This week’s theme is based upon a suggestion from one who wishes to remain nameless. He is among the most enthusiastic consumers of this content, as well as perhaps the most discerning. Each week, he offers an unfettered critique of my most recent note, and let me tell you, he doesn’t hold back. More often than not, he gives me the Siskel/Ebert double thumbs down. But makes it all worthwhile on those rare occasions when he flips these appendages heavenward.
When I saw him a couple of days ago, he told me that he had an obvious topic for this week but refused to identify the specifics. He gave me a few clues, but I still couldn’t crack his code.
After some prodding, he spilled the beans. He wanted me to write about Kenny G.
Thus far, 2024 has been a mixed bag for those of us who are honored with this appellation. I myself have faced a few frustrations in the introductory fortnight (my furnace, for instance, has crapped out twice in the first ten days). The effete soprano sax player bearing the name is in a nasty battle with his ex-wife over a $600K/mo Malibu shack that he rents from the recently divorced Jeff Bezos.
Elsewhere in Kenny G-land, on January 5th, a U.S. District Court judge in Alaska denied a motion by one Kenneth Grant, Jr. for relief respecting his refusal, due to health reasons, to take the covid vaccine. Not gonna lie – this one confuses me, so, for those wishing to learn more, I offer the following link:
https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-grant-384
On the happier side of the ledger, there’s that wily Kenny G, who, last year, moved his gargantuan financial operation from Chicago to Miami, whose fund put up a whopping 15.3%, and who, by my math, may have eclipsed his astonishing 2022 personal take of $16B.
And then there’s the Kenny G who inspired the recommendation. Michigan DL Kenneth Grant, Jr., about whom I’ve written before. Now, just to get it out of the way, neither of the above-mentioned Kenneth Grant, Juniors are (to the best of my knowledge) my sons, nor (again to the best of my knowledge) relations of mine of any kind. Meantime, the Wolverine KG Jr. just came off a monster NCAA Championship Game, capping off a monster season, wherein he dominated an All-American Tackle, recorded a sack, and helped his hated (by me) Wolves to cap off an undefeated championship run.
I could’ve lived without all that Ann Arbor giddiness, and also with the rush to anoint Harbaugh to Rockne status. My risk management advice to him is to enjoy all this while he can. Guys of equal or superior accomplishments in his field got given the gate this past week, including Belichick and Carol.
Or he could just get tired and go home. Like Saban, who was replaced in about 5 minutes by the guy who punted the Championship Game to Harbs.
Moreover, his Kenny G. while only a sophomore, may, with all that fancy ink spilled all over him, declare for the draft.
So, Harbs, like I suggested above, enjoy it while you can. It won’t last, because nothing does.
Something akin to this dynamic is also afoot in the markets, which, come what may, won’t match their U-Mich-like ’23 season. Our equity indices are off to a mixed start, and, while they might ultimately prevail (and, FWIW, I think they will), they are likely to stumble on a few burrs along the way.
The Q1 data drop season is now unfolding at an accelerating rate, with (thus far) mixed results. The big banks reported last week and (apart from the mighty JPM) disappointed. After an embarrassing false start, the SEC approved retail crypto ETFs, and Alpha Dog Bitcoin dropped on the news.
Also last week, we got CPI/PPI, with the former manifesting an annoying December blip while the latter clocked in at a goose egg.
I must reiterate my astonishment at the obliteration of Producer Price Inflation, which a handful of quarters ago breached into double digit territory, and now registers a piddling 1.8%:
But before we get too comfortable, we should bear in mind that this here game may not yet be over, what with us and the Brits locking horns with the unfortunately named, Iranian oil-backed Houthis, in the important energy exporting hub of Yemen, and various shipping rates across the orb going parabolic:
But then on a more encouraging note, and in continuation of what was reported last week, both Corn and Cheese remain on the down.
And yes, today, our favorite corn growers in Iowa must brave a blizzard and sub-zero temperatures to do their quadrennial Caucus Dance. I really can’t add much to the erudition on any of this. But if the line holds and the two misanthropic frontrunners cop their respective nominations, then the November results are likely to leave half of the country as pissed off as they’ve been since 1861, and there’s bound to be a great deal of acting out along the way.
All of which causes me to obsess about the following question: Where are the Bernie Bros when you need them?
And, lest we forget, today is the 95th anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr.(as well as the 15th anniversary of Captain Sully’s heroics). We could sure use him now, because, increasingly in recent days, and contrary to his overarching message, color of skin matters more than content of character.
The markets, meantime, remain in jump ball configuration. Or should I say, pre-kickoff coin toss mode? And, before we step one more foot forward, we must endure the annual Gathering-O-the-Hypocrites, otherwise known as the World Economic Forum, held ritualistically in Davos, Switzerland. And about the only good news here, as our betters gas up their Private Jets and prepare to take to microphones to scold us about our grievous energy consumption, is that no one ls likely to be listening.
I think it’s safe to own ‘em here, and, if they drop, to buy ‘em. It’s likely to be a tough contest, but at least for ’24, I think we have the weapons – particularly in the skill positions embodied in the Mag 7, to bring home the win.
But the College Football season is over. Lots of speculation about Harbs, and as of this writing, he is nibbling, and the only issue appears to be whether he has priced himself out of the ~600 NFL Head Coach openings that would otherwise be his for the taking.
His star Defensive Lineman Kenneth Grant, Jr. has a decision to make about the upcoming NFL draft, and my guess is that Harbs’ career choice won’t enter much into his thinking.
Across the rest of the vast expanse of Kenny G-land, the curly-haired pied piper of the ‘90s will presumably split his time between the courtroom and the recording studio, where he toils, in the latter enterprise, in relative obscurity.
The relocated snowbird financial titan will likely continue his path towards global economic hegemony, with little apparently in the way to stop or slow him.
All of which leaves me and my brother from another mother in Alaska. We’ll muddle through as best we can, which is all either of us is able to do.
I’m not sure which of us will fare better, but I at least carry the following advantages.
My furnaces are running, and I’m dosed. Twice.
TIMSHEL