Oh, sure, early futures were down a bit. -100 on the Dow and -10 on the earliest S&P read.  But where the week gets interesting is why options close this week and we get ready to move into a holiday spirit the week following for Memorial Day. About the only news item worth watching this … Read More

Well-rested, we are fit to tackle the day with the persistently long To-Do list.  Still, one of my items on the list got done Saturday and it only took about 20-minutes.  A Paint Can Shaker. Patience is not Mr. Ure’s strong suit.  Like most on this prison planet, while we’re all milling around for the … Read More

This morning’s ShopTalk Sunday will be along shortly. Mr. Ure was having a fine and much-needed long sleep overnight. I like to get the Sunday column posted at around 6-6:30 AM.  Reason being that on weekends – when most people have time off – we should be working as hard (and even harder) than we … Read More

We ask a rational question:  “What is modern (post-Colonial)  liquidity?”   Because we’re hearing rumbles about things ahead and there’s no time to prepare for them like the present. Along with our usual review of a few headlines and the weekly wrap-up of global and domestic markets.  Since going into the weekend is when all … Read More

Planet Earth has nearly run-out of rational investments.  Global population seems to be slowing as planned (Thanks Covid!). And even with newswires buzzing with with “Inflation hype” a buddy of mine asked this week “When will bondholders catch a break?” Today, we consider Earth’s Economic Prospects from an Off-Worlder’s perspective.  Because by pretending “We ain’t … Read More

Not our objective to get into the “Doom Porn” business.  Rather, we suffer the illusion of remaining rational while the world of zombies comes along… Frightening Chart Having “invented” our Aggregate view of markets in the rubble of the 2000-2003 Internet Bubble blow-down, and enjoyed some profits using it in the 2009 Housing Bubble bottom, … Read More

With the kidnap/ransom of a major pipeline system, time we reconsider our “everyday perception” of War. Must it always be run at the same speed?  And, if that answer is “No!” (yeah, spoiler, right?) then how fast to foreign-called events have to be in order to rise above the perception threshold of a nation of … Read More

Not to out the “secrets of intergenerational families” that really run everything, but just what does “Painting the tape” mean?  And, does it really happen? Some numbers to make the case.  and using the early futures pricing today from last Friday: The Dow was down a little over one-half of one percent (0.584%) The S&P … Read More

Screams for dot-connecting and future-projecting are being (not surprisingly) being missed again by the Mainstream Media.  Clowns wouldn’t know their tuckus’ from Technicolor. Which Two Stories? #1 is easy-peasy: Cyber attack shuts down top U.S. fuel pipeline network (trust.org) with similar coverage in Fears of a gas price surge after ransomware attack shuts down America’s … Read More

I know about accident chains having flown a hundred thousand miles, plus or minus a pee stop, in our own plane. Part of the F.A.A. WINGS program includes the study and understanding of “accident chains” and how to break them.  Prevents falling “out of the sky.” What’s not widely appreciated though is the accident chain’s evil … Read More

It may not seem like a useful column headline, but there’re a ton of Post-Its all over the digital desktop. Important stuff – the kind that fits into modeling the future in a manner facilitating the making of money. So in addition to the ChartPack and the normal assortment of headlines, some of the more … Read More

Jobs:  The Hype, the Data and here’s the sausage. I had to put on my “eye muffs” this morning to filter out the BS about how “Economy expected to add one million jobs in April.” Well, bubba, here’s what really happened: “Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 266,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was little … Read More

Although the markets are continuing to present “normalcy bias” numbers, the emerging – and long-expected – reality around here is that Nassim Taleb’s book “Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder (Incerto)” was less than half-right. It’s a position I took a good number of years ago.  Mentioned on the Peoplenomics side.  But, mostly I shut-up when … Read More