Although I got the major PITA project I’ve been putting off partly done Saturday, the real satisfaction came from wiring up the BBQ outlet this week. However, it was a fine study in how “little projects” can turn into Big ones on the clock. The idea sounded simple enough. We had run an extension cord from … Read More
Retail Sales are just out, so let’s depart from drama, disdain delay, and dispense duration… “Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for March 2023, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $691.7 billion, down 1.0 percent (±0.5 percent) from the previous month, but up … Read More
Consumer prices are just out and we’ll hit that first. But then some perspective on the future impacts of Inflation and how it will change our world. Mighty useful when making strategic life decisions. Because you can increase your odds of “making good financial calls” by picking the right assets to be heavy in, well … Read More
Three smallish data points today kick off our Reality Review. These are not the most gossiped thing on social, which focuses on anything Orange, and stories like Dalai Lama, 87, apologises after kissing young boy on the lips and asking child to ‘suck’ his tongue. Thanks, pass. Well, sort of… Smaller stories – the ones that get glossed over … Read More
With European markets on “chill” for the Day After Easter, and with the U.S. markets spongy as gold prices are down a bit, seems to us like a fine morning for a balanced outlook. Oh sure, easy from a raw economics standpoint to point at a growing pile of stories about the pending recession – … Read More
China has been building relationships while the U.S. relies on “positional power.” Which, in an age of changing resources, amounts to resting on our laurels while a challenger moves ahead. At once, we have three (or more) potential war fronts along with a fall from grace for the U.S. dollar. In our effort to handicap … Read More
Yes, the stock market is closed. Good Friday, don’tcha know. But this warms me to our first Agenda Item. What’s so “Good” about “Good Friday?” To cite from Wikipedia (Etymology entry): “‘Good Friday’ comes from the sense ‘pious, holy’ of the word “good”.[13] Less common examples of expressions based on this obsolete sense of “good” include … Read More
Ure has turned over a new leaf: shorter reports. Just not today. Job Cuts First Second horse pick in the weekly financial trifecta: Challenger Job Cuts: “Job Cuts Rise 15% in March 2023, Up 319% from Same Month Last Year, Highest Q1 Since 2020 | Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. (challengergray.com) Which then continues with … Read More
Another adventure in our (partially) fictional Directorate 153 series of “fictionalized governmental speculations.” We began to use this metaphorical framework when it became apparent to many “sources” that it could be personally hazardous to come right out publicly and explain what’s really going on in background. Things most people are not aware of. Subscribers are … Read More
Scrying Future ain’t easy work. Some fellows use language shifts on social media streams, others refer to oddly Greek-named computers, More press sound effects buttons on TV. And, sure enough, as you’d expect (since much of the future comes down to close – nearly 50-50 chances anyway) everyone will either be right. Or, have a ready … Read More
Our usual Sunday commentary on the non-news, non-financial aspects of Life nearly didn’t happen this morning. Due to a chance encounter with the Marquis de Yard. Unlike the Marquis de Sade, whose works are horny, sketchy, and mean at some levels, the Marquis de Yard was supposed to provide a good time. A few hours with … Read More
Was Friday’s run up into the close the end of a blow-off top? Or, only the beginning of a mass hyperinflation? Because signs are pointing in both directions. If it happens, we will have to blame the Powell Expedient Fed. Because an odd thing happens in America: Squeakiest wheels get the most “grease.” And we … Read More
Old Man Labs here is planning another project. This one gets into the realms of the really weird. But trust me, it will sound like fun (interesting?) when I walk you through it. For those who haven’t been around as long as this site – which will be 25-years in September (basis UrbanSurvival.com web domain) … Read More