ROGER KIMBALL: The deep blob: Beware the suffocating metastasis of the administrative state.

via spectator: There follows a few hundred words of brow-wrinkled prose about their ‘so alarmed,’ ‘dire concerns’ that the President had just fired their guy, FBI director James ‘higher loyalty’ Comey, that they got together and wondered how they could entice the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet to collude (ooo, there’s that word!) … Read more

CALI WINTER WEATHER DOOM! Huge sections of road fall off – Parts of highways 74, 18 and 38 are all closed; Highway 243 remains closed after huge chunks of the roadway fell off

Parts of highways 74, 18 and 38 are all closed; Highway 243 remains closed after huge chunks of the roadway fell off #SanBernardino: Winter weather advisory is in effect as more snow is expected to fall this weekend; Parts of highways 74, 18 and 38 are all closed; Highway 243 remains closed after huge chunks … Read more

NOT BULLISH: Global revenue growth has collapsed, EPS estimate for Q1 2019 declined, disinflationary pressures are building…

Global revenue growth has collapsed pic.twitter.com/7jjQvvRrZ5 — zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 16, 2019 On Dec 24, only 1% of stocks in the S&P 500 closed above their 50-day moving avg, one of the most extreme oversold levels in history. After an 18% vertical rally over the last 8 weeks, that number now stands at 92%, one … Read more

Lyft to woo investors with fast U.S. growth in IPO race with Uber (REUTERS)

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Lyft Inc will pitch investors on its fast growth in the United States as it seeks to beat out Uber Technologies Inc to become the first publicly listed ride-hailing company, according to people familiar with the matter. More: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lyft-ipo-uber-focus/lyft-to-woo-investors-with-fast-u-s-growth-in-ipo-race-with-uber-idUSKCN1Q40FZ    

Vanguard factor funds show significantly higher exposure than competitors

by kiwimancy Last year Vanguard Quantitative Equity Group launched their set of factor funds VFVA, VFMO, VFQY, VFMV, VFLQ (13bps) and multifactor fund VFMF/VFMFX (18bps, doesn’t include low-liquidity) in the US. They decided to take a rules-based but unindexed approach with the “aim to offer the transparency of index-based factor products with the potential advantages … Read more

What Causes a Yield Curve to Flatten?

by Status_Flux The main reason for raising interest rates is to combat inflation. However the fed doesn’t actually set rates for short term bonds but rather sets the rates at which banks borrow from each other. This in turn affects demand for bonds, which is what changes the yield. The right side of the curve, from … Read more

Uber posts $50 billion in annual bookings as profit remains elusive ahead of IPO (REUTERS)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc had $50 billion (39 billion pounds) in total bookings for its ride-service and food-delivery businesses last year, a testament to the size and global reach of the company as it prepares to woo investors in one of the biggest public stock listings to date. MORE: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-results/uber-posts-50-billion-in-annual-bookings-as-profit-remains-elusive-ahead-of-ipo-idUKKCN1Q42CD Another snippet from … Read more

Mapped: The Median Age of the Population on Every Continent

via visualcapitalist: Earlier this week, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation published their annual letter that highlights the surprises they saw in 2018, as well as the philanthropic opportunities they’ve identified for the future. Among many other compelling facts and stories, the letter pointed out one surprise that we thought was of particular interest: the median age of … Read more

Twitter disables President Trump’s video lampooning Democrats to REM’s “Everybody Hurts”

• Earlier today President Trump pinned CarpeDonktum‘s State of the Union video meme to his twitter page • After, the tweet garnered 38K Retweets and 120K Likes, R.E.M.‘s publisher reached out to Twitter to have it removed • As of 10:53PM EST, the video has been disabled MORE: https://culttture.com/2019/r-e-m-asks-twitter-to-remove-carpedonktum-meme-tweeted-by-trump/ Here’s the Tweet: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1096485376087097344 Here’s the video … Read more

Florida Outlaws Common Core After Parents Speak Out

by RMFN https://youtu.be/F7XSPMR0PXE finally progress. Commoner core was the worst piece of education legislation in history. Schools need independence. Teachers need liberty to teach their lesson plan. The state control of daily lessons on a micro level takes all aspects of hinairy out of the education experience. Changing it from learning knowledge to learning obedience. … Read more

MAJOR VICTORY For Mothers, Children, Families In California

Grace Carr from The Daily Caller reports, California must pay $399,000 to a crisis pregnancy center after a Monday ruling ordering the sum be paid to cover the costs incurred in a legal battle over the dissemination of abortion material. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqVHgtuRzWo Read More/Source/Credit/FairUse: https://dailycaller.com/2019/02/12/ca…    

Having a ‘good’ job in America no longer makes you financially secure — 1 in 3 ‘moderate income’ Americans experience financial insecurity

via Marketwatch: 1 in 3 ‘moderate income’ Americans experience financial insecurity Despite low rates of unemployment and reports of a booming economy, many American workers are struggling to make ends meet. One in three Americans with a “moderate income” has reported experiencing financial distress in the last year, according to a study released Thursday by the Urban … Read more