Notes From All Over, Part 2 -- February 3, 2020

Got widgets? Highest level since July, 2019 -- US manufacturing: US ISM January manufacturing PMI at 50.9 vs December 47.8. Not a trivial jump. US manufacturing going forward, following China's coronavirus? Probably a wash, though I suspect US ISM February manufacturing PMI will rise slightly.

Solar minimum: catching the eyes of mainstream media readers. "Mini ice age" could be felt as early as this summer. "Solar minimum" could last well into the 2050s. Impeccable source.

Impeachment value:

Trump's campaign ended the year with nearly $103 million cash on hand, compared to the combined $64 million raised by Democratic hopefuls Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Andrew Yang, according to new Federal Election Committee filings.

Got cash?

Although Sanders, Warren and Buttigieg burned through more cash than Biden, the three candidates each had millions more than the former vice president did at the end of the year. Biden raised and spent about $23 million from October through December and ended the year with about $9 million in the bank. Though he initially pledged not to accept PAC money, Biden reversed course in late October amid low fundraising numbers.

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GDP

Guyana: world's fastest growing economy. My hunch: among western nations, the UK will have the fastest growing economy in 2020.  [Later: this was posted at 11:48 a.m. this morning. Now, this afternoon, just a couple of hours later -- Britain's productivity decline is the worst in 250 years. -- Bloomberg! Once the shackles of the EU removed; the uncertainty of Brexit resolved; and, new trade treaty with the US, the UK should have no trouble reversing this.]

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Guns

Gun ban? I thought guns were banned on college campuses.