COVID-19 Is Rising Again. Here’s What to Know
As much as we want to put it behind us, COVID-19 isn’t going away. Cases are currently rising across the country in a summer surge. ...
I got ur summer surge right here lol:
Sunday, July 27, 2025
COVID-19 jabs prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide according to Stanford study, not 14.4 million in year one alone according to WHO, billions of doses wasted on the young
... John Ioannidis, a professor of medicine at Stanford University and the study’s first author, said: “I think early estimates were based on many parameters having values that are incompatible with our current understanding.
“In principle, targeting the populations who would get the vast majority of the benefit and letting alone those with questionable risk-benefit and cost-benefit makes a lot of sense.
“Aggressive mandates and the zealotry to vaccinate everyone at all cost were probably a bad idea.”
More than 13 billion Covid vaccine doses have been administered since 2021. But there have been mounting concerns that vaccines could be harmful for some people, particularly the young, and that the risk was not worth the benefit for a population at little risk from Covid. ...
The over-70s made up nearly 70 per cent of the lives saved, while those aged 60 to 70 accounted for a further 20 per cent. In contrast, under-20s made up just 0.01 per cent of lives saved, and 20 to 30s were 0.07 per cent. ...
The new research was published in Jama Health Forum.
Saturday, July 26, 2025
The S&P 500 had five record closes in a row this week, and fourteen so far this year, for what it's worth
The S&P 500 averaged 6,029.95 in June.
Using 1Q2025 GDP, current valuation of SPX 6,388.64 is 213, 163% higher than the 1938-2019 mean of 81.
Full year valuations around 213 were last seen in 1928-1930: 204, 248, and 228.
Real return since August 2000 through June 2025, two months shy of 25-years, is now up to 5.08% per annum vs. 10.75% per annum October 1975 through August 2000.
The mouse that roared.
Friday, July 25, 2025
The average price of a new vehicle in 2024 ran ahead of inflation from 1978 by about 75%
The average price of a new vehicle in 1978 was about $5,780.
Adjusted for inflation to 2024, that would be about $27,852.
The actual average price in 2024 was about $48,724.
The $3.45 average price of gasoline in 2024 was not quite 7% higher than the inflation adjusted price of $3.23/gallon from 1978
Gasoline prices are moderating slowly in 2025 even as the inflation-adjusted price rises to $3.27.
Gasoline actually averaged $3.27 in the first half of 2025, dead on the money for what it should cost if it were only adjusted for inflation since 1978.
Gasoline retailers like convenience stores don't make their money on gasoline, with profit margins on gasoline in the 2% range. They make it on stuff like milk, the free-market price of which is a great mystery. AI thinks the unregulated price of milk right now would be about $4.00/gallon.
At the corner convenience store near where I live, a gallon of whole milk is a whopping $4.99, but eight miles down the road at my grocery it's only $3.45, so it's a mark-up of 45% for the convenience.
But my grocery offers a routine discount coupon of 60 cents per gallon of milk, which brings the price down to $2.85, which Sam's can't beat at $3.23. Milk is my grocery's loss leader to get me in the store, like rotisserie chicken is a loss leader for Sam's and Costco, or like gasoline.
Gasoline this morning at Sam's is $3.01/gallon.
My momma told me, you better shop around.
Meanwhile average fuel economy in 2023 is 27.1 miles on a gallon of gasoline, up from about 17.6 in 1978.
Seems like we should be doing better in that department.
Adjusted for population growth, total vehicle sales in the United States in 2024 are down 35% since the peak in 1978
At the same time, the average age of a vehicle on the road in 1978 was about 6.6 years, compared with 12.6 years in 2024, up 91%.
Thursday, July 24, 2025
Iran has far more enriched uranium than people realize
... Prior to the Israeli and U.S. strikes, Iran had enriched at least 880 pounds of highly enriched uranium to 60 percent according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Relatively speaking, even if it would take some time for Iran to enrich that stockpile to weapons-grade highly enriched uranium (90 percent ) — the amount needed for a modern nuclear missile strike — it could use the 60 percent stockpile it already has to construct Hiroshima-like nuclear bombs.
Iran Watch estimates that Khamenei has enough to build “one or more” of the gun-type bomb known as “Little Boy,” the type of used in Hiroshima. It would only take 132 pounds of uranium enriched to 80 percent.
... while much of the media’s attention has been on Khamenei’s stores of 60 percent highly enriched uranium, we cannot overlook Iran’s 20 percent and 5 percent stockpiles. Prior to the June strikes, Tehran had 606 pounds of the former and 12,150 pounds of the latter.
Iran Watch ominously warns that “20 percent enriched uranium is approximately 90% of the way to weapon-grade and Iran’s stockpile would be sufficient to fuel at least two implosion weapons.” Plus, if further enriched, eventually Khamenei’s 5% stockpile could be used to “fuel at least 10 implosion weapons.” ...
Uranium highly enriched to 60 percent is in a gaseous state and can be stored in cylinders approximately the same size of a scuba tank. Moving or hiding some of them could have been as easy as putting them in the back of a small car or SUV. ...
More.
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
SPX closes at 12th record of the year
6,358.91
From the story here:
... “So far, the tariff strategy Trump is pursuing looks very inspired, generating serious income, resulting in major investments in the U.S. to avoid the tariffs, and has yet to cause the disruptions and inflation that the naysayers said were certain,” said Louis Navellier, founder and chief investment officer at Navellier & Associates. “The stock market certainly reflects no fear of negative consequences.” ...
Like shooting fish in a barrel, except Obama really did wiretap Trump in 2016-2017: The left attacks Trump for saying Epstein is old news and focus on old Obama news instead
That's how they got Manafort after all.
As ever, it is primarily Trump's own clumsy mouth which is what gets him into trouble and keeps him from respectability, but that doesn't mean he isn't right about Obama.
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Oh No! They're eating the peacocks . . .
37 peacocks reported missing from historic hotel...
... He added that the four remaining peacocks at the hotel are acting upset and demonstrating behavior he has “never seen from them before.” ...
GOP U. S. House of Representatives decides to . . .
Not sure what they're smokin' over there at CNBC this afternoon:
... On Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said he was speaking with Maxwell’s defense lawyer to see if Maxwell “would be willing to speak with prosecutors” to see if she “has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims.” ...
... Blanche previously served as a criminal defense lawyer for Trump when the president was indicted in four separate cases after ending his first White House term in January 2017. ...
Trend for Oceanic Nino Index, revised, 1951-2024
This revision incorporates data revisions since the 2004-05 season, now to two decimal places instead of one starting in season 2005-06.
Conclusions remain unchanged from previously: overall anomaly trend is slightly cooler, forecasting a drier West Coast and wetter Great Lakes region; cool anomaly seasons are trending slightly less severe, and the trend of warm anomaly seasons trending higher may have been broken, but only time will tell.
Food items making new all time high average prices in the United States in June 2025
All prices are FRED data from the St. Louis Fed in U.S. dollars.
The headlines are correct. Average beef prices are out of this world in June 2025:
Round Roast $7.762/lb
All Uncooked Beef Roasts $8.203
Ground Chuck $6.103
Choice Chuck Roast $8.197
100% Ground Beef $6.12
All Uncooked Ground Beef $6.342
All Uncooked Beef Steaks $11.491
Choice Sirloin Steak $12.923.
But that's not all:
Whole Chicken $2.086
Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate $4.493
Coffee $8.132
Potato Chips $6.815
Ice Cream $6.493.
Most of the other items in my list of over 40 basic food products remain near their average all time highs. Food price inflation was 3% year-over-year in June 2025. There has been no actual food price deflation since 2016.
Monday, July 21, 2025
Trump is shoring up UK defenses with B61-12 thermonuclear gravity bombs deployed to U.S. fighter squadrons based there
The British tabloids have been full of stories about Russian threats to use nuclear weapons against the UK.
Buzz Aldrin turned 95 in January
July 20, 1969 was also a Sunday. The live broadcast of the one giant leap for mankind was at 9:56pm Central Time.
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