BigusDicus

My wife & I were in a restaurant last year on the north shore of Maui. Windows open, traffic going by, a couple games on the TVs. A lot of ambient noise....my wife is chatting away with the waitress (social butterfly-she will talk forever), I basically tune out and concentrate of something important like Pattaya Talk on my cellphone (or whatever). I hear something like...."the burger is the best on the island, nobody every returns it".....wife says you want to try it? I grunt yeah. Halfway through eating it I remarked "This is a great burger". Wife exclaims yes it is. I never thought you would like a vegetarian burger... I had no idea it was the "Impossible Burger" when I ordered. Was amazed how good it was. Could not tell it was not real meat! There is a high end restaurant next door to our home where they serve it. Not as good. I assume it is like burgers everywhere. Some places are better than others.

From my sister in law...

Life can be frustrating. Sometimes best to let a professional do it...

I can read it here on my home computer screen. Do not know about my cell phone screen.

Welcome aboard Newtimes. Your life is about to change. For the better. I cannot think of a better medicine than Pattaya for a newly single man. Pattaya Talk is the best place to meet people who can guide you through your first experience or two. Feel free to reach out to any of us.

EL CAMINO A Breaking Bad Movie Releases on Netflix. Oct 11 Fugitive Jessie Pinkman attempts to outrun his past. Directed by "Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan, starring Aaron Paul.

From the Way Back When and They Just Don't Make Cars Like They Used to files

The US dollar remains strong against most currencies. Japanese yen and Swiss franc strong. China has let the yuan plummet to offset trade war with the US. Currencies like New Zealand's with strong trade with China suffer.......A lot of charts and graphs in the article which do not paste well. Worth trying to find a site with the WSJ link that will let you in. https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-drop-in-currencies-bruises-investors-11568194207?mod=hp_lead_pos3 Global Drop in Currencies Bruises Investors Economic concern and U.S.-China trade dispute ripple through markets Currency performance against the dollar by regionSource: FactSet %Yuan crosses 7to the dollarTrade talks endwithout a dealAsia excluding JapanEuropeEmerging marketsJan. ’19Feb.MarchAprilMayJuneJulyAug.Sept.-5-4-3-2-10123Emerging marketsxFeb. 15, 2019x1.29% By Ira Iosebashvili Sept. 11, 2019 5:30 am ET Currencies around the world are tumbling to multiyear lows, bruising investors’ portfolios and fanning the flames of a global trade war. The Chinese yuan recently hit its lowest level in more than a decade against the dollar, the euro dropped to a fresh two-year low last week and the British pound is at depths it hasn’t consistently plumbed since the 1980s. Some emerging-market currencies such as the Colombian peso have fallen to their lowest prices on record against the dollar, while Argentina has recently introduced capital controls after its peso plunged in August. Out of 41 currencies tracked by The Wall Street Journal, only nine are up against the dollar in 2019. “People are becoming more concerned about currencies because currencies are becoming more dangerous,” said Kit Juckes, global strategist at Société Générale. The declines highlight how fears of a global slowdown and a burgeoning trade dispute between the U.S. and China have converged to ripple through markets in recent months. Central banks began cutting interest rates earlier this year, ending a short-lived period when many were tightening monetary policy or signaling that higher borrowing costs were on the way. 10-year government bond yields in Germany and JapanSource: FactSet %GermanyJapan2018’19-0.75-0.50-0.250.000.250.500.75GermanyxOct. 16, 2018x0.49% As falling rates and slowing growth drove bond yields lower, investors headed to the U.S., where the economy is relatively strong and the payout on Treasurys stands far above that offered by many other government bonds. That shift has weighed on large parts of the foreign-exchange market while pushing the dollar up to historic highs against the currencies of many U.S. trading partners. Mr. Juckes is advising clients to bet on the dollar and Japanese yen rising against a variety of emerging-market currencies, including the South African rand, Polish zloty and South Korean won. Many countries are benefiting from cheaper currencies, which tend to make exporters’ products more competitive abroad and boost economic growth. That can leave their trading partners little choice but to allow their own currencies to weaken. Argentina’s peso has dropped more than 30% against the dollar in the past year. PHOTO: AGUSTIN MARCARIAN/REUTERS China in early August allowed its yuan to drop below levels long thought to be sacrosanct after the U.S. announced additional tariffs in an escalating trade dispute between the two countries, accelerating this year’s slide in a broad range of currencies. The U.S., in response, designated China a currency manipulator for the first time since 1994. While Group of 20 nations have pledged not to use their exchange rates for competitive gains, most countries have done little to prevent their currencies from falling. A total of 14 central banks cut rates last month, including Mexico, India and Hong Kong, up from eight in July, according to the Bank for International Settlements. Lower rates tend to weaken currencies by making them less attractive to yield-seeking investors. The widespread declines could have a number of far-reaching effects. Year-to-date performance against the dollar of a selection of 41 currencies Ukrainian hryvnia: ▲ 10.9% 10% Israeli shekel: ▲ 5.5% 5 Canadian dollar: ▲ 3.7% 0 Swiss franc: ▼ -1.0% British pound: ▼ 3.1% Brazilian real: ▼ 4.9% –5 South Korean won: ▼ 6.5% Turkish lira: ▼ 8.3% –10 Uruguayan peso: ▼ 11.1% –15 –20 –25 –30 Argentine peso: ▼ 32.7% –35 Note: Data as of Tuesday Source: Tullett Prebon Rich economies such as Europe are likely to welcome a weaker currency, which can stoke growth by making exports more competitive and help spur inflation. That is a goal that the European Central Bank has failed to achieve despite years of ultralow interest rates. The euro recently traded at $1.1045, down more than 6% from last September. For developing countries, however, a depreciating currency can be a headache. Accelerating inflation can be a problem in emerging markets, where central banks must often fight to keep prices from rising too quickly. A falling currency makes it harder for developing countries to service their dollar-denominated debt. Too sharp a drop can unnerve investors, causing a stampede as money managers ditch emerging-market assets. “Most analysis of currency wars begins and ends with the view that the country that depreciates the most wins,” analysts at Standard Chartered said in a note to clients. However, “the likely winner is the country that can best handle the consequences of depreciation.” One country now facing the consequences of a plunge in its currency is Argentina, where the government recently imposed capital controls and has frozen prices for gasoline and some food products as it fights to stem inflation, which runs at over 50%. The Argentine peso has dropped more than 30% against the dollar in the past year, and the country’s markets have hurt several prominent investors including the hedge fund Autonomy Capital, which lost $1 billion on investments tied to Argentina last month. The list of currencies that are at or near multiyear lows against the dollar includes the New Zealand dollar and Chilean peso, which are heavily swayed by their countries’ trade links with China. In Europe, the currencies of Sweden, Norway and Poland have been hard hit by the region’s economic woes. Trade-weighted dollar index, weeklySource: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 1996’982000’02’04’06’08’10’12’14’16’188090100110120130140 Not all currencies are falling. Investors have cheered changes promised by Ukraine’s new president and pushed up the country’s hryvnia to make it one of the world’s best-performing currencies. Those seeking shelter from volatile markets and trade wars have piled into the Japanese yen and Swiss franc, although some are growing wary that the central banks in those countries may not tolerate their currencies rising for much longer. Newsletter Sign-up Meanwhile, the trade-weighted dollar index, which measures the greenback against the currencies of its trading partners, hit an all-time high this month. But the dollar’s persistent strength has raised the chances that the U.S. will intervene in markets to weaken the currency, a rare move that the Trump administration has previously rejected, analysts said. “There doesn’t seem to be any resolution to the trade war coming, and the currencies markets are responding to that negative feedback,” said Mark McCormick, global head of foreign-exchange strategy at TD Securities. “You can get burned on anything these days.” To receive our Markets newsletter every morning in your inbox, click here. Write to Ira Iosebashvili at ira.iosebashvili@wsj.com SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS If currencies around the globe continue to fall, how do you expect global trade to change? Join the conversation below.

There are more than drinking drivers to watch out for.

Student Kicked Out Of Class For Asking Feminist Professor How Women Are Simultaneously ‘Powerful’ And ‘Helpless Victims Of Patriarchy’

I would be wary....

When a bar opens a bottle of wine, pours a glass or two and puts the cork back in the bottle what is left begins to deteriorate. With limited demand for wine at some bars the bottle can turn bad before they pour the rest. The box has an inner plastic bag that does not usually leave much air in the bag when a glass is served from it. So usually a "half" used box of wine will retain it freshness/drink-ability much long than a "half" used bottle.

Generally speaking boxed wine can last longer once opened. Bottled wines do best if consumed within a day or two. Air in half full bottle causes oxidation, etc. Very little air in boxed wine.

Chicken and waffles. They do it different in London !!!

Phone does nice pics. Looking forward to more of your report. Thank you!

https://www.wsj.com/articles/dollar-towers-above-rivals-posing-fresh-threats-to-financial-markets-11566126002?mod=hp_lead_pos6 Dollar Towers Above Rivals, Posing Fresh Threats to Financial Markets A strong dollar can hurt earnings, commodities and developing economies One key driver of the dollar’s gains has been the relative strength of the U.S. economy. PHOTO: PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY EMIL LENDOF/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL; PHOTOS: ISTOCK By Ira Iosebashvili Aug. 18, 2019 7:00 am ET A prolonged dollar rally is pressuring U.S. corporate earnings, hitting commodity prices and threatening to deepen a selloff in emerging markets. The U.S. currency has continued to grind higher this year despite an escalating trade war with China and broadsides from President Trump, who has complained that its strength is constraining growth. Last month, the dollar rose even after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in a decade, defying expectations that lower rates would reduce the appeal of U.S. assets to yield-seeking investors. U.S. Dollar IndexSource: FactSetAs of Aug. 16, 5:28 p.m. ET Jan. ’18Jan. ’19JulyJuly889092949698100May 30, 2019x98.14 The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of six major currencies, stands near its highest level in more than two years and is up nearly 11% from its 2018 lows. One key driver of the dollar’s gains has been the relative strength of the U.S. economy, which until recently has allowed the Fed to raise rates since 2015 far above the levels of borrowing costs in other developed countries. As recently as last year, investors were betting that growth would accelerate abroad, boosting foreign currencies as central banks outside the U.S. raised rates. That pickup never materialized, and investors now believe the gap in yields is likely to remain in place as central banks ease monetary policy to counter the effects of a global slowdown. Even with last week’s decline in Treasury yields, investors can still expect to collect a far larger payout from U.S. government bonds than from those in any other developed country, including Europe and Japan, where negative yields have proliferated in recent years. “There is nothing exceptional about U.S. growth, but it still looks pretty exceptional compared to other parts of the world,” said Alan Ruskin, chief international strategist at Deutsche Bank. The dollar’s strength has been a double-edged sword, both inside and outside the U.S. Trade-War CasualtiesThe strong dollar has hurt companies derivingmore of their revenues outside the U.S.Average earnings growth, compared withyear-earlier periodSource: FactSetNote: Based on first 20 companies reporting %More than 50% revenues inside U.S.More than 50% revenues outside U.S.2014’15’16’17’18’19-15-10-5051015202530 A stronger dollar is a negative for U.S. exporters because it makes their products less competitive abroad. It is also hurting U.S. multinationals by making it more expensive for them to convert foreign revenues into the U.S. currency—a worrisome trend for investors betting on an earnings rebound in the second half of the year. The earnings of S&P 500 companies with more international exposure fell an average of around 12% in the second quarter compared with a year ago, while those with more domestic revenue rose more than 4%, a FactSet analysis of a selected group of recent earnings reports found. Companies that have cited the dollar as a negative factor this year run the gamut from Levi Strauss & Co. and International Business Machines Corp. to medical-technology companyHologic Inc. MSCI Emerging Markets Currency IndexSource: MSCI 2018’1915751600162516501675170017251750 Emerging-market debt, as of Q1 of each yearSource: Institute of International Finance .trillionOtherEuroU.S.dollar2005’10’15012345678$9 At the same time, the dollar’s strength has made investors more cautious on emerging markets, which have in recent months been hit by fears of slowing global growth stemming from the trade war between China and the U.S. A rising dollar makes it more expensive for developing countries to service their dollar-denominated debt, pressuring those that have borrowed heavily in the U.S. currency. The outstanding dollar-denominated debt of emerging-market companies and governments stood at $6.4 trillion at the end of the first quarter, compared with $2.7 trillion a decade ago, according to the Institute of International Finance. Copper futures priceSource: FactSetNote: Continuous contractAs of Aug. 16, 4:59 p.m. ET .a poundJan. ’18Jan. ’19JulyJuly2.402.602.803.003.20$3.40 Prices for commodities, which have been buffeted by growth fears and the trade-war escalation, have also been hurt by the strengthening dollar. Oil, copper and most other raw materials are denominated in dollars and become more expensive to foreign buyers when the U.S. currency appreciates. But the dollar’s strength has been a boon to countries trying to boost growth because it makes their own currencies cheaper. That has drawn the ire of President Trump and heightened speculation that the Treasury Department may try to weaken the dollar through intervention in currency markets, a tactic that hasn’t been attempted by the U.S. since 2000. Mr. Trump and his economic advisers discussed a proposal to intervene in foreign-currency markets to weaken the dollar but ultimately decided against such an action, officials said last month. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS What are your thoughts on a strong dollar? What does it mean for the U.S. at large, in this moment? Join the conversation below. Write to Ira Iosebashvili at ira.iosebashvili@wsj.com

While we are on the subject of dogs....