Saturday, December 24, 2011

Holiday Weekend Open Thread

Post away...

22 comments:

  1. Merry Christmas, all.

    I think that I speak for everyone here when I say that we are truly blessed to be in the company of each other on this blog, sharing ideas, anecdotes, and parts of ourselves.

    Cheers,
    Matt

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  2. Merry Christmas bloggers...

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  3. Merry Christmas to all my "virtual" friends who have actually become real friends.

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  4. Nothing like a little Vermont Royster In Hoc Anno Domini over the Christmas Season....

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204464404577112431986005786.html

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  5. Yes, Merry Christmas, One, and All..~

    hopefully, all y'all are found Hale 'n Hearty!

    AAIP

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  6. Hope everyone and their families are having a wonderful holiday.

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  7. Merry Christmas Guys

    One big story of 2011 was the United States switched from being a net importer to a net exporter of petroleum products.

    longer timeframe chart

    This surprised me but after thinking about, it coincides with the downturn in housing and the upturn in unemployment.

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  8. http://poorrichards-blog.blogspot.com/2011/12/santa-claus-magic-mushroom-have-you.html

    interesting..

    ibid.

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  9. Guess home prices haven't bottomed just yet.
    S&P Case-Shiller
    M/M -0.6% previous -0.6%
    Y/Y -3.4% previous -3.6%

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  10. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/12/27/bloomberg_articlesLWV2TE6JIJUS.DTL

    "
    The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.1 percent at 11:41 a.m. in London. U.S. equity futures fell less than 0.1 percent. The Dollar Index declined 0.2 percent amid reduced demand for haven assets. Italian 10-year bond yields climbed 9 basis points to 7.07 percent. Copper futures retreated 0.8 percent."


    ...I have watched with interest what the ECB is doing in Europe, and yet, the PIIGS (and Hungary, and France,etc.) are still PIIGS. It seems to me 2012 will be about whether the Germans want to go all in about backstopping the insolvent parts of Europe and becoming a fiscal as well as a monetary union.

    ...I suspect the answer will be nein...

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  11. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/68504e74-2fea-11e1-8ad0-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1hkIJxN4O

    French unemployment at 12 year high...

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  12. Consumer confidence 64.5 previous 56.0 GTFOOH

    Richmond Fed Mfg 3 previous 0

    The bots must be ecstatic.

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  13. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-stores-ramp-bargains-sales-000013840.html?l=1

    quote:

    "Consumers who have held back so far will buy clothes, furniture or appliances if they need them, Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group in Port Washington, New York, said yesterday in a telephone interview.

    "The consumer is not feeling much better about the economy, but they're getting frugal fatigue," he said. "They are tired of not spending."

    WTF?!?

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  14. WTI back over $100. Holiday highs about to run into a brick wall.

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  15. Enjoying this whole week off. have sister/bro-in-law and mother in Houstonville.

    Nice to just take days off .... recharge batteries before heading into 2012.

    Will be checking in and out.

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  16. ~"...Enjoying this whole week off. have sister/bro-in-law and mother in Houstonville.

    Nice to just take days off .... recharge batteries before heading into 2012..."

    has to be one of the best 'parts' of the "Holiday Season" ...

    ibid.

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  17. Crude seems oddly disconnected from $gaso in the US.

    Ready to take a plunge, I think.

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  18. hasn't there been a lot of 'drum-beating' on the 'Iran Naval exercises in the Strait..' + 'U.S./Israel to strike Iran..' "Ideas"..

    re: heightened Crude prices..

    ibid.

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  19. I hope the market provides more excitement. A day like today can drive one to drink. Burp.

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