Lies, Lies, More Lies, Statistics; Grace Slick, Alan Parsons, and Jesus

This is going to be brief. Well, maybe.

When the truth is found to be lies,
and all the joy within you dies...

-- "Somebody to Love" Jefferson Airplane, Grace Slick, lead vocalist.

Government lies have grown out of proportion, to the point that the President of the United States of America is a complete fraud. He wasn't duly elected. The voting, which lasted for weeks before and after the actual election "day" was mostly done by mail or on ballots that were never validated and consequently destroyed. Machines which did the counting were hackable and altered vote counts. All of the evidence of fraud has been destroyed.

THAT IS THE TRUTH.

The virus, which is non-lethal to 99.98% of the adult population, is a complete fraud. The vaccines are a control mechanism, just as are the masking, social-distancing, lockdowns and all the other needless restrictions on lives and businesses, designed to degrade and dehumanize.

Please, take off the stupid masks and stop listening to the hacks posing as journalists on network and cable TV. They're all liars of the lowest order and not to be believed. In fact, one would be better served believing the exact opposite of whatever they report.

The people occupying top positions in federal government are not there for your well-being. They are there for their own well-being. They could care less about you. To them, you are chattel, mules, sheep, slaves, tax donkeys. Ignore them and their laws. They are illegitimate.

START HERE: Joe Biden won the election.

PROCEED TO: Trump incited the Capitol insurrection.

STOP AT: Cases are rising.

It's time to take the lid off and turn the tables on the cheaters, the liars, the occupiers, and deceivers.

Do not comply. Or, would you rather have to show a vaccination passport to eat at a restaurant, attend a baseball game or a concert, or even to shop at your local supermarket?

That's where this is all headed. It was planned and plotted out well in advance. Only truth-seeking Americans and people in other countries can stop it.

So find another fool like before
'Cause I ain't gonna live anymore
Believing
Some of the lies
When all of the signs are deceiving

-- "Eye in the Sky" Alan Parsons Project, 1982, Songwriters: Eric Woolfson, Alan Parsons

Then Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves.

-- Matthew: 21:12

Pfizer Says COVID Jab "100% Effective" On Children Aged 12 To 15

Private employers added back 517,000 jobs in March, missing expectations: ADP

At the Close, Wednesday, March 31, 2021:
Dow: 33,066.96, -104.41 (-0.31%)
NASDAQ: 13,045.39, -14.25 (-0.11%)
S&P 500: 3,958.55, -12.54 (-0.32%)
NYSE: 15,626.11, +14.22 (+0.09%)

Alan Parsons Project: Sirius/Eye In the Sky Live in Columbia (please note all the maskless young people enjoying the music the way it should be)

What To Do With $1400 Stimulus; Stocks, Gold, Silver, Bitcoin, Guns, Golf Clubs, Robot Lawn Mowers?

Many Americans have already received their $1400 government stimulus checks and it appears the vast majority of people are saving at least a portion of it, which is a pretty wise move, considering 40% of Americans can't come up with $500 in an emergency.

There's been lots of talk about what to do with that newfound cash, so Money Daily set about to find the neat things one could buy with the $1400.

Getting the obvious out of the way, $1400 will not purchase a single ounce of gold (around $1700, currently), though, from the looks of things, the central bankers want to make $1400 possible through their endless price bashing on the COMEX.

It will not buy much Bitcoin (around $59,000), though even having 0.02372881 of a bitcoin would put you close to the worldwide average.

Silver, the most undervalued asset on the planet, is currently selling for around $24.30 on the COMEX, but that's a 1000-ounce bar price. If one could acquire silver at that price, $1400 would net just over 57 ounces, a pretty good haul. The reality is that one would more than likely be buying from an online dealer. One of the best around is Scottsdale Mint, and their 10-ounce "Stacker" at roughly $310-320 per piece (depending on payment method) would be a solid choice if one wishes to wait 3-4 weeks for delivery. It's the same at most other online precious metal retailers.

Your $1400 would net you four of those beauties, with some money to spare. Those not wihing to wait could go to eBay, where prices are higher, but delivery is quicker. 10-ounce bars are going for around $330-350, so one might be able to pick up four and have them right away. Bidding is fierce, however. The silver shortage is for real. Money Daily's proprietary Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark came in Sunday at $41.77, so buying single ounce pieces is likely to cost more per ounce.

How about stocks?

$1400 can get you less than three shares of Netflix (NFLX, $513.95), just two shares of Tesla (TSLA, $611.29), or 11 shares of Apple (AAPL, $121.39). If you dream of owning some of Alphabet, parent of Google, you're out of luck (GOOG, $2,055.95). You'll have to settle for five or six shares of Microsoft (MSFT, $235.24).

Getting beyond the investment mode, there are thousands of everyday items for around $1000. Here are a few lists, especially if you're in the gift-giving mode:

Gifts for around $1000
More gifts for around $1000
Even more gifts for around $1000

These run the gamut. Among the ideas are robot vacuum cleaners, headphones, TVs, computers, drones, security systems, full body massage chairs, coffee machines, chronograph watches, vintage sneakers, bikes, necklaces, boots, golf clubs, electric fireplaces, telescopes, digital picture frames, robotic lawn mowers, and much more. Some are more practical than others, but unless one really doesn't need $1000 extra cash, these seem more like splurge items than anything else.

For the money, fixing up the house could be a solid way to go. Adding some nicer features to a kitchen or bathroom goes a long way toward self-satisfaction while improving the resale value of a home.

Others will opt for hunting gear, guns, ammo, and the like. If binge-watching is your thing, a nice TV and a decent couch can easily be found for under $1400.

That amount of money can certainly buy lots of canned goods and other "prepper" items. A water purifier might be handy in a SHTF situation.

While no answer is correct, what to do with $1400 conjures up all kinds of ideas, some more practical, skeptical, or ethical than others.

With more than enough money being printed routinely by the Federal Reserve and Joe Biden talking about the "next" stimulus, this question is more than likely to pop up again soon.

At the Close, Monday, March 29, 2021:
Dow: 33,171.37, +98.49 (+0.30%)
NASDAQ: 13,059.65, -79.08 (-0.60%)
S&P 500: 3,971.09, -3.45 (-0.09%)
NYSE: 15,611.88, -70.66 (-0.45%)

WEEKEND WRAP: Wild Week-Long Ride For All Asset Classes As Stocks, Bonds, Cryptos, Metals Fall And (Some) Rise

Trifurcated is the word for the week just past in equity investing. The week fell into three distinct regimens. Monday saw across the board gains in all the major indices. From Tuesday's opening bell to just after 11:00 am ET on Thursday, those same measures were all going in the opposite direction.

Thursday afternoon through Friday's close was all buying, all the time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained nearly 1000 points during that last period. After falling to a low of 32,076.11, the Dow just kept on rising, finally closing out the week at an all-time closing high of 33,072.88.

The same pattern repeated across the other averages. The S&P 500 dropped to 3,854.57 on Thursday morning and set off on a 120-point romp to complete the week. It too finished at an all-time high (3,974.54). The NASDAQ wasn't quite so lucky. Though it followed the same pattern, it still ended up with a loss for the week - its fifth in the last six. The NYSE Composite ended the week on the positive side, though it was still short of a record close (15,775.50, 3/15/21).

Attempting to find catalysts for the fall and rise of US stock markets is a fool's errand. One could point to any number of events - financial, political, societal - to explain why stocks went down, then up, and still not have a convincing argument. Anything from the continuing immigrant explosion at the US southern border to the stuck cargo ship, Ever Given, in the Suez Canal blocking all traffic through the busiest shipping lane in the world to the collapse of yields on long-dated treasuries could have contributed to the movements in stocks, and all surely did to some degree, but none can be positively, individually tied to the week's trading.

If anything, the news flow was decidedly negative over the course of the week. Computer algos apparently only scan positive headlines or interpret them as such, especially when indices dip down to their 50-day moving averages, which was the exact case for the S&P 500 and late Thursday morning the exact time it began to rise. Not to put too cynical a spin on it, but the reason stocks went up at the end of the week was because they were down.

Analysis of markets in a controlled environment as exists today is not a worthwhile endeavor. It's more apparent than ever that stocks move on purely technical terms, bouncing off ceertain data points with nothing at all to do with overlaying economic conditions, fundamentals, or significant events.

With stocks invariably, existentially tied to debt markets, the week's gyrating yields on long-dated treasuries had more to do with stocks and money flows than anything else. The 10-year note fell from 1.74% at the end of last week (3/19) to as low as 1.62% by Wednesday, finally bumping ahead to 1.67% at Friday's close. The 30-year took the same route, falling from 2.45% to 2.31%, eventually closing at 2.37%. Both continue untamed, relevant, extended, and close to the high end of the recent range.

The Fed's efforts to tamper and tamp down the long bonds, either through direct intervention or superfluous "jawboning" about the absence of inflation is seeing limited success. Their distortions of fundamental market forces are the likely cause of other, mostly negative, effects elsewhere. Whatever they might like to do or say, there's little doubt about rising price inflation in goods and services throughout the US economy. It's simply economics 101. When you pump money into an environment almost endlessly, ceaselessly, prices are almost certain to rise. The question - seen on the sour faces of people shopping in grocery stores and supermarkets - is how high they will go, given the Fed and the government are dialed into the same line: 1-800-SPEND-MORE.

On the short end of the treasury curve, one-month, two-month, and three-month notes all dipped as low as .01% at varying times since March 16 and have been unable to rise past 0.03% during that period. Given that true inflation is running upwards of 10% annually, those rates, in real terms, are negative, as is everything that follows, all the way out to the 30-year.

None other than Ray Dalio, founder of the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, aligns with the Money Daily suggestion that nobody should be holding bonds when we made the case on February 10th, in the post, Bonds. No Bonds. Dalio recently stated that owning bonds was "stupid." It's a wonder it took him so long to figure that out.

As an explanatory note, consider buying a $30,000 vehicle versus buying a 10-year bond. You plunk down your $30,000 (or, if you're really game, you take advantage of 0% financing for seven years and keep much of your cash) to buy your vehicle. For the next 10 years, you have complete use and control of the vehicle, whether it be driving to and from work, hauling the kids or groceries around, or in use for a business. It's yours. You maintain it, pay for repairs, gas, insurance, tires and so forth, but it's a useful asset, and, if you use it for business purposes, you can claim depreciation on your taxes.

With the ten-year note, and, being generous, let's say you got a deal at 3.00% in 2011, you hand over your $30,000 to the US Treasury, and they give you back $900 every year for 10 years, at which time they give you back your original investment. Over that time, you've taken in $9,000. If you saved it all - which would be unlikely since you'd be paying taxes on it - you'd have $39,000. However, if you then thought about buying that very same car that cost $30,000 in 2011, it might run upwards of $45,000 today, at just four percent inflation. Although you've made an investment, it paid less than the rate of inflation. Yo u may have gained some currency, but you've lost purchasing power. There are better ways.

Naturally, nobody's getting three percent on their money today on the 10-year note, so the comparison is even worse using present values. Instead of taking in $900 a year on your investment, today's rates would net you a locked in $495 at 1.65%.

Like stocks and bonds, oil prices had an up-and-down week. To illustrate, here are the closing New York prices for WTI crude oil on the NYMEX:

3/19: 61.42
3/22: 61.55
3/23: 57.76
3/24: 61.18
3/25: 58.56
3/26: 60.97

Obviously, crude was in play, but the tug-of-war between the extended European CV-19 lockdowns, re-openings in the US, Suez Canal blockage, China slowdown, OPEC+ production cuts, and the usual price manipulation by producers contributed to some wild swings. Seems nobody has an accurate picture of the global condition, except that for now, that double top at $66 a barrel appears as considerable upside resistance and the entire complex is in backwardation as far as the eye can see. Futures prices are quoted lower over time, instead of higher, which is the usual condition.

Nor were cryptocurrencies excluded from the roller coaster ride. Over the past week, Bitcoin fell from a range from $56,000 - $58,000 to a low of $50,305 (Thursday, 8:30 am ET), which was apparently seen as a buying opportunity, as the price has raced higher since, currently quoted right around $56,000. For the "no-coiners" once again declaring the death of Bitcoin and all cryptos, the failure to hold new highs ($61,788, 3/15) is their latest deflection. What they fail to realize is that Bitcoin closed out February around $46,390, so it's up about 20% in March and the month isn't over... yet.

Gold and silver were probably the most stable of all the asset classes. They went down and stayed down as all compliant non-fiat money should. Gold started the week at $1749.60, fell as far as $1727.50, and ended the week at $1731.90. Silver was the most-hated asset on the planet, at least according to the COMEX. Starting from last weekend's closing price of $26.39, an ounce of the shiny stuff fell out of favor, bottoming Wednesday at $25.05 before recovering to $25.39.

Elsewhere, in the real world, prices were again sporting high premiums and shortages of both metals were notable.

Here are the most recent prices paid for common gold and silver items for immediate delivery on eBay (numismatics excluded, shipping - often free - included):

Item: Low / High / Average / Median
1 oz silver coin: 37.75 / 50.90 / 43.42 / 42.00
1 oz silver bar: 36.12 / 50.00 / 41.14 / 40.50
1 oz gold coin: 1,875.75 / 2,100.00 / 1,938.52 / 1,919.50
1 oz gold bar: 1,808.00 / 1,976.00 / 1,848.03 / 1,833.98

As has been the case for many months, small quantity buyers are either simply ignoring COMEX wholesale price and LBMA spot guidelines or they've reached a point of speculative insanity from which there may not be any escape. Non-numismatic gold coins are now in extremely short supply. Everything is either fractional or collectible, with expected premiums, while gold bars are still plentiful and somewhat more uniformly priced with premiums much lower than those for coins. Silver continues to be red hot in small quantities with the new Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark down a slice from last week ($41.85) to $41.77.

Finally, an anonymous cryptic note of the week from somewhere in cyberspace:

To those in power, "citizens" are mules to do their work and sheep to be sheared.

They have the population under total control. They make you work, take their share up front, then tax you again everywhere, at all times, as often as possible.

Typical day in the life of a mule/sheep with the applied taxes/expenses in parentheses:

Get up, take a shower (water bill)

Make coffee, maybe breakfast (sales tax)

Get in car to go to work (car payment, insurance, excise taxes, fuel taxes, sales taxes)

Arrive at and spend 7-9 hours at work (federal, state, local income tax, SS tax (FICA), Medicare tax)

Pick up kids from school (School/education tax, police, fire district taxes)

Drive home (see above, plus, let's not forget property tax)

Have dinner (sales taxes again)

Watch TV (cable bill taxes, electricity bill tax, sales tax on TV purchase)

Go to sleep (sales tax on bed, pillows, blankets)

Everything you do is taxed, and, to make matters worse, the money they collect is ultimately wasted, so they have to borrow more, which is on your tax bill.

They are taxing interest on debt, which is all the fiat really is.

Some call it apathy, or fear of opposing the system. It's more like normalcy bias than anything else. Why do you think 80% of people are getting vaccinated?

Everybody's doing it, so it must be OK.

We should have listened to our parents when they said, "if everybody is jumping off a cliff, are you going to jump, too?"

We, as a people, have failed. We've allowed ourselves to be ruled and overseen by a select few who have their best interests - not ours - in mind.

Stop playing, stop paying. It's the only solution.

---

At the Close, Friday, March 26, 2021:
Dow: 33,072.88, +453.40 (+1.39%)
NASDAQ: 13,138.72, +161.04 (+1.24%)
S&P 500: 3,974.54, +65.02 (+1.66%)
NYSE: 15,682.54, +272.17 (+1.77%)

For the Week:
Dow: +444.91 (+1.36%)
NASDAQ: -76.51 (-0.58%)
S&P 500: +61.44 (+1.57%)
NYSE: +120.28 (+0.77%)

Day-Traders' Delight: Dow Wows With 940-Point Round Trip Thursday Turnaround

With the Dow down more than 340 points Thursday, it appeared that the Money Daily post prior to the market open - Stocks Looking For Reasons To Rally; None To Be Found - was proving to be prophetic.

All of the major indices were bleeding out, led lower by the NASDAQ, which has been the usual suspect over the past two weeks.

It was just after 11:00 am ET that things began to change. From that point, the Dow rallied from 32,071.41 to 32,672.69, taking a little off the top into the close for a nearly 200-point gain. The entire round trip, from the prior close, to the bottom, then to the top, encompassed 940 points, one of the better single-day turnarounds in market history. Certainly, this was one that left many investors scratching their heads because there really wasn't a good reason for stocks to rally other than that they were momentarily oversold.

Just like clockwork, when the S&P 500 broke below its 50-day moving average, the rally commenced. Obviously, some algo-triggering takes place at these important inflection points and Thursday was no exception. The fact that stocks kept rallying over the ensuing five hours into the close suggests that this was more than the ordinary dip-buying and surely nothing that could have been accomplished at the retail level, stimulus checks or otherwise.

It was the usual combination of buying the most-shorted issues, carrying on with favorites and overall bullishness that keeps Wall Street a casino flush with insider winners, all of which leads one to wonder whether this was a one-day wonder or a lasting reversal.

As with everything else in the bizarro-land the 21st century has become, we won't know until after the fact, making trading stocks, holding stocks, shorting stocks or even thinking about stocks an exercise not just in futility, but possibly exposing a masochistic side to the investing life. For years, passive investing has been the go-to methodology for making gains. General indices just go relentlessly higher over time. Pullbacks are brief and shallow. Life is good for people who allow others to manage their money even though it is not supposed to be that way.

For the hard-core trader, life is difficult standing aside the buy-and-holders who aren't responsible for their gains or losses. The trader needs purpose. Ike a shark which dies if it doesn't constantly hunt and eat, the trader must buy and sell in order to survive, which is exactly why they've become nearly extinct. Today's trading is mostly computerized, employing advanced strategies and algorithms to minimize risk. While profits are not always maximized for the passive investor, the losses are few and far between, keeping the universe of hedge funds, retirement accounts, and general wealth funds and their managers all propped up and spending weekends on their yachts.

It's a cozy club at the top because they’re beneficial to the market as a whole. You don't have to do a thing, they say. Just leave it to the masters of the universe and all will be well.

From the looks of things from Thursday, they've got the bull by the horns and appear to be in complete control.

Yawn. Baseball's regular season begins next week. Even with its slow pace, the American pastime might prove a little more exciting than the usual offerings from lower Manhattan.

At the Close, Thursday, March 25, 2021:
Dow: 32,619.48, +199.42 (+0.62%)
NASDAQ: 12,977.68, +15.79 (+0.12%)
S&P 500: 3,909.52, +20.38 (+0.52%)
NYSE: 15,410.37, +133.81 (+0.88%)

Stocks Looking For Reasons To Rally; None To Be Found

This has not been a very good week for stocks, but it's nothing a few days of rallies can't fix. Through Wednesday, the Dow Industrials are off 203 points, the NASDAQ has shed 253 points, has spent the past two days trading below its 50-day moving average and is once again approaching correction territory.

Another rough session will send the NAZ into the red for the year (12,888.28) and it doesn't even have to be that bad. A little more than -0.5% would do it.

While the NASDAQ appears to be a troubling index highlighted by weakness in tech stocks, the rest of the market isn't nearly as ugly. The aforementioned Dow Jone Industrial Average marked a new all-tine high just last week (33,015.37, 3/17), though it has suffered losses four of the past five sessions. Wednesday's late-day collapse knocked off a 365-point gain intraday, a turnaround that portends ill for the remainder of the week.

The Dow is still sporting healthy gains for the year, up more than 1700 points (30,606.48, 12/31/20) or roughly five percent.

A mixed bag for the S&P 500, which, like the Dow, has been down four of the past five days. On March 17, it got to within 17 points of 4,000 before closing slightly off the highs of the day, at 3,974.12. It's lost 50 points since Monday and is clinging to a gain of less than four percent for 2021 (3,756.07, 12/31/20).

On the NYSE Composite, five straight losses have it resting just above the 50-day moving average.It too made a record closing high on the 17th (15,731.15), and is up 5.17% on the year (14,524.80, 12/31/20), the best of all the major indices. The Composite is down 286 points so far this week.

It would be presumptive to suggest that all the main averages should go negative for the year, though that prospect is rearing its ugly head this morning. Just prior to the release of two key data points (final 4Q GDP and weekly unemployment claims), futures took a severe turn to the downside, wiping out modest overnight gains.

Oddly enough, both releases were somewhat positive, as GDP came in at 4.3%, revised 0.2% higher than last month's estimate, and just 684,000 people filed initial unemployment claims, a post-pandemic low. The total number of individuals claiming some form of unemployment relief rose, however, back above 19 million, a discouraging sign for the "recovery" boosters.

Stocks aren't the only things falling off the wagon this week. Gold, silver, and cryptocurrencies have all been driven down. Bitcoin fell to $50,305.00 just moments ago. Silver is bid at 24.54, and is down for 2021, as is gold, though it is holding up well at $1731 per ounce.

The opening bell is just minutes away. Futures are indicating a slow start to Thursday's session.

(Post 3003)

At the Close, Wednesday, March 23, 2021:
Dow: 32,420.06, -3.09 (-0.01%)
NASDAQ: 12,961.89, -265.81 (-2.01%)
S&P 500: 3,889.14, -21.38 (-0.55%)
NYSE: 15,276.56, -69.96 (-0.46%)

Stocks Knocked; Techs Under Pressure; Oil Skid Continues; New Home Sales Drop 18 Percent

Even as longer duration bond yields fell, there wasn't much to wrap a trade around Tuesday sending the major averages slipping into the red across the board.

Yields on the 10-year note and 30-year bond were 1.63% and 2.34%, respectively, each down 11 basis points over the two sessions from Friday’s close.

After stocks vacillated across the unchanged line with slim gains through most of the morning, non-committal waves of selling began to appear in the afternoon, accelerating into the close.

For the Dow Jones Industrials and S&P 500, it was the third losing session in the last four. The NYSE Composite Index fell for a fourth straight day while the NASDAQ was a loser for the second time in the last four, trading in a resistance range just below its 50-day moving average, a level its found hard to shake free from for the past month after falling off from all-time highs.

Part of the problem for stocks is the uncertainty of economic recovery in the developed European nations and the United States. While America seeks to rebound with states reopening to business as usual, Germany, France, Italy, and the UK continue to be beset by a third wave of the neve-ending virus that has battered economies for the past year. Travel restrictions, mask mandates, and all manner of social distancing disorder have become the norm in the the four biggest European economies.

Such discomfiture sent oil futures to six-week lows, well off the 11-month highs made two weeks ago. WTI crude oil closed at $57.76 a barrel, down $3.69 from Monday's finish at $61.55 a punishing five percent decline, an indication that if economic recovery is going to occur at all, it will be in fits and starts, with many surprises and setbacks along the way.

As cliche as it sounds, markets are not appreciative of uncertainty, the displeasure becoming manifest in recent days, even as stimulus checks are rolling out in the USA with estimates of as much as 20% of the individual $1400 booty earmarked for stock trading.

That retail buyers would end up eventual bag-holders would not be surprising given that stocks have been highly-valued for months, if not years. A wash out correction led by tech stocks which have already been hard hit could be days or weeks away.

More optimistic analysts predict equities to continue rising as economic data indicates an improving condition, but positive data has been scant of late. Monday's Existing Home Sales for February from the National Association of Realtors showed a 6.6% monthly decline, although home prices remained at astronomical levels, rising to a record of $313,000 for the median-priced home, 15.8% higher from one year ago.

At best, recent data drops have been a mixed blessing. Tuesday's new home sales 2:00 pm ET release was the likely culprit for the stock selloff, as it showed a decline of 18.2% in February. Taking the worst of it were Midwest builders, where sales were off a whopping 37.5% month-over-month, the data skewed by unusually harsh weather conditions.

All of these shifting winds have Wall Street in a tight spot, making for tough trading while calling for deeper analysis. For now, until there is more directional clarity, it appears the economy is still operating at close to stall speed and stocks should respond as they have been for the past month, sideways to slightly down. Desire for more positive news is growing, though it has not yet reached the desperation stage.

Thursday's final estimate of 2020 fourth quarter and year-end US GDP should be the capper for the week. Expectations are for the quarterly figure to come in at 4.1%, in line with the second estimate from February.

(Post 3002)

At the Close, Tuesday, March 23, 2021:
Dow: 32,423.15, -308.05 (-0.94%)
NASDAQ: 13,227.70, -149.84 (-1.12%)
S&P 500: 3,910.52, -30.07 (-0.76%)
NYSE: 15,346.53, -205.05 (-1.32%)

Key To Recovery Will Be Demographics, Especially Millennials and Generation Z

For years, it's been widely reported - thus assumed to be true - that 10,000 Baby Boomers retire every day, and, the numbers generally hold to that standard. That's an enormous number of people leaving work permanently, ostensibly their positions replaced by younger people with years to go before hitting the porch rocker and shuffleboard courts.

It's 3,650,000 people a year, so, logically, there should be plenty of job openings for those both after 1964, the official end of the Baby Boom generation (1946-64). But, is that enough? The generations following the Baby Boomers - Generation X: (1965 – 1980), Millennials: (1981 – 1996) and Generation Z: (1997 – 2012) - make up 62.28% of the population, though anyone in Generation Z born later than 2003 hasn't yet entered the workforce, many of them still in college.

Thus, Generation X and Millennials comprise nearly 42% of the adult population and workforce, roughly 138 million and they make up the bulk of the US labor force. Baby Boomers account for just 69 million, and, as of 2020, most of them haven't reached full retirement age (65-67). Those born in 1954 just turned 66 last year. There's 10 more years (1955-1964) of Baby Boomers still heading toward the glory years, still out there grinding away at 57, 60, or 62.

The math works out pretty well because it's not straight line calculus. Just because a Baby Boomer retires, does not mean that a Gen. Z college graduate will replace them. Jobs change over time. Many of the jobs Baby Boomers started out doing in their 20s aren't around any more. Factory jobs, for instance, have almost all gone to China or elsewhere. Telephony has morphed into cellular and the internet. And many of the jobs that remain now require a greater skill set, such as auto mechanics, the best of whom now must have a working understanding of computers n addition to basic car repair skills.

Over time, the labor market, despite many moving parts, is fairly static, and there are fewer Gen. Z individuals coming out of high schools and colleges than there are Baby Boomers retiring. From a demographic economic standpoint, there should be enough jobs available to support new entrants.

However, with 20 million people currently receiving unemployment benefits, the lockdowns from 2020 put a real kink in the link between generations and work. Workers aged 16-24 were hardest hit by work from home and lockdown regimens. That age group saw unemployment rise from 8.4% to 24.4% from Spring 2019 to Spring 2020, which is why there have been three rounds of stimulus checks and rent moratoriums. Those young folks, the least economically capable of navigating though tough times because they had little savings, have been left behind by what used to be the economic powerhouse of the United States. They don't have skills, or money, or jobs. Three strikes and you're out. Suicides among this age group have soared. Going forward, the outlook for unskilled youth is bleak.

Still, officials in Washington, DC, and media talkers still claim that recovery is right around the corner. Demographics and the rise of technlogy say otherwise.

A bright spot can be found in a darker place. In addition to roughly 10,000 Baby Boomers retiring every day, more than 5,000 of them die every day, or, about one every 17 seconds. While not such a cheery subject, Baby Boomer deaths of that magnitude is releasing a tidal wave of capital, much of it going straight into - you know where - the stock market. Millennials being the primary beneficiaries (children of Boomers), they're inheriting homes, collections, junk drawers, used cars, and retirement accounts often worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, and there's more on the way. About 2/3rds of Boomers are still alive.

Without being too morbid, generational wealth being passed along is usually a positive development, and, while that's all well and good for Millennials, it doesn't help out the younger cohort in Generation Z, at least not directly.

The hope is that America will, as it has done in the past, find a way through this rough economic patch. The unemployed youth of today will become the leaders of tomorrow. The Silent Generation and the Greatest Generation, spawned by the Great Depression, built post-war America. Generation Z's opportunity is to help Millennials rebuild an aging infrastructure and lead development and advancement of new technologies. The challenge is to do so largely by disregarding the dictates and wrong-footed realities of the elected people, many of the leaders well into their 70s and 80s.

Youth must look beyond the finger-pointing cancel culture, the distractions, the anger and hate brewed up by the mainstream media and start shaping a better 21st century, already one-fifth wasted. It's not too late for younger people to rise up and take the reins.

Sensing that the aging oligarchs in government won’t relinquish control without a fight, there’s a strong likelihood that the economy will suffer some stresses along the way, making for what appears to be a tumultuous decade that’s just begun.

(Post #3001)

At the Close, Monday, March 22, 2021:
Dow: 32,731.20, +103.23 (+0.32%)
NASDAQ: 13,377.54, +162.31 (+1.23%)
S&P 500: 3,940.59, +27.49 (+0.70%)
NYSE: 15,551.58, -10.68 (-0.07%)

WEEKEND WRAP: Inflation Pressures Continue Mounting In Bonds, Base Metals, Despite Official Fed Muttering

Despite an overall down week, stocks remained buoyant as declines across major indices were uniformly less than one percent, with the Dow the best, losing just under 0.50% and the NYSE dropping by just under one percent.

Stocks started the week upbeat, but ended with two straight sessions on the downside, save for the NASDAQ, which was the only major to manage a gain on Friday. This lackluster performance was likely the result of competing factions of rising long-term interest rates, the ongoing tech wreck, and anticipation of millions of $1400 checks being slowly doled out to Americans earning less than $75k per year, some of which (10-15% overall, or roughly $50 billion) is expected to be invested in equities.

While the bump from retail investors has yet to materialize, Mr. Market seems to be indicating that this could be a near-term top, as retail always comes in late, often too late, after stocks had legged up. If stocks sink a bit through April, it would be a normal happening for consume bag-holders.

Rising yields on 10-year notes and 30-year bonds are a screaming signal for at least a slowdown if not an outright correction. By almost any calculation, stocks are overvalued, though that sentiment is partially obscured by ongoing Federal Reserve QE and those juicy stimulus checks and added unemployment benefits being rolled out.

While the higher yields might not exactly be in competition with dividend yields on stocks, they're close enough to have people paying attention, plus, if they're treasuries, they're considered almost risk-free, and, smart bond buyers can have them at a discount, making them quite attractive to high-income individuals and funds. The flow hasn't reversed just yet, but the effect of high yields at the long end of the curve is beginning to become a worry for markets.

Yield on the 10-year note rose 10 basis points, from 1.64% to 1.74% over the week, while the 30-year rose five basis points, from 2.40% to 2.45%, both of which are the highest in more than a year. The last time rates were at these levels was roughly from June of 2019 through mid-January 2020, during which stocks gained, though we all know what happened in February 2020, when the pandemic struck and stocks sank.

It appears that current interest rates won't likely be enough to cause a stampede out of equities, though levels with the 10-year over 2.5 percent and the 30 above 3.0% might. With Fed talking down inflation every chance they get, it's almost a certainty that interest rates will continue rising and stocks will flounder over the medium term. Spring and Summer may turn out to fall into the "sell in May and stay away" category and by fall, the inflationary overhang of relentless QE and government overreach in terms of largesse, deficit, and stimulus (congress is already discussing the next round) will be unmistakable.

A shift from risk assets to fixed income to cash and then to parts unknown is an emerging pattern, though, like all things financial, is not yet obvious to most and won't occur in a straight line pattern. There will be bumps, grinds, euphoria and despair aplenty along the way. From a purely irrational, unattached perspective, stocks would seem to be unable to reproduce this year the outsized gains from March 2020 through the present. Using year-end figures, there doesn't seem to be a discernible pattern for gains or losses in stocks overall. WIth the NASDAQ an outlier, the main indices are up five to six percent overall year-to-date. Even the NASDAQ is holding onto a slim gain just over two percent, having closed out 2020 at 12,888.

If indicators are a friend of the investor, perhaps the price of oil was showing the way this week as WTI crude took a nosedive this week. After reaching what appears to be a double top ($66.09 on 3/5; $66.02 on 3/11), the price of a barrel fell below $60 briefly on Thursday before rallying Friday to close out the week at $61.42. While the United States seems hell-bent on reopening schools, businesses and the economy, Europe is struggling with a third wave of COVID, and that seems to be putting some pressure on demand, along with warming Northern Hemisphere temperatures following what was, in total, a relatively ordinary winter, outside of Texas, of course.

Slack demand and oversupply usually equates to lower prices, so, at a time in which oil was rocketing higher (up from the high $30s to low $40s in November and December to over $60 in just four months), some pullback was to be expected. The price ran ahead of projections for both economic recovery and return to normal patterns, which is happening at a snail's pace.

Cryptocurrencies spent the week hitting the pause button after Bitcoin nearly topped $62,000 last Saturday. It spent the week grinding lower, currently pricing at $56,000-$58,000. While this price level may be disappointing to some true believers, it's still good for an 800% gain from a year ago, so nobody is as yet pulling their hair out.

For the Week:
Dow: -150.67 (-0.46%)
NASDAQ: -104.63 (-0.79%)
S&P 500: -30.24 (-0.77%)
NYSE: -152.95 (-0.97%)

Precious metals had a productive, if uninspiring, week, with gold rising from $1726.85 to $1,749.60, while silver took it on the chin, dropping from $26.60 per ounce to $26.39. Silver seems to be stuck in a range between $25 and $27, with seemingly no escape from the clutches of the LBMA and futures trading, which has managed to meep a lid on prices despite widespread reporting of shortages and shipping delays from online dealers.

An interesting story is still developing out of Perth Mint, which recently ran out of finished silver products for sale at retail. The reddit crowd over at r/wallstreetsilver wants to believe that its efforts are having some effect on global inventories, and, undeniably, to an extent, they are, but Perth Mint answered its critics in a blog post on Wednesday, March 17.

While claiming there was in fact no physical shortage of the metal, and that Perth Mint was focusing on producing one ounce Aussie Kangaroos, there are, in fact, no 2020 or 2021 Kangaroos available for sale. The seemingly conflicting information has prompted a lively debate. In the grand scheme of things, silver is still significantly undervalued and finished products continue to fly off shelves at super premium prices, when even available.

Here are the most recent sale prices for common one ounce gold and silver items for immediate delivery on eBay (numismatics excluded, shipping - often free - included.

Item: Low / High / Average / Median
1 oz silver coin: 35.50 / 44.00 / 40.92 / 41.25
1 oz silver bar: 36.78 / 49.99 / 42.38 / 42.86
1 oz gold coin: 1,881.52 / 2,021.63 / 1,951.39 / 1,949.14
1 oz gold bar: 1,829.95 / 2,050.73 / 1,873.96 / 1,854.20

What's demonstrated by the gold and silver prices for immediate delivery is that extraordinarily-high premiums still command the market, though silver slipped somewhat over the course of the week, with the Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) falling to $41.85. The auction and individual ounce market remains red-hot, however, with silver premiums upwards of 60% over spot. Gold, due to its higher average and median values, still carries premiums over 13% for common coins, and about 10% over spot for bars and rounds.

While the precious metals wholesale market remains moribund and the retail market in tight supply, there's no mistaking the real rally in base commodities. Zinc, Tin, Nickel, Copper, Lumber, and Aluminum have all risen steadily - if not spectacularly - over the pst year, yet another indication that inflation is well entrenched, despite what government and Federal Reserve mouthpieces have to say.

When Money Daily recommended canned goods on Friday, not only will the contents of such purchasing now act as a future inflation hedge, the packaging may turn out to be one of the best investments of the decade.

That's a WRAP for this 3000th posting of Money Daily.

At the Close, Friday, March 19, 2021:
Dow: 32,627.97, -234.33 (-0.71%)
NASDAQ: 13,215.24, +99.07 (+0.76%)
S&P 500: 3,913.10, -2.36 (-0.06%)
NYSE: 15,562.26, -26.81 (-0.17%)

NASDAQ Tumbles Again, Pulling Dow, S&P Off Record Highs; Long Bonds Issue Warnings

Just a day after making new all-time highs, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrials tumbled in sympathy with the NASDAQ, where tech stocks dragged the index lower, ending a string of three straight positive sessions.

It was the worst loss of the year for the NASDAQ, and its worst one-day performance since falling 427 points this past October 28. The NASDAQ closed at an all-time high of 14,095.47 on February 12. Since then it's down nearly seven percent, hitting a closing low of 12,609.16 on March 8 which put it into correction territory with a 10% loss from the prior high.

While the NASDAQ continues to lag the other indices, it's worth noting that the gap continues to be substantial. The Dow and NYSE Composite are less than one percent off record highs, while the S&P is less than two percent below its record close on Wednesday. While the NASDAQ has been the leading index on the way up through the post-sub-prime-crisis years, it makes sense that it would be the leader on the way back down.

So, if the NAZ is falling faster than the other indices, it would serve as an indicator of what's to come in a simplistic sort of way. Also, if investing, making money, and keeping money safe was that easy, wed all already be rich and there would be no reason to invest in anything. We could just hand down our wealth to the kids and they could ride off into the future with saddlebags full of dough.

In the real world in which we're forced to engage more often than we'd like, there are such things as taxes, expenses, health issues, car accidents, natural disasters, and untold numbers of human errors which make life a little less bearable than a stock market and cryptocurrency utopia. It's against this real world backdrop to which we have to gauge our appetite for risk, ability to earn, saving discipline, health, and future expectations. The calculations and extrapolations often collide with unknowns, making precise future predictions all but impossible. The best one can hope for is to hold reasonably correct assumptions about the various elements in finances, keep to some sane degree of caution versus risk and have a strategy designed to reach expected outcomes.

In markets such as exist today, where passive investments have outperformed active trading regimens, one big, bad downturn or mistake can take everything away in a rush. Investments are crowded. Certain market segments are overcrowded and overvalued, ripe for profit-taking. Therein lies the risk to markets, investments, whole economies. Nobody can reasonably assume that stocks will continue to rise, virtually unimpeded, forever, though that's been the case for more than 12 years, since stocks bottomed out in March of 2009. Eventually, the party ends, everybody staggers home at some degree of happiness or depression. The smartest will have left early. The happiest will have left early, returned, had more fun and gone home long before the last stragglers find the door.

It could be reasonably discerned that we're getting close to that last straggler condition in markets. On the contrary, the party seems to be at its peak or just past it, roaring along, which is usually when the police arrive, alerted by some neighbor who isn't exactly appreciative of loud noises late at night. When that happens, either everybody quiets down or some people get pulled off in a squad car. Shortly thereafter, a bunch of people leave, but the celebration continues, albeit at a less-enthusiastic pace. That's probably where we are today. People are still throwing money at stocks, cryptos, commodities, but they're a little more wary of the outcomes. They've made some money and don't like losing (nobody does). Money is still loose, but the rapidity of the rise in yields on long-dated treasuries augurs ill for the future. Yield on the 10-year note (1.71%) reached its highest since January 2020. For the 30-year bond (2.45%), we have to go all the way back to November, 2019, for an equivalent.

These higher bond yields are broadcasting a message that business conditions are tightening. The "recovery" meme is for rubes. If the economy is supposed to be recovering from the corona crisis, why then are stocks at all-time highs, bitcoin close to record highs, and incomes higher in 2020 than in prior years. The twisted logic of the pandemic benefited a few large companies (Wal-Mart, Facebook, Google, Amazon, et. al.), but people still went about their routines, despite having to take different routes to get there. The drop-off in economic activity was contained largely to entertainment, travel, and leisure. Most other businesses of size carried along as usual and most of the effect was in the summer and fall of 2020. Most people have resumed somewhat normal routines. Any recovery that's going to happen isn't going to produce much of a bang.

There are still gains to be made, but maybe not in the usual places. Even though there will be millions of $1400 checks being issued over the next few weeks, not everybody is buying stocks with all of it or even some of it. Only about 15-20% of that money is going into stocks or cryptos. The rest is going into paying bills, shoring up households, savings. When that money hits the markets - by April 15, more or less - one might as well ring a bell, roust up the sleepers and send them on their way. The party is going to wind down. The NASDAQ and the 10-year note yield popping upwards of 1.70% are providing clues that it's time to take a step back, watch, learn, listen, and look for opportunities.

Friday is known as a quad witching day, on which stock index futures, stock index options, stock options, and single stock futures expire simultaneously. These occur on the third Friday nearing the end of each quarter, March, June, September, and December. There's usually a bit of volatility as fund managers square up positions and money is reallocated, though there's often less drama than the pundits would have us believe. Friday may be a good day to take some profits, pare down losses (who has those, and what are they?) or at least take account of balances and devise a workable exit strategy.

At the Close, Thursday, March 18, 2021:
Dow: 32,862.30, -153.07 (-0.46%)
NASDAQ: 13,116.17, -409.03 (-3.02%)
S&P 500: 3,915.46, -58.66 (-1.48%)
NYSE: 15,589.07, -142.07 (-0.90%)

Jerome Powell and the FOMC Flying Usury Circus

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, and his colleagues at the FOMC issued a statement regarding current interest rate policy and then held a press conference to discuss aspects of their ongoing operations.

According to people in the financial media, it was a big deal. This, despite the press release being almost a carbon copy of their last press release, and no change in the federal funds interest rate (0.0-0.25%), had lots of people on edge until the 2:00 pm ET announcement and somehow ended up being net positive for stocks. All of the major indices finished the session with gains, most of them made after the FOMC announcement and Powell's press conference.

It's interesting that so many people, with so much money, pay so much attention to a bunch of egghead economists who have basically wrecked the economy and debased the US$ currency by 98% over the past 107 years. Why would people commit time and effort to figure out what this group of people is doing when, on the surface, they don't really do much at all?

Well, for really, really rich people and people who manage money and assets for those people, little changes can add up to lots of money gained or lost. Big, multi-national corporations like to know that they can continue borrowing at close to zero percent interest and for how long. For those people, the Fed has maintained a constant green light pretty much since March of 2009.

People who have mortgages on their homes, vacation homes, second homes, or commercial property want to know that mortgage rates are going to stay low, being that the federal funds rate has implications for all other interest rates.

For people without much “skin in the game,” i.e., people without stocks or mortgages, the Fed’s actions mean little. Many people out in the real world pay rent instead of owning a home, and, if they’re fortunate enough to have a job, get paid in Federal Reserve Notes (AKA US$), pay their bills with cash or checks, and don’t really pay much attention to Powell and his fellow eggheads. These people are commonly referred to as “consumers,” because they consume things in the economy, like food, clothing, cars, kitchen sinks, toys, computers, and assorted goods and services that keep the economy and businesses humming along.

If, however, these consumers have a personal loan, student loan, car payment, credit card, or any other kind of debt, they are confused by all the interest in the Fed and why their interest rates are so high if big institutions can borrow money for almost nothing.

For instance, depending on one’s credit score, a new car loan can carry an interest rate as low as 4% and as high as 14%. Used car loan rates range between 6% and 21%.

Credit card rates are even worse, ranging from 14% to 25%, with penalty rates at high as 29.99%. If a consumer misses a payment or go over your credit limit they get hit with the higher rate. Credit card issuers can increase the interest rate on credit cards for any reason if the account is more than one year old and there’s no limit to how high that rate can go. They also can assess various penalties which cost the consumer even more.

So, if a person is late or misses a payment, the credit card company or bank usually increases the interest rate and likely to limit the line of credit. If a big company has trouble paying off a loan - at a very low interest rate - the bank will likely call and make arrangements, loan them more money, and, if they get into serious trouble, the Fed - yes, Jerome Powell and his egghead buddies - will bail them out.

It’s a very unlevel and unfair playing (and paying) field. It's very troubling because consumers purchase goods and services produced by the big corporations. They get low interest rates, mark up their products and charge well beyond their costs to produce, and the consumer pays, often not just the higher price (inflation), but a premium if purchased with a credit card.

Personal credit cards have been a staple of American business since the 1960s. Prior to that, interest rates were reasonable and many states had what were then known as usury laws. Banks and credit companies could not charge above a certain percentage rate. Usury laws had their origins in the Roman Empire. Beginning somewhere around 443 BC, interest rates on all loans were capped at 8 1/3%. This rate persisted almost worldwide until until 1543 AD, nearly 2000 years.

As populations grew and time marched forward to the industrial revolution, various countries and states within the United States began to write their own usury laws. Many states capped interest rates at 12 to 18%, but in 1979, the landmark Supreme Court decision in Marquette National Bank v. First of Omaha Service Corporation changed everything, allowing nationally-chartered banks to "export" their interest rate from the state in which they were incorporated, doing an end run around state usury laws.

Since then, usury laws have been nullified by federal laws superseding them. Effectively, there are no usury laws in the United States. Banks and oher financial firms can charge whatever interest rate they see fit, often referred to as predatory lending which encompasses almost of the financial industry that has been making enormous profits from consumers for decades. So-called payday loans charge interest as high as 350%, making a $1000 loan cost $4500 over the course of a year. It's actually not criminal, though it should be.

The US congress (oh, boy, them again) has allowed interest rates on credit cards and consumer loans to rise unregulated since the 1980s. A few attempts to establish a national usury rate have failed, primarily because people in congress are lobbied extensively by banks and financial firms are among the top donors to political campaigns. Thus, people in congress have juxtaposed their constituencies from the district or state they represent to the people who finance their campaign. Congress - in terms of banking and consumer protection, as well as in many other areas - doesn't represent people; it represents business, at the expense of people.

To eliminate confusion about why corporations get the best deals on interest rates and consumers get the shaft, one need look no further than congress and the Federal Reserve, which, in addition to openly promoting inflation, could reinstate usury laws, since they exert so much control over banks and credit institutions, but they don't and they won't.

That's why people pay so much attention to Jerome Powell and his FOMC Flying Usury Circus. It affects everybody in some way, from low, low interest rates for business, to high, high interest rates and inflation for consumers.

Just since 2000, total US consumer credit has increased from $1.7 trillion to over $4.5 trillion. The country is having its currency strip-mined by banks and financial firms. The Fed and congress enable it and actively promote it.

Announced Thursday morning, 770,000 people filed for unemployment benefits last week.

At the Close, Wednesday, March 17, 2021:
Dow: 33,015.37, +189.42 (+0.58%)
NASDAQ: 13,525.20, +53.63 (+0.40%)
S&P 500: 3,974.12, +11.41 (+0.29%)
NYSE: 15,731.15, +61.85 (+0.39%)

Stupid People Are Running (and Ruining) Everything

Time magazine used to be the standard for excellence in magazine journalism. Over the past number of years, the once-proud bastion of liberal news-making has slipped into irrelevance due to the evolution of the internet, sagging sales and advertising revenue, sketchy (at best) reportage, but mostly, bad leadership characterized most prominently by stupidity.

Take, for instance, their choices for "Person of the Year" over the past 10 years shown below. Four of them weren't even individual people (2011, '14, '17, '18). Making the case for extended stupidity, in 2006, the Person of the Year was awarded to "You" (kidding you not).

The other six included a three US presidents (and one VP, Harris), one for a second time (Obama), a foreign leader ((Merkel), a Pope and a nagging, teenaged environmentalist, proving just how short-sighted the editors at Time are, that they can't see beyond the people most prominent in the media, and those just seeking attention.

2011: The Protester

2012: Barack Obama

2013: Pope Francis

2014: Ebola Fighters

2015: Angela Merkel

2016: Donald Trump

2017: The Silence Breakers

2018: The Guardians and the War on Truth

2019: Greta Thunberg

2020: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris

Looking back over the past decade, this list is pretty disappointing, not so much that the individual people are largely politicians, but that the magazine and its editors think they are the most influential, or powerful, or had contributed the most to the human experience over the course of a year. Where the heck are soccer moms, grocery store clerks, gardeners, carpenters, engineers, scientists, wedding planners, babies, and the vast array of people who make life worth living just by doing their jobs. Heck, there isn't even a movie star or pop singer among them.

For better or for worse, the world lives with the likes of the auteurs formerly known as Time magazine and other formerly-magnificent publications and media outlets like the Washington Post and NY Times, which still have reporters and opinion-makers who fall over each other trying to get the inside scoop from politicians who are shadows of the great leaders who came before them.

The same can be said of business and culture. The people at the top just aren't making it for the most part. Allowing for maybe a 10% drop-off, politicians are all dirty, journalists are all vapid, business leaders are all corrupt and greedy, and movie stars and pop culturalists are snobs. The world is falling to pieces because 99% of the population has some fascination or adoration (ughh!) with the one percenters who got to where they are either through inheritance, corruption, lying, cheating, or stealing.

Sure, some survived on talent, but has anyone taken a really close look at the people who are occupying the White House lately? These folks are devoid of common sense, driven by lust for power, have accomplished little, and care more about their personal appearance and mask etiquite than they do the American people.

The one prominent leader that had a backbone, accomplishments, savvy and fearlessness - Donald J. Trump - was pilloried and cancelled by the culturalists and a broken political, judicial, and journalistic system.

Americans are like sheep being led to slaughter, the vast majority of them going willingly to slaughter. After being told to stay home, lose your job, wear a mask, stay six feet apart, and don't sneeze for a year, lots of really, really stupid people have decided to get stuck in the arm with a needle containing a mystery vaccine concoction of chemicals and fluids that haven't been adequately tested just so they can get on with whatever small part of their lives are left to them.

No wonder stupid people are leading the way down the paths of destruction. The people following are even dumber.

Perhaps we're being a little to harsh in evaluating the power people of our time. Perhaps it's always been this way, but we've failed to notice until now, now that it's probably too late to matter, but, the people who make the rules and then don't follow them, just are not very impressive.

Joe Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, the cast of SNL, Grammy winners, just seem so... disingenuous, aloof, and lacking. America, and the world, deserves better.

---

Heads up on Wednesday's trading includes a 2:00 pm ET announcement by the FOMC of the Fed that interest rates are not changing. It's not a big deal unless the Fed’s move some of their dot plots around or Jerome Powell makes some noises about inflation or velocity or money supply, all of which seems unlikely.

Looking ahead, Friday is a quad-witching day for options and futures, which may be cause for volatility.

At the Close, Tuesday, March 16, 2021:
Dow: 32,825.95, -127.51 (-0.39%)
NASDAQ: 13,471.57, +11.86 (+0.09%)
S&P 500: 3,962.71, -6.23 (-0.16%)
NYSE: 15,669.30, -106.21 (-0.67%)

Gold, Silver, Stocks, Bitcoin, Canned Goods, Water, Guns, Ammo... What Do You Really Need?

It wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination to suggest that the current occupants of elected offices in Washington, DC (your executive, senators, representatives) would dearly love to have your guns.

After all, they've had the Capitol grounds surrounded by the National Guard for two months now. Nobody goes in or out of congress, the White House, or the Supreme Court without dealing with a phalanx of GWG (Guys With Guns) supposedly there to protect the precious few from the unruly many (US citizens). It's an odd thing, this occupation of the nation's capitol. Nobody living can remember anything quite like it. Many questions about why troops are stationed in and around the US Capitol remain unanswered, but one thing is certain: the National Guard isn't there just for show. Somebody's afraid of something, and it's probably the people on the inside, afraid of the people on the outside.

Having the ability to pass laws that would give the elected people access to all the guns in the country, or, at least a record of who has guns, might, in their squeamish little brains, give them some comfort and maybe even prompt the removal of the barricades and armed guards surrounding and supposedly protecting them.

House Democrats (and a few Republicans) recently passed a couple of acts designed to exert more control over gun ownership in the United States. The proposed legislation has to clear the senate, but will need 60 votes to pass procedural hurdles, so it's unlikely that their dreams of nearly complete gun control will come to fruition. A few more Democrats in congress and some arm-twisting of Republicans, however, could result in bans on popular sporting rifles, registration of all guns bought or sold in the country (even gun sales between relatives, neighbors, or friends, and no time limit on how long the FBI could take to complete a background check (it's currently three days, but their legislation would allow the FBI to hold up gun sales and purchases indefinitely).

These measures certainly seem to be on the extreme end of the spectrum and some say even violate the second amendment, which, if anybody wishes to recall, reads as follows:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.

That seems pretty straightforward to anybody at a fifth-grade reading level or better. Apparently, the current occupiers of the Capitol don't appear to have much of a sense for following the US Constitution, nor do they seem to have a working understanding of the words, "shall not be infringed," with emphasis on the word "infringed."

For their edification, and yours, here's a commonly-used definition of "infringe" from which "infringed" is derived in the past tense or as a past participle (thanks to both Mrs. Meyers for grammar school education):

infringe
[in?frinj]
VERB
infringed (past tense) · infringed (past participle)
actively break the terms of (a law, agreement, etc.).
"making an unauthorized copy would infringe copyright"
synonyms:
contravene · violate · transgress · break · breach · commit a breach of · disobey · defy · flout · fly in the face of · ride roughshod over · kick against · fail to comply with · [more]
act so as to limit or undermine (something); encroach on.
"his legal rights were being infringed" · [more]
synonyms:
undermine · erode · diminish · weaken · impair · damage · compromise · limit · curb · check · place a limit on · encroach on · interfere with · disturb · disrupt · trespass on · impinge on · intrude on · enter · invade · barge in on · burst in on · entrench on

Gee, golly, those synonyms... erode, diminish, weaken, impair, damage, compromise, limit, curb... sure make it sound like our Founding Fathers wanted everybody to at least have unfettered access to guns, i.e., having the right to bear Arms. All the laws, regulations, and limitations on gun ownership and possession seem to fly in the face of the founding document of the United States of America. According to some sources, there are more than 55,000 laws regarding gun possession scattered through federal, state, and local statutes. That sure seems like a lot of infringing by people who are elected by "we, the people" to uphold the constitution.

No wonder they're scared. They don't seem to be doing a very good job at following the law.

Leaving the constitutional argument hanging out there like a sore thumb, more immediate concerns for ordinary people - and even oddballs and extraordinary folks - involve money, finance, and choosing on what to spend those juicy stimulus checks.

Some banks and other financial outfits have done some studies on the topic and they've discovered that people used previous stimulus checks on food, rent, and paying down debt, but also on electronics, clothes, video games, bikes, and toys at major retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, and others.

Bank of America concludes that the "stimmie" will largely go toward saving rather than spending, while coindesk.com sees a suspiciously high percentage of people planning on buying some bitcoin.

Other anecdotal evidence points out that much of the $1400 doled out to everybody earning less than $75,000 is going into stocks, and smaller amounts into other assets like gold or silver. Some people have already committed to buying guns and/or ammo, so the wants and needs of Americans really run the gamut of preferences, assumedly determined by how concerned about the future one may be.

People who are readying for Armageddon, full scale rioting, gun-grabbing, government overreach and so on are the ones shoring up their food and water supplies. These types used to be laughed at and called "preppers," but, since the run on toilet paper last Spring and the threat of more lockdowns and travel restrictions still loons, nobody's laughing at them any more. Today, they're being hailed as realists with good doses of common sense. Over the past year, it's a good bat that a large number of people have joined their ranks or at least began thinking seriously about what they need to have on hand for emergencies.

The gold bugs and silver stackers continue to believe there's upside in those "ancient relics" and they're right. Both of the precious metals have been employed as money for centuries. If the economy goes into the tank or things continue to spiral out of control. having some hard assets like bars or coins might be a handy trading tool. At the very least, they'll retain their value if everything else is going to heck.

As for guns and ammo, that would likely depend upon where you live and how secure you are in your possessions. Folks in the cities might think conditions have become more dangerous of late and they'd be right. Crime in large urban centers has risen dramatically over the past 12 months. Personal protection is high on the list when it comes to survival. People out in more rural areas are likely to be already well-armed, have solid supplies of food and water (many have their own wells or access to water in the wild), and may just sock that dough away in their IRA or savings account. Some will surely buy stocks or bitcoin or gold or silver or all of them.

Bottom line, one cannot go wrong with some canned goods, and, while $1400 worth of beans, peas, carrots, olives, pickles, and assorted culinary treats might be a bit on the extreme side, putting up $100 to $200 worth of extra food and bottled water seems like a no-brainer. It's all about perspective.

Here's looking at you, Green Giant.

At the Close, Monday, March 15, 2021:
Dow: 32,953.46, +174.82 (+0.53%)
NASDAQ: 13,459.71, +139.84 (+1.05%)
S&P 500: 3,968.94, +25.60 (+0.65%)
NYSE: 15,775.50, +60.30 (+0.38%)

WEEKEND WRAP: Stimulus Bill Sends Stocks Soaring; Bitcoin Over $60,000; Long Bonds Battered

Other than the relentless gains that have persisted for the better part of the past 12 years, a very discernible pattern has emerged recently in equity markets.

It's quite simple, and sensible, in respect to the working parts of the macro-economy of financial markets. When the dollar is weak, longer-duration bonds are as well (higher yields), and equities generally perform positively. The troika of moving parts was evident this week and has been a prime indicator since the beginning of the COVID panic.

Thus, for the past year, investors have had a reliable set of markers by which to set their targets. For any trader worth his or her salt, the gains off the March 2020 lows have been easily taken with generous infusions and injections of spendable currency from the Federal Reserve and the government.

The week just past was exceptionally kind.

The Dow was higher every day last week amd enters next week riding a six-day winning streak along with the NYSE Composite. Following a Monday blood-letting, the NASDAQ, despite being down three of the five days, ended the week with a three percent gain. The S&P was the laggard of the bunch but still put up 101 fresh points, making all-time highs in the process, joined by the Dow Industrials and NYSE.

It was the best week for stocks since the beginning of November, 2020.

There really isn't much more to be said about the remarkable week for stocks other than to point out that the passage of massive stimulus bills usually produce positive results on Wall Street and this big one, signed into law by Joe Biden on Thursday, was no exception.

Also of interest was the renewed battle over GameStop (GME), or, rather, the battle upon GameStop stock, wherein all measurement of fundamental price and value has been discarded by bulls and bears alike, the platform upon which the stocks and options trade turned into an arcade game replete with villians and heroes, anti-heroes, antagonists and saviors.

The merry fellows from reddit.com group, r/wallstreetbets continue to buy into the stock to the utter dismay of the short-sided hedge funds which have renewed their efforts to wring out a profit from the beleaguered company's shares. Playing both sides of the trade are Wall Street sharpies, always ready to pounce upon an amoral or immoral situation with vigor.

Shares of the stock embarked upon another wild ride this week, opening Monday at 153, soaring to an apex at 344 on Wednesday, then abruptly dropping like a rock to 198 before recovering to close the day at 263. Thursday and Friday were mildly amusing, as shares changed hands on lower volume, but finished the week at 264. Chalk up a winning week for the whiz kids at wallstreetbets. The wizened hands at the hedge funds vow revenge as the battle for absurdly-valued trades rages.

Making life for stock jocks just a little more complex was the unusual action in the treasury complex, which was somehow managed into containment for the first four days of the week. Closing out at 1.56% and 2.28% on Friday, March 5, by Thursday, the 10-year and 30-year bond yields stood at 1.54% and 2.29%, respectively, still elevated, but seemingly within some controlled range.

Friday's abrupt sell-off changed the dynamic, as yields jumped to 1.64% on the 10-year note and 2.40% on the 30-year bond. Moves of 10 basis points over the course of one day on long-dated bonds are not normal occurrance, but stock traders barely noticed. All the indices but the NASDAQ were higher on Friday, though gains were pared down during the session.

This massive repricing in what is normally one of the more stable markets in the world is likely the result of two forces operating under similar principles. First, loss of faith in the Fed's ability to control the entire curve - from near-zero at the short end all the way out to 30-years - and, secondly, rising prospects in equity markets are producing monstrous imbalances and outflows. With the Fed sopping up most of the issuance, they're basically unwilling to pay a premium for securities yielding much less than the rate of inflation, which, according to the laughable CPI figures released Wednesday, was only higher by 0.4% in February and up 1.7% from a year ago.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand (Thursday, March 11 release) increased 0.5 percent in February, as prices for final demand goods rose 1.4 percent, and the index for final demand services advanced 0.1 percent. The final demand index increased 2.8 percent for the 12 months ended in February.

Realists assume the government numbers to be off by orders of magnitude, with true inflation closer to eight to 10 percent year-over-year. Studies like the Chapwood index and John Williams' Shadow Stats offer a more honest appraisal of consumer prices, rendering bond investments among the worst in terms of preservation of capital.

Speaking of preserving capital, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continue to rise as individuals and corporations seek safer harbors for their money. Bitcoin, quickly becoming the de facto reserve cryptocurrency, was bid higher through the week, eventually reaching a record high Saturday, vaulting over $60,000 to an all-time high of $61,788.45.

That bitcoin continues to rise at a nearly hyperbolic rate comes as no surprise to the serious adherents who have done their due diligence on he crypto universe and bitcoin in particular. As adoption becomes more widespread, since there are a finite amount of bitcoins available (21 million), price will reflect the desirability of ownership. This should be the same for precious metals, but, as has been proven without doubt, the central banking system's reliance upon suppression of currencies competing (gold, silver) with all forms of fiat (yen, euro, dollars, pounds, loonies, etc.) is a feature of debt-based economies, whereas bitcoin - via blockchain - has proven to be impenetrable, unmaleable, and reliable.

There is mathematical certainty in the price of bitcoin. It will rise until all participants are satisfied with the level of their individual holding, the cumulative effect being upwards in relation to depreciating currencies.

Looking at bitcoin's price from another perspective, it reflects the devaluation of fiat, allowing for some variance due to the level of satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) in respective currencies.

When all participants are secure in their holdings and satisfied with the price/value constituent, bitcoin will become less a tradable asset and more a medium of exchange. With more than 100 million bitcoin wallets worldwide and an estimated 11% of Americans owning some bitcoin, penetration into the mainstream is likely still in its infancy. As fiat currencies continue to devalue and self-destruct, alternatives such as bitcoin and etherium will be sought, bought, and held.

In addition to openly and aggressively devaluing their currencies by massive issuance, central banks and their respective governments will continue to try to infiltrate, control, or otherwise degrade, dismiss, or regulate cryptos. This creates a virtuous cycle (for bitcoin), as the more governments and central banks attempt control, the faster adoption will occur.

Considering that the market capitalization of gold in existence at current prices is just north of $10 trillion ad bitcoin is just over $1 trillion, it's obvious why masses and corporates alike are flocking to the crypto universe.

Precious metals continue to be under pressure and may be shunned even more as interest rates in long-dated US treasuries rise, though that particular gauge of value may itself be tested as underlying currencies are continually debased. It is only because of the LBMA's daily price fixing mechanism and outrageous shorting in the futures market that gold and silver haven't skyrocketed.

On the week, gold was up, from $1700.80 to $1,726.85, while silver advanced from $25.24 to $26.60 on the COMEX.

Here are the most recent sale prices on eBay for common gold and silver items (numismatics excluded, shipping - often free - included):

Item: Low / High / Average / Median
1 oz silver coin: 35.50 / 54.00 / 43.94 / 41.90
1 oz silver bar: 35.00 / 60.00 / 45.80 / 44.95
1 oz gold coin: 1,833.77 / 1,994.01 / 1,926.17 / 1,931.24
1 oz gold bar: 1,800.00 / 1,879.20 / 1,842.98 / 1,835.41

It remains apparent that individuals are still willing to pay premiums for small amounts of gold or silver, but especially silver, which, to many, remains the most undervalued asset on the planet. Judging by shipping delays, minimum purchase requirements, and stock shortages in silver at almost every online dealer and the premium prices on eBay, gold and silver are still being bought aggressively, despite the efforts of the manipulators.

This week's Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) rebounded from $42.62 per ounce to $44.15, a 66% premium over the COMEX price. The wide gap indicates that individual buyers of finished pieces of silver coins and bars for immediate delivery are not cowed by paper prices. Dealers, being in competitive conditions, may be reluctant to raise prices to dizzying levels, but even their premia over spot have been high for many months and even higher recently.

The price of a barrel of oil seems to have stabilized, at least so during the past week, as a barrel of WTI crude fell from $66.09 (March 5) to $65.56 (March 12). Today's price is more than double what is was a year ago, when a barrel was under $30 and collapsing, he glut eventually producing a crater at -$37.63, when sellers could literally not even give the stuff away in mid-April, 2020.

While the current number may be deceivingly high, there is the potential for a quick reversal, though the voices of industry will insist that the economy is on the mend and there is increased demand. Neither of those statements can be backed up with much in the way of fact. There are still more than 20 million Americans on unemployment, many businesses have closed up for good, and the only thing keeping the US economy afloat are timely checks to consumers, increased unemployment benefits and massive infusions of capital to states and municipalities.

Prices for gas at the pump have risen from around $2.00 a gallon a year ago to a national average of $2.86 in the United States. When oil prices bottomed in April of last year, the national average sank to decades-low $1.74. Nothing will put the brakes on economic recovery with as much force as high gas prices. With many states already over $3.00 a gallon, either the government will have to step in at some point and put on controls (a distinct possibility considering the current makeup of socialist Democrats in Washington, DC), or the natural supply-demand apparatus be allowed to prevail over speculation.

In summation, thanks to the passage of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package, the week was a grand one for equities, horrid for bonds, solid for precious metals and commodities overall, and especially robust for bitcoin - which is the leading asset of 2021 with an impressive gain of over 100% thus far - and other cryptos.

Signs of runaway inflation are beginning to emerge in places like gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement centers, used car lots, and the PPI. There is simply no way the government can dole out free currency every few months without prices being affected. Even though the government wishes to reassure everybody that inflation is under control via the CPI, the PPI year-over-year increase of 2.8 percent is notable as underlying commodity prices have been on the move.

Protecting oneself from rampant government overreach and spiraling inflation is quickly becoming an international frenzy.

That's the WEEKEND WRAP.

At the Close, Friday, March 12, 2021:
Dow: 32,778.64, +293.05 (+0.90%)
NASDAQ: 13,319.86, -78.81 (-0.59%)
S&P 500: 3,943.34, +4.00 (+0.10%)
NYSE: 15,715.21, +67.20 (+0.43%)

For the Week:
Dow: +1282.34 (+4.07%)
NASDAQ: +399.72 (+3.09%)
S&P 500: +101.40 (+2.64%)
NYSE: +463.37 (+3.04%)

Record Highs on Dow Industrials, S&P 500, NYSE Composite; How Far Can They Go?

Three of the four major US indices closed at record highs on Thursday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NYSE Composite Index each set new high closing marks.

Only the tech-laden NASDAQ is lagging, though its 329-point gain on the day put it within five percent of the record close of 14,095.47 achieved just one month ago.

The high stock prices are largely the result of significant efforts by the Federal Reserve and the US government to shore up citizens, businesses, and state and local governments. Thursday afternoon, Joe Biden signed into law the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Act, giving a major boost to capital markets. $1400 checks and direct deposits are being distributed beginning as early as this weekend.

With just about every entity in America soon to be flush with cash, it now appears certain that equity prices will rap even higher. The NASDAQ should be of particular interest to investors as it is currently in the unusual position of lagging the other indices when it has been customarily the since the GFC of 2007-09.

Despite futures looking a bit squeamish this morning, any position in stocks other than buying or holding would appear to be a fool's errand. Next week's upcoming meeting of the Fed's FOMC is likely to shed further light on just how much more money the central bank is willing to throw at the markets.

With $180 billion per month in QE already slated through the end of 2021, investors have the cat-bird's seat at another leg forward for stocks and housing as well. Median housing prices recently made a new high and there doesn't seem to be any reason for new and existing residential structures to command excessively high prices through the summer other than a slight tick up in mortgage interest rates, which are still close to record lows.

A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is currently 3.462%, while a 15-year fixed rate is 2.562%, both extremely low by historical standards.

The Shiller CAPE measure for stocks currently stands at 35.67, higher than at any time in the history of the stock market (dating back to 1870) other than the level achieved at the height of the dotcom boom. While that may cause some consternation to purists, the current makeup of the US markets offers the ability to withstand absurd valuations and distortions due to extraordinary measures by the Fed and US government.

Other than a nuclear war, there isn't anything to prevent all stock indices from ramping even higher in coming days, weeks and months. The few impediments are psychology, interest rates, and valuation, none of which is a major headache for policy makers at this juncture.

Investor psychology is very high, for obvious reasons. Interest rates are controllable. The 10-year note was recently whipsawed to one-year highs, but the Fed and their proxies have managed to shore up the market and keep longer maturities from getting out of control. Yield on the 10-year reached an apex at 5.9% on Monday, but has fallen back to 5.4% as of Thursday.

Valuations, though very high, don't matter significantly to today's investors. As long as the dollar continues to slide slowly up and down in its current range, stocks will continue to catch the eye. It's no stretch to believe the Dow could hit 35,000 within six months and the S&P vault well over 4,000. Get out the party hats.

Elsewhere, gold and silver are getting crushed in the futures market again this morning, while bitcoin remains near all-time highs and is threatening to move to new levels, making it one of the very few - and likely the best - contrary indicators against dollar devaluation.

At the Close, Thursday March 11, 2021:
Dow: 32,485.59, +188.57 (+0.58%)
NASDAQ: 13,398.67, +329.84 (+2.52%)
S&P 500: 3,939.34, +40.53 (+1.04%)
NYSE: 15,648.00, +126.17 (+0.81%)

Record Five Month US Budget Deficit Surpasses $1 Trillion; Dollar Destruction Accelerating

Bloomberg News reports that the US budget deficit surpassed $1 trillion for the first five months of fiscal 2021, even before the $1.9 trillion Biden Rescue Act stimulus package deepens the shortfall. The budget gap for February was $310.9 billion, up from $235.3 billion in February 2020, according to a Treasury Department report Wednesday.

That pushed the deficit to $1.05 trillion, a record for the first five months of the fiscal year that began in October, compared with $624.5 billion a year earlier, which begs the question, "do you miss President Trump?”

Biden, the Pretend-ident, is supposed to deliver a live announcement to the general public Thursday night, in which he promises to reveal the steps forward and what is expected from the American people. Keeping in mind the current climate of fear and command coming out of official Washington Democrats, Biden is likely to stumble through some thematic platitudes about defeating the dreaded COVID virus and announce some new form of control, possibly mandated vaccinations or COVID passes for entry into concerts, sports venues, maybe even restaurants.

Short of the kind of sick, twisted, communist-style dictates the Democrats (and, let's not forget the compliant Republicans who are just as large a part of the problem), expect Biden's monologue to last no more than 20 minutes, as the doddering old fool can barely remember what day it is or where he is at a given moment.

What the US projects as government - protected from its own people by barbed wire and National Guard troops - is about as far removed from a representative Republic than the founding fathers might have envisaged. It is wholly illegitimate, so watch the address, turn it off and don't comply. American patriots desperately need to take the country back from the occupiers in Washington DC. Barring that (because nobody wants to confront the military), simple non-compliance with orders from federal "authorities" will have to suffice for now.

Whatever the case with federal government, Wall Street seems to be enjoying the ride. Despite the NASDAQ floundering just below its 50-day moving average, the Dow Jones Industrials rose to a record close on Wednesday and looks to add to those gains Thursday. Stock futures have exploded higher overnight, aided by anticipation in Europe of Thursday's ECB policy announcement, another nothing-burger designed to keep everybody in the game as ECB President, Christine Lagarde, is not expected to do much besides mumble some nonsense about bonds, bond-buybacks, swaps, and assuredness that the central bank is prepared to support the euro for the long haul.

Meanwhile, the drip, drip, drip of fiat currencies melting down into a pool of mush and worthlessness continues almost imperceptibly. The world as we know it being torn to shreds by a confluence of forces. The drive by elites for a "Great Reset" wherein they control everything right down to digital fiat in your digital central bank account, is countered by a mass exodus from dollars, euros, pounds, and yen, into anything else, but in particular, gold, silver, bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies, canned goods, guns and ammo.

Like it or not, $1400 and an extra $300 in unemployment benefits for millions of dissatisfied former workers isn't going to keep the herd in tow. In addition to what Wall Street likes to call pent up demand, there's an ample supply of pent up hatred and disgust. It seems some people still believe last November's elections were stolen from President Trump and others, and they are still seething. It's that underlying anger that keeps troops on the streets of America's capitol and the likes of Facebook, Twitter, and Google censoring much of the commentary that doesn't fit the new Democrat nanny state narrative.

The unwind will take time. With any luck it won't be too violent or disturbing to children.

In terms of upset, one need look no further than the foibles of the redditers from wallstreetbets pitted against the horde of hedge fund managers still trying to short shares of GameStop (GME). Though the mainstream media has chosen to look the other way on this one, the battle has been re-engaged and the reddit crowd seems to be winning, sending shares of the company to dizzying heights on Wednesday. GME hit 348.50, before falling back to 198.00, closing at 265. Fortunes are being made and lost minute by minute, but nobody seems to care and the SEC is powerless to do anything about it. This episodic power struggle is a portent of things to come, as society splinters and factions vie for power and control.

It's useful to keep an eye on GME, along with struggling silver and bitcoin, which has regained momentum to the upside and is approaching all-time highs from late February ($58,367). Currently checkin in above $56,000, bitcoin is a proxy for dollar devaluation and escape from the central bank matrix. It should be owned, at least in part, by everybody who desires freedom of movement and of commerce. Mass adoption continues to drive the price, as there is a finite quantity standing in stark contrast to the ever-depleting plunder of fiat currencies backed by nothing, currently being printed into oblivion.

Destruction of purchasing power takes time. The Federal Reserve has been at it for 108 years, with the past 49 of particular high quality. The passage of the latest COVID relief bill and new spending which is sure to be announced tonight by befuddled Biden are just more evidence of the Fed's ultimate intent.

Papa Joe hits the airwaves Thursday night at 8:00 pm ET (5:00 pm on the West Coast) in his first televised address to the nation since being installed in the White House on January 20. Whatever he mouths probably won't matter much in the long run but his appearance is usually good for a few minutes hate or maybe a laugh or two. Take the under, which is 23 minutes. Drinking game word is “pandemic.”

At the Close, Wednesday, March 10, 2021:
Dow: 32,297.02, +464.28 (+1.46%)
NASDAQ: 13,068.83, -4.99 (-0.04%)
S&P 500: 3,898.81, +23.37 (+0.60%)
NYSE: 15,521.83, +146.20 (+0.95%)