What’s New

Today in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, I’ll be flying the Boeing 307 Stratoliner, the first commercial airliner with a pressurized cabin, which shared much of its DNA with the B-17 bomber. In 1935, the major airlines in the U.S. had a problem. They had contributed $100,000 each for Douglas Aircraft to develop a 4-engine successor […]

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Today in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, I’ll be flying the most iconic German fighter plane of World War II, the Messerschmitt Bf 109. Willy Messerschmitt was born in Frankfurt in 1898. As a teenager, he became friends with Friedrich Harth, a leading German pioneer in gliders. Before and after they both served in World War […]

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Today in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, I’ll be flying the Supermarine S.5, the British racing plane from the 1920s that pointed the way to one of the most iconic planes of World War II: the Spitfire. This is also the story of the Schneider Trophy, one of the most prestigious prizes in early aviation, which […]

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Today in Microsoft Flight Simulator, I’ll be checking out the F-16. And to get things rolling, I’ll be flying one of its most historic missions: the 1981 Israeli bombing raid to take out Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor. Originally produced by General Dynamics (which has since sold its aircraft business to Lockheed Martin), the F-16 came […]

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US real GDP in 2Q23 grew at an annualized q/q rate of +2.4% q/q, after inflation, higher than the 2.0% expected. This was up from +2.0% (revised upwards) in 1Q23. The composition of real GDP growth in 2Q23 was: +2.4% = +1.1 consumption, +1.0 business investment, +0.1 inventories, -0.2 housing, +0.5 government spending, -0.1 net […]

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The University of Michigan’s US Consumer Sentiment gauge jumped +12.7% in July to 72.6. This is up +41.0% from a year ago, but remains well below pre-Covid levels. The Conference Board’s US Consumer Confidence index rose +6.9 points in July to 117.0, its highest level since July 2021, though it remains below pre-Covid levels. In […]

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At its July 2023 meeting, the Federal Reserve’s FOMC announced it was raising the Fed Funds Rate by 25 bps to a range between 5.25% and 5.50%, noting that unemployment remains low and inflation remains elevated. The rate hike in May was, at the time, widely anticipated to be the last in the cycle. However, […]

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US consumer prices (CPI) rose +0.2% m/m in June, up +3.1% from a year ago (down from +4.1% y/y in May). This is down noticeably from a peak of +9.0% y/y last June. Core CPI (excluding food and energy) also rose +0.2% m/m in June, up +4.9% from a year ago (down from +5.3% y/y […]

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U.S. factory orders rose +0.3% m/m in May, down -1.1% from a year ago. These numbers are not adjusted for inflation, which was running at +4.1% y/y (CPI) in May. U.S. durable goods orders rose +1.8% m/m in May, up +5.5% from a year ago – in this case, a positive real gain after inflation. […]

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US industrial production fell -0.5% m/m in June, down -0.4% from a year ago. Production for Q2 as a whole rose +0.2% q/q, flat from a year ago. For the first half of 2023, production was up +0.4% from a year before. Total industrial capacity utilization fell to 78.9% in June. US manufacturing output (a […]

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