We’ll keep this morning’s report on economic matters fairly straightforward because thinking too much is dangerous. Although early-on the stock futures were pointing to a lower open, remember that index options (mostly) expire today and common stock options tomorrow. Since there have been a lot of people short, the idea is that markets tends to close where they will cause about an equal amount of pain for ultra-bears and ultra-bulls, so they guys in NYC can make the most dough. Not always, but I seldom bet against the house. Late bounce today seems at least possible but how far down first is the question.
Initial unemployment claims for the week are one data point everyone’s looking at:
“In the week ending May 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 471,000, an increase of 25,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 446,000. The 4-week moving average was 453,500, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 450,500.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.6 percent for the week ending May 8, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.6 percent.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 8 was 4,625,000, a decrease of 40,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,665,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,642,500, a decrease of 9,500 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,652,000.
The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.146 million. “
And then there’s the weakness in gold followed by a further retreat in the futures. But, is that due to the pending abandonment of the Euro, or just deflation in the CPI this week kicking in? Toss in a side order of Greek riots and all the European markets bleeding red ink all over the place, too while we’re at it. Maybe it will be an ugly drop today after all.
My part bonds/part metals strategy seems to be moving along just fine, thanks. yeah, I expect hyper-inflation of the Weimar or better/worse this fall perhaps, but in the meantime, a split bet seems safest if you’ve got to have money in the game. A reread of how straddles and strangles work might help is you’re not following the logic.
I think the math term for days like this is “high suck quotient”.
Problematic Din-Din
No doubt one of the dinner conversations at the Obama state dinner for Mexico’s president was what’s happening (or should I say NOT happening?) along the border.
Several senators have been pressing for National Guard forces to be deployed for direct border security work, but this is something that has been kicking around Washington for more than a year.
Now here’s how common sense works out here in the East Texas outback: If I were to ask you for a glass of water, how many days would I wait before concluding “Gee, this here feller (or fellette) ain’t gonna give me a glass of water…”?
East Texans, being a nice cross between smart, polite, and courteous might give it 8-hours or so before coming to the obvious conclusion: No water.
What goes on in Washington is dragging the ‘time to answer’ to this nation’s problems out into years. (Does the term ‘bullshit come to mind yet?)
The fact that the National Guard is not on the Border right now more directly stemming the flow of illegals means there’s still more money to be made (including the hidden upstream contributions from the drug dealers and this is a congressional election year) than is to be made on the side of simply enforcing existing laws related border enforcement. All of which makes the US the laughing stock of the big drug dealers and who can blame ‘em?
At least around here we’re bright enough to figure that “no answer” is an answer. We might not like the answer, but it’s there if’n you don’t drink a whole bunch of fluoride-laced water or program yourself into stupidity with too much television and texting time.
But, ya’ll don’t mind the East Texas nutjob on this. Here’s some sand for your head…have fun burying it… Maybe someday you’ll figure out why I refer to Washington as the seat of slapstick government. Might as well put it all on eBay…
Leading Edges of Famine
Oh, those linguistics about famine are still there in the HPH work…and oh, what’s this? “China corn imports may jump to meet widening shortage, Li says...”
Dead Ocean Murderers
An “AP Investigation: Oil self-regulates around the globe” makes a pretty interesting backstory to the Gulf murder now in progress.
Interesting, too, the term “self-regulates” which in this context I take to mean “will do whatever it takes to make the most money possible” rather than “will spare no expense to be good shepherds of resources and beneficiaries of humankind”. Screw that… Otherwise, solar and wind power would be a lot more prevalent, wouldn’t they? But, where’s the recurring revenue in that, huh? 25-year panel life?
All of which is why you see so many captive regulators around the country: Folks who worked for this or that agency in a decision-making capacity end up with phatkat corp jobs later. Oughta be a ban on such, but oh, suddenly the corpgov types yell foul when common sense arises…incestuous complicity is a fine way to sum it up.
“He Who Sells What Isn’t His’n” Department
…”Must buy it back or go to pri’n” is an old quote (Daniel Drew) but it certainly comes to mind as we read through the story of Taylor, Bean, and Whitaker at the Ocala.com website.
There, Fred Hiers’ piece on TBW explains in part:
“Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp.’s new leadership says the company resold or transferred billions of dollars worth of mortgages to multiple investors, each now claiming ownership of those assets. “
Wow. This gets us refocusing on a part of the whole housing meltdown that people are missing since they are worried about minor items like 2010-2011 ARM resets and such: How many mortgage backed securities are there floating about that have been sold to more than one ‘owner’? It’s not like these things had VIN numbers and CarFax reports for everyone involved to do due diligence, at least as far as I know….
Tell you what: I’ll put the question to Howard Hill, since he knows this subject area thoroughly and see if he’s got an educated guess. But just on the surface, an informed person who’s in a retirement/pension plan that invested in MBS products might want to keep a close eye on this…a very very close eye.
Australia’s Improved Police State
At a global meta-level there is a HUGE power grab going on by the Insurance/Pharma Globalists. Let me set this up for you: A few years back it started in the UK (yuk) where agents of the queen started police-state like moves to figure out who was drinking too much and so forth – ostensibly so they could get mandatory ‘treatment’.
Then along comes the Insurance/Pharma police state in the USA with ‘Obamacare’ which won’t even kick in full force until the perps are mostly gone from Washington.
NOW we see headlines out of Australia that the government is planning “Fines (up to $110/day) for refusing to take part in ABS health survey“.
This on top of what’s already Oz’s version of a China-like censorship of the once-free internet. I’ve got a personal problem with that because it warps the amount of language that available for dissection by the web bot project…whole other topic…
Throw all this into the blender with the recent reports on how the WHO is conspiring to put a global tax on the internet and you can see the outline of these persistent PowersThatBe types closing in on free expression of whatever humans want to do/think/talk about.
Toss in a professional groups like psychiatrists who over-prescribe psycho-active drugs to people who don’t fall neatly onto a normal distribution curve made up by peer reviewed group-thinkers and you’ve got what?
One view might be that it’s a new and improved Health World Order…guaranteed to be good for the PTB, even if it may not be too good for you. You obviously are ADHD and so give this drug to your kids because spanking them is abusive and you could go to jail you child abuser, you….. How did humans get this far without all these drugs, I ask you? And where are the massive jail industries of antiquity?
It might catch you unawares, so be listening very closely for the next moves of the Health World Order...surgical footies make a much more more quiet sound than jackboots and they’re better for you, as clinical trials no doubt prove…
Seen the latest mascots for the 2012 London Olympics? Look a little like a cross between drug-vision induced asexual critters and police-state spy cams to me.
Still, living in a police state is preferable to something: The reality that the whole frigging world has gone mad…. Hmmm…police state or crazy world…got a coin I can flip?
