I happened to catch a “news commentary” on WOAI out of San Antonio Monday and I was shocked at how the border crisis is being morphed into a “mush-headed economic marvel.” The station news director’s commentary pointed out that if president Trump indeed closes the border in order to deal with the unchecked, illegal immigration, … Read More
Sure, the new overnight that the trade talks are continuing and that Chinese consumers are holding their own are fueling the rally at the open of the stock market today. But there is a much larger game at play than just coaxing consumers to spend more and more than even trade talks. What could be … Read More
Here’s how today ought to roll: The market should pop up a hundred, or so, but today’s daily dart lands on some selling starting around 10:43 Eastern/9:43 Central time as the market gets ready to wind up Q1. A drop of a bit today and maybe a further drop next week (to drive prices down … Read More
Good one! (*can we deliver a punchline, or what?) While the early futures were indicating another pullback in the Dow and other major indices at the open, we keep staring at the junction ahead for markets and ask the only question that matters: What’s the reason for optimism? The negatives are pretty clear: The attacks … Read More
There’s not much in the way of “good news” for president Trump lately. For one, the North Korea summit in Hanoi didn’t work out as planned. And the much-touted March 1 deadline for a U.S. China trade deal is quickly looking unlikely. Couple this with reports that immigration from Mexico-South America is nearing record levels … Read More
We will, of course, jump into this morning’s GDP report, but first, we need to have a little “come to Jesus” about nuclear war because there are relatively high odds of one this summer. Tensions between India and Pakistan (Indo-Pak) have perhaps never been higher. Because both sides have nuclear weapons, as our military affairs … Read More
Although people use the term pejoratively, the word Paranoid is not a bad thing. If it’s fed with actual life-experiences, it’s a great example of how the human species learned to avoid injury (and death) in our formative millennia. I mean, you stick your hand into a bee hive – resulting in a massive bee-stinging … Read More
Today promises to be like one of those “perfect crossword puzzles” you stumble on every once in a while. You know the kind. Hard as hell with just the right mix of brain-expanding terms and gimme’s. The closer we move into “future” the more words we’re bound to “get right.” Another construct – as useful … Read More
We have a blissfully short column this morning because the real “deal points” in the news flow this morning market America’s present mass-media-breakdown a prime candidate for diagnosis as bipolar disorder (Refer to your dog-eared DSM-5) although it could enlarge into a schizophrenic break. If I were a mental health professional (which I’m thankfully not) the … Read More
America has a new hot story du jour to come to terms with: There are reports all over the place about how the parent company of the National Enquirer obtained some (ahem) bawdy photos of Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and attempted to bury the story IF Bezos would….well, The Medium has a good run-down on it. So, too,, does the NY Times … Read More
Football in a sec. Jobs Out: Trump Bump Toast: We’ve been thinking things were headed this way for several weeks, but here’s the data hot off the BLS website: Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 304,000 in January, and the unemployment rate edged up to 4.0 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. … Read More
We can begin with markets, which put on a rousing show yesterday as the Federal Reserve decided to “talk nice” and hold off on raising rates. This was taken as constructive by most. Except for one thing: If the Trump Bump was continuing, there would be no doubt about it..markets would be zooming ahead. They’re … Read More
I can’t count the time’s I have told you this was coming: You see, we’re on an escalation path with regards to U.S. relations with multiple countries in South and Central America. And – it’s all about money. First, we are continuing to recalibrate our views of how things will go. As of early this … Read More