Freight data say the economy is still okay... However, there is this threat...

Last year we added the Cass Freight Shipment and Expenditures reports to our proprietary macro index because:

My two cents on "millennial socialism"

The following from this week's issue of The Economist speaks to what my study and observations of the past 30+ years has me concluding:

This Morning's Log Entry

2/16/19

Stocks maintained strong gains throughout the day yesterday, then rallied hard into the close; traders were more than comfortable being long into the weekend. This pattern of late day buying during the current rally is hugely bullish.

This Morning's Log Entry

2/15/19

Optimism from U.S./China talks and positive earnings news out of Europe have stocks rallying hard this morning.

This Week's Message: All You Need To Know About the Latest Market Action

While the following is no doubt our shortest weekly message ever, it tells you all you need to know about the latest market action.

From Steven Drobney's extremely instructive Inside the House of Money:   emphasis mine...

"Sometimes speculators add to volatility, other times they dampen it. The important point is, they don't influence the trend; underlying pressures along with policy decisions drive market events."

Quotes of the Day: Too Much Emphasis on Trade??

If it seems like we're beating the global trade issue to death here on the blog, well, I just read the transcript from today's Coca-Cola (that great American brand) earnings conference call.

Headline of the Day

Confirming what we've been preaching herein ad nauseam, just when the major averages were on the verge of green this morning, this headline hit: