The Economy

[Meekly_Anna]

Of course the "slop" needs to be refined before it can be used, that's what the Chinese do...and they don't care about environmental issues, they are the Chinese after all......
No, what is remaining of our refineries will not ever be converted to process the stuff...too expensive to retrofit and environmental issues as well .....just for your information I was part of the petroleum industry as well...
What I was trying to convey is the control of the " slop" is for all intents and purpose under the US umbrella...
The entire operation in Venezuela and now in iran is to thwart the Chinese and pin them down, also using the gullible and hapless Ukrainians to bleed out and weaken the Russians is also designed to stop the Chinese....and finally to keep( this is the most important item) the US dollar as the predominant, Petro-dollar... above all else..... and to do this without triggering a nuclear exchange......these people are unbelievably ruthless and cunning.....
Not being snarky but ya want to unclude all bits of the "puzzle" to understand the seemingly random shit the feds do...
Film at 11....

You worked for the API's cronies and now you're accusing the Chinese of lacking environmental awareness?
That's funny.
The Chinese don't need Venezuela. Their direct neighbor is Russia. If they get oil from there, they gain economically and politically, as Russia becomes increasingly dependent.
You still believe that the petrodollar will survive? That's naive. The petrodollar is practically dead. The renminbi and the euro are already more important today. Say: Thank you, Mr. President, you have successfully destroyed that too.
With each passing week, the US becomes weaker and less important. The US could have become independent of finite resources. Incidentally, one of the largest solar power states in the US is Texas. If even Texas understands that...
Unfortunately, your president is a senile idiot. And you will suffer for decades as a result. Say: Thank you, Mr. President, you have successfully destroyed that too.
Do you know what the US's main export is? Electronic services. Until recently, everyone knew that this was a reliable source of income. Gone and over. Many states are currently supporting their own producers with large sums of money in order to end their dependence on the US. Say: Thank you, Mr. President, you have successfully destroyed that too.
Shall I continue? Better not. Maybe another time.

 

[Bray123]

One more item, China is not teaching the US a lesson...China is fighting an asymmetrical world war against the United States.....United States now (for all intents and purpose) controls Venezuelan oil....2nd if talks fail today and tomorrow regarding Iran, all indicators point to a war against Iran, the tribe will begin the attack followed up by US Air, navel and ground forces to over run the diaper heads and seize control of Iranian oil and gas fields, thus denying the Chinese Iranian oil...this entire shit storm is about the war with China, without going nuclear.....

The USA is not learning the lesson.

 

[heathrowinneo]

You worked for the API's cronies and now you're accusing the Chinese of lacking environmental awareness?
That's funny.
The Chinese don't need Venezuela. Their direct neighbor is Russia. If they get oil from there, they gain economically and politically, as Russia becomes increasingly dependent.
You still believe that the petrodollar will survive? That's naive. The petrodollar is practically dead. The renminbi and the euro are already more important today. Say: Thank you, Mr. President, you have successfully destroyed that too.
With each passing week, the US becomes weaker and less important. The US could have become independent of finite resources. Incidentally, one of the largest solar power states in the US is Texas. If even Texas understands that...
Unfortunately, your president is a senile idiot. And you will suffer for decades as a result. Say: Thank you, Mr. President, you have successfully destroyed that too.
Do you know what the US's main export is? Electronic services. Until recently, everyone knew that this was a reliable source of income. Gone and over. Many states are currently supporting their own producers with large sums of money in order to end their dependence on the US. Say: Thank you, Mr. President, you have successfully destroyed that too.
Shall I continue? Better not. Maybe another time.

A very good synopsis

 

[MajorRewrite]

Meanwhile, down in Argentina inflation is 32%.

Argentina’s inflation came in at 2.9% in January, taking the 12-month rate to 32.4%, according to the national statistics agency INDEC.

No wonder Donnie and Bessent wanted to give them billions.

 

[SebastianHolt]

I’ve been posting economic news in the “Thanks Biden” thread, but I think it’s time for a new dedicated thread.

Let’s begin with today’s good economic news:

US economic growth increased last quarter to a healthy 2.8% annual rate



Good news indeed.

The economy is cyclical so an eventual downturn is inevitable, but it’s not here yet.

I’m sure all Americans will be pleased by the continued strength of the economy.

Joe Biden was a retard

 

[Buffalogurl]

The USA is not learning the lesson.

Oh ,I have to agree, we the United States needs to stop meddling in other countries affairs....and stop all foreign aid as well..fuck'em...

 

[Buffalogurl]

You worked for the API's cronies and now you're accusing the Chinese of lacking environmental awareness?
That's funny.
The Chinese don't need Venezuela. Their direct neighbor is Russia. If they get oil from there, they gain economically and politically, as Russia becomes increasingly dependent.
You still believe that the petrodollar will survive? That's naive. The petrodollar is practically dead. The renminbi and the euro are already more important today. Say: Thank you, Mr. President, you have successfully destroyed that too.
With each passing week, the US becomes weaker and less important. The US could have become independent of finite resources. Incidentally, one of the largest solar power states in the US is Texas. If even Texas understands that...
Unfortunately, your president is a senile idiot. And you will suffer for decades as a result. Say: Thank you, Mr. President, you have successfully destroyed that too.
Do you know what the US's main export is? Electronic services. Until recently, everyone knew that this was a reliable source of income. Gone and over. Many states are currently supporting their own producers with large sums of money in order to end their dependence on the US. Say: Thank you, Mr. President, you have successfully destroyed that too.
Shall I continue? Better not. Maybe another time.

I know the US Petro-dollar is done, 50 years of the federal government using it as a club, being a bully......
You are quick to blame Trump, but your shallowness in historical matters leave you lacking, this entire shit show has been brewing for 50 years ....or I should say is breaking down... if you watch the quiet details this fact will become glaring evident .... in the coming days the Inflation rate is taking a stranglehold on America...it'll wipe out the fiat money just as it has numerous times in the past.....and for speculators, money whores, and money changers...and the lazy... those that have no practical skills... it's gonna be painful...rightfully painful....fuck'em

 

[MajorRewrite]

Joe Biden was a retard

OryginalnyHolt, you seem to need a reminder. It’s not surprising that a mentally disabled person like you would be forgetful.


Summary of 2025 economy vs 2024 economy:

Unemployment rate
2024: 4.1%
2025: 4.4%

Jobs created:
2024: 2,200,000
2025: 584,000

Manufacturing employment (total, in December):
2024: 12,760,000
2025: 12,692,000

Value of the dollar (DXY index):
2024: up 7%
2025: down 9%

S&P 500:
2024: up 23%
2025: up 16%

Groceries Cost:
2024: up 1.7%
2025: up 2.4%

Medical Care Cost:
2024: up 2.83%
2025: up 3.15%

Housing Cost:
2024: up 4.07%
2025: up 3.60%

Core Inflation Rate (excludes food and energy)(core CPI):
2024: 3.2%
2025: 2.6%

Average price of electricity per kilowatt-hour
December 2024: $0.176
December 2025: $0.189

 

[DeluxAuto]

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1867916127261595/?mibextid=9drbnH

THE JOB MARKET AND ECONOMY SUCKS BECAUSE WE'RE DEPORTING SO MANY ILLEGALS.

You fucking idiots.

 

[Meekly_Anna]

I know the US Petro-dollar is done, 50 years of the federal government using it as a club, being a bully......
You are quick to blame Trump, but your shallowness in historical matters leave you lacking, this entire shit show has been brewing for 50 years ....or I should say is breaking down... if you watch the quiet details this fact will become glaring evident .... in the coming days the Inflation rate is taking a stranglehold on America...it'll wipe out the fiat money just as it has numerous times in the past.....and for speculators, money whores, and money changers...and the lazy... those that have no practical skills... it's gonna be painful...rightfully painful....fuck'em

Likewise

 

[bijedi]

Reasonable countries are increasingly restricting the use of this slop. Apart from that, you're wrong. The stuff has to be refined before it can be used, otherwise it will destroy engines within a short time.
And yes, knowing about this kind of thing is part of my profession.
I could go on, but what's the point?
The stuff is almost worthless. Incidentally, US refineries can't process it. They are designed for Canadian crude oil. The conversion would cost billions. Per refinery.

There are plenty of refineries in the US that have the coking capacity to process and refine Venezuelan oil. The US processed nearly 50M barrels of Venezuelan oil as recently as 2023. And China has at least twice that capacity (it is probably closer to three times). Spain, Singapore, Malaysia and Cuba all have the ability to process Venezuelan heavy sour crude. It may not be as valuable as US or SA light sweet crude but it is far from worthless.

 

[bijedi]

A very good synopsis

Not really. The dollar is still the dominant petrocurrency, although it has seen some erosion to the Euro and somewhat to the RMB it isn't really in any danger of losing its status anytime soon.

The current administration's unpredictability and bullying behavior has certainly put pressure on the petrodollar and has provided increased impetus to those who want to move away from the dollar. The problem is all of the other currencies have much larger issues.

 

[heathrowinneo]

Not really. The dollar is still the dominant petrocurrency, although it has seen some erosion to the Euro and somewhat to the RMB it isn't really in any danger of losing its status anytime soon.

The current administration's unpredictability and bullying behavior has certainly put pressure on the petrodollar and has provided increased impetus to those who want to move away from the dollar. The problem is all of the other currencies have much larger issues.

No really. MeeklyAnna's synopsis summarizes the points well. The dollars influence is waning thanks in part to the administrations past year program and trade policies. Petrodollar trading in US has been declining. Watch for BRICS to rise. The US still be influential but it is waning.

Countries are developing work-arounds to trumps trade irrationality. The US will have to deal with the fallout of his outbursts for awhile. The trust between allies and trade partners has been eroded. Look at F/X, treasuries, foreign governments and corporations divesting from US treasuries.

The world works to diversify energy sources and grid infrastructure. The US is falling further behind the power curve.

Others on the pb have discussed wealth inequalities. Look at the markets and the concentration of wealth in a smaller number of companies in the markets. Heavier concentration of wealth in fewer companies causes the market to be influenced by fewer, top heavy. And if those companies have a downturn, the effect will be more pronounced.

 

[MajorRewrite]

Job creation much better in January, but revised 2025 numbers are pathetic.

The economy added 130,000 jobs in January — far more than economists had anticipated — while the unemployment rate edged down slightly to 4.3%, Labor Department data released Wednesday showed.

Still, according to updated 2025 numbers, the job market also added a paltry 181,000 jobs for the entirety of last year, revised down from the earlier-reported growth of 584,000 jobs — the slowest pace of job growth outside recession since 2003.

 

[MajorRewrite]

Summary of 2025 economy vs 2024 economy: (job creation data revised)

Unemployment rate
2024: 4.1%
2025: 4.4%

Jobs created:
2024: 2,200,000
2025: 181,000

Manufacturing employment (total, in December):
2024: 12,760,000
2025: 12,692,000

Value of the dollar (DXY index):
2024: up 7%
2025: down 9%

S&P 500:
2024: up 23%
2025: up 16%

Groceries Cost:
2024: up 1.7%
2025: up 2.4%

Medical Care Cost:
2024: up 2.83%
2025: up 3.15%

Housing Cost:
2024: up 4.07%
2025: up 3.60%

Core Inflation Rate (excludes food and energy)(core CPI):
2024: 3.2%
2025: 2.6%

Average price of electricity per kilowatt-hour
December 2024: $0.176
December 2025: $0.189

 

[SebastianHolt]

OryginalnyHolt, you seem to need a reminder. It’s not surprising that a mentally disabled person like you would be forgetful.


Summary of 2025 economy vs 2024 economy:

Unemployment rate
2024: 4.1%
2025: 4.4%

Jobs created:
2024: 2,200,000
2025: 584,000

Manufacturing employment (total, in December):
2024: 12,760,000
2025: 12,692,000

Value of the dollar (DXY index):
2024: up 7%
2025: down 9%

S&P 500:
2024: up 23%
2025: up 16%

Groceries Cost:
2024: up 1.7%
2025: up 2.4%

Medical Care Cost:
2024: up 2.83%
2025: up 3.15%

Housing Cost:
2024: up 4.07%
2025: up 3.60%

Core Inflation Rate (excludes food and energy)(core CPI):
2024: 3.2%
2025: 2.6%

Average price of electricity per kilowatt-hour
December 2024: $0.176
December 2025: $0.189

great you can cut and copy. WOW, you can now graduate from kindergarten.

 

[Meekly_Anna]

I believe that the United States is in decline. This is not because the state system is unstable (it is, as can be seen from the way one person is abolishing the separation of powers and ruling without parliament), but because of the population.
It is striking that the locals are unable to talk to each other. If you don't believe me, just read this. They don't talk to each other, present their views and then discuss their validity; instead, they primarily insult each other. They either idolise or condemn their president (as does the rest of the world, especially those who suffer from his erratic, let's generously call it ‘politics’). You get insulted for being liberal. (For those who went to school in the USA: liberal means freedom from fear, i.e. accepting that others are entitled to a different opinion, just as others accept your own opinion. Or, to quote Voltaire's elegant words, "Tolerance [...] is the first gift of nature; it is the lot of all men. We are all full of weaknesses and errors; let us forgive each other our stupidities.")
But back to the topic at hand. Venezuelan crude oil costs twice as much as the average. The tar content has to be cracked just like heavy oil, because the demand for bitumen is not that high. There is already a US corporation, Chevron, that extracts it.
Funnily enough, the most stable genius ever seems to have overlooked this in his attack, which violated international law.
Of course Maduro is a criminal, but it is contrary to international law to simply invade another country, kidnap its head of state and shoot innocent bystanders in the process, even if that is good old American tradition.

 

[MajorRewrite]

great you can cut and copy. WOW, you can now graduate from kindergarten.

I’ll summarize the data for you since you’re struggling, oryginalynyHolt:

Most economic indicators were better in 2024 than in 2025.

 

[LLCox]

Raise your hand if you believe the trump administration and Faux Nooze.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...ayed-report-shows/ar-AA1W8q7Y?ocid=TobArticle

 

[Hel_Books]

Shock Poll: Americans Miss Joe Biden’s Economy

Yesterday Peter Navarro went on Fox Business and warned Panicans not to freak out over the jobs numbers that would come out this morning. Why?

“We have to revise our expectations down significantly for what a monthly job number should look like,” he said. “Wall Street . . . can’t rain on that parade, they have to adjust for the fact that we’re deporting millions of illegals out of our job market.”

It’s all so confusing!

Well we got those jobs numbers this morning and . . . wow.

I sat down the Catherine Rampell and Paul Krugman to talk about it. You can watch the conversation here. It’s high-quality stuff. But I want to expand on some thoughts, because I saw this question in yesterday’s YouGov poll and it made me laugh like the Joker:

Do you think President Trump is doing a better or worse job than President Biden:
Trump better: 40%
About the same: 7%
Trump worse: 46%
Not sure: 7%

That’s right. By a margin of 46 to 40, voters think Biden did a better job as president.

How could they think that? All of the headlines this morning are about how the 130,000 jobs added in January beat expectations! Well, let me show you some data that explain exactly what Donald Trump has done to America’s economy.

<chart>

Congratulations, Mr. President, on achieving job growth for one month that would have been among the worst of Biden’s term.

But even these 130,000 new jobs might not be real? Because the revision announced today for 2025 was brutal. The seasonally adjusted total number of jobs added for 2025 had been 584,000—which was already bad. The revision shows that even this was a huge overstatement. The economy only added 181,000 jobs for all of 2025.

That’s the Trump economy.. . . .

 

[Buffalogurl]

I believe that the United States is in decline. This is not because the state system is unstable (it is, as can be seen from the way one person is abolishing the separation of powers and ruling without parliament), but because of the population.
It is striking that the locals are unable to talk to each other. If you don't believe me, just read this. They don't talk to each other, present their views and then discuss their validity; instead, they primarily insult each other. They either idolise or condemn their president (as does the rest of the world, especially those who suffer from his erratic, let's generously call it ‘politics’). You get insulted for being liberal. (For those who went to school in the USA: liberal means freedom from fear, i.e. accepting that others are entitled to a different opinion, just as others accept your own opinion. Or, to quote Voltaire's elegant words, "Tolerance [...] is the first gift of nature; it is the lot of all men. We are all full of weaknesses and errors; let us forgive each other our stupidities.")
But back to the topic at hand. Venezuelan crude oil costs twice as much as the average. The tar content has to be cracked just like heavy oil, because the demand for bitumen is not that high. There is already a US corporation, Chevron, that extracts it.
Funnily enough, the most stable genius ever seems to have overlooked this in his attack, which violated international law.
Of course Maduro is a criminal, but it is contrary to international law to simply invade another country, kidnap its head of state and shoot innocent bystanders in the process, even if that is good old American tradition.

Okay... please explain "international law" ?..... America doesn't answer to any authority, we are a sovereign nation....fuck the world.... the only "law" that matters is what we want to do....ie pluck that shit bag Maduro out of his own house....or invade Iran and capture their oil and gas fields.....who will stop us?.... we are the law........
Same as Russia jamming up the ukies, and the cowards of the European union just stomp their feet and clutch their pearls.. same as the Israelis that bomb the shit out of Palestine, Lebanon and Syria and all you hear are crickets...same as that jackass Nobel peace prize...(oh look at me, I have medal)... (oh look at me we won the super bowl)....

 

[Meekly_Anna]

Okay... please explain "international law" ?..... America doesn't answer to any authority, we are a sovereign nation....fuck the world.... the only "law" that matters is what we want to do....ie pluck that shit bag Maduro out of his own house....or invade Iran and capture their oil and gas fields.....who will stop us?.... we are the law........
Same as Russia jamming up the ukies, and the cowards of the European union just stomp their feet and clutch their pearls.. same as the Israelis that bomb the shit out of Palestine, Lebanon and Syria and all you hear are crickets...same as that jackass Nobel peace prize...(oh look at me, I have medal)... (oh look at me we won the super bowl)....

The American perspective on matters is consistently surprising, Ms Larsen.

 

[RobDownSouth]

https://imgur.com/QYt9VIX

 

[Lazaran]

https://imgur.com/QYt9VIX

I just saw a report on PBS where an economics professor from Georgetown indicated that it’s going to get worse, because all of the companies who invested a fuckton in AI are going to layoff / fire a fuckton MOAR employees to justify the money they invested in AI.



WE. TOLD. THEM. SO.

 

[MajorRewrite]

70% of the private sector jobs created in 2025 were in healthcare.

In January 2026, 66% of the new jobs were in healthcare. Source.

This is not the sign of a successful economy.