Perspective
Howmuch.net – Credit Scores & Household Incomes in America – Raul 1/8
WSJ – Daily Shot: Deutsche Bank – Road Quality by US State 2016 1/9
Worthy Insights / Opinion Pieces / Advice
A Teachable Moment – Will Wealth Inequality Slay the Bull Market? – Anthony Isola 1/8
- “Revolution is the ultimate Black Swan.”
- “Thirty percent of U.S. households have zero or negative non-home wealth. One thing is certain; this is not the location of the ‘cash on the sidelines’.”
- “Unfortunately, wealth inequality is a feature, not a bug, of democracy and capitalism.”
- “’According to research from the New York University economist Edward Wolff, the top 10 percent of American households now own 84% of all stocks. That’s up from 77% ownership in 2001′.”
- “90% of America barely participated in the massive bull market the last several years.”
- “’The majority of middle-class wealth is tied to homes, as more than 60% of investible assets are in a primary residence. Stock ownership makes up less than 10% of total assets for the middle class’.”
- But do you have the fortitude to suffer the draw-downs…
- “The men who can manage men manage the men who can manage only things, and the men who can manage money manage all.” – Will and Ariel Durant
Bloomberg View – Stock Investors Will Benefit Most From Corporate Tax Overhaul – Ben Carlson 1/5
WSJ – China’s Strategy to Psych Out the West Is Paying Off – Andrew Browne 1/9
- “The China scholar Perry Link once called the party ‘the anaconda in the chandelier’.”
- “Just by hovering, it induces self-censorship and subtle behavioral changes.”
- “‘Normally the great snake doesn’t move. It doesn’t have to,’ Mr. Perry wrote in a 2002 essay in the New York Review of Books.”
- “‘Its constant silent message is ‘You yourself decide.””
Markets / Economy
WSJ – The Price Gap That’s Squeezing the Auto Market – Stephen Wilmot 1/8
WSJ – Daily Shot: US Consumer Credit Net Change 1/8
- “Consumer credit balances saw the greatest monthly increase in 16 years.”
WSJ – Daily Shot: FRED – Total US Consumer Credit Relative to Disposable Personal Income 1/8
WSJ – Daily Shot: Piper Jaffray – US Consumers living beyond their means 1/8
WSJ – Daily Shot: FRED – Total Consumer Loans by Credit Unions 1/8
WSJ – Daily Shot: FRED – Total US Student Loan Balance 1/8
WSJ – Daily Shot: US Financial Accounts Q3 2017 1/8
WSJ – Daily Shot: Piper Jaffray – Consumer Confidence & Savings Rate Gap 1/8
- “There is a widening gap between consumer sentiment and the savings rate. In the past, this divergence was a precursor to the end of the economic cycle.”
WSJ – Daily Shot: Market Ethos – US Output Gap 1/8
- “The disappearance of the output gap also indicates that we are in the late stage of the cycle.”
Economist – Daily Chart: The fastest-growing and shrinking economies in 2018 1/5
Finance
WSJ – Daily Shot: Bitcoin 1/8
- “Bitcoin appears to be range-bound, unable to breach the $17k level again.”
WSJ – Daily Shot: Investing.com – Ripple 1/8
- “Ripple took a massive hit on Monday before recovering partially.”
Environment / Science
NYT – These Billion-Dollar Natural Disasters Set a U.S. Record in 2017 – Kendra Pierre-Louis 1/8
South America
FT – Smuggled cattle and petrol join exodus from Venezuela – Gideon Long 1/8
- “Criminal gangs seize opportunity posed by hyperinflation and a plunging bolivar.”
WSJ – Daily Shot: Bloomberg – Venezuela 10yr USD Bond Price 1/8
