” Mae West First day back in the office since surgery. Nice to see other human beings!
“Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often.” Mae West
First day back in the office since surgery. Nice to see other human beings!
A number of things I missed last night:
Add to the list of imminent issues on the political ‘plate’:
SC should rule shortly on both birthright citizenship and tariffs this month; whatever the rulings, there will be
The government shuts down at the end of January without
anotherresolution.
U.S. military units involved in Venezuela are reportedly being redeployed to Europe. One could ask why?
Trump and Rubio making repeated comments about need for Dusya and Venezuelan government to ‘behave’, with Trump openly threatening ‘worse than Maduro’ fate for her if she doesnt toe the li’t toe the line.
‘Why Markets Can Sit Out the Drama in Venezuela:’
(John Authers)‘Trump Now Has His Very Own Oil Empire: Javier Blas’
(bbrg)The US, along with Canada, Venezuela, and the rest of Latin America, accounts for nearly 40% of the world’s oil output, giving President Donald Trump his own oil empire.
Having de facto control of the Western Hemisphere’s petroleum wealth is a geopolitical game changer, allowing the White House to have primacy over oil-producing allies and adversaries alike.
The US now has the means to keep the oil price close to $50 a barrel, giving it a winning hand in the future against anyone threatening to push the price higher by curbing supply.
Mideast heating up: Saudi Arabia-backed forces regained control of the strategic region of Hadramout over the weekend, following days of clashes with secessionist groups aligned with the United Arab Emirates.
The fighting has raised tensions between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh as the two Gulf powerhouses and US allies back rival factions in the ongoing Yemeni civil war.
Energy rallied Friday and is rallying this morning: BKR +6.8%. This is not a short-term, not clear-cut positive for these companies; the region is unsettled, estimates are 10 years at $10b/yr to get back to production levels from a decade ago, and probably 2-3 years. I learned this season on Landman how difficult offshore drilling is
Trump Rolls Back Tariff Hike On Some Furniture -- WSJ
(bbrg)‘Jobs Could Soon Replace Prices as Focus of Anxiety’
`Where money will flow in the financial markets
“Why We Are Dollar Bulls”
(Michael Howell)Bankers Primed for New Round of Monster Deals” -- WSJ (bbrg)
“Perplexity CEO Says On-Device AI Threatens Data Centers As Industry Faces ‘$10 Trillion Question’ — Apple, Qualcomm Positioned To Benefit”
(bbrg)Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI, says on-device intelligence could disrupt the centralized data center model.
Srinivas notes that AI running directly on personal devices could reduce the need for centralized data centers, calling it a “$10 trillion question”.
Companies like Apple and Qualcomm are positioned to benefit from distributing AI-enabled devices, with Apple having “a massive advantage” due to its M1 chips and power-efficient devices.
The bull-bear spread in the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) weekly survey was +15% vs +2.6% last week.
Bulls rise to 42.0% from 37.4%
Neutrals rise to 31.0% from 27.8%
Bears drop to 27.0% from 34.8%
Last week’s NAAIM Exposure Index fell slightly to 92.93 from the prior week’s 95.08 - 10/29 Reading of 100.83 was the highest since 7-3-24 - 2025 trough from 4-16 of 35.16 - Last Quarter Average (Q4) of 92.26.
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