SatGourmet: Yum-Yum Weekend

Elaine and I had a marvelous conversation Friday about what we remembered from our youth.  (Which for both is a decade over a half-century ago!). Green Jell-O at church gatherings came up. Her preference was for the Jell-O with cottage cheese.  Mine?  Green Jell-O with a (drained) can of mixed fruit cocktail in it.  Topped with a thick … Read More

Charts and Notes

Happy Easter.  An odd assortment of items today. We consider the perils of investing in a market gone vertical.  Plus some notes on rolling headlines including the odds of war in eastern Ukraine where limited fighting is reported. We tend to run shorter columns when people are “familifying.” A cup of coffee and much to … Read More

Jobs Data, Easter War, and STILL No All-Time High

A day off (Good Friday) for some, but you wouldn’t know it around here. Who’s Working? The short answer is “Not as many as last year.”  The longer answer is wrapped up in the Labor Department monthly job report for March just out: “Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 916,000 in March, and the unemployment … Read More

Partial Truths: Scalloped Markets and Ham

We continue to ponder events to come.  Spiced with fresh data this morning including layoffs and first-time unemployment claims.  But first, a quick run to the whiteboard to lay out how “Partial Truths” work and why a focus on them is critical.  (And a marker huff, lol…) Going into the three-day weekend (for some) may … Read More

Alt. Investments (2)

We continue looking at the wide range of investments today by looking at tangibles.  After (in part 1) seeing the only real (enduring) wealth is that between your ears.  If there is anything to “souls” and afterlife, then your carry-out from life is in your memories.Even once we’re taken out “paper” investment vehicles, there’s still … Read More

Housing Still Wild

Before the S&P data, a heads up to look at the CNN story about “76 all-cash offers on one home. The housing madness shows no signs of slowing.” Proper foreplay for this morning’s S&P Housing report? “NEW YORK, MARCH 30, 2021: S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) today released the latest results for the S&P CoreLogic … Read More

It Starts with Coriolis…

You know the moment:  The morning’s “throne work” done, the handle is pressed and the efforts of the morning will soon be flushed away. But the flush is neither instantaneous nor complete in itself. No.  There is a pause as the flapper valve just opens.  In its advance, the water in the tank flows downward.  … Read More

Markets: Short Week, Contraindications

Might as well buy a Lotto ticket, if you think you can make a quick buck in this pig of a market.  The reasons are obvious, yet hidden from the public. The Lying Fed? It has been painfully obvious for years that most of the so-called economic gains in America were the effects of pernicious money-printing by … Read More

Dogwood’s Are Out

On the way up to the greenhouse, looking out of the guest rooms, and down  in the deep woods. Personally, I never understood the fascination with dogwoods.  Yeah – pretty when they bloom and all.  But so are tomatoes.  And those turn into something edible. On the other hand, people get real excited about this time … Read More

ShopTalk Sunday: New Life for Used Power Tools

Does Ure want a new top-of-the-line PowerMatic or Laguna, or StopSaw to whip out cabinets and have on hand when G2 gets here (eventually) and puts on his “house-building on the off-shift” pants? But, to tell you the truth, at age 72 even a “convicted tool-slut” (in the Court of Wifely Opinions, no less!), it’s hard for me … Read More

From “The War Student’s Notebook”

Main item today, one that could pop from China, the Middle East, and/or Ukraine.  Sure, we will also do more of that *(boring) making money stuff.  But war.,..sheesh!  Impacts everything.  So, we get a bit exercised when risks build… We will pick up our next episode of “Alt. Investments” this coming week.  That’s a touchstone … Read More

SatGourmet: Speed-Eating and Chili Bowls

Our (markets are closed, can’t focus on money all the time) pastimes come into play from market close Friday  until  the “Return to Greed Mountain” Monday. And, since Spring sprung this past week, our gustatory inquisition this weekend involves Heat and how it relates to Spice. Heat & Spice:  Observations Personal Data:  Seattle, where Ure (and … Read More

Trade, Personal Income, and a Reader Note

Let’s get the Reader Note out of the way first. If you l0ok at the menu (top of page) you will see some new little “v’s” which indicate they are now pull-down menus.  I’ve moved a number of things around and added a few things to help “navigating the mind of George” a little more … Read More