The term "woke" entered general circulation after George Floyd's dying and the fantastic cultural tumults that ensued.To be woke?To awaken to justice of the social variety.To awaken to the mishandling of Blacks by whites, of women by men, of the sexually heterodox by the sexually orthodox.Each governing institution of American society rubbed the sand from its previously slumbering eyes... and woke...Read More

I've been thinking about throwing my laptop out the window and sailing away to a deserted island this week to skip the NVDA earnings circus.That's probably not a practical idea. I can try to run but there's no way to avoid the most popular tech stock on the market revealing exactly how much the AI boom has grown over the past three months.It's going to be another noisy week as the three-ring fin...Read More

Baltimore's highly late sage, Henry Louis Mencken:The state or, to make matters more concrete, the government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office. Their principal device to that end is to search out groups who pant and pine for something th...Read More

Does anybody know what this shape-shifting chimera passed off as "our democracy" actually is? I will tell you. Like everything else in the blobocracy's tool bag these days, it's the opposite of what it appears to mean, namely:You, the demos, give us, officialdom, the power to take whatever we like from you: your savings, your liberty, your stuff, your identity and your posterity because we are t...Read More

Mr. Barry Ritholz of the eponymous Ritholtz Wealth Management:We were warned that deficit spending would crowd out private capital, choke off innovation and new company formation; it will send the costs of U.S. borrowing skyrocketing higher, making the debt impossible to manage; force the U.S. dollar to be radically devalued against all other currencies, thereby devastating the U.S. economy; cause...Read More

Last week, Ukraine launched an incursion into Russia proper, in the Kursk region (WWII historians are well aware of Kursk).Previously, Ukraine had not sent large-scale forces across the border into Russia proper.Map of Kursk region, courtesy of BBC.Ukraine sent in as many as six (likely understrength) brigades, supported by tanks and armored vehicles.Let's get real, though: That's not anywhere eno...Read More

Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST) is transforming an iconic but previously unloved Kalgoorlie asset into Australia's largest gold operation.Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) also known as the Super Pit produced 437,000 oz. of gold in the 12 months to June 30 (its 2024 fiscal year), well below its 2011 peak of 730,000 ounces.But Northern Star has plans to raise output to 900,000 oz. pe...Read More

In Beckett's play Waiting for Godot, two tramps, Vladimir and Estragon, spend their time waiting for the titular character. He never arrives.It feels like that with this recession. But according to my friend and colleague Jim Rickards, we're already in one.There's compelling evidence that Jim's correct.But where's the market crash we ordered? That looks like it's never coming. And that's a good th...Read More

We attended, recently, a large stadium event of several dozen thousand.Signs everywhere informed us that cash was worthless within its walls.Vendors would not take it aboard.If you wished to purchase a frankfurter or any other edible, you could only acquire it through digital means.The stern, dour visage of Abraham Lincoln and the $5 bill he adorns the frankfurter-peddler would not accept.Nor...Read More

The Aug. 5 mini-crash was a potent reminder to investors that stock markets aren't a one-way street.It wasn't the end of the world. Market indexes down 3.0% in a day is a big deal, but it bears no comparison to October 1929 when the stock market fell 21% over two days or October 1987 when the stock market fell 21% in one day.What caused the Aug. 5 mini-crash? There are several suspects. The employ...Read More

If you're reading this, you managed to survive last week's brief but hair-raising stock market horror show.No, the world didn't end during the Yen carry trade panic. In fact, the S&P 500 finished the week lower by less than a tenth of a percent. Not bad! The 3% skid on Monday was the large-cap index's worst one-day performance since 2022. To all but erase that kind of one-day move in less than...Read More

When a relatively unknown individual steps on the political stage as a candidate for high office, both sides race to "define" the candidate and stamp his image in the public mind.Since the Democrats knew they would pick Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota for their VP candidate, they had time to pre-produce the public image.He's not particularly fit or good-looking. No problem! They pushed him as a folksy,...Read More

The stock market has stabilized after Monday's major stumble for now. Don't sound the all-clear signal just yet.Yes, the U.S. markets look temporarily stabilized... while the Bank of Japan suffered a major anxiety attack, declaring it would turn around the very modest 25 basis point interest rate lift that crashed their markets for three days by 20% and also stated they would no longer even tr...Read More

The sudden economic lockdown of March 2020, the world over, was one of the more shocking moments in history.It was initially advertised to be two weeks. But as time went on and the lockdown period was extended longer and longer, it became clear that the whole point was to wait for a vaccine.This was based on the evidence-free supposition that the whole population was under threat and that the shot...Read More

We are told the time has come for the Federal Reserve to wield its ax... and cut its target rate.We are further told that prevailing conditions may demand multiple axings.And that these adjustments to the overnight lending rate will work healthful impacts.They will invigorate the guttering economy with fresh gusts. They will soothe the nerve-wracked stock market.They will, in brief, pour down oil...Read More

The stars were once again in their courses yesterday... oil was poured upon troubled waters... the dip was bought.All was peace.Following Monday's sharp unpleasantness, the stock market went trampolining back.Yet gravity reasserted itself today.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 234 points earthward.With it came the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite.The first dropped 40 points. The second, 171.Y...Read More

Not surprisingly, the stock market bounced back today after yesterday's mini-crash the "buy the dip" theme is deeply entrenched in today's market.But don't make the mistake of thinking that stocks will continue on their way to record highs. There are too many red flags to ignore, although Wall Street would like you to ignore them.Meanwhile, yesterday's market swoon distracted people from a major...Read More

"Most people think today will be like yesterday," Daily Reckoning co-founder Bill Bonner says..."But every now and then, today is NOT like yesterday. Something changes, something goes off the rails, there's a paradigm shift."We may be facing such an inflection point right now. Today, I'll show you why, and what's at stake.The stock market selloff that began late last week intensified today. The Do...Read More

I was enjoying a cocktail on my neighbor’s porch early Saturday night when the skies suddenly changed.Thunder rolled in as the horizon turned an ominous shade of purple and the wind began bending the treetops. We retreated inside just a few moments later as the first raindrops fell and watched the storm unfold from the safety of the kitchen.It was gone almost as quickly as it appeared - but...Read More

A seismic shift is rumbling through the financial markets in the second half of 2024. That's right. Let's break it all down...As I'm sure you know, the Fed held interest rates steady at this week's FOMC meeting. That was no surprise.But after years of tightening, the Fed is finally expected to pivot toward rate cuts, quite possibly in September.Friday's disappointing jobs report only reinforces th...Read More