This is one of those slow-motion roll-outs that happens every month:  The latest job numbers come in three ways:  ADP has a job creation report.  Out yesterday and up.  Meantime, Challenger job cuts is just out and reads like this: “The nation’s employers announced plans to cut 35,369 jobs in February, down 20 percent from the 44,653 cuts … Read More

A couple of times in the last month, I’ve been to town for things like the doctor’s office, the Tractor Supply store, and a “cheater burger” along the way; the usual stuff. On these trips, I started to notice people’s shoes.  They’ve changed – even here in the outback. When we moved here 2003’ish, this … Read More

Starts our quest in the Focus section this morning. After a few bends and twists on the road tracking down the future, we are gob-smacked by a mutha-giant of a fact.The Information Age is over.  Right there in the data.  Which we’ll get to after coffee, headlines, charts and a discussion about my “shorts.”  Which … Read More

Sure looks that way to us as we tend to make investments based on the concept of “price channels.” When I take a snip from the www.bitcoincharts.com website and toss my trend-channel view at things, it looks like the way is opening for a rally to north of $35,000 – but this is not investment advice! … Read More

So, want to be rich, do you? I get that from a lot of people.  But when I ask “What have you done about it?” very few people actually have a solid answer.  Mostly, I get a look like “What?” To my way of thinking, though, the odds of anyone being rich is a very doable … Read More

As I disclosed to our Peoplenomics.com subscribers this weekend, I took decent-sized (anything over $25,000 is “decent-sized” around here) leveraged short position in the market right at the close Friday. Nerves of steel, momentary trading-insanity, or a wild speculation?  This week, we should find out which. Our odd-ball approach to investing deserves a bit of explanation:  … Read More

We have quite a number of things to go over this morning – some routine, some not. Sunday morning, Ure’s was up at 3:45 AM – unable to sleep – so I finished up our taxes and got them filed.  I also got the year’s “tax box” done. The year’s “tax box?” (Continues below)   … Read More

Two stories in one today:  Mastering label removal and a discussion about workmanship.  You see, a lot of young people today didn’t have the advantage of an in-charge male figure in their household to pass on certain traits once lumped under the working-class term “workmanship.”  Not PC?  Oh, darn. Here, take this TS chit to … Read More

Today we dig deeply into the cause of periodic economic depressions (which could be closer than you’d think) and come up with a surprising result. While cycle theorists, such as Nikolas Kondratiev believed in the 48-64 year “long wave” we find evidence that there’s more driving periodicity than simple interest-rate fluctuations. First, however, headlines and … Read More

I got a chuckle out of a note from Bullish Bob Bagley (a real broker) who sent me a reminder this morning “…it’s also a full moon!”  Well, yeah, there is that…  Chuckles mean something on days like this when economics is pretty serious. On the other hand, I told you we were in cash and … Read More

The unilateral imposition of “smart tariffs” on aluminum and steel imports is both a very good thing, and a bad thing.  Plus, it reveals what we expected about the nature and thinking style of Donald Trump; it is far from reassuring. This is an almost Peoplenomics.com style of report (sans links and data sources).  It’s the … Read More

The Universe has a wry – some would say sick – sense of humor.  But that’s one way to read the departure of Hope Hicks who has been White House Communications Director. There are many ways to read this.  The MSM approach over here seems to broadly tie her departure to the appearance before a congressional committee.  … Read More

An odd column this morning.  I had the “earthquake tireds” on Wednesday. This is an area where science and woo-woo overlap.  Is there a quake coming?  Newsworthy one, perhaps? Not bigly and hugely – kind of 6 to7 point somethingly. But, I have learned to pay attention when such “vibes” show up.  Not that we are … Read More