iPhone

Late November is a great time of year for a variety of reasons...there is the crisp fall air, the gatherings with your extended family for Thanksgiving that begin innocently and end with restraining orders and death threats and, of course, Senator James Lankford's annual report on government waste.  And, just like last year, the 2017 report on "Federal Fumbles" is filled with truly infuriating examples of government waste that are sure to get your blood boiling...here are a couple of examples:

The traditionally illiquid post-Thanksgiving week has started with a series of whipsaws across stocks and bonds, as European stocks turned positive after starting the day on the back foot, initially mirroring a slide in Chinese stocks and price action in U.S. equity futures as investors look to a possible - and absolutely critical - tax-plan vote in the Senate this week.

Apple and Foxconn have a well-documented history of labor abuses ranging from underpaying employees to compulsory over time that have been blamed for a slew of deaths and suicides among Foxconn's workforce. These abuses were widely covered in the media around 2012 but largely disappeared from the headlines after Apple CEO Tim Cook said he would pressure Foxconn into adopting more humane labor conditions.

Ever since the Federal Reserve first got into the business of blowing massive equity bubbles back in the 1980's, Americans have shown a willingness to happily, if ignorantly, embrace each successive iteration to the rigged market.  Of course, as E-Trade recently confirmed via the following ad, making money in equities is a very simple two-step process: (1) get invested, (2) buy a yacht made of Cuban mahogany and party with models...why would anyone in their right mind pass that up?

With the iPhone X, Apple’s re-designed anniversary iPhone, official launch today, we saw the familiar images of people lining up in front of Apple Stores around the world to be among the first ones to get their hands on the new device.