Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[iam416]

What did she do to self enrich?

I heard about office curtains (that she has been ostensibly cleared of) and possibly traveling for personal reasons on the goverment's dime. Are you referencing the latter? Something else?

There's already an outstanding request for a link so I could read about it. It couldn't possibly be the curtains. Has to be something else.

Meanwhile, the NYT says Haley will be missed (mostly as a buffer between PDJT and UN). https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/09/o...be-missed.html Missing the parts about her getting "caught [with] her hand in the cookie jar. Typical Trump appointee."

CNN with a similar write up. https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/10/polit...024/index.html

[Jeff Buchanan]

Have been watching various storm chaser live video streams from in and around Panama City FL. The eye has moved ashore about 40m S of Panama City but the winds were hitting 100+ at street level. Down further south at Mexico Beach (would be on the NE quadrant of the storm - the worst) they were reportedly hitting 120. Huge storm surge inundating the small town there. There is not much in the way of dense population E of Mexico Beach. Some scattered stuff. The more densely populated areas to the W of Mexico beach aren't going to get the brunt of the winds or the storm surge but there will still be a lot of damage. As I write the eye is now completely ashore, moving NNE rapidly and you can see it breaking up on radar. It's a quick hitter which helps a little bit. Supposed to be warm and Sunny tomorrow! Beach time.

[Ghengis Jon]

I see the market is down 450 points. What did do or say now?

[Kapture1]

The true essence of Socialism is the concept of "from each according to his ability and to each according to his need".

That's the true essence of humanity. What we revert to when the shit hits the fan.

So what do we revert to when the aforementioned concept is what causes the shit to hit the fan?


My guess is idiots will argue it wasn't real socialism, and we should try it again.

[hack]

Yes, AA -- the flights. When people like that, who are valued and competent, just suddenly up and quit without providing a reason -- not even the always-compelling ``spend more time with family'' -- there's gonna be speculation. It would be foolish not to wonder about illegalities given the active questions out there at the moment. My best guess is that she wants to ensure she's stain-free for the future.

[Jeff Buchanan]

I see the market is down 450 points. What did do or say now?

Nothing. It's a stock market cycle brought about by rapidly rising interest rates in the bond market. There's no stock market bubble like tech or housing in the past. Stocks might have been a bit overpriced but the economic fundamentals are fine.

I did read an interesting take a few days ago though. Policy coming out of the Washington recently is pro-inflationary - tax cuts - tariffs - fiscal policy. That's great in a contracting economy, not so great in an expanding one, although the expansion is based on nominal not real growth. That means corporate profits are increasing due to product pricing (nominal) not capital expenditures or increased production (real). Also, the labor market is tight so you have upward pressure on wages - another inflationary factor. However, from the Fed's perspective, inflation is right where they want it at about 2%. The Fed could raise interest rates more quickly and that too is fueling or baking in bond prices.

All of these pressures are coming in large measure due to the economic policies the Trump administration is following so, yeah, Trump is playing a part in the Stock and Bond market even though it is indirect. The markets really and truly do their own thing most of the time unless there is some kind of shocking economic or political news that rattles it for a few days. That's not what this is about.

[hack]

I think an inability to identify one bubbling asset or sector doesn't change things. Most market watchers expect things to go bad soon. They note the pro-cyclical policy of the Trump adminisration, the unlikelihood that this market rally is going to last a decade, because they rarely do, the failure of the tax reform to provide anything more than a sugar high and the slowing global economy brought on by trade wars. The extent to which people are united in this expectation of a recession/crash is so much that it in an of itself is a reason to be skeptical, even though it's all very logical 2+2=4 kind of thinking.

[Ghengis Jon]

Interesting commentary in a related vein just today.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-titanic-as-an-iceberg-loomed-is-how-guggenheims-minerd-thinks-of-todays-stock-market-2018-10-10?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo

[Ghengis Jon]

Dow now down 600 points. Perhaps a buying opportunity.

[Jeff Buchanan]

I've been generally pleased with the Trump administration's ME policy especially as it pertains to Iran. Iran is clearly behind most, if not all of the various groups causing problems in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, the West Bank and Syria. Limiting Iran's ability to pay for this mischief through sanctions, IMO, is a good thing.

But, I've never been comfortable with coddling the Saudi Kingdom and the Royals who run it even though they are an important component of the Trump administration's ME policy as it relates to the Shia/Sunni aspects of it and by extension the important struggle between Iran and SA for the exercise of power and ME influence.

But this piece does a good job of explaining why the relationship between the US and SA should change. It's good to get this kind of information regarding the questionable activities of SA Royals in squelching voices of discontent about their rule.

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/jamal-khashoggi-saudi-journalist-was-assassinated-and-a-beloved-imam-is-next/

[Jeff Buchanan]

Dow now down 600 points. Perhaps a buying opportunity.

Yes. You cannot escape economic fundamentals that the Stock Market, when it chooses to do so, completely ignores. Don't touch your IRAs or 401Ks. Also, don't look at your balances. If you're contributing keep doing so. Folks who bailed in 2008 - and that was an easy 20% market decline, in some sectors more - screwed themselves.

one of the choppiest months

Since any point you want to start from, the stock market has, over time, risen including since the start of this year.

https://www.macrotrends.net/1319/dow-jones-100-year-historical-chart

[Kapture1]

s47k1tgs5er11.png?width=629&s=1d20ddba134fb5d1b00b1c174b45ba39c1583a81.png

[Dr. Strangelove]

Trump says he doesn't want to disappoint his fans and will hold his LOCK HER UP rally in PA tonight as planned, hurricane or no hurricane. It goes without saying that in Oct. 2012, he bashed Obama for still campaigning while Hurricane Sandy recovery was still going on...and that wasn't literally the same day the hurricane struck.

I guess when he landed in PA he told reporters that the Federal Reserve "has gone crazy" by raising interest rates.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Senate invoking the Magnitsky Act and demanding Trump probe Saudi Arabia's role in Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance/death. If found responsible, the US, by law, MUST impose sanctions.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Talent- Four String may be going out of business

https://drinkupcolumbus.com/2018/10/10/four-string-brewing-closed-until-further-notice/