The man is very Trumpian in his dealings: Mick Mulvaney, the interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, told banking industry executives on Tuesday that they should press lawmakers hard to pursue their agenda, and revealed that, as a congressman, he would meet only with lobbyists if they had contributed to his campaign. “We had a hierarchy in my office … Read More
Dow Down 600 Points
Weird that Trump doesn’t brag about his own stock market the way he bragged about Obama’s. UPDATE: Some rebound in the pm, but closed 425 points down.
Trump’s Trade War Taking A Toll On His Base
Trump probably thinks like this: (1) Coal and steel workers getting killed by cheap China imports (2) If I raise tariffs on imported coal and steel from China, the coal and steel industry will offer more US jobs (3) Reelection! Obviously, he knows that there is such a thing as a “trade war”, but he thinks he can win it … Read More
Trump Singlehandedly Bringing Stocks Down
Remember when Trump took all the credit for a rising stock market? Well, he has to take the blame when it goes down, and he REALLY DOES have to take the blame this time. As of 3:15 pm, the Dow has dropped close to 700 points. Why? Trade war fears and a presidential attack on Amazon are rocking Wall Street. … Read More
Trump’s Tariff Follies
Trump said yesterday he plans to impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum. However, he didn’t elaborate on the details, saying the formal announcement will come next week. In a tweet on Friday morning, the president said “trade wars are good and easy to win.” When a country (USA) is losing many billions of … Read More
The Wild West Of The West Wing
It is the first day of March 2018. I wrote a lot of posts yesterday, and I didn’t even it HALF of the things going on. The breaking news that would be major scandals in any other White House. It was insane. Here’s what happened JUST YESTERDAY: Hope Hicks — without question, the aide (family aside) with whom Trump is closest … Read More
Stocks Waaaay Down Again
After losing a record 1,175 points on Monday, the Dow tumbled 1,033 points more yesterday. It landed in a correction, a 10% decline from previous highs. The market turmoil follows a prolonged period of booming stock prices with virtually no sharp declines. Such a rapid rise is unusual, and market analysts long warned that a pullback was overdue. Today was another … Read More
The Dumbest Shutdown Ever
Most people slept through it, but yes, the United States government shutdown for several hours last night. Yesterday, in something of a throwback, the two parties struck a deal and came out with a bi-partisan spending bill. Great news, right? But Republican and libertarian Rand Paul had to make a point: Republicans no longer care about deficit spending. Rand wanted … Read More
Trump Wants Stock Market To Take A Loyalty Pledge
What the… In the “old days,” when good news was reported, the Stock Market would go up. Today, when good news is reported, the Stock Market goes down. Big mistake, and we have so much good (great) news about the economy! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 7, 2018 Actually, it is not a “mistake”; most economists agree that it … Read More
CFPB Is All But Committing Malpractice
Equifax (EFX.N) said in September that hackers stole personal data it had collected on some 143 million Americans. Richard Cordray, then the CFPB director, authorized an investigation that month, said former officials familiar with the probe. But Cordray resigned in November and was replaced by Mulvaney, President Donald Trump’s budget chief, who was once quite vocal about eliminating the agency. … Read More
Volatile Dow
After plunging a few hundred points on Friday, the Dow dropped a record-breaking 1175 points yesterday. That the most points, but fortunately, the 4.6% drop was not the highest percentage-wise. All in all, 1 trillion dollars in net worth was lost. It probably was a correction, but it raised fresh anxieties among Americans who have seen their retirement savings and household … Read More
Speaking Of Sex Scandals…
While we wait for the doors to blow wide open on the Trump-Daniels sex scandal (IF they blow open, that is), let’s chew on this: Casino mogul and Republican National Committee (RNC) finance chair Steve Wynn is facing accusations of sexual misconduct, including that he forced a woman to have sex with him in 2005, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Wynn, … Read More
The Horrible Tax Bill Is GOP Gift To Themselves [UPDATE: Senate Votes Yes]
Literally: Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, inserted language into the final tax bill that would enrich three different constituencies: fossil fuel firms, Republicans’ major campaign donors and a handful of Cornyn’s GOP congressional colleagues including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and two other Texas lawmakers in the House. Cornyn originally added the language in an amendment to the Senate bill at the … Read More
Income Inequality
A graph and a big document:
Disney Buys Most Of Fox
Big entertainment news: The Walt Disney Co. has struck a deal valued at $52.4 billion to acquire much of the Hollywood holdings of 21st Century Fox, the global television and entertainment conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch and his family. The deal occurs against a backdrop of swift changes to the industry’s finances and uncertainty about succession plans at both companies. The … Read More