Rate Cut, No Cut...

You can sing the title to The Beat Goes On. You can feel the consequences of the Federal Reserve long before Jerome Powell's infamous, "Inflation is transitory." Next line, "Cost up, cost down..."

Walgreens says the higher interest rates along with high inflation as well as labor problems is driving up costs. It is leading them to close a "lot" of stores this year. They do not see costs coming down. You can see the consequences of cost cutting by firms. The first in line is labor. This can be seen in the recent uptick in unemployment to 4.1%. Next line, "I want, Give me..."

[Dust to dust= 3,200 stores have gone and we are only at the halfway point in the year.]

JP MorganChase warns that if banking does not get what it wants, 86 million checking accounts will see you pay for your checking services. I already pay to have my checks printed and I must keep a high balance so the bank does not add fees, but it is never enough. Refrain line, "I'm pissed! It never ends!" 

Marianne Lake, the head of Chase bank also says that debit and credit card fees will be charged in all transactions. Now, everyone will be pissed. Time to repeat the refrain, "I'm pissed! It never ends!"

This is about "capping" bank fees and the greed of banking. Banks should be regulated like a utility. Of course, the Fed will come to their recue and bottom line.

Rate Cut, No Cut...

The phony Federal Reserve with their BS mandate never mentions this aspect about labor, although they take a bow in saying that historically, unemployment is low. Full time labor has been flat since 2002. The gains in the job market have been mostly in part-time help. Why, you may ask? Because there is no benefits to add in costs. There will never be a pay raise and together spells no promotion and no social mobility. You can find some exceptions like the drivers for UPS, but that was mainly due to retirement of baby boomers and the scarcity of replacement workers. Of course, management cries out their Ab-lib line, "Costs up, Rate up..."  

With that said, their favorite song line is, "I want, Give me..."

Song ends. Flipside, "Summertime Blues."

There is an interesting chart that shows for the last twelve years, the market has seen a top during the Summer and a low in the Fall. Keep in mind, trading is light on Monday and Friday during this period. We still see a sharp pullback. It is approaching. The market is over-bought and the CAPE is too high. Be warned. Be prepared. Last song for the week. It is my favorite and now, a meme, End the Fed!"   Peace.