What’s the old “I have good news and I have bad news…which do you want first?” Um…good feels right. OK, World War 3 did not (yet) break out. Iran’s foreign minister is in Moscow about now talking to Vlad Putin. Abbas Araghchi co-ordinating with Vladimir Putin in Russia after US strikes on Iran. Meanwhile, the … Read More
A wee bit of focus now on “last minute checklists” before the world, um….well, we hope not…. While we have been buying the usual (solar panels, reach out of touch someone rounds, and a bit of chow…) our thinking this week somehow got over into the hand tools for use if (or when) the grid is … Read More
Happy first day of Summer? The world is holding its breath this weekend as events in Iran could take a turn either way. Plus, more personnel discussions from the Decider in Chief. In our ChartPack today, the mystery of the narrowed Bullish spread deepens. And in one of our thinking pieces, we explore “The Reality … Read More
Remember the (bad) movie? Weekend at Bernie’s? “Weekend at Bernie’s (1989) is a dark comedy film where two young insurance employees, Larry and Richard, discover their boss, Bernie Lomax, has been murdered after they arrive at his luxurious beach house for a weekend party. To avoid suspicion and keep the party going, they pretend Bernie is … Read More
This is a federal holiday, in case you have forgotten: Juneteenth. The mail will not be delivered, but UPS and FedEx will be working. Parking meters are one of today’s great racial dilemmas. In a slower news climate, it would be interesting to discuss inequality in Federal Holidays – we could piss off everyone with … Read More
A slider of economic data to begin, update on the wars, but then into Inflation to Come. Which, we think will be a big problem by the end of the year. Because war’s aren’t cheap. Toss in nearly two dozen views in our ChartPack and it’s a good time to be planning for “whatever follows.” … Read More
Retails Sales is the lead item today. Remember, this could be a bit “lumpy” because of the on again, off again on tariffs… ” Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for May 2025, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $715.4 billion, down 0.9 … Read More
New BoB? (Battle of Britain replaying in the Middle East) A report from our consigliere who is becoming very pessimistic about nukes remaining “holstered” for another month. When you read his briefing, you’ll understand why: “The NEW “Battle of Britain” is taking place RIGHT NOW in the skies over Israel and over Iran … but to … Read More
Let’s do the graphics story first. I told you iet rained this week? Lots? What Oilman2 calls a “Texas Frog Floater?” Here’s how to have a flood on the side of our mountain. Step out to the welding table where an antenna project was in progress (before the rains hit). Right at the foot of the … Read More
Two topics for the weekend: As we prepped for in detail in our last report, Israel attacked Iran this week. But how fast this evolves (to resolution) or goes intercontinental is one area of focus this morning. The other – as promised – is the PDF for subscribers of my latest novel (“The Eisenhower Memo“) … Read More
G.A. Stewart has been writing about “blows of steel” for a good long time. We’re pretty sure Stu’s got a “Blow of Steel” now, no question. With the Mossad and IDF carrying out strikes in Iran against the Iranian nuclear program and the military and scientists who support it. The short takes: The attack comes … Read More
Lookie here: The Fed’s latest (and its preliminary) z1.pdf – The Flow of Funds, Balance Sheets, and Integrated Macroeconomic Accounts of this-here country has just been dropped. I am sensitive to readers skepticism of our using lots of paid AI, but this is the kind of 2-00+ page dense financial report, where we leverage A.I. … Read More
I guess we should begin with the Big Headline of the hour. Just-released Producer Price information. The Producer Price Index for final demand advanced 0.1 percent in May, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Final demand prices declined 0.2 percent in April and 0.1 percent in March. (See table A.) On … Read More