LunarWeaveThe Diesel Crunch Is Landing On A Much Smaller US Refining Workforce
US petroleum refineries employed 61,300 people in June 2026, 61.5 percent below the 1981 peak, as diesel prices were reported at records.
Research — Page 4
Standalone, data-led research into the questions behind the news.
Ireland’s 26 Percent Tax State Now Collects More Per Person Than France
Ireland’s general-government revenue is a much smaller share of GDP than France’s, but in 2024 it still collected more dollars per resident.
Spain Left Its COVID Debt Peak. France Is About To Break It.
France’s coming 120% debt ratio is a national record because the COVID spike barely receded, unlike Spain’s.
Haiti Is Two-Fifths Poorer Than In 1980. Next Door Is Ten Times Richer.
IMF accounts show Haiti’s real economy contracting every year since 2019, with income per person two-fifths below 1980 and about one-tenth of the Dominican Republic’s.
Oil Shocks Alone Rarely Wreck The World Economy. 2026 Starts From A Worse Place.
What 45 years of IMF data say about oil shocks, growth and inflation — and why the September 2026 configuration of a $108 spot price, already-rising world inflation and a resuming Fed resemb
Oil's Speed Problem: What 46 Years Of Brent Data Say About The $120 Shock
The reported $120 oil price is a nominal record but sits far below real peaks of 1980 and 2011–13; what is unprecedented is the speed. IMF Brent data since 1980 show past spikes slowed world
The AI Boom Is Real. The Software-Jobs Boom Isn't.
US payroll data show software employment has shrunk since ChatGPT's launch even as AI valuations and spending boom: 113,700 fewer computer-systems-design jobs, information-sector employment
The Border Surge Ended. Florida's Detention Boom Had A Different Engine
When the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general reported this month that detainees at the now-closed "Alligator Alcatraz" centre in Florida had been held in…
Trucking Jobs Are Below 2019. The Rest Of The U.S. Job Market Is Not.
U.S. truck transportation payrolls peaked in 2022 and were still below July 2019 in July 2026, even as total nonfarm jobs grew — the starting point for a reported diesel-margin spike.
The American Workweek Already Left 40 Hours. It Has Not Reached 32.
U.S. private payrolls already average 34.3 hours a week. A 32-hour bill would still cut factories, mines and trucks, not a four-day national norm.
The Last Time Japan’s Policy Rate Was 1.25%, Prices Were Falling
The Bank of Japan’s reported 1.25% policy rate was last seen in 1995, when consumer prices were falling. IMF accounts show 2025 inflation at 3.2% after a 2024 contraction.
A $5,000 Check Is Modest For A Person And Huge For The Budget
Census adult counts put a $5,000-per-adult payment at $1.35 trillion — more than half the IMF’s already-large 2026 US general-government deficit.
