Wrong Glass, Sir

Politics is weird lately but so are markets. The Japan headfake earlier this week - what was that? - is oddly encouraging because it seems the so-called "yen-carry trade" is either safely unwound or asset managers have found a way to hedge their risks to protect themselves from exogenous calamities - or both - but for many investors it's now back to the golf course: the coast is clear; put all your worries behind your nightstand.

Even so, the table is set for central banks everywhere just about to begin a slow, steady campaign of post-pandemic rate adjustments. Jamie Dimon is unsure we can safely get back to consistent 2% inflation but the simple fact of the matter is 3% is the new 2% and whether formal guidance is ratified along those lines or not, that's kinda where we are at as a society these days. Simply put, the Fed Funds rate does not need to be pushing 5.5% when the cost of rising consumer and producer goods is half that. Question: am I starting to sound like Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Lower rates are a boom to short volatility traders, homeowners, job seekers, pensioners who own stocks, Japan, you, me, them, everybody. Everybody, as the Blues Brothers sang. Clears throat.

"Wrong glass, sir".

Love that line, sentiment, movie and scene.

Crypto trades like a tech stock. BTC, in particular. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'm also sure that how I feel about this largely has zero impact on the exact same, very real, hard to explain phenomenon.

We're tied again with China for Golds. This is when I sometimes start pacing. It's gonna come down to team sports. Let's go USA!!