WELCOME TO THE GAMES MR PUTIN

 yo!... are ya watchin mr trump?... innit!

in palookaville.. 

A LITTLE HUMILITY GOES A LONG WAY

...it has become clear in recent days that Russia is unlikely to escape a severe hit by the pandemic..

 presenting an existential test to the country’s teetering health system..

and a new challenge to the aura..

 of rising confidence and competence..

projected by Putin’s Kremlin..

“We have a lot of problems..

and we don’t have much to brag about..

nor reason to..

and we certainly can’t relax,”..

Putin told senior officials Monday in his bleakest comments on the crisis yet..

 “We are not past the peak of the epidemic, not even in Moscow.”

Putin warned of overworked medical staff and shortages of protective equipment,..

acknowledging what critics said was long clear..

that Russia’s health system could be strained..

beyond its breaking point..

by the pandemic..

and that the government needed to do more to get ready.

As footage of hourslong lines of ambulances..

outside Moscow emergency rooms..

ricocheted through Russian social networks..

over the weekend..

health officials went on state television..

and confirmed that the images were real..

A LITTLE HONESTY TOO

“We objectively did not pay very much attention,” ..

Golikova, the task force head..

admitted in an interview aired Sunday night..

 “to how effectively the infectious disease service needs to be prepared.”

By Monday, Russia’s total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 had reached 18,328..

double the level of five days earlier..

The number of deaths stood at 148..

a number widely seen as an undercount..

 amid reports of other causes of death..

being declared for people who were ill..

with COVID-like symptoms.

coming up..

on..

THE VIRUS GAMES

undercounting the cost..

early bath not called..

cheaters don't win..

THE BULLSHIT IS IN

yo!... wipe out... innit!

the palookaville index..

 .PALS

the palooka index guide..

follow the money

buy an hold..

buy the dick..

trash the cash..

panic early.. 

THE SHORT AN THE LONG OF IT

market watch..

  A big question to start the week is whether investors have gotten ahead of themselves..

after the S&P 500 managed its..

best weekly gain in 45 years 

as the Federal Reserve threw more money at the economy. 

Banks may have something to say about that Tuesday as they kick off earnings season..

shedding light on the damage that’s been done so far by the virus..

Our call of the day.. from a team of Goldman Sachs strategists led by David Kostin..

 says the worst of the market rout is behind us..

A “previous near-term downside of 2000 [for the S&P 500] is no longer likely..

Our year-end S&P 500 target remains 3000 (+8%),” says the team in a note to clients on Monday.

Why?

“The combination of unprecedented policy support..

 and a flattening viral curve..

have dramatically reduced downside risk for the U.S. economy..

and financial markets and lifted the S&P 500 out of bear market territory,” 

said Kostin..

 whose gloomy stock prediction from last month came..

the day before a complete market meltdown.

“If the U.S. does not experience a second surge in infections after the economy reopens..

 the ‘do whatever it takes’ stance of policy makers..

means the equity market..

is unlikely to make new lows,” 

said Kostin.

THE BOTTOM DROPS OUT OF THE TOP 

Market News Opinion

 

Published..

April 13, 2020 5:04 PM UTC

• Stock market analysts continue to set price targets for the Dow Jones..
•  
• and other indices amid the coronavirus-induced turmoil..
•  
• Economist Mohamed El-Erian says..
•  
• that there’s “no playbook” for predicting where the stock market will go next..

• He warns that the wild equities swings..
•  
• stem from rapidly-changing narratives – not fundamentals.

After the U.S. stock market recorded its best week in nearly five decades..

you’d be forgiven for thinking the Dow Jones was due for an encore..

But not even a historic oil production cut..

was enough to keep the risk-on mood intact..

ahead of what promises to be a grisly corporate earning season..

Unfortunately for investors..

economist Mohamed El-Erian says..

that these wild swings in market sentiment..

and asset valuations are the new normal..

And no matter what your favorite stock market forecaster claims..

absolutely nobody knows where the Dow goes from here.

El-Erian: 

There’s No Playbook for Stock Market Forecasts

 El-Erian..

the chief economic advisor at Allianz..

was one of the first high-profile economists to warn that..

 the coronavirus outbreak could..

trigger a stock market crash.

 

 THE BULLSHIT IS IN

 

Market NewsOpinion

Published:

April 13, 2020 5:04 PM UTC

‘No Playbook’: Economist Reveals Why Every Dow Jones Forecast Is BS

Forget what your favorite Dow Jones forecaster says. Economist Mohamed El-Erian warns there's "no playbook" for reading this stock market.

Josiah Wilmoth @Y3llowb1ackbird

Stock market forecasting has become less about analyzing economic fundamentals..

and almost entirely about guessing..

what medical and fiscal narratives are going to rule the day..

in both the short and long-term..

  Source: QE3/PIMCO REUTERS/Jason Reed

• Stock market analysts continue to set price targets..
•  
• for the Dow Jones and other indices..
•  
• amid the coronavirus-induced turmoil..
•  
• Economist Mohamed El-Erian says that there’s “no playbook” 
•  
• for predicting where the stock market will go next.
•  
• He warns that the wild equities swings stem from rapidly-changing narratives..
•  
•   not fundamentals.

El-Erian: 

There’s No Playbook for Stock Market Forecasts

El-Erian, the chief economic advisor at Allianz, 

was one of the first high-profile economists to warn that..

the coronavirus outbreak could trigger a stock market crash..

But given the peculiar environment that accompanied this historic downturn..

he says there’s..

 “no playbook” for forecasting a recovery.

In this environment of enormous uncertainty, nothing would surprise me..

 We need to be great health experts to predict the market..

And you need to get a feel for how far can the Fed go from here..

These are really big unknowns…

we have no playbook to guide us.

Fundamentals didn’t ignite the Dow’s fastest reversal in history..

nor did they catalyze the..

stock market’s most aggressive weekly rally since 1974..

Apocalyptic “narratives” drove the market down..

and – today’s reversal notwithstanding – 

a spate of rosier narratives..

helped stocks rally off their late March lows.

These markets, when they move, they move really quickly..

 And what do they move on?

A change in the governing narrative.

We are very sensitive to narratives.

The problem is that narratives don’t always jive with reality.

Nor is reality particularly easy to quantify reality these days anyway.

What Narrative Will Drive the Dow Next?

 

YOU HAVE ONE NEW MISSED MESSAGE

yo!... virus callin... innit!

calls are cummin in..

ta unlock the lock down..

in palookaville..

nobody likes to..

spend time with..

the family..

their kids..

no one wants to breath..

the new fresh air..

listen to the new silence..

they are getting fed up..

of..

THE VIRUS GAMES

simple cyrus says..

put your hands in the air..

an shake them all about..

this will make my message spread..

especially when you shout..

WE CAME HERE TO PLAY

we've also come to stay..

NEW COVID 20 

if you wish..

ta end the games..

you will have to..

do what you have so far..

disasterously refused to do..

prepare.. prepare..prepare..

test.. test.. test..

trace.. trace.. trace..

quarantine seriously..

not by self..

pay sick pay..

stop travelling..

masks and visors for all..


FORTY SHADES OF GREEN


In Ireland, we consume a great deal of British media.

This means that we’ve been watching..

with growing despair and grief..

 British news reports chronicling a national disaster..

But for weeks now, long before the death rate accelerated..

we’ve been watching and reading your reports with a queasy feeling..

We knew of the measures and plans the Irish government was putting in place to protect us..

and we knew how far..

your government was slipping behind.

When our taoiseach was..

closing our schools and universities,

your prime minister was still telling you to wash your hands..

When our government cancelled St Patrick’s Day celebrations..

 yours allowed the Cheltenham Festival to go ahead..

a potentially massive multi-day super-spreading event of over 250,000 people..

 The contrast was disorientating..

Nowhere was the dissonance more marked than on the weekend before St Patrick’s day..

By that point..

Ireland had banned indoor gatherings of more than 100 people..

but had stopped short of closing the pubs..

A video showing revellers in Temple Bar went viral..

a public outcry ensued; #closethepubs trended on Irish Twitter..

the minister for health commented..

and voluntary pub closures..

began the following morning..


I DRANK IN PETEY LAWLER'S WHILE BILLY STUART SANG

Alone all alone by the wave-washed strand
And alone in a crowded hall

 
The hall it is gay and the waves they are grand
But my heart is not here at all
It flies far away by night and by day

 To the times and the joys that are gone
But I never will forget the sweet maiden I met
In the valley near Slieve Na Mban

coming up..

NEW COVID 21

LAME DUCK PRESIDENT

STATE OF THE UNION

THREE STRIKES AND YOU'RE OUT

CYRUS : THE HAPPY VIRUS

yo! ... host with the most... innit!

well hello..

palookaville..

jus wanna say..

how y'all doin..

so happy to be here..

with y'all tonight..

me an the wife..

we've travelled the world ..

to be here with ya..

in your very own..

throats

TIME TO TOAST THE HOST

we'd lak ta thank y'all..

fo hostin these..

virus games

MAN WE WAS NOWHERE

we was jus chillin out..

slummin it..

with the other animals..

in a wet market..

in china..

ALONG CUMMA VIPER

and bingo..

we was reinvigorated..

an movin an shakin..

innna..

local human throats..

for ya knew it..

we was outta there..

an traveling the world..

by airplane..

first class.. innit!

THE HELPING HAND

we all wanna thank all you..

palookas..

fo the many..

helping hands..

you have shaken..

to help us all spred..

could not have got..

where we are now..

without you..

PARTY TIME AGAIN

we love ta party..

cos you love ta party..

we love ta boogie..

on saturday nights..

wanna thank alla politicos..

fo turnin..

a blind eye..

fo not buyin..

all those pesky..

masks and visors..

PPE shit..

that stuff really sucks..

if y'all had been..

in full PPE kit..

the virus games..

could never have been played..

DEEP THROAT

we love ta live..

in yo throats..

we gets ta eat better..

an drink better..

an the sex is wonderful..

we could not have found..

a better partner..

for these games..

y'all jus love ..

ta travel..

an hug an kiss..

and sing..

an shout..

this all has..

happened so very fast..

CLIMATE CHANGE

no need ta thank us..

for the cleaner air..

the empty roads..

the fall in greenhouse..

emissions..

the fall in crime..

the time off work..

or the wall ta wall..

binge sets..

y'all..

love ta watch..

IT'S BEEN A BALL

the virus games..

are out playing..

all other sports..

tv ratings..

are through the roof..

it ain't a stretch..

ta say..

we have brought the whole world..

to a standstill..

Man we was lonely
Yes we was lonely

 
And we was hard pressed to find a smile

 
Man we was lonely
Yes we was lonely

 
But now were fine all the while

TAKE STEPS

yo!... fuckin great big ones... innit!

this morning in palookaville..

after a good night's sleep..

a clearer picture is emerging..

The future ain’t what it used to be.

taking stock of..

where we are..

and where we want to be..

is what we need to do..

first..

 stop doing all the dangerous stuff..

that seems now to include..

misuse of ventilators..

yes you heard correctly..

there may be better ways..

secondly we must stop doing..

what the virus wants..

getting close, hugging, shaking hands, touching, gathering, kissing..

eating together, drinking together, singing together..

stay at home..

Why buy good luggage, you only use it when you travel.

become apart..

become unpopular, stand offish..

become wall flowers..

THE ECONOMY IS FUCKED

nobody will like this..

but it's already..

baked in..

get used to it..

HELP

look towards a vaccine..

because until then..

nobody moves..

premature reopening of society..

will bring back the bug..

WHEN  NOT IN SINGAPORE 

do what the singaporeans do..

WHEN NOT IN GERMANY

do as the germans do..

always..

seek to identify best practice..

then implement it..

When you come to a fork in the road, take it.

when all this is behind us..

we will come out blinking into a many altered thing..

DESPERATELY SEEKING SYMPTOMS

yo!... testing times... innit! 

in palookaville today..

the world as we knew..

it has ended

DON'T TEST DON'T TELL

is over..

the cat is now..

well an truly..

outta a bag..

GERMANY 5 ENGLAND 0

in the crazy, dystopian,..

3D chess board..

of the virus games..

it turns out that the previous policy..

DON'T TEST, DON'T TELL

is dead..

and that now is the time..

to take our heads out of the sand..

and seek out..

WTF is going on..

You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going..

because you might not get there.

 it would appear that the virus..

does not go away..

if you hide from it..

and that chasing it around..

and walking back the duck..

helps to fight the spread..

NO SPREAD, NO DEAD

what the world needs now..

is..

singing detectives..

detect stuff..

an share it..

the boffin community..

will work better..

with more information..

especially..

if it's good info, timely info, accurate info..

IF YOU CAN'T BEAT, IT CONTAIN IT

We made too many wrong mistakes.

shudda followed singapore..

In Singapore..

one of the first places hit by coronavirus..

detectives are tracking down potential positive cases to try to stay one step ahead of the virus..

How did they do this and is it too late for the rest of the world? 

ONE STEP AHEAD, ONE STEP BEYOND

beyond reckless, beyond stupid..

so far here..

it's the keystone cops..

time ta get real..

maybe we have to go beyond politics, beyond national borders, beyond public vs private..

AIRPLANES GROUNDED

CARS PARKED

RESTAURANTS CLOSED

BEACHES SHUT

SOCKS DOWN

MILLIONS UNEMPLOYED 

CHURCHES EMPTY

GAMES UNPLAYED

OPPORTUNITIES MISSED

JOBS NOT DONE

SIGHTS UNSEEN

PILGRIMAGES NOT UNDERTAKEN

MONEY NOT SPENT

PROFITS NOT MADE

HOLIDAYS NOT HAD

EXPERIENCES UNEXPERIENCED

PEOPLE SICK

FUNERALS FOREGONE

LOVERS FORSAKEN

PROPERTIES UNLISTED

HOUSES NOT SOLD

HOMES NOT BOUGHT

deaths died

lives not lived

coming up..

 then it fell apart

when will there be masks?

the big yellow virus

I won't stand in line for this

 

FAULT LINES

yo!... not me... innit!

here in palookaville...

we ain't bigots...

if the facts change...

we change our mind..

AS GOOD AS WE GET

we can only read up an...

try ta make sense..

the real truth..

is hard ta find..

NOT THE FED

there see..

that wasn't so hard..

was it?

from tim duy 

Tim Duy's Fed Watch

The Federal Reserve wants to kill your recession call.

Look, I understand, in the finance and economics world we are used to a crisis being about us. 

But, this time it isn’t about us, as least not directly. 

This was as pure a shock to the national and global economies as one could imagine. 

One little tiny thing – you can’t even see it! – blew it all up overnight.

Unlike the last two cycles, the shock did not originate in the financial sector and spill over into the real economy. 

It originated in the real economy and spilled over into the financial sector. 

Neither is built to accept this level of damage. 

Just like I can’t blame my iPhone for shattering if I drop it from the roof of a ten-story building, I can’t blame anyone for what is happening in the economy. 

The phone isn’t made for that, just as the economy isn’t made to not be put to work.

From a macroeconomic perspective, there is no moral imperative to assign blame. 

There is no moral imperative to root out bad actors. 

There is no moral imperative to “punish” someone in the pursuit of “creative destruction.” 

In this situation, there is simply no reason to think that the activities that of 150 million people – our friends and neighbors– were just six weeks ago seriously misaligned.

The only moral imperative is holding together the economy so that those 150 million can resume their lives as quickly as possible.

The only moral imperative is working to prevent another...

15 million people from losing their jobs.

OUR FAULT THEN

Renowned conservationist and activist Dr Jane Goodall..

is hoping the coronavirus pandemic will be a wake-up call..

warning the crisis is a result of human disregard..

for nature and animals.

 Dr Goodall said we should have known a pandemic-like coronavirus was coming..

because other viruses..

such as SARS and HIV..

also jumped the species barrier from animals..

Both SARS and COVID-19 are types of coronavirus 

and have been traced to live animal markets..

or wet markets..

in China.

But Dr Goodall said the loss of animal habitat..

and intensive farming are part of the problem..

making it easier for viruses to spread from one animal to another..

and then to humans.

"We have to learn to think differently about how we interact with the natural world,"

 she said..

"And one of the problem..

is that as more and more forests have disappeared,..

so animals themselves have come in closer contact with each other..

"Most of these viruses that jumped to us have come through an intermediary..

So there's a reservoir host..

like a bat and in [the case of COVID-19]..

it's thought to have jumped into a pangolin..

and then into us."

Dr Goodall equates the human disregard for nature..

as also the root cause of..

climate change. 

DENIAL

so

If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.

we saw this comin..

we did nothing to prepare..

ok grounding all airplanes..

would have been a bit unpopular..

ta say the least..

but it would have stopped the virus travelling abroad 

and the airplanes are grounded now..

anyway.. 

we

did not lock down the social world..

but it is now locked down..

anyway..

we did not order..

PPE..

more medical staff..

more beds..  

more mortuaries..

we did not warn..

the old..

the sick..

the vulnerable..

SWEET FUCK ALL

yes..

sfa

SEND NOT TO KNOW FOR WHOSE FAULT THIS WAS

we voted these people into office..

the buck stops with them..

but..

also with us..

you get the government you..

deserve..

also

we get alpha shits..

 who are not even elected..

who grab power..

at times just like this..

and other times like this..

in days gone by..

THE TRUTH IS NOT WHAT IT WAS

coming up..

the big yellow virus..

come wait with me..

the world wide wait..

desperately seeking  symptoms..

 

THE UNEMPLOYMENT VIRUS

yo!... numbers game... innit!

in palookaville today..

people agog..

atta score board...

worldometer..

showin virus winning..

THE VIRUS GAMES

infections in the low millions..

deaths inna high thousands..

game over for football..

game over for baseball..

game over for soccer..

games over fo olympics..

game over fo golf..

sweeping all before it..

the virus games...

was the only game in town..

GAME OVER FOR JOBS

now..

the worldometer..

will have to have some new columns..

employment..

has crashed..

into the park..

More than 6.6 million Americans lost their jobs last week..

with 16 million jobs gone in the past three weeks..

as the coronavirus pandemic..

 brought the US economy to a standstill.

 

they may not have the proper kit..

they may not have all the sports skills..

but  certainly..

 they have the numbers..

STRENGTH IN DEPTH

in sports it all about the stats..

unemployment risin..

faster than confirmed infections..

  

US unemployment rises 6.6m in a week as coronavirus takes its toll

six million here, six million there..

pretty soon..

we're lookin at serious numbers..

 

 

 

 

A WHOLE WASHDAY SHOT TO HELL

yo!... race against virus...innit!

and I can't find my way home..

in palookaville..

at the end of term..

a pack of students had hidden a bottle..

of dom perignom..

over the border..

before lock down..

TIME TO GO BACK WAS BEFORE

now they cannot get there..

to celebrate..

unless all student loans..

are jubileed

and even then..

they cannot fly there..

the border is closed

IT'S THE WALL.. IN REVERSE

those pesky mex..

gone dun..

shutta border..

ta keep us sick palookas out..

time was they was rushin here..

ta git work and git rich..

nah they ain't no work..

probably soon us dudes..

goin there fo work..

THE CARTEL

crime levels..

level down..

folks stay home..

no time now fo snow..

ALL TOMORROWS AGENCIES

will have nothin ta do..

no one ta lock up..

an all them as is..

locked up..

either be released..

or..

dead

MEANWHILE

back at the ranch..

dude cowboys, golf widows..

and..

electric mops..

are flying out the airplane..

without a parachute..

FANDANGO

Don't get sick, man. l can't land with you like that..

Sorry, dude

A whole washday shot to hell

Wow, what a bummer 

coming next..

on..

VIRUS TREK

which number will be the highest..

unemployed or dead?

who to blame?

where is the vaccine?

how to get out of the economic black hole..

It ain’t over till it’s over.

THE BLACK HOLE IN ONE

yo!... crash baked in... innit!

A day for self-congratulation...

njbr

9 hours ago

Most cases in the world
Most active cases in the world
Most serious/critical cases in the world
And tied/soon to win the most deaths, also.
Trump--- “People are watching us and seeing what we’re doing, and they’re very impressed.”
He lives in such a wonderful place
(comment posted on mish's blog)

up here in space...

things are gettin ugly..

palookaville starship..

uss enterprise..

is suckered into a black hole..

by a combination of..

 admiral not listening..

not looking forwards..

playing golf..

shaking hands..

piling up debt..

starting trade wars..

an lots a other daft stuff..

THE WRONG KIND OF DEAD 

the new stars virus..

was supposed to only kill..

old and worn out people..

not celebrities..

not politicians..

and certainly not health professionals..

but..

it would appear that the virus has mutated into a..

doctor an nurse killer..

it might have been different..

if the workers in the front line..

had the correct kit..

an..

PPE

CLUSTERFUCK 

LOST IN AUSTRALIA 


coming up..


keep your distance..

don't come fly with me..

Never answer an anonymous letter..

The future ain’t what it used to be..


No one goes there nowadays, it’s too crowded..