It's Almost Magic Time

 

We're going to find out what the Fed is really made of in a week.

Joe "Mr. Hankey" Biden

 Later in the day, as Biden landed in Texas, a reporter asked for his message to the American people on gas prices, which reached a record $4.173 on Tuesday, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).

“They’re going to go up,” said Biden of the prices.  When asked what he can do about it, the president responded: “Can’t do much right now … Russia is responsible.”

Just a reminder - gas prices were headed north as soon as Joe Biden got elected.  Gas prices were headed north before NATO stupidly decided that leaving an open invitation to Ukraine and Georgia to join was a swell idea.  Joe Biden (and his apologists and supporters) are so full of shit that their eyes are brown.

2006 All Over Again Thanks to the Fed's MBS Purchases - Thanks Fed

 "With almost USD 700 billion of new emergency MBS purchases since March 2020, the Fed now holds USD 2 trillion of agency MBS, or almost 30% of the outstanding balance."  They are buying at a slower pace now but they are still buying up all of that crap paper at very generous valuations.  I'm sure it's all AAA, sold gold paper. /s

Many Surprises Await As the Liquidity Dries Up

 

"Something similar is happening in nearby Montauk. Owned by renowned antique picture frame dealer and restorer Eli Wilner, the sprawling property has been on and off the market since 2009. Located on tony Old Montauk Highway, near the old Warhol estate, as well as close to the former homes of Dick Cavett and Peter Beard, Wilner’s spread encompasses 37 acres of oceanfront land, with 485 feet of private beach.

Initially, back in 2009, the asking price was $35 million. After it remain unsold for six months, Wilner inexplicably raised the price to $50 million. The price has since gone up and down with the tides, from a high of $55 million to as little as $29 million in 2019. It’s now listed with Hedgerow Exclusive Properties at $39.5 million.

Though he’s wanted to sell the place for more than a dozen years, Wilner’s real problems with the property began in 2018, when New Jersey-based lender Case Real Estate Capital declared the antique frame mogul’s $17.75 million mortgage in default. The company has been trying to foreclose on the estate since then, The Real Deal disclosed, though Wilner has successfully appealed orders for a sale four times. He even filed a Covid hardship declaration, which was denied. As of now, the property will hit the auction block on February 24."  Living the good life on credit.

Biden and Putin's Big Dick Contest

 

The immovable object meets the irresistible force.  This is also known as a Missouri pissing match.  Unfortunately for those caught in the middle, when elephants clash the grass suffers most in the trampling.  Strangely, this fiasco has united super liberal NPR radio from the University of Missouri with super douche 104.9 “The Patriot” (both are garbage radio stations) and both sides are "pulling" for the Big Guy.  NATO doesn’t want to budge on its open membership policy and Russia doesn’t want to budge on its “NNIMBY” (no NATO in my backyard) policy.  We’ve got us an honest to God, good old fashioned big dick contest on our hands.

Poking the Bear

Russian leaders have long been wary of the eastward expansion of NATO, particularly as the alliance opened its doors to former Warsaw Pact states and ex-Soviet republics in the late 1990s (the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland) and early 2000s (Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia). Their fears grew in the late 2000s as the alliance stated its intent to admit Georgia and Ukraine at an unspecified point in the future. Daily News Brief A summary of global news developments with CFR analysis delivered to your inbox each morning. Most weekdays. Email Address View all newsletters > For the Kremlin, the notion that Ukraine, a pillar of the Soviet Union with strong historic ties to Russia, would join NATO was a red line. “No Russian leader could stand idly by in the face of steps toward NATO membership for Ukraine. That would be a hostile act toward Russia,” Putin warned U.S. Undersecretary for Political Affairs William J. Burns, who is now director of the CIA, in the weeks leading up to NATO’s 2008 Bucharest Summit. Although NATO did not announce a formal membership plan for Ukraine and Georgia at the Bucharest Summit, the alliance did affirm “that these countries will become members of NATO,” and it extended formal invitations to accession talks to Albania and Croatia, which became members in 2009. NATO expanded again in 2017, admitting Montenegro, and in 2020, welcoming North Macedonia.

The Phrase and Theme of the Day is "Big Shot"

Well, you went uptown riding in your limousine
With your fine Park Avenue clothes
You had the Dom Perignon in your hand
And the spoon up your nose
And when you wake up in the morning
With your head on fire
And your eyes too bloody to see
Go on and cry in your coffee
But don't come bitchin' to me

Because you had to be a big shot, didn't you
You had to open up your mouth
You had to be a big shot, didn't you
All your friends were so knocked out
You had to have the last word, last night
You know what everything's about
You had to have a white hot spotlight
You had to be a big shot last night

January 20, 2022:  "Russian leaders have watched with mounting resentment as the transatlantic alliance has nearly doubled its membership since the end of the Cold War. President Vladimir Putin has drawn a red line in Ukraine."

Well, it's no big sin to stick your two cents in
If you know when to leave it alone
But you went over the line
You couldn't see it was time to go home
No, no, no, no, no, no, you had to be a big shot, didn't you
You had to open up your mouth
You had to be a big shot, didn't you
All your friends were so knocked out
You had to have the last word, last night
So much fun to be around
You had to have a white hot spotlight
You had to be a big shot last night

People in the US have the misguided notion that everyone in the world either loves us or "hates us for our freedom" and is jealous of our prosperity.  Some countries do love us but many see us as full of hubris and vanity.  We've made a lot of enemies around the world because of our attitudes - trying to surround Russia with NATO member countries was a big mistake.  Your old Uncle Kenny once dated a chick from Kolomna Russia.  She was a pretty and intelligent girl and great in the sack but she was an alcoholic and depressed and ultimately committed suicide while living in Florida.  She told me once that Russians are somewhat paranoid but for good reason.  She said that "you are not really paranoid if they really are out to get you".  I sort of understood the Russian position - if you've been invaded by the likes of Napoleon and Hitler in the last few hundred years, you're probably a little sensitive to having your rivals parked too close to home.