Overall: “It’s important to not overreact,” said Yellen, experiencing the second out of body experience of her 70yrs. Floating above the podium, Janet heard herself below, “Balance sheet reduction could start relatively soon.” My heavens she thought, what’s happening, what am I saying? Why am I saying it? But below her the press conference proceeded normally, naturally, unaffected by her presence. Wall Street Journal

“They took everyone to the cleaners, they were everywhere,” said Lithium, handsfree on Highway One. “They were vertically integrating, they had economies of scale, the ability to pressure people politically, change local ordinances, extract tax breaks,” he continued, downshifting from ludicrous gear. “They abused workers, they had welfare recipients working in their stores, who turned around and spent their paychecks

Hope all goes well… “That’s right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won’t help us protect our people!,” tweeted Trump, following the London attack. “During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!,” continued our Commander in Chief, the GCC unravelin

“Subservience to capital is embodied in the austerity of modern political parties,” said the CIO, leaning left. We were discussing the ebb and flow of history, politics, economics. Eyes squinted, history appears as an inexorable rise of humanity, productivity, prosperity – periodically interrupted by catastrophe. Woven into this rising thread is an eternal struggle between capital and labor for society’s economic spo

Overall: “We’ve had austerity rammed down our throats, it’s brought about inequality, it’s brought about the type of society that nobody wants – a low pay, race to the bottom society,” announced Mcluskey, leader of Unite, Britain’s largest trade union. “Jeremy Corbyn came along and offered an alternative.” And the Brits ate it up. Particularly youngsters, our future. 63% of 18-34 year-olds voted Labour, 27% Con

Hope all goes well… “Can we keep these tadpoles Daddy?” asked Charlie and Teddy. I shook my head, paternal reflex. “We already have two turtles and a bullfrog. So why not?” they pleaded, forgetting our countless other pets. And in their defense, once you expand a balance sheet past the point of absurd, why ever stop? But having lost virtually every such battle waged in recent years, I grasped for a straw. “Their momm

“Money illusions,” said The Magician, waving his wand. Crisp dollar bills rained down on the cheering crowd, each one of them seemingly richer. “We feel good when we’re doing nominally better,” he bellowed, strutting the stage. The Americans cried for more. And on it rained, poured. “A weak dollar policy works its magic in so many mysterious ways.” The Magician called a child onto the stage, blinking into the blindin

Overall: “We Europeans must really take our destiny in our own hands,” announced Europe’s leader. “The times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over, as I have experienced in the past few days. We have to fight for our future,” continued Angela Merkel, shaken by America’s weakening commitment to NATO and distain for multilateralism. “To all scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and responsible citizen

Week-in-Review (expressed in YoY terms): Mon: IS terror attack kills 22 in UK, Portugal deficit less than 3% limit (only France, Spain and Greece exceed 3% threshold compared to 24 countries 6yrs ago), Fed’s Kaplan targeting 2 more hikes in 2017, S&P +0.5%; Tue: Japan PMI -0.7 to 52.0 (6mth low), rumors the ANC is discussing options to remove Zuma, German business confidence all-time high, French composite PMI 6y

Hope all goes well… Dusted on an anecdote from 2015 for Memorial Day (see below). Back next Sunday with full weekend notes. Week-in-Review (expressed in YoY terms): Mon: IS terror attack kills 22 in UK, Portugal deficit less than 3% limit (only France, Spain and Greece exceed 3% threshold compared to 24 countries 6yrs ago), Fed’s Kaplan targeting 2 more hikes in 2017, S&P +0.5%; Tue: Japan PMI -0.7 to 52.0 (6mth