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.
It took me a bit to figure out what the purported stats were about. They took the first 5 months (a cherry-picked slice or time) of each President going back to Nixon, the subtracted inflation from nominal wage growth to get "real" wage growth. The.…
Back to the OP about inflation - "Fed sees its preferred inflation gauge topping 3% this year, higher than previous forecast"
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/18/federal-reserve-dot-plot-and-economic-projection-june-2025.html
"Federal Open Market Comm…
When you publicly defame someone on the national level, you deserve to be held accountable. Lindell was the warning sign that Musk should have considered before alienating his customers.
And there are mature ways to express one's displeasure and desires. Trump is incapable of being decent about applying pressure. He must use sophomoric insults and threats. He never evolved past those childish ways.
This is something that his suppo…
Look, I know embarrassing little about Iran or its people other than they've lived under a brutal dictatorship for 45+years. I thought it might help to know a little more about them. Found this:
Rick Steves' Iran
p.s. I attended grad school with a…
Iran is now in a position to realize that Israel is adopting a gloves-off policy and they are in no position to do anything about it. I could see Iran deciding that Its best option is to forego any attempt to make a nuclear weapon. This is not becau…
Did they finally figure out that the red states are full of MAGA Medicaid recipients waiting on their "draw" checks? ahahaha
Turns out that the GOP loves a welfare check, despite any notions to the contrary.
Him blaming Hegseth is fun though. Trump didn't see this coming? Most of the Congressional Republicans stayed away. That should have been a hint.
Putin failed to advise him that in Russia, attendance is mandatory. Trump needs to form local MAGA pa…
Good NY Times article.
I don't know if the U.S. stock market is in a long-term bubble but believe it maybe currently overly optimistic.
The tariff situation is unresolved, ramifications of the Israel-Iran war are unclear,
and Congress wants to pass …
I was trading stock index futures back in 1990. But as I hazily recall The Gulf War that began in August 1990 ended a bull market and led to a shallow bear that ended in a bottom in October. Then the market chopped around with some big swings until…
Oh yeah, that was a typo, meant EPD. I've got EPD. I had it in my 401k SDB until they decided it was not allowed. I still have it in a taxable account. Not a huge fan of K-1s, but no biggie.
Clearly, you are fan of mid-stream partnerships. Not a b…
"The suspect in the assassination and attempted assassination of two Minnesota lawmakers has been identified as Vance Boelter, two law enforcement officials briefed on the case tell CNN.
Boelter is 57 years old and according to a law enforcement of…
A confident government doesn't require the spectacle of a military parade ...
Nor does a confident populace. Is our new motto, "Speak loud gibberish, and wave a big stick"?
Freedom of Assembly. Rallies or protests are deliberately loud, with some…
It looks like thunderstorms in DC for Trump's Birthday parade. He is right now preening for his big day. Bleaching the hair, spraying on the tan, looking for an outfit that doesn't make his ass look bigger...
This is what I came up with for AA.
https://app.screencast.com/focrQYzX5b271
There is a category called "ventures" which would be interesting to better understand.
List of Ventures:
https://app.screencast.com/tARS7gSpS6usi
FWIW saying I am big …
The more that I read, and ponder this, the more I am struck by the fact that it was an inevitability than Israel would strike Iran at this point in time. Many of the resources that were used in this attack were pre-positioned into Iran in the last c…
A quick look reveals about 78% equity and lots of corporate bonds. I have had similar results, decades of beating the S&P, with a similar allocation and heavy growth emphasis. Just riding out the volatility.
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/06/11/fmr-fed-governor-mishkin-cpi-data-should-be-taken-with-a-grain-of-salt-heres-why.html?
Another reliable voice (Former FED governor) says inflation numbers must be taken with "a grain of salt". Too early for the…
It may be important to note that, in the absence of tariffs that are expected to result in $100 billion in added costs to U.S. businesses in 2024, that the FED may already have begun lowering rates. Trump's tariff policy is the reason the FED is on …
Chinese President Xi Jinping recently consolidated power. Trump told the gathering: “He’s now president for life. President for life. And he’s great.” Trump added, “I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll give that a shot someday.”
Someday is now.
The only possible takeaway from such a ridiculous and conspiratorial claim is that Gabbard is clinically insane and our national intelligence service is rudderless.
Florida's plan is to have 14 year olds replace migrant farm workers and factory workers as shortages are impacting the state.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/25/business/florida-child-labor-laws
No problem here, 14 year olds will work all night and g…
No disagreement here. The problem I anticipate is that you cannot easily separate the "wheat from the chaff". Can you expect farm workers to show up for work, when you are scooping their brethren up for incarceration and eventual deportation? When t…
"Meanwhile, two Iranian news agencies reported that two explosions were heard near the nation’s Fordo nuclear enrichment site, according to NBC News. That site is buried deep underground." - I guess we will see how those hardened underground facili…
...
The UN nuclear watchdog agency stated for the first time in two decades that Iran failed to comply
with its nonproliferation obligations...
The thing is that when the watchdogs said, during the first Trump administration. that Iran was complying…
Not sure there is much anyone CAN do. If his policies backfire and his own supporters are impacted badly enough, then maybe there is a re-thinking. For now, the dog caught the car, we will see what they accomplish, for better or worse.
They have C…
I've actually noticed a similar phenomenon with Pimco CEFs that I own. Like Yogi said, I never know if it is due to news about internal holdings, market gyrations in general, or if the drop in price triggered "value" buying.
For instance, how do y…
This explains the rise of oil prices, US used to import majority of oil from Canada. This helps to stabilize gas prices. Now that relationships no longer exists.
US is evacuating embassy family members from Iraq and several Middle East countries…
The WH trying so hard to distance itself was a red flag. Iran was never going to buy it. In all likelihood, the ME is going to deteriorate beyond Israel/Iran, with Iran ramping up terrorism.
Not sure what to think about Russia's overtures to relie…
Our entire immigration system is in shambles. After government cuts, it cannot be getting better. We have no effective system for bringing in needed workers, skilled or unskilled. Now we are halting the best and brightest from entering our universit…
The FEDs dual mandate is jobs and inflation. If both are good, why should Trump be insulting him over rates? Why should they lower? A direct answer will suffice.
No, we must accept that inflation happens immediately, despite all the folks with in-depth experience telling us that it doesn't' work that way. And we should simply believe that a +10% tax on all imports ($3.4 trillion) is not going to drive up pri…
