Perspective

Howmuch.net - Credit Scores & Household Incomes in America - Raul 1/8

Pew - Most dads say they spend too little time with their children; about a quarter live apart from them - Gretchen Livingston 1/8

WSJ - Daily Shot: Deutsche Bank - Road Quality by US State 2016 1/9

Worthy Insights / Opinion Pieces / Advice

A Teachable Moment - Will Wealth Inequality Slay the Bull Market? - Anthony Isola 1/8

• "Revolution is the ultimate Black Swan."
• "Thirty percent of U.S. households have zero or negative non-home wealth. One thing is certain; this is not the location of the 'cash on the sidelines'.” 
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• "Unfortunately, wealth inequality is a feature, not a bug, of democracy and capitalism."
• 
• “'According to research from the New York University economist Edward Wolff, the top 10 percent of American households now own 84% of all stocks. That’s up from 77% ownership in 2001'.”
• "90% of America barely participated in the massive bull market the last several years."
• “'The majority of middle-class wealth is tied to homes, as more than 60% of investible assets are in a primary residence. Stock ownership makes up less than 10% of total assets for the middle class'.” 
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• But do you have the fortitude to suffer the draw-downs…
• “The men who can manage men manage the men who can manage only things, and the men who can manage money manage all.” - Will and Ariel Durant

Bloomberg View - Stock Investors Will Benefit Most From Corporate Tax Overhaul - Ben Carlson 1/5

NYT - Amway Made China a Billion-Dollar Market. Now It Faces a Crackdown. - Ryan McMorrow and Steven Lee Myers 1/8

WSJ - China's Strategy to Psych Out the West Is Paying Off - Andrew Browne 1/9

• "The China scholar Perry Link once called the party 'the anaconda in the chandelier'."
• "Just by hovering, it induces self-censorship and subtle behavioral changes."
• "'Normally the great snake doesn't move. It doesn't have to,' Mr. Perry wrote in a 2002 essay in the New York Review of Books."
• "'Its constant silent message is 'You yourself decide.''"

Markets / Economy

WSJ - The Price Gap That's Squeezing the Auto Market - Stephen Wilmot 1/8

WSJ - Daily Shot: US Consumer Credit Net Change 1/8

• "Consumer credit balances saw the greatest monthly increase in 16 years."

WSJ - Daily Shot: FRED - Total US Consumer Credit Relative to Disposable Personal Income 1/8

WSJ - Daily Shot: Piper Jaffray - US Consumers living beyond their means 1/8

WSJ - Daily Shot: FRED - Total Consumer Loans by Credit Unions 1/8

WSJ - Daily Shot: FRED - Total US Student Loan Balance 1/8

WSJ - Daily Shot: US Financial Accounts Q3 2017 1/8

WSJ - Daily Shot: Piper Jaffray - Consumer Confidence & Savings Rate Gap 1/8

• "There is a widening gap between consumer sentiment and the savings rate. In the past, this divergence was a precursor to the end of the economic cycle."

WSJ - Daily Shot: Market Ethos - US Output Gap 1/8

• "The disappearance of the output gap also indicates that we are in the late stage of the cycle."

Economist - Daily Chart: The fastest-growing and shrinking economies in 2018 1/5

Finance

WSJ - Daily Shot: Bitcoin 1/8

• "Bitcoin appears to be range-bound, unable to breach the $17k level again."

WSJ - Daily Shot: Investing.com - Ripple 1/8

• "Ripple took a massive hit on Monday before recovering partially."

Environment / Science

NYT - These Billion-Dollar Natural Disasters Set a U.S. Record in 2017 - Kendra Pierre-Louis 1/8

South America

FT - Smuggled cattle and petrol join exodus from Venezuela - Gideon Long 1/8

• "Criminal gangs seize opportunity posed by hyperinflation and a plunging bolivar."

WSJ - Daily Shot: Bloomberg - Venezuela 10yr USD Bond Price 1/8