Sometimes You Just Have to Rant

What's Wrong With The Country

When I first started to pen “The Ticker” in 1981, I chose the name based upon my belief that “the market” was alive; it had a heartbeat. Well, it still has a heartbeat but it’s weaker today than at any time in my life. Here’s why.

Politically, the current administration has a death wish, a desire to reduce the world’s perception that the United States is no longer a dominant force. Hell, even Macron is talking negatively of a country that has freed France from oppression twice in the last century . . . let’s see how “Lafayette we are here” rings throughout France if there is any credence to his most recent remarks and actions.

The Dollar is destined to lose its identity as the world’s currency. We’ve been on that pathway for years; looks like we’ve finally achieved that goal as well. If we were truly a manufacturing country that might be a good thing but we are not. We’re an importing country so any decline in the purchasing power of the Dollar is going to increase the inflation rate; that’s not good . . . buy gold (or as the youngsters are doing, crypto . . . whatever that really is).

As the Dollar ceases to be the primary world currency, money center banks are going to suffer. Think about how much easy money they make essentially doing nothing more than exchanging one currency for another. Probably a good time to buy money center banks . . . in China or the Middle East.

AI to the rescue . . . not if you are a senior employee in any corporate entity in this country. It will certainly be productive but there’s a downside to simple economic cash flow. Layoffs will effect the higher earning employees; corporations looking to increase their bottom line will layoff the higher wage earners and retain those with smaller salaries. No real innovation driving productivity is not going to keep us on top of the world order. Fewer people earning less, paying less into the Social Security fund creates a spiral that will eventually reduce benefits. Hope those severances are big.

Robinhood traders don’t have a clue. We’re heading in the wrong direction and all they know how to do is buy. Ain’t no cash in their savings account; credit is becoming harder to get even at upwards of 20%+ rates . . . guess it’s time to start raiding their IRAs and other retirement plans. Too bad; the only way to get to that money is to sell something; that in itself will cause stock prices to decline.

I could go on and on but that’s enough for today. Stick with short term paper earing 4%+ for now. Remember, Harold Hill had it right in the Music Man . . . we got trouble . . . and it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

Hope you enjoyed this post. I’m just a young 68 years old; my Dad became a broker when I was 13. It’s time for me to ‘give back’ to all of you what’s in my head. It’s not always pretty but it’s based on history . . . and history, unchecked, repeats itself.

Everyone learns at their own pace. If you pick everything up the first time through, great but if not email me at dzimmer@substack.com so we can further help.