We begin another week here in the East Texas Outback with me promising to hold the comments short and to the point. Our logging crew will show up this morning (or tomorrow) depending on how goes the demand at local mills. I’ve still got one ham radio antenna that needs to come down (the NW/SE … Read More
Interesting times we’re in on the “snooze front..” But, we’d rather be in the shop, pursuing Art, or up gardening. Instead of “whining” about “distancing.” These lower-level “contact times” are great time for getting projects done that have long-term tangible pay-offs. Today, we table three simple ideas -yours for the taking – that will increase … Read More
Is there an easier way to track the “mood of the market?” It’s a useful question to ask, particularly with so much trading being online and done by algorithms. Today, a look at one of the “simple enough to do in your head” ideas that may help you improve your buy/sell timing in markets. After … Read More
Holy shit! 84.5% Hyperinflation is here. The (not really) Federal Reserve’s latest H.6 Money Stocks report shows we’re right on track to “go Weimar.” Inflation of cash and equivalents going up at an annualized 84.5% annual rate and the broader M2 going up over 45% per year? There’s Good News Here: Well, such as it … Read More
We can roll first with the Big Number of the day – which is the number of people filing for first-time unemployment this week: In the week ending May 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 2,981,000, a decrease of 195,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was … Read More
Some of us are getting old and want to “pass something along.” The problem is? If you have another 1-to-20 years to run in this Life, what are the best vehicles to transfer wealth to future generations. Not a “big deal?” Maybe once upon a time. But, today with pandemic(s), the risk of nuclear war, … Read More
Half-baked economics with your coffee? Got up super early this morning and turned out a nice loaf of bread from the oven at 5:03 AM. Yeah… wheat belly, weight and all that aside…there are times when a couple of “breakfast sandwiches” is just about the best thing on Earth. Fresh-baked bread. An egg scrambled on … Read More
Our column this morning is spectacularly short. Because this old Ure fellow is moving fence lines around up at the garden. This involves real (gulp!) work. City-dwellers who have never driven 6-foot steel Tee-Post into hard soil have no idea what adventure they have missed. Only three ways to drive posts: Hardest is to use … Read More
Gear up, kiddies. We’re going on a nature hike. I’m going to show you how we “grow toilet paper” out here in East Texas. Your ass should thank us. Seriously (well, partly, anyway…). Let’s begin with some reality about economic Depressions. When times are good, prices for wood, harvested from small tree farms like ours, … Read More
Is there a logical limit to the Fed’s Making Up Money interventions? Briefly – as in flash-in-the-pan Making Up Money under the guise of playing Modern Monetary Theory seems to work. The Fed throws how much? $6-trillion is it? And the price of paper goes up. But, in the long run, is it viable? We … Read More
Reader Note 1: Posting in sections this morning due to power outages (multiple) from high winds in East Texas overnight. Thank God for solar back-up and a big battery bank. AYFKM? Fed Inflation 37.2% Most recent “sliding window” view of the (not really) “Federal” Reserve’s money-printing party shows underlying (with the emphasis on lying) approaching … Read More
Three quick items on the agenda this morning: Jobs outlook continues to deteriorate. As you would expect with our lifestyle being jacked… Financial instruments have detached from Reality. As you would expect when money is being made up – mostly for the Rich Through it all, it’s still possible to live the iWAMP Life. A … Read More
One of the most important topics once you reach the “ripe old age of 50” as many of our readers have. Surprisingly, it’s less a matter of how much money you have. Really more a matter of managing yourself and expectations. Today we talk about the Art of Retiring. To where? While “big city life” … Read More