And On The Third Day ... -- January 25, 2017

AND THERE IT IS: 20,018.98

UP: 108 points

At The Opening

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This is the third full business day of the Trump administration.

The "implied" opening of the Dow 30: 20.000.10.

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20,000

Does It Matter?

This is simply amazing to watch futures rise -- I'm watching CNBC between 5:00 a.m. and the opening bell. It is truly incredible. It is amazing how two of three talking heads/hosts on CNBC cannot bring themselves to call this a "Trump rally." Dumbest question in past three minutes, from Becky Quick, as she's watching futures go solidly above 20,000, now up triple digits: "What's driving this rally?"

Whatever.

"They" say "20,000 is simply a number; that it does not matter." Wrong. Take the other side of the argument: let's say after the Trump election, the market plunged to 10,000. Would folks say that "10,000 is simply a number; that is does not matter." LOL. We would be seeing live video (with a 5-second delay) of folks jumping off skyscrapers in NYC.

I can also guarantee you that we would hear no end of "I turned the economy around; the market surged because of my actions. Not only did I save the US economy, I turned it completely around; and, in the process saved the world as we know it." -- from Barack Obama had he been president when the market went over 20,000. Of course, he would be quick to add that again, Wall Street is winning, but Main Street is not. And that global warming is mankind's greatest risk.

20,000 resonates with the public. Even folks who have no clue what the stock market is all about, they will hear about this milestone. I'm sure the networks tonight will not open with the story, but it will be hard to avoid the story if the market goes above 20,000 today. But mainstream media really won't want to cover it: it occurs when a billionaire is president, when Donald Trump is president; when all three branches of the government are in the hands of Trump, McConnell, and Ryan; and, not Hillary, Schumer, Pelosi, and Pocahontas.

I also love the meme that tax reform will favor the rich and won't do anything for the bottom 50% of Americans. Who don't pay any taxes. 

By the way, the market did not hit 20,000 tepidly; it cut through 20,000 like a knife going through soft butter.

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The best thing about the Trump presidency is that his election opens the door for non-politicians to run for the presidency. So, whenever I see the following folks criticizing Trump, I simply say, "well, if you are so smart, why don't you run for president?

• Michael Moore
• George Clooney
• Meryl Streep
• Danny DeVito 

Actually, I'm wrong. The best thing about the Trump presidency is that Hillary is not president.

This is a great song as far as the title goes, and as far as the "melody" goes, but you don't want to listen too closely to the lyrics.

With that caveat, Hallelujah!

Hallelujah, Leonard Cohen

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Changing Landscapes

Trump presidency: key words, phrases, observations

• "bully pulpit" not "bully"
• bilateral negotiations not multilateral

"It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliance with any portion of the foreign world": it was George Washington's Farewell Address to us. The inaugural pledge of Thomas Jefferson was no less clear: "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations-entangling alliances with none."

• "make America great again," has been changed by President Trump to "make America greater than ever before" 
• jobs first - benefits second; turns around elitist priority, benefits first - jobs if possible
• take President Trump literally but not seriously
• on immigration: President Trump plagiarized President Bill Clinton, 1995

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How Not To Negotiate

This is why multi-national trade negotiations processes don't work (source for photo):

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Schooled

Becky Quick, CNBC: schooled by President Trump's National Trade Council, Peter Navarro on trade negotiations. The media is simply not keeping up. She said that it would take "a long time" to negotiate bilateral trade agreements (her statement was laughable). Peter Navarro countered: name one multi-national trade agreement that did not take years to negotiate. She was unable. Were we into six years of negotiating the trans-Pacific trade deal? NAFTA? diplomatic negotiations dated back to 1990 among three nations; ceremonially signed in 1992; became effective in 1994.  

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Illegal?

Some folks are opining that it will not be legal for US/Trump to require US steel for pipelines.  Again, shortsighted; ways to get around this. If nothing else, tax incentives: the government could provide incentives for using US steel.