I suppose there was a time when four-score and six (86) would have been an acceptable old age for a curious soul to reach.  Not enough now.  Back then?  Books were semi-precious. Knowledge had a useful shelf-life.  Travel was slow.  Telegraphs worked and phone calls were likely to be on a party line. Between market … Read More

It’s hard to think straight during a National Psychosis.  But this morning some thoughts on how to lower personal stress level and turn off dementia-inducing television.  Plus a few other tips. After a few general headlines and the morning’s ChartPack. More for Subscribers ||| Not a Subscriber? SUBSCRIBE NOW! ||| Subscriber Help Center

Reader Ray contributed a marvelous reality check in the Comments section overnight: “You remind me of Trevor Lawrence the #1 NFL draft pick this year. He said he was putting his entire $21,000,000 signing bonus into Bitcoin. Dumbass! BTC was at $55,000 and today it is trading a little over $40,000. That is down 27% … Read More

Imagining that you remember our advice (“Sell in May and Go Away”) we are not using this as a neener-neener moment.  OK, I was tempted… We need to sit back, thumb through books by Sun Tzu and von Clausewitz, and remember “Economics is war by other means.” Even von Clausewitz got it wrong:  War is … Read More

With Elaine’s second hip surgery done, we are back to being transfixed by markets. Which have become a bit off-the-wall this week.  Part of future direction may be guided by Fed Minutes but there are a ton of interest-sensitive “moving parts.” as we will discuss. Thanks to the many well-wishers and thanks for your prayers … Read More

Short column this morning as Elaine get’s “hippified” this morning.  I won’t bore you with the God-awful clock reading, but early is an understatement. One of the challenges (when a spouse) is headed in a “knifely direction” is maintaining balance and focus on all the details of life.  If columns have been a bit less … Read More

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