Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
"US President Donald Trump halted all trade negotiations with Canada earlier this week
over an advert in which former President Ronald Reagan says tariffs 'hurt every American'".
"The ad, sponsored by Canada's province of Ontario and released last…
Greece and Argentina provide lessons when trust in a country's economic data was lost.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-happens-when-no-one-trusts-a-countrys-economic-data
Western Union linked the eastern and western telegraph networks in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Two days later the Pony Express, previously the fastest means of communication
between the eastern and western U.S., officially closed.
The first transcontinent…
From Markets A.M. newsletter by Spencer Jakab.
On this day in 1861, the first U.S. transcontinental telegraph line was activated,
enabling messages to be transmitted almost instantly from New York to California.
News would have taken two or three m…
"What a despicable human being."
Donald J. Trump is a petty, venal, narcissistic son of a bitch.
It's too late now for this paper tiger to change his stripes.
The use of Reagan's radio message really irked President Trump!
The party that once trumpeted free-market capitalism (with all its warts) marches towards "state capitalism."
Politico obtained a trove of Telegram chats from Young Republican leaders in several states.
The messages provide an unfiltered look at how these GOP activists talk when they believe no one is listening.
"They referred to Black people as monkeys an…
"Who's treating the WH as his own fiefdom, TODAY, eh? He's consistent, anyhow.
The drawings of what the decor and furnishings will resemble look like the Tsar's
gold on gold on gold on gold overdone palaces. Utterly tasteless.
The fact that private…
Yesterday, former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton cut to the heart of
President Donald J. Trump’s destruction of the East Wing of the White House.
Hilary?
The Clintons stole an estimated $28,000 in White House furnishings
and paid $86,000 to the …
I bought PYLD today and FPFIX on Wednesday.
These two bond funds will collectively replace DOXIX which was held within my 401(k).
I transferred the pre-tax part of my 401(k) to a Rollover IRA earlier this month.
@Mark,
Thanks for the Snopes link.
Hopefully, these facts will thwart further whataboutism claims
regarding White House renovations during Obama's tenure.
Economist Robert Reich suggests that pay-to-play is linked to some ballroom donations.
I'm shocked, shocked by Mr. Reich's suggestion!
https://substack.com/redirect/66fa44f2-7d1f-4916-990a-c2592f5ef944?j=eyJ1IjoiNjM3dWozIn0.qWpE9c66w8VAS87EWLe8bB7-…
Here is some pertinent information from Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American
newsletter for those who may be afflicted with Trump Denial Syndrome (TDS).
“It’s not his house. It’s your house. And he’s destroying it [emphasis added].”
Y…
Economist Robert Reich suggests that pay-to-play is linked to some ballroom donations.
I'm shocked, shocked by such a suggestion!
https://substack.com/redirect/66fa44f2-7d1f-4916-990a-c2592f5ef944?j=eyJ1IjoiNjM3dWozIn0.qWpE9c66w8VAS87EWLe8bB7-vxMcn…
Here is a list of the companies and individuals donating to help pay for the ballroom,
according to the White House:
Altria Group
Amazon
Apple
Booz Allen Hamilton
Caterpillar
Coinbase
Comcast Corporation
J. Pepe and …
From Markets A.M. newsletter by Spencer Jakab.
On this day the Panic of 1907 deepened.
Hundreds of nervous depositors besieged New York’s biggest trust companies,
demanding their money back, after a crash in speculative copper stocks.
J.P. Morgan,…
@Old_Joe,
I would never suggest that Trump can be bought off with large sums of money.
I'm sure Karoline Leavitt and her de facto MFO surrogate, FD1000, could provide
vivid interpretations for the following sets of events which presumably are not c…
President Trump granted a full and unconditional pardon for Changpeng Zhao,
the convicted founder of the Binance crytocurrency exchange.
Zhao failed to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and Binance paid a $4.3B penalty.
According t…
Here's another example of why it was not a good week for those who care about justice!
President Trump granted a full and unconditional pardon for Changpeng Zhao,
the convicted founder of the Binance crytocurrency exchange.
Zhao failed to maintain a…
Doesn't Trump have a long history of not paying contractors for completed work?
The partisan element may be new, but his reneging on agreed-upon payments is not.
Yes, Trump has a reputation for not paying individuals/businesses for their work.
I re…
It was not a good week for those who care about justice!
Former Rep. George Santos pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
The House Ethics Committee found "substantial evidence" of wrongdoing
and voted to expel Mr. Santos from o…
It may not be a good week for air travelers!
"The shutdown has raised fears about staffing shortages in a job that requires long, intense hours
and sophisticated training. But concerns about air travel could also help drive Republicans and Democrats…
"The shutdown has raised fears about staffing shortages in a job that requires long, intense hours
and sophisticated training. But concerns about air travel could also help drive Republicans and Democrats
to find a way out of the funding impasse, no…
It was not a good week for free-market capitalism!
The Trump administration is pursuing investments in quantum-computing companies.
The government would become a shareholder in exchange for helping fund promising technology companies.
Potential targ…
It was not a good week for hundreds of thousands of civilian federal workers!
President Trump plans to pay federal immigration agents, FBI special agents, U.S. Border Patrol officers,
and active-duty military personnel during the government shutdown…
It was not a good week for U.S. cattle ranchers!
President Trump's administration plans to quadruple Argentinian beef imports.
Lowering U.S. beef prices was the stated goal for the large increase in imports.
"But hiking imports has angered U.S. ran…
"Note: The govt. plans to grant back pay to the workers Trump didn’t fire.
We’ll see how that goes."
This is how things normally work during government shutdowns.
Earlier this month, Trump warned that certain government employees may not receive ba…
"But, from the included graphic it appeared that employers pick up about 60-70% of the premium on average."
I recently read (or saw) that premiums for ACA insurance and private healthcare insurance were similar.
Employer subsidies accounted for the…
"Millions of Americans are bracing themselves for a significant hike in their 2026 health insurance premiums
without the subsidies at the center of the government shutdown battle.
It comes as insurance costs are rising significantly throughout the c…
From Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American newsletter.
“It’s not his house. It’s your house [emphasis added]. And he’s destroying it.”
Yesterday, former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton cut to the heart of President Donald J. Trump’s
…
From Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American newsletter.
Today the Pentagon announced a new press corps to cover Hegseth and the Defense Department
after the traditional pool turned in their press badges rather than agree to publish only …
"In trying to access the "Discussions" page I just received an "Unable to complete this request at this time... please try again later" error message.
The second attempt went OK.
I've also experienced the same issue intermittently starting several …
He is tearing down democracy and tearing down govt institutions.
The demolition of the White House is somewhat symbolic of the mass destruction
that he has "championed".
I agree.
From Markets A.M. newsletter by Spencer Jakab.
On this day in 1929, Yale professor Irving Fisher, one of the nation’s foremost economists, said:
“The breaks of the past few days have driven stocks down to hard rock.
I believe that we will have a ra…
From Markets A.M. newsletter by Spencer Jakab.
On this day in 1929, William Peter Hamilton, editor of The Wall Street Journal
and one of the leading advocates of the "Dow Theory" of technical analysis,
correctly predicted the coming demise of the b…
