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Strategies & Market Trends : John Pitera's Market Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jon Koplik who wrote (12401)	5/30/2009 7:38:13 PM
From: Hawkmoon	1 Recommendation Respond to of 33421

Probably one of the more insightful articles Krugman has written. Nice to see him actually focus more on economics analysis than playing political policy hack. Hawk

To: Jon Koplik who wrote (12401)	5/30/2009 11:38:46 PM
From: pogohere	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 33421

"But when it comes to inflation, the only thing we have to fear is inflation fear itself." Try the this calculator at the BLS: bls.gov It seems that what we should fear is guys distracting us from the inflation that has been inflicted already.

To: Jon Koplik who wrote (12401)	6/26/2009 3:52:16 AM
From: ahhaha	4 Recommendations Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 33421

And the United States itself emerged from World War II with debt exceeding 120 percent of G.D.P. In none of these cases did governments resort to inflation to resolve their problems. Several years after WW2 the US had its worst bout of inflation since the 19th century, worse than the '70s. Why did it occur? Gubment created money that could be spent but the economy was still oriented around wartime output and wasn't able to supply goods and services demanded by the public. Extra demand plus constraint on supply equals inflation. You don't hear anything about that several years from '48 to '50. It's noteworthy to reflect upon this period of history because similarly now the public has the potential demand wherewithal plus constraint on supply(White man does no work). But it’s hard to escape the sense that the current inflation fear-mongering is partly political, coming largely from economists who had no problem with deficits caused by tax cuts Deficits are caused by tax cuts? Deficits are caused by too much spending independently of tax cuts. Assume taxes are increased. Deficits will rise faster with raised taxes. Why? Because more money to spend means more and more money will be spent. but suddenly became fiscal scolds when the government started spending money to rescue the economy. Since when did any government spending rescue the economy? Who produces? The US government? Hardly. All government does is spend money choosing some one or other producer to provide what government chooses to provide, not what people demand. Thus, the wherewithal is squandered and this constrains demanded supply. And their goal seems to be to bully the Obama administration into abandoning those rescue efforts. He better hope they're successful, for if they aren't, Krugman will be out of a job. Needless to say, the president should not let himself be bullied. The economy is still in deep trouble and needs continuing help. The economy needs continuing help? This is a prescription for disaster, It's a statement that mankind is born into a state of poverty and must remain there unless government can steal from the yet to be born to bail Him out. Even then he stays in poverty since why work when the government pays the bills. It should be clear that Krugman has no adequate understanding of the concepts enunciated by the Founding Fathers, the basic idea of which is that man can create what he needs as long as tyranny isn't in place to stop Him. Yes, we have a long-run budget problem, and we need to start laying the groundwork for a long-run solution. What happened to his quickly forgotten prescription for "continuing help"? But when it comes to inflation, the only thing we have to fear is inflation fear itself. The only thing we have to fear is apparachiks like Krugman.

To: Jon Koplik who wrote (12401)	8/12/2009 12:05:15 AM
From: Jon Koplik	Respond to of 33421

Dow Jones News -- Record Falls In Japan Corp Goods Prices Continue ................................................. AUGUST 11, 2009, 10:45 P.M. ET UPDATE: Record Falls In Japan Corp Goods Prices Continue (Adds details, comments from a BOJ official.) By Megumi Fujikawa DOW JONES NEWSWIRES TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Japan's corporate goods price index fell at its fastest pace on record for the second straight month in July, adding to concerns that deflation in the world's second largest economy is accelerating. The Bank of Japan's CGPI data, which tracks prices of domestically produced and used goods traded among companies, plunged 8.5% in July from a year earlier, breaking the record 6.7% drop set in the previous month. Prices of 412, or 48.2%, of the 855 items included in the CGPI fell on year in July, a BOJ official said. That was an increase from June, when the prices of 380, or 44.4%, of the components dropped. Wednesday's results will likely heighten fears of persistent price falls in Japan, as overall economic activity has yet to show signs of a full-fledged recovery. Still, BOJ Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa said at a regular press conference on Tuesday that the BOJ doesn't expect Japan to fall into a deflationary spiral now, though "it may take time for falls in prices to end." The steep on-year decline in July was mostly a reaction to a surge in oil prices last summer. Petroleum and coal product costs dropped 43.1% on year, after falling 41.7% in June. "Prices of raw materials and commodities exert upward pressure (on the domestic CGPI) as the global economy improves. But final demand remains sluggish in the country, even if the economy is on a recovery trend, putting downward pressure on prices," the official said. "These two factors will likely spur a tug of war down the road." On a monthly basis, the domestic CGPI rose 0.4% in July, due partly to a revision in electricity prices. Prices of electric power, gas and water increased 2.3% on month, following a 3.1% drop in June. -By Megumi Fujikawa, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-6895-7559; megumi.fujikawa@dowjones.com Copyright ©2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.