Notes From All Over -- The Karman Line Edition -- July 16, 2021a.

The Open: after posting +12 at the end of round 2, I am assuming Phil Mickelson is already on a plane headed back to the states. The leader is -11 and the cut will probably be at +1.

SPCE continues to plummet. The stock, not the plane.

Gazprom's folly: op-ed in AtlanticCouncil. Who wudda guessed? Nord Stream 2 or is NordStream 2?

Oh-oh: first Covid+ in Athletes Village, Tokyo Olympics; less than a week before opening ceremonies. 

What a debacle. Even my wife --who hasn't missed an Olympics (on television) in decades -- says she is no longer interested in watching this year. Neither am I. In addition to everything else, I hate the tape delays and the way NBC teases "events to come" with never-ending trailers, teasers, and then breaks to commercials that never seem to end. I will follow Katie Ledecky in print media and then watch the YouTube videos. 

BLM, game 4, ratings: link here. Twenty-one percent decline. And 2019 was not a great year either. BLM, more than ever, has become a niche sport. Sort of like NASCAR.

Despite the significant improvement, this year’s Game 4 ratings are 21 percent lower than the 2019 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raports. Still, it’s a step in the right direction.

They're reading the blog: the other day I mentioned we would start reading about the Karman line. And here we go, link to The Wall Street Journal.

Scientists say determining the boundaries of space is fuzzy, but billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson have ignited the debate as they race to jump-start a space-tourism industry.

For much of the world, the boundary to space is considered the imaginary Karman Line, which starts around 62 miles above Earth and which Mr. Bezos and his Blue Origin LLC capsule is scheduled to cross on Tuesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration considers space starting 50 miles above Earth, and those that fly above that level as astronauts. Mr. Branson and the rest of his Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. crew received their astronaut wing badges on Sunday after passing that boundary but staying below the Karman Line.

Say what you want: the Virgin Atlantic flight might have been "beyond incredible," but if Bezos is successful, he will have bragging rights. Seriously, after watching the Virgin Atlantic flight, does anyone consider "walk-on baggage" astronauts?

The Fed: the "Morning Brief," Andy Serwer, Yahoo!Finance, link here.

I would argue those policies are now outmoded and potentially even detrimental. Yes, there has always been some downside to the Fed’s work, but now — and here’s the crux of it — because of dramatic and unprecedented moves by the central bank recently, the collateral damage may be coming close to outweighing the benefits of the moves themselves.

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Specifically, the Fed’s boosting of the economy by keeping interest rates low disproportionately helps rich people and thereby actually disadvantages those in need. To put a fine point on it, hedge fund types, corporate executives, hotshot techies and the like are becoming way, way richer, while working people, people with only a high school degree, people of color are falling further and further behind. This isn’t socialist bleating. These are facts, and the Fed is a party to it. As such, the Fed needs a wake-up call, or maybe a reset is a better way to put it.

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I generally abhor Fed bashing. There is an entire cottage industry of mostly conspiracy-minded wingnuts, who howl that the Fed is either moving too early or too late or too much or too little, or is in cahoots with the Trilateral Commission to take over the world. I pay this little heed and suggest you do the same.

What I’m talking about though has nothing to do with harebrained stuff, rather it concerns a sophisticated, highly-regarded institution that has become locked into policies, which though well-intentioned are now producing consequences that can be construed as harmful to our society and economy. Comments: this is a great essay. Probably something that should be studied in business schools. I understand the need for a federal banking system. What I don't understand is how "maximum employment" became one of its two mandates. Yes, I know it was directed by Congress, but why?

As we've seen, Congress is perfectly capable of screwing up "employment." We hardly need more help from the Fed. LOL. If the US Congress is so worried about "max employment," why does it continue to send money to folks making it more comfortable to stay at home and not work.

Having said that, this whole unemployment issue is a non-issue. As I've posted many, many times, no one in Congress really cares.