{"id":82479,"date":"2024-03-16T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-16T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=82479"},"modified":"2024-03-19T16:07:37","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T23:07:37","slug":"black-coffee-16-mar-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id82479-black-coffee-16-mar-2024.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Double Indemnity"},"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

Well … another busy week is behind us. So with that in mind, let’s get this party started …<\/p>\n

There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– Woody Allen<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? In a move reminiscent of Uber’s surge pricing, Wendy\u2019s CEO Kirk Tanner unveiled a strategy to introduce “dynamic pricing” across their chain, adjusting prices in real time. But fast-food fans online weren\u2019t having it. After a swift backlash, the company quickly retreated<\/a>, saying they have \u201cno plans\u201d to increase prices. Uh huh. After decades of constant price increases, forgive us if we don\u2019t believe him. Then again, there are worse places to eat …<\/p>\n

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For those of you who haven’t been to a Wendy’s since this menu photo was taken back in 1979, the regular price of a Wendy’s Single with cheese is now $4.19. (Source: fastfoodmenuprices.com)<\/p><\/div>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> In other news, the labor report was released last week and the initial data – as usual – was absolutely glowing<\/a>. The latest headline number was 275,000 “new jobs\u201d were created in February, which easily exceeded even the most bullish of expectations at 200,000. The mainstream media, as usual, ran with this figure – while yet again ignoring the massive 46% downward revision of the previous month\u2019s numbers that they gushed over when that January data was initially released. As for the quality of the jobs, that is another story altogether …<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> For those not counting at home, 10 of the last 12 labor reports have been revised downward<\/a>. This is statistically dubious – as the number of revisions should<\/strong><\/em> be almost equal in both directions. Well \u2026 unless the data is being gamed, which it clearly is. I know, I know; I\u2019m not supposed to point that out. But here\u2019s a chart illustrating the statistical subterfuge anyway. Consider this a public service since you\u2019ll never see this mentioned in the mainstream media.<\/p>\n

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(h\/t: @MargoinWNC)<\/p><\/div>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Meanwhile, others are beginning to wonder if the next liquidity crisis right around the corner. It’s possible.\u00a0 After all, it’s no secret that our economy and asset valuations are now extremely dependent on debt. As such, the Fed has no choice but to keep liquidity flowing<\/a>. So look for the Fed to start lowering interest rates to provide liquidity – even though the inflation situation demands the opposite. The good news is, we\u2019re told that modern monetary theory (MMT) – a.k.a. the magic money tree – is a brilliant policy that is full of utopian societal benefits. So there\u2019s that.<\/p>\n

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Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Speaking of liquidity pumps, James Howard Kunstler, pointed out this week that, \u201cMMT has become popular economic dogma, but its theory remains unsubstantiated. Since the formula relies on unlimited \u2018printing’ of money … you might bet that something will go wrong<\/a> with such a system – and it kind of looks like something IS about to go wrong in the system we\u2019ve built for distributing capital. \u2018Capital’ (being) real wealth; hard things like good land, ore pockets, installed machinery, railroad tracks, and so on. Not figments, wishes, bets, and hallucinations.\u201d Although, to be fair, some<\/strong><\/em> people actually prefer hallucinations to realty:<\/p>\n