Cramer, Rush: I think Jim Cramer has the week off. I don't know for sure. I haven't been watching CNBC much this week so far, but I noted Cramer was not on yesterday morning. I almost always miss his evening show because I'm swimming with Sophia. Whether you like them or not, Jim Cramer and Rush Limbaugh have a lot in common.
They are (were) the number one personalities in their field. Quick: name a radio personality that was more widely known than Rush Limbaugh when it came to politics; name a television personality that is more widely known than Jim Cramer when it comes to investing.
Both make it appear effortless.
Both make it look like they do it without any assistance but my hunch is both have huge staffs.
Both are (were) on the air only two or three hours a day, but they seem like they are "on" 24/7.
You may not like them, but you cannot not listen.
The best two hours on CNBC: the 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. CT with a triumvirate to include Jim Cramer. If he's not on, it's not worth watching. In the evening, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. CT, it's Melissa Lee followed by Jim Cramer. Melissa Lee's entire show is great; I enjoy the first few minutes of Jim Cramer at 5:00 p.m. CT. It appears Melissa Lee has this week off also; when she's not hosting, her show is not worth watching.
The market: earlier today, I remarked that fund managers were likely locking in profits for the quarter; it was a huge quarter. The surprise was that the major indices dropped ever so slightly. Being the eternal optimist I interpreted today's market action as incredibly bullish.
Think about it. The end of a "quarter." The end of a 20-year war. We should be celebrating.
Futures mean squat.
But right now, after a somewhat negative day on the market at the end of the quarter, the futures right now are surprisingly bullish, At 9:56 p.m. CT:
- Dow: up 86 points
- S&P 500: up 10 points
- NASDAQ: up 22 points
So, we'll see.
Covid-19: not sure what this means, but something to be watched -- link here --
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota National Guard has been activated to help with the state's response to COVID-19.
Guard members ... are being deployed to assist with testing for Monument Health in Rapid City and could be needed in Sturgis, Spearfish, Deadwood and Custer.
The state Department of Health reported Tuesday that Pennington County, where Rapid City is located, had more than twice as many new COVID-19 cases than any other county in the state. The number of people on ventilators in Rapid City also more than doubled since Monday’s update.
The Guard was activated in 2020 to help with the COVID-19 outbreak by manning a hotline, setting up mass testing sites and conducting contact tracing. Soldiers also prepared to establish temporary field hospitals in Sioux Falls and Rapid City.
Active cases and deaths data: linked here.
Headlines from The WSJ:
- Canadian National Railway bid to buy Kansas City Southern: hits major obstacle; regulators deny key part of the deal; link here; apparently regulators approved the same "deal" with Canadian Pacific Railway several months ago.
- EU recommends curbing nonessential travel from the US, but Europe's tourist hotspots didn't get the memo;
- Jeopardy: finally -- Mike Richards fired as Jeopardy producer.
- need to call an airline? Your hold time will be approximately one zillion hours; link here.
- people over 60 are drinking more -- why is it so hard to cut back? Link here.
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The Book Page
It literally smells brand new!
The book was officially released today.
My hardback copy arrived today!
The Annotated Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, edited with an introduction and notes by Merve Emre, c. 2021.
The font and style look identical to that used in The Annotated Wuthering Heights, one of my top-shelf books.