what ever happened to Starbucks guy?

It's interesting to see that "Mayor Pete" is still floating about the campaign wave in the same breath of Biden, Bernie and Warren. He seemed out of nowhere three months ago. I still know nothing about him, but I suppose an old Joe or Bernie veep pairing is the objective since he's not an experienced DC pol, being half their age.
Other names have thrown their hats into 2020. The staff basher from 10,000 lakes has been quieter than Spartacus... and I can't think of anyone else new beyond above and listed back in January aside from the Texas US Senate seat race loser.
Seems a lot like the Republican field in 2012 who all ran against Obama and settled with a 2008 retread.  2020 may have Harris, but 2012 suggests Bernie or Biden.

GDP

Supposedly, Chicago is to get snow in late April? Seems like a joke along with the announcement of 3.2 GDP growth after all the recession fretting during the late fall into early spring... I love this WSJ piece.

The market looked bleak at the end if the calendar year.  I don't recall why. I didn't think it was bad so I socked as much into my 401(k) as possible... My -$1,200 return is currently +$1,750 for a turnaround that has me assessing too much.

I have reallocated most of my domestic index 500 funds towards international funds. The US economy is strong, so there's leverage to negotiate tariffs. I see the tariffs impeding growth outside of the US. I don't see the mood swings ending in the US market until after Trump wins reelection.

Fake news update

I hope everyone is paying attention to how FedEx is doing after last week's fake news story. I'm not saying the stock is a buy or anything, but it's got a lot of rebound potential.
Given AG Barr's statements today along with jobless claims being down... the market should spur to highs unimaginable prior to 2016, right?

• Gold seems to be neutral today. It seems to have been going through a weird lunar cycle of peaking and dropping of late. I'm joking. I sold a bunch in February and was going to buy low in March but it bounced back higher before my IRA allowed me to buy back the mutual fund I had sold. I sold again in March, so I can't buy back for a week or so I expect it to climb again.

Divorced dads are sickening

I just read on CNN a story about Michelle Obama saying something along the lines: America is currently like living with a divorced dad.  It's fun at the start of the weekend but by the end, you get sick and want to go home to mom.

Is it fake news? Will she walk it back? Should be interesting to hear the reactions to famous divorced dads... but a few of those like Alec Baldwin were famously bad dads and cruel to their children thus vindicating Michelle Obama.

spotting fake news

I know I blog about economic matters that may affect my IRA or 401(k) hobbies, but today, I have to comment upon an article that suggests a RECESSION is lurking.

I happen to be employed by the company in question. For those who do not follow FedEx Express news daily, the article would read with foreboding for the U.S. economy, given its title about recession, but FedEx has had almost a yearlong financial problem outside of normal economic circumstances. All you need to do is look at the price spread of its stock in the last year. It was over $260 last year then dipped to just above $150 in a 6 month period. It's currently hovering around $190 and has been gaining ground after cutting bonuses and such...

Did anyone say a recession was looming when its stock bottomed out? This article came about a month after FedEx honchos said the profit projections were way off.

Projects for FedEx Express were based upon the acquisition of TNT with an eye on the latter's reach in European markets. Problems with TNT emerged last year when it was discovered issues with TNT beyond the WannaCry Virus.

I said back in January any talk about recession would be a dog whistle attack against the sitting president. I said it was probably being made because the Russia Collusion probe was quietly running its course (and  probably would be an empty vault scenario for those gunning for Trump's scalp).

I'm still eyeing gold as an economic canary. Gold is dropping today. It has had an interesting 6 months as well. I would sooner buy FedEx Express stock than any Gold related.