Might as well get right to the NY Fed’s Empire State Manufacturing number, first today… “After climbing into positive territory last month, the headline general business conditions index retreated twenty-three points to -11.9. New orders fell, and shipments edged lower. Delivery times were slightly shorter, while supply availability deteriorated somewhat. Inventories shrank.” Markets, perhaps still … Read More

Well, here we are: Another Monday.  And for this one, I thought it would be useful to rethink what people really follow news for. On the surface, the idea is that we all want to be “informed.”  But, if that means keeping up with the cackle princess and the skirt chaser, no thanks. The whole news … Read More

Coming from a long line of (Seattle) firefighters, as I do (many of whom work on the off-shift to stack a little cash on the side), it was no small topic of discussion when the installation of stairs came up at home.  Usually during a coffee hour after a hard drill (or a working house … Read More

The Partisan News problem is growing. It’s hard enough to figure out the Future – even when you have a good and reliable set of facts at hand. But the evolving problem in the world now – in addition to the liberal disease of “talking-past the other party” – is that “clean sourcing” is becoming … Read More

Hell of a read – and worth your time – and study the pictures. URBAN SURVIVAL – THIS IS NOT A DRILL – THE AGE OF DESOLATION Hell of a good report. g

Sorry if this morning’s column goes off in a Hunter S. Thompson way.  We spent six-hours Thursday in the emergency room as Elaine was having abdominal pains.  Turned out to be diverticulitis – common among people “our age” if you don’t eat regularly, hydrate well, and eat enough fiber to “keep things moving” but not … Read More

Just got off the phone with G.A. Stewart (the Age of Desolation site) and he came through the ravages of Milton in the Tampa area last night just fine. “The new house is 55-feet above sea level and the water didn’t get me this time,” he told me. “I looked out the back and while … Read More

Consumer Prices have just been released by Labor. And it’s not surprising to see claims of lower prices – from an incumbent administration just before an election, right? The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, the same increase as in August and July, the U.S. … Read More

A focus on weather warfare to kick off mid week. Then another chapter of our book on longevity. Plus the ChartPack. For now, in all of these topics, we will be sorting between conspiracy and the evidence. It’s not exactly a simple task. More for Subscribers ||| Master Index 2018 to Present ||| Master Index 2001 … Read More

We are nearing the halfway mark of what promises to be three major storms. Two of which are hurricanes, and the third will be “what follows as a consequence.” However, before we dig into that, we have a couple of “housekeeping stories” because economics does matter. Fed Dope & NFIB Small Business No surprise in the … Read More

Here lately, when the term “ballistic” has been used in news flows, it has referred to a missile somewhere.  But, today, we are focused on two aspects of “ballistics” – one as it relates to Markets and the other as it relates to “things ordained by Universe.” The first is easy to see – look … Read More

Introduction: There’s an old saying about Life:  You can have anything you want, but you can’t have everything you want.  Everything is a pretty big pile of toys but you can – with minimal planning – at least cycle through some of them in your life. For example, I’ve been through serious big boat sailing … Read More