We are a society ripe for harvest.
Less Enthusiasm, Gentlemen: Yes, the markets soared on the news that European Leaders had squared the circle. But it might do to inspect the results of their labor a bit closer, for it is hard to see how borrowing money from people who have none to spare and lending it to people who are already too far in debt is going to solve the problem. It seems a tad unlikely that the structural problems inherent in today's euro can be solved by printing more euros. Europe's problems are not going to be solved by bankers, nor by politicians. The solution lies with the Europeans themselves, and until they stop being French and German and Spanish and Italian and so on, and become Europeans, the euro is a lost cause.
Hiding The Silver: The US consumer continues to resist the lure to spend, spend, spend, as Personal Spending grew exactly 0.0% while Income edged up 0.2% and the savings rate reached 3.9%, highest it's been since January.
Lake Woebegone Writ Large: More and more countries are becoming “exceptional”. Now the US is exempting China (Iran's largest customer) and Singapore from the US embargo on Iranian oil – joining Japan, India, South Korea, Turkey, South Africa, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and 10 European countries. The move may have something to do with the disdain shown by China's Foreign Ministry: "China is always against one country's unilateral sanctions on another country, according to its domestic law. It is even less acceptable for such unilateral sanctions to be imposed on a third country."
Sleep On It: Over 200,000 public school students are homeless, sleeping in shelters.
Another Brick In The Wall: Joining the hottest spring on record and the current central US heat wave and the growing drought in the middle of the country, scientists point out that more frequent and larger wildfires are also predicted by the climate change theorists. It is, they say, “what global warming really looks like.”
Yes, But: The WSJ now says the US will not import a single barrel of oil from the Middle East by the year 2035, which is consistent with what the peak oil people have been saying all along. The Journal says it is because the US will be overrun with cheap energy from oil, fake oil and natural gas. The Peak Oilers say it is because Saudi Arabia will use all they can pump domestically, leaving none for export. Stay tuned.
Dewey Wins: Both Fox and CNN reported, incorrectly, that the Affordable Care Act had been declared unconstitutional. Trust, but verify.
The Parting Shot:
Getting away for the weekend.