The market tracked brilliantly (down) to our expectations this week.  However, the “Bernanke Paradox” is still driving. Down more than 900 points Friday the Dow decline is unlikely to delay an expected rate hike at the Fed’s upcoming meeting. This morning, a few notes on how the charts – using our Aggregate Index approach – … Read More

Don’t look now, but markets are getting into some really hairy straits. While there had been hope earlier in the week that a rally would grab hold and save the day, hopes were dashed Thursday when the market blew down 368 Dow points and more than 65 on the S&P. It just wasn’t a good … Read More

Hype School Reunion time! While we await this weekend’s “Easter War” window – and having our fill of how the Great Schism of 1054 may still be feeding forward into daily news events now – we have plenty of time to consider ongoing monetization’s of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS). As you will read in a … Read More

George went domain name shopping this week because two pretty good ideas have come along, and subscribers get a first look.  It all comes as a spontaneous answer to a problem vexing all of us:  What productive something can replace social media? This is not an entirely wasted effort, though it will take some marketing … Read More

Quick market note first:  Not much in the way of news to drive things, so the Elliott count (*by a genuine first-class idiot) at the close last night looked like this: Aggregate Index is slightly positive, but not worth firing up Excel over. We still think this could break either way, though I stepped in and … Read More

We like to organize our thinking early Monday.  You know, sort out the week of crap ahead, see where the sheep are being led, see “who’s talking their book” on markets, plan for the bumps, and prepare for the chasms.  Such orderly thinking leaves additional processor clicks to keep an eye on the exoquartiles of … Read More

Our normal Sunday fare is foregone today in honor of the solemnity of the day, and its meaning, worldwide. Easter Confessional:  I found a great deal on a Wen 6510T spindle sander on eBay overnight.  So, we haven’t lost sight of what really goes on in the shop… It’s a dandy time for us Junior … Read More

How to become a High Output Production Writer (Part 2) This being a holiday weekend *(Easter tomorrow), we will ease into part 2 of our discussion of the writer’s craft. In part one, we went over software, settings, lighting, screens, colors, moods, keyboards…all those “little things” that don’t get the attention due them by casual … Read More

With a handful of economic data releases, we have actual news to talk about.  However, since markets are (generally) closed for Good Friday, we can indulge a bit in more light-hearted aspects of Life. Business first, though. Questions & Data Day Q 1:  Is there Mail Delivery today? Yes.  In fact, despite the (nominally) Christian foundation … Read More

Might as well get the morning’s big econ story out of the way first:  Retail sales for March have just been released: “Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for March 2022, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $665.7 billion, an increase of 0.5 … Read More

Ever see the “cutsie” office sign?  “The harder I work, the behinder I get…”?  This morning we look at an increasing intractable problem:  How far can this trend of lessening human productivity go before the whole global economic system blows up? In a sense, Karl Marx was onto something when he claimed that everyone (proletariat … Read More

Glimpse into dying link: Glimpses of afterlife? ‘Near-death’ experiences aren’t hallucinations, scientists conclude – Brain Tomorrow Three visuals to help visualizing a few econ points. First is a long-term, 10+ year chart.  One trace shows 1920-1933 while the other is from the 2009 Housing Bubble low to close of trading Tuesday 4/22/22.  This is an … Read More

After a modest beat-down Monday, largely driven, we expect by the Russian Default, there is fresh economic data that’s likely to influence the outcome of today’s trading. Russia’s Monday default is being labeled a “selective default” but we have to wonder if this isn’t something like “partly pregnant.”  Seems to us simple folk here in … Read More