Yeah, after writing this morning’s Coping section (which I hope you’ll read) the market action today looks about as exciting as watching bread rise, paint dry, or transparency in government showing up.
There are some minor housing numbers due out at 10, the futures are about flat because while it might make big headlines about Israel attacking nine targets in Syria, that’s not presactly a big financial deal.
Nor is the arrival of John Kerry in Iraq likely to change the balance of power or underlying dynamics in play.
The larger problem, as I outlined a while back for Peoplenomics.com subscribers, is how the New [global] Caliphate is rolling out. And key to the roll-out will be how the US responds to the air strike requests, which could be a joint action with Iran which is led by the Muslim clerics whose candor over their nuclear program is questionable.
But what’s really going on is that Saudi Arabian influence is growing by leaps and bounds in the region and that’s where the real news will be happening in background. Last week the Saudis were saying that there’s a high risk of “civil war” in Iraq. You do know, of course, that there’s such thing as civil in war – there’s always the third-party enablers.
As long as we’re Middle Easting, it’s worth mentioning (since I once told you that Al Jazeera English coverage was – in Muslim lands – about akin to the BBC back in WW II) that AJ journalists have been sentenced to prison time for presenting “false news” reports.
What interesting (likely) is that the reports didn’t sit well with the military government of Egypt, which was strong anti-MuBro, and they made the reports illegal just before the journo;s were arrested by labeling the MuBros as a terrorist group.
What’s the old saying here? “History is written by the winners…” wasn’t it?
With markets flattish, a lack of economic data until tomorrow’s housing data (I’m betting down a bit) this Monday seems particularly mundane. EU business activity ticked down in June.
It’s only slightly comforting to know more bank failures are popping up, though it reinforces out economic perspectives: Two on Friday: Valley Bank of Florida had four branches and the Valley Bank up in Illinois had 13 branches.
If you want to call in well for work this morning, that’d be fine with me. Let your bank balances be your guide…
Bye-Bye Warming, Buy Buy
How many times do I have to tell you that the majority of global warming is simply “made up?”
Of course there’s a reason why: In case you skipped Report from Iron Mountain on the Accessibility and Desirability of Peace, people don’t like government, and don’t need government for too much except basic fire, health, and police services, provided you have a moral group of humans that care for one another.
LACKING pretty much all of the above, however, we need Big Enemies for government to stomp down with control and keep we the people in line and what? Paying our Taxes. The more the better.
So the mass marketing to fear-you into paying a global carbon tax is on, and the blog Real Science by Steve Goddard has an amazing set of articles that point how it was really the first part of the last century (the 1930’s in particular, dust bowl, drought, and all that) that was unusually warm. And part and parcel of that scientists (which they aren’t, but that’s the label they wear) decided to jigger the data so they wouldn’t have to deal with reality. A tough mistress she is.
Apparently, I’m not the only one who can read.
The UK Telegraph gets our gold star for the week (gee, and it’s only Monday!) for their “The scandal of fiddled global warming data.”
And, in case you missed the article around here a couple of weeks back that the majority of Antarctic ice melt was caused by undersea volcanism. See “Bad news for warmerists.”
But read it while you can. As those Al Jazeera journalists in Egypt demonstrate, speaking things as you see them on the ground is not something that’s particular popular with the Ruling Class In Charge. You’d think after the Copenhagen debacle, more people would be seeing it. But hey, isn’t Suits on, or sumpthin?
More after this…is the Fourth almost here, already?
Plenty of War to Go Around, though…
Not making too many headlines in the US Mainstream, there is still scattered fighting going on along the border between Ukraine and Russia and…whatever that new territory is called.
In fact, it’s worrisome enough that the EU is now threatening additional sanctions against Russia if they don’t rein in their support for the pro-Russian militants.
By this winter, however, we can expect the rhetoric of the West to get dialed back a bit. Winter means EU countries will be depending on Gazprom for heat and Russia is likely to play their gas lines like a fiddle.
Price Me to Tears
We had our data tools (like www.nostracodeus.com) point in the direction of prices this weekend and it doesn’t look good.
For one thing, the price of beef just seems to be going up, up, and away. Not that it’s unexpected. This sucker has been obvious for at least 8-years even to an idiot like me.
Peoplenomics subscribers can refer back to issue #246 *June 25, 2006 which said (in part) about the “governmentizing” of protein with the National Animal Identification Act (NAIS):
So NAIS would fit into the production/consumption tracking system of one-world-government, eh? I have to think about that a bit. On the one hand, I’m a Constitutionalist (as in USA Constitution, not the UN’s!) and anything that takes away from US sovereignty, well that’s patently offensive. As is the Council on Foreign Relations’ efforts to tear down the US borders with Mexico and Canada and turn them into a “soft border.” Globalist crap.
I also told subscribers back then forget about fish – and that was before Fukushima. So here with are with meat going skyward, borders going soft and prices going where like crazy?
The good news (if this can be considered good) is that beef is not the only thing going up. Gasoline prices up 3-cents in Virginia. Increases of 5 cents in Florida and 6-cents in Georgia last week, too. (Wonder if anyone can run a car on AstroGlide?)
If your portfolio includes any soft drink makers who are making a bundle in emerging markets, you might care that India is bumping up duties so that their sugar prices will go up 40%.
So with lots of price hikes around, there was a Philly Inquirer story picked up by the Detroit News “Stock prices booming, but not the economy. Conflicting signs worry many observers who wonder if another crash is around the corner” which is sure an everyday discussion item here.
We can’t help but notice how 50 grocery groups in Bahrain have vowed no price increases for Ramadan. I don’t expect to be hearing such vows by anyone in US retailing for our Fourth of July..
But, my friend, that is what? Marketing.
Meantime, check out how Urban Farming is taking root up in the Boston area.
UrbanStyle: Minimalism
Last week I was wondering if the new “urban style” arrival of mini skirts might mean there’s a market blow off in the works. Now, onto my next ponder, is has the shift to New Minimalism started on the fashion front?
Too early to tell (hype is thicker than lashes in mainstream fashion clips) but it’s an interesting outlook. How far will minimalism carry, you think? Is that what gives with the Gaga?
Our present focus on “style” is driven in part by the governmental involvement in what people wear anymore – and the programming takes place in settings like schools…
Ah, the propagation of regulation…does it drive the new minimalism? Not much point in car that will go faster than 80, is there? Words, by word, freedom gets regulated away…