Paulitical Economy™

Paul Musson
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A snapshot of what’s going on in the world’s economy. 

  1. 6d ago

    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 infrastructure spending are still booming.And Caterpillar is benefiting from both.Conversely, Deere Corporation’s sales growth slows.Farmers are suffering from high input costs and are cutting back on large equipment purchases.Financial Ructions:The Fed’s ample reserve system.No, banks do not need ample reserves to grow their loans business.We take another look at imputed rents.And their fictional contribution to Canada’s GDP.The U.S. is increasing its usage of emergency measures to keep bond yields from exploding higher.The pressure will not relent.Book ReviewWe cover the next two chapters of Why Socialism Struggles.Money is not evil and a paragraph from my book.A closer look at the difference between Socialism and Capitalism.

  2. Aug 3

    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.And its shares are still very expensive.Tesla sales accelerate but profit sank 57%.Shareholders weren’t impressed.Nike has now gone eleven straight quarters with no sales growth.Over the last five years its share price is down an astonishing 75%.Luxury furniture company RH sales go negative for the first time in two years.And its share prices are challenging Nike for the worst performance over five years.Financial Ructions30-Year US Treasury yields are the highest since 2004.And 1-Year yields are back to where they were in 2007.Along with 30-year fixed rate mortgages.Our favourite mainstream journalist is back and no, a strong economy does not require higher interest rates.I dust off one of my old marketing slides to demonstrate how simply looking at annual rates of return for a mutual fund can be misleading.Book ReviewWe’re on Chapter 4 of Why Socialism Struggles.We explore the danger of trying to fix prices in an economy.Prices of goods or labor.And we look at why technology and progress must be embraced.Stopping progress might result in zero unemployment but we’d all be impoverished.

  3. Jul 28

    Post 377: Bankruptcies Rise, Booze Rebounds, and Debt Fuels Groceries

    Summary A 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 (Jack Daniels) also sees sales ticking up.And broke off merger talks with French booze company Pernod Ricard.In Financial RuctionsA look at wage growth in the U.S. vs. Canada.And economic stats can be cherry picked.Corporate bankruptcies in the U.S. are increasingAnd 2026 could set the highest number since 2010.Signs of financial repression.A look at Japan.Book Review: Why Socialism StrugglesWe look at the concept of value.Why not everyone can be paid a living wage and what, as a society, we do about it.

  4. Jul 21

    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 visited websites in the U.S.Gmail leads the way.In Financial Ructions:Chicago’s public pension plans are a disaster.Investment in Canada is falling further and further behind the U.S.Book ReviewWe’re on chapter two of Why Socialism Struggles.Economics is about making decisions.And no, not by policymakers but by individuals.However, we are all suffering from the Fatal Conceit of our elected and non-elected officials.

  5. Jul 13

    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.And their share price has tanked over the last five years.And another look back.A great campaign slogan.Financial Ructions:New Zealand and Singapore top the list of countries in terms of ease of doing business.France, Japan and Italy way down the list.Book ReviewWe start a new book review: Why Socialism Struggles by Dr. Doug Cardell.There are a lot of misconceptions about what socialism is and what free market capitalism is.I hope that after reviewing this book you will have a better understanding of how an economy really works.And be able to identify when certain economic doctrine is driven more by ideology than reality.

  6. Jul 6

    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 share price.The wisdom of crowds requires at least one very important condition.Financial Ructions:Japan: Too many holes in the dyke?The U.S. vs. the E.U. cage match.The Bank of Canada worries about capital being misallocated.While they and other central bankers have been the main perpetrators of malinvestment for at least twenty-five years.Productivity growth in Canada has tanked.U.S. exceptionalismAnd no, reckless government spending is not justified by giving hedge funds a place to park their money.U.S. unexceptionalismInsider trading.A look at tariffs.And Brexit.Book Review:We finish our review of Howard Schultz’s great book on Starbucks.And I highly recommend it but especially for anyone looking to start their own business.

  7. Jun 29

    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 disparity is even worse here.A look at toys with two companies going in different directions.As is their share price.No more brown M&M’s and a repost on the Mars company.Too many people think of housing as an investment.No, a house’s productivity does not rise over time.But it is a good vehicle for forced saving.How governments increase house prices from both a demand and supply side of the equation.A quick look at Germany.Some in Canada believe it’s ok to first make housing and good jobs inaccessible for young people.And then charge them half a million dollars if they want to move to another country where good jobs and affordable housing are available.China’s economy is struggling.One data point: car sales are falling rapidly.Financial Ructions:Defunct economists.Alan Greenspan: RIPBook Review: Onward by Howard Schultz (Starbucks)Thinking long-term vs. short-termSelf reinforcing corporate cultures: Good and bad.Reinvesting in all parts of your business all the time.

  8. Jun 22

    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.A look at wealth disparity in the U.S.And how the older generation has benefited from central bank policiesAt the expense of the next generation.Lululemon’s North American Sales kick off the year by accelerating downwards.But management thinks they’re off to a good start.Apple’s sales soar due to the popularity of its new iPhone 17.A quick look at some price increases in America over the last five years.Social Security in the U.S. will now be insolvent by 2032.And a look at some solutions.Ontario’s housing market is struggling.And could get worse.Canada’s government comes to the rescue with a taxpayer-funded baby boomer bailout.In Financial Ructions:Technology stocks have now eclipsed their 1999 peak weighting within the S&P500.But their share of earnings has gone up even more.That doesn’t mean that they’re cheap.A look at an op-ed that says Bitcoin is going to zero.But it makes some assumptions I don’t agree with.Book Review: Onward by Howard Schultz (Starbucks)We see the importance of empowerment and letting go.A lesson our policymakers have unlearned.A quote from legendary Costco CEO Jim Sinegal.The importance of investing in your customers.And the importance of corporate culture.

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A snapshot of what’s going on in the world’s economy. 

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  • Creator
    Paul Musson
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    61
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Paulitical Economy™
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    Paulitical Economy™