Time For A Few Victory Laps

Posted on November 15, 2020 by macromon

First, Carol K. nailed the Electoral College:

[Before our post, It’s Showtime: GMM/Grace Election Prediction, Global Macro Monitor conducted an internal poll about personal predictions on the election outcome.  Carol K.’s –>  Ok, my predictions: 305 EV Biden; wins pop vote by 5.937985%.   If Biden holds on to Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, and can pull out Pennsylvania and Georgia after all the votes are counted, that gives Biden 306 EC votes.  Not bad, CK!]  – GMM, Nov 4th

See The Cook Report National Popular Vote Tracker.

She is also going to be pretty damn close when all the popular vote is counted.  If you haven’t seen Carol’s piece on, How It Happened,  run don’t walk.  It’s an absolute must-read.

DJ Takes Home the Green Jacket

Master’s Week in November. Whoa!

My top three picks this week for total money won:  Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Justin Thomas, with DJ taking home the Green Jacket. – GMM, Tuesday Nov 10th

DJ & “The Great One”

If you didn’t know, DJ is the future son-in-law (engaged since 2013 to Paulina) of the “Great One“, Wayne Gretsky.  His kids are born into one great gene pool.  The ultimate “Lucky Sperm Club.”

 

When Wayne Gretzky speaks, you listen. The NHL’s all-time leading scorer is the future father-in-law of World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, who is trying to close out the 84th Masters today and win his second career major title.

And while Gretzky might not be giving Johnson swing tips or putting drills to test out, The Great One knows plenty about winning at a high level and what it takes to get there. So, on that note, what kind of advice would he have for Johnson?

“I’ve told Dustin he has to be more like Tiger,” said Gretzky, speaking to GOLF senior writer Alan Shipnuck for a 2016 GOLF Magazine profile on Johnson. “I don’t mean he has to be Tiger — you only get a few athletes like that a century. But part of what made Tiger Tiger was relentlessness.” – Golf.com

New Record Score But The Dreaded *

Fore right!

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A True American Hero

Posted on November 13, 2020 by macromon

This Navy Seal led the raid that captured Osama and was one of the few Four Stars that spoke out to save America.   His commencement speech at the University of Texas is a must-listen if you haven’t already heard it. It may change your life.  

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

The Economics Of Wine

Posted on November 13, 2020 by macromon

What does an economist know about wine? Given that many wines need years to mature, how can one predict which ones will be great or not? Princeton’s Orley Ashenfelter explains how he used economic principles and regression analysis to predict wine quality (and score great deals!). His research helped spawn an entire field dedicated to the economics of wine.

This video is based on the following paper: Predicting the Quality and Prices of Bordeaux Wines By Orley Ashenfelter https://www.researchgate.net/publicat…

More of Orley Ashenfelter’s work: https://irs.princeton.edu/people/orle…
Orley Ashenfelter’s vineyard: https://cedarrosevineyards.com/
Want to see more Economists in the Wild? Check out our series: https://mru.io/economists-wild-67905
.

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Masters Week: Champions Dinner, Bikini Wax, and Tiger

Posted on November 12, 2020 by macromon

Masters_ImageClick here for the past menus from the Masters Champion Dinners.

I think Phil’s 2007 menu is my favorite.  Gotta love the barbecued ribs, chicken, sausage, and pulled pork, with coleslaw.

Click on the above link and check it out.  What’s your favorite menu of the past Champion dinners?

This Year: Tiger’s Choice

Here’s what Tiger – last year’s champion served up on Tuesday night:

Global Macro Monitor Masters Champions Dinner Menu

Here’s what our menu would like like if we had the honor of hosting the dinner, serving up something very fitting to our golf game.

Appetizer
Yips and Salsa
Chunky Chili Dip
Fried Egg Salad Served In A Greenside Bunker

Main Course
Duck Hook Soup
Lamb Shanks
Red Snapper (served off a tee box)

Dessert
Banana Slices
Snowman Ice Cream Cones

Drink Menu
DQ  Sparkling Water
Hosel Rocket Vineyard – 1997 Pinot Noir
T.C. Chen Double Hit – 1985 Chardonnay
OB Brewery Pale Ale

Served by Walter the Waiter.

Fore right!

Apr9_Masters Diinner

19th Hole Fodder:

Gary McCordBack in 1995, CBS television golf analyst Gary McCord got banned from the Masters for saying “they don’t cut the greens here at Augusta, they use bikini wax.” He also described the bumpy terrain as looking “suspiciously like body bags.”

These quotes are definitely not ideal for the Masters telecast, but it seems a warning or suspension could have been sufficient. McCord has a different type of humor, and his banter with David Feherty makes for good television. It would be nice to see him return to Augusta now that it’s been 16 years.

Tom Watson actually wrote a letter to CBS and the Masters chairman demanding that McCord be fired, and apparently this had a big effect on McCord’s future at the tournament.

McCord isn’t the first to be blackballed from the Masters. Jack Whitaker was taken off the air for comments during a playoff at the 1966 Masters when he called the gallery a “mob.” Whitaker’s suspension lasted four years.

Remember This?

Nike couldn’t ask for better marketing as the ball hung on the hole with the shoosh label was in perfect position.


Today’s First Round

Though play was suspended due to running out of daylight,  I like my three picks.  Justin Thomas 5 under after 10.  DJ in the hunt after 9, and Bryson after the double bogey he posted on No. 13 played the final 14 holes at 4 under.

Looks like my winning score of -12 is going to be way too high, and the course is setting up to break the lowest score in Masters history of 18 under par of 270, set by Tiger in 1997, and later equaled by Jordan Spieth in 2015.

Leaderboard

 

 

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QOTD: Inflationary Pressure In The Pipeline

Posted on November 12, 2020 by macromon

QOTD = Quote of the Day

Inflationary pressures have started to return to
the manufacturing sector, with October seeing the first – albeit slight – increases in both input costs and output
prices since the first half of 2019. Demand conditions
across manufacturing and its supply chain look to be
returning to something that resembles ‘normal’, and so
more firms have started to up prices. – German PMI, Markit

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Masters Week: Amen Corner, Baby!

Posted on November 11, 2020 by macromon


Amen Corner comes from a jazz album

The term ‘Amen Corner’- used to describe the series of holes around the 11th, the par three 12th and 13th holes – was first used in print by author Herbert Warren Wind in an issue of Sports Illustrated in 1958. However, in another piece 26 years later, he revealed that 1930’s jazz number entitled ‘Shoutin in that Amen Corner’ was his inspiration. – Golf 365


Read the full article here


Shouting At The Amen Corner

Brothers and sisters we got hypocrites in this crowd
Brothers and sisters some of you are shoutin’ too loud
You’ll find out on judgment day you can’t fool the Lord that way
Brothers and sisters hear all I’ve got to say

You can shout with all your might but if you ain’t livin’ right
There’s no use shoutin’ in that amen corner
If your name on that roll all that noise won’t save your soul
So stop your shoutin’ in that amen corner
Just because you’ve paid your dues doesn’t mean your saved
You can’t win them golden shoes if you haven’t behaved
you better think before you shout for your sins will find you out
So stop that shoutin’ in that amen corner

I can’t hear my own self praechin’
For your shoutin’ and your screachin’
You make me forget my text
Every meetin’ leaves me vexed
Why you come here and pray on Sunday
Then you serve the devil Monday
If you want to save your soul
Better get some self control

You can shout with all your might but if you ain’t livin’ right
There’s no use shoutin’ in that amen corner
If your name on that roll all that noise won’t save your soul
So stop your shoutin’ in that amen corner
Shoutin’ here don’t mean a thing if your playin; with fire
Change your ways or you won’t sing in that heavenly choir
Makes no difference how you look if your record ain’t in that book
You’ve heard my preachin’ every one
so put old satan on the run
So stop that shoutin’ in that amen corner

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Rising Yuan Shows China’s Economy Strengthening

Posted on November 11, 2020 by macromon

Here are two reasons why the yuan is showing new strength. Insights via @CME Group: https://www.cmegroup.com/openmarkets/…

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Masters Week: Jack and German POWs (BFTP)

Posted on November 10, 2020 by macromon

BFTP: Blast From The Past

Master’s Week in November. Whoa!

My top three picks this week for total money won:  Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Justin Thomas, with DJ taking home the Green Jacket.

Originally Posted on April 8, 2013

Masters_ImageAnswer to yesterday’s Masters quiz question:

Anthony Kim posted 11 birdies in the second round of the 2009 Masters.

Here’s some more 19th hole fodder to impress your buddies and something I bet you didn’t know about Augusta:  German POWs from nearby Camp Gordon built the bridge over Rae’s Creek next to the 13th tee box during WWII.  They were part of Rommel’s Panzer division in North Africa responsible for building bridges to enable tanks to cross rivers.

While Augusta National is famed for its almost unnaturally beautiful flora, as it turns out some rather interesting fauna once called the course home as well: 200 heads of cattle and more than 1,400 turkeys. From 1943 until late 1944, Augusta National was closed for play and transformed into a farm of sorts to help support the war effort. Some of the turkeys were given to club members during Christmas (meat rations were in effect) while the rest were sold to local residents to help fund the club. And the cows? Well, they acted as natural lawnmowers but also inflicted quite a bit of damage to Augusta National, devouring many of the course’s famed plants and shrubs.

To help repair cattle-related damage and revive Augusta National for its reopening, 42 German prisoners of war from nearby Camp Gordon were shuttled back and forth to work on the course.

Writes John Strege in “When War Played Through: Golf During World War II:”

“The POWs had been with the engineering crew serving Rommel, the Desert Fox, in North Africa, part of the Panzer division responsible for building bridges that enabled German tanks to cross rivers. It was a useful skill for the renovation work to be done at Augusta National. The Germans were asked to erect a bridge over Rae’s Creek adjacent to the tee box at the thirteenth hole.”

The Masters resumed at Augusta National — now free of German prisoners and barnyard animals — in 1946. And interestingly enough, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II, Dwight D. Eisenhower, later became a member of Augusta National. Two Augusta National landmarks bearing Eisenhower’s name still stand today: the Eisenhower Tree (a loblolly pine at the 17th hole that the former president and avid golfer repeatedly struck with golf balls and requested be cut down; photo above) and the Eisenhower Cabin (built in the 1950s according to Secret Service security guidelines by the club for the former president’s visits).

 

Today’ (November 10, 2020) Practice Round

Jon Rahm “skips the pond” to ace #16.  Amazing!

 

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This Is How It’s Done

Posted on November 10, 2020 by macromon

MUST VIEW

Posted in Politics | Tagged , | 2 Comments

How to Tell the Difference Between ‘Cyclical’ Companies and ‘Secular’ Companies

Posted on November 5, 2020 by macromon

Cyclical companies are sensitive to economic cycles and their stocks outperform the market when the economy is doing well and underperform when the market is doing poorly. Secular companies generally underperform when the economy is strong and overperform when the economy is weak.

Insights via @CME Group: https://www.cmegroup.com/openmarkets/…

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