- As promised yesterday, first thing this morning I rotated out of cash and low-beta holdings into some higher beta. I have my aggressive cap on, and it feels a little nervous to be honest. I know we've had a steep decline, but here I am with some volatile holdings in the weak summer season of a mid-term election year. Hey, at least I can point to monthly strength days and maybe some end-of-day buying yesterday (which is normally bullish). I'm keeping it to the semiconductors and Nasdaq 100 for now. Game on.
- Well, the school bus has arrived and it's another day of fun and frolic here at the Fun Factory. At least it's thursday, which is the next best thing to friday as work weeks go. You know, I think some of my coworkers ride the short yellow bus to the Fun Factory, if you know what I mean.
- Oh, kept my oils for now. Has my trade turned into an investment? I'm a few bucks (net) up in it. I don't know. Oil was tanking this morning, and it was tempting to sell the stuff and rotate it into the high-beta, but one thing I've noticed is that oil is extremely volatile. I'm starting to feel a little emotional about this trade. I may dump it just so that I stop thinking about it. Which can be a good thing and clear the mind a bit. Kind of like a hard reset.
- Japan's fertility rate is at 1.25 births per woman. 2.1 births per woman is required to keep the population from shrinking? How is an aging and shrinking population going to support those ponzi scheme social systems? The latest drop in the fertility rate, which first fell below 2.00 in 1975, will likely put pressure on the government to review its social welfare policies including pensions and medical care, since officials had assumed the fertility rate would bottom out at 1.31 and then recover, Kyodo news agency said. South Korea's rate is 1.08. The global average is 2.6.
- Get this. US troops to get ethics training. Good Lord, our military is trying to be politically correct. The training over the next 30 days in "core warrior values" would highlight "the importance of adhering to legal, moral and ethical standards on the battlefield," a statement said. Kill, but be nice about it.
