Day: January 29, 2021

An IST Thought

Closing Thought–29Jan21

The apathy is deafening!

I never have been what some would called a “popular” information blog but I do have a core followers of about 4100….followers that stay once they follow. I know that is not breaking any records for a blog but it makes me happy that people come and stay for the most part.

I have noticed that during the so-called ‘insurrection’ my numbers shot up but now that that event is been lowered in interests the number have fallen back to normal range.

Once Biden was close to taking that oath people showed much interest and now that that event has come and gone the interests in events has subsided.

I am trying to educate my readers on what to expect from a Biden administration…..I am getting push back for most people are of the mind of Trump was beaten and now gone (but not to be forgotten)…..

I am trying to point out that while we changed the person occupying the throne of power that very little will change…..those endless wars will continue, wasting of money on bigger and better weapons, the health system will continue as it is with higher drug prices and the insurance industry in control, infrastructure will continue to suffer and that unity that all politicians desire will be fleeting at best….in short your life will continue as it is today.

NO one seems to give a crap!

Yes we have ridden ourselves of the slug that proceeded Biden….that is the only change we will get.

The truth is I am bored!

Biden does that for me…..I was bored with him the first time he ran for president back in 1987….and I have seen nothing to change my opinion in all those years.

Since I am bored with our politics and few people seem to give a sh*t I have decided to slow my roll on posts….I will step back for a few weeks and post a limited amount on a daily basis.

I am not going away just stepping back for awhile…there is only so much I can say to educate the reader on Biden for most do not care….Trump is gone and that is all that matter in 2020.

The concern should be for the future of this country and yet apathy runs rampant….that is troubling for me.

Of course that will change as events warrant.

Be well…Be Safe….

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

2020 The Worst In History

There are so many events that could make the year 2020 as the worst in history……but for this post we will look at the economy….

The markets are at all time highs….and too many in Congress want us to believe that the economy is going great guns…..it is not….maybe for millionaires but as a total entity…..2020 SUCKED!

The final report on the 2020 economy is in, resulting in bleak historical comparisons but also hope for a better 2021. In terms of the specific numbers, the economy grew by 4% in the final quarter of the year, below estimates of 4.3%, reports CNBC. For the full year, that means the economy—as measured by gross domestic product—shrank 3.5%. Coverage:

  • Comparisons:The economy’s yearly decline of 3.5% is the worst in 74 years, reports the AP. In 1946, the mark was 11.6%, thanks to the end of World War II. The 2020 decline is the first since a fall of 2.5% in 2009, during the Great Recession. The worst ever was 12.9% in 1932, during the Great Depression.
    Context: All in all, given the pandemic and unprecedented political turmoil, “the economy closed in fairly good shape,” writes Jeff Cox of CNBC. “There has been a broad recovery, but economically speaking, we’re not out of the woods yet,” is how Ben Herzon of IHS Markit puts it to the Washington Post.
  • On the horizon: Economists expect sluggish growth to continue in the early part of this year before picking up later if vaccines get the pandemic under control, reports the Wall Street Journal. “Coming out of the disaster of the pandemic, we’re going to see outsized growth from the second quarter onwards and a sharp decline in joblessness,” says Joseph Brusuelas of RSM US LLP. Two estimates cited in the story predict annual growth of 4% or 5% in 2021.
  • Relatively stable: The figure of 4% in the final quarter follows wild swings earlier in the year. GDP contracted 31.4% in the second quarter before rebounding by a record 33.4% in the third, notes CNBC.

So basically do not buy the hype that the media and the GOP would have you believe…..

They are LYING!

Keep in mind….a booming market does not an economy make.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Bested By Amateurs

Have you heard the news?

The news where the hedge funds lost their collective butts.

A bunch of non-professional day traders pulled the veil over the big hedge funds…..all around the stock for Game Stop……

Two major players have admitted defeat in the “David and Goliath” battle over GameStop’s share price—but other Goliaths have made a fortune. The stock surged to a new high of $347.51 at the close of trading Wednesday, up almost 135% for the day, making a profit of around $2 billion for the firm’s largest three shareholders, and smaller profits for a horde of others, the Guardian reports. On Tuesday, two of the short-sellers targeted by an army of Reddit users closed their positions after taking major losses, reports CNBC. Andrew Left of Citron Research said the loss had been “100%.” Melvin Capital is believed to have lost billions on its bet that the retailer’s share price would drop, but fund manager Gabe Plotkin said rumors of a bankruptcy filing were untrue. More:

  • What happened? NBC explains how the struggling video game retailer became Wall Street’s hottest stock, rising more than 8,000% in six months. The frenzy began when amateur investors on the Reddit r/wallstreetbets community and other forums began buying stock and pushing the price up. Hedge funds that had shorted the stock—borrowing shares with the aim of profiting by selling them and rebuying them at a lower price later—were left in a squeeze when they had to rebuy the stock at a higher price, which sent the price even higher.
  • Professionals are “reeling.” The Wall Street Journal says professional investors are “reeling from their losses” as power shifts from them to day traders and newbie investors who use sites like Discord and Reddit to discuss which stock to pile into next—and to mock short sellers for their massive losses. On Wednesday alone, investors who took short positions in GameStop lost an estimated $14.3 billion.
  • White House is monitoring the situation. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that the White House and Federal Reserve are monitoring the situation with GameStop and other companies that have seen meteoric share price rises, reports Reuters. Fed chief Jerome Powell rejected suggestions that policies including ultra-low interest rates were the cause of asset bubbles.
  • Forum goes private. The r/wallstreetbets forum on Reddit was taken private late Wednesday and reappeared with a note from moderators saying that with a flood of new users, it was becoming impossible to enforce content policies, the Verge reports. “We have grown to the kind of size we only dreamed of in the time it takes to get a bad nights sleep,” they wrote.
  • AMC is also heating up. The nightmare for short-sellers is continuing with steep rises in the shares of struggling companies including AMC Entertainment and BlackBerry. The Wall Street Journal reports that the flurry of activity was so intense Wednesday that AMC Networks, which has no connection to the other AMC, also spiked more than 20%
  • AOC speaks out. “Gotta admit it’s really something to see Wall Streeters with a long history of treating our economy as a casino complain about a message board of posters also treating the market as a casino,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Wednesday. Sen. Elizabeth Warren also weighed in, tweeting: “With stocks soaring while millions are out of work and struggling to pay bills, it’s not news that the stock market doesn’t reflect our actual economy.”
  • Where will it end? The New York Times notes that despite the hype, GameStop the company “isn’t noticeably different from a month ago,” which makes its share price appear “wildly inflated” and a risky bet indeed. The “weird little bubble” could cause the price of more solid stocks to drop if big investors have to offload them to cover their losses, according to the Times.

I love it!

The elites were beaten at their own game.

Well done!

After years of the 1% sticking it to the country they have been bested at their own game.

I think the Biden admin will either find the move illegal or they will put in massive restrictions and regulations.

Until then…let the ‘little guy’ hit back at the slugs on Wall Street.

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Biden’s Climate Change

When Joe Biden was elected he promised to act and act decisively on the question of climate.

He has done just that with the stroke of a pen on an Executive Order…..

“Today is climate day at the White House,” President Biden declared Wednesday as he signed executive orders to “confront the existential threat of climate change.” “We’ve already waited too long to deal with this climate crisis. We can’t wait any longer,” Biden said, per the New York Times. The executive actions include a pause on new oil and gas leasing on federal land and an order for the Department of the Interior to conserve 30% of America’s lands and water by 2030. Federal agencies have been asked to “eliminate fossil fuel subsidies as consistent with applicable law.” More:

  • Focus on jobs. Biden tried to get ahead of criticism that the measures will eliminate jobs at a time of mass unemployment, the BBC reports. ” When I think of climate change and the answers to it, I think of jobs,” Biden said. “We’re going to put people to work. We’re not going to lose jobs. These aren’t pie-in-the-sky dreams. These are concrete actionable solutions.” He said millions of people will be able to get jobs “modernizing our water systems, transportation, our energy infrastructure.”
  • Ambitious goals. Biden aims to make the electricity sector emissions-free by 2035, followed by the rest of the economy by 2050, the AP reports. The orders will “supercharge our administration’s ambitious plan to confront the existential threat of climate change,” he said Wednesday.
  • A big tent. Biden’s climate plan is backed by a broad coalition that includes racial justice groups, auto companies, labor unions, and the US Chamber of Commerce, Politico reports. But holding the coalition together long enough to get Congress to approve trillions in funding will be a challenge.
  • A “whole-government” approach. Biden’s orders established a National Climate Task Force with leaders of 21 government agencies, the Guardian reports. He also established an environmental justice council to address the disproportionate impact of climate change on low-income and minority communities.
  • An “essential element” of foreign policy. The executive orders state that climate action will be an “essential element” of foreign policy and national security decisions. John Kerry, Biden’s international climate change envoy, denied Wednesday that the administration would make concessions to China on issue like human rights or the South China Sea in return for progress on emissions, Vox reports. “Those issues will never be traded for anything that has to do with climate,” he said. “That’s not going to happen.”
  • Opposition from oil companies. Oil companies have slammed the halt to new leases on federal lands, saying the move will cost jobs and make the US more dependent on foreign energy. But environmental advocates note that energy companies can still extract oil and gas from the existing leases they stockpiled during the Trump administration, the Los Angeles Times reports. “If what this pause does is say to the oil companies, ‘OK, you have thousands of permits you’re not using, let’s work on those,’ that’s still a lot,” said Nada Culver, vice president of public lands for the National Audubon Society.

It is an ambitious plan and I am behind him for the most part…..but I am not optimistic that he can get much of it into policy…..the push backs will be many….

But then…nothing new.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”