Paulitical Economy™
A snapshot of what’s going on in the world’s economy.
Episodes
64 episodes
Post 382: Burger King’s Comeback Is a Whopper And More Bond Yield Manipulation
Canadian retailer Canadian Tire sees sales growth slow.And a look at two different ways in which the government extracts value from your investments.Burger King is rocking it.Not so much Popeyes.
Post 381: Walmart’s Slowdown, America’s Political Divide, and What the Fed Got Wrong
Walmart’s U.S. same store sales slow.But there were some mitigating factors.Social Security and Medicare in the U.S. will both be insolvent before long.And no one wants to do anything about it because it’...
Post 380: Wendy’s Stock Price Crashes to 1987 Levels While the Fed Has Failed Its Mandate 65 Months In a Row
Wendy’s sales have fallen six quarters in a row.Traffic at U.S. stores was down more than 12%.The Wendy’s share price revisits 1987.And we take a look back.McDonald’s sales growth slows...
Post 379: Fake GDP Growth, More Emergency Measures, and the Four Ways of Spending Money
We look at four different ways of spending money.Government is the worst and continues to grow.Uber vs. Lyft update.Lyft still a far better deal.A.I. data center, and government infrast...
Post 378: Luxury Sales and The Wealth Effect: How Hermes Benefits From Monetary Policy
French luxury goods maker LVMH sees its strongest growth in over two years.Watches, jewellery and Japan lead the way.Hermes also sees its sales accelerate but its share price tanked on the announcement.An...
Post 377: Bankruptcies Rise, Booze Rebounds, and Debt Fuels Groceries
SummaryA disturbing number of Americans are using Buy Now, Pay Later options for groceries.American booze company Constellation Brands has turned things around.But not its share price.Brown Forman...
Post 376: Pension Plans and Consumer Product Companies Struggle While Pawn Shops Thrive: A Sign of the Times
A look at pawn shops.And how they may be a good hedge in your stock portfolio.Sales of General Mills finally stop falling.But volume continues its downward path.A look at the most visit...
Post 375: Why Xbox, Krispy Kreme and Socialism Struggle
Dogs in the U.K. go postal.A sad tale of beer in the U.K.Xbox console sales have been plummeting.And here come the layoffs.Demand from Krispy Kreme customers is softer than their donuts....
Post 374: The Real Story on Tariffs, Brexit, and U.S. Exceptionalism
The cigarette industry is seeing a slow but steady decline. And employment is falling.Also in the number of employees.Check your eggs.Nike’s customers are under continued pressure.As is Nike’s sh...
Post 373: Myths: Housing as Investment and The Maestro
More evidence that pizza sales are slowing with Domino’s just barely in positive territory in the U.S.Another look at wealth disparity in the U.S. and this time we focus on stocks and mutual funds.As you might expect, the ...
Post 372: Social Security Insolvency, Boomer Bailouts, and What the Bitcoin-to-Zero Argument Gets Wrong
After many quarters of negative U.S. sales growth, Yum! Brands decides to offload its Pizza Hut business.But Taco Bell is still ringing in strong sales growth.The Starbucks turnaround plan seems to be working.
Post 371: Why Most Policymakers Are Not Good Leaders and Macy’s Joins The K-Shaped Recovery
Hybrid car sales are soaring. And the Japanese dominate the category.Macy’s and the K-Shaped economy. If you can’t beat em, join em.Kraft Heinz has had 17 straight quarters of...
Post 370: Younger People Priced Out of U.K. and Canadian Housing While Gold Surpasses the U.S. Dollar as World’s #1 Reserve Asset
In the U.K. the armed forces are being prescribed Wegovy, and Viagra.More on governments’ contributions to Canada’s housing affordability crisis.Dollar General continues to grow its sales with higher-income consumers trad...
Post 369: Even Ozempic Can’t Keep Canada Out of Recession
Generic versions of weight-loss drugs are now on the market.Costing less to lose more.Hormel is a U.S. food-processing company based in Minnesota.Sales improved slightly but it’s all price: volume is stil...
Post 368: Energy Shock, Mortgage Shock, and a Stretched Consumer
The fallout from the Iran war in terms of rising energy prices may just be beginning.US gas prices are up 45% from last year.Canadians renewing their 5-year fixed rate mortgages in 2026 will see the biggest shock yet to t...
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...