Investing

[chasfh]

1 hour ago, Deleterious said:

 

Powered by strong consumer spending, so says Trump's Commerce Department, a party with interest, about a period of time now three to six months ago?

You don't say.

Meanwhile, back in the present day: 

 

[Deleterious]

The article seems to agree.

Quote

Consumer spending has stayed resilient despite the negative sentiments about the economy, yet Trump's tariffs have caused changes for shoppers such as Andrew Russell.

 

[Deleterious]

 

[gehringer_2]

49 minutes ago, Deleterious said:

The article seems to agree.

 

[Deleterious]

15 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

Yeah, our economy is fueled by debt.  Stay tuned tomorrow, where we tell you water is wet.  

Edited Tuesday at 05:05 PM by Deleterious

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, Deleterious said:

Yeah, our economy is fueled by debt.  Stay tuned tomorrow, where we tell you water is wet.  

unfortunately, consumers don't have the option of spinning off their loses and leaving someone else holding the bag the way US corps do. They end up having to pay their bills sooner or later.

[Screwball]

6 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

unfortunately, consumers don't have the option of spinning off their loses and leaving someone else holding the bag the way US corps do. They end up having to pay their bills sooner or later.

Debt, public or private, when interest is involved, turns into simple math. Exponents are a bitch.

[Screwball]

A little chart porn, courtesy of the Fed.

How ya like that hockey fans?

[Tigeraholic1]

 

[chasfh]

On 12/23/2025 at 7:05 PM, Screwball said:

A little chart porn, courtesy of the Fed.

How ya like that hockey fans?

It's a good time to be a bank.

[gehringer_2]

On 12/23/2025 at 10:58 AM, Deleterious said:

The article seems to agree.

Quote

Consumer spending has stayed resilient despite the negative sentiments about the economy, 

 

The top 10 percent of U.S. households now account for nearly half of all spending, Moody’s Analytics estimated this fall

(this tidbit cited in a NYT story on conspicuous consumption dining. $600 for a suckling pig anyone?

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/dining/nyc-restaurant-prices-luxury-menus.html)

[Screwball]

Holy hockey stick Batman! 6 month chart porn by day. Up over 11% today, .025 from the high at close.

[oblong]

I spent a lot in 2025. Decided to remodel some stuff in our house after talking about it for 10 years.  Then Our dog got sick (3K lighter).  Went on a more expensive than usual vacation because it might be our oldest’s last time so we let him pick. (Then he went and got a job and couldn’t go so we had plenty of room). I just cut a $10K check for his last tuition bill because somehow he missed a deadline for loans and he was graduating. He moved out and is learning life so I guess an interest free loan is his gift.  A close family member got married in December which meant my wife had to spend money on a dress she will never wear again along with the other bull****.  (That made me more upset than the surprise tuition bill. Who the **** decides in early November that a mid December big wedding would be a great idea). 

[gehringer_2]

5 minutes ago, oblong said:

Who the **** decides in early November that a mid December big wedding would be a great idea). 

Probably a lot easier to book venues!

We got married a blizzard. Made for great memories once it was well in the rear view mirror!

Edited Saturday at 04:01 AM by gehringer_2

[CMRivdogs]

Part of our decision (or my wife's) was that her parents wedding anniversary was 12/31. (Ours was 12/30). I'm sure her played a major role in that as well.

We did do it on a tight budget though. Her mother was a caterer, my dad while basically a lawn care guy before it became semi fashionable also had equity in a floral shop so he supplied the flowers. A simple reception in the church's fellowship hall. 

Our hotel room for the first night was the "bridal suite' at the Holiday Inn on the Virginia Beach ocean front (a whopping $25 a night)....

Some great memories though. Including my Pittsburgh relatives just beating my wife down the aisle. We had the audacity of having a wedding at the  same time as a Steeler playoff game. 

[Screwball]

4 hours ago, CMRivdogs said:

Part of our decision (or my wife's) was that her parents wedding anniversary was 12/31. (Ours was 12/30). I'm sure her played a major role in that as well.

We did do it on a tight budget though. Her mother was a caterer, my dad while basically a lawn care guy before it became semi fashionable also had equity in a floral shop so he supplied the flowers. A simple reception in the church's fellowship hall. 

Our hotel room for the first night was the "bridal suite' at the Holiday Inn on the Virginia Beach ocean front (a whopping $25 a night)....

Some great memories though. Including my Pittsburgh relatives just beating my wife down the aisle. We had the audacity of having a wedding at the  same time as a Steeler playoff game. 

I'm only half joking, but doesn't anyone EVER look at a calendar when they plan that stuff? 🙂 I know, I know...

I think it was 2012. The Tigers were in the playoffs and I had to go to a wedding. Girlfriends daughter was the MOO. She told me about it, and the first thing I checked was the game times. Sure enough, wedding was OK, but the reception was during the game. I couldn't get out of it.

I warned her right up front - I WILL find a way to watch this game - just so you know. She was a Tiger fanatic so she was good with it. We get to the reception hall. Rectangle room with a partition toward one end. I went snooping behind the curtain and sure enough there was a bar and some tables back there. At the end of the bar was a TV. Oh, goody! 

So I wander in there expecting to get kicked out because the only people in there were the workers taking care of the food and drink for the wedding in the other room. Hi! I want to make you a deal. I really really need to watch the baseball game tonight, and if you can get that on for me you all will have a very nice night, if you know what I mean, as a threw a $20 bill on the bar.

They were all for that, so I sit down at the end of the bar, they turned on the TV, and we were good. I kept tipping them all night as they brought me beers. Everything was cool, and we were having a ball. Until... IIRR, close game, maybe 8th inning some jerk and his wife comes wandering back there. Guy says to one of the workers "hey, there is a football game on." I says, no there isn't. Yes there is. Nope. Yea, channel X. Nope not happening. I was getting worried. This guy was getting pissed. One of the workers comes over and tells this guy "we are not allowed to change the TV on orders by the boss so it stays on the baseball game."

Ha! Thank you very much as the guy left and I tossed another $10 bucks on the bar. Probably cost me 50 bucks to watch the game but I watched it. They lost...

And the rest of the story. Everything got over and I was, lets say, a little tipsy. I then find out, of no surprise to me, the car we rode to the reception no longer had a driver (these were highly educated people - go figger). Shouldn't be a problem until they figured out it was a stick and nobody could drive it. Can you drive a stick? Why yes, yes I can, but I am also 3 sheets into the wind. Well you are the only one who can drive a stick and these 4 people need to be taken home - all over Columbus, Ohio - no less. Thanks assholes...

I somehow made it. Don't ever ask me to a wedding again.

 

Edited Saturday at 07:51 PM by Screwball

[oblong]

In my situation this person is an attention whore. They thought it would be great to have a Christmas wedding and that the extended family would love the opportunity to see each other. We tried to suggest waiting until the middle of winter when things are boring.  The wedding had 300+ people. Half of the invited family didn’t show up.  Those that did were shoved into tables in the corner and they left early.  Not a single family member was happy about having to do this.  BTW, this was the third wedding for this individual and all 3 were large. One involved going to Rochester NY.  The previous 2 were over within 18 months. That’s the context. And the couple are both over 50 so it’s not like it’s young people who don’t know any better.  

[Screwball]

Weddings are nuts. I don't get it.

When my oldest got married the brides family were - let's say skeptical - about our family of crazy people. We liked to party and have a good time, but they were not into that stuff. The were as squeaky clean as could be. The reception got a little wild once their side found out they couldn't handle the booze, dancing, and kick ass music.

When we left, the maid of honor was sitting on the ground against a post right outside the front door where everybody left, after pissing herself (puddle running down the asphalt) while she held a beer asking someone to help her. I have fallen and I can't get up.

People are so funny.

Edited yesterday at 12:43 AM by Screwball

[oblong]

They’re very expensive now.  A cousins daughter got married in April. I was told the cost was $75K.  They rented out an old bank building that was converted to an event space.   It was a nice wedding but nothing crazy. My wife’s family is huge and I’ve been to dozens of them. Ours in 1998 was about $10K 

[gehringer_2]

19 minutes ago, oblong said:

They’re very expensive now.  A cousins daughter got married in April. I was told the cost was $75K. 

If one of my kids had wanted to spend 75K on a wedding I've have told them they haven't learned enough to be married yet.

[oblong]

59 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

If one of my kids had wanted to spend 75K on a wedding I've have told them they haven't learned enough to be married yet.

I guess it’s worth pointing out too that when I went to the cousins house last year there was a corvette outside. I thought nothing of it.  They live in one of those McMansion subdivisions in NW Macomb County. Then I was told the daughter was there, she works midnights (she’s a nurse) and her fiancé often sleeps there with her during the day.  They stumbled down to see us.  That was his vette. They are mid 20s. “His family…. Old money” 

[romad1]

15 hours ago, oblong said:

In my situation this person is an attention whore. They thought it would be great to have a Christmas wedding and that the extended family would love the opportunity to see each other. We tried to suggest waiting until the middle of winter when things are boring.  The wedding had 300+ people. Half of the invited family didn’t show up.  Those that did were shoved into tables in the corner and they left early.  Not a single family member was happy about having to do this.  BTW, this was the third wedding for this individual and all 3 were large. One involved going to Rochester NY.  The previous 2 were over within 18 months. That’s the context. And the couple are both over 50 so it’s not like it’s young people who don’t know any better.  

Standard policy for me is that it takes an act of congress for me to go to a second wedding.  I'm not here to validate your failure to pick em correctly the first time.