Brent Nyitray
Fairlington Blade
Let the mutherfuker burn!
jnc4p
Kevin S. Willis
Michigoose
lmsinca
markinaustin
Arcanaut
novahockey
quarterback
ScottC
yellojktVital Statistics:
Stocks are flattish this morning on no real news. Bonds and MBS are down.
The bond market is down again today, with UK Gilt yields up 12 basis points this morning. Adding to the pressure on bonds was a lousy auction yesterday, with the 10 year yield hitting the highest level since 2007.
Job openings increased to 8.1 million at the end of December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This was an increase of 259k from the upward-revised November reading. On the other hand, the quits rate declined to 1.9%, which is a sign of weakness in the labor market.
Given the current bearish psychology of the bond market, bond investors focused on the 8.1 million job openings and ignored the quits rate. The red line is the job openings rate, while the blue line is the quits rate. The job openings rate is higher than pre-pandemic levels, while the quits rate is below pre-pandemic levels.
More indications that the labor market is cooling: The economy added 122,000 jobs last month, according to the ADP Employment Report. This was below expectations, and is less than Street expectations for Friday’s jobs report. “The labor market downshifted to a more modest pace of growth in the final month of 2024, with a slowdown in both hiring and pay gains,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. “Health care stood out in the second half of the year, creating more jobs than any other sector.” Indeed, the bulk of the gains came in health care / education and leisure / hospitality. Manufacturing jobs fell.
Pay gains for job stayers fell to 4.6%, the lowest since July of 2021.
Mortgage applications fell 3.7% last week as purchases fell 7% and refis fell 2%. “Applications decreased last week as rising mortgage rates continued to discourage buyers from entering the market and put a damper on purchase activity. The 30-year fixed rate increased for the fourth consecutive week, reaching 6.99 percent – the highest rate since July 2024,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Purchase applications declined for both conventional and government loans and dropped to the slowest weekly pace since February 2024. Refinance applications increased despite higher rates, but the increase was compared to recent low levels and was driven entirely by an increase in VA refinances, which continue to show weekly swings.”
Adding fuel to the bonfire in the bond market was the ISM Services report, which showed the sector expanding again. “The Services PMI® in December was boosted primarily by strength in the Business Activity and Supplier Deliveries indexes. Many industries noted that end-of-year and seasonal factors were helping drive business activity or impact inventory management. Some of the increased business activity seems to have been driven by preparation for demand in the new year, or risk management for impacts from ports strikes and potential tariffs. There was general optimism expressed across many industries, but tariff concerns elicited the most panelist comments.”
The prices index increased to 64.4%,which was the highest reading since January of 2024. There might have been some seasonal / end-of-year effects going on, so this is something to watch.
Filed under: Economy |
All Things in Moderation 
This is astounding
https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/1877458240050446339
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Well, to be honest I’ve never had an expectation that a black lesbian would ever rescue me.
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It is baffling the PR department thought this was worthy of advertising.
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Well, Harris thought it was a good idea to go on record supporting taxpayer funded sex change operations for incarcerated illegal immigrants, so it doesn’t surprise me what people choose to advocate.
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“If I can’t lift you, sucks to be you” is not exactly befitting of senior leadership.
They must be so solipsistic that they are incapable of seeing how they come across.
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My guess is there are no fat lesbians in LA that would ever require rescuing.
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This won’t change anything but it will leave a mark.
https://redstate.com/mike_miller/2025/01/10/leaked-memo-karen-bass-demanded-la-fire-department-cut-extra-49-million-week-before-wildfires-exploded-n2184191
Will the Hollywood elite continue to fund the Los Angeles Democratic Party.
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I thought this was a crazy Trumpian fever dream?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/newsom-orders-independent-investigation-dry-220244256.html
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Totally.
I’m glad someone finally said it.
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Jeebus!
I hope they don’t get so made they, I don’t know, fly planes into buildings or something.
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Absolutley! Whom could have known?
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Leftism never fails. It can only be failed.
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This is… curious.
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Well, neither does fiat currency.
Spoken like a man who thinks he’s not getting his percentage.
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Lol
Every man is Pete Hegseth.
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It’s always appreciated when the Democrats take action to consolidate wavering Republican support. Worked with Trump, so why not his nominees?
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I watched some parts of the hearing for the laughs and I was not disappointed. Hegseth telling Gillibrand that he was not allowed to perform certain duties due to a Christian tattoo was also delicious.
Maybe it’s cause I’m a dude, the memes of all the female Senators seemingly to hector Hegseth is devastating to the Democrats.
I cannot believe that women watching the clips of the chicks just screaming at him remind themselves of their worst moments. While reminding men of all their ex-wives.
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I think the democrats are all-in on being the party of women
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Senator Jack Reed asking to have “Jagoff” defined for him is my favorite moment from the Hegseth hearing.
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I listed to Pam Bondi tell Adam Schiff that he (Schiff) was censored by Congress for the statements he is making at the hearing. Pretty hilarious.
https://x.com/saras76/status/1879597956128727503?s=46&t=vSGsUlnc4rLxcUf7zfUiHg
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This time it looks like Trump nominated people who will fight on his behalf.
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As Trump told Rogan, he was naive during his first term nominating people who he was advised to nominate.
He isn’t making the same mistake this time around
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