*** If you cannot get on some websites like Reddit or use your twitter.. You're not alone.. there are internet/cloud outages all over the place.. and it's not certain what's causing them.. but it looks like a coordinated hack.. Probably the Russians.. I say we start by arresting and interrogating Galina Dubenenko.. HERE .. Don't let the smile fool you.. She's an evil genius.. Ill go get my handcuffs.. You get the plane ready.. ***
To the News....
DEFUND THE.... oh.. wait a minute... Asheville, NC announced they will not be responding to 911 calls because of a lack of manpower. They have "lost" too many officers in the past year. Because they cannot find new ones, they will "not be responding to certain 911 calls" until further notice.. "Thefts of less than $1,000 and theft from a vehicle" are a few things they won't respond for.. ... Want to see how THAT is gonna look? Just go check out San Francuba.. It's already happening there.. and the city is a turning into a sewer...
Biogen got approval for their breakthrough Alzheimer's drug. While it does not CURE the disease it slows down the process by removing plaque. This is huge for Biogen but also huge for the world....5.7 million Americans are estimated to be living with Alzheimer's disease in 2018, including someone named Biden... It is the fifth leading cause of death for adults aged 65 years and older, and the sixth leading cause of death for all adults...and..
Biogen got approval for their Alzheimers drug.. It a really good thing.. (See what I did there?) ..
One of the Richest guys in the world is going to do WHAT??? Jeff Bezos and his brother will join an auction winner as the first to fly in his manned Blue Origin spacecraft into outer space.. The auction winner will be announced Saturday.. (current high bid $3,200,000 if you're interested in getting involved). The ship has made 15 missions so far and they claimed to have worked out all issues and have redundancy back-up plans top start taking people... Ummm.. Wow.. Man.. if I was Bezos.. I'd send a few missions up first with OTHER people.. .. Im sure Musk will..
SCOTUS: Uhhh.. There was one? .. The DRAFT has not really been a thing for over 50 years in the USA .. but.. the current laws say it's ONLY for men. The Supreme Court declined to hear a case about women being required to register for the Draft. Three of the Justices said it was a subject better decided by Congress. Currently, if an 18 year old male does not register for the draft he is subject to $250,000 in fines, 5 years in jail and cannot get any federal college aid or any federal job or job training..
In Da Swamp: Well THAT didn't go as planned. VP Kamala Harris got on the plane headed to Guatemala then had to turn back due to a technical problem. A short while later, she got on another plane and it flew fine... She landed safely...THEN the trouble started...
Harris was greeted by signs that read, "Go Home" and "Trump Won" ..HERE .. It got MORE uncomfortable because Harris blamed the enormous migrant problem on the economy and "climate change" and said the US should help the country by giving them money and sending jobs there.. but.. the President of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei told reporters that he is "not on the same side of the coin" on the issue and says that Biden's welcoming message is what caused the spike.
IN a CBS News interview Giammattei said, Your message was, "we're going to reunite families, and reunite children".. "The VERY next day the coyotes were organizing groups of children to take to the USA." .. So, .. you're saying that what RAJ (and a FEW others) has been saying all along is right? .. and the Loser US Media has it wrong??? Geee.. THAT never happens.. . Harris is getting hammered by politicians on both sides back in the USA. The left because she told migrants to stop coming.. and the right because she is blaming the problem on the Climate..
Some are ripping President Biden because it looks like the US will fall short of his "70% of the USA vaccinated by July 4th" estimate.. If you are one of those people.. STOP .. It has been known (sort of know.. common sense, really) that there are some that don't want a vaccine.. some that are too lazy.. and some that just don't care.. after about HALF of the population.. the progress slows..
NJ Governor Murphy is running for re-election so he is trying to get himself on TV.. Yesterday he said on TV that he knows "the enhanced unemployment payments are contributing to inflation and the labor shortage" but he will not end them early.. he left out the "because those people vote for me and I can't stop their free stuff before an election" ..
Tuesday RIPS.. RIP to Linc from the Mod Squad. Actor Clarence Williams, III dead at 81... RIP to Actor Robert Hogan, 87 best know for, "The Wire" .. and RIP to lawyer F. Lee Bailey who defended Patty Hearst and OJ Simpson and others.. and RIP to Jim Fassel, 71 the former coach of the NY Giants who died of a heart attack in Las Vegas..
SPORTS:
Organizers of the Philadelphia naked bike ride are requiring one item of clothing this year..No shirt, no pants.. no underwear.. but you gotta wear a mask.. August 28th.. mark your calendars..
PLAYOFFS: NHL: The Islanders take a 3-2 series lead after beating the Bruins 5-4. Great game.. great goal tending by Varlamov. 40 saves.. and Montreal wins 3-2 in OT to sweep Winnipeg..
NBA: Brooklyn 125-86 over Milwaukee to take a 2-0 series lead.. and Phoenix 122-105 over Denver to go up 1-0..
GOLF: The PGA Tour is at Congaree in South Carolina (normally the slot is the Canadian Open but they don't have their Covid situation fixed yet) .. Some big names are taking the week off but Dustin Johnson will be there.. and Ian Poulter .. and
Alabama coach Nick Saban just got an 8 year extension... $8.5 million a year.. and .. get this.. at the end of next 4 seasons he gets ANOTHER $800,000 bonus.. for.. NOT retiring.. HAHHAAH.. He will be 77 when the contract ends..
CELEBRIDIOTS:
Actress Nathalie Emmanuel say no more nude scenes.. unless they pay me WAY more.. err.. I mean.. unless its "Artistically necessary" ... Nathalie ..HERE.. Was nekkid in Game of Thrones a lot.. and she says so many scripts she reads have her getting nude and she wants the word out she is DONE with that.. well.. mostly... and Nat .. HERE .. Earrings NICE.. Nose ring? .. I'm not a fan
OK .. FINE, Emily.. Ill let you back into the Rant.. But, look .. your bikini designs STILL stink.. if you barely look good in them.. NO ONE else can.. HERE...and your baby needs some sun screen.. he's getting a little pink.. and you MIGHT want to support that head a little.. ...Are we good now? Will you stop giving out my alarm code??.. I'm running out of numbers to change it to...
Now, Go Find Galina .. HERE ... She MUST BE STOPPED !!!
From SeekingAlpha.com
The FDA cleared the first new treatment for Alzheimer's in nearly two decades on Monday, sending shares of maker Biogen (BIIB) up 38% and adding $16.5B in market value. The company claims that Aduhelm, which has the molecular name aducanumab, slows down the memory-robbing disease by breaking up clumps of plaque formed on the brain called amyloid. The approval came just in time for Biogen, which is dealing with declining sales and the loss of patent protection for its top-selling drug, Tecfidera, which is used to treat multiple sclerosis. Wall Street sees a blockbuster: Despite the drug's questionable efficacy, Biogen said it would charge about $56,000 a year per patient (and wouldn't hike prices for four years). Clinical trials also included people suffering from only mild to moderately severe Alzheimer's, though the drug will be available to anyone that has been diagnosed with the disease. The global Alzheimer's treatment market is meanwhile forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.8% between 2020 and 2027, reaching more than $5.6B by 2027, according to Acumen Research and Consulting. "We ultimately decided to use the Accelerated Approval pathway - a pathway intended to provide earlier access to potentially valuable therapies for patients with serious diseases where there is an unmet need, and where there is an expectation of clinical benefit despite some residual uncertainty regarding that benefit," said Patricia Cavazzoni, Research Director for the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation. Additional details: Unlike other Alzheimer's drugs that come in pills, Aduhelm requires monthly infusions. Before prescribing the drug, doctors will first make sure their patient's brain has amyloid buildup, which typically requires an imaging scan or spinal tap. Patients will also need to be monitored with MRIs, to guard against small brain bleeds, hemorrhages, or an accumulation of fluid. About 6M people are suffering from Alzheimer's in the U.S., and as many as 1.4M could be eligible to take Aduhelm, per estimates from Cigna. (116 comments)
There wasn't much movement from U.S. stock index futures overnight following a mixed session on Monday that saw heavy volumes once again migrate to meme stocks. Shares of AMC (AMC), BlackBerry (BB) and GameStop (GME) all popped by double-digits, and are edging up again in premarket trade. Meanwhile, the SEC is watching the ongoing volatility in the market for "disruptions, manipulative trading or other misconduct" and "vowed to protect retail investors." Other traders are staying on the sidelines before the latest inflation figures on Thursday. Economists expect the CPI to surge by another 4.7% Y/Y in May after rising by 4.2% on an annual basis in April. The latter figure marked the fastest expansion in the index since 2008, as analysts debate whether inflation will stick around and its related impacts on the economy. The good: The current spike is being driven by "the unprecedented role of outliers," wrote Jan Hatzius, chief economist at Goldman Sachs. "All this suggests that Fed officials can stick with their plan to exit only very gradually from the easy current policy stance." The bad: "In their March forecasts, the Fed projected that, despite clearly achieving all of their long-term economic goals by the end of 2023, they did not foresee any increase in the federal-funds rate before 2024," said David Kelly, chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. "If, after reassessing their forecasts for the economy next week, the Fed maintains this extraordinarily dovish stance, then the risk of a boom-bust recession will have increased to a substantial degree." The ugly: "Never before have we seen such coordinated expansionary fiscal and monetary policy. This will continue as output moves above potential," added David Folkerts-Landau, Deutsche Bank's chief economist. "It may take a year longer until 2023 but inflation will re-emerge. And while it is admirable that this patience is due to the fact that the Fed's priorities are shifting towards social goals, neglecting inflation leaves global economies sitting on a time bomb. The effects could be devastating, particularly for the most vulnerable in society."
Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) Sidewalk project goes live today without asking your permission. The "neighborhood network" pools local Internet connections from millions of Amazon Echo smart speakers and Ring devices to let smart devices have a wider range of operation. While users have not been asked to opt-in, they could still turn the capability off, though their devices won't be able to access the network. How much data will it use? "The maximum bandwidth of a Sidewalk Bridge to the Sidewalk server is 80Kbps, which is about 1/40th of the bandwidth used to stream a typical high definition video," according to Amazon. "When you share your Bridge's connection with Sidewalk, total monthly data used by Sidewalk, per account, is capped at 500MB, which is equivalent to streaming about 10 minutes of high definition video." How does it work? Signals from all of Amazon's neighborhood devices join together to create what’s called a mesh network. The low-bandwidth wireless grid can stretch half a mile to connect hard-to-reach areas across urban and suburban America. Amazon isn't charging for Sidewalk, though "standard data rates from Internet providers may apply." Outlook: Plenty of concerns abound, like helping Amazon build a network likened to Big Brother or the potential hacking into private connections. However, Amazon says Sidewalk is built with three layers of encryption to "secure data traveling on the system and keep customers safe and in control." There are also many positive uses for the project. Besides extending the range of connected devices, Amazon Sidewalk is partnering with CareBand to track people with dementia, and is adding smart lock-maker Level and Bluetooth lost-item tracker Tile to the project.
Many parts of the economy, like consumer-facing industries or trade-related fields, have returned to the workplace long ago. Other companies are re-establishing themselves in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which sped up a world that was in the midst of a digital revolution. Employers are weighing two important forces - the need for in-person creativity and connections, as well as the flexibility and efficiency in working from home - and that's creating some interesting dynamics when it comes to the future of the office. Stay at home: Despite mega real estate investments in recent years, including the 61-floor Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, CEO Marc Benioff feels that there's no return to the pre-COVID days. "The past is gone," he declared. "We've created a whole new world, a new digital future, and you can see it playing out today." Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) expects 50% to 60% of employees will continue to work from home, up from around 20% before the pandemic, and even bet big on the new way to work by shelling out $27.7B for Slack Technologies (NYSE:WORK). As for all the unused office space, Benioff suggested it will be used for training facilities and cultural engagement centers. Get back to the office: "I'm about to cancel all my Zoom meetings," JPMorgan's (NYSE:JPM) Jamie Dimon said last month. "And everyone is going to be happy with it, and yes, the commute, you know people don't like commuting, but so what." Citing business lost to rivals, the bank is setting a goal of having 50% of workers rotating through offices by July and believes its buildings will be full by the fall. Dimon isn't the only one in financial services to castigate WFH culture. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) CEO David Solomon recently called the arrangements an "aberration" that needs to be quickly corrected. Hybrid model: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has circulated a memo saying most employees will be asked to come into the office three days a week from early September, with the option of working from home on Wednesdays and Fridays. Staff will also be able to work remotely for up to two weeks a year, though managers will need to approve those requests. Last month, tech rival Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) notified employees of its hybrid work plans, with "60% of Googlers coming together in the office a few days a week, another 20% working in new office locations and the last 20% working from home." (7 comments)
What if the military could deliver supplies and equipment across the world in under one hour via quick trips through space? What if that technology could eventually be leveraged to enable point-to-point commercial space travel anywhere on the globe? Those realities may be possible in the future, with the U.S. expanding a small development program that wants to use reusable rockets for a program called Rocket Cargo. "The Department of the Air Force seeks to leverage the current multi-billion-dollar commercial investment to develop the largest rockets ever, and with full reusability to develop and test the capability to leverage a commercial rocket to deliver AF cargo anywhere on the Earth in less than one hour, with a 100-ton capacity," according to the latest budget proposal from the Pentagon. "The Air Force is not investing in the commercial rocket development, but rather investing in the Science & Technology needed to interface the capability with DoD logistics needs, and extend the commercial capability to DoD-unique missions." Who would vie for the contract? SpaceX (SPACE) would be the likeliest candidate, but others that competed under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program may also be looking for some business. Those include Blue Origin (BORGN), Firefly Aerospace, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Masten Space Systems and Sierra Nevada Corporation. Nearly $50M was allocated to the Rocket Cargo concept, but it could be years and billions of more dollars until things finally take off. Example: The Commercial Crew program for NASA took almost a decade to come to fruition, and it's currently only launching a handful of astronauts to the International Space Station. Go deeper: Point-to-point space travel is something out of the science fiction theater, though it's increasingly being looked upon as an emerging industry. The space tourism market, like the one being pursued by Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE), could be a precursor that could bring costs down, though other challenges would need to be overcome. Flying over land masses presents problems, as well as the logistics, infrastructure and last-mile travel to proposed spaceports. Safety concerns would additionally need to be addressed and customers would need to feel that trips through space are routine as aviation transportation. (24 comments)
What else is happening...
WWDC: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) takes aim at Zoom (ZM) with FaceTime updates. DOJ recovers half of Bitcoin paid for Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack. Bezos to fly on first Blue Origin (BORGN) human test flight. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) veteran, head of heavy trucking, is leaving the company. Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) settles French antitrust case over ad practices. AWS (NASDAQ:AMZN) could count as separate company under G7 tax deal. Options traders betting on $100 oil - WSJ. Federal judge overturns California ban on assault weapons. JNJ (NYSE:JNJ) faces steep decline in demand for COVID vaccine in the U.S. Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) won't take revenue cut from creators until 2023. Mark Cuban-backed banking app Dave going public via SPAC.
Monday's Key Earnings
Marvell Technology (MRVL) +4.6% AH on Q1 beats after closing Inphi acquisition.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan -0.2%. Hong Kong -0.1%. China -0.5%. India -0.1%. In Europe, at midday, London +0.3%. Paris +0.3%. Frankfurt +0.1%. Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.1%. S&P flat. Nasdaq +0.1%. Crude -0.5% to $68.90. Gold -0.2% at $1894.80. Ten-year Treasury Yield -1 bps to 1.56%
Today's Economic Calendar
6:00 NFIB Small Business Optimism Index 8:30 Goods and Services Trade 8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales 10:00 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey 1:00 PM Results of $58B, 3-Year Note Auction
Regards,
Roger “Raj” Searing rajsearing@gmail.com "Raj Searing™”, "Read this First™", "@rajsearing™", "TheRantRoom™" and “TheRantroom.com™” are Trademarks of RRRAJ, LLC. All Rights Reserved-2003, 2008.
DISCLAIMER:
This RANT is intended SOLELY as Commentary, Satire and/or Social Criticism and is for ENTERTAINMENT. Content in this RANT is based on PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION and is purely the OPINION of the writer. It is NOT intended to be relied on as fact. Some of this information is garnered from well respected news sources and some is not. (In fact, sometimes I get drunk and make stuff up. It's usually about me dating hot women.) Raj warns all readers: If you cannot tell that most of this Rant is just my opinion then you are too stupid to be reading it!!!!
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