The Dow closed up 618 points on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell indicated that "interest rates are just below the neutral level that neither aids or hinders economic growth."Investors looking for something positive as they wait hoping for some good news during the G-20 meeting between President Trump and China’s Xi Jinping. on U.S. trade with China.
The S&P 500, a broader index, closed up 2.3% and the tech heavier and hard hit Nasdaq closed up 2.95% which was a relief to investor who have seen 2018 gains disappear in the last several weeks. As most Americans know, the US economy is good, but markets are forward looking; they perceive slower growth ahead with plenty of obstacles to deal with … most out of their control.
A struggling world economy makes the U.S. a bit safer, but we do sell and trade overseas too. One big aggressive foe, China, has most of us concerned as tariffs and trade dominate the headlines. Another is the new Democrat controlled House of Representatives, which is seemingly bent on steering the US in an opposing direction Republicans have moved us. Hopefully these empowered DEMs will keep their frustration with President Trump in check and focus on with legislating some sort of compromises with so much unsettled business. I hope they are careful with the economy, taxes and spending in particular as we all lose if the economy slumps again.
This may be the end for Freedompop, the low cost wireless "backup" hotspot service I’ve been using for years — at least it probably is for me (started with the Photon back in 2010). For the most part their hotspot service has been a decent value for me while traveling and giving me LTE connectivity to all my devices, but I can no longer endorse or recommend it. The free service of 500MB per month is not really enough data making their $3.99/mo rollover option a better choice. I have also encouraged a few other users to add service which increases the amount of free monthly data added to my account each month (now have a decent reserve that will expire if the rollover option is canceled).
In October, the company implemented a service charge of .98 cents on top of the $3.99 monthly (tolerable), but this month they have upped that to a $2.99 "Administrative Fee. Since most phone plans now offer a data plan addition, it is not as critical to opt for the Freedompop service and definitely not worth paying a higher monthly fee for the same rollover (Virgin Mobile is $10/mo). I inquired with Freedompop’s "weak" customer service department just to be sure before canceling my Freedompop LTE device … or at least switching to their free 500MB per month service. Will probably do that later this month. This is too bad … as I doubt I am alone an question whether Freedompop will survive?
After an uncomfortable win against Marylandwhere Ohio State’s defense failed to show up … this week in the big 10th ranked OSU vs 4th ranked Michigan rivalry, both the defense and offense performed for the Buckeyes and their fans at the Shoe. Besides a few mistakes and penalties costing the Buckeyes points (fortunately they could afford), Ohio State definitely dominated the Wolverines the entire day. That was good news for Katelyn and Drew who headed to Columbus. Besides being damp and cold, it was a perfect day to end Buckeye season.
As for a tech tip, a viral tweet last week caught hold when it really shouldn’t have been anything new. The iPhone text editing tip suggests that instead of "fat fingering" the cursor to a text location, that holding a finger down on the spacebar and dragging the cursor to a new location makes the task easier. Hm, this something users have been doing for years … and BTW, it is not only the spacebar, but click/hold any place on the virtual keyboard to move the cursor to a new location works too.
A three-year-old iPhone function which was apparently largely unknown to many has gone viral on social media – and it could change the way you text.
Despite being available on iPhones for the last three years, the keyboard feature has recently been discovered by thousands of Apple users – after Krissy Brierre-Davis shared her ‘discovery’ on Twitter.
Even as someone who watches markets and oil, the precipitous drop in price over the past month has been shocking. Most observers expected the increased inventory to cause the price per barrel to drop a bit, just as it has in the past when oil is stored in surplus, but a $20/barrel collapse in 1 month is either too much (likely if producers like OPEC & US shale companies restrain production) … or a predictor that a bigger global economic slowdown is in our future. If looking at this from a "glass half full" perspective, optimistically maybe "just a little" of both, but palatable?
Thoughts from a NYTimes article after President Trump decided to reimpose sanctions on Iran, one of the biggest producers of oil:
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Over the summer, the Saudis and other producers, who had been restraining output since 2017, opened up the taps, aiming to ease consumers’ worries and placate Mr. Trump. They may have been overly proactive. Traders have shifted their focus from Iran to other factors, like whether Mr. Trump’s trade battles with China and rising interest rates might dampen global economic growth and demand for oil.
At the same time, production in the United States has been rising faster than expected. Output has also risen in Libya, despite continuing warfare, and it has held up better than expected in another troubled country, Venezuela. Volumes of oil held in storage tanks around the world are beginning to build again, raising fears of a renewed glut, analysts say.
This was probably not a Thanksgiving meal with my late mom and dad, but it was in the fall of 1987 and is a perfect #TBTmemory.
My daughter Katelyn was pretty close to her daughter Annalyn’s age and my brother Ron and Claire just engaged to be married. It seems like yesterday, but was obviously a lifetime ago.
Thanksgiving this year will be with a smaller turkey and fewer to eat it, but I am so thankful for our family and the many time we were together each year.
Plenty of jokes were bantered around last week when Hasbro announce a new version of Monopoly for Millennials. The "forget real estate. You can’t afford it anyway" comments and winning is collecting points, such as a "3-Day Music Festival" EXPERIENCE or "going to a vegan bistro because memories last forever."
Without digging a little deeper or playing, it is difficult to separate truth from the cynical jokes. Is there a jail, or just a "cry room?" Is one of the pieces a "hashtag?" Is every player a winner?
Investors looking for something positive as they wait hoping for some good news during the G-20 meeting between President Trump and China’s Xi Jinping. on U.S. trade with China.
