Stock Market is the bottom in?

[Westwind]

An American president can tell India or any other country "don't do this", or "we'd like you to do that" - but they don't have to obey. And in many cases they don't, so to not look like a puppet to their own people. How many times over our history have U.S. presidents given "political cover" to foreign leaders, making those leaders look independent of U.S. pressure, possibly applied from behind the scenes?? Diplomacy is about many things, and putting a pleasing face on an issue involving several countries is a delicate balancing act for any president.

I have no idea of what goes on behind the scenes in any administration, concerning deals / pressures / threats / agreements, etc. I'm sure for national security reasons, and political ones - either U.S. politics reasons, or global politics reasons - we aren't let in on every little thing. It's that way in every administration, R & D both. Sometimes it's best not to blab every detail out to the whole world. I lose no sleep over that sort of thing.

The world oil markets are always in flux / turmoil, because the leaders of a number of countries have huge ego's and they realize they have leverage in world markets. According to numerous economic and investment sources (one of which is Forbes), the U.S. is producing more oil & gas than it ever has - ever. Oil producers aren't going to stockpile and save it all for U.S. consumption ........ they want to sell it and make profit today - not in 6 months, 1 year, 5 years. Despite the fact that we produce more oil & natural gas than ever before, we sell our resources on the world market and still import oil. Doesn't make sense, does it? I won't try to figure out how & why world oil markets act as they do. Things that would seem - to me - to make sense from our U.S viewpoint ........ don't happen. So I agree with your last sentences above. Nothing is as simple as we'd like it to be.

I agree with everything in your post.

I do believe the Indian government is possibly violating sanctions against Russia though. The U.S. could apply pressure on them to knock that off.

 

[bwoods11]

Anyone else been playing the GME screw the shorts game? I was in the last round a few years ago and just got into this one. GME doesn't really make any sense as a long term investment but when the people get together then the people have the power. That is what's driving GME up beyond anything that makes sense. Not sure how long it will last but it is entertaining and profitable if you time it right. If people would stand together as work as a team we could control sooo many things.

Unfortunately I missed it again.. but did benefit by the SiriusXM run up in July/23… . I think that will happen again with SIRI.

 

[Jerry-B-WI]

Anyone else been playing the GME screw the shorts game? I was in the last round a few years ago and just got into this one. GME doesn't really make any sense as a long term investment but when the people get together then the people have the power. That is what's driving GME up beyond anything that makes sense. Not sure how long it will last but it is entertaining and profitable if you time it right. If people would stand together as work as a team we could control sooo many things.

Stand together and work as a team? Sounds like you want to form a union.

 

[jsasker007]

Stand together and work as a team? Sounds like you want to form a union.

Hey now! Lets not get too crazy. People have the power but can't work together for their own good.

 

[Turkish]

I don’t think GME is a good example for the benefits of positive teamwork.

 

[b116757]

Couple quotes from a Forbes article…. I thought it was interesting.

===Presidents get a lot of credit and blame over rising and falling gasoline prices. In reality, there’s not a lot a president can do to impact gasoline prices in the short term. Longer term, a president can pass policies that impact supply and demand in such a way that they do impact gasoline prices. But in the short term, a president has relatively few handles for influencing gasoline prices.===

===This graphic shows the data, but it needs context. There are many stories that could be spun from a superficial reading of the data, but many of them would be wrong. For example, President Bush saw a huge rise in gasoline prices when he was in office. It would certainly be easy to cast blame on him for this, but President Bush was very pro-oil and gas development.===

Average Gasoline Prices Under The Past Four Presidents

Gasoline prices have been especially volatile over the past 20 years. Here is how prices evolved during each of the past four presidencies.

www.forbes.com

But then there’s this: Biden has been discouraging Ukraine from hitting Russian refinery and energy facilities. Russia is financing their war and wartime economy with energy sales. (Interesting fact: their new Defense Minister has never been in the military. He’s an economist.) If Russia can’t sell oil and gas, they can’t pay for a war. Remember, Russia is basically a gas station posing as a country. So back to Biden. He is doing this because it is an election year and gas prices matter. I am a believer in “doing the right thing”. The right thing to do is make Russian gas and oil facilities unusable. The right thing to do is to tell the Indian government to quit buying Russian oil and gas. Both result in higher gas prices for Americans. As I understand it, Biden is in this case affecting the price of gas. Or is at least trying to. I think it’s gutless and it enables our enemies.

Now that I said that, I’m going to refer back to the bold above- it needs context. I probably don’t have enough context to know why we do what we do. I doubt any of it is as simple as “We do this and that happens.” Nothing is simple.

I think Biden’s policy of not letting Ukraine bomb Russian oil infrastructure has more to do with extending this war as long as possible than it does with keeping gas prices low.

 

[Westwind]

I think Biden’s policy of not letting Ukraine bomb Russian oil infrastructure has more to do with extending this war as long as possible than it does with keeping gas prices low.

Whatever he reason I fear our hesitancy to deal with Putin more firmly will have long term consequences. I’m a hawk when it comes to Russia though.

 

[jsasker007]

I don’t think GME is a good example for the benefits of positive teamwork

That's fine

 

[SD51555]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1791097366155571563

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[Brian662]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1791097366155571563

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Trumps horrible economic policies followed by Bidens horrible economic policies, what did we expect? We got what we deserved.

Only bright side is the US economy is doing better than any nation in terms of economic growth. Still doesn't make up for the inflation.

 

[OakSeeds]

People hurt the most in the current economy of high food prices, high housing costs (especially rent) and high transportation costs are primarily those on the lower end of the affluence scale. Those without decent or higher paying jobs and little if any passive income. Many of those folks can't qualify for credit cards, so they can't load them up. Middle income households with double wage earners, a low mortgage shack, and newer fuel-efficient vehicles will roll merrily along and eat less steak and more hamburger. For many, it's likely time for a side-hustle if they have some skills. Most firemen (e.g., 3 on -2 off) have done it for years. A great side hustle is cleaning dryer vents for $100 a pop or pressure washing decks, concrete, houses, or garbage receptacles. One can do well in spite of the government if they are willing to bust their butt.

 

[hunts_with_stick]

Sold some stuff yesterday since they are at all time highs

 

[bwoods11]

Trumps horrible economic policies followed by Bidens horrible economic policies, what did we expect? We got what we deserved.

Only bright side is the US economy is doing better than any nation in terms of economic growth. Still doesn't make up for the inflation.

I felt Trump’s economic policies were the best I’ve ever seen, similar to Reagan. The corporate tax cuts, massive trade deals, a secure border, low inflation, low gas prices all added up to great 3.5 years. Then Covid was unleashed because of the success.

Despite a Covid year .. He still had the all time record for 4 year NASDAQ (24% annual) . He also had the highest consumer confidence and small businesses consumer confidence in the past 10 years.

As a small business owner it was an amazing 4 year stretch.

Maybe you are referring to the national debt ? I wish ANY President would get that under control.. I’m guessing that will be a major challenge and most will ignore it. When they try to cut anything, the protests and screaming usually ends that thought !

 

[Brian662]

I felt Trump’s economic policies were the best I’ve ever seen, similar to Reagan. The corporate tax cuts, massive trade deals, a secure border, low inflation, low gas prices all added up to great 3.5 years. Then Covid was unleashed because of the success.

Despite a Covid year .. He still had the all time record for 4 year NASDAQ (24% annual) . He also had the highest consumer confidence and small businesses consumer confidence in the past 10 years.

As a small business owner it was an amazing 4 year stretch.

Maybe you are referring to the national debt ? I wish ANY President would get that under control.. I’m guessing that will be a major challenge and most will ignore it. When they try to cut anything, the protests and screaming usually ends that thought !

Yeah, I'm talking omnibus, covid money, PPP, etc. Specifically the economic policies. I agree with you on the rest of his stuff (not some of the trade deals) but he spent money like a drunk sailor, can't really argue otherwise.

Fiscal conservatism is all but dead, it's all smoke, mirrors, and whataboutisms now.

 

[SD51555]

What’s happening today is a problem caused by the fed, and the ‘vid. If Biden spends $200 billion slaughtering peasants in Israel and filling the pockets of the parasites running the war with no footage in Ukraine, that’s still only $550 printed money per person in the US.

The fed poured rocket fuel into the bond market to keep mortgage rates on the floor for two plus years. That put $50,000-$500,000 into every home owners pocket in America. And America used it. Some refinanced and cut their monthly payment, some packed all their consumer debt into their home, some cashed it all out and pissed it away. That’s done more to wreck the dollar than any amount of war grift or govt spending.

We’re 14 months into the slow boil, 14 months into the powers that be slowly drawing the net closed on the poor and middle class. 14 months of no stimulus of any kind and rising prices. Underreported inflation means defacto cuts to anyone on government assistance or flat incomes. So instead of being limped forward, they’re being cut down. It’s the perfect scenario to initiate the great taking, and it’s masterful how they got us here.


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[SD51555]

Scratch that, 26 months into the slow boil. I was off by a year.

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[Angus 1895]

Sold some stuff yesterday since they are at all time highs

I did too, but I am not selling anymore.

A lot of what I’m hearing is:

Higher……..,
………………., Higher

…………..,,,…,,,,,,,,,, Higher

 

[Tree Spud]

The fed poured rocket fuel into the bond market to keep mortgage rates on the floor for two plus years. That put $50,000-$500,000 into every home owners pocket in America. And America used it. Some refinanced and cut their monthly payment, some packed all their consumer debt into their home, some cashed it all out and pissed it away. That’s done more to wreck the dollar than any amount of war grift or govt spending.

So explain that one to me cause I'm still waiting for mine.

 

[Brian662]

I'm assuming he's talking about property values, but ya gotta live somewhere so even if you realize gains on the sale of your house, it'll cost you the same getting into the next one. IMO

 

[SD51555]

So explain that one to me cause I'm still waiting for mine.

Phantom equity. Before rates started going up in March of ‘22, you could have refinanced and got cut a fat check to go and spend as you’d like.

It’s the cash out refi. The economy is built on it, since 1985. It is also true that none of those gains are real, that’s why I call it phantom equity. If a person makes a fat profit selling their home, their gonna receive an equally sized augering on the purchase side. But if you’re not moving anytime soon, it’s free money, tomorrow be damned. In personal finance, there is no tomorrow for most.


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