow growth due to consumer uncertainty and normal interest rates.Spirit Airlines goes bankrupt.No taxpayer rescue.Prices of Kimberly-Clark products are falling and volum...
Post 364: Government Policy Works Well on Crime, Not So Much On Markets
The rate of crime in the US has fallen significantly.Homicide rate the lowest since the year 1900.Spirit Airlines has filed for bankruptcy protection: for the second time.Government meddling is making a b...
Post 363: Growing Government Jobs Restrict Growth as Tariffs Begin to Bite
Lululemon has not grown comparable store sales in the US for almost two years. And we review a scathing attack from the company's founder.US home prices vs. income have increased over the last twenty-five ye...
Post 362: High Income Consumers Drive Spending While Consumer Sentiment Hits a Half Century Low
Sales at Dollar General are slowly accelerating. Even with discretionary items.But sales growth at Dollarama is ticking lower. And we take a look back.Retail sales and the Spe...
Post 361: Corporate Bifurcation With Consumers Buying Less Stuff While Governments Bail Out Governments
The construction of multifamily properties in the US has soared over the last few years.Resulting in higher vacancy rates and lower rents.European consumer products company Unilever got rid of its ice cream busin...
Post 360: Booze, RVs, and Rising Mortgage Rates
Hello everyone,I hope you had a nice weekend. Things are finally starting to warm up here in the Toronto area: it has been a long winter. And now that we’re near the end of March the birds are making their way back north incl...
Post 359: Why Canadians Are Getting Poorer and Less Happy
Homicides in the US are the lowest in 125 years.Canada’s economic decline has outpaced all other developed nations over the last ten years.And so has our happiness.I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas an...
Post 358: The Central Bank Led Housing Affordability Crisis That Has Caused a Decline in Global Fertility
Carnival Corporation is charging record prices.And a look back.A look at what and who caused Canada’s housing affordability crisis.And how housing affordability crises around the world have contributed to...
Post 357: Why Canada’s Economy is Falling Behind: Vacant Homes, Weak GDP, and Startups Leaving
An increasing number of homes listed for sale in Canada are vacant.A look at Canada’s poor record on economic growth.And sadly, it’s primarily self-inflicted.In Financial Ructions:More Canadians ...
Post 356: 35 Years of Easy Money and the Generational Wealth Divide
A Wall Street Journal article looks at how older Americans are significantly wealthier than the next generation.Spoiler alert, it’s a result of bad policy.As cocoa bean prices soared, chocolate consumption fell.<...
Post 355: Gold, Housing, Jobs & Debt: What the Data Is Really Telling Us And What It Isn’t
Eddie Bauer: Another retailer is going by the wayside.And a look back.For Canadians who file for insolvency, on average they owe money to over 10 different lenders.The Chart of the Century shows car pric...
Post 354: Higher Prices Without Higher Value: From Pepsi to Housing
Pepsi has had 14 straight quarters of declining volume.Management springs into action.Despite beef prices rising more than 30% over the last two years, Tyson is losing hundreds of millions of dollars in its beef ...
Post 353: A New Fed Chair and an Old Problem: Money, Markets, and Division
Politics in the U.S. is significantly more divided than back in the 1950s/60s.But the country is not divided because of the politics.The politics is divided because of monetary policy.Dick’s Spo...
Post 352: How Central Banks Create Fake Wealth, Redistribute Real Wealth and Cause Economic Stagnation
Uber is experiencing uber sales and profit growth.By charging more and giving less.Pubs in the U.K. are banning some politicians from their establishments.It’s a tax revolt.Ranking airl...
Post 351: The Fake Wealth Effect that Leads to a Divided Society
Delta Airlines passenger revenue growth is barely in positive territory.But falling fast in economy class.Walmart takes to the air.In less than two years drones will be delivering to over 40 million Walma...
Post 350: Mortgage Debt of the Next Generation is Funding the Baby Boomers’ Retirement
A look at how pension plans compare between the Canadian private and public sectors.Car prices in the U.S. and Canada have soared.And no, it’s not because of tariffs.Macy’s seems to be turning around its...
Post 349: Mortgage Burdened Youth and the Illusion of Prosperity
The price of weight-loss drugs is plummeting.Used luxury watches are a multibillion dollar business.And so are fakes.TV watching via streaming has taken over.And YouTube leads the way.<...
Post 348: Artificial Wealth and the Enduring Allure of Easy Economics
Electric vehicle demand is a fraction of what auto manufacturers thought it would be.But government involvement helped to distort expectations.Ford takes a huge write-down.Coty is a leading cosm...
Post 347: Christmas Music, In-Flight Miracles and Monetary Delusion
Christmas with Andy Williams and the murder trial of his ex-wife.The US restaurant industry is seeing negative foot traffic. This is what happens when inflation drives dining costs through the roof....
Post 346: The Economy Speaks but the Government Refuses To Listen: Cue Financial Engineering
Lululemon continues to struggle in the US.While Costco continues to relentlessly drive sales higher.People continue to flock to RH for luxury furniture.But investors refuse to do likewise with the share price.
Post 345: The Shared Misery of Canada’s Housing Affordability Crisis and Profitability Leads to Dominance
I’m reposting my first and so far only Pollitical Economy (2023) which asked you for your favourite Christmas movie.Giving you some Christmas viewing ideas.Another look at Canada’s housing affordability crisis.