{"id":45365,"date":"2017-10-07T00:15:00","date_gmt":"2017-10-07T07:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=45365"},"modified":"2017-10-09T15:12:07","modified_gmt":"2017-10-09T22:12:07","slug":"black-coffee-7-october-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id45365-black-coffee-7-october-2017.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Flying Blind with Jackals and Jackasses"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe<\/em> …<\/p>\n

Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.<\/p>\n

Are you ready? After my vacation in Maui, I know I am!<\/p>\n

Off we go …<\/p>\n

“No State shall … make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— The US Constitution (Article 1; Section 10)<\/strong><\/p>\n

“A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be a national blessing.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— Alexander Hamilton<\/strong><\/p>\n

‘How did you go bankrupt?’ Bill asked.<\/em>
\n‘Two ways,’ Mike said. ‘Gradually, and then suddenly.’<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

― Ernest Hemingway<\/strong>, The Sun Also Rises<\/em><\/p>\n

Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Is the iPhone hype finally over<\/a>? Maybe. Despite all of the pre-sales hoopla for the iPhone8, demand for Apple’s latest offering has been, shall we say, less than brisk. At least it is if the smaller crowds outside stores and a muted customer reaction are any indication.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> The astonishing lack of enthusiasm was so<\/em> pronounced that only two<\/em> people showed up<\/a> for the most recent iPhone debut in Hangzhou, China. Not surprisingly, Apple’s iPhone proponents called that fake news. To be fair, they noted that if you count the security team hired to keep the, er … “crowd” from storming the doors, there were actually five<\/em> people on hand for the iPhone8 debut:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> In other news, US productivity growth peaked in 1972, the year after the US decoupled the dollar from gold in 1972 — and it’s been essentially downhill ever since. However, it’s been particularly dismal since 2002; believe it or not, US productivity growth since then is only on par with the agrarian economies<\/a> from two centuries ago. Is this a classic case of a nation resting on its laurels — or something else?<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> For his part, Paul Craig Roberts wonders how American wages can be stagnant<\/a> if one believes the US unemployment rate is just 4.4%, which is generally considered to be full employment. Good question. (Psst. Obviously, somebody<\/em> has been “massaging” the unemployment data — and it’s one of those “deep tissue” massages.)<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Then again, although real incomes have gone nowhere after more than 40 years, for most people it has continued to feel like their living standard has indeed remained stable. Why? One word: debt. And lots of it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> In fact, as financial analyst Dave Kranzler point out, when it comes to debt and “massaged data,” it’s 2007 all over again. At least it is if you consider the financial shenanigans by the usual jackals that led to the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 are back and bigger than ever<\/a>. Let the good times roll, baby!<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Meanwhile, 10-year Treasury bonds<\/a> are currently yielding 2.36%. At the same time, the average yield of corporate junk bonds denominated in euros hit a new all-time record low of 2.30%. Um … does anybody else see a problem here? Anyone? Bueller?<\/p>\n