That sounds like an S&M term

I did not train this morning as the book club went a bit late and I actually helped the husband clean up after they left. So I slept in a bit.

No hot guys on the bus that I noticed and I am usually pretty good about catching sight of them.

The Beige Book was released this afternoon and it had some interesting things to say about the economy. First was the economy deteriorated further. No surprise but of course the spin was that 5 of the districts reported pace of deterioration seemed to be slowing. Well there are 12 districts so by y calculation 5 would be less than half of all districts- not a great sign.

The thing I found most telling though- and scary- was wages were flat to falling. Wages and wage growth are what create consumption and growth in consumption. Consumption accounts for roughly 70% of GDP. So, if wages are flat or falling that would lead me to believe that consumption is flat or falling and hence GDP is flat or falling. A recession ends when GDP ticks up, not when it is flat or falling.

Which leads me to the recent jobs number. If the jobs lost was not as bad as expected what does that mean for wages and wage growth? It is real simple. A skilled laborer at a GM plant could demand and get higher wages than a cashier at WMT or MCD. So even if job losses stop, what people are earning in the new jobs they found will not necessarily translate into wage growth, etc., etc., etc.

Two of the BRICs have fired shots across the bow of the USD hegemony as the current reserve currency of the world. Both have said they are going to use part of their reserves to buy IMF bonds- basically diversify away from the USD and their exposure to the huge implicit devaluation the Fed is doing to it. I think they are trying to get ahead of China doing it but who knows.

The government has appointed someone to oversee compensation at financial institutions that have accepted significant aid from them. As a taxpayer I have no problem with this action being taken. The only thing I have an issue with is the title they have given to this new position: special master. It conjures up images of some S&M dominant for some reason. I mean I am thinking the CEOs and executives will be like that scene in Pulp Fiction with red ball gags and the special master will be attired in some black leather suit that has a mask with a zipper for a mouth. Hell they might as well have given the job the title the gimp.

Tomorrow I am doing a kind of long swim for training. I have drinks after with two business associates. One of them I actually did a lot of business with his father when I was a young, snot-nosed punk in my line of work which is kind of surreal for me.