Things are better or nah?

05 Jun Things are better or nah?

Image by 3D Animation Production Company from Pixabay

Yesterday I published “A Gekko for The Great Recession” and as I did, I thought, “One day, Oliver Stone will probably make a third film about the current insane mess and we’ll learn behind-the-scenes intel of the shenanigans we’re seeing right now.”

Here’s a case in point of the contradictory nonsense you are expected to swallow:

“As job market soars, major U.S. retailers are predicting recession amid surprise consumer pullback”
–https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jobs-market-soars-major-u-160441959.html

*shuts eyes and rubs temples*

I mean, really? Do you really think the job market is soaring right now? REALLY?

“Investors on Friday were treated to blowout labor market data and an end to the weeks of debt ceiling turmoil, lifting the Nasdaq past its August peaks to mark a fresh 52-week high.” -Yahoo Finance, Ibid.

Well thank goodness for that. I’m so glad the investors were treated to bullsh*t labor market data and it lifted the Nasdaq. 😣

This reminds me of something else:

“Gekko tells Jake that Bretton was shorting stocks, knew their speculation would crash the market, and then took bailout money from The Fed for 100 cents on the dollar. I’m reminded of what Gekko himself told Bud in the first film: ‘I don’t throw darts at a board. I bet on sure things.'”
–https://causeyconsultingllc.com/2023/06/04/a-gekko-for-the-great-recession/

You ever get the impression that the fat cats know what’s truly going on? They want to profit from crises while keeping John & Jane Q. Public pacified and ignorant. You ever get that distinct impression?

“Beneath the surface, however, one sector is already sounding the alarm about the health of the U.S. economy: retailers.” -Yahoo Finance, Ibid.

Riddle me this: if the job market was truly so good and so robust, why would people pull back on spending? Typically when the job market actually is good and people who want to work are working, they aren’t also pulling back on spending.

“‘The U.S. consumer, particularly at Macy’s, pulled back more than we anticipated,’ CEO Jeff Gennette said on Thursday, after breaking the news to shareholders it needed to lower its full-year forecast. That same day, Dollar General also reported bleak news, slashing its sales outlook from 3% to now just 1% to 2% growth with earnings expected to decline by 8%. ‘Unfortunately, our customers are saying they’re having to rely more on food banks, savings, credit cards,’ CEO Jeff Owen said on a call.” -Yahoo Finance, Ibid.

Dollar General is more expensive than it used to be but it’s certainly not Neiman Marcus or Tiffany’s. Let’s pay close attention to what the DG CEO said: “Unfortunately, our customers are saying they’re having to rely more on food banks, savings, credit cards.” Exactly that. Between inflation and the job market, people are having to rely on food banks, whatever they still have in savings, and credit cards just to get by – even Dollar General has become too expensive. If that is not ringing all sorts of alarm bells for you, I’m not sure what else to say.

“Former Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli said a rising problem that needed to be addressed is what the industry refers to as ‘retail shrinkage’—shoplifters grabbing items and running.

‘That’s one of the pressures,’ he told CNBC. ‘The other pressure…we still have, of course, is inflation is still high. We see [debt from] consumer credit cards is about $1 trillion right now, and all of those things are converging to what I call a tsunami of challenges.'” -Yahoo Finance, Ibid.

A tsunami of challenges. Hell, maybe that will be Oliver Stone’s subtitle. Wall Street 3: A Tsunami of Challenges.

“The comments clash with a rosy jobs report that saw closely watched nonfarm payrolls surge by 339,000 in the month of May, far more than the 190,000 anticipated by economists. While more reflective of concrete fluctuations in the labor market than the household survey used to calculate the unemployment rate, the data is however subject to revision.” -Yahoo Finance, Ibid.

What does common sense tell you? In my mind, if this so-called rosy jobs report clashes with the rest of observable reality, it’s because that rosy jobs report is full of 💩. Not long ago, I watched the documentary, “Europe’s Extreme Poverty Problem | Poor Europe,” which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5T8GYJs7yw. One of the things discussed in the film is Italy’s Garanzia Giovani program, which was supposed to help young people obtain apprenticeships and transition to full-time employment. Spoiler alert: it didn’t come together as planned. Some of the interviewees reported chronic unemployment, working without pay, and internships that went nowhere. The documentary reports that in the region of Sicily the filmmakers visited, not a single person who participated in the program actually found a job. At 17:08, a social worker is interviewed and she says, “The current government, just like all future and former governments, doctors its employment numbers.” She points out that according to official statistics, the program is working. In reality, it is not.

+ As I always say: if you wait to be “officially” told something, IMO, you are waiting too damn late.

+ “Official” numbers can be manipulated to reflect whatever the overlords want.

+ The social worker hits the nail on the head. These numbers can be and very often are doctored!

“Marc Rowan, CEO of private equity firm Apollo Global Management, had a name for this confusing mix of economic signposts: ‘a non-recession recession.’

For now, it seems that only Walmart has been able to navigate the choppy waters.

‘Shoppers are clearly pulling back on nondiscretionary purchases as they look to recalibrate and rebalance their budget,’ said Bryan Gildenberg, a managing director at industry research firm Retail Cities, in an interview with CNBC.” -Yahoo Finance, Ibid.

A non-recession recession. 😖 Good grief. Of course people are pulling back on non-essentials. What other choice is there right now?

By the time these идиоты and лжецы actually get anywhere near the truth, can you imagine the state the economy will be in? It seems to me that the MSM will keep breadcrumbing you down a very poisonous trail and the onus is on YOU to wake up and pay attention.

There’s a mouthful right there.

 

• Experienced a layoff even though it sounds like he’d been a good employee.
• Felt optimistic because it had been easy before.
• Thought his previous experience would make him a standout.
• Thought the MSM lies about the job market were true.
• Thought we really have all these legit open jobs.
• Wasn’t prepared to get smacked on the head with an anvil.

 

Please don’t let this be you.

–https://causeyconsultingllc.com/2023/05/24/a-cautionary-tale/  published on May 24, 2023

You can LARP on something called a non-recession recession, whatever TF that means, or you can wake up and get real.