Writing a data-driven newsletter about economics @ apricitas.io Nuance? In this Economy Full Employment Stan, Brazilian Coffee Tariff Victim |https://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mkt5qhe7kc2lignore the gamestop stuff but just insanely blackpilling headlines back-to-back-to-back here01 May 2026 22:15 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkt5qhe7kc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mksibrlxmk2jtariff grandpa has awoken again01 May 2026 15:51 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mksibrlxmk2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mkprngc4z22yUS spending on data centers & computers has grown so much that it's larger than basically all other physical investment categories—more than all single-family housing construction, factories, power plants, industrial equipment, apartments I'm running out of points of comparison [contains quote post or other embedded content]30 Apr 2026 14:01 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkprngc4z22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mkpnmdepic22US spending on computers continues to skyrocket to record highs amidst the AI boom—real fixed investment in computers hit roughly $354B annualized in data released this morning, up 64% over the last year and 133% since the launch of ChatGPT in late 202230 Apr 2026 12:49 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkpnmdepic22https://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mkpn4evb4c27NEW: US Real GDP came in at a 2% annualized growth rate in Q1 2026 data released this morning. Consumption & investment increased, government output rose, and the trade deficit increased Nominal GDP growth (unadjusted for inflation) came in at 5.6% annualized30 Apr 2026 12:40 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkpn4evb4c27https://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mkpmqfhwx22fEU GDP early flash estimates are in today—the EU grew 1% over last year, the Eurozone 0.8% Fastest: Spain (2.7%), Lithuania (2.5%), Portugal (2.3%), Czechia (2.1%), Sweden (1.9%) Slowest: Ireland (-6.3%, mostly pharma exports), Germany (.3%), Austria (.6%), Italy (.7%), Belgium (.8%)30 Apr 2026 12:33 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkpmqfhwx22fhttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mkplzav4nc25Eurozone unemployment rates fell to 6.2%, tying the lowest on record, in data released this morning, while the EU held steady at 6% Czechia (3.1%), Bulgaria (3.2%), & Poland (3.3%) had the lowest unemployment, while Finland (10.5%), Spain (10.3%) & Sweden (9.2%) had the highest30 Apr 2026 12:20 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkplzav4nc25https://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mko7yfodns23Metro job data is in today, & 29 of the 50 largest metros have lost jobs since 2025 as growth slows Fastest Growth: Fresno (2%), Vegas (2%), Raleigh (1.8%), San Jose (1.5%), Austin (1%) Slowest: DC (-3.5%), Portland (-2.4%), Baltimore (-1.6%), Louisville (-1.1%), Boston (-1%)29 Apr 2026 23:12 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mko7yfodns23https://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mknuglqld22yI hate my stupid chud country what do you mean I have to pay tariffs on my heated rivalry merch29 Apr 2026 19:46 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mknuglqld22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mknpr6vv422w [contains quote post or other embedded content]29 Apr 2026 18:22 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mknpr6vv422whttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mklizuko3s2ogenuinely astounding the number of times the Trump administration has been presented with a “make prices higher” button and slammed it with their full fist [contains quote post or other embedded content]28 Apr 2026 21:16 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mklizuko3s2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mkiyxil6fk2zThe BEA produces a regional price parity index to compare costs across states, and it's remarkable that Texas has handled all of its post-2019 growth while becoming *cheaper* relative to the US overall Meanwhile, Florida's growth has given it the highest relative cost increase27 Apr 2026 21:23 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkiyxil6fk2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mkbn5c35zk2rdouble-checked it, and this is the first time California has had faster job growth than both Texas and Florida since early 2022 state-level job data can be pretty volatile, but there's an obvious long-run slowdown in TX/FL [contains quote post or other embedded content]24 Apr 2026 23:03 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkbn5c35zk2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mk7evpgrfs2mOfficial data is in today, and US solar power generation continues to grow rapidly, up 25% compared to this time last year!24 Apr 2026 01:30 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk7evpgrfs2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mk6wpx42622oData from today shows 28 states, DC, & VI have lost jobs since 2025 as the labor market slows Fastest Growth: Nevada (2.3%), Idaho (0.8%), Puerto Rico (0.8%), North Carolina (0.7%), Utah (0.7%) Slowest: DC (-5.7%), VI (-4.7%), Maryland (-2%), Oregon (-1.2%), Virginia (-1.2%)23 Apr 2026 21:17 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk6wpx42622ohttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mjxcxo7hdc2wSeveral executive orders this evening invoking the Defense Production Act so Trump can directly financially support US oil/gas/petroleum/coal production, which is a great signal about how poorly this war is going economically and how little they planned for this https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/04/presidential-determination-pursuant-to-section-303-of-the-defense-production-act-of-1950-as-amended-on-domestic-petroleum-production-refining-and-logistics-capacity/20 Apr 2026 20:34 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjxcxo7hdc2whttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mjx6g2rue22bstupid Trump tweet for many reasons but one of which is that Spain had higher GDP growth than the US over the last year (3% vs 2%)20 Apr 2026 19:13 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjx6g2rue22bhttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mjs5qiphi22zsigns summer has truly began in DC—just got approached by Mormon missionaries for the first time this year18 Apr 2026 19:18 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjs5qiphi22zhttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mjpmqs7koc26fundamentally if the right-wing fantasy was true and there was a massive cabal of American elites working to get women to take over male-dominated industries they'd be doing a terrible job at it [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Apr 2026 19:08 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjpmqs7koc26https://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mjmqsfrwyc25living paycheck to paycheck was replaced by living tariff pause to tariff pause and is now being replaced by living ceasefire to ceasefire [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 Apr 2026 15:43 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjmqsfrwyc25https://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mjmmweuo222gNew metro job data is in, & 21 major metros have lost jobs since 2025 as growth slows Fastest Growth: Fresno (1.9%), Raleigh (1.7%), Las Vegas (1.7%), San Jose (1.7%), Kansas City (1.4%) Slowest: DC (-3.1%), Portland (-1.8%), Baltimore (-1.5%), Boston (-1.1%), Milwaukee (.8%)16 Apr 2026 14:33 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjmmweuo222ghttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mjktxlfj6k23I think a lot of podcasters in this vein should be interpreted as “reactionary” in the most literal sense that they are extremely vacuous and form their politics by following trends of resentment against whatever they see on social media [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Apr 2026 21:34 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjktxlfj6k23https://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mji3hhnvhs2a"the current prime minister of canada and former head of the bank of england visits a professional women's hockey practice and puts pride tape on his stick" is a piece of content so microtargeted to my interests it feels illegal [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Apr 2026 19:10 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mji3hhnvhs2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mjf6zojlm22ylot of "people called Caesar a dictator but the Senate was able to easily remove him" ahh takes coming out today [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 Apr 2026 15:36 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjf6zojlm22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mjdunv37fs2nthis specific image is nuts but even in general its just insane that the president of the US is the number one deployer of AI slop in the world right now [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 Apr 2026 02:58 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjdunv37fs2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mjdohycask2man all-timer for "imagine how JD Vance would react if a democrat said any of this"13 Apr 2026 01:07 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjdohycask2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mjdcw2dik22hno longer satisfied just wrecking the US economy through tariffs, Donald Trump has decided to go strait to the source and just prevent international trade from happening in the first place [contains quote post or other embedded content]12 Apr 2026 21:40 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjdcw2dik22hhttps://bsky.app/profile/josephpolitano.bsky.social/post/3mjd5cdi5k22tjd vance international tour of humiliation continues. visit pakistan and leave with the strait more closed than it was before. visit hungary and watch orban get posterized.12 Apr 2026 20:00 +0000at://did:plc:rbffgd2zo6r7rmnklo2nlyy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjd5cdi5k22t