Author: thependulumswings staff

Ten Piece Nuggets- Sports at Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

This AM we gladly serve you our ten piece nuggets from sunny Orlando.   Actually it’s only going to be a few nuggets shy of ten.   One, it’s Lent.  Two, the Keto diet, being all the rage, makes us want to slim down a bit.   Three, we have a plane to catch back to our world headquarters in foggy, soggy, and cloudy H Town.

If we didn’t know better we might investigate who switched Portland and Houston’s spot in the continental 48.

Time ticks.  Time for nuggets.

  1.  We took in some Bay Hill Arnold Palmer Invitational golf on Saturday.   It’s a beautiful, well maintained, difficult track.   Arnold had/has quite a thing going here.
  2. Last year’s winner Rory McIlroy roared to within one stroke of the lead by nightfall Saturday.  His 31 back nine in last year’s final round made him yesterday’s strong favorite to repeat.  Plus the competitor’s resumes paled by comparison.
  3. But, starting in the final group Sunday, Rory forgot to roar.  Francisco Molinari started the day five back and won by a clear two strokes with a sizzling 64.   A closer look at McIlroy when he starts the final round in the last group is eye opening.   He’s only converted one of those golden chances at victory.  And, he’s been there sixteen times.  Rory needs a dose of Alex Baldwin’s character in Glengarry, Glen Ross.  A.B.C.  Always Be Closing.
  4.  The Will Wade LSU basketball mess is, well, a mess.  His refusal to meet with his bosses to discuss the taped and leaked conversation with yet another basketball “handler” was the impetus to the dreaded indefinite suspension purgatory.   It says here that he has coached his last game at LSU. Too bad too as he turned the worst, two years ago in the SEC, team into a first place finish.
  5.  He was the best coach for the money that LSU could buy.  Unfortunately some of his players sound like they were the best Wade could buy as well.   College basketball is a dirty business.  Now LSU is warming the water to wash their hands of it.
  6. So Antonio Brown, a Pittsburgh Steeler, and nearly a Buffalo Bill, is now an Oakland Raider which soon will be the Vegas Raiders.   He cost the Raiders a third and fifth round pick and a lot of dough too.
  7. Didn’t Oakland trade Amari Cooper for a first round pick midseason?   So, net net they have an older drama queen wide receiver that is quite expensive and a one minus a three and a five.   Sounds like Jon Gruden is spinning his wheels to us.
  8. Expensive wide receivers don’t win championships.  Value does.   Like it or not, and we like it, Pittsburgh puts team ahead of individual talent.  We read an analysis of the trade that spoke to the Steelers being the big loser in this.   We think quite the opposite.
  9. We aren’t big NBA fans.  But.  But, in the span of about nine days the Houston Rockets have beaten the Warriors, the Raptors, and the 76ers.  And, two of those three were road games.   That’s pretty impressive.
  10.  Meanwhile, every time we look at ESPN we get this incessant Lakers and LeBron  gibberish.  At least they can let the Antonio Brown story go now.  Disney owns ESPN.  It’s always a show about a character with them.
  11.  Ok, ok.  It was ten nuggets after all.  We don’t like dieting anymore than you do. And please excuse the no feature picture.   Our editor is busy taking pictures with Mickey Mouse.  It’s always a show about a character with him.

Jobs Data and The Past 10 Years

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Independent Investment Management designed to protect and grow your wealth.

JIM CARLTON
Managing Director
Chief Investment Officer

Friends

10 years ago today (actually March 9th 2009) in the midst of the great financial crisis, stocks finally bottomed after a more than 50% drop in a year and a half. At that moment it was the second more than 50% drop in the stock market in less than 10 years. I had been through the crash of October 1987 (at Merrill Lynch at the time), and the dot.com bubble bursting bear market which began in early 2000, but without a doubt the financial crisis bear market of 2008 and early 2009 was the worst period of time in my 34 years in the business. It really wasn’t about the stock market in 2008, it was more about the survival of the financial system. When liquidity disappeared, stocks were the only liquid game in town, and thus were under relentless selling pressure for months. In 2000, the dot.com craze pushed stocks to unsustainable levels. The subsequent downturn was a stock market event. But, not 2008 and 2009. Stocks were reasonably priced at the time. Unfortunately real estate was not.

This daily update was born in October of 2008. In an attempt to keep lines of communication open with our clients, at a time when no one really knew what was unfolding and what the future held, we decided that the only way to keep everyone informed and up to date on a daily basis was with an email. It would be impossible to talk to everyone every day, so this was our alternative. Well, as we found out, it became a comfort to our clients to hear from us each and every day, and though we didn’t necessarily have any answers, at least we kept them informed about what was going on. And, there was a lot going on. The Fed, Congress and the President all were grasping for answers, but solutions seemed difficult to agree upon. In the end, we got through it all and the S&P 500 is now more than 4 times higher than it was on March 9, 2009. Along the way, our clients seemed to enjoy the daily updates even when we weren’t in time of crisis, and thus I still try to write an update every day. I hope you continue to enjoy them.

As for today, stocks slumped after a surprisingly weak jobs number, but recovered most of those losses in the last hour of trading. Sure, the unemployment rate fell to 3.8% and wages continue to climb, but 20,000 new jobs was way lower than expected. Again, January’s number was way higher than expected, so averaged out the numbers seem about right.

For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 23 points to close at 25,450. The S&P 500 was down 5 points to finish the day at 2,743. Gold was up $13 to trade at $1,300 per ounce, while oil was down $.57 to trade at $56.09 per barrel WTI.

We’ll leave it there for today. Let’s see what next week has in store for us.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Jim

10200 Grogan’s Mill Road, Suite 340
The Woodlands, TX  77380 
(281) 298-2700 Phone
(877) 824-4299 Toll Free
(281) 298-2760 Fax

[email protected]        www.chjwealthmanagement.com

Investment Advisory offered through Carlton, Hofferkamp & Jenks Wealth Management, LLC (“CHJ”).

*Numbers and figures sourced from the following: Bloomberg.com, CNBC.com and Finance.Yahoo.com.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly.

CHJ Wealth Management,
10200 Grogan’s Mill Road,
Suite 340
The Woodlands, TX 77380

If You Are Gonna Talk the Talk

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Last week seemed to have been filled with a bit more rancor than most.  So much so that we wrote this.

After a week of too much misdirected, failed, or ill-advised passion we decided to end it on a somewhat lighter note that allows us to forget for a bit all of the above.  Sports.  Now that’s passion directed in the right direction 24/7.  Combatants on any field, arena, or track of competition bring out the love of the game in all of us.  Their actions and subsequent achievements are plenty enough to gain a sense of the love for their chosen filed of dreams.  But, sometimes their passion spills over into their words as well.  Below we offer to you in no particular order some inspirational quotes from some intense sport folks.

Well, today we offer you a few savage quotes.  Savage quotes are like verbal daggers in your back.  Except, in the often heated moment of sports and its resultant aftermath, these sharp words are aimed directly at the intended target’s heart.   In the coming weeks we’ll bring you more as they are plentiful and never disappoint.  For now, enjoy the beast mode bravado of these seven quotes below.

  1.  “But the real tragedy was that fifteen hadn’t been colored in yet.”  —Steve Spurrier then head coach at South Carolina on the Auburn dorm room fire       that, among other things, burned 20 books.
  2.  “I dunno, I’ve never smoked any Astro Turf.”  —Tug McGraw on being asked if he preferred natural grass or artificial turf.
  3.   “Because there are no fours.”  —Antoine Walker when asked why he took so many threes.
  4.  ” I will eat your children.”  —Mike Tyson spoke directly to Lennox Lewis in the prefight weigh in.  Lewis knocked him out when they fought.
  5.   “These are my new shoes.  They are good shoes.  They won’t make you rich like me, they won’t make you rebound like me, and they definitely won’t         make you handsome like me, they’ll only make you have shoes like me.  That’s it.” — Charles Barkley on his new signature shoes.
  6.  “I’m not worried about the Sacramento Queens.”  —Shaquille O’Neal responded in the heat of the 2002-2003 season when the Kings were the upstart   team and suddenly popular choice to end the Lakers dominance in the west.
  7.   “All he does is talk. He’s terrible, and you can print that. I was happy when he was in the game.”  —Bill Belicheck unloaded this dandy right after the   2004 Super Bowl when his secondary held Freddie Mitchell to one catch.  Mitchell was running his mouth in the weeks leading up to the game about not   even knowing who the NE secondary players were.

Running your mouth isn’t good.  But when you can back it up, well.

As Jimmy Johnson once said, “if you gonna talk the talk, you gotta walk the walk.”

 

King Kong Bundy’s Last Act is a Permanent One.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Another Mardi Gras has come and gone. Many kings of their parades were praised and glasses toasted.  It’s quite the production.  So, too, were quite the productions of a few blockbuster King Kong movies.   But, there was only one King Kong Bundy.  And, he was a production unto himself.

Christopher Alan Pallies (born in 1957) was a professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, King Kong Bundy. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the mid-1980s till the mid-1990s. In his career zenith Bundy wrestled in the main event of WrestleMania 2 in 1986, facing Hulk Hogan in a steel cage match for the coveted WWF World Heavyweight Championship.

It’s quite the production when they add the old steel cage to insure the paid actors cannot escape from the stage on which they are getting paid for their act.  It’s  the ultimate extraneous prop.

He was developed by the infamous Von Erich family as “Big Daddy Bundy.”  He wore blue jeans with a rope belt. After a dispute with the Von Erich family, Bundy was recruited by “Playboy” Gary Hart (not the politician) and with great fanfare was reintroduced as “King Kong Bundy.”  King Kong, wore a black singlet for the first time to signify his change. This was quite a wardrobe upgrade from jeans and a rope belt.

He lost his hair during the feud, adding to his signature look.  Who doesn’t go through a feud, lose their hair, get a new look, geta  new name, and get a new gig in life?  Oh, and don’t forget about the singlet in the slimming black color.

His acting ,er wrestling career, began in 1984 and lasted till 2007.  In that span of time his character was paired with many, opposed by even more, and took several twists and turns into the turnbuckle.  While he squared off against Hulk Hogan, his best schtick might have been the long running feud that he had with Andre the Giant.  Andre might have been the only wrestler bigger than King Kong Bundy.  Christopher Pallies, or KKB, stood six-foot four and weighed in at svelte 458 pounds, a giant in his own right if not by name.

His wrestling/acting landed him in a few “real” acting roles as well.  Bundy had two guest spots, and one bit part on Married… with Children, as the creators had named the lead characters “Bundy” in honor of him.  We aren’t sure which side of that should be more honored.  In 1987, he played Uncle Irwin, the brother of Peggy Bundy.  Lastly, in 1995, he appeared again as his day job, King Kong Bundy character.  In the role he taught Bud Bundy how to wrestle if you really want to call it that.

King Kong Bundy died Sunday at the too early age of 63.  He joins many, many other “professional” wrestlers who left here too soon to go to another ring in a another place.  The 458 lbs might have helped to punch his quick ticket to paradise.

There have been many kings, a few King Kong’s, but only one successful production named King Kong Bundy.

 

 

A Dubious Anniversary For Stocks

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Independent Investment Management designed to protect and grow your wealth.

JIM CARLTON
Managing Director
Chief Investment Officer

Friends

Stocks continue to lose a little bit of luster as we move into March. Today’s ADP private payroll number was about as expected and estimates are for Friday’s government non-farm payroll number to show about 180,000 new jobs were created in February. But, stocks seem to be experiencing a modest buyers strike at the moment. Volatility is still somewhat muted, but the direction has had a downward slope for several days now.

By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 133 points to finish the day at 25,673. The S&P 500 was down 18 points to close at 2,771. Gold was up $2 to trade at $1,287 per ounce, while oil was down $.34 to trade at $56.22 per barrel WTI.

As we have mentioned, it’s not a bad thing that we would take a pause after such a robust rally off the Christmas Eve low, but it is a little disconcerting that we can’t get decisively above the 2800 resistance mark on the S&P. By the way, today marks the 10 year anniversary of the intraday market low of 666 on the S&P 500. The market didn’t bottom on a closing basis until the 9th of March 2009, but the March 6th intraday low was such an ominous number, market participants will never quiet forget it. It’s really amazing that we’re whining about 2800 10 years later. I can tell you with serious conviction, that on March 6, 2009 the S&P 500 reaching 2800 seemed like a fairy tale. Memories.

Have a nice evening everyone.

Jim

10200 Grogan’s Mill Road, Suite 340
The Woodlands, TX  77380 
(281) 298-2700 Phone
(877) 824-4299 Toll Free
(281) 298-2760 Fax

[email protected]        www.chjwealthmanagement.com

Investment Advisory offered through Carlton, Hofferkamp & Jenks Wealth Management, LLC (“CHJ”).

*Numbers and figures sourced from the following: Bloomberg.com, CNBC.com and Finance.Yahoo.com.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly.

CHJ Wealth Management,
10200 Grogan’s Mill Road,
Suite 340
The Woodlands, TX 77380

Cromartie Goes AWOL in NOLA.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

With less than one day to go till the Lenten Season begins, BBR asked Antonio Cromartie to take in the sights, sounds, and decadence of NOLA on Mardi Gras Day and give us a look at it though his eyes.  Predictably, and unfortunately, ole Antonio headed head first into the merriment and hasn’t reported back like any good reporter would.  Our guess is that he’ll be swallowed by the swale and swill of it all for quite sometime.    So much for pending Lenten promises.

We dialed up emergency relief help to show us the story.  The BBR staff came to the rescue.  Below are several photos of the French Quarter scene on a picture perfect Fat Tuesday.  Iphones take great pictures, but if you are looking at the post on one give the big file a moment to load.  Regardless, here are eighteen photos and a very brief explanation/title to act as your tour guide.  Enjoy.  Enjoy, but not to the Cromartie level of enjoy, please.

Mardi Gras is much safer than you might think. But, if you look for trouble you’ll find it.

.

French Quarter corner balconies are architectually very cool!

 

One of many, many Mardi Gras day floats.

 

Robert E. Lee mourns the removal of his statue at Lee Circle not too far away.

 

Blue sky, nothing but blue sky.

 

If you like old world preservation hop on a plane if you haven’t ever been.

 

Like Emeril, the party kicked it up a notch.

 

Trumpty Dumpty.

 

Did we mention 19th century architechture?

 

Your guess is as good as……….

 

Jesus is looking over this debauchery in the background from the back of the St. Louis Cathedral.

 

If you like pina coladas and getting caught in the ………sun.

 

Saints fans feel like Goodell sent in clowns to do a ref’s job.

 

If you want these beads you’ll need to………..

 

The words ” totally awesome” come to mind.

 

The word “awesome” still is top of mind.

 

Bourbon St. is cleaner now than it will be come midnight.

 

Antonio, wherefore art thou Antonio?

Halftime Score -14 from 7.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

As the BBR staff descended yesterday on the city of New Orleans for a little Mardi Gras fun today, we couldn’t help but think of Antonio Cromartie.  Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday.  Fat Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday in the Catholic religion.  Ash Wednesday officially kicks of the Lenten Season, or Lent.

Lent is traditionally described as lasting for 40 days, in commemoration of the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, during which he endured temptation by Satan.  During Lent devout Catholics give up or fast from one or more of their favorite foods, drinks, or activities.

So based on the above clearly the catholic religion, Mardi Gras, lent, restraint, and Cromartie would make for strange bedfellows don’t you say?  Therein lies the connection actually.  Cromartie has apparently never met a strange bedfellow.

Antonio Cromartie (born April 15, 1984) is a former NFL starting cornerback.   He played college football at Florida State and was drafted in the first round (19th overall) by the San Diego Chargers in the 2006 NFL Draft. He was selected to four Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro in 2007 after leading the league in interceptions. Cromartie is credited with the longest play in NFL history, returning a missed field goal 109 yards for a touchdown in 2007.   He also played for the Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts.

Productive might be a word used to describe his career on the field. He played defense. But, on another playing field Cromartie might be called prolific.  There he plays offense.  And,  Antonio’s greatest talent is scoring.   His 14 children at the age of 33 arrived via seven baby mamas.  So the score, which we clearly hope is the final score, is children 14, baby mamas 7.  But, at only 33 years of age we might have only reached halftime.

Several years back when the baby count had reached the meager total of only eight, Antonio was interviewed for a segment on the HBO show Hard Knocks. It’s 1 minute and 27 seconds of pure gold and definitely worth another look.   At that point three of his children were each three years old.  None of the three were twins, nor were they triplets.  Three kids all three years old from three women has to be a record.  3,3,3.  It has to be, doesn’t it?

Cromartie owes, and we assume pays, $336,000 in child support a year.   We hope that he saved/invested wisely from his successful on field career to fund his successful playing the field career.

Mardi Gras gives one a last shot at decadence before Lent sets us straight.  Mr. Cromartie could be the king of this carnival.  He more than qualifies.  We aren’t judging.   Are we?

Lent?  Well, so far, not so much for him.  There is still time though.  It’s only halftime.

We’ll be back after these commercials ladies and gentlemen.  Once again, the score 14 from 7.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

$22,103,879,734,119 and Counting. But, Who is Counting?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

As a gloomy February gave way late last week to a gloomy early March, $21 trillion in US debt and climbing gave way to $22 trillion in US debt and climbing.  But who is counting?  Talking about grey skies and cold temperatures is about as sexy as talking about debt.  It depresses one we suppose.

But, we wonder as out loud as we can, shouldn’t we talking about the debt NOW?  And shouldn’t we do something about it NOW?  We wonder if this isn’t something that both sides of the very parted aisle in Washington could agree on.  Last year’s roughly $800 billion deficit (money the US government spent in excess of what it took in) will look like it’s been on the Keto diet compared to the $1 trillion guesstimate that 2019 is shaping up to be.

By the time Barrack Hussein Obama left the White House in early 2017 the debt of ALL of the nation’s drunken overspending actually doubled under his watch.  Before anyone says he had to do it to stimulate the economy, the answer is no he didn’t.  You don’t have to do anything except pay taxes.  And, apparently you aren’t paying enough, that is, unless you think you are already paying too much.

And there in lies the crux of it all.  Both sides of the argument want to spend on programs and projects that appeal to their base.  And both sides talk around a game of “we need to spend less.”  Yet, at least one side thinks that we are taxed too heavily.

Obama wasn’t the only prez in charge to see wildly ballooning debt.  George W. liked to dole it out big time too.   He may have gotten that bad habit from his dad who rang it up like another round with the boys at the club.

In round numbers the debt has now reached $60 thousand for every legal US citizen and $180 thousand for every taxpayer.  We could solve this today if you would reach for your checkbook, dust off the dust, and write a quick one to the US Treasury for $60k.  One problem is that each of your children would need to as well, and it’s doubtful that they will ever even know what a checkbook is.  Has anyone named a child Venmo yet?  Our guess is yes.

Donald Trump spoke about the debt while campaigning.  He said on a live broadcast to his biggest cheerleader, Sean Hannity, that he favored the penny plan to reduce the deficit and eventually the debt.  The penny plan simply was a commitment to spend 99 cents on all of that which you spent a dollar on the year prior.  If you did this in seven years you would actually retire the entire debt, then $20 trillion.  Meanwhile, in his first two years the debt has leapt up two more rungs.  Sad.

However doing so would be like committing to the Keto diet, or any diet for that matter.  What are you willing to give up?  Or, would you just prefer to gorge yourself to death?

US Debt live billboards are posted in a few places in our countryside, a very few places.  Each time we hit a another depressing trillion milestone somebody grumbles about it and then we forget about it until we hit another milestone.  It reminds us of the assault on “assault weapons.”  Children at school are shot.  Proponents of gun control say we told you so.  Someone in Congress introduces new, stricter gun control legislation.  It dies without a vote  just like the very unfortunate children whose tragedy prompted the legislation.  Then, no one talks about it until it happens again.  It’s like the instructions on the back of a shampoo bottle.  Wash.  Rinse.  Repeat.

The Keto diet craze is sweeping across America.  How about we put America’s spending on the same healthier path?

In the time it took to write this (about and hour) the debt has ballooned to $22,103,949,632,268 which is an increase of nearly $60 million.

Keto for President in 2020.  MALA.  Make America Lean Again!

 

 

We Heard You Mr. Cummings.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

In the last seven days passion has come to the fore.  Robert Kraft news kicked it off as we learned of his passion for massages (cheap ones at that) and women of the Asian persuasion.  President Trump (who loves the ladies quite a bit as well) was passionate in his attempt to get North Korea to denuke.  Never be afraid to walk from a deal that doesn’t get close enough to your ask, never.  Michael Cohen was passionate in his hate for his former client Donald Trump.  Maybe he was too passionate as he likely will face additional charges for again lying to the House of Representatives.  Elijah Cummings passionately implored America to do better than this!

We heard Mr. Cummings.  After a week of too much misdirected, failed, or ill-advised passion we decided to end it on a somewhat lighter note that allows us to forget for a bit all of the above.  Sports.  Now that’s passion directed in the right direction 24/7.  Combatants on any field, arena, or track of competition bring out the love of the game in all of us.  Their actions and subsequent achievements are plenty enough to gain a sense of the love for their chosen filed of dreams.  But, sometimes their passion spills over into their words as well.  Below we offer to you in no particular order some inspirational quotes from some intense sport folks.

1.  “You can’t always control circumstances. However, you can always control your attitude, approach, and response. Your options are to complain or to look ahead and figure out how to make the situation better.” ― Tony Dungy

2.  “If you can believe it, the mind can achieve it.” – Ronnie Lott

3.“The more I practice, the luckier I get.” – Gary Player

4.  “Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle.” – Wilma Rudolph

5.  “Excellence is not a singular act but a habit. You are what you do repeatedly.” – Shaquille O’Neal

Perhaps Shaq should have practiced free throws repeatedly.  But we, otherwise, couldn’t agree with him more.  This weekend I am repeatedly going to try to be excellent at having fun.  The passion of the real world necessitates the escape to the fun.