Cue Elvis Costello and the Attractions….we’ve got Theme Tuesday going. True to this new concept in concept creative economic snooze-writing, I’m decked out this morning in my Sherlock Holmes attire: hat and pipe, ready to deduct like crazy. Slowly, I morph into a Victorian era detective….
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Watson! Over here! I draw your attention first to one of our major clues about this economy. Observe how the Baltic Dry Index seems to be stuck at 663. Now, since we know from previous observations that the major markets tend to follow the Baltic Index by 122 days, as we established in earlier investigations, this should be a clue that a massive rally is not likely in here.
Our next stop will be at the Statistics Office.
“Why there, Sherlock?“
Numbers don’t lie, Watson, only liars lie.
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A noisy carriage ride ensues
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“Ah, here we are: West Coast Port data. Let me see…Ah! Observe: Loaded inbound to the Port of Long Beach was up 2.91% in August. But across the viaduct, the Port of Los Angeles, inbound was down 4.1%. You do see, it?
“Uh…see what, Sherlock?“
The damn trend Watson! The trend! Look. Here’s the report just in from Oakland. Loaded inbound cargo there was down 7.4% for the month.
And look! Up the coast! Seattle laden inbound was down 11.1%. Yes, Watson, our dear friend George Ure seems to be correct.
“That wanker? How so?”
He has steadfastly maintained that things are not as they seem, and the evidence here is the ports may indeed be slowing down.
Did I mention? He called Monday to say his daughter sent him a link to a Facebook page which pulls the whole mystery together?
“What’d he say?”
The Facebook page simply points out the “Number of days since the beginning of the financial meltdown: 1,502. Number of bankers who have gone to jail: 0.”
I’ll leave it to your finely tuned investigative mind, Watson to properly deduce conclusions. But I, for one, sense Moritarity has gone to the Nation’s Capitol. Come! The games afoot….”
Another Detective Story
As long as we’re watching the detectives… We have to hand it to the Mother Jones folks, who seem to have out-detected us with a report that may embarrass the republicorps wannabe. In this sneaked video, Mittster says “…there are 47 percent who are with him (Obama), who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are critics, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them….“
Openj mouth and insert foot? Why I thought Joe Biden had that one locked up…
What I’m not clear on is how either candidate is going to answer the federal commitment to retired military, social security recipients, and retired government works who figure in those “dependency numbers” being bandied about.
And, since there is no money in the so-called “Social Security Trust Fund” (all papered out to federal agencies as budget hijinks both parties had a hand in), I find myself once again with my “throw out all incumbents” voting strategy.
More Economics Below the Waterline
Can be seen in this morning’s Bureau of Economic Analysis report:
“The U.S. current-account deficit—the combined balances on trade in goods and services, income, and net unilateral current transfers—decreased to $117.4 billion (preliminary) in the second quarter from $133.6 billion (revised) in the first quarter. The decrease in the current-account deficit was accounted for by a decrease in the deficit on goods and an increase in the surplus on income.
Goods and services
The deficit on goods and services decreased to $139.3 billion in the second quarter from $148.4 billion in the first. Goods The deficit on goods decreased to $185.8 billion in the second quarter from $194.3 billion in the first.
Goods exports increased to $394.1 billion from $388.5 billion. Exports of five of the six major end-use categories increased. The largest increases were in foods, feeds, and beverages; consumer goods; and automotive vehicles, parts, and engines. The increase in foods, feeds, and beverages was mostly due to an increase in soybeans. The increase in consumer goods was mostly due to an increase in medicinal, dental, and pharmaceutical products. Industrial supplies and materials decreased; the decrease was more than accounted for by a decrease in nonmonetary gold (Table 2a). “
As to why the goods deficit is still almost $140 billion in Q2 it’s mostly because of jobjacking. And, when we try to protect what little of manufacturing is left in America, the Chinese go filing a trade complaint charging dumping.
Then, as I pointed out to Peoplenomics readers this last weekend, when we send bonds to China, they flip them into dough which buys up distressed properties in the US…so our debt is being used – jujitsu fashion – to buy them the US out from under us.
Who needs a New World Order? Between the multinational bankers and the multinational corporate WTO, it’s already here and it’s NOT in America’s best interests. Hopefully, you figured that out?
Clueless Royals?
Gotta hand it to the headline writers, pretty good summary of events in “Experts: Clueless royals, security partly to blame for princess Kate’s topless photo scandal.“
At least none have used the headline I was thinking about but thought better of: Nips Ahoy! (I don’t write like that because it would be tasteless and I’m big on decorum.)
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Meantime, I gotta cut slack to prince Harry, who may have been the target of an AQ attack series which destroyed a bunch of helicopters in Afghanistan. I figure if I were being sent to the sandbox, single, and in Las Vegas…you figure it out.
My El Centro Marina Story – Developing
What with all the recent earthquakes along the upper reaches of the Sea of Cortez, I’ve been suggesting for more than a year that El Centro, in the middle of the Imperial Valley, which sits about 50-feet below sea level, would make a dandy marina location some day.
Well, imagine my surprise when a headline in the local paper there reported “Royal Navy Lands Helicopter at El Centro School” this week. Wait! Weren’t we just on royals and helicopters?
Upon closer inspection, it was a PR deal by NAF El Centro nearby, but just struck me as a pointer from Universe that my El Centro marina story may be right – but once again early. So, we’ll check back in a few thousand years. Or, next week.
Awash in Geniuses Dept
“Teen Sexting linked to More Sexual Activity“.
OMG! Who would have thought??? I’m waiting for them to figure out that foreplay can lead to sex, too… But, then, so can money, come to think of it…
More after this…
