$10K Bitcoins and Housing Data

The news flow this morning is amazing. First thing out of the hopper is that Bitcoin has gone all the way to the $10,000 level. I’ve had several people tell me “Stupid old man!  Bitcoin is not just a new kind of medium of exchange!” (Continues below)   Well, maybe,  but then again, maybe not. … Read More

Coping: Mercury Retrograde is No Joke!

This has not been a peachy week for the Ure household. Not!  I have been going through one of the worst Mercury Retrogrades ever.  I could almost feel this one coming two weeks back, thinking through things. A word about Mercury in Retrograde:  Like other planets, the apparent motion of Mercury is usually “normal” but a few … Read More

YAOH (Yet Another Obama Hangover)

I have been writing for nearly a year, now, about how “Obama embeds” have been throwing roadblocks up to the Trump administration at every turn. That includes liberally interpreted legal decisions on things like selective immigration policies, embeds in agencies who haven’t been replaced (or worked-around) and all those leaks.  Billions and billions of leaks … Read More

Coping: Going “Partly Vegan”

Yeah, sure, the Thanksgiving turkey was amazing.  But then again, so was the “turkey hangover.”  We’re just not used to eating that kind of rich food around here. Until Thanksgiving, we have both been in really good shape – and while we eat meat, it’s generally not processed and it’s generally not including much wheat … Read More

The “Secret River”

This past week, I was telling you about how it seems to me  that there is a distinct lack of “adventure” in America among the Millennials. Sure, life’s hard, sorting out what gender and which of umpteen programming jobs they want.  But after the charts today and a few headlines, a real treat.  A buddy … Read More

Black Friday: What Could Go Wrong?

This is the day a good part of America goes nuts.  Bonkers, bahzitsu, meshuga… We expect treatment stations for seasonal illnesses such as “click sprain” and “credit card burn” plus “package-induced back strains” will be full by mid-afternoon. This being Black Friday, as always, odds are good that you’ll be hitting the major sites, too. Sadly, we … Read More

Everyone’s Happy! (Except the Turkey)

But then again, nothing really good using happens without some sacrifice…. Here’s the Thanksgiving video we did back in 2001 when we were still living on the boat and sailing SF Bay.  Land behind us was SF Airport area.  Hunter’s point is off to port somewhere…   Have a blessed and marvelous day.  Don’t lay down after … Read More

Trump’s Tumbler

With a year from the election of Donald Trump, it’s time to begin work on our economics (and therefore market) outlooks for 2018. As a starting point for this seasonal review I wanted to begin this morning with a look at two years of data in order to assess whether economic  progress has been “real” … Read More

Markets are the Turkey; Pass the Paint

While we’ve been yammering on about how there would likely be a “turkey rally” ahead of the holiday, this is getting downright stupid. Monday’s trading session saw a liberal dose of tape-painting – which is what you call it when one index soars while the rest are left in the dust. Monday it was the … Read More

Coping: The Magic of a “Better Future”

Time for a discussion about personal magic.  The kind that really pays off, is honest, and ethical. Odd topic?  Maybe, but let me explain:  The other day, I was talking to a friend and the subject of unlimited personal energy came up. You see, this person has known me for a long time, and still … Read More

Turkey Week: Toms or Stocks?

The market (an hour before the open) was set to open right about even with last week’s close.  We would normally expect a bit of a pullback after options week, but it’s not a regular-enough pattern to make any dough with. Not that I haven’t tried. For now, a one-half percent decline in Japan overnight … Read More

Coping: Our Lost Sense of Adventure

We’ve been kicking around an interesting conversation over dinner the past few days:  What is our next big adventure in life?  This being a 3 1/2 day workweek for most, why not work a bit on the play calculations, right? Sure we’re old,  and yeah, we agree that dying is an adventure, no doubt.  But, … Read More

Scenarios for the Future

We take some time this morning to look at crypto currencies, the future of autos, and where gold may go. These are all topics of immediate concern to subscribers…but first a few headlines and a look at the charts.  Which, as we expected, ended the week in the U.S. right on our 9-day moving averages… … Read More