So my alarmist, ordinance heavy survivalist coworker informed me this morning how he spent $300 at Sams club last night on non perishables in advance of the cataclysmic collapse coming. What gives? Something about Mike Norths chinamen, Nostradamus, comet passing between us and the sun. Should I be converting the $846.23 I currently have in savings to gold ? Financial guys, please advise . I have a massage scheduled for the 28th and may need to move it up. Why the 27th?

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Whatever it is it will be the fault of poor people and "investors." Shame on them.

SHAME ON YOU MCDONALD'S WORKER!

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

I'll be curious to see how companies will react in Q4 to the presidential race. I doubt a financial collapse is coming.

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I'd imagine a Clinton win is already 98% baked into the market already. I would expect chaos to ensue if something truly damning came out via wiki leaks opening the door for a trump win.

Anyone have some quality advice on currency trading?

BigFan

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

step your game up management.

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I was just thinking about this the other day, the same douchebag alderman who will push so hard for a $15/hour wage will disappear when it is time to help the teachers out in October

then they will talk out their ass about their progressiveism and how bad Rauner/Emannuel are

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I will never understand how teachers are so underappreciated.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Me neither, but the CPS folks gotta be paying for their own pensions.

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Hah, impossible to pick an exact date or trigger. There is no doubt that both fixed income and equities are a complete bubble. And there is no great way to protect against it. No matter what currency you own, it is funny money. All Central Banks are just creating money out of thin air under the guise of quantitative easing. To the surprise of MANY, none of this has stoked inflation or created rapid GDP growth. It has been quite the opposite. There is really nothing in traditional economics to explain what is going on. Companies are not taking advantage of low interest rates to invest. Instead, they are merely paying higher dividends and buying back stock. People are not taking advantage at a level one would expect. The auto market has responded, but the rest of the economy has not.

While, I'd love to recommend precious metals purchases, without inflation they seem like a sucker's bet. I've positioned myself with higher yielding stocks, but those are also in a bubble stage. I am convinced that historians will look back at this time period as one of great folly by financial professionals. Those folks keep calling for very low (even negative) interest rates, increased fiscal stimulus by already indebted governments, and encouraging consumers to keep spending through increased borrowing. It is the exact opposite of prudent financial management- sound money, balanced budgets over an economic cycle, and consumers spending within their means. Shame on CNBC and the rest of the business press.

I think what has happened is that the developed world is seeing the impact of low birth rates, which reduce or flatten the working age population, the drag from high social spending on healthcare and pensions, and problems from income inequality. It is a fairly unique point in history where birth rates are below replacement in many countries, the socialism experiment bills are coming due, and the rich cornered the market on capturing the gains from globalization.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Indeed.

The folly of guaranteed public pensions is illustrated by Rauner's fight with the pension board over the possible lowering of expected investment returns of the pension fund. Currently they have an expected return of 7.5% and may lower it to 7%. What does that mean? If the fund earns less, the taxpayers have to cough up the difference in order to pay the pensions at current levels.

Now tell me, in a world with bubbles in every asset class, and negative interest rates on trillions of debt, how are pension funds going to make even 4% without taking on massive risk? As it is, lowering the expected rate from 7.5% to 7% is going to blow a $300 million hole in the budget EVERY YEAR. That's $300 million less for other programs, or $300 million more needed in taxes.

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The WSJ mentioned that one of the problems is that millennials (and others) don't see low inflation as a "bug" but as a desirable feature. It's hard to convince people that higher prices are good for the economy. And inflation is so hard to quantify. Tech items are always better and cheaper than previous models, yet other things such as health care, education, housing, etc are through the roof.

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Jaw, I do not believe inflation is good period. I come from the Ron Paul camp on that point and prefer truly sound money. I get that the financial market cheerleaders love inflation because it causes consumers to run out and purchase stuff now instead of waiting for lower prices next month.

In the long run, stable prices are a good deal for everyone because it makes planning easier. Folks that advocate leverage like inflation because it is to the benefit of debtors. I'd love to see a lot less leverage in the entire financial system.

If you want to see something interesting, read through some of Avis' SEC filings. Poster child for taking all their free cash flow and buying back stock and paying dividends. Look at that balance sheet financial leverage......off the charts.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Here is my advice:

The Canadian dollor to!lows the US dollor by about a 10 min lag. Only in NY don't try it in Hong Kong or Dublin.

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

what does the Mayan Calendar say it is?

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

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From my layman's perspective, the biggest issue with inflation is that it's not uniform. The plane ticket I'm buying to SF for a work trip in October cost less today ($242) than it did when I first flew there in 1991 ($305), even though fuel prices are much higher. Same goes for things like refrigerators, not to mention computing (where my 300MB hard drive in graduate school cost $5500).

Meanwhile, food, healthcare, and urban rental real estate keep skyrocketing.

So depending on which sector you work in, even in professional sectors, real income compared to 2008 is probably going down unless you're in one of a few specific sectors. And most Americans are too stupid and/or lazy to be in those sectors, myself included.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

Bump... Tell your coworker to slap himself in the nutz.

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The fundamentals of the economy are strong.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Really?

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Thanks, Obama.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

The facade sure looks good.

But don't look too far below the surface....

oh dude.

What does that even mean?

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Our economy, I think, still the fundamentals of our economy are strong. But these are very, very difficult times.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

I bought a raincoat last night just in case

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.