Putin & Inflation Remain Persistent

Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Happy Saint Valentine’s Day! (1) Putin says collapse of USSR was geopolitical disaster. (2) He wants to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. (3) War is imminent, maybe. (4) A message to other former Soviet states. (5) Higher oil prices, higher S&P 500 Energy stock prices. (6) Tweaking odds from 65/35 to 60/40 on Roaring 2020s vs Great Inflation 2.0 alternate scenarios. (7) No sign of peak in CPI, though base effect may still be having an effect. (8) More upward pressure on energy, metals, and food prices. (9) 1970s déjà vu all over again in some respects. (10) Fed has never been further behind the inflation curve, while hoping it will bend. (11) Paying the price for the Fed’s original sin. (12) Movie review: “Nightmare Alley” (+).