Patience is a wonderful thing.

Today's Tids Issue 4.309

What me worry?

I prefer having faith in people.

Wouldn’t know it. You’re back luxuriating in the simple coziness of the place you know, relaxed, enjoying what we sometimes take for granted, home. The gas restoration procedure was about as efficient as could be expected. (Except for those who are never happy.) And then, without warning, last evening the Internet goes down. The good news is that Alexa isn’t talking. I’ll try to get this to you through hot spots, but some of you may lose out. (Note: I talked to Verizon, and they have put The Tids on a high Priority list. Makes sense.)

At Davos, considering issues like natural disasters, cyber-attacks and data fraud, the issue that the economics gathered fear most is a potential trade war between the US and China.

The Question:

--What percentage of retail goods sold in the US and China are sold over the internet?

The Headlines:

--Caterpillar Misses Big and Digs Hole S&P, Nasdaq And Dow.

--US and Taliban Agree To framework For Peace Deal.

--19% of US Businesses Say Shut =Down Affected Biz negatively; 13% Says It Was Positive for Them; 63% -- No Impact.

--Kamala Harris Enters Race; Super Leftist Trying To Move To Middle.

--Hundreds Remain Missing In Brazil Mudslide Disaster.

--Newport RI Moving Again, Recovering From Ghost Town Status; Pizza Ovens Are Fired Up.

Judging from my experience with this current gas outage problem, there is just no question that no matter how hard anybody tries to do things as right as possible under trying circumstances, some people just don’t want to be satisfied.

So, did ya hear about the college guy who ate a lot of sausages? He made the Jimmy Dean’s List.

Righteousness does not subjugate truth.

The heart of retailing is “People Buying more than they need”. Interestingly, The US always led the world in maximizing that principle, and through devotion to it produced the largest economy in the world. But, something changed on the way to the Peaking Duck buffet. China became the “wants” retail envirometnet while the US consumers have become mired in higher needs’ costs.  Growing expenses for many needs like health care and education are reducing the pile of discretionary income available for happy spending.

Yesterday Trump blasted Howard Schultz. So, what’s new. I think Schultz is an interesting potential character in this race, a self-classified “Centrist Independent”. He is smart, successful, well known, controlled and while pretty liberal, he will be a good potential sane choice for all the democrats who may be more than a little concerned about the progressive side of their party. He could get blasted by both sides, which means he is considered a threat to big party well-laid plans. Does he want the high-octane grief? That is the question.

How do economies remain resilient in the face of downsides when he cost of necessities counter the urge to bounce back with spending?

The Sag Awards last night wren efficient an rather sane. And you were reminded in speeches that a lot of highly regarded actors don’t do well without scripts. Ozark is one of my favorites, so it was good to see Jason Bateman win Best Actor award. The Black Panther message got lost in its rambling length. Rami Malek was good choice for the Best Male Movie Actor. It was hard for other nominees to disagree with hos energetic performance. Yay, Alan Alda! Quite A career. He was from my high school where he and another student wrote an original musical comedy that received raves from NYC critics. (Of course, his dad Robert was big on Broadway at the time.) He was talented young. And a bigger than life figure around the hallways, for sure. I would have voted for Julie Gardner. A well-tempered audience and no host makes awards ceremonies palatable.

There’s something about the phrase, “Hi, I’m from Yahoo Finance, and I need your opinions on the future of the world economy”. “Yahoo Finance”?

The Green Book is really a story about an Italian family.

The Answer:

The US retail sales are about $5.5 trillion. In China it’s about $5.6 Trillion. 35% of China retail sales are sold through the internet. In the USA, it is 11%. Lots of room for Amazon to grow.

Now, let’s see if I can get this think into email for you.