"EAT OUR CHILDREN!! That's the ONLY WAY "... Congresswoman Alexandria O'Cortez held a "Town Hall" meeting and an obviously "triggered snowflake" dramatically starting screaming in favor of AOC's New Green Deal saying, "we're running out of time.. we only have a few weeks" then said that AOC's new Campaign slogan needs to be, "we're outta time.. we have to eat the babies!!" .. Of course, social media ate this up (excuse the Pun). It's pretty obvious to me that this woman either has mental health issues... or was planted by the opposition.. or BOTH..
Violence in Iraq over the past two days has now claimed 44 lives and injured over 600. Riots and protests in several cities ended up with police shooting at some rioters. The protesters say they are tired of the poor living standards and corruption in the government (Kinda sounds like Los Angeles, eh? Except they haven't started rioting and burning things down.... YET!!!). Iraqi leaders claim they are sympathetic to the pain of the people and are trying measures to curtail corruption. This is nuts, right? I mean.. All that Oil money and they cannot figure out how to build some housing and get some businesses running to employ people? ... and....
Over in Hong Kong, Chairman Lam has (figure this one out) "Invoked Emergency Powers" saying that no one in a "public gathering", whether the gathering is lawful or not, may cover their face. She then said she wanted to make it clear that she was "NOT declaring a state of emergency". Uhhh.. errrr... how so you use "Emergency Powers" (which basically say the Government can do whatever it decides is best, regardless of current law) when there is no "Emergency" declared???.. Reports from local reporters say almost ALL protesters wear masks because if they are identified then their employers will fire them. So, wear a mask and face a year in Prison. Don't wear a mask and get fired... or STAY HOME..
In Da Swamp: There are conflicting reports regarding the White House and the Impeachment Inquiry. One is saying that Trump is PUSHING Pelosi to hurry it up and GET TO IT ... The other is saying they are throwing up road blocks to slow it down. (Given THIS White House.. they could BOTH be right) .. The typical crap keeps going on .. ..Each side keeps pointing out MORE "Evidence" of wrongdoing by Biden's people and Trump's People and This Democrat and THAT Republican. It's getting tiring...even to LAUGH at .. "Prescription Drug price gouging? ... Infrastructure??? .. Healthcare?? .. Is there ANY SHOT that our elected officials might pay attention to the JOB THEY WERE SENT TO DO??? Unfortunately, the answer to that question is an obvious, "NO". ... One kinda interesting side story (interesting to me, at least) is that Trump is considering filing a suit against Nancy Pelosi for false statements and defamation. (I know, I know.. almost ALL statements in Washington are False.. but.. stay with me, here). Rep Adam Schiff-for-brains gave a synopsis of the conversation between Trump and the Ukrainian President in a Congressional hearing. Some thought he was serious, but Schiff later claimed it was a Parody. Trump said that Schiff should resign for misleading the Public and making false statements in Congress (yeah, right.. like THAT is gonna happen). But, here is the thing. Pelosi was interviewed and asked about it. George Stephanooplopopoulpoulus referred to the event and said that Schiff-for-brains made up the exchange and Pelosi said, "No he did not make it up".. Stephanopopopoulus said, "but what he said was not in the interview" and Pelosi said, "those were Trump's words". Uhh.. The interview transcript is Public. Schiff-for-Brain's "parody" is on video. Schiff-for-brains admitted it was a bad joke. So, Nancy.. how do you explain that? It's not a Federal crime to lie to a TV talk show host. But, knowingly making false statements like that is a civil tort and defamation. It's not an "opinion" thing..
In the UK, climate change loonies calling themselves, "extinction rebellion" bought a fire truck off of EBAY and loaded the water with red food dye. Their goal was to spray the "Finance Ministry" with fake blood because they finance climate destruction. Well, it appears NONE of the "extinction rebellion" were ever trained on how to "put out a fire"...and... none were ready for the power of a fire hose. A few seconds after starting to spray the building the protesters were on the ground and the hose was flailing around the street spraying THEM!!! HAHAHAHHAAH... I WILL give a shout out to the Driver of the Fire Truck. He threw the keys down the sewer so that the police couldn't move the truck!! BRILLIANT!!! (and.. who is Financing these guys? A Fire Truck Ain't Cheap !!!)
SPORTS: NFL: If you don't stop putting teams in the monochromatic, silly uniforms on Thursday Night Football then I am never watching again. .. Russell Wilson had an unreal night. He threw for four touchdowns including one to Tyler Luckett in the corner of the end zone that is the catch of the year (so far). The LA Rams had a chance to win but lose 30-29 after their kicker missed a field goal with 11 seconds left ... in Baseball .. St. Louis 7-6 over Atlanta and the LA Dodgers 6-0 over Washington. (yes, I know. I know. Raj called that) .. The Dodgers started Walker Buehler over Clayton Kershaw which surprised many (including me) but not his teammates. Buehler is a "gimme the ball, dammit" type guy who is convinced he is god. His teammates are careful just to use the term, "confident" instead of egomaniac. One teammate said, Buehler is, "very, very, very, very, very confident in himself" Normally, I make fun of those people.. but.. hey.. he won.. if you back it up.. I guess you can talk the sheet... GOLF: Nick Taylor leads the Shriners Open (Great Charity. Weird Hats) after one round at -8. Phil Mickelson is only two shots back..but.. the tournament is in Las Vegas. Any shot Mickelson can roll out of a night of gambling and shoot another 66? ...
CELEBRIDIOTS: Yesterday was a bad day to be a man in Hollywood. Robert DeNiro has been sued by an ex-employee for sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. The complaint has the usual, grabbed-touched-said.. and made me get his Viagra.. and "laughed when other men in office grabbed my butt" . DeNiro claims its all BS and that he fired her for watching 44 episodes of "Friends" in 2 days and buying expensive dinners for herself using the company credit card. Wow.. 44 Episodes in 2 Days???. That is one HELLUVA Binge ... and.. Actor James Franco is being accused of using his "Acting Class" as a way to coerce girls into sex. They claim he dangled offers of parts in movies for more and more graphic sex scenes during class.. and that sometimes it was more like an "orgy situation". Well, I am not saying he is a model citizen..but if you are all adults.. and have the option of leaving if you are not interested.. I do not see a "Crime" here. .. The "Save The Children Gala" (West Coast Version) happened .. and.. Dancer Hayley Erbert would have been the CLEAR winner but I can't get any pictures without that guy in them. HERE ... and.. Victoria Secret is looking for a thief that stole 400 items from a store in NJ valued at $4200. OK. STRAIGHT out of the GATE, I gotta call B.S. on V.S. $4200?? Really? You're gonna try to claim that crap is really worth $4200? Its more like $42 !! You make it in sweatshops in Sri Lanka. It costs like 10 Cents to make a thong there!!! If you wanna try to lie to the Insurance Company to get some money, FINE.. But, I AM NOT buying that it's worth $4200 .. Now, police have some video and are searching for the thieves.. I know ONE person it was NOT: Victoria Secret Model Suki Waterhouse...and I know what you're thinking.. NO ... She was NOT in the Raj-Tub at the time!!! (She left Tuesday).. She was busy finishing second at the Save the Children Gala HERE .. She had a shot at first, but .. Really, Suki? A pants suit on the Red Carpet? Who is dressing you, Hilary Clinton???
FROM Seekingalpha.com
All eyes will be on the September jobs report as investors look for clues on whether the Federal Reserve is likely to cut rates later this month. This comes after economic reports that depict a contracting manufacturing sector and weaker-than-expected growth in the services sector. Stock index futures are mixed, with the Nasdaq roughly -0.3%, S&P -0.3% and Dow -0.3%. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed down 1.0% as the city imposed emergency power to ban face masks as protests continue. Across the Atlantic, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.3%.
The European Union will take retaliatory measures in reaction to new U.S. tariffs on European goods, German foreign minister Heiko Maas told newspapers. “The European Union will have to react and, after obtaining the approval of the World Trade Organization, probably impose punitive tariffs as well,” Maas said. The comments come after the WTO ruled that some subsidies EU states paid to planemaker Airbus were illegal, allowing the U.S. to slap tariffs on $7.5B of EU products exported to the U.S.
Facing unexpectedly higher demand, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has told suppliers to boost production of the iPhone 11 by up to 10%, Nikkei reports. The up-to-8M-unit increase suggests a more budget-minded focus in the new iPhones is paying off in higher shipments - and the lowest-end model is receiving the biggest order surge. Suppliers are on watch Friday including Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO), Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), Qorvo (NASDAQ:QRVO), TSMC (NYSE:TSM), Skyworks (NASDAQ:SWKS), LG Display (NYSE:LPL), and Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE). Go deeper: Apple: Strong iPhone 11 Series Sales to Drive Upside Surprise by Mark Hibben
SoftBank's (OTCPK:SFTBY) Masayoshi Son is struggling to raise funds for Vision Fund 2, the company's second massive technology investment fund, Reuters reports. That comes after recent missteps including the failed IPO of The We Company (WE) and falling valuations in other investments. While the fund claimed $108B lined up at launch this summer, the only large committed amount so far is $38B from SoftBank itself.
BP (NYSE:BP) names Bernard Looney, currently head of the energy company’s upstream operations, to succeed Bob Dudley as CEO. After a 40-year career with BP, Dudley, who became CEO soon after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, will step down as CEO and from the board in February and will retire at the end of March. Looney, who joined BP in 1991 as a drilling engineer, will join the board on Feb. 5. He’ll continue in his current role until that date. Go deeper: Compare BP’s key stats with those of its peers.
The U.S. lobbying of Indonesia helped loosen local regulations opposed by card networks Visa (NYSE:V) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA), Reuters reports. The change means U.S. card companies can process transactions without a local partner, making for a more lucrative arrangement. The U.S. Trade Representative tied the rule changes to Indonesia keeping a privileged trade status that gets the country lower tariffs on $2B in annual exports to the U.S.
Some 9.4% of units were unoccupied in Q3, equaling a post-financial crisis high reached in 2011, according to data from Moody’s Analytics’ Reis. The data, which tracks 77 metro areas, found that 17 cities had a vacancy rate under 7%, with San Francisco leading with a 4.1% rate. On the other hand, 24 cities had vacancy rates above 12%, including Memphis, Buffalo, and Albuquerque.
What else is happening...
HP (NYSE:HPQ) to cut up to 9K jobs; 2020 EPS guidance below consensus.
AG Barr asks Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) to hold off on encryption.
Fed will do what it takes to sustain growth, Clarida says.
Arbutus (NASDAQ:ABUS) -24.5% as it discontinues hepatitis treatment.
Thursday's Key Earnings
Costco (NASDAQ:COST) -1.7% AH on reporting mixed Q4 earnings. SMART Global (NASDAQ:SGH) -4.8% AH on earnings miss, downside guidance.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan +0.32%. Hong Kong -1.11%. China closed. India -1.3%. In Europe, at midday, London +0.06%. Paris -0.10%. Frankfurt -0.23%. Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.32%. S&P -0.33%. Nasdaq -0.34%. Crude +0.50% to $52.71. Gold +0.08% to $1,515. Bitcoin -1.8% to $8,154. Ten-year Treasury Yield -0.7 bps to 1.529%.
Today's Economic Calendar
8:30 Non-farm payrolls 8:30 International Trade 10:25 Fed's Bostic Speech 1:00 PM Baker-Hughes Rig Count 2:00 PM Jerome Powell: "Fed Listens: Perspectives on Maximum Employment and Price Stability" 2:10 PM Fed's Brainard: "Gauging Maximum Employment in a Changing Labor Market" 4:00 PM Fed's Quarles: "The Importance of Price Stability and Low Inflation in Today's Economy" 4:45 PM Fed's George Speaks on Sunday
Regards,
Roger “Raj” Searing rajsearing@gmail.com
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