Read this First 09/04/2020
Fauci-ed !!! With markets hoping for a vaccine by October the infamous Dr Fauci said that he expected one by year end. That delay scared the markets and they plummeted. I wonder how long it took before he was called to the Orange Office?
Death by Cop. The suspect in the Portland protest murder was chased down caught by police last night.. he attempted to flee then pulled a gun on police and they shot and killed him. Given what his family had said about him, he had mental health issues.. but.. I guess this saves the court system and prison system a few million dollars ... and..
Murder in Cleveland: There is a manhunt on for a man that shot a cop in his patrol car. The police car crashed and the cop was pronounced dead at the hospital. There is another victim whose name has not been released and they are searching the West side of Cleveland for the shooter....and..
In Rochester NY, seven officers have been suspended pending an investigation of a man that died in custody. Video shows a man naked in the street with a "spit bag" over his head. (It seems a spit bag is to protect officers from getting spit on). .. This is another sad situation. The man either had severe mental health issues or drug issues. He was running naked through a neighborhood and had been kicked off a train for "unruly behavior". Police cam video shows the man stopped moving as officers tried to get him to "calm down"...
GET OUT !!! With the protests outside their houses becoming a daily occurrence, the Mayors of St. Louis and Portland are moving out. Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland is buying a new condo and St Louis Mayor Krewson has moved to an undisclosed location .. What a load of crap THAT is .. I mean.. They are the reason these things are out of control and now they are moving out??? What about the people that live downtown near the riots? THEY CAN'T move .. their neighborhoods are a mess and they are STUCK !!
In Da Swamp: "If I go on any longer, they'll shoot me" .. ugh.. Joe Biden was giving a speech in Kenosha talking about healing when he veered off into talking about taxes.. He stopped himself and then issued that doozy .. Shoot me, Joe? at a "Healing" speech about riots and shootings? .. Geez.. He and Trump need to read the teleprompter and stop with the ad libs ...
Even with all the unrest and violence.. you gotta love America.. Protesters outside of Nancy Pelosi's house in San Francisco .. Hung Hair Dryers on her gate .. HAHHAHHA... That is GREAT !!! If I was her, I would walk out and take a few and say, "where were you guys last week. You coulda saved me a lot of trouble" !! ..If she owned it..I'd respect that !! ...
After weeks of complaining about mail in voter fraud .. and weeks of the press ignoring and poo-pooing it .. Trump unleashed a great one.. With cameras rolling.. he told his supporters to vote twice!! Mail one in and go vote at the polls and see if they catch you.. ahahahh.. The Loser media FREAKED OUT. "That's ILLEGAL!!! HE CAN'T DO THAT!!" .. well .. guess what.. everyone is talking about Voter Fraud now.. Think he did it on purpose?? Remember "Bad Hombres"?
SPORTS:
Correction: My apologies. The PGA Tour Championship was made a Friday-Monday event to finish on Labor Day. I mistakenly wrote yesterday that it started yesterday.. which it didn't ...Sorry for getting your hopes up .. I'll go sit in the Penalty Box alone for two minutes.. away from de udder guys.. and feel shame...
Anyways... The TOUR Championship starts today at noon with the PGA Tour's top 30 golfers of the year .. and .. like I wrote yesterday, Dustin Johnson leads at -10 and #2 Jon Rahm is -8 and on down..with the 25-30th players even par and a LOT of ground to make up..and..
NHL: GAME 7's coming !!! .. The Flyers win in DOUBLE OT to send the series with the Islanders to Game 7. Philly has once again proven the #1 Rule of winning hockey games. The GAGG rule. Get A Great Goalie, then go from there. 22 year old Carter Hart looks like he is 15 years old and plays like a 20 year veteran. He made 49 saves in the win.. . .. and Vancouver wins 4-0 and sends THAT series to game 7 with Vegas ..
NBA: The Brooklyn Nets hired Steve Nash to be their new coach which surprised some people. I think its a GREAT choice. (I would have made a run at Joe Dumars, too. But, he seems more interested in GM type jobs than coaching) .. Nash is a Hall of Famer who was an on-court play maker and has dealt with superstar egos. Ill bet ANY of you these two things: 1) If Durant stays healthy he will play 60 games next year minimum for Nash (versus the ZERO this year even though he COULD have played in the Bubble) .. and 2) They make the playoffs... Takers? ....and NOW...(Cue the starter trumpets.. da da da dadadadda dadadadada dada da da)
The 146th Running of the Kentucky Derby 2020!!! First, Raj will drop a little knowledge on you .. With the Breonna Taylor death and protests there in Louisville there were some calling to cancel the Derby.
While horse racing is certainly a predominantly "white" sport it wasn't always that way. In fact, African-American Oliver Louis was the jockey aboard "Aristides" who won the first Kentucky Derby in 1875 and the trainer was Ansel Williamson, who was born into slavery. Further, 15 of the first 28 Kentucky Derby's were won by African American Jockeys and they became celebrities around the Country... also..
Necker Island (Post Position 11...no shot ..but put $2 on him just to say you did) .. Is owned by Greg Harbut, Ray Daniels and Wayne Scherr. They have been pressured to withdraw. Harbut and Daniels are Black Americans. They will NOT withdraw, instead they will follow Raj's advice and use their platform rather than cede it...(Fair Disclosure: Neither are current subscribers). They decided to promote the Black American history of the sport and draw more Black Americans into today's sport... Now.. to the picks..
Intelligent horse betting is kinda boring. You don't pick cool names or long shots and then "dream" .. You put horses in three categories. 1) The class of the race. 2) competitive horses that aren't quite the top but could fire and get a win..or be right there..and 3) The Crap.
First, you throw out the crap. Draw a line through them and ignore them... Then, you bet the class of the race and throw in a few of the competitive horses into your exacta and trifecta box bets. Then, hope the higher odds horses from the "competitive" group win and your "Class" horses come in second and third. This way the exacta and trifecta pays more.... having said that..
Tiz the Law is the class of the race. (Won the Travers and the Belmont). Behind him is "Honor A.P." who is has late speed and could make it exciting. So, Include them in all Exacta and Trifecta boxes.. My horses for the "competitive with decent odds" withdrew (Art Collector and Caracaro) .. So.. Now its a throw of the dice..
I'm leaning toward Max Player (good Belmont showing but change of trainer) .. and Thousand Words (Baffert Trained.. disappointing earlier in year. but won the Shared Belief last month at 1-1/6.. The Derby is 1 1/4.. can he hold on for the extra distance ??).. then there is Sole Volante (looked great earlier but choked badly at Belmont).. NY Traffic (Good odds.. seems to be right there but just hasn't won a big one).. and I had newcomer "Money Moves" circled for a bet because his opening odds were 88-1 and he is down to 30-1. (Someone know something? Training well?).. But, the trainer is Todd Pletcher.. who is good.. but is NOT coming to the race. He trains a bunch of horses at Saratoga and because the Derby was moved he has commitments there.. So.. hmmm... If he thought his horse had a good chance would he blow off the race? I guess he gets paid either way.. but.. hmmm...
So, Raj will probably bet a few exacta and trifecta boxes with Tiz the Law, Honor AP.. and add Max Player/Thousand Words ... Sole Volante/NY Traffic.. and if I can figure out why Pletcher REALLY isnt coming.. Then Money Moves with a few of the others.. What does this mean? If the favorites come in you make a little.. if the Longer shots come in on top you make some NICE money .. and if some loser 80-1 shot comes in.. You make another pitcher of Mint Juleps and watch the Tour Championship on DVR..
REMINDER: Raj has three jobs and NONE of them are "Professional Horse Handicapper". If I was right all the time I'd bet horses all day... every day..
CELEBRIDIOTS:
I THINK I may have "Figured it out" .. Look at this.. HERE .. and this.. HERE ... Think I'm on to something?? It would explain a LOT!!!! ....
What is????? Ken Jennings? The scuttlebutt is that the "heir apparent" for Alex Trebek when he can no longer host Jeopardy is the Super-Champ Ken Jennings... Hmm.. I'd want James.. but maybe they can't afford him..
Dr Dre's wife made her "ASK" ... $2 million a MONTH in support and $5 million in legal fees (she only filed 2 months ago). I hope Dre's lawyers made that pre-nup airtight... and..
Alessandra !!!!! You're supposed to be isolating!!! (preferably in the Raj Tub before your time runs out!!).. What are you doing in the Maldives?? ..HERE.. Come home NOW!!! Oh.. and Alessandra.??. ... in the words of Hannibal Lechter ... "..Just one more thing... Love your Suit"...
From Seekingalpha:
Jobs report on tap after tech bloodbath
Traders are closely monitoring today's non-farm payrolls report, one of just two monthly labor market scorecards left on the calendar before the Nov. 3 presidential election. While the pace of rehiring is expected to have moderated in August, economists expect 1.4M jobs were added last month (from 1.76M in July) and see the unemployment rate ticking down to 9.8% (from 10.2%). Average hourly earnings are forecast to be unchanged in August after rising 0.2% in July. The figures could add pressure on the White House and Democratic leaders to restart stimulus negotiations, which have been stalled for weeks over the size and scope of the next fiscal package.
Tech stocks that have powered U.S. equities to record highs this summer went into sharp reverse on Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping 5%, and the Dow and S&P 500 falling 2.8% and 3.5%, respectively. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) contributed a big portion of those losses, falling over 8%, while Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) also closed the session sharply lower. Futures were still red at the start of the night, though contracts tied to the Dow and S&P 500 have changed direction to trade 0.8% higher, while the Nasdaq erased its losses.
The tech bloodbath is still being analyzed by analysts and traders alike, with opinions spanning the spectrum as to what drove the market selloff. Some are pointing to profit-taking, the "Retail Bros" and a long-due breather, while others are drawing attention to record valuations and a rotation out of tech. How long will it last? That's also a matter of debate. Was it just a flash crash, or the start of a correction that signals a broader sentiment shift? Join the discussion in the comments section.
Apple (AAPL) is postponing a privacy feature in its upcoming iOS 14 release (until early 2021) that would prompt users to consent to having their behavior tracked on an app-by-app basis. Critics of the change, like Facebook (FB), expect most users to opt out and said it would hurt app makers by making it harder to sell personalized ads. "We want to give developers the time they need to make the necessary changes," an Apple spokesman said in a statement. "More information, including an update to the App Store Review Guidelines, will follow this fall."
The DOJ plans to bring an antitrust case against Google (GOOG, GOOGL) in coming weeks after Attorney General William Barr overruled career lawyers who hoped to have more time to build the case, NYT reports. Some of the vulnerabilities they were worried about had to do with the part that focused on Google's search practices, while other attorneys probing Google's online ad business wanted more time to deal with complexities there. A coalition of 50 states and territories currently support antitrust action against Google, reflecting an area of broad bipartisan support.
The Trump administration is looking into banning more Chinese apps that could pose a threat to national security, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said late Thursday. An upcoming ban of TikTok (BDNCE) in the U.S. has prompted flash takeover talks with parties including Microsoft (MSFT) and Walmart (NYSE:WMT), as well as Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), though negotiations are said to have stalled after China updated its technology export restriction list. In a bid to counter the U.S. restrictions, Beijing is also planning to develop a set of sweeping government policies to develop its domestic semiconductor industry.
Facebook (FB) won't accept new political ads in the week heading into the U.S. presidential election in an effort to limit the spread of misinformation. The new rule only applies to purchases made that week, not ads purchased now and scheduled for that window. Facebook's other new election efforts include partnering with Reuters to provide live, official election results and plans to add a label to any candidate or campaign post that tries to declare victory before the official declaration.
Chances dim for Brexit trade deal
Senior Downing Street figures are putting the chances of a Brexit trade agreement with the European Union deal at 30-40%, according to The Times. The two sides are at loggerheads over state aid, with no sign that either London or Brussels is prepared to compromise ahead of a "critical" negotiating round next week. Boris Johnson has also demanded that British fishermen double the size of their catch from coastal waters, though EU negotiators feel that would lead to the loss of one in three fishing boats in Europe.
What else is happening...
Facebook (FB), Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) flag Trump posts about voting twice. COVID-19 vaccine from J&J (NYSE:JNJ) prevents severe disease in preclinical studies. Splashy return planned for Fiat Chrysler's (NYSE:FCAU) Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Hawaiian Airlines (NASDAQ:HA) follows other carriers in dropping change fees.
Thursday's Key Earnings
Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) -2.6% AH despite infrastructure software strength. DocuSign (NASDAQ:DOCU) -9% AH on broad tech market weakness. Smith & Wesson (NASDAQ:SWBI) -1.4% AH giving back gains after a record quarter.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan -1.1%. Hong Kong -1.3%. China -0.9%. India -1.5%. In Europe, at midday, London +0.8%. Paris +1%. Frankfurt +0.4%. Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.8%. S&P +0.6%. Nasdaq flat. Crude +1.1% to $41.81. Gold +0.4% to $1945.70. Ten-year Treasury Yield +3 bps to 0.65%
Today's Economic Calendar
8:30 Non-farm payrolls 1:00 PM Baker-Hughes Rig Count
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.
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