On the sporting front, the O’s came through last night, grounding the Bombers and increasing our fistful by 1,000 to 3,800 units. For entertainment purposes only, we are putting 500 to work tonight on another heavy underdog, the Bucs of western Pennsylvania who are weighing anchor to battle pitching-rich Philadelphia. Pittsburgh, however, has a hot James McDonald on the mound to counter a struggling Cliff Lee. At +220, Pirates are clearly undervalued in this tilt.
(More to come).
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
On Ye Huskies!
After adding 1,300 units with KC’s win over Bos yesterday, bringing the total in the vault to 2,800, we look for the Orioles to Baltimore chop the pinstripers. We’ll invest 500 units, for entertainment purposes only, in the O’s.
Can’t get off the dog sled yet. Mush, Mush!
One can hear the same exhortation emanating from the lips of business, labor and politicians – that is, just about everybody – after the release of anemic second quarter gross domestic product data and a sharp downward revision to first-quarter growth. The chances of tipping over into a double-dip recession have gone up
We have to admit we are surprised at the sluggishness. We guessed, incorrectly, that monetary and fiscal stimulus would have worked its magic and that the Federal Reserve Board would be tightening the money spigots by now to head off inflation.
But, alas, it appears the Fed has been “pushing on a string,” as businesses hoard cash and consumers refuse to spend (personal consumption increased just 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis from the first quarter; meanwhile, inventories rose 0.18%, down sharply from the first quarter, but still ahead of consumption).
The all but certain curtailment of government spending tied to the debt ceiling bills couldn’t come at a worse time. The stock market is headed for its worst week in a year and jobs look to remain scarce.
We wonder what the Vegas odds are for another recession in the second half or in 2012? We might not want to speculate on this dog.
Can’t get off the dog sled yet. Mush, Mush!
One can hear the same exhortation emanating from the lips of business, labor and politicians – that is, just about everybody – after the release of anemic second quarter gross domestic product data and a sharp downward revision to first-quarter growth. The chances of tipping over into a double-dip recession have gone up
We have to admit we are surprised at the sluggishness. We guessed, incorrectly, that monetary and fiscal stimulus would have worked its magic and that the Federal Reserve Board would be tightening the money spigots by now to head off inflation.
But, alas, it appears the Fed has been “pushing on a string,” as businesses hoard cash and consumers refuse to spend (personal consumption increased just 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis from the first quarter; meanwhile, inventories rose 0.18%, down sharply from the first quarter, but still ahead of consumption).
The all but certain curtailment of government spending tied to the debt ceiling bills couldn’t come at a worse time. The stock market is headed for its worst week in a year and jobs look to remain scarce.
We wonder what the Vegas odds are for another recession in the second half or in 2012? We might not want to speculate on this dog.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The De-Tanning of America
This sporting life brought us recently to the banks of a somnolent tributary of the mighty Mississippi. The evening was drowsy with lingering heat, but the young Texas Leaguers in a ballpark named for Yankees great Bill Dickey and the local investment banking legend seemed quite alert, though unaware they were about to engage in nine innings of cat and mouse that probably has never happened before in organized professional baseball.
You can look it up.
At least, we are reasonably sure it was a first – a game in which a no-hitter was hurled by the combined efforts of two Northwest Arkansas Naturals pitchers, who were bailed out of trouble by an around-the-horn triple play. A scorching ground ball to the hot corner after two walks, the latter a 12-pitch duel that put runners at first and second, started the fun at Dickey-Stephens Park.
The Arkansas Travelers, the singular of which was the creation of an antebellum troubadour, found no way out of the wilderness of futility, just as the itinerant woodsman of lore was baffled by the fiddler who wouldn’t mend his cabin roof and let the rain pour in.
We enjoy the same bafflement in the standoff in Washington (first in war, first in peace and last in the trust of its countrymen) over the debt ceiling increase.
As unprecedented as a combined no-hitter with a triple play, House Speaker John Boehner has lost his perpetual bronze glow, no doubt from hours better spent on the golf course wrangling with Democrats and the renegade Republican rump known as the Tea Party. What an air-conditioned mess! For a man to lose his tan because he’s inside conference rooms fencing with Obama and GOP cultists is simply outrageous.
Be that as it may, we trust all will not turn out well. Though an agreement would prevent financial market Armageddon, it won’t alter the cruel facts on the ground. Unemployment will remain stubbornly high. The government reported a disappointing drop in durable goods orders in June, and the Fed’s “Beige Book” report on conditions in the 12 reserve bank districts points to slowing economic growth.
We, however, are on a roll, having booked 1,500 units by taking Seattle over New York yesterday. We expect no triple plays, much less a no-hitter today in Boston, where the Kansas City blue bloods will face the bloody ankles and Beckett soon. KC will not be waiting for Godot, though, as Vladimir and Estragon did in Samuel Beckett’s absurdist play. Rather, the visiting dogs merit an investment of 500 units from yesterday’s win.
Woof, Woof!
You can look it up.
At least, we are reasonably sure it was a first – a game in which a no-hitter was hurled by the combined efforts of two Northwest Arkansas Naturals pitchers, who were bailed out of trouble by an around-the-horn triple play. A scorching ground ball to the hot corner after two walks, the latter a 12-pitch duel that put runners at first and second, started the fun at Dickey-Stephens Park.
The Arkansas Travelers, the singular of which was the creation of an antebellum troubadour, found no way out of the wilderness of futility, just as the itinerant woodsman of lore was baffled by the fiddler who wouldn’t mend his cabin roof and let the rain pour in.
We enjoy the same bafflement in the standoff in Washington (first in war, first in peace and last in the trust of its countrymen) over the debt ceiling increase.
As unprecedented as a combined no-hitter with a triple play, House Speaker John Boehner has lost his perpetual bronze glow, no doubt from hours better spent on the golf course wrangling with Democrats and the renegade Republican rump known as the Tea Party. What an air-conditioned mess! For a man to lose his tan because he’s inside conference rooms fencing with Obama and GOP cultists is simply outrageous.
Be that as it may, we trust all will not turn out well. Though an agreement would prevent financial market Armageddon, it won’t alter the cruel facts on the ground. Unemployment will remain stubbornly high. The government reported a disappointing drop in durable goods orders in June, and the Fed’s “Beige Book” report on conditions in the 12 reserve bank districts points to slowing economic growth.
We, however, are on a roll, having booked 1,500 units by taking Seattle over New York yesterday. We expect no triple plays, much less a no-hitter today in Boston, where the Kansas City blue bloods will face the bloody ankles and Beckett soon. KC will not be waiting for Godot, though, as Vladimir and Estragon did in Samuel Beckett’s absurdist play. Rather, the visiting dogs merit an investment of 500 units from yesterday’s win.
Woof, Woof!
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