[expat_panama]

 

A happy Monday morning to all!  Last week ended w/ major stock indexes falling a % in rising trade and this morning's futures traders see price trends worsening today another percent. Likewise for metals but they've been inching back up, gold/silver now at $1,285.55/$17.40.

--and:

Robots Will Be More Polite Than Humans - G. Clay Whittaker, Daily Beast
Hedge Funders Work to Stanch Loss of Clients - Alexandra Stevenson, NYT
The Stupid Party Keeps Getting Stupider - Steve Moore, Washington Times
Trump vs. Clinton Taking Its Toll On the Economy - Daniel Gross, Fortune
Without China, There's No Christmas In the U.S. - Justin Fox, Bloomberg

That 'Trump vs." really needs posting, they're blaming the horrible econ on Trump --already!

[Starboard]

Is the Fed ever right about anything?

[CodeToad]

Yellen is a coward. She is afraid to change anything or make a decision. She talks a good game but it is a game of doing nothing and that is easy.

[palmer]

First off, what drives demand in an economy? Production is the obvious answer. The rich can buy more precisely because they've produced a lot more of economic value

Common sense. Some people still think demand is driven by "confidence" or ease or ability to borrow. Those can accelerate or decelerate demand but only in the bubble sense. Attempts to artificially spur demand, i.e. from anything other than savings or production, are doomed.