Goldman men busted the budget. Mnuchen, and Bannon wanted to do so to unsettle the markets and create volatility. Lloyd Blankfein couldn't be more pleased. However, it may be a dream of Goldman's that long rates would go up to 3.25, creating more volatility which would allow Goldman to make more money. if any bank could engineer it maybe Goldman could, but they could just be injecting volatility talk at this point.

We are not on the verge of fully autonomous cars, Mish. But I totally that the squeeze on employees, with asset inflation and wage weakness, is a toxic combination.

You can order from Walmart and Kroger and spend a lot less than Whole Foods. Besides, I don't want tears in my order. Amazon is ruthless toward its employees, IMO.

I just want to emphasis the point of the article that when Yellen said the yield curve inversion no longer mattered it signals two things. First, it signals that the Fed is determined to impact short rates, but second, it acknowledges that the conundrum may well be with us as longer bonds won't be greatly affected. Is that a realistic view? I think it is possible.

I don't think it is Amazon. It is Walmart and Kroger seem to be dominating. Whole Foods doesn't seem to know if it want to compete on price or if it wants to be a high quality store. It is trying to be both on the backs of its workers. Working for Amazon is almost like being on the plantation what with workers crying and the like.

Interesting thought Alexis. Yes, the uber wealthy want faith in treasury bonds and do not care so much about return. They want their capital to be safe. The retiree assumes faith in US bonds but needs a little more interest. Bernanke said one time, I believe, that they are not owed a return on their capital. It has forced some to speculate in other markets. And when people deposit money into a bank it is a loan to the bank. But banks apparently cannot make money off deposits or they would pay more for the money. Granted, banking has changed. But depositors still feel like they are being ripped off.

Not sure what your gripe with #Keynes is. Keynes would look unfavorably at the weakness of labor like the author does.

#Keynes invented the concept of trickle up. To equate trickle down voodoo economics with Keynes is to spread hurtful disinformation.

Welcome to Talkmarkets. Interesting article.

Kirk, what a great question! If Goldman Sachs is the master of volatility, it could be difficult to bet against them. On the other hand, every bond tantrum has failed to break the New Normal. Betting against the Greenspan conundrum has been futile in the past. The wild card is the Fed. The Fed will likely not let the big banks, who bet on low rates, be destroyed by an out of control acceleration in rates. That is my opinion. The Fed generally seems willing to risk recession to keep the economy from running to hot.