Fred's DEAD !!!
NO end to winter?
Canada has a bit of a problem...
Their version of Punxsutawney Phil is named FRED .. Fred la Marmotte did not predict a long OR short "rest of winter" .. why? Because he DIED.
Yup .. They went to get him yesterday morning and..He was DEAD.. Deceased .. He had ceased to be.. He was an EX-ground hog...(Ground Hogs normally only live 3 years or so.... There have been like 45 Punxsutawney Phils .. he just never DIED on his way to "Predicting") ..
Does this mean no early OR late Spring?? Are we stuck in Winter FOREVER??
I am not sure it is related .. but.. the Midwest and Northeast are about to get CRUSHED with cold.. Have those ski jackets ready for tonight and tomorrow..
..and..
Its a Bird .. Its a Plane... Its .. A Chinese Spy Balloon. .. The Pentagon says a "weather balloon" that flew over some sensitive parts of America was actually Chinese and being used to SPY.. The Defense Department was wary of "shooting it down" due to potential danger to people on the ground.. They said:
“Currently we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective over and above what the PRC can do through other means,” the senior defense official said. “Nevertheless we are taking all necessary steps to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information.”
Mao Ning of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said not to jump to conclusions. He insisted that “China is a responsible country. We act in accordance with international law. We have no intention of violating other countries’ airspace.”
I say SHOOT IT DOWN when it flies over an unpopulated area.. and..
RUSSIA: Uhh.. What do you mean, "Gain Attention"??
Russia’s top diplomat issued a chilling warning Thursday that Moscow “will do everything” to “gain the world’s attention” on the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine — as the Kremlin was said to be preparing to launch a new offensive with up to 500,000 conscripts.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that Moscow would take great measures to overshadow anti-Russia events allegedly being planned by the West to mark the war’s anniversary on Feb. 24. .. umm..
THAT does not sound like a "Good thing" for the world...
In Da Swamp:
Keep Lookin !!! .. The FBI will now search Mike Pence's house for Classified documents .. I guess they NEED to look, "non-partisan" .. Does Pence have a criminal, drug addict son, too?
Rep Ilhan Omar was voted off the Foreign Affairs Committee for her racist remarks and saying America was just like the Taliban. Of course, her and her band of screaming Yentas claimed RACISM and SEXISM .. I guess they think Eric Swalwell and Adam Schiff are women? Because they got kicked off their Committees.. also..
Speaker McCarthy calmly pointed out that Omar was not dismissed from her other committee positions. It's just not appropriate to have someone that makes anti-semitic statements on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Other Republicans pointed out that Speaker Pelosi and the last Congress were the ones that "started it" and they were worse
I am not Dead Yet !!! .. A nurse is under investigation and a hospice facility is being fined $10,000 after a woman in a body bag at a funeral home was found to be .. BREATHING.. The Funeral home worker unzipped the body bag and the woman was ALIVE ..
She was an Alzheimers patient and was returned to hospice where she died two days later .. For REAL this time.. Geez .. You gotta DOUBLE check that kinda stuff.. Right? ..
Reminds me of that REALLY Dark joke ..
A woman gets into a car accident and goes to the ER. The doctor comes out to speak to the husband. He tells the husband, "Sir, it's bad news. She will be paralyzed the rest of her life. She will do nothing by lay around and drool. You will have to dress her, feed her, change her diaper, and move her limbs around. She will never recover and you will have to do this for the rest of your life and she will be in constant pain. " .. The man breaks down crying..
Then, the doctor says.. "NAH.. I'm just kidding.. She's dead"
I know.... BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
SPORTS:
GOLF: Pebble Beach Pro-AM: Hank Lebioda leads at -8. But, this is one of those events played over three courses. Hank played Monterey Peninsula .. You could argue that Keith Mitchell is "leading" at -5 because he played Spyglass Hill. The "field" of players at Spyglass were a combined 5 over par .. The field at Pebble Beach was -100 and at Monterey was -50.
DP Euros: Adrian Meronk, David Law and Rasmus Hojgaard share the lead at -11 near the end of Round 2. I think I'd pick Hojgaard but what do I know..
CELEBRIDIOTS:
Disgraced British pop star and convicted pedophile Gary Glitter was released from prison Friday after serving just half of his 16-year sentence. ..Because .. Ya know.. Why should we keep pedophiles in Prison? .. They can be rehabilitated? Right?
Pam Anderson has been in the headlines due to her book promotion . .. Some asked, "What about that girl that took over when Pam left that show, "Tool Time" .. Well, her name is Debbie Dunning .. HERE.. HERE.. She was hot in a sorta different way ..
I Guess it kinda sets up a "Ginger vs Mary Ann" competition .. So, let me ask .. Debbie...HERE.. . or Pam ... HERE .. ???
From SeekingAlpha.com
The labor market is still "out of balance," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference earlier this week, putting today's non-farm payrolls report high up on the watchlist. Economists expect the U.S. economy to have added 185K jobs in January, down from the 223K added in December, with the unemployment rate forecast to tick up to 3.6% (from 3.5%) amid an increasing amount of layoffs. However, the bigger piece of the puzzle is wage growth, which will directly influence how central bank policymakers view the current inflation landscape and how the economy is developing. Bigger picture: The Fed wants to make sure that new job growth slows enough to cut the gap between labor supply and demand, so that wages don't contribute to inflationary pressures. This dislocation was seen in the recent JOLTS report that showed the number of job openings unexpectedly rising to just over 11M in December vs. 10.4M in the previous month. With almost two job openings for every job seeker, that can lead to higher wages, such as the recent increase seen at Walmart (WMT), the nation's largest employer. The labor force participation, which has stayed stubbornly low since the pandemic, also isn't helping. In December, it ticked up to 62.3%, from 62.2% in the previous month, but remains a full percentage point below its February 2020 level. Remember, until the Fed's next monetary policy decision, there will be one more non-farm payrolls report, two more consumer price index releases, as well as one on personal consumption expenditures report - each of which gives more insight into inflation dynamics. See why SA contributor Damir Tokic expects today's payroll report will confirm an imminent recession. Revisions on tap: There are several factors in this morning's NFP report - published at 8:30 AM ET - that could shed new light on the state of the labor market. First off, the Labor Department will release its annual benchmark revisions that seek to iron out seasonal fluctuations with more definitive data in the establishment survey. In addition to updating the formulas, new population figures will be incorporated in the household survey - which affects the employment rate - due to fresh estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. (6 comments)
Risk-on sentiment deflated after the bell on Thursday following a slew of disappointing results from Big Tech. iPhone weakness and FX headwinds led Apple (AAPL) to report a FQ1 miss, prompting shares to fall 3.7% AH. Things weren't any better at Amazon (AMZN), which posted softer cloud growth and slipped 5.1%, as well as Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), which stumbled 4.6% after missing Wall Street estimates (see what Google said about artificial intelligence). Despite the losses, all three stocks were net gainers on Thursday - following a bumper session during regular trading - though concerns remain. Keep an eye out for how a macro slowdown and a hit to demand are making the digital economy more challenging. (90 comments)
Central banks continue to be in focus, especially as policy diverges following an aggressive rate-hiking party. Compared to a slower 25 basis point increase by the Federal Reserve earlier this week, the Bank of England and European Central Bank both raised rates by 50 basis points each on Thursday. While the former indicated that a pause could be coming, the latter said it expects to increase rates again in March. Bank officials and policymakers have also indicated that the fight against inflation is not yet over, and it's "too soon to declare victory," but many market participants are trying to translate those signals into dovish events. (9 comments)
Defensive sectors are still the place to look for stocks that can provide a combo of value and growth, according to BofA’s quantamental Alpha Surprise model. The approach uses a combination of its Dividend Discount Model (the value or 'alpha' portion) and the BofA vs. Consensus Forecast Earnings Surprise Model (the growth or 'surprise' portion). Merck (MRK), Cardinal Health (CAH) and General Mills (GIS) are among the new names on the list for February (see all the latest additions and deletions). For a more technical take on large-caps, our latest screen shows many more S&P 500 (SP500) stocks in Overbought territory than Oversold (here's the full list). (6 comments)
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan +0.4%. Hong Kong -1.4%. China -0.7%. India +1.5%. In Europe, at midday, London +0.2%. Paris -0.2%. Frankfurt -0.6%. Futures at 6:30, Dow -0.3%. S&P +0.8%. Nasdaq -1.5%. Crude flat at $75.85. Gold -0.3% to $1925. Bitcoin -1.5% to $23,437. Ten-year Treasury Yield unchanged at 3.39%
Today's Economic Calendar
8:30 Non-farm payrolls 9:45 PMI Composite Final 10:00 ISM Service Index 1:00 PM Baker-Hughes Rig Count Companies reporting earnings today »
What else is happening...
Ford (F) CEO says automaker 'left $2B in profits on the table.' EV race: XPeng (XPEV) heats up the competition in Europe. Qualcomm (QCOM) earnings show effects of smartphone slowdown. Weakness in China leads to comp sales miss at Starbucks (SBUX). Next target: Nordstrom (JWN) jumps as Ryan Cohen said to take stake. Short squeeze rallies may be firing up again - watch these stocks. Falling demand for COVID therapy hurts Eli Lilly's (LLY) topline. ConocoPhillips (COP) slips after Q4 miss; return program a bit light. As Blinken prepares for trip to China, spy balloon spotted in the U.S. Hershey (HSY) issues bullish guidance despite macro uncertainty.
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.