{"id":64442,"date":"2021-01-09T02:15:57","date_gmt":"2021-01-09T10:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=64442"},"modified":"2021-01-12T05:12:30","modified_gmt":"2021-01-12T13:12:30","slug":"black-coffee-9-jan-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id64442-black-coffee-9-jan-2021.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Enter the Dragon"},"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

Here’s hoping I don’t get banned from the Internet for expressing opinions that somebody more powerful than little ‘ol me deems to be too “dangerous” for anybody else to read …<\/p>\n

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— George Orwell<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are no markets; only interventions.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— Chris Powell<\/strong><\/p>\n

Price is what you pay; value is what you get.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— Warren Buffett<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? Two decades of global passenger traffic growth was wiped out<\/a> in a matter of months last year because of flight restrictions to mitigate the spread of the virus, reducing traffic to levels not seen since 1999. In comparison to last year, passenger traffic is estimated to be down 67% in 2020. Other than that, though, the airline industry is doing great!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> The number of international arrivals since 1980 — regardless of the transportation mode — skyrocketed from 277 million to 1.5 billion in 2019. Then the COVID panic set in and international arrivals declined 75%<\/a> — that equates to a decline of more than 1 billion international arrivals. That’s also a level the industry last saw in 1990 … when traveling was fun and getting from Point A to Point B wasn’t a massive pain in the ass.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Meanwhile, I see that American homeowners extracted $100 billion in home equity<\/a> via cash-out refinancing last summer — that’s the highest total for any quarter since 2007, during the height of the last housing bubble. Say, you don’t think that means the current housing market is getting a little bit frothy again, do you? Yeah … you’re probably right. Coincidence.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Amidst the ongoing anemic economic news<\/a>, Chicago Fed president Charles Evans announced on Monday that, “The Fed’s policy stance will remain accommodative for quite a while, so economic agents should prepare for (more) low interest rates and an expansion of our balance sheet.” Let me translate for those who aren’t well-versed in Fedspeak: The dollar printing presses are going to remain on overdrive. Forever.<\/p>\n

\n

We need more inflation. pic.twitter.com\/LTIHXD562J<\/a><\/p>\n

Rudy Havenstein, Remember Who Did The Iraq War. (@RudyHavenstein) November 6, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n