News

BUT first:  NY Fed’s Empire State Manufacturing Data just out: “Business activity declined modestly in New York State, according to firms responding to the October 2022 Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline general business conditions index fell eight points to -9.1. New orders, unfilled orders, and shipments were all little changed from last month. Delivery … Read More

In last Sunday’s ShopTalk,  we ambled through some of the construction fine points of building a room suitable for high performance sound.  Today, with a converted room at the ready – silent lights, HVAC sound boots, dual airlock doors, and sand-filled walls plus a fortune in Auralex wall coverings – we need to put something in our … Read More

We’ve never seen charts like the ones this weekend in more than 50-years of financial writing. Everything lines up for the period from Monday out to two weeks from Wednesday. What will happen is anyone’s guess. But we focus heavily on the charts today because they offer a lot to think about. So, sit down, … Read More

Delightful email from back-up consigliere out in Century City overnight.  Sizing up the Thursday market action “Just vacuuming up the sucker money.  Dow erases 500 point loss, surges into huge gain in rollercoaster day..” With a link to Wall Street rollercoaster: Dow erases 500 point loss, surges into huge gain. Running out the Bears to run, anyone? … Read More

Hard not to be in a festive mood: This is the Good Side of Inflation reports! This is the day we told you was coming – the day when not only do Consumer Prices come out (yuck, right?) but also the day the new – higher – Social Security Payments lock-in. As we told you … Read More

As Ukraine ramps up, we share another couple of chapters of an upcoming book on Lifeboat Homes – homes that help you survive.  Pictures from the Depression era frame things plus we dig into the cost/benefit numbers as we move towards transitioning to environment-friendly living. Along the way, we have some PPI numbers and the … Read More

I thought a reader was playing with me.  When I opened the suggested link: Stock futures fall after the Nasdaq Composite closes at a 2-year low. Not like this wasn’t obviously in the works, already.  Especially since we have been forecasting a sub-30-thousand reading in our Aggregate Index work for months and months. We’ll update … Read More

One looking for a path into the uncertain future can’t be sure of just what to make out of today’s roll of headlines.  Some news is hopeful, yet others not so much. Let’s begin on the positive side. Ben’s Prize Former Fed boss Ben Bernanke has shared the Nobel Prize in Economics this year.  Not … Read More

Since one of my (purported) skills is broadcasting, every so often a reader wonders “Why not do an STS article on how to have a super home sound system? Well, OK, this can be really short (“do what sounds best to you”) or really long.  Which begins like this: Inputs & Speakers Matter  Long ago, … Read More

A well-placed source draws our attention to this not widely reported link between events in Ukraine and UAPs – recently of high US.mil interest. The first couple of pages of this paper rock. From the “Main Astronomical Observatory, NAS of Ukraine, Zabalotnoho 27, 03680, Kyiv, Ukraine.” Two classes of UAPs emerge. [2208.1121] Unidentified aerial phenomena … Read More

Charts and prospects as we watch the train wreck of an economy implode.  Like dropping another 630 points off the Dow wasn’t a hint? We have written for years on this site about our focus “Replaying 1929.” Now that we’re within spitting distance not only of the long wave economics playing out as forecast, we’re … Read More

Super short and on point, since Roofing Crew #2 – the metal roofers – will have the long-planned replacement of the guest room done this morning.  We’re trying to be “all ready for war.” So, with this in mind we will get to the job numbers in a second.  But first let’s talk about making … Read More

Oh my God, what a grand Thursday it is.  Ure’s back from the Big Bad Ugly Rally we warned was coming and is ready to open a can of whup-ass on some Bulls. See, the thing is, there is very little in the headlines supporting anything near the “Build Back Better” fairytale. Walk with me. Challenger … Read More