Markets: A Half-Hearted Monday (at Best)

After taking one “on the chin” Friday, and to our way of looking at things heading down to the S&P 2500 region sooner rather than later (*Not financial advice, just ole grumpy moi) we ought to have a “partial” day.  Down a hundred at some point?

That’s because America, Land of the Brave, is also Land of the Divided so as a result, the mostly-useless Congressoids have not been able to square-away the uniform observance of Veteran’s Day.

If you haven’t been to school for a while, the first Veterans day followed WW I.  Which leads us to observe that in 100-freaking years, Congress still can’t “get it right.” Molasses and turtles smoke these clowns.

What they can do (all too well) is bicker and kvetch. Take the liberally over-wrought CNN.  All worked into a lather because Donald Trump was chastised by the French over (near as we can figure) daring to be an independent nation.

As we behold Rock 3: Europe has a terrible ego problem and it’s one of the major stressors in today’s world.  They can’t seem to get it through their heads that…

  1. We bailed Europe out of not one, but TWO world wars which they likely would have lost had it not been for America dropping in to save the day.
  2. Europe has already announced plans to effectively annex Russia; announcing a couple of years back their vision for a European Union that would stretch from “Portugal to Vladivostok.”  They neglected to ask the owners of Vladivostok about that…Russia’s been pissed ever since.
  3. European Socialists are continuing to give Russia good reasons to hold military exercises. Remember Ukraine?  The front is hardening there.
  4. The EU plans are generally globalist-expansionist in all directions when you look.  Wasn’t it Google they wanted to fine 4-percent of worldwide revenues for crossing some lines (allegedly, lol) in Europe?
  5. We took down our rather “salty” GDPR notice a while back.  We don’t predominantly target Europe.  We have a smarter following.

European Unionistas represent the stand-up comic version of governance.  Until the Brussels Sprouts came along, I would have thought two world wars would have at least hinted that Europe is ungovernable as One.  Maybe we’re just quicker-studies on this side of the pond.  They’re asking like a regional U.N. and that’s not at all good.  Agenda 21 and all…

Meantime, though, the EU doesn’t seem to be able to pay for all of NATO which, we’d remind globalist stooges, isn’t keeping Russia military units out of Nebraska or Massachusetts.

So please pardon us – as in the U.S. -us –  if we don’t pick up the whole tab on everything.  The best Euro-socialists can hope for in the longer-term is a five-way world.  The U.S., Russia, China, and then some consortium like the BRICs because that’s where the resources are.  The arrogant and prickish  Europeans long-ago stripped out most of their resources except, perhaps, hot air.

We’d offer French president Macron a mirror before calling out the “nationalists” who have picked up the tab for so long. “Dog in a manager” – remember the story?

With a different mood in America, we have our own borders to begin picking up the tab for…let Europe relearn history at their own expense.

Not to Rag on CNN…

….but, I did tell you a week, or so, back that we would have a potential “news shortage” after the mid-terms.  Recounts and Fires are saving November revenue, by the look of things.

Fortunately for the legacy media (which CNN is part of, in our analysis), the recounts could drag out of few more days.  Which will give them a chance to use terms like “fury,” “Assault,” and “constitutional norms.

Hot buttons to build quarter-hours for the ad sellers for the all-news radio-types, too..

Korea Gets Hot

Rather than counting on recounts, see the NY Times story with some photos of interest about how Kid Korea has maybe been deliberately deceiving the West about his promise to back off nuclear and missile development.

If true, president Trump would lose a lot of creds, but on the flip-side there would be less House opposition to keep reasonable military budgets, even if they won’t like what Trump does with ’em.

Politics of Real Estate

We’ve also long-offered the view that Donald Trump is a proxy-president for commercial real estate interests.  On our subscriber side, we’ve covered this in analyses like “Bezos and Bentonville:  Barbarians at the Mall.”

Therefore, it’s with keen interest we looked at the Washington Post on this “slow news morning”  – pseudo-holiday that it is – to see how the winds are blowing.  Sure enough, it’s worth reading “Key Democrat wants to question whether Trump targeted CNN, Washington Post .”

Not to be excessively repetitive, but the reason Trump won the White House in the first place, as we see it,  was he leapfrogged over traditional (corporate) mass media by going Twitter-consumer-direct.  He’s still doing that.

We have a longer discussion of where the MSM is going Wednesday in Peoplenomics.  But do keep a close eye on the trench warfare between legacy media on the one hand and the alt.media/disrupters on the other.

Battle’s on.  Bezo and his Bots versus Trumply Tweets – sounds like capitalist Rasslemania, fo sho….

Half-Holiday

Depends where you work, whether this is a “workin’ day” or not.  Most of the larger banks are closed,  Most state and local offices, too.  Schools are a dice-roll.

On the other hand, with the Post Offices closed today, no bills, no more “last minute Medicare 2019 flyers” and no “Black Friday” hype.  Frankly, we’ll kinda miss it…UPS and FedEx roll, though.

Storming

Zeus-the-Cat informed me last night that in CatWorld there are only two seasons.  And we have just entered Fall-ter.  He explains that much of the country should be able to grok that this week, what with snow due into western Oklahoma and much of the country dissonant over the “un-climate-changly” weather we’ve been having.

Zeke got to stay in because our part of Texas got 3+ inches of rain in the gauge overnight, but it was the thunder – huge thunderstorm that kept us up.  Now, it’s about to drop into freezing temps and this is several weeks ahead of “usual” around here.

Tell me it ain’t so:  Al Gore got it back-asswards?  We shall see, but if this is a solar minimum, the major issue won’t be “warming” – it will become not blowing ourselves up as we fighting for declining fuel and food stocks.

Other side of climate?  California fire death toll is north of 30 now.

Counting Our Chickens

An hour before the open, the Dow was set to open down 84 points – which would come on top of the 201 point downer Friday.  Being short is nice.

Tomorrow there’s the NFIB small business optimism index due, along with a bond auction (exciting?  Not hardly, lol), then Fed Boss Jerome Powell speaks Wednesday. Industrial Production and Utilization comes out Friday and will be of a bit more interest.  Real economic question is whether the Trump Bump is anything more than a stock-buyback frenzy on the verge of burn-out, or if it has some longer-term legs under it.

Since Housing is beginning a slow topping and then slide possible in 2019, we do have some trepidation about what happens to the market next.

Let me give you one number to think about:  When the Dow bottomed out in 2009 it was around 6,420 – going from memory.  Today, with with an 89-point loss, the Dow would still be in the 25,900 range.

Let that sink in a bit:  The Dow is FOUR-TIMES HIGHER than 2009 lows.

The word that comes to mind?  Bubblicious!

Don’t mind me, though.  There’s got to be someone willing to buy things at the top.  It’s just not us.

Day Off for Pigs, Chickens, Too

In honor of the (observed) Holiday, we will forego the usual eggs and bacon or ham this morning.  Opting instead for a new taste experiment: Paleo Pancake and Waffle Mix by Birch Benders, Low-Carb, High Protein, High Fiber, Gluten-free, Low Glycemic, Prebiotic, Keto-Friendly, Made with Cassava, Coconut and Almond Flour, 42 Ounce 1-pack.

Zeke (ZtC) offered to kick-in a mouse or two if we were still hungry.  I’m eyeing leftover chicken teriyaki and thinking mouse might be an interesting change-up since chicken teriyaki and pancakes is a bit over the top.

“Moron the ‘morrow…”

28 thoughts on “Markets: A Half-Hearted Monday (at Best)”

  1. George

    Zeus-the-Cat = Zeke ???

    Maybe I missed something.

    It’s early in the morning around here too and I have sleep in my eyes.

    • LOL – yep. Getting him to answer to a couple of names. Zeke, Zeus, Zoo…etc. Part of an experiment to see if he hears the “z” sound or reacts to the vowels.

      • Should mention he explained that in catland the other season (Fallter being fall winter) is Sprimmer. He’s people averse in Sprimmer but stays in all night when there are storms or cold as happens in Fallter.

  2. Didn’t liberal CA send @ 250,000 legal Japanese immigrants ,including those born in America, to prison camps during WW II? It is not talked about because the Japanese didn’t complain & whine, but became successful citizens after WW II due to hard work. They looked toward making a successful future for themselves & not being a bunch government handout whiners. Yes, & they only vote once per person.

    • And they took to heart and demonstrated what a “true American” really is, bless them all. Keep the country safe, even if it’s just to be on the safe side, and work like the devil to make it successful when you have the ability. In the end they and we all won. Revising history to be seen in the current morality is just propaganda.

  3. Not sure that you can seriously call that concoction “pancakes”. Good luck getting rid of the leftovers.

  4. When you do your piece on the MSM…don’t just focus on CNN. They have some very fine anchors like Chris Cuomo…He is about as fair and balanced as they come. Smart attorney that knows his stuff and will push back on Dems, agrees with Conervatives at times, but mostly tries to find middle ground. My kind of reporter. He says the words “fair enough”…says it a lot…more than anyone in broadcasting.

    The rest like Anderson Cooper are just talking heads…Jake Tapper is off and on at times. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow? If Trump looked like Snow White, she would argue he was the witch. Joe and Mika? A bit more balanced…Everyone else? Not so much.

    The outlier and one I hope you really take to task is Fox. Don’t excuse these- bordering on state news – folks.

    They are over the top and the complete opposite of Chris Cuomo. There is no balance there. Fox and Friends are just smiley models pretending to be news people who love everything Trump and the GOP. As far right as Rachel Maddow is far left. They remind me Of a comedy skit that parodies Morning news hosts.

    Hannity and Jeanne Pierro Are on on Trumps payroll. They lost all news cred and crossed the unwritten newsperson code, when they went on stage with Trump during his last rally. Tucker Carlson may paid by the compliment Trump employee as well.

    The one exception is Neil Cavuto. He can be balanced…probably the best of the bunch…Laura Ingraham makes me ill.

    Bottom line…None of the networks can claim they are balanced. Each has one or two hosts that I can stomach…The rest are as one sided as they come.

    • Chris Cuomo is a mouthpiece for his father & a hoodlum. They rule by intimidation, similar to the mafia. The Cuomo family is also similar to the Bush family, only smarter which isn’t hard. Both families use politics to increase their power & wealth. Neither care about The common man. The Cuomo’s remind me of Vladimir Putin, except you can reason with President Putin.

    • Mark, I think that you’re naive, but I do appreciate you comments very much. ;-)

      P.s. Individually, some selected people are extremely smart, no doubt; But as a group they’re not smarter than a flock of geese. That’s proven throughout history.

    • What it really comes down to are you as an American a nationalist or a globalist. Nationalist Fox news, globalist are the other news outlets.

  5. RE: Marcon’s “chastisement” of Trump: Progressives who tout this remark as global ground truth might want to examine the principles embraced by America’s Founders. Retiring President George Washington cautioned in his farewell address that “It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliance with any portion of the foreign world.” Washington was not alone, as Tom Jefferson proclaimed in his inaugural address: “Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.”

    Macron might wish to review 20th Century history to remind himself how the once staunchly isolationist U.S. left its collective island nation paradise in order to save Europe’s bahonkas not once, but twice from the evils of Totalitarianism, then stood firmly by her side as Communism reared its ugly head.

    An old joke finds German Chancellor Angela Merkel visiting Paris on weekend vacation. As she checks into her hotel, the desk agent asks her for her passport, then informs her he must ask a few standard questions. “Occupation?” the agent queries, to which Merkel giddily replies: “No, just sight-seeing for the weekend!”

    Then there’s a Seth Meyers classis:

    “Despite the fact that the Ukraine has been all over the news recently, a survey found that 64 percent of U.S. students still couldn’t find Ukraine on a map. Said Vladimir Putin, ‘Soon nobody will.'”

  6. Here in the Oregon High Desert way below temps, at night 12 degrees. Sun is cold. Sun light has sharp quality to it, wonder if NASA mission to “touch” the Sun will cause reaction from our heavenly neighbor??

  7. “We bailed Europe out of not one, but TWO world wars which they likely would have lost had it not been for America dropping in to save the day.”

    We saved NOTHING except our own ‘military industrial complex.’ We have made things worse worldwide by NOT cleaning up our own corrupted democratic mess!! So sad.

  8. Yes, the US helped Europe during WW1&2, but I would like to remind you that France helped the United States become independent of England. If not for Lafayette’s help, we might still be bowing to the queen of England.

      • Wrong. Dave, the Marquis de Lafayette served with distinction in the Battle of Rhode Island. He also helped block Cornwallis prior to the siege of Yorktown. This is why there is a statue of Lafayette right across from the white House at Lafayette Square.

      • Not so. France lent us scads of money and military know-how. Washington was a command soldier, not a drill soldier. Colonists could shoot, but they couldn’t fight in an organized manner. It was French officers who whipped farmers into disciplined soldiers and enabled us to go toe-to-toe with British Regulars and Hessians.

        That said, I don’t believe France’s help in the 1700s obligates us to a perpetual commitment to pull their oysters out of the fire whenever their stupid mouths or policies get them invited to a clambake as the main course.

  9. From the market bootom in 2009 to the Jan 1 2017, the market grew from approx. 7,000 to 20,000. From 1/1/17 to the present the market has grown approx. 30%, to 25,000. The 2009 – 2017 market was grown on QE, which provided near zero interest loans with little increase to the deficit . The market from 2017 to present was grown on a 2 trillion dollar tax cut, which increased the deficit proportionally. The main difference between the two is a large percentage deficit increase and the tax cuts do not require repayment as does a QE loan.

    So “IF”, the the Market remains stagnant or near stagnant for the next 2 years, that 30% two year increase will work out to less than 8% per year. This will be less than the approx. 150% growth of 2009 – 2017, without a 10% increase to the deficit. There are additional factors to consider but in the light of different circumstances, a broken economy in 2009 vs. strong recovering economy in 2017. The additional 2 trillion dollars added to the deficit will stick out like a sore thumb, in a side by side comparison. lol

    In a stagnant market there is little to short. lol

    This definitely not market or any other kind of advice! lol

  10. “We bailed Europe out of not one, but TWO world wars which they likely would have lost had it not been for America dropping in to save the day.”

    I hope you included Canada in “America” George. As we observed Remembrance Day yesterday, we were reminded of the battle of Vimy Ridge on April 11, 1917. We lost 3,600 soldiers and another 7,000 wounded. It was a key battle and probably have helped “save the day.” In total, 61,000 Canadians gave their lives and another 172,000 were wounded in WW1.

    Many good people in both United States and Canada travelled thousands of miles to a distant shore through 2 world wars and gave their lives to deliver the freedom we have today.

    Lest we forget.

  11. Heard of smedley butler? War is a racket?Spare us ure bailing out of two wars because of usa so called altruism.You all worship mammon.End of story.

    • Ah, someone in the land of kneelers who understands it is possible to scratch our own backs while helping others

      • Sorry bout that.Still war is a racket by smedley butler us war hero should be read by all at West point and beyond to give a realistic opinion based on experience of the purpose of war.Also please don’t think your average scot is a royalist cos we are not any more than yourself.Orrabest

        • Your note proves the point the Scots are a superior breed to most – proud to be a 50 percenter…Never kneel and long live Robert the Bruce

  12. Bailed out Europe.Can’t believe u said that.it’s wrong on so many levels ure reputation is tatters.War is a racket,who wrote that? Write when you get it.

    • If you post a bitch note about something (this is this author’s second) note that we d0on’t need repetitive whining. One per IP will do – if not, learn to write more decisively

    • Oh, we most-certainly bailed-out Europe. As far as WW-II goes, the moneyed made Hitler into a great leader, by latching onto him when he demonstrated an ability to pull Germany out of the depths of destitution, wrought by reparations and the financial policies of the Weimar Republic. They did NOT make him an imperial genocidal megalomaniac — That’s all on ol’ Adolf himself.

      The U.S. also did not create Imperial Japan. Japan conquered and enslaved Korea and Formosa when we were still playing cowboys and indians, and no one on this side of the pond paid them much mind. Only when the Japanese began making major inroads into China did it occur to the all-wise and knowing folks in D.C. that Japan, with an army of 200mln Chinese conscripts and an unending supply of resources, might be a bad thing.

      After some study, I have every reason to believe the final round of tariffs were designed to force Japan into war with us, so we could enter WW-II in Europe in time to keep the U.K. from falling to Hitler. Indeed, we declared War on Japan on December 8, 1941; we never declared war on Germany or Italy, but mere days hence, the Reich declared war on the U.S. and enabled us to enter the European Theatre whilst Britain and Scotland were still viable, strategic European toeholds.

      So yes, giving Smedley his due, war IS a racket, but once entered upon, would you prefer its result be of your choosing, or of your family’s perpetual enslavement…?

  13. Just finished watching C(circus)-Span’s ceremonies about the armistice. Nothing in that respect has changed from a 100 years ago and we are bound to repeat history, because people are just the way they are.
    P.S., perhaps we can institute a law that will probibit “elected officials” from reading pre-canned speaches in favor of expressing their own opinion.

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