Tag Archives: economy

Manufacturing Outlook and History In the USA and Globally

I write primarily about management improvement on this blog – which makes sense given the title. In the very early days I had more on investing, economic data, science, engineering and travel. Then I created three new blogs (Curious Cat … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Manufacturing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Leading Manufacturing Countries from 2000 to 2010: China, USA…

Over the years I have been posting data on the manufacturing output of leading countries. In 2010 China finally overtook the USA to becoming the leading manufacturer (long after you would have thought listening to many news sources and political … Continue reading

Posted in China, Manufacturing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Looking at Auto Manaufacturing in the USA

America’s Dirty War Against Manufacturing Bob Lutz, the former head of GM, says it was neither uncompetitive wages nor unions that drove the Big Three into decline. It was a management with its eye focused on the bottom line and … Continue reading

Posted in Deming, Economics, Manufacturing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

USA Spent $2.6 Trillion, $8,402 per person,17.9% of GDP on Medical Expenses in 2010

The federal government financed 29% of total health spending in 2010, a substantial increase from its share of 23% in 2007. Meanwhile, the shares of the total health care bill financed by state and local governments (16%), private businesses (21%), and households (28%) declined during the same time period. Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Health care, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Manufacturing Jobs Increasing for First Time Since 1998 in the USA

Surprise! Blue collar jobs are coming back Manufacturing employment began its decline long before the recession, losing jobs every year since 1998. But since the start of this year, there’s been a 1.6% gain in manufacturing jobs — about twice … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Manufacturing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Net Neutrality, Policy, Economics and Intelligent Engineering

I believe net neutrality should be championed to prevent decay of the usability of the internet. It seems to me internet connectivity is a natural monopoly that economic theory says should be a regulated monopoly. Smart countries have invested in … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Google, Innovation, IT | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Loan Default Rates Continue to Increase

Chart showing loan default rates for real estate, consumer and agricultural loans for 1998 to 2009 by the Curious Cat Investing Economics Blog, Creative Commons Attribution, data from the Federal Reserve. Default rates on commercial (up another 151 basis points) … Continue reading

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Community Banks Ask Why They Must Pay for Wall Street Greed

Minnesota Bank Asks Why It Pays for Wall Street Greed TCF is among more than 8,300 banks and lenders insured by the FDIC facing increased fees and a one-time “emergency” charge designed to raise $27 billion this year for the … Continue reading

Posted in Economics | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Some Firms Cut Costs Without Resorting to Layoffs

Some Firms Cut Costs Without Resorting to Layoffs Hypertherm Inc. has never laid off a permanent employee in its 40-year history. A 20% downturn in sales in recent months led the closely held maker of metal-cutting equipment to eliminate overtime, … Continue reading

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Financial Market Meltdown

The financial market meltdown has grown to the point where it has profound ramifications for everyone. The common wisdom for financial market variation, for most of us, is just to focus on the long term and don’t worry about short … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments