News

Several readers and two of our children are asking the same question at about the same time: “If I take an early 401(k) distribution because of a change in where I work and pay taxes on the money, how’s the best way to spend or invest it?“ Today, we play out a few scenarios – … Read More

If you are visiting UrbanSurvival today and wondering “What the hell’s going on  with Markets…collapsing like they are this morning…” the answer’s simple. You missed Monday’s column, or you would have already been braced for what’s coming at the (bloody opening) this morning. I say bloody because we were looking at the Dow dropping between … Read More

I heard it again from a neighbor down the road from us:  “I don’t have any TIME now that I’m “retired.” Amen, and ain’t that the Truth, brother. Like us, this fellow likes to tinker and build…and since “pulling the plug” on scheduled work life at the end of September, the noises from his property reveal what’s … Read More

Our work in ‘matters economic’ are of more than passing interest.  Already, even before the US markets opened, I’d made a “new Camry-sized bet” about what I thought will happen in markets today.  It would be inappropriate for me to reveal the specifics of that trade because it might be construed as “financial advice.”  So I … Read More

“Food for the mind, George – Ehor” There are books and then there are books.  The delightful gift of a book that landed Saturday from my long-time friend Ehor Mazurok was definitely in the latter category.  Published first in 1952, “Metals and How to Weld Them” is occasionally updated by the James A. Lincoln Arc Welding … Read More

Picking up from Wednesday’s report, we give some clear examples of where synthetic growth may come from… A kind of how-to for policymakers. More for Subscribers       ||| SUBSCRIBE NOW!       |||   Subscriber Help Center

The four witches refers to the fact that this is quadruple witching day..  That’s when index options, stock options, commodities, and bonds all go through the process called settlement.  It’s the quarter “Make good on contracts” event. It’s not unusual to see a decent-sized market move from Thursday to Friday because of how options settle.  … Read More

Want an idea that has a lot more value than zero-value/z-val social media? This hit me as Elaine and I were having the afternoon toddy this week.  I’d just read the first few pages of a book she’s writing loosely based on the personal experience of growing up in the wild west of upland/mountain Arizona country – … Read More

This is a great economy – if your name happens to be AT&T or FOX.  But, that’s not the case for working Americans.  But, what does matter is our growth prospects. Wednesday, the Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell announced the expected quarter point hike in the  Fed’s key rate.  Not a great big deal, except … Read More

If there is one thing all our friends have in common, it’s the notion of being extremely competent in many different parts of life.  While some people piss-away their time on (useless) social media and what one financial analyst refers to as “z-val” (zero value) activities, people we find interesting are those who are really good … Read More

We focus this morning on our methods of thinking about odd topics like synthetic growth of the economy.  This is part one of two; in this we outline the approach to model future investment opportunities.  The, Saturday, we will “populate the model” and use it as a ‘future-scope.’ In this morning’s ChartPack, we will blast … Read More

Consumer Prices have just been released by the Labor Department.  Here’s the summary of data to be mindful of: The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent in May on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.2 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last … Read More

One of the simplest concepts of UrbanSurvival is “must be present to win.”  You can’t be dead and be a survivor, huh? Most people don’t know that there are more traffic accidents, plus deaths, in the 100 days from Memorial Day to Labor Day that the whole rest of the year combined.  Summer is crazy-time. Makes sense … Read More