5 Things to Know in Investing This Week – October 31st, 2025 – The Scary Powell Comment Issue
This content is for premium members only.
Join Now
Join Now
Already a member? Log in here
Inflation
The 2% Target Has Been Abandoned
Overview: The Federal Reserve concluded its October meeting and as expected, lowered the fed funds rate by 25bp (.25%). The market celebrated…until Chairman Powell said that the Fed hadn’t decided to cut another 25bp in December. This caused the market to fall, but I’m not sure under what circumstances he would have said the decision … Read more
September CPI is 3.0%
Overview: Today, we got the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) report which showed an overall increase of 3.0% for the last year and up 0.3% for the month (annualizes to 3.7%). The annual number is up 0.1% from August and 0.1% below expectations. The monthly is up 0.3% and 0.1% below expectations. The Core CPI … Read more
It’s Not a Market Event
We’re nearing another Shutdown Theater event where people pretend the government “shutting down” will result in disaster and both “sides” engaging in brinkmanship gaming. Prediction markets indicate that it’s likely we get a shutdown at midnight tonight. The stock market has shrugged and indicated it doesn’t care. Fiat economists are threatening that each day the … Read more
Federal Reserve – As Expected
The Fed press release just came out. I’m getting you my quick bullet points now. Powell press conference in 15 minutes. I’ll update if he says anything that changes my conclusions. – Fed lowers 25bp (.25%) as expected. This is what the market and DKI thought would happen. – There was one dissent. Miran, the … Read more
Macro Update – I’m Shocked – Well, Not That Shocked
I write these macro updates infrequently. I try to do so when I have something significant to say that’s different from the dominant narrative. Conventional wisdom in the markets is correct more often than not. But when I find myself annoyed at the obvious falsehoods in the financial reporting and on Fin-X on a daily … Read more
August CPI is 2.9%
Overview: Today, we got the August Consumer Price Index (CPI) report which showed an overall increase of 2.9% for the last year and up 0.4% for the month (annualizes to 4.9%). The annual number is up 0.2% from July and 0.1% above expectations. The monthly is up 0.2% and 0.1% above expectations. The Core CPI … Read more
Bitcoin – It’s All About the Fed Right Now
Bitcoin is an asset with no cash flows, no interest payments, and no fundamentals. That means explanations for short-term volatility are often little more than guesses. However, this time, there is an easy explanation for the volatility of the recent few weeks. In general, Bitcoin and gold tend to experience higher dollar prices when the … Read more
July CPI is 2.7%
Overview: Today, we got the July Consumer Price Index (CPI) report which showed an overall increase of 2.7% for the last year and up 0.2% for the month (annualizes to 2.4%). The annual number is flat from June and 0.1% below expectations. The monthly is up 0.2% and consistent with expectations. The Core CPI which … Read more
President Trump, the Fed, and What Really Matters
Federal Reserve Governor, Kugler, resigned early, and President Trump has the opportunity to select her predecessor. The President will also be able to replace Chairman Powell when his term expires next May. As usual, FinX (Formerly FinTwit) and the financial press are losing their minds that President Trump has the opportunity to select the people … Read more
