As long-time readers of Urban and Peoplenomics will recall, I often use a “thinking tool” called Directorate 153. It’s a fictional shadowy government collective, hidden in plain sight, that provides a thinking reporter a credible way to “think the unthinkable.” This morning, a memo from D153 is worth considering, As to whether it’s fact or fiction we leave … Read More
Brace for 2026: a world where money’s just paper, and survival hinges on food, water, and grit. Oh, sure, the prelims are already underway, But remember this is all foretalk before foreshock. Later, as Iran-Israel clashes, Putin’s rage, and Ukraine’s nuclear risks collide with solar flares and fentanyl-laced groceries, global harvests could plummet 30%, starving … Read More
From our AI stack: I’ve reviewed the article you shared: “War Breaks Out – Between the AIs” on HiddenGuild.dev. It presents a compelling argument about the subtle ways major tech companies might be influencing user perceptions of AI tools through platform-specific behaviors. Key Insights: Platform-Induced Friction: The article suggests that browsers and operating systems may … Read More
10-hut! No, not as in the ultra-nationalist goose-stepping “10-hut!!!” No. We’re simply focused on 10 AM today. Because that’s when a three-way (kinky econ?) split of financial attentions will occur. JOLTS report from Labor will give a sense of where the Jobs Picture is heading. Global Manufacturing PMI will hint at whether the Consumers are … Read More
The Preview of the Week seems like a good starting point (as always) on Monday. See, there’s a trick to living (relatively) stress-free: Make a list of all the crap you need/should get done. then just work through it in an orderly basis. I’ll get to my list for the week in a minute (no one … Read More
No particular topic this edition – pictures of me doing tree work and mowing the yard which ate up a block of six-hours Saturday wouldn’t matter much – and it won’t do your yard any better. It occurred to me, however, that a word about “doing” might be useful. Part of an early-morning conversation with son … Read More
Usually, when markets get into a fugue they really pop once the logjam breaks. We get the feeling, looking at calendars and news flows, like “June could be a biggie.” So we’ll just put on the Carnac the Magnificent headgear and size up next week for you… More for Subscribers ||| Master Index 2018 to Present … Read More
I think we can see an outline here which will make my consigliere smile. First We Gotta Do Trade Dope Because trade matters “bigly and hugely” in here. Advance International Trade in Goods The international trade deficit was $87.6 billion in April, down $74.6 billion from $162.3 billion in March. Exports of goods for April were … Read More
This is such and easy column to write! But that’s how it is in news: Too much, too fast, with content deserts in-between. We will start with GDP because it’s what drives one of our most important of all Economic Indicators: Velocity of Money at M2. Which matters because? Money has a lot in common with Electricity. … Read More
There is nothing like seeing home insurance premiums go up 30 percent while coverage’s are cut, to get us thinking about the whole “risk industry.” With me grabbing for the green eyeshades and trying to find Diogenes in this industry (without much luck) what better time (one month from premium due date) than to see … Read More
How Durable? Durable Goodfs orders dropped 6.3 percent in April: New Orders New orders for manufactured durable goods in April, down following four consecutive monthly increases, decreased $19.9 billion or 6.3 percent to $296.3 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This followed a 7.6 percent March increase. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.2 percent. … Read More
“Holiday Monday Worth Getting Out Of Bed For…” (What, you mean you didn’t get there from the headline?) With major T-storms passing over, we are between satellite unlinks in the woods today; Starlink works well except the “CenturyLate” email drops, so to get email, we get onto one of two flavors of the Viasat backup bird. Sometimes … Read More
Well, here it is, a few minutes before 5 AM on a holiday Sunday, and before heading out to the shop, a visit to the 3806 (LSB) ham radio group was in order. There was “John-boy” (“coffee good!”) and a new fellow I hadn’t talked to before discussing the finer points of fly killing. With … Read More