Market futures are down a bit today.  Not a lot.  But, give it time.  There are many “moving pieces” that could fall well for America.  Or, very, very badly. We will start by noting that Fed Boss J. Powell is talking-down the chances of a Fed Rate Hike for the remainder of the year, and beyond.  One … Read More

Project pictures toward the end.  Let’s talk theory first. Being a management sciences-trained geek-at-heart, I thought it would be useful to do a “ride-along” on a typical Sunday in the shop (and ranch) project.  Give you the feel for the “Maker Mindset.”  This is the “as it happened” time log. 07:00: Days Start with Planning … Read More

Yes, an odd topic, but one useful if you are troubleshooting bad trading. To get started we’ll go over some macro-basics.  Then adapt to trading analysis. After, that is, a few morning data points, the “war check” in eastern Europe.  And, of course, the ChartPack of the stock market which is off running competition with … Read More

We have been blessed with many outstanding contributions around here from several readers.  Especially “Looking Outside of the Box” (LOOB),  He’s not only demonstrated cooking sharpness, but in past shop episodes, has generated some first-class cardboard furniture including a college frat-house bound bar set up. It would be a hard choice to narrow down to one … Read More

For the one – PPI – it’s supposed to already be here.  Just out from the Labor Department: (How’s your Life going to work when crypto sites and your bank, market, etc. report similar “can’t handle the load” results?  Got a plan? Why Dow futures are up 73 boggles the wetware. Cyber-war target softening?) What … Read More

We are almost ready to open a weekly “jobs pool.”  Idea is simply tossing a dart to see who can make the closest guess to the Labor Department’s weekly new unemployment claims. Media hype – before the release – was that new filings would drop under 700-thousand.  Here’s the results: Please note that we highlight … Read More

In our usual look-ahead way, we assess a couple of trends you may be able to use to advantage in coming years.  Both having to do with real estate. In addition to this morning’s selection of news (and fresh international trade results) we are also throwing a party as the Aggregate Index has (finally!) peeked … Read More

Slowly, we’re becoming convinced the world is mid-process in a complete Values Reversal. Consider 50 Years Ago: Race mattered little:  Performance did.  Today, performance has moved to the back seat in corporate H.R.  We’re living in the “check-box” world of correctness. Gender/bent didn’t much matter:  Performance was the whole ball game.  Today?  Got checkboxes for … Read More

UrbanSurvival’s roots, as you know, go back to 1997 when I was finishing a distance-learning MBA.  As a result, we evolved a steely eye toward whatever the present “economic fairytale” might be. In the tradition of Fractured Fairytales, we’re stuck this morning in the sad case of Made-Up Markets.  The (not really) Federal Reserve is buying … Read More

If a discussion about toolboxes and whether a ShopSmith (serious multi-tool) seem like an odd pairing, relax.  It’s not.  Both have everything to do with how you get “the job” done. Let’s Do Toolboxes First It always struck me as odd:  That Pappy Ure’s shop was constantly piled with tools and projects.  Yet, when we … Read More

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

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

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