Trump’s “Millions” and Food Prices Worry

Welcome back to Worriers Gulch.  It’s a patch of land situated between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, inhabited by a few reasonable people and millions of savages and imbeciles. This is the gap widens between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Still, it remains interesting to see unfold. My personal expectation is that the market will pull back, … Read More

Coping: With 21 Pounds Later

Reader Note: The kids from Denver are referred to by first initial only. D is for Dad, S is for Mom, A is for granddaughter and J is for grandson. I suppose you are wondering why I would write a column about our adventures around here this weekend. The answer is simple: I promised to … Read More

Red Flags for Commercial Real Estate?

This being the weekend of shopping craziness, we look at how the looming battle between online retailers and conventional shopping mall operators could burst into anti-trust actions in 2017. Not only that, but as it happens, one of the major implosions of the Greater Depression will be the loss of assets formerly held as shares … Read More

Half-Day for Markets

The NYSE will close at 1 PM today (Eastern) to give brokers time off to spend all the money they made this year. Both the Dow and S&P are expected to open on the up side after topping the 19-thousand and 22-hundred levels, respectively, earlier in the week. What’s not clear is when the “normal” … Read More

Coping: With Black Friday

The mentions have been slowly building. At first a story here, a mention there. Then, almost suddenly, it is BFM – Black Friday Morning. There are a couple of schools of thought, but the main thrust of things is the expectation that after all the (fake) drama of the election, people will get up off … Read More

2200 Today? How High Is Up?

Schedule Note:  Before we get into actual content, a word about schedules around here. This morning’s report will be (blissfully) short and on point. No Peoplenomics report tomorrow and the normal Saturday report will not be posted until about noon Sunday. After almost 68-years, I’m trying to kick-it this week. I’ll be back to my … Read More

Coping: Prepping for Over the River and Whatever

Near as we can figure it, the kids (both grown up and on the way) will be leaving the Denver area around oh-dark-thirty tomorrow, then driving east on the freeway to Salina, Kansas where they will turn right and head on-down to Texas. Our guest quarters make-over was nearly done last night – the new … Read More

Understanding the Source of “Trump Bashing”

We need to have us a discussion about barriers to entry. The B-school concept is simple enough: One of the reasons that there are not 500 automakers in the USA is because of barriers to entry. Said barriers are the start-up obstacles that any new competitor must overcome in a world of crony-capitalism. Old-guard players … Read More

Coping: Dark Side of “Hunter’s Rights?”

I don’t know if it’s the NRA who has slammed legislation through 48-states, but a buddy of mine up the street has been charged with a misdemeanor. The heinous crime of this chum? Well, he lives on County Road 404 and a neighbor of his likes to hunt. But the catch is, my neighbor has … Read More

Stupidnomics–A Rant

A couple of points on  whether we should do away with Interest tops this morning’s discussion in our Focus section. No, not as in Sharia law.  As in simply eliminate all the financial shenanigans that seem to accompany the game of charging “interest.”  Might change business cycles, too… After that, I suppose the chart comparing … Read More

The Fed vs. 4.6% Deflation?

I thought we’d begin this morning with an update because reader Bruno was shocked when I wrote down how much the M1 (seasonally adjusted) money supply had been slammed by the Fed recently. Since the H.6 Money Stocks report is updated every Thursday (except Holidays, of course) we wanted to give you the latest figures. … Read More

Coping: Material Science for Preppers

If you are going to survive an ELE (extinction level event) it might be a fair thing to print off in your “Secret Sauce that I Might Need Some Day Journal.” (SSTIMNSDJ for short). What got me onto this totally overlooked part of prepping? Two things: A) Friends of ours are buying a mountain home … Read More

Attack of the Weaseldicks: Inflation Running 6%

The Mystery of the Consumer Prices Rise Somewhere there is a statistical prick (or prickette/prickee) who needs to be called out. Here we are, less than 10 days after the election and what do we get? A press release like this one saying: “The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.4 percent … Read More