Nokia stock (NOK) rose 10% today, to above resistance at 5.7 that's held almost 10 yrs. The company reported rising demand (+28%) from AI and cloud customers, for network infrastructure. CEO Justin Hotard said on a call. “We’re still at the very early innings of . . . a tremendous AI super cycle.”

He was just a singer in a rock and roll band: I’m finding this news somewhat difficult to accept after seeing John Lodge perform on stage in the Chicago area just a couple of months ago. This means that Justin Hayward is now the last surviving member of The Moody Blues.

Lisa Abramowicz, Bloomberg Surveillance: “Consumers in the top 10% of the income distribution accounted for 49.2% of total US spending in Q2, up from 48.5% in Q1, reaching the highest level in data going back to 1989: Moody’s Analytics Mark Zandi” bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

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NPR's Michel Martin spoke to Robert Pape, Prof. of political science at the University of Chicago, about Americans' changing attitudes toward political violence. The reasons Pape gives for both the rise (and increased acceptance) of violence are blunt and to the point. www.npr.org/2025/09/12/n...

Over Labor Day weekend I caught Anne Harris’s performance at the Fox Valley Folk Music & Storytelling Festival in Geneva, IL. I found her music captivating –almost spiritual. Rock fiddler Anne Harris graduated from the ‘university of blues.’ Now, she’s going solo. www.wbez.org/music/2025/0...

The largest 50 stocks in the S&P 500 index now trade at 26x expected current-year earnings; 33% above the norm since 2004. Over the last 12 months, they delivered profit growth of 14%. That compares to 6.8% for all S&P 500 stocks, 5.5% for the S&P 400, and 2.2% for S&P 600 stocks. www.dowtheory.com

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The first 5 minutes of this podcast Sabri Ben-Achor explains how our trade imbalance has resulted in foreign investment. The conundrum? The recent trade agreements with the EU and Japan include ~$1T of investments, which can only occur by way of a trade imbalance. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...

AI needs solar: New AI superclusters will require vast amounts of power. Nvidia’s Rubin Ultra AI server (2027) will draw 600 kW per rack (a home uses 2–5 kW). To meet the power need, the U.S. will need to add 50 GW of additional capacity by 2028; about several power stations. @Barrons.com Technology

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First, more than a third of tipped workers don’t make enough to pay any federal income taxes. For those that do benefit, total income is limited to $150k ($300k MFJ) and then capped to $25k of tip income. The law sunsets in 2028 but will likely have enough bipartisan support to be extended.

A quick brief of the individual tax provisions of the OBBB by tax columnist Laura Saunders. Most notable: • SALT deduction increases to $40,000 (thro' 2029) • Charity deduction of $1,000/person outside Sched A • Tax breaks on tips, overtime, & extra deduction of $6,000/person for those over 65.

I had reservations about this album following weeks of perpetual reposts on ‘X’. But after listening to the whole album for the first time, I think this is Orianthi’s best album to date. I’m looking forward to seeing her perform in the Chicago area again this Fall.

At the Chicago Blues Festival on Sunday saw impressive performances from several Chicago blues veterans. What grabbed my attention was a younger less-known artist, Keya Trammell, who sang the national anthem. Her introduction starts at 1:45:00 into the stream. www.youtube.com/live/zUewlpS...

The official spotter guide for the upcoming 24 Heures du Mans race on 6/14 is available via the link below. Fun fact! Aston Martin enters this year’s race with two cars in the Hypercar class. And one of those cars is assigned the number, “007.” assets.lemans.org/explorer/pdf...

This Memorial Day weekend SiriusXM’s Classic Vinyl channel is periodically repeating the top-50 albums from 1975, as voted by “Super Listeners.” Of the twenty or so albums in my collection from that year only four overlap. My tastes are obviously quite different.

Dow Theory Forecast, 5/14/2025: Stocks have surged on easing trade tensions, with both the Dow Industrials and Transports recovering all ground lost since "Liberation Day" (April 2). While encouraged by the broad advance, we're inclined to view it as a bear-market rally. dtf.horizonpublishing.com

Sharon van Etten performed at The Salt Shed in Chicago on Friday 5/9, starting out with two songs from her latest album. • Forever • Afterlife I liken her genre to alternative with a gothic flare. Very artsy! At 44 she’s starting to worry about her mortality. @saltshedchicago.bsky.social.

Dow Theory Forecasts Newsletter, 5/7/2025: “We tend to view the recent move as a bear-market rally rather than a turn of the tide. It would take a pattern of higher highs and higher lows to turn the Dow Theory bullish again.” www.dowtheory.com

Hey JD Vance! At the GOP convention last summer, Trump offered to cover the cost of in-vitro fertilization to project the GOP as being family friendly. But for such a program to work, couples must still want and be able to afford raising kids. Otherwise, we can only expect more cat ladies.

The 4/28 edition of The Dow Theory Forecasts newsletter cites the following industries currently in trouble from either tariff turmoil, economic uncertainty, the impact of AI or recession fears: • Airlines • Automobiles • Oil & Gas • Pharmaceuticals • Professional Services www.dowtheory.com

As reported today (4/14) by Marketplace on NPR, the total amount of foreign investments in the U.S. represents about 60–70% of GDP. Foreign entities own: • 30% U.S. Treasuries • 30% Corporate debt • 20% U.S. Stocks Meanwhile since “Liberation Day” the USD has fallen from €0.96 to €0.88.

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An interesting interview on @npr.org with the breakout British singer/songwriter, Lola Young. www.npr.org/2025/04/09/n...

Some question why Biden didn't remove the tariffs introduced during Trump-1. They were obviously politically acceptable, and the revenue served to offset the tax cuts from the 2017 TCJA. So, if Congress extends the tax cuts, along with new cuts, the next admin' may be stuck with the Trump-2 tariffs.

Reposting this from 'X'. Congratulations to the fast and fearless femmes, all-female Iron Dames auto-racing team. They won the 4-Hour ELMS (European Le Mans Series) endurance race at Barcelona this weekend in the LMTG3 class. Drivers: Michelle Gatting, Sarah Bovy and Celia Martin. #4HBarcelona

Happy Liberation Day +1! The U.S. trade balance is the result of our own success. We are arguably the richest country, and our economy is the envy of the world. Most of the dollars accumulated from the imbalance are used for investment and to finance government debt. That's what funded our growth.

Sulgrave Manor is the ancestral home of George Washington's family, prior to their move to the new world. It's located in Northamptonshire, England, close to Silverstone race circuit. The F1 GP of Great Britain is held Fourth of July weekend. The special activities make it a good time to visit.

Rocket (RKT) announced the deal to purchase Redfin (RDFN) at $12.50 per share. As Redfin closed today at $9.20, the price represents a gain of 36% when the acquisition closes later this year. The cash deal is subject to both shareholder and regulatory approval. www.barrons.com/articles/red...

Economist on DOGE: Imagine the Musk from the 2010s, the genius builder, in charge of procurement at the Pentagon or infrastructure projects. Instead, we got the late-era Musk, radicalized by his ‘X’ platform, flirting with authoritarianism and with the same partisan thinking as less talented folk.

Dow Theory Forecasts newsletter: “On 3/10 the Dow Industrials closed below the January low of 41,938.45, confirming an earlier breakdown in the Dow Transports. This puts the Dow Theory in the bearish camp. Our stock exposure is now limited to 71.5%, down from 82%.”

Trump’s economic policies appear so purposely crippling that they’re intent on triggering a recession; as quick as possible so it can be blamed on Biden. The FOMC would than slash interest rates, resulting in a strong rebound. Aside the turmoil, the risk is it could result in stagflation.

The “Anti-Trump” trade? Year to date: The markets targeted by Trump; Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Europe and Chinese technology stocks are all outpacing the S&P 500. Meanwhile, the Mag-7 big tech’ companies have turned from leaders into laggards. Source: WSJ Heard on the Street.

Value-Added Tax (VAT) is essentially a national sales tax, equally applied to both domestic and foreign goods. It neither targets a particular product category or country. Although a regressive tax it IS NOT a tariff. But the broad application of tariffs on imports will have a similar impact as VAT.

My year-long investigation into the multibillion dollar world of online scams is out today — on the cover of The Economist and in my new 8-part podcast series, Scam Inc Read the article: bit.ly/scam-inc Listen to the podcast: econ.st/3CFzGaL

At last night’s Grammy Awards, I think Britain’s RAYE stole the show for live performance. She didn’t win ‘Best New Artist’, but effectively catapulted herself to name recognition in the U.S. Meanwhile, Charlie XCX was a bit naughty; too raunchy for U.S. viewers. Shakira had the right balance.

Introducing my Bluesky friends to 'Larry', the smartest and most popular cat on the planet. He's the only TRUE resident of 10 Downing Street, London. After moving in during David Cameron's term, he's kindly taken in a further five stray Prime Ministers until they've been able to find a proper home.

Sad to hear of the passing of Marianne Faithful. Back in the sixties she was a teenage boy's heart throb. I thought her comeback album, titled "A Child's Adventure," was some of her best work. This is irrespective of it having a very sultry theme.

A 5-hour mega-concert for LA's wildfire victims came together so quickly I'm seeing few posts about it. The event is scheduled Thursday 1/30 at 6 PM PST (9 PM EDT), involves two venues, and 27 musicians that are in town for the grammy awards (Feb 2). #FireAidLA More info' at: fireaidla.org.

The selloff might be overblown, argues WSJ-Heard columnist Dan Gallagher. “Much is unknown about DeepSeek, including what chips the company had access to despite sanctions. Several chip analysts dispute that DeepSeek built something on par with advanced U.S.-based AI models at such a low cost.”

Will be watching the Daytona #Rolex24 race on and off today on Peacock TV. Keen to see how the all-women Iron Dames team (#83 Porsche) place. They’re currently running P7 in GTD class. Drivers: Frey, Gatting, Bovy, and Gaillard; “The Fast and Fearless Femmes.” 19+ hours to go! www.imsa.com/scoring/

Celestica (CLS) is a contracting house for electronic sub-assemblies. The stock has surged almost 30% this year. @ibdinvestors.bsky.social gives it a composite rating of 99. Earnings are due, 1/29/2025. This is where those long the stock should use a put option to manage risk.

If you sold stuff online for $5k or more in 2024 you can expect to receive a 1099-K tax form to file your 2024 return. This will ensnare millions more taxpayers that sell tickets, musical instruments or other goods online. The threshold will eventually drop to $600 in 2026. Source: WSJ The 10-Point

Not only is the classic 60/40 (stocks/bonds) portfolio mix back in vogue, but some advisors are now suggesting a 40/60 mix is attractive in the current economic environment. "This perspective is driven by elevated interest rates and high starting equity valuations." Source: IBD Weekly, page A12.

I took advantage of this market correction to nibble on some equities. I bought a couple of corporate bonds and several stocks. I may get spanked. But pending further technical deterioration, this is just a correction. P.S. My trades are posted at [@seedytrades] on ‘X’; a restricted account.

In a recent @wsj.com article Jon Sindreu writes the bond sell off may be due to investors applying a higher discount or yield premium to hold long-term bonds. Some analysts attribute this to a combination of tariffs derailing the economy and jumping inflation, with increased deficits from tax cuts.

Saw the movie, “A Complete Unknown last week.” It documents the early days of Bob Dylan’s career, up to the time he transitioned from acoustic folk to electric. Impressed by Timotheé Chalamet’s performance. I had to continually remind myself that it is Chalamet (not Dylan) performing the music.

A recent edition of "Dow Theory Forecasts" questions whether we are in the final stage of this bull market. 1. Share of consumers expecting higher stock prices has never been so high. 2. Investment newsletters have rarely been more bullish. 3. Fund managers have the lowest cash levels on record.