Gas & War, Job Cut Hype, Reaction Time Measures

Nice and businesslike this morning:  Starting with the odds-on World War III this weekend. War Risk Reduced? That might be a possibility if the happy-talk on point is right.  But, as you will read, we don’t think the “reportage” on this has been particularly objective. So, let’s roll with some of the good coverage and then … Read More

The “Unclouded” Future

There is a business model battle going on in plain sight that will largely determine our computing future.  It’s one that I touched on in my book Broken Web: The Coming Collapse of the Internet in 2012. Even now, the battle is far from over.  However, enough companies and institutions – not to mention regular … Read More

Housing Screams – But No Surprise

Up more than 19 percent year-on-year, says the new S&P/Case-Shiller housing report: YEAR-OVER-YEAR The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 19.2% annual gain in January, up from 18.9% in the previous month. The 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 17.5%, up from 17.1% … Read More

War Next Week? Housing Data Pending

Since I’m in semi-retired mode – with a million projects going on here, some of which needs to be done before nukes fly – this will be a very direct summary of events to kick off your day. War Just Ahead Covering up the global financial systems implosion is not going very well. A number … Read More

Markets Get Data, Oscar Uselessivity, the Bully’s Mouth

With Oscar insanity now past, we can get back to the real job of wrecking America. I don’t say this lightly.  But, in our unflinching view, the Oscars have become a Woke-Racist marketing platform.  Mainly, it has become more about race and gender anymore’ not the craft of acting.  It has been years since anyone … Read More

ShopTalk Sunday: Batch Up Your Projects! It’s Spring!

[Reader Note:  My life-long “brother by a different mother” of 70 years – the Major – finally made it home from Mexico – where his wife suffered a burst appendix almost a week ago.  They got in around 10:45 PM last night. “Thanks my Bro’ for your support and the prayers of so many of your readers … Read More

Karnak and the Market

With even Joe Biden hinting that famine will be the next scapegoat for our failing economy, some discussion about how next week could lay out.  Mainly today, a look ahead to next week when we see a really good chance of higher VIX (volatility index) readings.  The double-header-ahead might be worth bracing for.  Plus the … Read More

Hey Biden! Hillbillies and Rednecks are Way Ahead

Yo Biden!  Ever hear of Jimi Hendrix? “Hey Joe, where you goin’ with that gun in your hand? Hey Joe, I said, where you goin’ with that gun in your hand?” (Maybe there are some people who shouldn’t have guns, huh? ) No doubt, you have seen the headlines floating around with old Joe in Europe … Read More

Durable Goods, Jobless, War – You know – The USUAL

I don’t want to sound too flip here, but the news flow lately has been a real grinder.  We are in a war, failing countries are a world-wide deal, and few want to address the underlying malaise on humanity. Which comes down to a short list: There are nearly as many bad people as good folks, … Read More

Wartime Investing

We don’t like to think about War as a condition under which investment decisions must be made.  But things are going quickly in that direction. Driven by the historical usual suspects; namely race, religion, and real estate/resources. This is all made worse in the present conditions because we are in highly politicized times and the … Read More

Markets Hint Future – the Idiot’s Dance

When I cobbled up the first Aggregate Index in the wake of the Internet Bubble collapse in 2001, it was designed – as much as anything – to track inter-market variations. When Techs collapsed in a $7 to $9 trillion dollar heap of losses, Wall Street didn’t apologize for EBITDA accounting (wholly screwing up perspective … Read More

Stormy Monday

And a Stormy Tuesday morning coming. We’re OK – just heavy rain and lightning all over hell and gone.  G2 and his fire crew are out on downed trees and power lines with the local utility outfits.  Lots of red on the radar at the bottom of this system… A couple of tornado reports down … Read More

CFNAI, War, and Woo-Woo Reports

A dandy day of Spring, Sunday.  Second day of spring is a lot more “iffy.” Let’s begin with economic matters, especially the Chicago Fed National Activity Indicator which is just out: “The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) moved down to +0.51 in February from +0.59 in January. Three of the four broad categories of … Read More