Eurodollar University

In 1969 Johnny Carson was hosting The Tonight Show and, in one particular episode, Bob Hope headlined.  After Carson finished interviewing Hope he called out his next guest, George Gobel.  To everyone's surprise the person that walked out on stage was most certainly not Gobel.  It was none other than the Italian Crooner himself, Dean Martin.  Now, as was Martin's style in those days, he was already two cognacs into the next day's hangover, which made for a rocking good show.  Eventually Gobel did make it out on to the set.  When he finally did, he complained to Carson, 'Having to come on last!  Having to share the stage with legends!'He turned to the cameras and asked, "Do you ever get the feeling... do you ever get the feeling that the whole world was a tuxedo, and you were a pair of brown shoes?"  In this, the 28th episode of Making Sense, Jeff Snider and Brent Johnson talk fin de siècle political-economy while Emil Kalinowski holds up a pair of egregious brown brogues.----------WHERE----------AlhambraTube: https://bit.ly/2Xp3royApple: https://apple.co/3czMcWNiHeart: https://ihr.fm/31jq7cICastro: https://bit.ly/30DMYzaTuneIn: http://tun.in/pjT2ZGoogle: https://bit.ly/3e2Z48MSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3arP8mYCastbox: https://bit.ly/3fJR5xQBreaker: https://bit.ly/2CpHAFOPodbean: https://bit.ly/2QpaDghStitcher: https://bit.ly/2C1M1GBOvercast: https://bit.ly/2YyDsLaSoundCloud: https://bit.ly/3l0yFfKPocketCast: https://pca.st/encarkdtPodcastAddict: https://bit.ly/2V39Xjr----------WHAT----------OK, Bank Reserves; Let’s Do This One More Time: https://bit.ly/3hXhJ7mTaking You, The Fed’s Bank Reserves, And Banks’ Checkable Deposits For A Quick Stroll In The Monetary Zoo: https://bit.ly/3i4du9PA Good Time For Some Q & A: Bank Reserves, Treasury Auctions, MMT, and the Monetary Resolve: https://bit.ly/3mLPrjEAlhambra Investments Blog: https://bit.ly/2VIC2wWRealClear Markets Essays: https://bit.ly/38tL5a7----------WHO----------Jeff Snider, Head of Global Investment Research for Alhambra Investments as Bob Hope.  Brent Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Santiago Capital as Dean Martin.  And Emil Kalinowski, as George Gobel.  Artwork by the Johnny Carson of caricature, David Parkins. Podcast intro/outro is "We Just Gotta (Get Together)" by Wanda Shakes at Epidemic Sound.

US President Harry Truman prosecuted the war to its conclusion, finishing his predecessor's near-impossible task. Then, with bitter irony, History reversed his role as "anchor" for the Second World War into "lead" for the third. As the trilogy approached its near-miraculous end decades later, one could hear an echo of a Truman slogan - “Education is our first line of defense” - in the 1980s cartoon GI*Joe that averred, “Knowing is half the battle.”  Both aphorisms are twigs coming off the "Knowledge is Power" branch. And the trunk itself? A tree of the knowledge of good and evil with roots stretching to the genesis.More recently our physicists have been informing us of hard limits to our knowledge - uncertainty principles, incompleteness theorems - butressing Socrates' statement that, "The only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing." Still, bounded knowledge is a poor excuse for apathy, and in 1951 Truman signed into existence an agency whose purpose was to prepare American citizens for nuclear war. "Knowledge is not only key to power. It is the citadel of human freedom," he said.In this 27th episode of Making Sense, Jeff Snider reveals that Truman's agency's most iconic result was that of a cartoon turtle named Bert. It may sound startlingly silly to the 21st-century ear, but educating citizens to turtle up, to duck and cover at the first instance of a flash made sense at that particular time. At least, up to the point when weapons, and thus circumstances, evolved. Similarly, the Federal Reserve's monetary policies made sense, up to the point when money, and thus circumstances evolved, which, coincidentally enough, began in Truman's time.----------WHY----------PART ONE: What can 1950s preparations for nuclear war tell us about monetary policy in 2020?  Well, that some preparations - such as "Duck and Cover" - made sense, up to the point when circumstances evolved. Similarly, the Fed's bank reserves made sense, up to a point.... long since passed.PART TWO: Beijing has reported dead quiet in its foreign exchange reserves. In the middle of THE most abrupt and widespread economic halt? It literally does not add up - unless bold assumptions are made. We look to what happened in Brasilia in 2013-16 and Beijing 2014-16 for answers.PART THREE: What do the latest figures tell us about the world's most important consumer? Jeff Snider reviews retail sales, industrial production and asks what is it that is missing from our post 2007-08 economy that precludes robust recovery.----------WHERE----------AlhambraTube: https://bit.ly/2Xp3royApple: https://apple.co/3czMcWNiHeart: https://ihr.fm/31jq7cICastro: https://bit.ly/30DMYzaTuneIn: http://tun.in/pjT2ZGoogle: https://bit.ly/3e2Z48MSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3arP8mYCastbox: https://bit.ly/3fJR5xQBreaker: https://bit.ly/2CpHAFOPodbean: https://bit.ly/2QpaDghStitcher: https://bit.ly/2C1M1GBOvercast: https://bit.ly/2YyDsLaSoundCloud: https://bit.ly/3l0yFfKPocketCast: https://pca.st/encarkdtPodcastAddict: https://bit.ly/2V39Xjr----------WHAT----------If Jerome Powell Has a Middle Name, It Might Well Be Bert: https://bit.ly/3c9UA0dDuck And Cover (1951) Bert The Turtle: https://youtu.be/IKqXu-5jw60The Contingent Hole In China’s Brazil Dollar Strategy: https://bit.ly/35PJGveThe Mysterious $100 Billion Gap In China's Payments Data: https://bit.ly/2FIAVZoAnother Key Economic Stumble In August Pointing Back At July: https://bit.ly/3cgPVJLNo Hole Puzzle, From Autos An August Stumble: https://bit.ly/3mCWknl----------WHO----------Jeff Snider, Head of Global Investment Research for Alhambra Investments with Emil Kalinowski, who turtle waxes. Artwork lined with graphite by David Parkins. Podcast intro/outro is "Steps" by Cushy at Epidemic Sound.

How much is several?  What is a few?  If you were to put a numerical value on "probably" would it be more, or less, than "likely"?  To your podcaster's great consternation the linguistic gatekeepers of Middle English appear to have been rather disinterested about it all. And so, people are constantly late... or early!  'I thought we were to meet in a few hours?'  'No! It was several.'  'Oh, right.'  Women seem to revel in these nuances, arriving for a date with this podcaster when it pleases them and then claiming etymological immunity.Which brings us to the word transitory. Admittedly there is SOME lexicographic nuance: momentary, transient, impermanent, temporal.  However, the Federal Reserve - like the proverbial camel - stuck its thesaurus-nose into that nuance and CHARGED into the economic-tent of the past decade.  Why did the 2009-10 Green Shoots recovery fail?  Transitory European Sovereign Debt Crisis, gummed Bernanke.  Why did the economy swoon in the first quarter of 2014?  Transitory Polar Vortex, chomped Yellen.  Why did inflation not accelerate despite 'full-employment'?  Transitory cellular data-plan price war, gnawed the FOMC.  Why was Globally Synchronized Growth tripped up?  Transitory political trade wars, chawed Powell.So here we are, 10 transitory-filled years later.  Now, unless there are glaciers listening to this podcast - and it needs all the ratings assistance it can get - it's likely the audience is in unanimous agreement that the definition of "transitory" has been tortured to death. Indeed, the Federal Reserve agrees! And Transitory has been retired. Or cremated. Still, instinct informs your podcaster that much like our zombie economy, the excuse is undead and Transitory will walk again!----------WHY----------PART 01: A great improvement in the US unemployment rate (JUL: 10.2%, AUG: 8.4%) suggests the Reopening Boom hints at economic recovery. UNFORTUNATELY, we have heard this story before -- indeed, for over a decade. Other employment data imply the unemployment rate is unreal. AGAIN.PART 02: Capital market seasonality is popularly assumed to be a phenomenon of the past; a quirk of an agricultural, bygone era. Not true! They still exist. And the calendar's biggest capital market bottleneck is dead ahead: September.PART 03: Why didn't the economy recover by 2011-12? Transitory issues in Europe. Why didn't the economy boom? Transitory weather. Why didn't good inflation materialize? Transitory price wars. Sadly what's not transitory is the seriousness with which central banks are taken.----------WHERE----------AlhambraTube: https://bit.ly/2Xp3royApple: https://apple.co/3czMcWNiHeart: https://ihr.fm/31jq7cICastro: https://bit.ly/30DMYzaTuneIn: http://tun.in/pjT2ZGoogle: https://bit.ly/3e2Z48MSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3arP8mYCastbox: https://bit.ly/3fJR5xQBreaker: https://bit.ly/2CpHAFOPodbean: https://bit.ly/2QpaDghStitcher: https://bit.ly/2C1M1GBOvercast: https://bit.ly/2YyDsLaSoundCloud: https://bit.ly/3l0yFfKPocketCast: https://pca.st/encarkdtPodcastAddict: https://bit.ly/2V39Xjr----------WHAT----------Unfortunately Like Old Times: Back To Being The Star of the Payroll Show: https://bit.ly/3hglpAIEven More Suggesting Something Did Happen In July: https://bit.ly/2Fu7uJUCOT Black: Closing In On Mid-September, What About Oil?: https://bit.ly/3mhs9BRBottleneck In Japanese: https://bit.ly/3hof06BNew York Clearing House Banks Monthly Movements of Cash to and from Interior (1905-1908): https://bit.ly/3hsLYCK A Deflationary Mindset That Isn't In Our Minds: https://bit.ly/2FyXJdO----------WHO----------Jeff Snider, Head of Global Investment Research for Alhambra Investments with Emil Kalinowski, who has no idea if it is safe. Artwork by "Marathon Man" David Parkins. Podcast intro/outro is "Moonline" by Cushy at Epidemic Sound.

Last week, current and former Federal Reserve officials offered a mea culpa, saying the timing of the 2015-18 rate hikes may have curbed a potentially quicker recovery from 2008. Apparently, seven to ten years is not enough time.Well then, if time is the problem your podcaster will take a page out of Hugh Hendry's book. Recently the early-21st century Scottish philosopher suggested the Fed would be taken seriously at its attempt of irresponsibility if it was headed by the funny, mixed martial artist, media-sensation Joe Rogan. Why not then filmmaker Christopher Nolan? He offers Rogan-style pyrotechnics, plus he knows his way around time. In Memento he reversed it, telling the story from back to front. With Inception he slowed it down - allowing multiple realities to exist simultaneously. Interstellar showed him capable of harnessing no less than the gravity well of the black hole Gargantua to 'steal' decades of time. And in his latest opus - TENƎT - Nolan folds all of these ideas into the same movie. Not just the same movie, but the same frames! Entire sequences are shown with characters and objects sharing the same space but not the same eddies of entropy.Hopefully the point survives the exaggeration. A true, fundamental overhaul is long overdue and recently the Federal Reserve did perform just such a review at the end of which it announced a new, grand strategy.  In this, the 25th episode of Making Sense, while we wait for Rogan, Nolan or Deus-forbid anyone with authority, Snider offers his review of the new, grand strategy.----------WHERE----------AlhambraTube: https://bit.ly/2Xp3royApple: https://apple.co/3czMcWNiHeart: https://ihr.fm/31jq7cICastro: https://bit.ly/30DMYzaTuneIn: http://tun.in/pjT2ZGoogle: https://bit.ly/3e2Z48MSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3arP8mYCastbox: https://bit.ly/3fJR5xQBreaker: https://bit.ly/2CpHAFOPodbean: https://bit.ly/2QpaDghStitcher: https://bit.ly/2C1M1GBOvercast: https://bit.ly/2YyDsLaSoundCloud: https://bit.ly/3l0yFfKPocketCast: https://pca.st/encarkdtPodcastAddict: https://bit.ly/2V39Xjr----------WHAT----------Murphy's Law Is Fed's Law, and Everything Is Wrong: https://bit.ly/3lTWbLMPeak Inflation? No, Peak Stupidity: https://bit.ly/357HFKrRead Richard Clarida's Speech: https://bit.ly/3lPo2wOWatch Richard Clarida's Speech: https://bit.ly/2QXB793Fat Chance, Flat Phillips: https://bit.ly/3hV2RXP----------WHO----------Jeff Snider, Head of Global Investment Research for Alhambra Investments with Emil Kalinowski, exempt from Murphy's Law. Artwork by David "the right stuff" Parkins. Podcast intro/outro is "Sleeves" by Cushy at Epidemic Sound.

"I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. Why do you seek me?"  They looked again in every part of the room, and then, seeing no one, Dorothy asked, "Where are you?""I am everywhere but to the eyes of common mortals I am invisible. I will now seat myself upon my throne, that you may converse with me.""We have come to claim our promise, O Oz.""What promise?" asked Oz."You promised to send me back to Kansas when the Wicked Witch was destroyed."And you promised to give me brains," said the Scarecrow."And you promised to give me a heart," said the Tin Woodman."And y'all promised to give me courage," said the Southern Lion."Dear me, how sudden! Well, come to me tomorrow, for I must have time to think it over.""You've had plenty of time already!""We shan't wait a day longer!""You must keep your promises to us!"The Lion thought it might be as well to frighten the Wizard, so he gave a large, loud roar, which was so fierce and dreadful that Toto jumped away from him in alarm and tipped over the screen that stood in a corner. As it fell with a crash they looked that way, and the next moment all of them were filled with wonder. For they saw, standing in just the spot the screen had hidden, a little old man, with a bald head and a wrinkled face, who seemed to be as much surprised as they were. Our friends looked at him in surprise and dismay."I thought Oz was a great Head," said Dorothy."And I thought Oz was a lovely Lady," said the Scarecrow."And I thought Oz was a courageous Bernanke," said the Tin Woodman."And I thought Oz was the Greenspan Put," exclaimed the Lion."No, you are all wrong," said the little man meekly. "I have been making believe.""Making believe!" cried Dorothy. "Are you not a Great Wizard?""Hush, my dear, don't speak so loud, or you will be overheard--and I should be ruined. I'm supposed to be a Great Wizard.""And aren't you?""Not a bit of it, my dear; I'm just a common man. My dear friends, I pray you not to speak of these little things. Think of me, and the terrible trouble I'm in at being found out. No one knows it but you four--and myself. I have fooled everyone so long that I thought I should never be found out.""But, I don't understand," said Dorothy, in bewilderment. "How was it that you appeared to me as a great Head?""That was one of my tricks. Step this way, please, and I will tell you all about it."----------WHY----------PART ONE: The Federal Reserve announced a grand, new strategy intended to convince YOU they are credibly irresponsible - real monetary maniacs. 'We will do it, man! We swear to Monetary Deus we'll let inflation run pure! We're not joking! Real hot. We can do it you know... Boogah boogah boogah!'PART TWO: The Federal Reserve announced a grand, new strategy form which the idea of 'full employment' is stricken. It is an implicit admission that the much celebrated, often trumpeted and frenzied waving of the "Best Unemployment Rate Ever!" flag was a mistake. It wasn't real. It wasn't true.PART THREE: America's government is spending wildly - and promises more. It does so via US Treasury bond sales. But who is buying? Are foreigners boycotting auctions? Are US banks already full? Is the Federal Reserve the last line of defense?----------WHERE----------AlhambraTube: https://bit.ly/2Xp3royApple: https://apple.co/3czMcWNiHeart: https://ihr.fm/31jq7cICastro: https://bit.ly/30DMYzaTuneIn: http://tun.in/pjT2ZGoogle: https://bit.ly/3e2Z48MSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3arP8mYCastbox: https://bit.ly/3fJR5xQBreaker: https://bit.ly/2CpHAFOPodbean: https://bit.ly/2QpaDghStitcher: https://bit.ly/2C1M1GBOvercast: https://bit.ly/2YyDsLaSoundCloud: https://bit.ly/3l0yFfKPocketCast: https://pca.st/encarkdtPodcastAddict: https://bit.ly/2V39Xjr----------WHAT----------This Has To Be A Joke, Because If It’s Not…: https://bit.ly/3jB3jLtThe World's On Fire Because the Growth Never Was: https://bit.ly/34GxOv9Not This Again: Too Many Treasuries?: https://bit.ly/3b4XZwFAlhambra Investments Blog: https://bit.ly/2VIC2wWRealClear Markets Essays: https://bit.ly/38tL5a7----------WHO----------Jeff Snider, Head of Global Investment Research for Alhambra Investments with Emil Kalinowski, not holding up the Treasury market single-handedly. Artwork by David Parkins, Eurodollar University's W. W. Denslow. Podcast intro/outro is "So Many Secrets" by Gavin Luke at Epidemic Sound.

Magrathea.  It is one of legendary, advanced-economy planets of the human imagination sitting along side Asimov's Trantor of the Foundation Series, and Cybertron, home of the Autobots and Decepticons.  Sure, there are other fabled worlds like Cameron's Pandora, Besson's Fhloston Paradise Herbert's Arrakis, but these are - let's be honest - emerging economies.  What made Magrathea a galactic leader in economic complexity is that it WAS a planet-building planet.  As we learn in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Magrathea has been missing for five million years.  By the time we join the story it is considered long dead.  The only being who believed it still existed was the two-headed Galactic President / confidence man.  And, after some LIGHT-piracy, MILD-conscription and heavy-improbability, our party of protagonists discover the planet all but deserted.Actually, not deserted.  Asleep.  You see Magrathea's product was a "luxury commodity" - none of this off-brand, pseudo-planet stuff like Pluto.  Well, "five million years ago the Galactic economy collapsed... the recession came and [they] decided it would save a lot of bother if [they] just slept through it.  So [they] programmed the computers to revive [them] when it was all over... The computers were index-linked to the Galactic stock-market prices... so that [they'd] be revived when everybody else had rebuilt the economy enough to afford [their] rather expensive services."Now dear listener, you anticipate this set up is likely in reference to our own 5-million year recession - now in its 13th year.  Or perhaps a nod to our own computer modeling gone berserk.  No ladies, gentlemen and galactic visitors, this 23rd episode of Making Sense is about the premature obituary.  Magrathea wasn't dead, merely dozing.  Our own Earthly list of rash declarations are just as entertaining.  British musician Dave Swarbrick, after visiting a local township, was declared dead by the Daily Telegraph to which he quipped: "It's not the first time I have died in Coventry."  American author Mark Twain had to explain on TWO occasions: "The report of my death was an exaggeration."  And who can forget King Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail in plague infested England when the Cart Master asked the village to, "Bring out your dead!" only to be presented a very alive, singing, dancing grandpa that had merely worn out his welcome at home?  Well, we can add the US Dollar to that list.  As Jeff Snider says, "the dollar’s not going anywhere. Except, of course, further up."----------WHERE----------AlhambraTube: https://bit.ly/2Xp3royApple: https://apple.co/3czMcWNiHeart: https://ihr.fm/31jq7cICastro: https://bit.ly/30DMYzaTuneIn: http://tun.in/pjT2ZGoogle: https://bit.ly/3e2Z48MSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3arP8mYCastbox: https://bit.ly/3fJR5xQBreaker: https://bit.ly/2CpHAFOPodbean: https://bit.ly/3enSAkrStitcher: https://bit.ly/2C1M1GBOvercast: https://bit.ly/2YyDsLaSoundCloud: https://bit.ly/3l0yFfKPocketCast: https://pca.st/encarkdtPodcastAddict: https://bit.ly/2V39Xjr----------WHAT----------Part 1 of June TIC: The Dollar What: https://bit.ly/31kjXbUThe Case of the Missing Money by Stephen M. Goldfeld: https://brook.gs/3gcX2DuTreasury International Capital: https://bit.ly/34lykypPart 2 of June TIC: The Dollar Why: https://bit.ly/3iZTDJWIt’s Not As Obvious, But Stocks Are Tipped More Toward ‘Deflation’, Too: https://bit.ly/2QeZCOF----------WHO----------Jeff Snider, Head of Global Investment Research for Alhambra Investments with Emil Kalinowski, aspiring Zaphod Beeblebrox. Artwork by David Parkins, a Flying Circus surrealist. Podcast intro/outro is "By the Harbor" by Mhern at Epidemic Sound.

The final setting of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale occurs well into the future, at a symposium of historians examining the Handmaid era.  Your podcaster expects a similar, future gathering of sober scholars evaluating the Time of CoVid.  They'll likely conclude it was an economic and political bankruptcy - a mathematical and moral fiasco.  Still, it wasn't all bad, and this podcaster imagines that sitting at the back of the room a lowly assistant will indecorously interrupt proceedings with, "At least the Funny Flu allowed Cannonball Run that stood for ages!"Before security could be called to escort this violator of stodgy proceedings out the banquet room - the iconoclast would blithely explain, that the Cannonball is an unofficial, entirely illegal 2,800 mile (4,500 kilometer, but who knows with inflation these days) car race from New York City's Red Ball Garage to the Portofino Hotel in Los Angeles.  That the pre-'Rona record was 27 hours, 25 minutes.  That with Captain Trips clearing the roads of grandmas, convoys, smokey, panda and the fuzz the new record was set at an eyelid-peeling 25 hours, 55 minutes.  And that two general documentaries were already released on the subject, including Cannonball Run II - which is in your podcaster's sincere, very unprofessional opinion the best documentary ensemble cast ever, including stars: Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Shirley MacLaine, Frank Sinatra, Marilu Henner, Aristotelis Savalas, Catherine Bach, Susan Anton and Jackie Chan, among others.And it is the idea of the "ensemble cast" that makes this 22nd episode of Making Sense a special one.  We try to answer three questions: which paradigm do central banks inhabit, was Aristotle an idiot, are low rates stimulative?  In trying to answer them we turn to Jeff Snider.  But also, Aristotle himself, and Ben Bernanke, Benoit Mandelbrot, the Bride, Christopher Nolan, the Cohen Brothers, Cormac McCarthy, Eugene Fama, Henri Poincaré, Hugh Hendry, Janet Yellen, Jay Powell, Jeb Hensarling, Joe Rogan, the Joker, Keith McCullough, Louis Bachelier, Milton Friedman, Paul Samuelson, Plato, Robert Brown, Ronald Coase, Socrates, Steve Keen, Thomas S. Kuhn, Two-Face and William F. Buckley Jr.----------WHERE----------AlhambraTube: https://bit.ly/2Xp3royApple: https://apple.co/3czMcWNiHeart: https://ihr.fm/31jq7cICastro: https://bit.ly/30DMYzaTuneIn: http://tun.in/pjT2ZGoogle: https://bit.ly/3e2Z48MSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3arP8mYCastbox: https://bit.ly/3fJR5xQBreaker: https://bit.ly/2CpHAFOPodbean: https://bit.ly/3enSAkrStitcher: https://bit.ly/2C1M1GBOvercast: https://bit.ly/2YyDsLaSoundCloud: https://bit.ly/3l0yFfKPocketCast: https://pca.st/encarkdtPodcastAddict: https://bit.ly/2V39Xjr----------WHAT----------Was Aristotle An Idiot? Welcome Back August 9, The Answer To That Question The Key To The Next Golden Age: https://bit.ly/30UMILSThomas S. Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions: https://bit.ly/3gZiFZ0Eugene Fama’s Efficient View of Stimulus Porn: https://bit.ly/2Y0kk9tFama 2: No Inflation For Old Central Banks: https://bit.ly/3gYVuhAEugene Fama Interview (Inflation is Totally Out of the Control of Central Banks): https://bit.ly/2Y1Y7aYLow Rates Aren't a Central Bank Providing Accommodation: https://bit.ly/3iF0cBs----------WHO----------Jeff Snider, Head of Global Investment Research for Alhambra Investments with Emil Kalinowski, making economics erogenous again.  Artwork by David Parkins, the thinking man's Auguste Rodin.  Podcast intro and outro "Mt. Fuji" by Ooyy and Smartface at Epidemic Sound.

Life is full of problems. And when particularly irritated by them, we turn to professionals for help.  Sure, men - especially the married kind - will insist they can take care of it.  Plumbing?  No problem.  The Johnson-rod is loose in the car?  I got it.  Open wound with compound bone fracture?  Rub some dirt on it.  Still, eventually even men will get to a point when they'll ask for directions, because what can be done -  they built the city all wrong.  And so, when the technical expert is called we damn well expect they've got a toolbox of specialized, effective gadgets.For example, those tooth-yanking sadists are expected to make small talk about The Marathon Man while utilizing a tray of mouth mirrors, sickle probes, scalers and saliva ejectors.  Go to the stables and you'll see brushes, sweat scrapers, hoof picks, deworming pastes, fly bonnets and liniments that will give your mare that glossy finish.  One expects the same of our monetary technocrats.  Their toolkit - you'd EXPECT - to hold a printing press, bond certificates, gold, as well as maps and barometers identifying the specification, production, distribution and utilization of modern money.In this 21st episode of Making Sense, Jeff Snider tells us what IS in the monetary toolkit after spending a professional lifetime reading meeting minutes, transcripts and speeches.  What's in there?  Yeah, Magic-8 Ball.  A rubber duck.  Prayer book, of course.  Half-eaten egg-salad sandwich.  And importantly, the phone numbers of financial journalists.  Join us as we discuss the monetary toolkit through the lens of: China's unchanging foreign exchange reserves, credit conditions in the United States and PMI scores from around the world.  Also, we end the show by holding a candle-light vigil for the 13th anniversary August 9, 2007.  The day that the global monetary order malfunctioned.  A day that the then-CEO of the British bank Northern Rock said, "the world changed."  A day that The Guardian newspaper analogized to August 4, 1914 - the start of The Great War.  A day that has yet to end.----------WHERE----------AlhambraTube: https://bit.ly/2Xp3royApple: https://apple.co/3czMcWNiHeart: https://ihr.fm/31jq7cICastro: https://bit.ly/30DMYzaTuneIn: http://tun.in/pjT2ZGoogle: https://bit.ly/3e2Z48MSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3arP8mYCastbox: https://bit.ly/3fJR5xQBreaker: https://bit.ly/2CpHAFOPodbean: https://bit.ly/3enSAkrStitcher: https://bit.ly/2C1M1GBOvercast: https://bit.ly/2YyDsLaSoundCloud: https://bit.ly/3l0yFfKPocketCast: https://pca.st/encarkdtPodcastAddict: https://bit.ly/2V39Xjr----------WHAT----------What’s In The Same Number? China’s Part In The (euro)Dollar Story: https://bit.ly/3ahCjNDReading the Tea Leaves About China (Making Sense Episode 14): https://youtu.be/UTTjUGp-K-oBuckets and Tookits, Empty Each: https://bit.ly/33BNUFRPurchasing Managers Indigestion: https://bit.ly/3imBky6Author Christopher Clark lecture on "Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914": https://youtu.be/6snYQFcyiyg ----------WHO----------Jeff Snider, Head of Global Investment Research for Alhambra Investments with Emil Kalinowski, standing there looking pretty.  Artwork by David Parkins, operating with palette knives, color charts, painting palettes, tube wringers and paint rollers.  Podcast intro is "Cornelia" by The Eastern Plain, remixed by Luwaks, at Epidemic Sound.

Baseball.  The nation's pastime.  For well over a century the sport has nestled itself in the romantic nook of America's soul.  Its greatness captured in sentimental movies like The Natural and Field of Dreams. But light is balanced with darkness and for all its majesty the sport bears scandals and self-inflicted wounds: the 1919 Black Sox, a racial barrier.  And of course, there's that gray space between light and dark where tragi-comedy lies.  The 1888 poem Casey at Bat.  Yogi Berra's relationship with paradox and irony.  The Red Sox and the 20th century.Like any phenomenon, the game has a full life that cannot be reduced to just one idea, one moment, one game.  To do so would be the height of chutzpah and ego.  So - let your podcaster oblige.  The greatest game ever played was on February 2, 1946.  Known as the Baseball Bugs game it took place in New York City's famed Polo Grounds where the Tea Totallers hosted the Gas-House Gorillas.  The aged Totallers - one could even go so far as calling them elderly - were no match for the unshaven, cigar chawing players with shoulders as broad as the outfield placards.  By the fourth inning the visitors were up: 96 to 0.  So total was the farce that the home team turned to fans in the outfield for help.  One such wasn't even a man.  Or woman.  It was a rabbit.  Bugs Bunny.He struck out the first Gorilla with fastballs.  Then - well - he changed baseball history with a single, off-speed pitch that struck out the side as three Gorillas swung three times each before the ball reached the plate.  Players ever since have attempted to recreate the throw.  And though pitches such as the Fossum Flip, Super Changeup, balloon ball, parachute, gravity curve and the Monty Brewster have come close, nothing has been seen like that magical day in 1946.  Nothing until America's central bank came up to bat on August 9, 2007.For 13 years the Fed has been hacking away at the same pitch of monetary disorder.  And unlike the Gas House Gorillas, apparently there is no limit to the number of swings it can take at this slow-moving soap bubble.  In this, the Frank Robinson episode of Making Sense, Jeff Snider recounts just the three most recent strikes: Gold, Dollar, and Inflation Expectations.  As part of the discussion we'll talk about Goldman Sachs' claim that "real concerns are emerging" about the dollar's reserve currency status and note that negative yielding US bonds are only a hare's hair away.  Also, the Euro, the yen and other important things like Magnum PI's mustache and whether Jeff likes baseball.----------WHERE----------AlhambraTube: https://bit.ly/2Xp3royApple: https://apple.co/3czMcWNiHeart: https://ihr.fm/31jq7cICastro: https://bit.ly/30DMYzaTuneIn: http://tun.in/pjT2ZGoogle: https://bit.ly/3e2Z48MSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3arP8mYCastbox: https://bit.ly/3fJR5xQBreaker: https://bit.ly/2CpHAFOPodbean: https://bit.ly/3enSAkrStitcher: https://bit.ly/2C1M1GBOvercast: https://bit.ly/2YyDsLaSoundCloud: https://bit.ly/3l0yFfKPocketCast: https://pca.st/encarkdtPodcastAddict: https://bit.ly/2V39Xjr----------WHAT----------Would The Real Dollar Please Stand Up: https://bit.ly/3hWwyHGUS Dollar Index (DXY) Futures: https://bit.ly/3giQK6aStrike 1: Gold; Strike 2: Dollar; Strike 3: Inflation Expectations: https://bit.ly/39IlJG6The Fastball Behind Strike 3: https://bit.ly/2XjV11BOMG The Dollar!!!: https://bit.ly/2XfRamqKevin Warsh Quote (Jerome Powell Is a Barely Adequate Writer of Fiction): https://bit.ly/2BNmHV3----------WHO----------Jeff Snider, Head of Global Investment Research for Alhambra Investments with Emil Kalinowski, hidden in right field. Artwork by David Parkins, the Ernest Thayer of the colored pencil. Podcast intro and outro is "Suddenly You" by Golden Age Radio, at Epidemic Sound.

Now, admittedly SOME commodity prices have gone up.  Half of the agricultural and livestock prices are up year-to-date.  Copper is up!  But these are the results of supply line disruptions and demand surges.  The temporary, transitory reactions to the CoVo.  NOT the persistent, broad-based multi-year inflation carried in by a monetary surge that central bankers suggest.  Almost every energy-based commodity is DOWN.  Most all industrial metals are DOWN.  We address the issue in three segments, in this, the 19th episode of Making Sense. First, gold's sauntering up to $2,000. Silver is looking lustily at $30. Inflation, right? Central bank printing, true? Politicians handing out stipends and stimulus, yes? NO! Gold has been rising regularly - in concert with sovereign bonds - since October 2018 signaling deflation, disorder... and danger.Then in part two, America's dollar is said to be the global reserve currency. But might there be hostile nations scheming furiously to undermine the US dollar? They are, after all, selling US Treasuries on net, since 2014. Is there a dollar Pearl Harbor ahead? No. Precisely the opposite. It's the real reserve currency - the EURODOLLAR - that holds nations hostage, including the USA.And finally, Federal Reserve officials are promoting the notion the central bank will allow inflation to run. Run pure. And hot! A Bloomberg opinion column called it "a whole new ballgame [baby!]" (I added the "baby!" part). We've heard this story before. Not only from the Fed but as children. From Aesop. We knew it then as, "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".That's not Inflation's war cry.  Not in this monetary disorder and economic depression.  It's a publicity campaign.  A caterwauling.----------WHERE----------AlhambraTube: https://bit.ly/2Xp3royApple: https://apple.co/3czMcWNiHeart: https://ihr.fm/31jq7cICastro: https://bit.ly/30DMYzaTuneIn: http://tun.in/pjT2ZGoogle: https://bit.ly/3e2Z48MSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3arP8mYCastbox: https://bit.ly/3fJR5xQBreaker: https://bit.ly/2CpHAFOPodbean: https://bit.ly/3enSAkrStitcher: https://bit.ly/2C1M1GBOvercast: https://bit.ly/2YyDsLaSoundCloud: https://bit.ly/3l0yFfKPocketCast: https://pca.st/encarkdtPodcastAddict: https://bit.ly/2V39Xjr----------WHAT----------Exposing The Golden LieSign of the Times: Gold Has Its Most Vocal Proponents Helping Sell Jay Powell’s FictionHuge, Massive Difference: De-dollarizing vs. Being De-dollaredMore To Being De-dollaredNot This AgainThe Fed Is Setting the Stage for a Major Policy Change----------WHO----------Jeff Snider, Head of Global Investment Research for Alhambra Investments with Emil Kalinowski, wandering hedge knight.  Artwork by David Parkins, descendant of Arthur Eld ancient King of All-World. Podcast intro and outro is "Aoraki" by Ooyy, at Epidemic Sound.