Delusional Finance 101

by

We were almost astounded to see the Fed actually raise rates at their Wednesday session.

But what was even more remarkable was the trading on Wall Street in the aftermath.

The two key takeaways:  the Dow still gained 34-points and it’s set to open (again) on the upside by another 30 according to the futures.

(Continues below)

 

Even more perplexing was the 10-year Treasury note. It actually DROPPED from 2.38% to around 2.345%.   One would logically think that if the Fed announced a rate hike that rates would go up, too.  Such is the discounting in markets, I ‘spose.

Hey!  Wanna see my imitation of the Fed?

This is the trash barrel outside my office where we were burning stacks of $1,000 bills…oh, wait.  No, guess it was Amazon boxes.  We must not be a too big to fail, yet.

But you get the idea…Fed’s got money to burn and we will get another bead on that as the H.6 money figures come out this afternoon.

Meantime, the Bank of England keeps interest rates on hold.  Which has gone over like the proverbial turd in the punchbow as European stocks, euro dip as central banks dominate.

Retail Up, But…

General Merchandise was down a bit in the latest data out from Census this morning:

Advance Estimates of U.S. Retail and Food Services Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for November 2017, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $492.7 billion, an increase of 0.8 percent (±0.5 percent) from the previous month, and 5.8 percent (±0.7 percent) above November 2016. Total sales for the September 2017 through November 2017 period were up 5.2 percent (±0.5 percent) from the same period a year ago. The September 2017 to October 2017 percent change was revised from up 0.2 percent (±0.5 percent)* to up 0.5 percent (±0.2 percent). Retail trade sales were up 0.8 percent (±0.5 percent) from October 2017, and were up 6.3 percent (±0.7 percent) from last year. Gasoline Stations were up 12.2 percent (±1.4 percent) from November 2016, while Building Materials and Garden Equipment and Supplies Dealers were up 10.7 percent (±2.1 percent) from last year.

Then there’s the BLS Import/Export prices:

U.S. import prices rose 0.7 percent in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, after
ticking up 0.1 percent in October. Higher prices for fuel drove the increase in November and nonfuel prices
recorded no change. U.S. export prices increased 0.5 percent in November following a 0.1-percent advance
the previous month.

More over here if you like drill-downs…

After all of this crap, Dow futures were still up so another toothache pain pill before I apply the ViseGrips to the forearm today.  Would that make me armed and dangerous? At least grouchy….

Sidelined

John McCain Has Been Hospitalized Due to Cancer Therapy Side Effects.  Not a fan, but we never wish anyone ill…which gets us to…

Sexicide, Redux

Other than Film-maker Morgan Spurlock confessing to sexual misconduct, we also saw where a Kentucky State Rep. Dan Johnson dies of ‘probable suicide’ in Mt. Washington.  He’d been mentioned in media reports with the word molestation.

Question:  Unless there’s a legal finding in some of these cases, is the media culpable for homicide or liable/slander?  The NY Times line of suits laid out the “actual malice” test and seems to me a lot of media coverage on this is bumping against that line (and well over it including insider the FBI in the Trump stories).

How do we measure malice is a pretty interesting question. Ah…this rolls around to the….

Mueller Fishing Woes

Did you read where Fusion GPS Paid Top DOJ Official’s Wife To Dig Up Dirt On Trump.   Not only that, but FBI staff on Russia investigation called Donald Trump an ‘idiot’, leaked texts show.

Now, come on!  At what point do the crooked Obamaites get investigated by impartial/nonpartisans instead of the ever0more clear FBI/DOJ/Lynch et all cover-up?

We figure odds of a special counsel to investigate Mueller, et al, are rising by the hour. as a top Trump lawyer says it’s time...

Bambi and the Fox

Disney to buy 21st Century Fox assets in a deal worth more than $52 billion in stock.

We’re saving the Mickey Mouse and Goofy lines for later use.

Low-Intensity Conflict Watch

Argentina submarine chased by British helicopter before vanishing, sailor’s sister claims.

Weekend Getaways?

Norwegian Air ramps up transatlantic fare war with four new routes. Rates out of LAX and JFK…so little use here in FOL (fly-over land).

Off to talk to my sourdough starter. It’s considerably smarter than the news flow today.  Mor’on the ‘morrow…

38 thoughts on “Delusional Finance 101”

  1. George, a little surprised you did not mention “The Crypto Jubilee” in today’s missive regarding Finance. Shout it out from the top of the mountain. LiteCoin and or Bitcoin, buy till your credit cards bleed!

    The ultimate F.U. to the PTB, use banks money to buy Cryptos!

    That’s right, historical Debt Jubilee, just have to buy some Cryptos, sell some after realizing HUGE gains – payoff those debts..including the new CC debt! Like my “sainted” grandmother used to say “Danny, no balls no blue chips”

    Buy, sell some, HODL the rest! Easy Peasey, Lemon Squeezey.

  2. If you’re going to Walmart get the cheapest mouthwash they got don’t get any flavored mouthwash just the cheapest standard mouthwash but that new mouth and rinse it around for about a minute do that three times a day and that’ll help and squish it in between your teeth make as many squishing and squirts as you can you wanted to pick it in the kill the DK there and plus it might help numb it.
    That reminds me I think I’ll go gargle now. Great habit

  3. The real issue is that a foreign power gamed our 2016 elections. republicans have done whatever they could to prevent and block investigations into it and distract and divert attention away from it. republicans have dragged their heels every step of the way and now all of a sudden it’s 0-100 to investigate the investigators.

    It makes me sick. Every american should want to get to the bottom of it and prevent it from happening again. That so many republicans oppose that simple measure makes me think that they are in on it or put party over country.

    • No. The real issue is that the democrats PAID Fusion GPS and Obama’s intelligence crews made up the dossier, unmasking and more. And for the billions of words and millions spent we get a “lying to the FBI?”
      What about the anti-trump txts revealing they wanted to save world from Trump? That’s not a feather on the scales of Justice. That’s an Feffing sledge hammer on it…

      Again, LOOK AT THE DATA.

      I’ll tell you right now I expect Mueller’s fishing party to come back with some wildly construed “avoidance of currency law violation” from two or three years before he even got into politics…..that’s how crooked Mueller’s judgement has become.

        • No evidence of it so far or old Mueller would be hollering from the Rooftops.

          So, in your opinion, Hillary didn’t have anyting to do with Fusion GPS?

      • Spot on, George. And we’ll never know precisely how much Russia and other foreign players influenced the Hillary campaign, since we now have evidence that she knowingly and illegally dumped her unclassifed server memory (which we already know held classified data), only finding out after copies of various messages were discovered on Ms. Weiner’s home computer (also unclassified). The Fusion GPS payola scheme is a prime example of how the Obama crowd established a viable ‘deep state’ entity that would allow #44 to continue to have power and influence long after leaving office. Many in the DOJ and other government agencies were dyed in the wool Obamanistas when put into their positions. They still exert their influence despite Trump now technically ‘running’ the department (as chief executive). Until these clowns eventually incriminate themselves, like several FBI ‘investigators’ have recently done, they quietly keep influencing key findings in an extremely partisan manner.

      • There’s no point in my posting 1, 20 or 1,000 links that confirms russia gamed the election by doing everything from hacking voter rolls to buying social media ads to running bots to working with wiki to sowing discord in the US.

        In the end you’ll believe what you want to believe. It will happen again. I hope next time though the foreign power wants the democrat to get elected and hurt the republican.

        Only then will republicans care. And that my friends is a horrible statement on the current status of our country.

      • Right on George.. I sure know that no one with a Russian back ground came around here to inform me that our government is all screwed up.. I decided that all by myself and wanted to see some real change.

      • Yes both parties are at fault so we don’t really have a good party except Trump who is a third party under a second party

    • If a government employee uses government resources and executes a strategy to overthrow/remove a duly elected president to keep him from performing the duties given to him by the constitution, that is TREASON! Hanging is the constitutional penalty if I remember.

      I never in my wildest imagination would have believe to see a coup in the US, but thats what it is.

  4. The probable reason for Rosenstein et. al. playing the “Weasel Bit” is they want to live and not end like Vince Foster and 100+ others:
    http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO/POLITICS/FOSTER_COVERUP/foster.php
    http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO/POLITICS/BODIES.php

    It should be noted that Pres. Trump is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business Finance (WSBF), class of 1968. Although not a professor at WSBF when DJT attended, was one J. Orlin Grabbe (once interviewed by 60 Minutes – in disguise), aka ‘JOG’. JOG supposedly died several years ago and, if so, can probably be added to the above Body Count list.
    JOG maintained a Bulletin Board (remember those?) during the 1990’s and most of the aught years until his death in 2008. An organized compendium of his writings is at:
    https://www.memresearch.org/grabbe/

    The reason I mention JOG is I suspect DJT knew him and I would not be surprised if they were good friends. If so, DJT has enough knowledge to do what O’bama tried to do – completely transform the Country – but in a good way this time. If one justs casually looks through his writings it can easily be concluded that JOG was a genius. As an example, he was postulating Digital Money back in the 1990’s right at the beginning of the internet.

    I wonder if anyone will ask DJT if he knew JOG?

  5. I wonder if they legalized prostitution for over 18 years it would reduce all the boss groping. Google prostitution on google around the world. Half of the top one hundred countries it is legal.

    • I think prostitution is a great idea. Finding a girl who’ll marry you(and you want to marry) is a fool’s errand unless you have certain innate skills that can’t be learned.

      I would opt for a paid girlfriend arrangement for life, with a known and affordable salary.

      • Hmm. we are living in a society that has given up on marriage and family gone singular and career based.. I say legalize prostitution but toss the books at anyone that is enslaving another into that career for their gain.. it is the worlds oldest profession..

  6. I found this on GLP, but it’s important, so I’m posting it here. George – feel free to rewrite or delete as you see fit:

    No one wants the end of net neutrality.
    I got this from fb.

    I think it’s an issue that crosses the aisle.

    This is important and actionable so I am karma pinning this.

    Did you know we only have 2 days to fight the FCC & the repeal of #NetNeutrality?
    Thanks to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver there’s a SUPER easy way to do this. If net neutrality goes away, our Internet bills go up and we give power to companies like Comcast and Spectrum to control what information we can access.
    Here’s what you can do – takes less than a minute:

    1. Go to gofccyourself.com
    (the shortcut John Oliver made to the hard-to-find FCC comment page)
    2. Click on the 17-108 link (Restoring Internet Freedom)
    3. Click on “+Express”
    4. Be sure to hit “ENTER” (or return) on your keyboard after you put in your name, so it registers. (They make it a tad tricky there.)
    5. In the comment section write, “I strongly support net neutrality backed by Title 2 oversight of ISPs.”
    6. Click to Review, then Submit, done. – Make sure you hit submit at the end!
    Copy & paste to repost this, pls., rather than ‘Share’-ing, as it will be seen by more people. (And if the “CONGRATULATIONS everybody” at the beginning confused you as it did me, it’s utilizing a Facebook algorithm to make sure this post appears on more of your friends’ feeds).
    This is one of those posts that its better to copy and paste than to share.

  7. every one is so upset the russians may or may not have tried or did influence the presidential election…. what the heck… the federal government has been ‘influencing’ foreign elections for as long as sexual harrassment has been going on… get real…

  8. Why bother speculating on Mueller’s investigation until he tells us. On the other hand, it’s not surprising that Trump is raising a big stink now, inasmuch as he knows what he and his posse actually did.

    BTW, Mueller (and Comey) are Republicans. Normally, they make a member of the opposite party the Special Prosecutor for obvious reasons. Remember Whitewater? So, relax, you’ve got the same team investigating Trump, and he’ll extend every break possible to your guy. Mike.

    • Come on Mike – you’ve got two big DOJ/FBI’er planning in a federal office to make sure Trump doesn’t get elecdted and you think what?

  9. HMM.. I wonder if this is one of the interest rate hikes that after you look at it.. is actually reduction or keeping the rate what it is..
    all this attention to sexual harassment.. what will that do with the proverbial casting couch ( expletive removed.)

  10. The legal definition of ‘homicide’ just means that a death has occurred – which is why one could use it even if one had killed one’s self.

  11. It’s never about country, party, ect., it’s always about “ONE” individual (who are trying to make a living their way!;)), all others are just fools from their points of view.
    One cannot explain history from any other point of view. Almost 7 billion people and all that natter are 2 dozen people that we hear about. Something to think about, IMHO.

  13. Always appreciate the writ&wit over morning grits&cups, but a question for ure’s truly/etc —

    Say, what’s the diff between playing a completely criminally-insane manipulated&roboticized artifice — as balls-to-the wall st…. as compared with bitcoin? — both thoroughly&digitally invested/infested by the cia/etc/etc.
    Kinda absurd, these hair-splitting justifications of one over the other for the sake of the Great God Accumulation. Just one reason i won’t support or be taken in by either.
    Just sayin…

  14. This is the trash barrel outside my office where we were burning stacks of $1,000 bills…oh, wait. No, guess it was Amazon boxes.

    Consider a compost pile with worms. Throw grass clippings on top to keep the boxes from blowing away and toss in Lumbricus rubellus or Eisenia hortensis if you want a nice panfishing worm.

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