Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts

Friday, June 26, 2020

COVID Scamdemic: Texas, Florida, California COVID Case Increase The Result of 70% More Testing

Is COVID-19 spreading across the country, or are the numbers reported higher due to increased testing?

That seemed to be the simplest way to detect medical/media/government complicity in what's become known as a plandemic or scamdemic designed to scare people into submissive behaviors such as wearing masks, social distancing, staying home and closing businesses.

Mainstream media is blaring that COVID-19 is spreading rapidly across the country, with "hot spots" in Texas, Florida, and California, coincidentally, the three most populous states in the country.

The figures obtained came from a well-established site known as the Covid Tracking Project at the Atlantic Their data and state-by-state histories of testing revealed some very telling numbers.

Wanting to be as up-to-date as possible, we checked the seven days just past, and started with Texas.

Texas tested 251,599 from Friday, June 19, through Thursday, June 25, an average of 35,943 per day.

Wanting to be fair and unbiased, we would have tested for the same dates in May (19th through 25th), but instead opted for testing done on a Friday through Thursday (same days of the week as the current data) prior to Memorial Day weekend, so we went with May 15-21.

For the seven days in May that we tracked, Texas performed 152,868 tests, an average of 21,838 per day

Texas:

June 19-25: Tests: 251,599; Average/day: 35,943
May 15-21: Tests: 152,868; Average/day: 21,838

Florida:

June 19-25: Tests: 209,332; Average/day: 29,905
May 15-21: Tests: 165,649; Average per day: 23,664


California:

June 19-25: Tests: 619,815; Average/day: 88,545
May 15-21: Tests: 316,476; Average/day: 45,211

Well, it doesn't take Elon Musk (a rocket scientist, and, notably, father of the external combustion engine - that's a joke, son) to see that a lot more testing has been done recently, and that would - all things remaining somewhat equal - result in a higher number of positives.

According to the media at ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, and CNN, whooopie! We've got ourselves a big story here.

Totaling it all up, the three most populous states in the America performed 445,753 more tests in the seven days just past than they did in the seven days prior to Memorial Day weekend. That's an increase in tests performed of 70.20%. In California, where the bulk of the testing was performed, it was nearly double, with 95.85% more tests performed in the last week than in the sample from May.

More testing, more positives, RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

Additionally, most of the testing sites are in and around big cities, where the virus spreads most readily. The same can be said of the phony racial angle. Most minorities live in and around big cities. Same for Biden beating Trump in the latest polls.

Money Daily didn't cherry pick the days. Using the best and simplest methodology available, it's conclusive: you're being scammed by the medical profession, the government, and the media. Makes one wonder what else they're lying about.

Welcome to the land of the fleece and the home of the naive.

Have a nice weekend.

At the Close, Thursday, June 25, 2020:
Dow: 25,745.60, +299.66 (+1.18%)
NASDAQ: 10,017.00, +107.84 (+1.09%)
S&P 500: 3,083.76, +33.43 (+1.10%)
NYSE: 11,865.11, +138.58 (+1.18%)

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Fed Rate Cut Falls Flat, But Wait, Markets Set to Rebound; Super Tuesday Results Put COVID-19 On Back Burner

Super Tuesday lived up to its name, with a surprise rate cut from the Federal Reserve and a big night for Joe Biden, though Bernie Sanders scored enough delegates to keep the race close.

Mid-morning, the Fed cut the overnight federal funds rate by 50 basis points, from 1.50-1.75%, to 1.00-1.25%, actually settling for 1.10% as the official overnight rate, according to the Fed's implementation note.

What most people missed is that the rate cut does not take effect until March 4, or Wednesday, which may be why the market crumbled Tuesday, with a dull thud finish. Futures are pointing to a huge bump at the opening bell. Dow futures are up nearly 700 points as of this writing. The emergency rate cut was only the ninth time the Fed has acted outside the FOMC meeting framework, and the cut was probably unnecessary, though it is certain to give the market a bump, albeit a small one. The Fed's playbook has been seriously damaged since the 2008 crash. This move gives credence to those who argue that the Fed is a patsy to the stock market.

Stocks had been gyrating up and down until the Fed made its move. After a brief uptick, stocks sank, perhaps with the idea that if the Fed was cutting rates, then the brewing crisis over coronavirus may be worse than recognized. It also could be that banks and institutions are so tight, there just wasn't enough liquidity in the system to fend off waves of selling. The Fed's behind-the-scenes liquidity injections have done more to prop up the market than any rate cut possibly could, with their daily and weekly open market operations oversubscribed in recent days.

The bond market certainly wasn't buying into saving the stock market via rate cuts. The 10-year note dipped below the one percent threshold briefly on Tuesday, finally settling in at the close at another record low yield of 1.02%, a decline of eight basis points from Monday's reading. The short end of the curve was obliterated, with the shortest duration, 1-month bills, losing 30 basis points, down to a yield of 1.11% at the close.

Losing 13 basis points, the 2-year carries the lowest yield across the curve, which remains slightly inverted (1-and-2-month bills yielding higher than the 10-year). The 2-year note slipped from 0.84 to 0.71. The entire curve remains relatively flat at 93 basis points top to bottom, with the 30-year sliding just two basis points on Tuesday, to 1.64%.

Precious metals regained some of their shine after the rate cut announcement. Gold rocketed higher by nearly $50, closing the session in New York at $1644.40 per ounce. Silver advanced as well, though it is still quite depressed at a mere $17.19 per ounce.

The true "tell" throughout the day was crude oil. Both before and after the rate cut, WTI crude could scarcely muster a bid, finishing at $47.18 per barrel. Weakness in oil, the actual fuel of the world economy, speaks volumes and can be employed as a bleeding edge proxy for the general health or sickness of the word's financial condition.

Numbers to watch on Wednesday are pretty straightforward. Following a retreat of some 4725.74 points, the Dow ascended on Tuesday to the first Fibonacci retrace level (38%) at 26,476.79. The index actually floated beyond that point, gaining over 27,000 just after the open, but it settled in and remained below the initial Fibonacci level most of the day. If the Dow gains beyond that first retrace, the next stop would be the 62% level, at 27,610.97. Keep in mind that the intraday low was Friday's 24,681.01. If that level is breached to the downside, there's literally no support until around 22,445, the bottom of the December 2018 breakdown.

As for the Democrat race for the presidential nomination, Joe Biden was hailed on network TV as a rebounding hero, winning races in North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Massachusetts and elsewhere, thanks to two moderates - Pete Buttigeig and Amy Klobuchar - bowing out and endorsing slow Joe on the eve of Super Tuesday. While Biden picked up most of the votes that would have gone to Mayor Pete and Senator Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders was held down by the insistence of Elizabeth Warren to stay in the race when she actually has no hope of winning anything but more negative nicknames. Mike Bloomberg picked off some delegates, giving his campaign enough life to carry forward, but the DNC is hellbent on eliminating Sanders, over fears that he might actually win the nomination.

The possibility of a consistent socialist carrying the Democrat banner into the fall is not the look the party perceives for itself, despite it being the closest to reality in what it represents. From here on out, all the media will be signing the praises of Joe Biden - a deeply flawed individual - and downplaying the power of Sanders' campaign, which has widespread support in the most liberal camps and generates the most excitement of any candidate, bar Trump.

What's interesting about a Sanders versus Trump race is that Sanders, a lifetime liberal and Senator for nearly three decades, will be portrayed as the outsider and Trump as the establishment. Perception is everything in elections, and it's likely that Trump would turn that notion on its head.

Finally, Tuesday was a day in which the coronavirus, or COVID-19 was pushed to the back of the headlines. The death toll in the US reached nine, but those three additional deaths were all from the nursing home in Washington state that had accounted for the six prior fatalities. Look, a tornado that ripped through Nashville, Tennessee early Tuesday morning (around 1:30 am) killed at least 25 people in minutes and left a path of devastation unlike many people have ever witnessed. That's a tragedy. Nine deaths of people all over the age of 63 from a virus that spreads quickly and has a high mortality rate for seniors is a fact of life.

At the Close Tuesday, March 3, 2020:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 25,917.41, -785.91 (-2.94%)
NASDAQ: 8,684.09, -268.08 (-2.99%)
S&P 500: 3,003.37, -86.86 (-2.81%)
NYSE: 12,542.74, -285.25 (-2.22%)

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Stocks Slide for Week as Wall Street Sees Little Hope for Tax Reform

For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.50% finishing with its first weekly decline after eight straight weekly gains, though the blue chip index remained less than 150 points from an all-time closing high set on Wednesday, November 8.

The S&P 500 finished the week lower as well, but only marginally so. It was the S&P's first weekly decline in nine weeks. The NASDAQ posted its first weekly loss in seven weeks. Both the NASDAQ and S&P closed at record highs on Wednesday as well.

The one index that did not reach record highs during the week past was also the broadest. The NYSE Composite index closed down for the second week in the past three, but those losses were more than offset by gains in the prior six weeks.

In general, analysts blamed congress for the poor performance in equities, citing the lack of a clear path to a tax overhaul that was a cornerstone of President Trump's winning strategy of a year ago. The House and Senate both introduced measures that vary widely and seem unlikely to offer much in the way of relief for individuals or businesses. Rolled out on Thursday, the Senate version pushes for a permanent (until they change it) tax rate of 20% for corporations, but delays implementing the proposed rate until 2019.

Both versions increase the standard deduction to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for married couples filing joint returns, but the congress and the media fail to mention that both versions cut out the personal exemption, which was $4,050 in 2016. That leaves the net gain for most single taxpayers at $1,650, and $3,300 for couples.

The standard deduction for 2016 was $6300 for singles, and $12,600 for married couples.

With Democrats generally understood to oppose any Republican plan, the chances for passage this year of either bill remain slim. President Trump and conservative leaders in the Senate face any number of challenges from the likes of Ted Cruz, John McCain, Bob Corker and others who have either stated their opposition to the measures or are likely to vote against any changes to the intricate, pitfall-ridden federal income tax code.

As far as Wall Street is concerned, lowering the corporate tax and the tax on offshore profits are at the top of the wish list, but, little is being done to address their concerns with a congress largely already focused on being re-elected in the 2018 midterms, now less than a year away.

It has become more than obvious to most Americans that congress is an inept, bought-and-paid body, loyal only to special interests which fund their expensive campaigns. Any thoughts of providing relief to beleaguered taxpayers or companies are beyond their admittedly limited legislative scope.

Thus, investors should treat any talk of reform coming from the mouths of elected officials in Washington as nothing more than make believe rhetoric, designed solely to make themselves appear to be working when they are, in fact, not.

At the Close, Friday, November 10, 2017:
Dow: 23,422.21, -39.73 (-0.17%)
NASDAQ: 6,750.94, +0.89 (+0.01%)
S&P 500: 2,582.30, -2.32 (-0.09%)
NYSE Composite: 12,322.60, -17.06 (-0.14%)

For the Week:
Dow: -116.98 (-0.50%)
NASDAQ: -13.50 (-0.20%)
S&P 500: -5.54 (-0.21%)
NYSE Composite: -50.46 (-0.41%)

Monday, February 22, 2016

Donald Trump Shock Wave Shakes Nation

Winning every available delegate in a truly historic presidential primary victory in South Carolina on Saturday, business billionaire Donald J. Trump now sets his sights on the state of Nevada and its upcoming caucus on Tuesday.

After what appears to be a sure win for Mr. Trump, the big test comes the following Tuesday, when 13 states will hold Republican primary votes, led by the inartfully-named "SEC" states of Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, Arkansas, Texas and Tennessee. Equally important are tests in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Colorado and Alaska. 595 delegates are up for grabs on March 1. Texas alone accounts for 155, and is one of the few states in which Donald Trump does not lead. There, Ted Cruz, who is a senator from the state, holds a slim advantage, though the latest poll was taken prior to Trump's victory in the Palmetto State.

No candidate that has won both New Hampshire and South Carolina has failed to capture the Republican nomination, a fact that completely eluded the commentators on the Sunday talk show circuit, most of whom spent their air time desperately searching for an antidote to Trump fever, which is sweeping a nation angry with politicians, politics, a do-nothing congress and an administration that has sold its constituency down the proverbial river.

Trump offers a refreshing change of pace from the status quo. From his apparent off-the-cuff remarks to his infectious enthusiasm, Trump embodies a new paradigm for the American electorate and its making the establishment parties and the supine news media quake in its collective booties.

The message is clear and unqualified. Trump promises to build a wall on the Mexican border to halt the flow of illegal immigrants, and, to make sure nobody misses the message, Trump always reminds supporters and detractors alike that he'll make Mexico pay for it. Other policy initiatives include bringing back American jobs from places like Mexico, China and Vietnam, taking better care of veterans, destroying ISIS, cutting taxes for the middle class and business, repatriating profits earned in foreign countries by American enterprises, and protecting the rights of American citizens outlined by the Bill of Rights, especially the second amendment, the right to bear arms.

Not surprisingly, Trump's forthrightness and honesty go a long way in an age dominated by skepticism, innuendo and false prophets. His campaign message to "Make America Great Again" resounds in a country fed up with liberal concepts like multiculturalism, atheism and statist elitism. Trump, while himself a very rich man, is self-made and down-to-earth in ways that Americans have demonstrably appreciated. His approach is common-sensical and sometimes bordering on comical, calling politicians incompetent, self-important and dishonest, most of which applies in spades to the current crop of paid-off crony representatives of lobbyists, big business and special interests.

And then today, there was this:



If Trump is willing to abolish Obamacare, Common Core and reopen the wounds of 9/11 and the Iraq War, why not tackle the biggest buffoons in the room, the rentiers of the Eccles Building, the clueless illuminati which has brought us bubbles and busts and threatens to do the same again?

The world is waiting.

Today's Rigged Results:
S&P 500: 1,945.50, +27.72 (1.45%)
Dow: 16,620.66, +228.67 (1.40%)
NASDAQ: 4,570.61, +66.18 (1.47%)

Crude Oil 33.60 +5.83% Gold 1,209.40 -1.74% EUR/USD 1.1026 -0.96% 10-Yr Bond 1.7660 +1.03% Corn 368.00 +0.68% Copper 2.11 +1.81% Silver 15.19 -1.22% Natural Gas 1.86 -0.16% Russell 2000 1,021.74 +1.16% VIX 19.38 -5.60% BATS 1000 20,682.61 0.00% GBP/USD 1.4148 -1.09% USD/JPY 112.9550