With a house guest (our consigliere) time has been a little tighter than usual. But a scan of the headlines today says there is a bit of uneven lurching into the future that might be characterized as Productive.
Texas – home to Elon, Joe Rogan, and…um…us… continues to be a national trends-setter with Univ of Austin, is swapping out DEI with MEI: Merit, Excellence, and Intelligence. Hoo-rah! And it’s spreading.
For example, the story Walmart the latest big corporation to scale back DEI policies after pressure from conservative activists.
We can’t speak for you, of course, but around here we want companies to “stay in their own damn lanes.” If we want sermons, we’ll pop into a church. When we go to WalMart, we just want groceries or whatever occasioned the trip. Same goes for the Zon which – and this is just a guess – probably makes more money on Black Friday sales than POC movie promotions and historical revisionism. Indeed, the attempted transition from egalitarian meritocracy to socialist wastelands is bound to be a bumpy ride.
Speaking of bumpy rides? California’s “free lunch” governor is still at it – putting the public’s neck in yet-another financial noose of his own making: California May Introduce Electric Vehicle Rebates if Federal Tax Credit Axed.
The only guy on the planet capable of “doing electric vehicles” is Elon Musk. Because Tesla has the system view smarts to put in charging stations. Did the Detroit’s Big Three? Nope. And that’s exactly why they are not such a big three anymore.
Not that Elon Musk is perfect, though: Elon Musk says he’s a ‘3,000-year-old time-travelling alien’ who ‘assumes identities’. Part of me wants to say he’s pulling our (turkey) legs. Part of me wonders if he has a book under his arm (“To Serve Man” – “It’s a cookbook!!!“) and the woo-woo part says maybe his memory of past lives in other places wasn’t completely “wiped when born” onto this merry-go-round the Sun like the rest of us.
Passing the Double Hump Trump Bump?
With apologies to AJ and the Hecklefish…OK, Gerty, too…
The first ‘hump’ seems to have been Veterans Day when the market hit a new record. And with the rally Monday, we were looking at a second ‘hump’ in the charts being formed now.
Although this is likely to change (maybe to the downside today or tomorrow) the early futures were looking indecisive ahead of the Case-Shiller Housing data which we’ll post when it crosses a few minutes after 8 AM breadbasket time.
Did I ever explain that time zone labels like Pacific, Mountain, Central, and Eastern – not to mention the idiot in the room – Daylight – are really not very descriptive?
For the East Coast we think there’d be something useful added calling Eastern HBGT (Hustle, Banksters, and Greed Time). The Central zone is obviously Breadbasket Time. Mountain Time might be Frontier Lands Time. While the West Coast runs (clearly to us) on Socialist Standard Time. But I digress.
We were going to talk markets, not topochronological labels.
Being one of the aghast Bears, if we do rally further, the next likely target would become the overhead of the latest white trading box shown in the upper right. This would be one that could take us a week into December before all hell breaks loose. But, the first thing is a potential double top needs to be smashed and that’s what looms next on today’s dance card.
Is Finance a Big Sick Lie? Well…glad you asked: More families than ever are openly admitting they’re flat-out broke. Not struggling, not getting by — broke.
Three War Monte
OK, got these three cups on the desk today. Under one of them I’m going to put WW III. Ready? (slides cups around) Go ahead and pick one.
That one? Nope. China deploys naval, air forces as US Navy plane transits Taiwan Strait. No war until Dec. 7th. It would be an interesting launch date, huh?
This one? Nope. Although when Top EU diplomat says Israel has ‘no excuses’ to refuse a ceasefire with Hezbollah we have to point out the fellow is not standing where those missiles are landing (in Israel). And the pressure is on the government of Netanyahu as Netanyahu seeks to quell mini-rebellion against Lebanon ceasefire as Israeli Cabinet prepares for evening vote.
One cup left, so is this it? Maybe…Global Watchdog Confirms Russia Used Banned Chemical Weapons in Ukraine, West ‘Appalled’. But, since Joe Biden is apparently the Commander in Chief of Ukraine, in addition to his (fading) duties to the homefolk, the Russians are looking as the West as cons and liars and worse. Sadly, they may be onto something. We have scuttled how many Russian attempts to line out a settlement now? And no let-up as Ukraine continues ATACMS strikes inside Russia, hitting airfield in Kursk. Which means one of these days Russia will make a chemical or nukes decision and that will be that. Unless Putin strikes the US (long holidays with everyone off doing wild turkey leave, so to speak) to show NATO they have to fight their own war…
Tell a Types
Still tracking Biden’s border crimes foisted on us by the dims? (We’ve lost count): Virginia: Illegal Alien Accused of Raping Woman on Jogging Trail. And yet he remains Wrong-Way Joe, the Schumer Schemers, etc. ‘The Five’: Democrats gear up to fight Trump’s deportation plans,
Runaway government pension funds could do what the Civil War didn’t: Bust up America. New Secessionist Movements Emerge – And No, It’s Not Texas!. Are we the only people who shopped long-term tax trends before settling in at the retirement homestead?
Is Musk planning to buy InfoWars? Stunning New Ruling in AIex Jones Case! Liberals Aren’t Laughing.
At the Ranch: Root Canal Day
Always the Optimist. That’s me.
“It could always be worse. Why, it could be a pain in the ass….”
Back in a few with the Housing numbers.
Write when you get rich,
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