Shetland has gotten rave reviews, and having 10 seasons in the bank would support the conclusion that people like it. At least to start, it's a mystery crime drama where a local police team investigates crimes within the close-knit island community of Shetland. I can't say S1EP1 compelled going further, but it didn't put the kibosh on it either. Part of the draw is Brian Cox, who appears in 3 EPs over the first 3 seasons. Who dat? You ask. He played Logan Roy in Succession.
[EOP]
The color of an eggshell is actually determined by the breed of chicken and the genetics of the bird. White eggs are typically laid by Leghorns, Anconas, and Polish chickens. Rhode Island Reds, Plymouth Rocks, and Orpingtons lay brown eggs. Despite common myths, the nutrition of white and brown eggs is nearly identical. Both types contain the same amount of calories, protein, fat, vitamins, and antioxidants. The color of the eggshell has no impact on the egg’s nutritional content. What truly influences nutritional value is the hen’s environment, diet, and overall health. Hens fed diets enriched with omega-3s produce eggs higher in omega-3 fatty acids, while pasture-raised hens lay eggs with more vitamin A and E and richer yolks. A common misconception is that brown eggs are healthier and more natural than white eggs, with some even believing that white eggs are bleached. This belief may stem from the occasional higher cost of brown eggs, which is often due to the larger hens that lay them requiring more feed.
[EOP]
As Spencer Jakab explains, a rise in interest rates can often be a harbinger of good things to come. Although not yet predicting recession or undue numbers of defaults, as many astute observers see it, what's happening now in the bond market does not appear to be such a time.
[EOP]
A'Ja Wilson deservedly was named the 106 WNBA MVP. And that Olivia Miles finished second, followed by Kelsey Mitchell and Clark, made sense as well. But, what made no sense was that Clark had a historic season and yet 19 voters left the Indiana Fever star off their ballots entirely.
[EOP]
There can be no shortage of disgust for Hegseth's intention to live-stream Hasan's execution by firing squad, and no possible justification for proceeding with it. Putting aside children being able to watch, making Hasan a martyr, the cruelty and unusualness of the method, and the moral opprobrium it will bring upon this country rendering it impossible for any decent person to say they are proud to be an American, it should be the tip of the lance for every Dem challenging every Rep saying this: Do you support Hegseth's plan to carry out a live-stream execution by firing squad and, if not, will you agree to go back into session now and vote to impeach Hegseth to stop it?
[EOP]
When entertaining, it's always nice to serve negronis with the appetizer(s) and wine with the main course. The problem with self-checkout is that it can be a hassle to get someone to "clear" the liquor, and no one wants to wait in a non-self-checkout line. Safeway has solved the problem. Just ask the self-checkout clerk to add your birthday to your Safeway card and there will be no need to "clear" the liquor--it will clear itself like magic. It's not even an AI thing. It's just smart use of simple technology.
[EOP]
Should the Dems flip both chambers, with Trump's veto power, no legislation would seem to be forthcoming. If the Dems flip the House, it's hard to see where they will resist impeaching Trump along with Hegseth and others, but unless the Senate Reps see the light, which heretofore they've never seen, again it would appear that's a dead-end road. If either chamber flips, that chamber will do investigations into the corruption and other wrong-doing by Trump, his family, and others, but DOJ will not be investigating or pressing any such cases or issuing any subpoenas. So, what we can look forward to are repeats of the Jan 6 commission that will produce a lot of television but no changes of minds or anything else.
[EOP]
With the steep rise in long-term rates in the past few weeks, 30Y mortgage rates have climbed to well above 7%. You would think that would depress the housing market, and in some segments it does. As we've said many times here, there is no such thing as "the" housing market. There are different tranches which make concepts such as "median house prices" uninformative unless one know what segment(s) is/are being addressed. All that said, here's the point of this post: With the rise in mortgage rates, in many areas and segments, sellers are having to lower their asking price and make other concessions to sell their house. And especially for buyers who are wanting to downsize and might be paying cash for a new place (e.g., boomers who have small or no mortgages on the house their selling), they might have lucked out. Let's just hope they don't thank Trump for making this happen.
[EOP]
With long-term rates have spiked in the past 3 weeks, there are good reasons one might want to be buying fixed-rate assets. But, as this Telos Demos piece thoughtfully explains, before chasing today’s higher rates, buyers need to figure out the reason they want to invest in bonds in the first place. Are you a bond trader or a yield farmer? That question has taken on added significance for investors enticed by Treasury yields at multidecade highs, even if a successful 10-year note auction on Wednesday momentarily cooled the feverish market. Answering it confronts investors with some very different considerations than what goes into buying stocks. An important place to start is to ask why an investor is interested in bonds in the first place. One could make the case for Treasurys today because those high yields mean prices are cheap, while stocks remain historically expensive. That is, essentially, a trading decision. Or it could be that the income generated by a bond is attractive. It is enough to cover a needed expense over the life of the bond or to induce investors to lock up their rainy day money rather than leaving it in a money-market fund or bank account. That is what a yield farmer is thinking about. Considering the “why” of bonds can help investors decide exactly how to buy them. Because, unlike when it comes to buying stocks, there is a lot more to consider than whether to go with single issues or an index fund.
[EOP]
As became clear after the Jan 6 insurrection, Trump had groomed his MAGA cult following to do precisely what they did to stop the peaceful transfer of power. By failing to convict Trump on his second impeachment, the Senate gave tacit approval to let him try it again. And there can be no mistake about it, Trump has been seeding the ground to stop or overturn the election of Dems that would flip the House or the Senate. Whether lawsuits will be soon and effective enough to thwart him remains to be seen. Some might say the author of this post is paranoid. Others might say, to quote Andy Grove (co-founder of Intel), when it comes to protecting one's institutions, only the paranoid survive.
[EOP]
