Saturday, March 17, 2019, T+74

The parade continues:

Seventy-six trombones led the big parade
With a hundred and ten cornets close at hand ...

Joe Biden announces that he's in.

The three "B's" become the three "S's."

Sociopath.
Socialist.
Stassen.

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The 2020 Campaign Is Off And Running

Before I get started, does anyone really think there will be:

• a President O'Rourke?
• a President Kamala Harris?
• a President Bernie Sanders?
• a President Elizabeth Warren?

I just don't see it. But I could be wrong.

It takes time to put together a campaign in 50 states and to qualify to get one's name on the ballot in each of the 50 states. How far along is Howard Schultz?

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Just In Time For The 2020 Campaign

Bloomberg says the worst may be over for the global economy. Wow, if that's accurate it's going to be a great year (2019) for investors. And, of course, if it's a great year (2019) that will extend the longest bull market, making it the longest bull market on record. It seems the dates vary, but if we remain in a bull market through August, 2019, I think all will agree that a new bull market record has been set for longevity.

From the linked article:

The world economy may be the rockiest it’s been since the financial crisis, yet there are reasons to expect the current slowdown will prove short-lived.

Bloomberg Economics, Deutsche Bank AG and Morgan Stanley are among those whose economists reckon the slide will bottom out in this quarter or next before an acceleration later in the year.

“Put the Federal Reserve pause, trade truce, and China stimulus together and we’re looking for a trough in the first quarter and very moderate pick up ahead,” said Tom Orlik, chief economist at Bloomberg Economics.

Wow, if this is the "rockiest" since the financial crisis, we're in pretty good shape.  And it seems like:

• it revolves completely around easy money, the Fed, and Jerome Powell; and,
• very little about Brexit is even mentioned

Oh, yes, and China.

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Energy Investors

Barron's featured a round-table on energy investing this past week. It's behind a paywall but some observations:

• the fossil fuel sector is among the smallest sectors in the US equity market
• we may be coming out of the worse of the fossil fuel sector
• the article focused mostly on "Big Oil" -- bullish on most "majors"
• quite a bit of talk on midstream: five mentioned, including ETP, EDP All-American Plains; interestingly, Enbridge was not listed;
• one analyst suggested shorting (or not investing) in fracking sand companies: "they are drilling dirt" and margins are incredibly small; tea leaves elsewhere: more than enough sand everywhere
• Helmerich and Payne recommended by one
• of the service companies, SLB held advantage over HAL due to the former's international exposure

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or what you think you may have read here.

By the way, regarding "sectors" in the equity market, it is said there are 255 sectors in the US; the #1 sector (money invested) is the "chip" sector; and XLNX is rated #1 by Zacks.

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The Art Page

Berthe Morisot, Dallas Museum of Art, special exhibit, January - May, 2019.