Good morning,
Hope you had a Super weekend, and enjoyed the Super Bowl or not. It is Valentine’s Day today, also a day that I associate with remembering my Father. His middle name was Valentino. He truly was a romantic at heart, a very caring and loving individual, always giving people the benefit of the doubt. He was fair, a little stubborn but he always went out of his way on Valentine’s Day to show my Mother, his wife, his utmost appreciation for everything she had done to keep him alive over the years.
I’m sorry, but I need to tell this story. The night before my Father passed away, he sat with my Mother near her chair, thanking her for everything she had done for him and expressing his gratitude for her commitment to him on the eve of their 59th wedding anniversary. He asked her if he could kiss her feet, as a sign of his love and respect. My Mom, thought he was crazy and she pushed him away but in fact, he was truly sincere and did it anyway. The next day he passed away and I kept telling my Mother that she was one of the luckiest women on earth to listen to the most sincere words spoken from a Man who truly loved her.
Unfortunately, life isn’t a bowl of cherries and not all relationships are everlasting. Differences of opinion may arise when financial strain is abundantly evident. Finances become one of the biggest factors that cause marital stress. Money management becomes a huge factor in the outcome of family unity. I dare not say it’s the only factor but finances do play a big part in the lifestyle people are accustomed to and a reflection of peoples’ expectations. After all who wants to live life struggling all the time, if it can be avoided. There aren’t too many that will bend at the prospect of changing with the times. Sacrifices are no longer acceptable when instant gratification is demanded.
Envy, jealousy, greed and contempt toward others become the fuel that sets people off. Keeping up with the Joneses or a family that might be in a better financial position will be the greatest cause of an individual’s downfall when they stray away from living within their means.
Ultimately when people spend more than they make, financial problems become paramount. Truly, the only alternative is to make sacrifices yet to attain the object of their desire, the proliferation of credit has become easily attainable. The question is whose fault is it? When the motivation is profit rather than the financial stability of the person, everyone loses sight of reality and eventually when there is no money, there is no more honey.
It was evident, during the Subprime crisis in 2007/2008 that bankers knowingly manipulated financial holdings through fraudulent transactions. In the end, it was the little guy who lost their home, their way of life and for some their lives were made expendable because of the actions of heartless people.
Money does make the world go around but without a little love and respect toward our fellow man, the world isn’t much better when your health and welfare become compromised.
Nonetheless, this week the focus was the USA Consumer Price Index (CPI). Expectations were to see inflation fall below the 3% level. Consequently, the CPI result was at 3.1% vs ( 2.9%). As a result, this means the Fed could delay any interest rate cut they might be contemplating. The USD Index exploded toward the 105.0 level, displaying renewed USD strength.
The cost of living, in general, has also exploded in North America. In Canada, specifically, the cost of heating a home with clean natural gas has been targeted with a carbon tax. I mentioned it in previous writings, it is a tax on tax, an added strain to families or individuals trying to hold the fort until common sense prevails. They have systematically killed large investments in Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) which is in great demand and could create thousands of jobs for the export market. Now these clowns in power are contemplating eliminating gas stoves and pizza ovens, especially wood-burning ones because of junk science. The elitists telling us how to live our lives, continue to cross the skies in Jet planes, causing more carbon pollution in one trip, than most driving a car, produce in one year. People will only react when they are personally affected, otherwise they will remain complacent.
On another note, the Canadian Employment report seemed too good to be true. The expectations were for a gain of 15k new jobs. Instead, the number came in at 37.5k previous (12.3k). Not surprisingly, the unemployment rate dipped to 5.7% previous (5.8%) expected (5.9%). Keep in mind, that most of the new hirings were government jobs. Sometimes numbers don’t tell the whole story. With many people struggling with finances, many need to take on secondary employment to make ends meet. Presently, there are nearly 3 Million Canadians visiting food banks every month. People’s dignity has been lost and the quality of their food and health has also been compromised.
While the USD continues to show strength in the face of market uncertainty, Precious Metals slip significantly below the USD2000/oz level and Silver slips toward $22/oz, a buying opportunity?Meanwhile Bitcoin explodes above USD51k/coin and the Canadian dollar dips below 0.74 cents. All I need for Valentine’s Day is a loaded electronic wallet so I can help those struggling, to bring them joy. Make Love not War! Happy Valentine’s Day!
I think I love you!