Tariff Dream or Debt Scheme? Markets, Inflation & What’s Next

TL;DR: Something here just doesn’t add up. Tariff dividend?  BBC flounders rom the top. And with cold temps? Personal appearance changes. That’s Monday for you: tight, bright, and right. Developer Economics Twenty years ago, if you had asked me to explain the difference between being a sci-fi writer and covering finance/economics?  Would have been a … Read More

ShopTalk Sunday: Adventures in the Time Shop

TL;DR: Physics is bound to catch up – one of these days.  But they should have been able before me to find the Two Times of physics.  (Long – bring extra coffee and a sleeping bag…) Yeah. The Time Machine Project…about that… Every shop has its ghosts. Mine just happen to hum between ten and … Read More

A Report from Stiks

Our long-time reader Stiks, who’s on a sailboat in mid Pacific sent up a position update: “George…we are currently long term floating in a gigantic high pressure zone with almost zero wind and have been pretty much stuck and drifting around for three days. Lots of cool lightning, some heavy squalls to fill the tanks, … Read More

Year-End Slide

Please, tell me from the headline you can figure out what this morning’s column is about? We could have made up a clever acronym like Y.E.S., but the more you know, the more it’s no, Y.E,S. Dip-Flippers and democrat grifters; financial bumps, not wholly Trumps…and yes, my Longfellows, we do know it. All comes down … Read More

Dow Theory’s Revenge, Book Release Day

TL;DR:  Transports are breaking Dow Theory confirmation even as headlines cheerlead, meaning the market’s “nothing to see here” story is wobbling under the surface. Kazakhstan’s rare-earth pivot toward the Abraham Accords shows the mineral chessboard shifting under China’s feet while we pour coffee and keep an eye on the oxygen gauge. Dow Theory’s Revenge One … Read More

MMWO? (Mid-Morning Wash-Out)

“It was nothing helmsman – steady as she goes.  We can’t wake the Capt’n till morning…” On the Wire “U.S.-based employers announced 153,074 job cuts in October, up 175% from the 55,597 cuts announced in October 2024. It is up 183% from the 54,064 job cuts announced one month prior, according to a report released … Read More

Fiinding the “Third Intelligence”

Most people are still arguing whether AI is a threat or a tool. They’re already behind. The real story — the one almost no one sees yet — except you – today – is what happens when human intelligence and machine intelligence stop competing and start synchronizing. That is not a gadget story. It is … Read More

“Snap!” (Go the Weasels), Markets Discovery Gravity, Bookwreck

TL;DR:  SNAP gets jerked-around, Wall Street twitches, and here at the ranch I’m editing Chapter 13 of Mind Amplifiers — where we measure thought-space instead of splashing around in it. Metrology, anyone? “Snap!” (Go the Weasels) We would have to check with our (trying to be retired) “three-piece” poker consultant on this, but did we … Read More

America SNAPS, Ego Traps, and We’ve Got the Blue Jay Blues

TL;DR:    America is about to SNAP — budgets, benefits, tempers, and reality all fraying at once while markets throw a last-call party. Prep quietly, laugh loudly, and don’t mistake the confetti for stability. Introit:* Call this “Mark Frederickson Day” [* Introit refers to the opening hymn, psalm, or antiphon sung or recited at the … Read More

ShopTalk Sunday: When the “Right thing” Doesn’t Work Out

TL;DR: Chasing better air for Elaine and me has become a key holding action. So instead of decks, welds, and big shop heroics, we’re trying on the Downsizing ethos for size. Spoiler: putting “less stuff, more life” into practice doesn’t always go as smoothly as the brochure — here’s the ringside account. (What time did … Read More

Manufactured “Normal”

Joke around the newsroom used to be? “Series will always go 7-game – too much ad revenue for any other outcome…” Sometimes, though, newsroom cynicism can be replaced by the facts. Since 1970, looking at the list of World Series results: Series that went to 7 games: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1987, … Read More

Bankers Not Witches, Latest Bash of Trump, Cultural Expropriation

TL;DR:  Markets wobble into Halloween as demographics, politics, and policy churn in the background — witches aren’t the scariest thing this weekend, central bankers and bureaucrats are. Beneath the plastic masks and candy lies an ancient reminder: we’re crossing a seasonal and social threshold, and you’d better keep your wits — and your portfolio — … Read More