TGIF -- Wow, Talk About A Slow News Day -- December’s Inflation Even Lower Than First Reported — February 9, 2024

Locator: 46768B.

Compared to the rest of the week, it's a pretty quiet Friday. So far.

But look at this and folks wonder why the US equity market is doing so well:

• NYC office rental vacancy at 50-year low and now of great concern to the city
• NYC office rental vacancy currently at 1.4%
• a healthy rental vacancy rate in NYC is considered to be 5 - 8%
• I guess that changes plans to convert vacant office space to housing for undocumented visitors

For those who respond, "yes, but outside of tech, the US equity market is not doing all that great."

• quick: name the top five "tech" cities around the world
• quick: name the top energy producer in the world
• quick: name the top retailing country in the world
  

The southern surge:

• strategically, 30 years, the long view: the GOP is on the wrong side of history
• tactically, current politics: the DEMs are running scared

More politics: Trump going after Haley

• makes him look trivial
• reminds folks of his misogyny
• needs to attract her supporters

Reality check:

• net-zero targets

CPI revision: December's y/y revised downward, 0.2% vs previous 0.3%

• Fed given credit
• Fed doesn’t deserve all the credit

S&P 500: opens above 5,000 -- first time ever, but overall market flat today

• NVDA's market cap exceeds the market cap of the entire Chinese stock market
• wow, what a difference a few years makes
• the two biggest changes
• Mideast is no longer the economic powerhouse it once was
• Saudi Arabia: retrenching?
  
• China economy imploding
• China - Iran: at origin and terminus of China''s massive belt and road initiative

Now, to go back and post yesterday's daily activity report that was not posted last night.