This was intended for Thursday but is going up now. I will have a podcast for tomorrow posted. Jobs tend to be a lagging indicator but the dye is cast, make no mistake about it:  layoffs on are the way (see chart below). Much of this has been obscured so far by pre-election Obamanomics: essentially throwing government resources and [...]

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“Artificially low rates are not good for anybody,” – BB&T CFO Daryl Bible Two and a half minute podcast: wedge developing between poor fundamentals, market prices and central effects. MIT online inflation survey out for month September showing steeply sloped. Recall in chart 2 the pattern of prior QE rounds on real hourly earnings as inflation robs their [...]

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Three minute podcast on this topic.  This is a particularly dicey time for new moon (this weekend) action over Iran, or  for Turkey going seriously over the border into Syria.  The reason, although California is stressed on gasoline supply, don’t rule out the East Coast. A national gasoline panic seems likely if inventories drop to [...]

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Three minute podcast,  on today’s topics. More insane consumer behavior is being reported. Look at those student loans. Now we know where the device money comes from. August Consumer Credit rises $18.1B vs. expectations of $7.25B, prior -$2.45B (revised from -$3.3). Revolving loans up $4.3B, non-revolving (student loans) up $13.9. On percentage terms outstanding credit rose [...]

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Four and a half minute podcast available on this topic. A Reuters article covered various trends now taking place on the so called fiscal cliff (correct term should be permanent cliff- David Stockman’s term). A survey, by Deloitte, found that chief financial officers’ view of business prospects had darkened in the current quarter. Some 80 percent of U.S. CFOs [...]

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Three minute podcast on the earnings cliff. Seeing more of this: the earnings cliff may be here. Reaction is very perverse, these individual stocks get hit, but the indexes look rigged with little response so far. - Norfolk Southern (NSC) lowers its…

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