Odds and Ends: November 2025

 News ----------News -----------News ------------News --------------News ------------------ 

Dear Reader, as you know from our pieces, we refer to our unpublished book that we feel will help America, and possibly the world. You also realize that we do not clutter our page with ads. Money is a means and not a goal. We seek to make life better. With that said, our founder, John Lipareli has his first book published - to make a name for himself that could help get his political and economic work published. You can buy at Amazon Books. It is called, "The Legend of the Afghan Hound." It is family reading and great for ages 9 to 15, pet lovers and history buffs. It is a sweeping saga that begins in ancient Egypt in a time of anxiety and war and ends in Bethlehem with hope and love. The story weaves a theme of love in action to which many times means sacrifice. It is a Christmas classic and makes an excellent gift. - Please support his work. Thank you.

- Faith is the antidote for fear. The anodyne for doubt.

- Clay Harrison

Much Ado About Nothing

Sadly, the two most important nations, the US and China sent no one to the COP30 in Brazil. Brazilian president, Lula tried to play the mediator between those two economies as well as others who produce oil and climate nations seeking a change to protect our world. The Brazil forest fund is a wonderful idea, but backing oil production at the same time reveals the conflict to change and to not hurt your economy. A fire in a connecting hall did not help with the mood. Good news. No one was hurt. 

We feel that the photo shoots were more for public image and appearances. They did however show that multilateralism continues through the challenges like the four year presidential cycle in the US, like China only using these summits as a vehicle to sell their wind and solar products. Brazil fell short with its forest/climate bond, but it did attract $6 billion. Credit was given to indigenous people who are stewards of land and forests. There was extensive talks about climate funding, but it was pushed back in the time horizon to 2035. Talks of roadmaps to end "fossil fuel" is just that, talk.

Bottom line: Climate plans remain to weak for real change. 

Meanwhile...

At the same time a G-20 meeting was taken place in Johannesburg, Africa. It had no effect other than tourists dollars for the host nation. 

In the US, Fed governor, Chris Waller continued his campaign to be the Fed Chair by calling for another rate cut. This is music to Trump's ear. King $Dollar is attempting to retake the crown that it has seen some obstacles lately to its 100 year duration. Gold and silver somehow have remained strong even with a stronger dollar. The market should rally for our national holiday with big money. They hope to persuade everyone that the Christmas rally is coming and forget the recent downturn. We see no volume in the upswing and that means no conviction.

We only wish everyone a pleasant Thanksgiving Day and peace. In addition, we add and request of you to say a prayer for the people in the Hong Kong skyscraper fire. Thank you.

Conflicted With Doubt

News ---------News -----News ------News -------News ------News!

Dear Reader, as you know in our pieces we referred to our unpublished work that we feel will help America and possibly the world. You also realize that we do not clutter our page with ads. We are not into money, but to try to help make life better. With that said, our founder, John Lipareli has his first book published, to make a name for himself that could help get his political and economic work published. You can buy at Amazon Books. It is called, "The Legend of the Afghan Hound." It is family reading and best for ages 9 to 15, pet lovers and history buffs. It is a sweeping saga that begins in ancient Egypt in a time of anxiety and war and ends in Bethlehem with hope and love. The story personifies love in action to which many times calls for sacrifice. Please support his work. Thank you.

- Keep your face toward the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you.

- Walt Whitman

Then and Now

If old Walt were living today, the sky would be overcast. How can you find a ray of sunshine when our two political parties lie about everything. The Democrats fought for the Obama credits for health care because they know ordinary people cannot afford it. The health care plan has a provision saying that if you do not have medical insurance, you are in violation. You can be fined and more. They keep that info out of the news.

The Republicans used the opportunity to cover reports that show over 1.1 million people this year lost their job. No government reports. Some news is news even with manipulation.

The Democrats said the Republicans were dishonest to hold the nation and its government in exile for the debt ceiling during the Biden administration, only to act the same way during this Republican administration. 

One day President Trump puts high tariffs on a nation, and the next, changes tune. The TACO president is a label that means "Trump Always Chickens Out." In any case, we, as citizens, cannot believe what either party says. Of course, we get clues. How about this one?

Scott Bissent...

...Secretary of the Teasury stated, "There are sectors of the economy that are in recession." It is a good thing that he does not work at Verizon. They dropped 15,000 workers. How about Wendy's? They are closing 300 outlets. If that makes you hungry, don't think Sizzler. Why, you ask? The location that you knew may be closed along with 599 other sites. You may decide to move or check out another city or region to find employment. Be careful! The government shutdown has effected air-traffic controlers.  Flying can be dangerous right now. The government or the transportation secretary had the good sense to cut flights in the busiest 40 airports. Of course, the Republicans used the opportunity to hand out $10,000 in bonus money to TSA airport help. Did they really work without pay? Yes, for the shutdown duration, but they knew once the government would re-open, they would be paid for all hours worked. This is BS! It is a phony feel-good story. All government had people fall into the same situation. 

Meanwhile...

Twenty banks cough up $20 billion to Oracle for data centers with the understanding that the loan will be repaid in 4-years. We, at Evolution don't think so? So, you think. You could drive? Maybe take a short cruise to clear your head before you make a decision? Well, good news. The cruise lines are offering big discounts. You can see the charts of RCL and CCL. The two have declined sharply. We read a report from Las Vegas that stated hotels had 90,000 vacant rooms during their busy season. 

Bottom line: All this info could leave you to be conflicted with doubt. We understand. We are your neighbors. Peace.

Climate and Other Problems.

- President Trump calls "Climate Change" a hoax. He believes if you look out the window, you will get     all the info that you need about the weather.

- Sebastian

JFL..

...believes that the environmentalst have overreacted. Even though he supports the Sierra Club, he does not agree with all their views. We need to cut trees to thin the threat of wildfires. Logging provides job. Trees lower the cost of housing, furniture and energy. It is renewable. In climate, setting a goal like alternative energy is a plus. A complete cutback on fossil fuel is stupid and disruptive to both society and a nation's economy. These zionists for climate need to study their Greek. A transition period is needed for change. With that said, Brazil hosts a summit that began on Monday for climate change.

COP 30

The French with their Paris Accord get a lot of credit. Europe has carried the ball. The Scandinavian countries stand out, especially in supporting funds for better technology in oil to capture CO2. Brazil deserves a lot of recognition for their bond that supports forests. We see positive results throughout the world like solar rooftops in Poland, electric vehicles in Asia, newer style nuclear reactors in China, solar farms in Columbia and SW America as well as Germany, a cold weather nation getting 15% of its energy from alternative sources. Congrats to all. With that said, we do not see any new pluses from the latest summit in Brazil. How can it? The two largest populations boycotted and the two largest economies also boycotted it. Neverthelees, we wish them well.

Meanwhile...

...for some unknown reason, King $Dollar is in an uptrend. We see resistance at $101, but the rise counters all common sense. The Federal Reserve is cutting rates which lowers the dollar's appeal. In addition, the Fed has quietly resumed QE. This increases our debt and basically, resumes the playbook cycle of debt and money printing. The BRICKS are still out there with there opposition to the dollar in global trading. Our government is not functioning and debt for the current year will add another $1.7 trillion to the already mind blowing $38 trillion on the books.The Shiller CAPE ration is at highs and he said that he sees a decline in the S&P 500 for the next ten years. He is not alone.

Economist EJ Antoni

Ever hear of him? He was once a shoe-in for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). His problem is that he has a conscience. He tells it like it is. He will not be appointed during President Trump's administration. He says, "Since 2022, the BLS has used flawed models which hides weakness in the economy." He believes concumers are "tapped out." He feels the Federal Reserve is caught between a rock and a hard place. They never reached their 2% inflation target and now, they have begun lowering rates. He adds, "The US government with all its overspending, is the root cause of our economic problems and a debt reckoning is coming." Ray Dalio, the billionaire investor agrees. And yet, the dollar is getting stronger. Go figure? Peace. 

While the Government Slept

- When the cat's away, the mice will play.

- Medieval Latin Proverb

Government Shutdown...

...is not new news, but life goes on. If one forgets the playbook of presidential administrations, it calls for the president to take a "trip" when bad news will hit the fan. President Trump left for Asia. He thinks that he is using the time to "play" the Chinese leader, Xi over trading and tariffs with rare earth minerals. Xi thinks he is "playing" Trump by forcing him into surrendering tariffs over rare earth access? Both leaders are seeking to offer their respective nations some good news to counter some poor economic reports. We can never for certain give an accurate picture of China. We do know that housing is central and the recent defaults are still reverberating. With that said, we can still give an accurate picture of our economy. It has been able to ride a bumpy road, but we see potholes and sinkholes ahead. Two big bumps in the road will be revealed today. The Supreme Court will decide the case of Trump's tariffs. We feel this issue is for Congress to decide. The other is the outcome from election day. Behind the scene is the real danger to everyone and the economy.

Cockroaches?

Do you recall our piece using the quote by Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase? He said, "When you see one, there are more." The cockroach that he referred to was Tricolor Holdings. The used auto dealer filed for bankruptcy in September. It was soon joined by First Brands. The market shrugged it off. Then, we entered into the government shutdown over the debt ceiling. Reports on our economy are not forthcoming. What is known is sketchy. However, we do get reports from firms and of course, legal situations. One of those corporate reports was from Fiserv (FI). It highlights more banking risks. It missed its earnings by a lot. The firm's loftly projections fell way short. The stock plunged by 44%. It still has not found a bottom. The firm lost $30 billion in stock cap.

Enter Subprime!

If you remember, the financial crisis of 2008 began when subprime lenders were exposed and defaulted. We learned that big banks lend to these lenders and if a problem surfaces, they will feel a bite. If enough piranha's eat, the bite can be death. 

Subprime lenders deal with a large portion of our population with poor paying employment. Well, a large one, Primal Lend Capital Partners just filed for bankruotcy. Another report on auto loans reveals that there are $1.6 trillion in debt. That same report warned that auto delinquencies are rising to 6.43%. To put that in perspective, the failing to pay an auto loan has doubled since 2021 and it represents the highest percentage in decades. The repo man will be busy. You ask, "What's the worry?"

It is a slow burn, but it has a ripple effect. Not only in regions of our nation, but globally. As you know, our greedy producers have outsourced almost all our manufacturing. The supply chain has taken a hit with our tariffs. Now, with auto loans souring, lenders will tighten. This will mean less auto sales. This has a negative feeling to the industry. This relates to another report that says the average price for a new vehicle is $50,000. Since we import so much auto parts, these suppliers will feel the bite. They will do cost cutting or laying off help. At best, help everywhere will be less than full time. A bite to all economies. You throw in student loans. The bite to our economy grows. Now, throw in 42 million people who receive food stamps. They suffer as well as our grocery stores. Suddenly, our economy has an investation problem. The ripple is gaining force. It is becoming a wave. You say, "The government will reopen. The laid off federal workers and things like SNAP will be good again. Why worry?"

We Remind You...

...of another piece where a very conservative economist, Mark Zandi said, "Mass layoffs is the firewall between a recession and no recession." We add what we know...                                                                Amazon: laying off 14,000. Robots taking jobs.                                                                                          Target: cutting lose 1,000.                                                                                                                            Charter Communications: pink slip to 1,200.                                                                                          Paramount Skydance: good-bye to another 1,000.                                                                                  Novo Nordisk: a global medical concern will drop 9,000 - mostly Denmark and US.                            UPS: dropping 34,000 employees and another 14,000 corporate jobs that are going to robots.

Cargo

It moves by ships at sea and trains on land, however to reach warehouses and stores, it rolls by trucking. It is no secret that trucking is seeking drivers. There is a shortage of help as revealed by the aspect that there are 3.1 million more trucks sitting idle. You can get a lot of info from that sentence. Trucking firms have idle vehicles that they probably own with a loan. Big liability. We follow the results with the following trucking firms that extend from coast to coast. The following have all entered into bankruptcy. Best Choice Trucking LLC, Best Logistics Inc, C&C Freight Networks, ALA Transpotation Inc, Elite Carriers, Dolche Truckload Corp, Nortia Logistics Inc, CLB Trucking, and Daniel Trucking International. That is a lot of firms and lost jobs. The unemployment rate will be a lot higher.

We see...

...the unemployment percentage growing even with manipulation. We see our fellow consumers struggling to make ends meet. The stock market has lost its relationship to how our economy is doing. Individuals do not move the market. It is run by hedge firms and investment institutions. There is no longer a connection to the market and the economy. Our auto nation is driving over potholes and steering to avoid sinkholes as our phony political parties point fingers at each other. The only help wanted will be to be a repo man. Let's hope for a mild winter because running the heat also costs too much. Do the best that you can. Peace.                                                                                                                        

Odds and Ends: October 2025

-  Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile.

- William Cullen Bryant

Next Season

We are not going to argue with Bryant about the seasons. We see His magistry in all four. We are using his quote as a timeline, metaphorically. 

We are not talking about winter per se, but the economic future and sadly, it resembles winter. The big money is all-in on AI. The only benefits the US citizen will see is higher utility bills, internet outages, general blackouts, loss of jobs and social mobility. The wealth gap will widen. 

Our politicians are finally revealing their true nature, power. What they do is to seek ways to make the other political party look bad with no true direction to help our citizens. As citizens, we are disenfranchised. We need a new political party to really put America first. We, at Evolution have suggested the Liberty Party. JFL's unpublished book will lay out the cause and platform. Meanwhile, we suffer the fools. 

China's Vision and Ours

Last year, China made $120 billion in new clean energy. The US made $80 billion in oil. Chinese technology dominates alternative energy that generate profits and a growing middle-class. In fact, they have more middle-class (around 700 million) than we have in population. Do you recall a recent piece where we reported that China sold more EVs in the last quarter than the US had in all vehicles for the entire year? When you put the two together, who has the better future picture?

Home Ownership

This is central to the American Dream. Well, every year we make less homes than are needed. The demand is great, but affordability is poor. The good news is home ownership has remained steady at around 65%. The bad news is forecloures are rising, again. In this environment, home builders show a worried picture. Lennar (LEN) was $175 last December. It had momentum with the hope of interest rate cuts. It is down 50 points as of last Friday. We do get a slightly different picture with DR Horton (DHI). It was also $175 last December. It fell to $115 this year only to rally and then retraced. However, it revealed a Cup and Handle pattern which is very bullish. The price last Friday was $150. Its price action could reveal where housing and our economy is headed. Also, on the plus side, new home construction rose 4%. If rates continue to fall, this will be a boost to the economy. People with higher rates can refinance. This could stop the foreclosures. More people can enter into home ownership. Because housing effects so many aspects within the economy, a boom will occur.  With that said,, we read a disturbing report on our economy. 

Disaster Economy

A report shows that over one third of our economic growth is tied to severe storms, fires and nature problems. The figure is 36% of GDP or around $7 trillion. The growth comes from restoration in recovery from or preparing for disasters. We now have records connected to storms and fires. The US had more than $101 billion in losses just in the first half of 2025 and yes, this is a new record. Our economy has escaped a recession from two factors, disasters and AI. You don't need artificial intelligence to tell you that our nation has deep, economic problems. We need to drastically reduce our importing and return to being self-sufficient. A beautiful by-product of being self-sufficient is less debt and a higher standard of living. The only real growth that our two political parties give us is in our national debt to which just surpassed $38 trillion. If we do not change, the next info will be a our daily news. The economic body bags, the razor cuts to our lives and standard of living.

Long John's Silver: closing 150 locations.                                                                                                Nestle: cutting 16,000 jobs from its global workforce.                                                                                Coors: cutting 9% of its help.                                                                                                                      Walgreens: closing 79 stores.                                                                                                                        Starbucks: cutting 9,000 jobs and closing stores.                                                                                        Meta: cutting 600 AI jobs. These are high quality and with the money going into AI, quite confusing?    Target: is dropping 1,000 corporate employees.                                                                                          Amazon: The king of internet retail is laying off 14,000. Why, you ask? Robots taking over!                    UPS: laying off thousands. Why, you ask? See above with Amazon. Robots taking over!

We see the above when we visit our malls, that is if you still have one? Even with the above info, King Dollar remains fairly strong and that is with a 95% of an interest rate cut, later today. We feel that maybe some manipulation is afoot? 

Good News

A dutch firm, Mammoet is shooting to displace Taisun with the strongest crane that you can buy. You have to hand it over to the small nation that achieves so much. Sadly, the US that faces two oceans and the gulf waters lacks even a contender in this most important aspect to ports.

Down, but not out. The great US engineering school, MIT has developed a new way to clean air dust off of solar panels. President Trump may not like alternative energy, but solar isn't going away. MIT's process will extend the life and efficiency of panels and it requires less water. Bravo, MIT!

The best for last. The Nobel Prize for chemistry was won by an American professor, Omar Yaghi. His technology is going commercial. It can retrive water from the atmosphere. This could turn arid locations into farmland. This will lower food costs and lessen food insecurity. I thank God for blessing him and us. Peace.

Banks Again and?

- The question for the financial crisis of 2008 was the big banks too big to fail? Now, a new worry                 surfaces within the banking sector. Could smaller, regional banks collapse the system?

- JFL 

Cockroaches...

...when you see one, there are more. This is the quote from the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, Jamie Dimon in reference to the large charges suffered by Western regional banks. He considers these small banking institutions as cockroaches, but in his condescension, there is a worry and truth.

We, at Evolution do not trust Wall St. investment banks. They lie with a smile, especially concerning the precious metals. In their dark soul they oppose sound money. They are for fiat and the Federal Reserve. This does not mean that they are not intelligent. They are. They have a deep understanding of economics and they are connected to influence their agenda. With that said, we see in his above quote, the worry and truth of contagion. Banks, large and small, buy each other's paper. This connects them. What was revealed last Friday will reverberate as more details and banks reveal their connection. We already see a growing number of institutions that are taking losses. 

Jeffery (JEF), an investment firm has loans to two banks, ZION (ZION) Bankcorporation and Western Alliance Bankcorporation (WAL). The two banks and the financial firm lost over $100 billion in stock value due to their charges concerning bad loans last Friday. Zion and Western Alliance are tied to California Bank Trust to which started the chain reaction due to unpaid debt. We feel there are more cockroaches hiding somewhere?

Related Aspect

JP Morgan Chase have their own bad loans. The firm is too big to feel deep pain from their losses to Tricolor Holdings, but other players might not be so fortunate. The auto parts maker is not the only one to suffer unpaid debt or other economic problems. Delinquencies on auto loans are rising along with the price of vehicles and lending terms to acquire one from dealers. In the last decade, consumers continue to struggle to make ends meet. Delinquencies have surged over 50% concerning vehicle lending. It is no wonder since it was announced last week that new vehicles have crossed the $50,000 barrier on average price.

The buyer finds insurance costs are higher along with costs for upkeep. Because they chose a longer term for lower monthly payments, they find that after 7-years they need a new car, but they still owe on their last purchase. If they trade in and rollover their debt into a new debt structure, they will be trapped into this never ending debt cycle. We can see this as Americans now carry over $1.6 trillion in auto loan debt.

Back to Tricolor Holdings. The Fifth Third Bank (FITB) is connected to the blues tune of $200 million in potential losses. Ouch! Thank God for busses and they discount if you purchase a monthly pass...Peace. 

Hats Off to Netherlands, Political Weaponizing of Food

- You can feed a man for a day or teach him to fish for a lifetime

- Anne Isabella Ritchie

Price of Tomatoes...

It is kept affordable in the Netherlands due to the intelligence of its people that seek to work with nature. Everyone knows the story of reclaiming land from the ocean in this low, sea laying nation. They are the inspiration for today's alternative energy in wind power. They made a fortune in flower power and now, it is showing us all how to survive food insecurity. 

Although small in land mass, through determination, investment with trail and error, this little country is the second largest food exporter after the US by value. 

Its greenhouses should be desired and copied the world over. They can grow tomatoes a foot in one week, (Wow!) and they use small amounts of water. (Double wow!). They employ LED lighting along with AI computers to manage the rows of crops. It regulates the temperature, water and lighting. No, robots do not rule. Humans cultivate and harvest. Granted, they use robot carts to transport loads and they have another AI program in the processing plants. It aids in soughting size, color and shape. Bottom line: Everyone can start to grow their own as the hippies once said. Congrats to you. 

Meanwhile, the "RED" Deception

The Russian Communists as well as the Chinese Communists always point out and exaggerate their successes with little mention of their failures. When the Soviet Union was the shining example of Cummunism and started the Cold War with the US and West after WWII, they found a problem at the kitchen table. Food insecurity. Their dictating farm programs were failing, big time. The US was the only nation that grew enough to feed their problem. The Russians never thanked us nor either the Chinese Communists today with their economic miracle.  

The sad truth is the US government under Republicans and Democrats used food as a political weapon in negotiating policies. 

Case in point: In 1972, Russia had another terrible crop failure. They had been buying US wheat and corn for years. Our government kept the trade silent until the last minute to keep prices low. Yes, the Republicans deceived their "Red" state followers and farmers. 

At the time, Russia purchased one-fourth of the US harvest. This led red state farmers to believe that the Cold War was ending. They expanded and took up debt to grow. When Russia invaded Afghanistan in 1979, President Carter ended selling food to the Soviet Union. This embargo would go on and off again in different administrations. This would not worry Russia. By that time global farms had recovered and they could buy whatever they needed from many sources. However, the repercussions of the embargo caused hardship to US farmers. Many family farms died. This led to the agricultural change. Industrial size farming. Family farming has suffered ever since until China began buying soybeans, wheat and corn as well as pork.   

Communist Trojan Horse

Now, China has stopped buying US grain as a repercussion from tariffs.This not only hurts what is left of family farms, but even the giant, industrial conglomerates. China, like their fellow Russian Communists, dangle trade and then, use it as a political weapon. Brazil is benefitting from this political ploy, but when they expand and cut up the Amazon, a day of truth will emerge. China will want something that Brazil may not want to give and then, they will no longer buy from Brazil. They will try Peru, Argentina or Africa? Let us hope the world follows the Netherlands and the next time there is a crop failure in a Communists nation, tell them our door is closed. Our farmers may lose a large customer, but we over 300 million fellow Americans as customers. Forget greed and persevere. Pass on your farm to your family...Peace.