Good Tuesday AM,

Bonds are flat this morning despite the weak economic news that was released today. Retail Sales were a NEGATIVE 3%.

Dan Rawitch dropped some knowledge this a.m… “This economy cannot launch in spite of trillions of dollars of stimulus. Now, we are moving toward a tax hike?? WTH? Lets talk about stupidity, with one hand Uncle Sam feeds the economy 1.9 trillion dollars and with the other hand, pulls that money back out with a tax hike. You cannot get anymore stupid than this. I have long warned that a double dip recession could come, and I have guaranteed you that if the President is foolish enough to move forward with this, we will see a recession. This country is slipping around on ice and now you want to take the chains off the vehicle, while we are headed toward a cliff. UGH! Also, before anyone gets mad at me, my comment about a tax hike being foolish is not political. Anyway, nothing matters now other than what Powell tells the world tomorrow. He holds the financial world in his hands and one wrong word about rates, or if he fails to give good news on the extension of SLR, things will come crashing down. I am closing out most of my open trades today, just in case Powell messes this up, as he did the WSJ speech he gave. My hope is that he addresses things appropriately and I regret closing my positions. I would rather whine about missing some gains while on the sidelines, than cry like a baby if I stay in and get slaughtered. I remain ultra bullish on rates, but this must play out and things could get worse before they get better if Powell steps on, well, himself.”

… and how about this for a nice statistic… $1.5 trillion — The collective equity in 2020 that U.S. homeowners gained from a year earlier. Homeowners have been the biggest winners in the pandemic-inspired housing boom that has driven median house prices to new records, as a glut of buyers compete for property in a market that can’t keep up with demand. Homeowners have also managed to save money over the past year by refinancing their mortgages at record-low rates.

Please remain safe and healthy, make today great.