Getting Kinksy, Interest Rates, Trump & Zelensky

I spent the morning with the email and the blog. Then new stove arrived. Around 11:30, I went to catch the bus to take me to the group therapy session. I did not get back home to stay until 5 pm. I did the session. Then I went to the bank, the grocery, back here, back to the bank, ate lunch out while waiting on the bank person to return, finished setting up the new bank account, and then came home.

Back to the blogging. I warmed up the pork stew but did not eat. 

Some items for the day follow.

 "Pete Townshend rates them above The Who": The Kinks' albums you should definitely listen to

DM sent a link to this article, The Bearable Weight of Being from QI Research, which describes itself as:

QI Research brings both Wall Street and Federal Reserve experience together with a vast network of connections across the finance industry. We triangulate institutional sentiment, what central banks watch, and how monetary policy affects investing. The result is uniquely actionable advice for equity, fixed income, real estate, and alternative investors. 

This is my response to DM:

I finally found the time to read the article. I must admit to probably not understanding the nuances. It seems to say that regardless of all the other data and appearances we are already in a recession. Or we are tipping into a recession. 

What came through clearly to me was that financial actors rely on the Fed to save them from bad investments. Therefore, they take unnecessary risks.

I also noted the use of algorithms. Right now I cannot use my debit card and am opening a new bank account. The fraud detection service kept flagging my regular payments - like phone and monitoring software - that have been ongoing since I opened the account. Garbage in and garbage out. One would think a fraud algorithm would look at past purchases. And, no, none of the amounts were large. That financial markets are being run on the basis of algorithms scares me more than anything else I read. Yes, call me a Luddite, but I am careful of what I put my faith into. You might as well join me this Sunday at St. George's if you want to put your faith in algorithms. At least attending an Orthodox liturgy does not implicate harm to others such as relying on algorithms do.

  Info on St. George's.

Trump and Zelensky meet.

NBC News' report: Meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump says he will negotiate a Ukraine-Russia deal 'that's good for both sides'

"We’re going to work very much with both parties to try and get this settled and get it worked out," Trump said, standing next to Zelenskyy while speaking to a small group of reporters ahead of their closed-door meeting. "It has to end. At some point, it has to end. He’s gone through hell. His country has gone through hell."

Trump said the two leaders "have a very good relationship, and I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin." Zelenskyy added that he hoped they would continue to have a good relationship.

"It takes two to tango, and we will," Trump responded.

After their meeting, Trump told Fox News that he had not changed his position on the war. "We both want to see this end, we both want to see a fair deal made," he said.

From The Bulwark's Ukraine Isn’t Ready for the Pro-Putin GOP

In contrast, Trump and the Trump team shrug at the Russian leader’s lawlessness. Not only is it not a problem in their eyes—it’s admirable, even something to be emulated. Why let international norms and values or indeed domestic opposition get in your way? Such niceties can only be bad for business and, precisely because he eschews them, the Trump crew sees Putin as a man they can deal with.

As the week wound down, Trump and Zelensky met in New York, and the Ukrainian leader swallowed his pride, bending over backward to be respectful as the former president repeated his unsettling promise to work with “both sides” to resolve the conflict. This week’s spat was papered over, at least temporarily, and by then, for the most part, Americans had moved on to other news.

The only silver lining: Could the standoff this week provoke a broader debate among voters, including undecided voters and traditional Republicans who aren’t sure what to do in November? Is this really what America should stand for in the world—might makes right and anything goes when business is at stake? 

 

And now I am going to watch part of a movie.

We are getting the leavings of Hurricane Helene - the wind started up around 4 and the rain picked up about an hour ago. It is quieter now at 9:17 pm.

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