While Covid is increasingly perceived as permanent, each new wave in cases appears less ominous in its lethality. When the Omicron Covid variant made global headlines around Thanksgiving, the stock and commodity markets decided to shoot first and ask questions later. Oil quickly fell over 25% and stocks corrected 5…
The new Covid variant, labeled B.1.1.529 out of Botswana, has barely infected any nation, but the stock and Oil markets are beginning to anticipate this virus going global. While Europe and Asia are already expanding social restriction mandates and harsh lockdowns from the spread of the Covid Delta variant, the…
Bonds are contracts for borrowers to pay back lenders and have been around since they were recorded on stone tablets in 2400 B.C. Their value is indirectly influenced by inflation and economic risk. However, with inflation indices at 30 year highs today, economic risk is being priced cheaply as reflected…
Energy production has come a long way since the Chinese discovered Oil in 600 BC and used pipelines of bamboo for transport. It took until 1919 before US Oil discoveries and the burgeoning automobile industry utilized enough Oil to surpass Whale Fat and kerosene as the leading source of energy…
The epidemic of global consumption, courtesy of free money oriented Western Governments and Central Banks, continues to create all time records in almost every category imaginable. Sometimes too much of a good thing is a bad thing as Production and Delivery capacity of Supply Chains have broken down. Resulting inflation…
Investors, economists and policy makers are always looking for tea leaves that will forecast the future to mitigate risk. Leading indicators, by definition, are meant to forecast trends before they become readily apparent. In the 1960’s the US Department of Commerce developed a set of 10 Leading Economic Indicators known…
In our College econ classes we often referred to Demand Pull Inflation where production supply capacity was unable to keep up with an increase in consumption. Inflation has been the news de jour every day for months, reaching 30 year highs, yet stocks continue higher and inflation sensitive commodities remain…
The US and European economies are experiencing an historic avidity of consumption demand and record labor shortages, which have created high inflation as goods become scarce. The last thing we need is more Cow Bells of Fiscal and Monetary Stimulus that exacerbates inflation and job shortfalls. Unfortunately we will have…
Don’t Fear The Taper! With multi decade highs in inflation, money supply and debt expansions, investors have been almost apoplectic clamoring for Central Bank Chief Powell to Taper – stop adding $120 Billion of emergency liquidity each month. Powell appears to be a lone wolf among his peers by continuing…
They say Bull Markets climb a wall of worry. Of course concerns will always be present, but all worries to date have been papered over by the super charged atmosphere of $4.1 Trillion in Central Bank money creation (asset purchases) and Government handouts totalling $5.3 Trillion (with several Trillion more…