{"id":52885,"date":"2019-01-19T02:15:44","date_gmt":"2019-01-19T10:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=52885"},"modified":"2023-11-04T10:05:07","modified_gmt":"2023-11-04T17:05:07","slug":"black-coffee-19-jan-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id52885-black-coffee-19-jan-2019.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: The Real Consequences of Fake Money and Cheap Credit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"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

I hope everybody is having a great weekend! Okay, away we go …<\/p>\n

We stand today at a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness; the other leads to total extinction. Let us hope we have the wisdom to make the right choice.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— Woody Allen<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Hey! In case you missed it, the market party on Wall Street is back, as stawks continued their miraculous recovery<\/a> from December’s panic attack. For the week, the Dow gained 3%, the S&P 500 advanced 2.9%, the Nasdaq finished 2.7% higher. As for the Russell 2000, it’s up 9.3% since January 1st; that’s its best start to a year since 1987. Hooray!<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> So, what’s driving the sudden surge in stocks? Two words: central banks. Their balance sheets began expanding<\/a> (yet again) at the height of the December market downturn — and this week China injected $170 billion<\/a> of freshly-printed yuan into the market. It all has to go somewhere, and most of it is going into stocks — both here and abroad. Enjoy the illusion, because it’s all smoke and mirrors. #FakeMarkets<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Despite the recovering stock market, American consumers this month are the most downbeat<\/a> on the economy since November 2016. The public’s sour mood comes after expectations reached a 16-year high just three months earlier. What was going on just three short months ago? Oh yeah, the Plunge Protection Team<\/a> was on vacation because major stock market indices were still near their all-time highs.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> The legal minimum wage for New York City employers climbed to $15 per hour from $13 on January 1st — and $11 per hour in 2017 — giving fast-food, retail and other employees a bump in pay. But some restaurant owners in the Big Apple say the latest minimum wage hike is forcing them to cut<\/a> workers’ hours just to stay afloat. Huh. Well … Nobody could have ever seen that<\/strong><\/em> coming. Or this …<\/p>\n