Let’s begin by reading from the book of Job.  No, silly, not the biblical.  The data book on jobs over at the Labor Department server farm.  Because it looks like this: While the press release looks like this. Total nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 115,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3 … Read More

Memo: To All In-Patient’s of the Reality Hospital In your treatment session today, which will feature variable markets, inconsistent leadership, and questionable modes of exchange, we will remind you of the purpose you are here. To behold the Grand Works going on around you.  Specifically the cyclical recurrence of events. Today is approximately July 11, 1929 … Read More

Today’s Peoplenomics ChartPack asks a dangerous question: What if this isn’t prosperity at all? What if markets are simply “Bubble-Up” pricing machines now — floating on excess liquidity, shrinking dividends, weakening purchasing power, and too many dollars chasing too few safe places to hide? This week’s report – the full “Bubble-Up, please!” ChartPack with 40+ … Read More

Let me line out how today will roll around here: Markets are trying to bounce, geopolitics are trying to ignite, and somewhere in between—AI is quietly eating the trade balance. The “good stuff” though is at the margins.  As in marginal source claim and marginal weather. So grab some (it’s Cinco de Mayo) salt and limes … Read More

We are expecting the market to turn down – should be imminent – because the number of people posting comments here has shot skyward. See – it’s an informal way of angling on market direction. But now and then it works.  You will notice as markets were peaking recently?  Fewer people had strong feelings about … Read More

Dandy chow last night – fresh mung bean sprouts – a broiled NY strip – and red wine.  Today?  Well, don’t worry – I will be working it off with the lawnmower. And the string trimmer. And the vinegar pumper to kill edges.  About 10 seconds after this posts. Maybe 30 with more coffee. What … Read More

Markets seem to have taken their cue from the Modern Monetary Theory crowd — you know, the folks who believe you can just make up money and everything will work out fine. So today we’ve got a two-parter behind the curtain. One paper asks the uncomfortable question: “Where is all this money actually coming from?” … Read More

I like writing and all, but there are some things AI can do better – or at least faster – than me. I’m a Creative Carbon but a little help from the Speeders of Silicon gets me to breakfast a lot faster.  Here’s the first “Lazy George” tasking of the day: For Friday, May 1, … Read More

Let me go “High Value” for a minute.  Because change – like we’ve never seen in our lifetimes – is in the air. This week’s Peoplenomics report, out yesterday, “Coining Future: Making Work Mean Something,” asks a hard question: what if crypto stopped rewarding burned electricity, locked-up capital, and casino behavior—and started rewarding verified human … Read More

Official-like: In support of its goals, the Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 3?1/2 to 3?3/4 percent. In considering the extent and timing of additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance … Read More

Three things to keep straight today. First, a new basis for crypto is on the table—not burn, not stake, but something closer to Proof-of-Actual-Progress: money minted against real, validated human output. If that sounds like heresy, good. It should. Because the current model looks more like a self-licking ice cream cone than a civilization builder, … Read More

Finally  -only 20 minutes late: Data through February 2026 reveals the following: The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 0.7% annual gain in February, down from a 0.8% rise in the previous month. The 10-City Composite saw an annual increase of 1.5%, down from … Read More