FRIDAY the 13TH Ya know what? .. Since it's Friday the 13th and that's supposed to be scary .. Lets do a "Look at how GREAT things really are" Rant. First, all of you young adults that are stressed about carbon emissions and inflation and how bad the world is .. I apologize that your schools and administrations brainwashed you.. and that the media, both the LOSER media on TV and social media, lie and mislead you.. You are living at the GREATEST time in history in one of the GREATEST places possible. You HAVE to stop every once and a while and REALIZE that... Compared to the times of your great grandparents...or many other nations.. Things are WONDERFUL.. You can get food without having to kill it or grow it yourself. .. Your house or apartment has heat and plumbing... You won't die of Smallpox .. Measles.. Mumps .. You're life expectancy is near DOUBLE what it was when the USA was founded.. You have a supercomputer phone in your hand that can find just about anything, call you an UBER, or get food delivered to your door.. Carbon emissions ARE an issue .. but they are NOT an emergency. The world is NOT going to end due to temperatures rising a few degrees over the next 50-100 years. Ignore the fanatical zealot types and calmly read DATA and FACTS .. The world, in general, is WAY WAY WAY better off than the fanatics want you to think .. You want a quick test of that statement? To see how skewed people's opinions are due to the lies and misinformation thrust at them from the loser media? .. Go here.. www.gapminder.org ..Spend 3 minutes.. .. See what I mean? If you can read ONE book this year that can help set your mind straight about how GREAT things are and how much progress the USA and world has made (and is making) and how GREAT the future is... Read, "Factfulness" by Hans Rosling the Swedish Doctor/Researcher/Genius. ACTUAL data. REAL life... If you can read two books, read "False Alarm" by Bjorn Lomborg. .. Loaded with FACTS and DATA .. from Scientists not journalists... and its low on drama (boring doctors and professors tend to be that way .. ) So.. BE HAPPY!!... CHEER UP !!! ... THINGS ARE LOOKING UP !!!! Now.. .. Straight off that pep talk ... The Wall Street Journal has an article about cancer. The US Cancer Death Rate has dropped by a THIRD in the past 30 years. How amazing is THAT ?!?!?!?! .. and its ONLY GETTING BETTER .. Research, vaccination, CRISPR technology .. We (meaning women and men smarter than me) will CONTINUE to figure out ways to eradicate disease and save people... The longer you live .. the more you will see.. ..and.. I Need four of you to meet me when you're done reading today's Rant .. We are heading out to Missouri to help the Police. The Jefferson County Sheriff's office wants 5 drinkers. They want us to go to their "Wet Lab" (which is VERY DIFFERENT than the Wuhan Wet Market) .. We have to drink for a few hours then help train their new officers with FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS. They gotta try to tell how drunk we are.. . AHHAHAHAH WAHOOOOOOOOOO .. I am ALL FOR doing my part to help law enforcement .. and the new deputies even give you a free ride back to the hotel !! Winnah Winnah Chicken Dinnah !!! In Da Swamp: The "second trove of Biden Classified documents" story turned out to be true.. They were found in Biden's garage at his home in Delaware. The President said, "they were in the garage next to my Corvette... and by the way.. my Corvette is in a locked garage. It's not like its sitting out in the street" .. So.. uhh.. yeah.. the Positive Rant spin for today because it's "positive day" .. umm.. uh.. Well, uhh.. .. Hey, that Corvette is MINT .. HERE.. I don't see an OUNCE of rust!!!!.. (anything in that Trunk we should know about?? .. or anyONE ???) Of course the Swamp Rats are throwing daggers... "How did they get there" .. "Hunter Biden had access to that garage" (He did) .. one dopey Rep suggested they were PLANTED .. hahahhaha.. Who planted them? Obama? .. anyways. . A Special Prosecutor named Robert Hur from Maryland that I know little about .. SHARK WEEK? .. 9 Year old Molly Sampson was looking for shells and fossils on the beach in Maryland and found a Megalodon tooth. The biggest shark known. It lived between 3 and 25 million years ago .. I would call BS on Molly .. but its "Positive Rant" day .. (well.. also... paleontologists at the Calvert Marine Museum confirmed it was a Megalodon) Detroit Day at the Symphony .. A middle school class trip to see the Detroit Symphony ended up at Niki's Pizza .. The room was crowded so the sixth grade class was put in the "extra" room to wait for their pizza... and .. umm.. Well.. The "extra" room serves as a sort of "club" at night and has.. uhh... Poles that look kinda like Fireman Poles ..only.. they aren't fireman poles.. OOOPS!!! The event happened two months ago but only came public recently because the school refused to address it .. Photos of some kids on the poles were posted online.. with the kids faces blacked out, of course.. The owners of Niki's said they have used that room as overflow for kids for years and there has never been an issue. They just eat their pizza... SPORTS: Golf: Sony Open: Kirk, Spieth and Montgomery lead the Sony after Round One.. (well.. ALMOST after.. a few guys didn't finish because it was dark) .. The Hero Cup: The DP Euros are having a thing called the Hero Cup this weekend. Its Great Britain and Ireland vs Continental Europe in a "Ryder Cup" Type event.. Not sure why they are having it in Abu Dhabi.. but.. whatever.. NFL: Bad news Ravens fans.. QB Lamar Jackson is OUT for the game vs the Bengals... (Psst... Doesn't matter.. Bengals are too good).. College Gynmastics: These events usually have about 100 fans .. parents. .. a few friends.. coaches.. But ..LSU Gymnast Livvy Dunne is now a social media millionaire..HERE...HERE... ..and her fans are PACKING the stadiums .. Livvy has a message for you.. BE RESPECTFUL !! (When you scream like idiots for her.. other gymnasts are doing routines.. They do several events at the same time, then rotate.. ) How do I know all this? Because I am WICKED SMAHHTT .. and ... uh.. maybe ...uh..I've stalked Livvy.. a bit.. CELEBRIDIOTS: Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis has died at 54. She was rushed to the hospital yesterday after an apparent heart attack. Reports say the daughter of the King was, "looking frail" at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony.. Julia Roberts: You are NOT the Daddy-Baby ... Actress Julia Roberts ..HERE..HERE... did an episode of "Ancestry: Finding your Roots" .. I thought it was a search for her real hair color.. but..it wasn't.. .. Julia's great-great-grandma Rhoda was married to Willis Roberts. But, it seems Julia's great grandpa John was born.. GASP.. 10 years AFTER Willis died !!.. Old Rhoda was doing the nasty with Henry Mitchell from across town who already had six kids with HIS wife, Sarah. (according to DNA that is..) SCANDAL !!! Roberts says it was a shock but in the end, her family is her family and she likes Roberts better than Mitchell, anyways... How's about Searing, Julia? ... Has a nice ring: Julia Searing .. Doesn't it ?? ..and.. Kanye West has been laying low since his tirades against Jews in the media and subsequent banishment.. One person that HAS seen Ye is Yeezy designer Bianca Censori .. HERE.. HERE.. Yeah.. umm.. apparently, the got married .. No word if there is anything like a marriage license or if there was a wedding.. I guess Ye could technically marry himself.. I mean.. He sometimes calls himself a minister.. and sometimes calls himself GOD.. .. one thing for sure.. Kanye certainly has a "Type" ..HERE.. From SeekingAlpha.com 'Tis the earnings season Seeking Alpha wishes our subscribers a great holiday weekend and MLK Day! Earnings season is kicking off today, on Friday the 13th, but many are hoping for better luck as the biggest U.S. banks start the festivities. Set to report are Wall Street heavyweights JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC), as well as Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC). ETF behemoth BlackRock (BLK), and trust bank, Bank of New York Mellon (BK), will also disclose Q4 results. Snapshot: As the Federal Reserve continues to raise rates, banks would be expected to see their net interest income rise in Q4 2022, but the earnings impact from higher rates isn't quite that simple. As rates rise, so do banks' costs on deposits. In addition, the increased cost of money has put a damper on new stock and debt issues, and mergers and acquisitions, which are businesses that Wall Street banks traditionally earn hefty fees. Taking a broader view, the Fed's aggressive tightening raises the risk that the economy will fall into a recession (the inverted yield curve already warns of such an outcome). With a dimmer economic outlook, banks are bracing by increasing their reserves for expected losses as credit quality typically suffers during economic downturns. With inflation raising wages and other costs, the estimates for banks' Q4 earnings are mostly lower than the year-ago results, according to Wall Street consensus estimates, while analysts have also been lowering their expectations more than they've been increasing them. Commentary: Morgan Stanley analyst Betsy Graseck forecasts that reserve ratios will increase by a median of 4 basis points Q/Q, "with provisions above the Street for every large cap bank that we cover." Banks sensitive to the front end of the yield curve could produce further NII surprises. Due to inflation, Graseck also expects large cap banks to guide to 2023 median expense growth of ~4%, above consensus of 3%, noting that "fully 55%" of bank expenses are personnel costs. (10 comments) Getting to the core? The major averages recorded modest gains on Thursday, extending a rally seen in the previous session, as investors bet new inflation statistics will allow the Fed to slow the pace of its interest rate hikes. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP.IND) and Dow (DJI) both rose 0.6%, while the S&P 500 (SP500) finished the day 0.3% higher. Eight of the 11 S&P sectors also ended with gains, led by the greater-than-1% advances in Real Estate and Energy. Quote: "Market participants are now pricing in just two more 25 basis point rate hikes, which means the market believes that the Federal Reserve will soon change its outlook," analyst Leo Nelissen told Seeking Alpha, but said that the expectations were a "dangerous game." Inflation is only coming down in select categories, like energy and vehicle prices, while other areas, like wages and housing, remain major issues the Fed will be forced to address to avoid a 1970s-style inflation rebound. "Any hawkish comments from the Fed or a reiteration of its outlook could be bad news for bulls." Specifically, the headline CPI slowed to a 6.5% annual increase in December, compared to the 7.1% seen in the prior reading. The core figure, which excludes the volatile food and energy sectors, showed a 5.7% rise, exactly matching projections. However, some "supercore" estimates, like the one that strips out things like medical insurance and airfare, still showed a 6.5% annualized pace. Outlook: As everyone talks about eggs, markets are now pricing in a 96% probability of a 25 bps hike at the end of the month, compared to the 77% chance that was seen prior to the data release, according to the CME's FedWatch Tool. (16 comments) Compensation is cooking Say-on-Pay votes rarely get internalized by company executives and the board, but something new is brewing at Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). The compensation committee and CEO Tim Cook have decided to reduce his annual compensation by 40% for 2023 in response to shareholder criticism. While his $3M base salary and $6M bonus will remain the same, the total amount of equity awards available will decrease from $75M to $40M, putting his total payout target at $49M. Other changes: The percentage of Cook's stock units linked to Apple's performance will make up 75% of his overall equity award, up from 50% in 2022. That will more closely align his incentives with future growth performance instead of time spent at the company. Apple also lowered the number of restricted stock units Cook would receive if he retires before 2026. "The Compensation Committee balanced shareholder feedback, Apple's exceptional performance, and a recommendation from Mr. Cook to adjust his compensation in light of the feedback received," Apple revealed in an SEC filing. "Taking into consideration Apple’s comparative size, scope, and performance, the Compensation Committee also intends to position Mr. Cook's annual target compensation between the 80th and 90th percentiles relative to our primary peer group for future years." Go deeper: Executive compensation was a big discussion at last year's annual meeting, when Institutional Shareholder Services recommended that Apple shareholders vote against Cook's pay package. There has been some increasing pressure since then, especially as Apple deals with supply problems in China, weakening tech demand and the possibility of breaking its 3.5-year growth streak over the holiday quarter. While shares of Apple are up 6% YTD, they have fallen 24% over the past year, compared to the 27% decline of the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index. (10 comments) Unregistered securities The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has brought charges against crypto lender Genesis Global Capital and crypto exchange Gemini Trust over the selling of unregistered securities to retail investors. The enforcement action focuses on Gemini Earn, a high-yield crypto lending product (with interest payments of up to 8%) that both Genesis and Gemini started offering in Feb. 2021. Backdrop: Under the program, Genesis loaned Gemini users' crypto and directed some of the profits back to Gemini, which acted as an agent to facilitate the transactions and deducted an agent fee (sometimes as high as 4.29%). In November, Genesis announced that investors would not be able to withdraw their assets because of insufficient liquidity as contagion spread from FTX's collapse. The program was discontinued earlier this month, but its 340,000 investors participating in the scheme were still unable to withdraw their crypto assets and "suffered significant harm." The program was not registered as a securities offering when it clearly should have, as Genesis "exercised its discretion in how to use investors' crypto assets to generate revenue and pay interest to Gemini Earn investors," the SEC wrote. "As a result, investors lacked material information about the Gemini Earn program that would have been relevant to their investment decisions.” Crypto crackdown: "Today's charges build on previous actions to make clear to the marketplace and the investing public that crypto lending platforms and other intermediaries need to comply with our time-tested securities laws," SEC Chair Gary Gensler added in a statement. (2 comments) Today's Markets In Asia, Japan -1.3%. Hong Kong +1%. China +1%. India -0.5%. In Europe, at midday, London +0.5%. Paris +0.4%. Frankfurt +0.2%. Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.1%. S&P flat. Nasdaq -0.2%. Crude +1% to $79.19. Gold +0.5% to $1908.50. Bitcoin +4.6% to $19,006. Ten-year Treasury Yield unchanged at 3.45% Today's Economic Calendar 8:30 Import/Export Prices 10:00 Consumer Sentiment 10:20 Fed's Harker Speech 1:00 PM Baker-Hughes Rig Count Companies reporting earnings today » What else is happening... Tesla (TSLA) looks for sales rebound by cutting prices in the U.S. Virgin Galactic (SPCE) expects commercial service to begin in Q2. Bed Bath (BBBY) rips 50% gain despite talks of bankruptcy loan. Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) unit Verily to lay off 15% of staff. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) mulls music-library sale to ease debt - FT. Brazil's Lula reassures markets by pledging policies within 100 days. China stops clock on Intel's (INTC)-Tower Semiconductor (TSEM) deal. Beyond Meat (BYND) chief brand officer next to depart. Las Vegas Sands (LVS) eyes Long Island for large casino project. ConocoPhillips (COP) in talks to sell Venezuelan oil in the U.S.
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.