Best damned tweet of the entire years.

Since 2004, America has lost 2,511 newspapers on net.

Today, some 6% of U.S. counties have no newspaper, and 51% of counties have just one. hat-tip Steve Rattner

Leading economic indicators have turned negative. Even the the 6-month annualized percent change in the LEI (below) is negative. This is a strong indicator of recession, probably in Q1. #economy #CoSoFinance

Energy outperformed other sectors by a wide margin in 2022. That's three years in a row. The chances of four in a row are low, but not zero. #CoSoFinance

We are probably in the late stage of the business cycle. That points to lower stock prices ahead, but a bottom in the first half of the year (most likely), and I'm leaning toward Q1 (probably). #economy #CoSoFinance

Stock market update: This is only the fifth year since 1928 when both stocks and bonds were negative. Talk about nowhere to hide. #CoSoFinance

8 of the top 10 performing stocks in the S&P 500 for 2022 are oil & gas stocks. #energy #CoSoFinance

The energy industry has learned not to overinvest. This chart shows how oil-industry investment was declining as demand was increasing through 2021. HOWEVER, day rates for rig rentals are rising, so we'll likely see spending increase when Q4 2022 results come in. #CoSoFinance

Gasoline prices are down nearly $2 from their summer peak — and are now 20 cents lower than they were this time last year. #CoSoFinance

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You probably know that the Democrats are the party of fiscal responsibility, and Republicans are completely irresponsible with the public's wallet. But if you don't, here you go.

November PCE #inflation +5.5% y/y vs. +5.5% est. & +6.1% in prior month (rev up from +6%) … core PCE +4.7% vs. +4.6% est. & +5% prior. This shows inflation is easing, and fairly quickly, too. Yet, Powell & Co. had to know this was coming, and yet they relentlessly push a higher-for-longer message. So, what, really, is the Fed's agenda?

The most bearish thing I've seen all week is this chart. The Fed, European Central Bank and now the Bank of Japan are preparing to continue tightening monetary policy, even though we are seeing tightening at a level that we've never experienced before. If the central banks are TRYING to crash economies, they're doing a heckuva job. #CoSoFinance

The U.S. economy expanded more quickly in the third quarter than previously believed. Growth was revised to 3.2%, up from 2.9% from the previous update released last month. Before you celebrate, remember leading economic indicators (which I've posted a metric ton of) are indicating recession. #CoSoFinance

The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits in the week before Christmas rose slightly to 216,000, but new filings remained low and signaled the labor market is still quite strong. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast new claims would total 220,000 in the seven days ending Dec 17. #CoSoFinance https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf

From Mikael Sarwe (@MikaelSarwe on the blue bird site)
I have in my 30 years as an economist, strategist and portfolio manager NEVER seen any monetary tightening like this.

Welcome to 2023... #CoSoFinance

Bloomberg has an article today -- which I cannot link to on #CoSo for some reason -- on the potential for another down year in the S&P 500 in 2023. It treads a fine line between "It's probably fine" and "Game over, man! Game over!" #CoSoFinance

Not my photo, but a fine shot of a cold #Massachusetts morning.

Rootin’ for Putin is a bad look on anyone. https://www.mediaite.com/tv/tucker-carlson-rips-zelensky-speech-calls-it-humiliating-for-congress-to-give-aid-to-a-ukrainian-strip-club-manager/

SAFE Banking’s failure: Who’s to blame, and what’s next for #marijuana industry? #cannabis #banking #CoSoFinance https://mjbizdaily.com/why-safe-banking-failed-and-what-are-next-steps-for-marijuana-industry/