These are crazy times. Wildfires in Canada produced dark skies over eastern Canada and the northeastern United States and some of the worst pollution on record. We are only in mid-July and the peak fire season hasn’t begun. Record high temperatures are being experienced in the southern United States on a daily basis. Severe rain, flooding and flight cancellations are being experienced in the northeast.
Former President Trump was indicted for a second time this year, the first time a previous President has ever faced charges after leaving office. There are possibly two more indictments to come.
The Vegas Golden Knights, in their sixth year of existence, won the Stanley Cup while the six Canadian teams in the National Hockey League, where hockey in the national sport, haven’t won the cup in 30 years. The screen actors and writers have gone on strike together for the first time in 63 years.
Looking at the broader economy, manufacturing has been contracting on a year/year basis. Retail inventories are bloated. As fears of the pandemic faded, consumers switched back to buying services. High mortgage rates are resulting is less building and less freight. According to Bob Costello, Chief Economist and Senior VP of the American Trucking Association, all freight indicators are contracting on a year/year basis. Supply is contracting; demand is contracting. There is still too much supply. The Spot Market is much worse than the Contract Market. Despite the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary policy, the economy has not yet entered a recession.
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