THE SUN, CROPS AND WAR (updated)

THE ABOVE ARTICLE HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH THE MOST RECENT DATA FROM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

I have also added the following report below covering the current heatwave in the USA to supplement the data on India. Seems to be the weather this summer could be torrid and the politics even hotter.

ALL IT TOOK WAS THREE QUARTERS OF A PERCENT.

The stock and bond markets had a surreal week. Up on Wednesday following Powell’s remarks then crashing through to Friday as economic reality was restored. It is illustrative of the tug of war between the FED and the economy that frustrates it.

The Congressional Budget Office released government financial data for April a few days ago. Included is an item called “withholding tax” which is the tax employers pay to the IRS each month on behalf of their employed workers. April shows a significant fall from a cumulative 9% YoY increase (October to March) down to 8% (October to April) which is not consistent with rising employment as this would imply rising, not falling, withholding taxes. Now that patterns after COVID are normalizing I will be using this metric more often.

PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF GERMAN PROFITABILITY 1991 – 2019.

This is the first of a two part investigation of the German economy. When the data becomes available the rate of profit will be extended to include 2022.

ARE WE HEADING FOR A GLOBAL HARD LANDING?

Preliminary German GDP growth in the first quarter of 0.2% was estimated by Eurostat on Friday.

“The US rate of profit 1964–2017 and the turnover of fixed and circulating capital.” by William Jefferies. A CRITIQUE

errata: the figure of -24 on page 6 should read -26

I would like to summarize the discussion had with Jefferies on Facebook. The only event that could account for the phenomena found by Jefferies is a tsunami of transferred value from countries like China now integrated into the world economy by globalisation. Such a flood of transferred value would raise revenue but not capital in the USA thereby reducing the capital to output ratio. However, paradoxically this is ruled out by the rate of turnover provided by Jefferies himself because under-priced inputs from abroad would reduce the volume of bills payable while fully-priced outputs in the USA would increase the volume of bills receivable. As deducting bills payable from bills receivable forms working capital that would have led to an increase in working capital not the reduction found by Jefferies. Thus we are no closer to understanding why Dr Jefferies found a spike in turnover and profitability at this time and whether it is valid at all.

THE TSSI & MELT: MEASURING AN UNKNOWN QUANTITY USING A FLAWED MEASURE.

CAPITALISM IS INSOLVENT

LATEST RATES OF PROFIT FOR CHINA & THE USA.

Addition to Mariupol comment. It now appears that there were 5 helicopters on a resupply and evacuation mission and only two were shot down by ground troops, not the Russian air force, which was absent. The use of Russian planes as flying artillery encourages hit and run tactics by the Ukrainians.

CORRECTING AND SUMMING UP THE ‘DOUBLE-SOLUTION’ TO THE TRANSFORMATION PROBLEM.

In earlier articles I indicated I would correct earlier posts which did not acknowledge that the second part of the double-solution, the one I added to Marx’s first part, transformed the price of commodity into the price of production rather than market values into prices of production. This is now done. This article therefore represents the most complete exposition of the double-solution to the Transformation Problem.

THE BRITISH CHANCELLOR’S CRUEL SPRING STATEMENT.