Numbers Numbers. Taken as a snapshot, corporations are doomed. They are profitless and the current situation cannot continue

Gaius · 2024-08-22T11:03:33.748Z

Impenitent:

more consumer spending is great, but Americans aren’t saving anything… they are spending 20% more for things

You are correct.

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biggestal99 · 2024-08-22T11:54:57.124Z

Gaius:

Yup.
Real, post-inflation wages, although well-below the Trump trend,
are up almost one-third of one percent vs pre-pandemic.

wages started going up under obama and trump and now biden.

maybe its not a partisan issue.

Allan

Gaius · 2024-08-22T11:59:55.522Z

biggestal99:

Gaius:

Yup.
Real, post-inflation wages, although well-below the Trump trend,
are up almost one-third of one percent vs pre-pandemic.

wages started going up under obama and trump and now biden.

maybe its not a partisan issue.

Allan

I believe you are saying
wages started going up under Obama, continued going up under
Trump and are now well below that trend, up only one-third of one percent over 4 years (a tiny pittance compared to previously)/

Yup I can accept that explanation.

Gaius · 2024-08-22T12:02:53.668Z

We can also see that phenomenon, vis a vie jobs
one trend under Obama and Trump but a very very different picture now?

Hmm it applies to both jobs and wages.

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biggestal99 · 2024-08-22T12:06:43.955Z

Gaius:

I believe you are saying
wages started going up under Obama, continued going up under
Trump and are now well below that trend, up only one-third of one percent over 4 years (a tiny pittance compared to previously)/

Yup I can accept that explanation.

and in between something called covid happen and threw a monkey wretch into traditional economics.

how do you figure the market doing great when people arent satisfied with the direction of the country

the kamala crash was shortlived. the market continues with its irrational exuberance or maybe its just the new post-covid way of things.

Allan

biggestal99 · 2024-08-22T12:08:19.612Z

biggestal99:

and in between something called covid happen and threw a monkey wretch into traditional economics.

how do you figure the market doing great when people arent satisfied with the direction of the country

the kamala crash was shortlived. the market continues with its irrational exuberance or maybe its just the new post-covid way of things.

Allan

i mean one would hauve thought a recession would happened by now.
yet here is the economy still churning out growth quarter after quarter.

Allan

biggestal99 · 2024-08-22T12:12:48.172Z

biggestal99:

i mean one would hauve thought a recession would happened by now.
yet here is the economy still churning out growth quarter after quarter.

Allan

even @Samm and his bond holdings are doing terrific.

you get 5% back and inflation is 2.9%

do the math.

Allan

Gaius · 2024-08-22T12:23:25.052Z

The Bank of Amsterdam, the world’s first true central bank was established in 1609.
→ It was followed shortly by Tulip Mania, which peaked in 1637.

The Bank of England, Britain’s first central bank, was established in 1694…
→ It was followed shortly by the South Sea Bubble which engulfed many British stocks, most notably the South Sea Company.

The Federal Reserve System came into existence on December 23, 1913.
→ It was followed shortly by the roaring 20s and the crash of '29.
.
.
.
Market exuberance is a very very poor indicator of economic health
and an even-poorer indicator of future market exuberance.

Gaius · 2024-08-22T13:14:50.165Z

biggestal99:

. . . the economy still churning out growth quarter after quarter.

Allan

(pardon the caps they are added for emphasis not for yelling)
the economy is still churning out CONSUMPTION growth quarter after quarter.

(GDP is not the economy it is a measure of the economy, just like forehead temperature or appetite are not health they are measures of health)

Gaius · 2024-08-22T13:17:18.139Z

biggestal99:

even @Samm and his bond holdings are doing terrific.

you get 5% back and inflation is 2.9%

do the math.

Allan

And who pays?
There is no magic wand that pays interest out of a bag of tricks. It comes from somewhere. Bonds are literally transfers of future wealth and income into the present.

Samm · 2024-08-22T23:37:53.649Z

biggestal99:

biggestal99:

i mean one would hauve thought a recession would happened by now.
yet here is the economy still churning out growth quarter after quarter.

Allan

even @Samm and his bond holdings are doing terrific.

you get 5% back and inflation is 2.9%

do the math.

Your interpretation of terrific is pathetic. My portfolio was at ~8% with inflation under 2% when Trump was President. What would you call that?

biggestal99 · 2024-08-23T09:01:56.817Z

Samm:

Your interpretation of terrific is pathetic

are you not getting a 5% yield from your bonds now? and inflation is 2.9%

isnt that good for you?

Allan

Gaius · 2024-08-23T09:26:01.551Z

An investor who bought all his bonds in 2010 is making less than 4% on any of them.

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An investor who bought them all yesterday is making under 4% on anything 2 years or longer.

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Note:

The average inflation rate in the United States over the past 10 years has been approximately 2.65%
The current inflation rate in the US is 2.9%, down slightly compared to 3% for the previous month.
The core inflation rate dropped to 3.2% in Jul 2024 from 3.3% in Jun.

SOURCE of charts:

ustreasuryyieldcurve.com

US Treasury Yield Curve

An app for exploring historic interest rates

SOURCE of notes:

finder.com – 23 Aug 22

United States Inflation Rate (CPI) Statistics - 1948 to August 2024

The current US inflation rate is 2.9%, compared to 3% last month. The next inflation report is scheduled for August 14, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Est. reading time: 6 minutes

Samm · 2024-08-23T09:29:29.892Z

biggestal99:

Samm:

Your interpretation of terrific is pathetic

are you not getting a 5% yield from your bonds now? and inflation is 2.9%

isnt that good for you?

Sure. Anything over inflation is good compared to a return less than inflation (which it has been for most of the Biden administration) but it’s far from terrific.

biggestal99 · 2024-08-23T09:40:26.220Z

Gaius:

An investor who bought them all yesterday is making under 4% on anything 2 years or longer

short term bonds are yielding a little over 5%

which is a nice return.

the one i stick my excess cash in (JPST) is yielding 5.26% with. nice up arrow.

Allan

Gaius · 2024-08-23T09:48:59.506Z

biggestal99:

short term bonds are yielding a little over 5%

That’s right anyone who held their life savings elsewhere, (stocks, actual cash crypto) but then a short time ago dumped it all and moved it all to short term bonds is now making 5%.

Which is very very very different than saying “Bond investors are doing well. Anyone who was in the 50s and moved into bonds a few years ago made 5%.”

biggestal99 · 2024-08-23T10:36:24.814Z

Gaius:

That’s right anyone who held their life savings elsewhere, (stocks, actual cash crypto) but then a short time ago dumped it all and moved it all to short term bonds is now making 5%.

Which is very very very different than saying “Bond investors are doing well. Anyone who was in the 50s and moved into bonds a few years ago made 5%.”

any investor needs luck sometimes. i saw the yield and with one of your famous up arrow and said that is the place for cash for me. now of course what goes up will have to go down, i will ride this puppy until i see negative signs.

Allan

biggestal99 · 2024-08-23T10:39:36.631Z

biggestal99:

any investor needs luck sometimes. i saw the yield and with one of your famous up arrow and said that is the place for cash for me. now of course what goes up will have to go down, i will ride this puppy until i see negative signs.

Allan

basically as an investor, you have to be flexible and make money when the opportunity presents itself.

Allan

Gaius · 2024-08-23T12:29:26.721Z

biggestal99:

biggestal99:

any investor needs luck sometimes. i saw the yield and with one of your famous up arrow and said that is the place for cash for me. now of course what goes up will have to go down, i will ride this puppy until i see negative signs.

Allan

basically as an investor, you have to be flexible and make money when the opportunity presents itself.

Allan

Which would explain why Warren Buffett, who invests only bullishly, and normally holds his investments for a VERY long time, dumped half his Apple stock and is 50% cash and bonds as of his latest quarterly report.

Impenitent · 2024-08-23T12:42:41.668Z

isn’t the underlying problem not that prices are rising, but the value of the currency in which the items are purchased is falling?