Bernie Madoff was born one decade too early, he could have been the next president. He would only have to beat Gary Busey and David Copperfield. What we've learned this past decade is that the power of humans to con and be conned is unlimited. Something to keep in mind for next time?
But first, some people need to go back to school and learn Econ 101 all over again, starting with The-Con-Man-In-Chief. There's a name for free money, it's called "theft". And only a society of criminals would assume they're getting away with it.
This is 2018 year-to-date:
March 2018:
U.S. CEO Optimism Hits Record
September 2018:
CEOs Selling Shares At A Record Pace Into Record Buybacks
This week:
CEOs Furiously Guiding Down Earnings Estimates
Deja vu, stocks peaked in October, 2007 in the last cycle, when the overthrow high turned out to be a bull trap. Back then, stocks peaked concurrent with the peak in buybacks. A record only eclipsed in the past two quarters. After all, what good are record buybacks if not to artificially bid up assets while insiders escape ahead of earnings implosion?
Bueller?
"A good chunk of that repatriated money went to share repurchases"
"Ka-Ching"
When interest rates hit 0% post-2008, the failed global 'Conomy devolved into a zero sum game. Third World in all but name only. With respect to the asset bubble, there were only three roles to play: The con, the conned, and those of us betting this all implodes spectacularly. This is not investment advice.
Those dunces who believe that stocks and the economy are positively correlated are in for the lesson of a lifetime. Something they should have learned when stock buybacks were coming at the expense of (good) jobs for a decade straight. Don't take my word for it...
But first, some people need to go back to school and learn Econ 101 all over again, starting with The-Con-Man-In-Chief. There's a name for free money, it's called "theft". And only a society of criminals would assume they're getting away with it.
This is 2018 year-to-date:
March 2018:
U.S. CEO Optimism Hits Record
September 2018:
CEOs Selling Shares At A Record Pace Into Record Buybacks
This week:
CEOs Furiously Guiding Down Earnings Estimates
Deja vu, stocks peaked in October, 2007 in the last cycle, when the overthrow high turned out to be a bull trap. Back then, stocks peaked concurrent with the peak in buybacks. A record only eclipsed in the past two quarters. After all, what good are record buybacks if not to artificially bid up assets while insiders escape ahead of earnings implosion?
Bueller?
"A good chunk of that repatriated money went to share repurchases"
"Ka-Ching"
When interest rates hit 0% post-2008, the failed global 'Conomy devolved into a zero sum game. Third World in all but name only. With respect to the asset bubble, there were only three roles to play: The con, the conned, and those of us betting this all implodes spectacularly. This is not investment advice.
Those dunces who believe that stocks and the economy are positively correlated are in for the lesson of a lifetime. Something they should have learned when stock buybacks were coming at the expense of (good) jobs for a decade straight. Don't take my word for it...
This week we learned that Trump is finally putting the economy ahead of the stock market. Wall Street got the message loud and clear. All good.
But don't you think they should have explained that two years ago? I'm just thinking out loud here...
"Good news is now bad news, until this all explodes"
But don't you think they should have explained that two years ago? I'm just thinking out loud here...
"Good news is now bad news, until this all explodes"
"Good news, wages ticked up from Banana Republican levels to Third World"
I've learned a lot this past decade. Mostly I've learned about the power of human persuasion. The overwhelming dominance of appeal to emotion over appeal to facts and logic. It all stems from the fact that human beings have been at continual war with the natural (God-made) world since the first hairless monkey appeared. The arbitrary and inhospitable coldness of reality does not leave much to the figment of imagination. All this sand, and no pyramids? That's where persuasion comes into play. Because by convincing other people to believe something that is let's say more in the interest of the few than the many, then the discomforting elements of the real world can be hidden from view. For a time. What I am describing is the history of humankind. The ordering of society to the benefit of the few, the motivation for which has not changed in thousands of years. And, the overriding basis of our current economic "system", which now resembles a fraudulent Ponzi scheme far more than a sustainable economy.
Now that stocks are rolling over, all of the false narratives that abided the rally, are now magically reversing. As if they never existed, other than to con sheeple into believing let's say something that was more in the interest of the few, than the many.
The one year (short-covering) rally in Retail stocks is over, so the "death of retail" narrative just magically re-appeared out of nowhere:
"We're making automobile manufacturing great again"
"The economy has never been better"
"We have a housing shortage"
The housing industry has never seen one bubble that couldn't be solved by increasing over-supply. Fucking morons.
"GE has a company-specific problem that started at the election"
"We're making steel great again"
"We're making coal great again"
