fentanyl, coffee and crypto
market vibes
February 4 … )
In the news
“Ah, Mr Bond, we've been expecting you…..”
Bloomberg is characterizing the tariff kerfuffle as a loss for Trump. They say he got very little. I doubt one can measure cooperative closure of the northern and southern borders with thousands of troops but there’s definitely a misunderstanding of Trump’s intentions, in my opinion.
Top down migration is practically at zero now and deportation is accelerating. The facts coming out about fentanly are nothing less than shocking. Deaths by fentanyl have beeen under-reported by as much as 50% for years. Mortality in America alone could have been as high as 200,000 per year or more, according to the president speaking to the press yesterday afternoon. Will it stop? Not yet I think, but it is that which Trump seems to care most about. I do, too.
El Salvador offered to accept US criminal deportees of any nationality “for a fee.” Marco Rubio praised the offer as unprecedented without saying whether the Trump administration would accept it.
From LizAnn Sonders at Schwab via Alex manzara at RJO: Wards auto sales fell sharply in January … down to an annualized 15.6 million vs. 16 million est. & 16.8 million in prior month. Let that sink in.
In the markets
The board looks a little soggy after yesterday’s storm. Oil is lower. Gold is showing no signs of failure at these highs but not much mojo either. Stocks are trading like flat beer. And … some dispositive technical information on bitcoin that will probably get resolved soon. It should be an interesting day. Let’s get started:
