Notes From All Over -- Evening Edition -- July 22, 2021

Jim Cramer: like him, or hate him, you have to listen to him. Tonight's opening monologue on today's market and Covid-19 was excellent. I think he's got it right. Too long for me to paraphrase, but bottom line (my takeaway, not Jim's words):

• the market is being held back by those who fear the "delta variant";
• the delta variant won't affect the economy to the degree many fear;
• the CEOs are either talking their book or are inappropriately exuberant, but after seeing earnings reports today, I don't think these CEOs are inappropriately exuberant; 
• these CEOs are looking out one year, not one month
  
• the fear of the delta variant explains the "money market fund" graphic I've now posted several times (and posting again below); and,
  
• the market will do just fine.

This leads me to suggest: I've said a gazillion times, the gap between investors and non-investors will continue to widen. 

However, there is a new wrinkle. Within the "investor"group, there have always been two major groups: bulls and bears. Both can make money. But now there's a third group -- some would suggest they are bears but they are not "traditional" bears. These are the folks that are so afraid -- so terrified -- of the delta variant they can be neither bears nor bulls. They are frozen in time. Their feet are held in cement. They are parking their money in money market funds rather than investing. Folks have always done this, but clearly it's now excessive. This graphic blows me away; all that money not working, sitting in money market accounts doing nothing. [But I guess it's better than the negative returns in Europe. Don't get me started.]

Below this graphic is a graphic of the Dow for the past year, the year in which the money market funds surged.

The Dow -- ONE YEAR: 

Graphic above:

• A: trajectory when folks thought we were coming out of the pandemic; extend line A and we're easily at 36,000 for the Dow;
  
• B: trajectory when vaccinations slowed down; and delta variant emerged.

*****************************************
Back to Reality

Natural gas fill rate, FWIW, link here.

Oh-oh-OPEC: link here.