If the rest of the world simply did what was expected of them, we would have a more prosperous and decent stock market with less inflation. That is not the case right now. We’re in a strong seasonal period – that’s for sure. We seem to have pretty good retail sales when it comes to mining, at least from the now-revived mall stores. It’s a bit of a surprise indeed, especially among the more capricious apparel companies. It looks like inventories are under control and that’s enough to get investors excited. I like to see strong sales as a reason to buy. But with concerns so much about a recession, low inventories mean less debt and less promotion. That is, unless you’re talking about low inventory at Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), which may have more to do with a lack of credit than an abundance of sanity. What confuses us has more to do with the actions of our allies and — just call it the way we see it — our enemies. Let’s start with China. This is a country that is treating Covid-19 like Captain Trips, the deadly strain of flu that wiped out much of the world’s population in Stephen King’s apocalyptic novel “The Stand”. It seems logical, even logical, that once President Xi Jinping becomes permanent president, he is free to end the madness of pretending that his country’s Covid-free strategy works. can function. What more does he need? Now, we’re starting to really wonder about Xi Jinping’s ultimate plan. Not a single scientist worthy of her salt says we can really stop the infection – even with near total lockdown. Our body simply cannot create immunity. We have our next best thing, vaccines are almost 100% effective so you don’t get really sick, plus we have medicine if you do. But China is stuck in April 2020 and it looks like chaos could really reign. Protesters and police clashed Sunday night in Shanghai over the latest round of restrictions. Not only is the manufacturing army exhausted — as we learned from Apple (AAPL) and violent worker protests at Foxconn’s flagship iPhone factory — but the consumption columns are also lacking. important. Is there really no viable motive and no check on a seemingly unwilling government? It’s unbelievable how absurd it all has become and how isolated China really is. There was a time when you couldn’t imagine not making in China and selling products here. Now I think any company that is still in China that makes everything for the United States wishes they could close and reopen anywhere else and only pay the price with one force. labor is more expensive. The double-edged sword of “we make it cheaper and we buy more because there are so many of us” will fray if this continues; it’s surprising that President Xi doesn’t understand that or even care. How is that possible? How does he not watch “iPhone City” and not think about Captain’s Trip? Probably because he’s not a fan of Stephen King. His loss. Then there’s Russia. All-out war on land has somehow drifted off the front page even as the humanitarian crisis escalates. The Russians could both initiate the concession process through a cold France, while at the same time fooling the US into not providing the Ukrainians with what they needed, namely Patriot missiles to stop the endless missiles that were coming. pouring down its people to hell. There is no lull in this war. Just a lull in the coverage of this war. President Joe Biden’s failure to end up in Europe to make sure allies stick together and provide more aid to the Ukrainians is a sign that he’s satisfied with the status quo. That’s outrageous, since the status quo means crazy Russian President Vladimir Putin will win. We are not dealing with Joseph Stalin here, with an army of 28 million armed with the latest weapons compared to the United States that Putin has nuclear weapons, but if he uses them, he guarantees will destroy his own country. There is no better time than rallying allies to cut off everything Russian and even threaten to block any oil from flowing out of the country. But it didn’t happen. It’s just not reasonable. A bully may be reversed and a new peaceful and prosperous order may beckon if the West shows only some unifying force. In America, we have our own versions of the absurd. We could have a railroad strike over an agreement that President Biden essentially made for the unions and now it doesn’t look like he’s in. In 1992 we had this and Congress quickly got in and it lasted for two days. It shouldn’t have gone that far this time, but in the meantime the absurdity of the strike doesn’t seem to surprise anyone. We expect the absurd from Washington. Finally, there is the irrationality of cryptocurrencies. This is one of the hardest of all. What is really going on in this world? Let’s start with a simpler question: Does it matter? Does it itch? How much is lost? Who lost it? Will it affect purchasing power? Are the crypto losers the ones who don’t get discouraged when shopping at Best Buy (BBY) or Dick’s (DKS), where there are spectacular orders? Are they the ones who bought Deere (DE) equipment to keep their lawns manicured or do heavy construction work? We don’t know these people and we don’t know the impact their losses will have on our economy because, the absurdity of likes and dislikes has no safety net after a century. grateful to one person. There’s too much nonsense to hold a mass protest unless things get so absurd that companies don’t want to hire the way they did and the hiring freeze turns into layoffs. Then, and only then, will the absurdity lead to a strangely higher stock price. The Federal Reserve will realize that only America is strong. That alone will eventually put downward pressure on prices as the end of supply chain woes and the beginning of real fear of the future, when it comes to bonuses cut and layoffs after. Christmas becomes top news. Good – that is, too hot – is still not good for the stock. But little good? That’s what bulls must hope for as irrationality emerges from around the world and creeps through Wall Street. (See here for a full list of stocks in the Jim Cramer Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to CNBC’s Investment Club with Jim Cramer, you’ll receive trading alerts before Jim. conduct transaction. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending the trading notice before buying or selling shares in his charity’s portfolio. If Jim had talked about a stock on CNBC, he would have waited 72 hours after issuing a trading warning before taking a trade. INFORMATION ABOUT THE ABOVE INVESTMENT CLUB IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY, PLUS OUR DISCLAIMER. NO Fiduciary Obligations OR OBLIGATIONS EXIST, OR BE CREATE, BECAUSE OF YOUR RECEIVING ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN RELATED TO THE INVESTMENT CLUB. NO SPECIFIC RESULTS OR PROFITS GUARANTEED.
Only a handful of vehicles, including one carrying two medical staff, passed through Beijing’s central business district on November 23, 2022, as the area has announced tighter controls on with Covid.
Kevin Frayer | Getty Images News | beautiful pictures
If the rest of the world simply did what was expected of them, we would have a more decent and prosperous stock market with less inflation. That is not the case right now.