Markets: Nose Bleed or Serious Symptom?

(Tacoma, WA)  Over on this side of “fly-over “ country, we are drowning in decaf trying to figure out whether the market drop of 178 Wednesday was the financial equivalent of a head cold, or whether it’s the cancer (or made up money) come like a Banshee to get us.

On the head cold side of things, we can almost make out the ebb and flow of Greece in the background.

As of this morning, the Dow as set to regain 71 of that.

Part of what’s going on is the mess in Greece.  Right now there are talks going on trying to avoid a collapse.

As we’re talked about before, though, stiffing the internationalists is not a bad thing.  Iceland is still a great country…and all the greater for having kicked at least some of the banker spew out of their country.

We should have such IQs and gumption.  So should the Greeks, but maybe Angels Merkel will play Santa Klaus.

More than anything, yesterday smacked of currency moving and and bond whiners.

Geppetto Does Personal Income (and Expense)

It’s fairytale time over at the Bureau of Labor Statistics…

Personal income increased $79.0 billion, or 0.5 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) increased $65.5 billion, or 0.5 percent, in May, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $105.9 billion, or 0.9 percent. In April, personal income increased $69.6 billion, or 0.5 percent, DPI increased $57.0 billion, or 0.4 percent, and PCE increased $8.5 billion, or 0.1 percent, based on revised estimates. Real DPI increased 0.2 percent in May, compared with an increase of 0.4 percent in April. Real PCE increased 0.6 percent, compared with an increase of less than 0.1 percent.

Half a percent higher?  So you mean like if I make $4,000 a month (robbing bankers part time) I should now be getting away with $20-bucks more?  Hallelujah, my brothers and sisters.

But wait!  Here’s the Pinocchio part:

Personal outlays — PCE, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments — increased $106.9 billion in May, compared with an increase of $9.5 billion in April. PCE increased $105.9 billion, compared with an increase of $8.5 billion. Personal saving — DPI less personal outlays — was $685.5 billion in May, compared with $726.9 billion in April.

The personal saving rate — personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income — was 5.1 percent in May, compared with 5.4 percent in April.

No one outside Westchester County and The Hamptons is really doing this, but it’s a fine thing to count their money in front of the poor, now and then, ‘pparently.

No Iran Deal Likely, But So?

Here comes an interesting showdown between the WH and Congress over the Iran deal as the warnings are ramping up that the Hill ain’t gonna buy it.

As usual, in keeping with out runaway presidency theory, the most likely thing right now would be for the Iran deal to be nuked in the Senate and then for O to just go ahead and live by the terms of the treaty as though it’s a done deal.

Except the Iranians will jack us around and the whole thing will have been for naught.  But that’s how theater for the masses plays….

Free Presidential Advice

The headline this morning about president Obama being heckled at an LBGT reception at the White House is interesting.

Our only free advice is “If you don’t like how people behave, don’t invite them.”  This kind of thing is pretty simple, to me.

By the way, notice that story mentions LBGTQ where the Q is for Queer.

Right now I’m off reading 50 Shades of News trying to figure out who the Q is since I thought L and G pretty well covered the waterfront.

Apparently not:  The “right” phrase would have been LGBTTTQQIAA.

Which is so far beyond the comprehension of the LS-MFT generation that it makes my head spin. (Lucky Strike – means fine tobacco =LS-MFT).

I thought LBGT was pretty clear, but now seems that the sex marketers are even tossing in illegals.  Here all this time  (reprobate that I am) I thought LBGT was about sexual equality. But, now, it’s morphed far enough to become about rounding up support for…er…policy anarchy.

But, since they’re tossing in illegals, I see it clearly now as terribly stupid populism, or  LBGT-TSP.   Stand by for them to add SOWM (stupid old white men) but don’t hold your breath.  Don’t want to make sexual populism too popular. SRs (Syrian Refugees)  gotta be mentioned, too.

In future columns, perhaps instead of using a word like populist, I may slip now and then to refer to the LBGTTTQQIAASOWMLSMFTSRs.

Except even this isn’t broad enough, so perhaps we should toss in disabled and Pit bull owners, as well, just so we don’t leave anyone out, which would make it LBGTTTQQIAASOWMLSMFTSRDPBOs. 

Even this ain’t quite right, either, since Bugravian Blowfish Puppies, and and Trouser Trout Fishermen might still slip though…

GMAFB… .    SuperGlue for the loafers, anyone?  Let’s load the boat.  I gotta point out to LBGT readers that they are being victimized the same way stock promoters do all the time:  dilution.

Ain’t business models fun?

Solar Activity

Might want to brace for more earthquake activity – Sun is popping off again…

A full halo CME was first seen by LASCO C2 at 08:36 UT. This event is associated with the M7.9 flare peaking at 08:16 UT, from NOAA AR 2371. The CME has an Earth directed component and is travelling at 1600 km/s. It is expected to arrive to the Earth on June 26 around 16:00 UT and cause up to severe geomagnetic storms.

If the memory is working right, the M flares are one step down from X, but would someone post a note on what happened to all the intervening letters of the alphabet?  I’m still in recovery from the previous article and I just don’t get it.