petro-dollar 2.0

Market vibes

May 15…)

May 15…)

PPI today among other weekly releases. Surveys imply a steady economy.

In the news

Oil prices are sharply lower on reports a deal with Iran may be imminent. The Putin summit is iffy; no Trump, no Putin, it seems. The $10k SALT cap may rise to $80K, according to BBG quoting NY Republicans. United Healthcare is under criminal investigation for Medicare fraud, and RFK Jr. lost it truth-bombing Congress with factoids yesterday.

I have a hunch RFK Jr. might run for President on an Indy ticket in 2028. And it’s possible Independents will become the new opposition party.

In the markets

For some reason, there is a chronic mischaracterization of dollar weakness. Actually, one of the glaring outcomes of the Trump trip is an emerging petro-dollar 2.0. We are talking about trillions in trade at home and abroad that will ripple through the oncoming reset, and the dollar will be the primary necessary currency in which most of it will be done, period, punto, full stop.

The dollar index was trading at 100 twenty years ago, thirty years ago, forty years ago, and fifty years ago. Paper money is like ships floating down the Mississippi. They all move lower at the same speed. This is why we have central banks, captains of the ships, as it were.

America will always be number 1 because it’s nature is change. China will always be number 2 (or 3?… India?) because China will never change, imo.

Next up this morning a few charts and thoughts on gold seeking a range, oil having found one and stocks teetering on cloud 9 … plus life at the bottom of the hill in the vibe…here we go folks…