{"id":56472,"date":"2019-08-24T02:15:40","date_gmt":"2019-08-24T09:15:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=56472"},"modified":"2024-05-25T10:33:12","modified_gmt":"2024-05-25T17:33:12","slug":"black-coffee-24-aug-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id56472-black-coffee-24-aug-2019.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: It’s Almost Time to Fish or Cut Bait"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"black<\/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

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. I know I am … so let’s get this show on the road.<\/p>\n

Gold is the currency of kings, silver is the money of gentlemen, and barter is the money of peasants — but debt is the money of slaves. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— Norm Franz<\/strong><\/p>\n

There’s a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore looking like an idiot.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— Steven Wright<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? Despite a decade-long bull market in stocks, nervous retirees are too scared to spend<\/a> their accumulated wealth. And the sentiment is so pervasive that Bloomberg reports, “financial advisers say even very<\/em><\/strong> rich clients often have a crippling reluctance to fully enjoy their money.” Strange, isn’t it?<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Frankly, nothing makes sense<\/a> anymore. For instance, consider the financial markets. As Simon Black notes, “We’re living in a world now where profits don’t matter. There’s more than $17 trillion worth of bonds with negative yields; banks are even loaning money to borrowers at negative rates. And some of the most popular investments in the world lose billions of dollars each year with no end in sight.” Tesla, anyone?<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Speaking of not making sense, this week President Trump asked the Fed for more quantitative easing<\/a> (QE) and an immediate 1% interest rate cut — despite his repeated claims that the current state of the US economy is the best ever. No, really:<\/p>\n

\n

…..The Fed Rate, over a fairly short period of time, should be reduced by at least 100 basis points, with perhaps some quantitative easing as well. If that happened, our Economy would be even better, and the World Economy would be greatly and quickly enhanced-good for everyone!<\/p>\n

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n