“You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So... get on your way!”
A Happy Birthday to Dr. Ted Geisel better known as Dr. Seuss .. he died in 1991 but would be 119 today if he were still around..
So.. I do the "Curse Cup" for Lent... I put $1 in the cup every time I say a swear word .. This used to be VERY expensive for me but I've gotten better over the years .. But.. Ya know what is a pain? Finding $1 bills. .. Is there a way to Venmo $1 to a "Virtual Curse Cup"? That would make it A LOT easier ...
Anyways...
SECESSION
The Second Civil War in America is not "Coming" .. its HERE ..
It won't be fought on a battlefield .. It will be fought in Legislatures and Court Rooms between, "US and THEM" ..
The Americans that believe in freedom, hard work, equal opportunity and individual rights have HAD IT with "Those" people. .. To be clear..
THOSE people are those that believe America OWES them something other than Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That "society" should give them stuff ..That people should be considered by their "group" not as individuals.. That criminals are victims... That the answer to crime is to stop arresting criminals. .. That walk around in a constant state of victimhood looking for a "trigger" to set them off ...
DeFund the Police, which we ALL KNOW crushes the poorest of our country .. "Shut Down The Opposition's speech" .. Even if the "opposition" is proven right!! (ie.. HALF of the Covid claims .. Russia-gate, Twitter Files ... Hunter Biden.. and on and on) ... The people that want all religion out of schools but as soon as something bad happens they say, "Oh My God" ..
Get the picture? THOSE people.. Whatever you want to call them.. I use, "woke mob" because it seems to encompass A LOT of that group... The Civil War is here .. and it's gaining steam..
Buckhead is a suburb (but part of) Atlanta. Residents there are FINISHED with the City of Atlanta and their anti-police policies that have led to rampant crime. Buckhead is furious that the pay huge taxes and their safety is ignored. Buckhead is 20% of the current city and pays 38% of the taxes.
They have been pushing to secede from the City and become their own municipality .. and it looks like it might happen. .. If Senate Bills 113 and 114 are approved by both chambers and signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, Buckhead residents will be able to vote on seceding from Atlanta in the November 2024 elections. If they vote, I'll bet you all $1 they secede... .. Also...
The "no way will that happen" concept of "Greater Idaho" is ALSO gaining steam. Oregon will keep all that valuable waterfront land plus Portland which is in ruins.. Idaho would absorb Eastern Oregon. Only 9% of the population .. but 63% of the land of current Oregon, mostly rural rugged terrain... Last year I thought this was VERY unlikely ....But.. it seems some liberals are taking the stance, "Good riddance to you redneck right wingers" (My impression, not their words)... and Idaho's State Government is VERY in favor of the move... and..
Loser Lori Lightfoot did exactly as expected and blamed her loss in the Chicago Mayor election on sexism and Racism .. (Pssstt.. Lori.. Brandon Johnson is black. Why didn't HE lose because of "racism"??) .. Shout out to Stephen Miller who said, "Maybe you would have won, Lori, if thousands of your voters weren't shot dead" .. DOOOHHHHHH!!!!!.. . Yes.. Gallows humor.. but.. still a little funny..
SPORTS:
GOLF: The Arnold Palmer Invitational begins today .. Jon Rahm is your betting favorite but there are a TON of great golfers in this field. I think you don't pick a winner.. you bet Top 10 or Top 20.. and looking at the odds.. Ill suggest Tom Kim and Min Woo Lee... Tough course with water, although not as bad as last week. ..and..
The PGA Tour announced changes to next years schedule. The new structure includes fields reduced from the current 156, 144 or 128 to between 70 and 78 players in certain new “designated’’ events open to the elite few who are ranked highly enough.
Those events also will be played without traditional 36-hole cuts... HAHAHAAH... They FOUGHT the LIV Tour .. They demonized Phil Mickelson for what he said .. and now.. They are changing to BE the LIV tour .. What's next? Shorts and Loud music?? ..
NBA: Kevin Durant scores 23 in his debut as a Phoenix Sun .. He is a great player .. but.. can they get past Denver? Boston? Milwaukee? ..
MLB: Ronny Mauricio .. He has seven at bats for the Mets in Spring Training this year ..and three Home Runs .. It's just Spring Training.. but.. Hmmm...
CELEBRIDIOTS:
Geeettt OUT!! King Charles has found a place for his brother to live after kicking him out of Windsor Castle. That place is Frogmore Cottage which is on the grounds of Windsor Castle. In order to move Prince Andrew IN he kicked out Prince Harry and Megan.. AHAHAH... "Royal Watchers" say this was expected after Harry's "tell all" book came out and that Harry is in the "crazy world of deranged victimhood" ... and..
Justine Bieber .. HERE.. has cancelled her 2023 tour because her face is paralyzed again.. This Ramsay Hunt disease first appeared last year and it is back.. I joke with her all the time.. but .. seriously.. I hope she can get this under control and get better.. and..
Gisele Bundchen's press agents are working OVERTIME trying to make it like she is FINE and OK and MOVING ON from Tom .. HERE.. HERE.. HERE.... Now, I will NEVER claim to "understand" women .. but there is ONE THING that I TOTALLY, 100% understand about women .. When she says, "FINE" .. Be Afraid.. Be VERY afraid .. because when she say's "No, it's fine" .. NOTHING is Fine..
From SeekingAlpha.com
The jury is out on Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) Investor Day event at its Gigafactory in Austin, Texas. Elon Musk started off by talking about the clear path to a fully sustainable Earth, highlighting the dirty and wasteful energy economy that is currently in place. His "Master Plan Part 3" would eliminate fossil fuels including repowering the existing grid with renewables and a switch to all-electric vehicles by consumers and businesses (electric planes and boats were also mentioned). In terms of resources, the company is convinced there are enough nickel, lithium, and cobalt sources to power a sustainable economy. Reaction: Investors were underwhelmed by the presentation, sending the stock down nearly 6% in AH trading on Wednesday. The future of Full Self-Driving, a robotaxi network, and charging infrastructure was discussed in broad strokes, and while a "next generation" electric-vehicle platform was announced, it didn't include too many details. Note that Tesla shares have been on rip since investors welcomed in 2023 - sending the stock up 90% YTD - and those betting against the volatile stock have, at times, found themselves in the opposite lane facing traffic. It was another "buy the rumor, sell the news" event, noted Seeking Alpha contributor Bill Maurer. "The presentation was just too long and wordy for the average investor," which may have "fueled some of the selling in the after-hours session." SA contributor Long Term Tips has already broken down what Tesla's new master plan means for competitors. Other highlights: Tesla disclosed that it broke ground on a lithium refinery plant in Corpus Christi, Texas with output expected within 10 months. The company also confirmed that a new Gigafactory will be built near the northern Mexican city of Monterrey. As for numbers, potential Tesla CEO successor Tom Zhu said Tesla has now produced 4M cars just seven months after passing the 3M vehicle mark for production. (180 comments)
Headlines from the fixed income world are rattling equity investors as the yield on the 10-year Treasury (US10Y) topped 4.00% for the first time since November. The 2-year yield (US2Y) also rose 2 basis points to 4.91% on Wednesday, hitting a new post-2007 high. Looking at the latest comments from policymakers, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic advocated for rates to rise above 5%, while Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari expressed concerns about incoming economic data. "Stocks are in trouble if Treasury yields keep rising," writes SA contributor Tyson Halsey, CFA, who says to "buy high yields to hedge your portfolio." See the full article, Is The Federal Reserve Wrong Again In Believing Inflation Is Transitory?
Over in Washington, the Senate just passed an anti-ESG measure that would overturn a Labor Department rule allowing fund managers and retirement plans to consider ESG (environmental, social, and governance) factors when making investment decisions. President Biden has said that he will nix the new bill if it comes to his desk - marking the first veto of his presidency - but the developments could signal further shifts in asset allocation strategies. With trillions of dollars pouring into the ESG space, a fight is brewing over the market narrative, as well as the PR and positioning that managers seek to take advantage of when marketing their funds. Contrarian investors wanting to bet against ESG can buy the God Bless America ETF (NYSEARCA:YALL), which is up 16% since its launch in October 2022. (6 comments)
Salesforce (CRM) flexed its muscles in after-hours trading Wednesday, rocketing up 15%, as the cloud-based business-software giant gave a strong sales forecast to go along with upbeat fourth-quarter results. In an accompanying statement, CEO Marc Benioff avoided any comments about Salesforce laying off 10% of its employees, and stuck to the typical earnings-report script, but said, "we hit the hyperspace button since we last spoke a quarter ago. Changes that used to take months are taking weeks." CFO Amy Weaver added to the sentiment by saying the results and outlook "set us up for a transformational fiscal year." Will the advances help Salesforce pacify activist investors, like Elliott Management, which has reportedly nominated a slate of directors in preparation for a potential proxy fight? (19 comments)
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan -0.1%. Hong Kong -0.9%. China -0.1%. India -0.8%. In Europe, at midday, London -0.2%. Paris -0.1%. Frankfurt -0.5%. Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.3%. S&P -0.3%. Nasdaq -0.5%. Crude +0.5% to $78.06. Gold -0.2% to $1841.90. Bitcoin -1.7% to $23,365. Ten-year Treasury Yield +3 bps to 4.03%
Today's Economic Calendar
Auto Sales 8:30 Initial Jobless Claims 8:30 Productivity and Costs 10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory 4:00 PM Fed's Waller: Economic Outlook 4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet Companies reporting earnings today »
What else is happening...
ECB eyes release of the latest eurozone inflation numbers. Microsoft (MSFT)-Activision (ATVI) review gets extended in Europe. TikTok (BDNCE) sets one-hour screen time limit for teens. Lowe's (LOW) stock slips as Q4 sales lag expectations. Department store markdowns: Sharp margin contraction at Kohl's (KSS). Despite payout concerns, Petrobras (PBR) to pay $6.9B in dividends. Cryptoverse: Silvergate (SI) tumbles as annual report filing is delayed. SpaceX (SPACE) launches latest space station crew into orbit. Out-of-pocket cap: Lilly (LLY) slashes insulin prices by 70%. Walgreens (WBA), DoorDash (DASH), Uber (UBER) partner on new delivery effort.
Regards,
Roger “Raj” Searing rajsearing@gmail.com "Raj Searing™”, "Read this First™", "@rajsearing™", "TheRantRoom™" and “TheRantroom.com™” are Trademarks of RRRAJ, LLC. All Rights Reserved-2003, 2008.
DISCLAIMER:
This RANT is intended SOLELY as Commentary, Satire and/or Social Criticism and is for ENTERTAINMENT. Content in this RANT is based on PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION and is purely the OPINION of the writer. It is NOT intended to be relied on as fact. Some of this information is garnered from well respected news sources and some is not. (In fact, sometimes I get drunk and make stuff up. It's usually about me dating hot movie stars or models.) Raj warns all readers: If you cannot tell that most of this Rant is just my opinion then you are too stupid to be reading it!!!!
Stop before you hurt yourself!
The Rant is inspired by how I feel that day, what I ate for dinner the night before, who is pissing me off, what I find entertaining, and information I sometimes get from: Bloomberg,1010WINS, Foxnews.com, CNN.com, ABCNews.com, CNBC.com and another dozen random news ".coms", The NY Post, The Asbury Park Press, The Drudge Report, The Daily Mirror, BBC, The Independent, The Standard, The Australian, O Globo, Charlie Hebdo, MSN, AOL, The Daily Beast, Breitbart, Wall Street Journal, Barstool Sports, Bleacher Report, CNBC, Various Analysts at brokerage firms, SeekingAlpha, Truth Social, Gettr, Instagram, PopSugar, Harpers, Washington Times, al Jazeera, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, Reuters, Maxim, RT News, Eonline, Vanity Fair, Politico, The Sun, The Daily Mail, The Guardian, Pravda, Forbes, Money, GQ, Men’s Health, YahooNews.com TMZ, ESPN.go.com, Golf Digest, and the Victoria Secret Catalogue.
This email is for entertainment only. We disclaim any and all responsibility for damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to, or reliance on any of this information that we already told you is worthless. If it gets forwarded out we have no control over where it ends up and are not responsible for the content of any site it may end up on. We try to remain free of viruses and all other diseases that can hurt computers but we do not warranty that…especially if someone forwards it to you. Action figures are sold separately and batteries are not included. If you choose to share this information with people that have no sense of humor you are advised to stand back at least 6 feet. If you receive this Rant stapled to other papers do not put in the microwave. Please drink responsibly.