{"id":55316,"date":"2019-06-22T02:15:13","date_gmt":"2019-06-22T09:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=55316"},"modified":"2023-06-20T16:34:33","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T23:34:33","slug":"black-coffee-22-jun-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: The Fed and the Walking Dead"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/black-coffee.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-31075\" src=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/black-coffee.jpg\" alt=\"black coffee\" width=\"275\" height=\"206\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/black-coffee.jpg 500w, https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/black-coffee-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/black-coffee-50x38.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 275px) 100vw, 275px\" \/><\/a><em>It&#8217;s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe &#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what&#8217;s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.<\/p>\n<p>I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. Well &#8230; summer is officially here &#8212; and to kick it off, I&#8217;ll be busy finishing up the refurbishment of my old backyard fountain.<\/p>\n<p>Okay &#8230; now let&#8217;s get this show on the road.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>The four most dangerous words in investing are: &#8216;This time is different.&#8217;<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>&#8212; Sir John Templeton<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>The key is not to predict the future, but to prepare for it.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>&#8212; Pericles<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Ever since the Fed ceded monetary policy to Wall Street earlier this year, stocks have been on a tear. This week <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2019\/06\/19\/fed-decision-fed-leaves-rates-unchanged.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Fed reassured the market<\/a> that they had no intention of doing anything that would make &#8217;em mad. As a result, the Dow is in the midst of its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/sp-500-poised-to-pull-back-after-notching-first-record-since-april-2019-06-21\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">strongest June performance since 1938<\/a>, the S&amp;P 500 is seeing its best June since 1955, and the Nasdaq is having its biggest June since 2000. Imagine that.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Yes, equities continue to be propelled by the Fed&#8217;s recent decision to reconsider lowering interest rates and implement future rounds of quantitative easing (QE), but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestreet.com\/opinion\/why-stocks-might-be-undervalued-14994114\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stocks aren&#8217;t overvalued<\/a> by any measure. Oh wait &#8230;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">How expensive are equities? Price\/tangible book at 10.8x is nearly double the historical norm, a record high that is 24% above the dotcom bubble peak and represents a 3 SD event. In a word &#8211; froth. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NlnUtpz5Pi\">pic.twitter.com\/NlnUtpz5Pi<\/a><\/p>\n<p>David Rosenberg (@EconguyRosie) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EconguyRosie\/status\/1142068801233727488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 21, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Despite the stock market&#8217;s relentless journey toward the sun, a nationwide Bankrate survey found that 48% of Americans who were adults when the Great Financial Crisis began in December 2007 have seen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bankrate.com\/personal-finance\/smart-money\/great-recession-survey-june-2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">no improvement in their financial situation<\/a>. Huh. If that&#8217;s the best results the longest unbroken economic &#8220;recovery&#8221; in US history can deliver, I hate to see what the next downturn has in store for us.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Meanwhile, the <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em> reports that, &#8220;Political support for taming federal debt has melted away, and the US is testing just how much it can borrow.&#8221; Apparently, most American voters aren&#8217;t concerned either. At least that&#8217;s what House Finance Committee chairman John Yarmuth thinks:&#8221;There haven&#8217;t been any cataclysmic consequences, so <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/how-washington-learned-to-love-the-deficit-11560436380\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">why worry about it<\/a>?&#8221; he crowed this week. At least not <em><strong>yet<\/strong><\/em>, Congressman.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Credit:<\/strong><\/span> As David Stockman notes, such a cavalier attitude,&#8221;amounts to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/news\/2019-06-14\/stockman-slams-deficits-dont-matter-folly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">one epic free lunch proposition<\/a>: Namely, that no one needs to save or defer gratification because the central banks can always print enough new credit to monetize the public debt and keep interest rates aberrantly and irrationally low, (thereby) setting up the system for a thundering day of reckoning.&#8221; Sheesh. Talk about a party pooper.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Debit:<\/strong><\/span> To drive home his point, Stockman observes that, after adjusting for inflation, &#8220;Today&#8217;s net national savings level is 50% below where it was 20 years ago. The radically (low) bond rates generated by massive central bank debt monetization have fostered <a href=\"https:\/\/davidstockmanscontracorner.com\/on-the-deficits-dont-matter-folly\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the foolish belief that the debt is benign<\/a> and that borrowing trillions at the top of the business cycle is no sweat.&#8221; After all, what could go wrong? Hey &#8230; let&#8217;s ask this guy:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Bg-aZW2O1q0?controls=0&amp;start=158;end=165\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Debit:<\/strong><\/span> By the way, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), warns that those low rates have created <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/06\/15\/opinion\/sunday\/economy-recession.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">an epidemic of unprofitable zombie firms<\/a> which can only survive by repeatedly refinancing their existing loans. In 1980 zombies made up just 2% of all publicly traded companies in the US; today, it&#8217;s 16%. Worldwide, the number is 12%, including <em><strong>this<\/strong><\/em> foreign zombie corporation that designs aftermarket electric car windows:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ecdL9U1o8uA?controls=0&amp;start=281;end=321\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Of course, when this emergency central bank stimulus was initially pumped into the economy&#8217;s veins, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/SB10001424052970203946904574300050657897992\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Fed promised<\/a> that they would trim their balance sheet, and rates would return to normal. Ten years later, stocks are at record highs, unemployment is at an all-time low &#8212; and yet the Fed <em><strong>still<\/strong><\/em> hasn&#8217;t normalized interest rates <em><strong>or<\/strong><\/em> their balance sheet. In fact, they&#8217;re hinting they may lower rates again! <em><strong>What?<\/strong><\/em> If not now, <em><strong>when?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Credit:<\/strong><\/span> According to financial analyst Dave Kranzler, &#8220;Any attempt at holding off the economic catastrophe creeping into view would require <a href=\"http:\/\/investmentresearchdynamics.com\/the-fed-is-running-out-of-bullets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">massive money printing<\/a>. But given that some Fed members consider a $3 trillion balance sheet to be normalized, I&#8217;m not sure to what degree more money printing will save the economy.&#8221; <em><strong>I&#8217;m<\/strong><\/em> sure, Dave; fleeting relief at best &#8212; while simultaneously hastening the dollar&#8217;s demise.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Of course, decades of financial malpractice by the Fed has set the stage for an awful reckoning that it clearly can&#8217;t forestall much longer. As Alexander Trigaux notes: &#8220;Instead of allowing the free market to do what it does best and let failing companies fail, <a href=\"https:\/\/goldsilver.com\/blog\/the-2018-market-crash-that-almost-was-and-how-fed-intervention-postponed-the-inevitable\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Fed has decided to play zombie nursemaid<\/a> yet again. A market in which success <em><strong>and<\/strong><\/em> failure is rewarded is the last stage of crony capitalism at its worst.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Raul Ilargi Meijer goes one step further: &#8220;We&#8217;re so far removed from capitalism and free markets, that it&#8217;s pathetic. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theautomaticearth.com\/2019\/06\/square-minus-zero\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Our economic system has been destroyed<\/a> by central bankers who pretend they&#8217;re saving it when, in fact, they&#8217;re only protecting commercial banks and rich &#8216;investors.&#8217; We let the central banks take over; and it&#8217;ll be very hard to take back power.&#8221; True. But for the sake of our kids and grandkids &#8230; it&#8217;s a vital necessity.<\/p>\n<p><strong>By the Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Forbes annual Top Earning Athletes list for 2019 just came out. Here are a few of the more-notable nuggets:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>$127,000,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Annual income for the athlete at the top of the list: FC Barcelona soccer star, Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>2<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Soccer players to ever top Forbes&#8217; list, which was started in 1990.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>10<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Total number of sports represented on the list.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>35<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Players on the list from the NBA; that&#8217;s more than any other organization.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>19<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Players on the list from the NFL; the next-best-represented sport.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>25<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Countries represented on the list.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>62<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Athletes from the US on the list. (The UK was second, with 5)<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>31<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Average age of the athletes on the list.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>49<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Age of the oldest athlete on the list. (Golf star, Phil Mickelson.)<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>1<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Women who made the list. (Tennis star, Serena Williams, who earned $29 million.)<\/p>\n<p><em>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/kurtbadenhausen\/2019\/06\/11\/behind-the-numbers-of-the-top-earning-athletes-2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forbes<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Last Week&#8217;s Poll Results<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Prenups: Good idea?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It depends. (50%)<\/li>\n<li>Yes (35%)<\/li>\n<li>No (14%)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>More than 1400 Len Penzo dot Com readers responded to last week&#8217;s question and half of them say getting a prenup is not always a black-or-white decision. I tend to agree with that.<\/p>\n<p>If <strong><em>you<\/em><\/strong> have a question you&#8217;d like me to ask the readers here, send it to me at <strong>Len@LenPenzo.com<\/strong> &#8212; and be sure to put &#8220;Question of the Week&#8221; in the subject line.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Question of the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><code>[poll id=\"273\"]<\/code><\/p>\n<p><strong>Useless News: Quick Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A Texan, a Venezuelan, and a New Yorker go into a restaurant in London. Before they could order, the waiter said, &#8221;Excuse me, but if you want a steak tonight you might not get one as there is a shortage due to the mad cow disease.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Texan asked, &#8221;What&#8217;s a shortage?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Venezuelan said, &#8221;What&#8217;s a steak?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The New Yorker said, &#8221;What&#8217;s excuse me?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>(h\/t: Salamander)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Other Useless News<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here are the top five articles viewed by my <strong>26,553<\/strong> RSS feed, weekly email subscribers, and other followers over the past 30 days (excluding Black Coffee posts):<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id54872-how-i-live-on-less-than-40000-annually-kai-from-california.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How I live on Less than $40,000 Annually: Kai from California<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id31564-5-ways-intentional-obsolescence-is-robbing-you-blind-3.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">5 Ways Intentional Obsolescence Is Robbing You Blind<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id3765-18-amazing-facts-you-didnt-know-about-your-credit-card-2.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">18 Amazing Facts You Didn&#8217;t Know About Credit Cards<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id592-gas-or-charcoal-bbqs-which-one-is-more-cost-effective.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gas or Charcoal Barbecues: Which One Is More Cost Effective?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id4269-you-can-save-money-faster-by-turbo-charging-your-change-jar-2.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Save Money Faster By Turbocharging Your Change Jar<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Hey, while you&#8217;re here, please don&#8217;t forget to:<\/p>\n<p>1. Click on that <strong>Like<\/strong> button in the sidebar to your right and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LenPenzo\">become a fan of Len Penzo dot Com on Facebook<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>2. Make sure you <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/LenPenzo\">follow me on Twitter<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>3. <a href=\"mailto:lenpenzolist@aweber.com\">Subscribe via email<\/a> too!<\/p>\n<p>And last, but not least &#8230;<\/p>\n<p>4. Consider becoming a <a href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/membership-account\">Len Penzo dot Com Insider<\/a>! Thank you.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Letters, I Get Letters<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Every week I feature the most interesting question or comment assuming I get one, that is. And folks who are lucky enough to have the only question in the mailbag get their letter highlighted here whether it&#8217;s interesting or not! You can reach out to me at: <strong>Len@LenPenzo.com<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After reading my article highlighting 15 reasons why <a href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id16567-15-reasons-why-waterbeds-are-for-suckers.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">only suckers buy waterbeds<\/a>, <strong>Billy<\/strong> replied to my assertion that waterbed sex is overrated:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Sex? What&#8217;s that? Seriously, it was good for me until I kicked her out, but for good reason.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Your comment reminds me of the guy whose girlfriend wanted to make him have sex on the hood of her Honda Civic. He refused. He told her if he was going to have sex, it was going to be on his own Accord.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If you enjoyed this, please forward it to your friends and family. I&#8217;m Len Penzo and I approved this message.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"font-size: smaller;\">Photo Credit: brendan-c<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe &#8230; Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what&#8217;s been going on in the world of money and personal finance. I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. Well &#8230; summer is officially here &#8212; and to kick it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","pmpro_default_level":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[472],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-55316","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-commentary","8":"pmpro-has-access","9":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.8 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Black Coffee: The Fed and the Walking Dead<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Black Coffee: The Fed and the Walking Dead\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It&#8217;s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe &#8230; Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what&#8217;s been going on in the world of money and personal finance. I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. Well &#8230; summer is officially here &#8212; and to kick it [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Len Penzo dot Com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LenPenzo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-22T09:15:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-20T23:34:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/black-coffee.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"375\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Len Penzo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@LenPenzo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@LenPenzo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Len Penzo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Len Penzo\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3968bb46693d14b2ae2ab4958aa41dfd\"},\"headline\":\"Black Coffee: The Fed and the Walking Dead\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-22T09:15:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-20T23:34:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html\"},\"wordCount\":1470,\"commentCount\":23,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/black-coffee.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Commentary\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html\",\"name\":\"Black Coffee: The Fed and the Walking Dead\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/black-coffee.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-22T09:15:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-20T23:34:33+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/black-coffee.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/black-coffee.jpg\",\"width\":500,\"height\":375},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Black Coffee: The Fed and the Walking Dead\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Len Penzo dot Com\",\"description\":\"The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Len Penzo dot Com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/Block_L.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/Block_L.png\",\"width\":359,\"height\":360,\"caption\":\"Len Penzo dot Com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/LenPenzo\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/LenPenzo\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lenpenzo.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3968bb46693d14b2ae2ab4958aa41dfd\",\"name\":\"Len Penzo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Len Penzo\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Black Coffee: The Fed and the Walking Dead","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Black Coffee: The Fed and the Walking Dead","og_description":"It&#8217;s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe &#8230; Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what&#8217;s been going on in the world of money and personal finance. I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. Well &#8230; summer is officially here &#8212; and to kick it [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html","og_site_name":"Len Penzo dot Com","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LenPenzo","article_published_time":"2019-06-22T09:15:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-06-20T23:34:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":500,"height":375,"url":"http:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/black-coffee.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Len Penzo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@LenPenzo","twitter_site":"@LenPenzo","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Len Penzo","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html"},"author":{"name":"Len Penzo","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3968bb46693d14b2ae2ab4958aa41dfd"},"headline":"Black Coffee: The Fed and the Walking Dead","datePublished":"2019-06-22T09:15:13+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-20T23:34:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html"},"wordCount":1470,"commentCount":23,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/black-coffee.jpg","articleSection":["Commentary"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html","url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html","name":"Black Coffee: The Fed and the Walking Dead","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/black-coffee.jpg","datePublished":"2019-06-22T09:15:13+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-20T23:34:33+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/black-coffee.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/black-coffee.jpg","width":500,"height":375},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55316-black-coffee-22-jun-2019.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Black Coffee: The Fed and the Walking Dead"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/","name":"Len Penzo dot Com","description":"The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Len Penzo dot Com","url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Block_L.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Block_L.png","width":359,"height":360,"caption":"Len Penzo dot Com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LenPenzo","https:\/\/x.com\/LenPenzo"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3968bb46693d14b2ae2ab4958aa41dfd","name":"Len Penzo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/779ff799a8fbdf9cd0cb6f9b1cd7ff58e9726e79c4df9213b22471192452c500?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","caption":"Len Penzo"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55316"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79199,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55316\/revisions\/79199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}