Economy
Wall Street’s leading stocks reveal investor caution (Thomas R.)
As concerns over a slowdown in global economic growth have loomed, technology shares and defensive shares in the real estate, utilities and consumer staples sectors have alternated in leading U.S. stocks higher. Technology companies are considered capable of earnings growth even if the economy falls into a recession, while defensive shares offer steady dividends.
U.S. Stocks Outpacing the Rest of the World (Thomas R.)
Global stocks are lagging behind U.S. shares, illustrating how investors’ faith in the domestic economy continues to drive a growing divergence in financial markets.
Jobs numbers and corporate profits soothe fears of an economic slowdown (Thomas R.)
With unemployment at or below 4% for the last 20 consecutive months, the U.S. economy shows no signs of slowing down; Robert Wolf weighs in.
Job Market Resilient In October Despite GM Strike, Beating Expectations (Thomas R.)
“Overall, it was a very strong report when you consider some of the headwinds,” said senior economist Sarah House of Wells Fargo Securities. “While the labor market might not be growing quite as quickly as it was in 2018 or even in the early part of this year, it’s not collapsing by any means either. Employers are still out there hiring. More people are collecting a paycheck. And that’s all a good sign for consumer spending.”
As companies flee blue cities, middle class workers are hurt (Nate)
The exodus is part of a trend sweeping traditionally Democratic states over the last several years. Whether it is the state and local tax deduction changes or burdensome regulations, the trend is becoming increasingly clear. General Electric pulled up stakes from Connecticut awhile ago, and Cigna is considering doing the same. A whopping 1,800 businesses left California in 2016 alone, while manufacturing firm Honeywell moved its headquarters from New Jersey to greener pastures in North Carolina.
America’s Military Is Misdirected, Not Underfunded (edelinski)
Our European allies spend three times as much on their military forces as Russia does. Given better coordination and a more coherent strategy, they are more than capable of taking the lead in addressing any conceivable military challenge posed by Russia, with a reduced level of direct U.S. support. In any case, the greatest threats posed by the Putin regime – hybrid warfare, nuclear weapons, support for divisive nationalist parties, and cyber-attacks – cannot be dealt with by traditional military means.
As Secret Pentagon Spending Rises, Defense Firms Cash in (edelinski)
But there is one group of people talking about classified spending: the executives of America’s largest defense firms. In recent months, what defense contractors call “restricted” projects have become a hot topic on quarterly earnings calls with Wall Street analysts. Firms also tout the increase in classified contracts in annual reports and regulatory filings.
Hospitals Around The World Have A Dire Shortage Of Blood (Thomas R.)
It wasn’t the last time Tagny, now a hematologist at the University of Yaounde Teaching Hospital, would confront a similar crisis. He says that a family’s frantic rush to collect blood — critical for treating everything from traumatic injuries and malaria-caused anemia to sickle cell disease and cancer — are part of the hospital’s daily rhythm. And there’s never enough.
Thanks to Trump, the U.S. hasn’t admitted a single refugee since September (Thomas R.)
According to State Department data on monthly refugee arrivals, which is not available before fiscal year 2001, October 2019 is the first month in which zero refugees were admitted to the United States. Previously, the lowest months for arrivals had been October and November of 2001, in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks, during which the U.S. received just four refugees each. Even then, the U.S. continued to receive at least a few refugees each month.
In A Remote Arctic Outpost, Norway Keeps Watch On Russia’s Military Buildup (Thomas R.)
“Apparently it’s annoying the Russians a lot,” says Capt. Sigurd Harsheim, commander of Jarfjord border company, because the radar installation helps keep an eye on Russian movements in the High North. “Basically you have good control of the entire Barents Sea and everything around it … and I think part of the irritation is that it’s American built.”
Expert: Retiring at 65 is ‘a thing of the past’ (Thomas R.)
The average 60- to 70-year-old American has saved only $194,000 and many are relying on just Social Security income, Bibbo said. That’s forcing some to turn to work on golf courses or in retail for additional income. Others are becoming consultants for their previous employers.
The Truth About Income Inequality (Thomas R.)
Never in American history has the debate over income inequality so dominated the public square, with Democratic presidential candidates and congressional leaders calling for massive tax increases and federal expenditures to redistribute the nation’s income. Unfortunately, official measures of income inequality, the numbers being debated, are profoundly distorted by what the Census Bureau chooses to count as household income.
Tax Cuts for the Wealthy Make Inequality Worse (Thomas R.)
Here’s a short test of your value judgments. (There’s no right answer.) If free markets start dishing out increasingly unequal pretax incomes, should the government ignore it, mitigate it by making the tax system more progressive, or exacerbate it by making the tax system less progressive?
The Intellectual We Deserve (newsbuoy)
But, having examined Peterson’s work closely, I think the “misinterpretation” of Peterson is only partially a result of leftists reading him through an ideological prism. A more important reason why Peterson is “misinterpreted” is that he is so consistently vague and vacillating that it’s impossible to tell what he is “actually saying.” People can have such angry arguments about Peterson, seeing him as everything from a fascist apologist to an Enlightenment liberal, because his vacuous words are a kind of Rorschach test onto which countless interpretations can be projected.
Oil prices rise 2% on U.S.-China hopes and improved outlook (Thomas R.)
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 128,000 jobs last month, U.S. Labor Department data showed. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising by 89,000 jobs in October. The economy also created 95,000 more jobs in August and September than previously estimated.
Give or take a trillion: Investors still in the dark on Saudi Aramco value (Thomas R.)
However potential investors, rattled by a damaging attack on Aramco’s facilities in September, were not given key details usually included in “intention to float” notices – such as how much of the company will be sold, and when the sale will happen.
Calif. Governor Seeks To ‘Jumpstart’ PG&E Bankruptcy Talks; Threatens State Takeover (Thomas R.)
California lawmakers over the summer gave PG&E a deadline of June 30, 2020, to exit bankruptcy or forfeit billions of dollars in a state fund established to help utilities pay for future wildfire claims. The law also requires PG&E to spend at least $5 billion on safety improvements to access the fund.
Maduro Negotiates With Putin The Handover of PDVSA to Russia (newsbuoy)
The Russians are analyzing the possibility of taking total control of PDVSA. They have already demanded that Venezuela reduce the personnel because currently, there are more than 70,000 people on the payroll, and “it is not feasible to create a company that is moderately competitive.”
Venezuela ready to hand control of state oil company to Russia’s Rosneft — paper (newsbuoy)
On September 10, US Special Envoy for Venezuela Elliott Abrams said that at some point in the future, the US might introduce sanctions against Rosneft for its cooperation with Venezuela, although it was not ready to do so at the moment. Prior to that, Abrams admitted that Rosneft’s activities in Venezuela were not in breach of US sanctions on the country.
Saudi Arabia formally starts IPO of oil firm Saudi Aramco (Thomas R.)
It’s hard to overstate the power of the oil firm, known formally as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. It produces over 10 million barrels of crude oil a day, some 10% of global demand. The firm’s net income in 2018 was $111.1 billion, far beyond the combined net income of oil giants BP PLC, Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Total SA.
Keystone Pipeline leak spills more than 380,000 gallons of oil in North Dakota (Thomas R.)
Although the leak has been contained to the area, about 22,500 square feet of vegetation and soil within the wetland region was affected. Drinking water sources remained unharmed, according to Karl Rockeman, director of North Dakota’s Division of Water Quality.
America’s Never-Ending Oil Consumption (Thomas R.)
During the 1970s, American leaders were forced to recognize for the first time that the nation used too much oil. In the late 1960s, the United States appeared to be reaching its geological peak of production. New environmental restrictions also limited the extent of production. Feeling the shrinking domestic supply and growing consumption demand, especially as his reelection battle was looming, President Richard Nixon lifted previous import prohibitions. Between 1970 and 1973, oil imports more than doubled, reaching one-third of all usage.
African Swine Fever is extremely contagious, there is no vaccine, and there is no cure. Once it starts spreading in a certain area, there isn’t much that can be done “other than culling herds and loading carcasses into hazardous waste sites”. Literally, we are talking about an unstoppable global plague that is an existential threat to our food supply. Of course many of us don’t eat pork, but there will also be an immense strain on supplies of beef and chicken as those that eat pork are forced to turn to other alternatives. This is an exceedingly serious situation, and with each month it is just getting worse.
The cautionary political tale of Iceland’s last McDonald’s burger that simply won’t rot, even after 10 years (Thomas R.)
“Without sufficient moisture — either in the food itself or the environment — bacteria and mold may not grow and therefore, decomposition is unlikely,” a company statement read. (McDonald’s did not respond to a request for comment.)
Gold & Silver
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