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lonelyorbit134340 · 5 years ago

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It’s 9:15am on Monday morning and you scan the office floor. There is a general hum as people type away at their workstations but you noticed one empty chair. Min Yoongi is late again.

As if on cue, you hear a loud thud and see Min crash onto an office plant. He stands up, dusts himself off, looks up and meets your eyes. If he is embarrassed it is well hidden. The look on his face is all defiance.

You think about calling him into your room for a reprimand but you know it’s of no use. In the 3 months since he joined the company you know he doesn’t listen to anything unless he wants to. If he’s not so damn good at his job you would have fired him by the end of the first week. But he gets it. Nothing fazes him and he delivers when it counts. He’s actually performing at a higher level than people that are 2 to 3 years his senior.

So you are not going to get rid of him. But you want him to know who’s boss. A sudden spark cross your mind. “Yes, this will teach him a valuable lesson.” You’re going to put him on Project Flash.

Project Flash refers to a series of purchases by one of your company’s biggest clients, Gordon Wines. The project is not called ��flash” because Wines is fast (although he is when he identifies his “prey”), but because if you make a mistake he’ll fire you in a flash. The deals he makes are complex and he wants it done yesterday. Some staff sees working in the project as a death sentence as your life will be consumed by work. Late nights, weekends, you lose track of time as the deadlines pile up one after the other.

“It’s time for him to learn the value of hard work and discipline,” you think to yourself.

After you gather the relevant paperwork, you send Min a Skype message and ask him to come into your office. He slowly gets up from his chair and heads towards your office.

*Knock knock*

“Come in.”

He sits down and looks straight at you, his eyes giving nothing away.

“Min, finish up all your existing work today. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be working on a new project.”

“And what will that be?” he asks.

“I want you to start working on the Wines account. He has identified a new company for acquisition.”

You can see his mind turns for about a second. “You want me on Project Flash?”

“Yes, the team is busy working on the current deals and I need someone new to start working on this one.

“As you know, Wines is a demanding client and he does not tolerate fools. So I want to you double, no, triple-check your work before you hand it in. Also, his deals are time-critical so expect some overtime.”

“OK.” he says nonchalantly.

“I’ll send you a meeting invite for 10am tomorrow morning to go through the basics of the deal.”

The room is silent for a few seconds. Min realises that’s the end of the meeting and gets up. Just before he turns around, he murmurs “Thank you for the opportunity”.

You’re taken aback by the small hint of humility.

As he walks out of the room, you’re also taken aback by his perfectly shaped ass.

You catch yourself, shake your head, and return your eyes to the computer screen.

——-

It’s 10pm and the office is eerily quiet. The air conditioning unit is switched off, and all you can hear is the sound of paper flicking as Min reviews the mountain of documents on his workstation.

The latest Wines acquisition is at its peak and both you and Min are working insane hours. This is the fourth consecutive night of overtime. You take off your reading glasses and stare out of the office in Min’s direction.

To your mild surprise, Min is fully dedicated to the job at hand. He may still be coming in after the standard start time but with the late finishes you’re not holding it against him. He is quickly grasping the complex details of the deal. He asks the right question in meetings and the quality of his work is impeccable. Even though you know he’s good before the project, you are impressed.

You walk out of your office and say to Min, “Are you up to Article 50 of the offer document yet?”

“I am reading it now, and I’m a bit stuck on subsection 3.”, he says.

“Bring it in and let me have a look.” you replied.

He strolled into the office with the offer document. Instead of sitting across the table and handing the document to you, he comes around to your side of the table and kneels right next to you. You can smell his musky cologne. Without realising, you take in a deep breath.

“The information in subsection 3 appears to contradict Article 27,” he says as he flicks through the document. You can’t help but notice his long, elegant fingers as he points at the different paragraphs.

You quickly gather your focus and explain to Min the asset cross-collateralisation which is a unique feature of the deal.

“Ahhh, OK I get it.” Min says, and you know that he has memorised everything you said.

“Alright, I think that’s enough for today, let’s call it a day and start again tomorrow”, you say.

Out of nowhere, Min asks, “Would you like to grab a bite to eat? I know you haven’t had dinner yet. There’s a ramen joint 2 blocks away that opens till midnight.”

You pause for just a moment when you hear your stomach grumble. You answer “sure”, grab your bag and head out with Min.

——-

The ramen restaurant is buzzing when you walk in. The owner eyes the two of you and smiles as he recognises Min. “The best table for my loyal customer!” he says and ushers you to the last two available seats at the corner of the joint.

After he sits down, he loosens his tie and moves his shoulders around, like is his trying to shake the stress of the work day off.

“Two chicken ramyun and two soju please”, Min says to the owner before you have the chance to read the menu. “It’s their signature ramen.” he says as he takes the menu off you.

“I guess I’ll find out how good it is in a few minutes,” you reply.

“You won’t be disappointed.” he says confidently.

——

The ramen is delicious and the soju flows freely. To your mild surprise, you are having an enjoyable conversation with Min about this and that, from reality tv to the latest political news.

The discussion turns to some of the more colourful characters in the office. “And Jin roasts the other junior staff relentlessly. Some of them are positively scared of running into him in the lunchroom,” he says, slapping his thigh. His eyes light up and his laughter is infectious.

“Two more bottles of soju, please.” Min orders. It may not be the best idea to have another drink, but work has been intense and you’re enjoying this opportunity to unwind.

After you finish the last sip of the soju, he becomes quiet, looking down at the empty bowl. He’s probably tired after the long day, you think to yourself. You’re just about to offer to split the check when he looks up.

“So, what’s your secret?” he asks.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re the youngest VP in the company. You handle the most complex clients when many in the company are your seniors. How do you do it?

You don’t know how to respond to this sudden change of conversation. You stammer for a bit. “Errrr, I do my best. And I guess a bit of luck fell my way.”

“Now you’re not being honest,” he says, turning to face you. There is something different in that way he looks at you, but you can’t quite place it.

“You are exceptional. Smartest person I’ve ever met.” he says. You can feel warmth rising to your cheeks.

“.... and so beautiful. Irresistible really.“

You look down, absorbing the meaning of his words, when you feel his hand caressing your cheek.

“Min …” you whisper.

“Call me Yoongi”.

——

When you finally look up, you’re met by his dark, almond shaped eyes. Gone is the aloofness that he displays in this office, replaced by a tenderness that you’ve never seen before. You look at the mild hint of blush on his porcelain skin, his slightly parted lips, tousled honey blonde hair, and your heart is beating faster and faster. It feels like the world is standing still and all you can feel is his gentle touch on your face.

“Come with me,” Yoongi says softly. You don’t know what’s happening next but you want to find out. You give him a slight nod.

With quick movement, he grabs a note from his wallet, drops it on the counter, then takes your hand and the two of you walk out of the restaurant.

Yoongi leads you to a small alleyway a block away, standing between you and a wall. In the dim streetlight you see him shifting his gaze from your eyes to your lips. The next thing you know his hand cups your face and he leans in. The kiss is tentative, but you can feel the warmth of his lips transferring to yours and there are butterflies in your stomach.

He pulls away slightly and looks at you, waiting for your reaction. You lick your lips and that’s all the encouragement he needs. His hands move from your face to the back of your head, pulling your closer. No hesitation in the second kiss.

The kisses deepen and soon your tongues are intertwined. You taste the soju in his breath and you’re drinking it all in. He glides his hands down to caress your breasts and you shiver. Your body is craving for his touch.

Then you hear the crack of thunder.

As the raindrops land on your face you stopped, as if waking from a dream. “What am I doing?” you ask yourself.

You release your hands from Yoongi’s waist and step backwards. “I’m so sorry,” you murmur, and without looking at him, you start running away.

Yoongi is left standing in the alleyway, getting completely drenched.

#bts fanfic #min yoongi #min yoongi x reader #bangtan fanfic

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gurguliare · 6 years ago

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Day before day before yesterday: we took the bus to Molyvos (the bus ride itself was stupid beautiful and STUPID windy, ~1.5 hrs), with final goal of getting to the castle and doing another castle tour, because we, collectively, never tire of castles.

Molyvos itself was stupid windy in the other sense, although when we arrived it had not yet begun to rain. Halfway through the walk up it started to pour in earnest; by this point we were into the alleys and narrow lanes surrounding the castle proper, so we had intermittent windbreaks but also my umbrella started inverting so violently that it was actively whipping me across the face. Fine! “The CASTLE will have walls,” we said to ourselves. But finding the castle’s official entrance was not trivial, since the signs disappeared as soon as we left the main road, and eventually we came, not to the gate, but to the castle’s attached café.

Well and good: here at last was an opportunity to sit inside of a building, while the weather happened outside. That the building was dark, full of people silently huddled and smoking, and possibly without power made no matter to us. Could we buy a sandwich? We could not buy a sandwich. We were directed to the rack of chips, from which we unwisely selected three bags, feeling that if the end of cooked food was nigh then we might perhaps need the flavor selection represented in (Tomato & Onion) (Garlic) and (Tomato). The bags were labeled with their individual prices, between 1-1.30€ each; the woman at the counter charged 2€ for the 1€ bag and 4€ for two 1.30€ bags, which might or might not have constituted a discount. One of the old smoking men apologetically pulled out some chairs for us. Two fellow tourists cleared off table space and smiled remotely.

We ate some of the chips. (In the time since we have fraudulently disposed of Tomato; half (Tomato & Onion) and all (Garlic) remain.) Rain and wind failed to lighten. Sickened by cheese puffs, I suggested we leave anyway, and asked Clodia to confirm the castle’s opening hours: 8AM-8PM Monday-Sunday, according to the internet. Luckily it wasn’t far from the cafe to the official entrance, so in no time at all we discovered a sign informing us that the castle opened from 8AM-3PM, and was closed Mondays.

Embittered against the island kingdom of the café, whose silent residents had seen our error and said nothing---who each themselves must have made that error and still entered the pact to say nothing, maybe in exchange for chips---we set our faces to the wind, sort of slid-scampered downhill, and ended up in a café WITH power and with the ability to supply us potentially infinite grilled sardines. I think of that café with incredible fondness. They also gave us a tiny bowl of stewed cherries, which were fine. You had to run back out through the rain to get to the bathroom, which was on a lower level only accessible from beside the porch, but that was okay too, because the brisk reminder of torments produced in me a moment of equal, mad relief once underground. We could have stayed there forever except we had to catch the bus back and then a ferry that evening, so we stayed there two hours. Here is a picture of the man-high coffeepot they had in the corner, along with a smaller giant coffeepot and a figure of a horse:

You will be pleased to hear that we did make the bus and then the ferry, although (as if somehow sensitized by the day’s events) we first had two consecutive scares in which we convinced ourselves that the ferry had departed early for parts unknown. But it hadn’t. But the panic really sweetened Mytilene’s last gift to us: a wonderful rainbow.

#photoblogol

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steamishot · 4 years ago

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monday

our studio mostly depends on natural light during the day (we have no ceiling lights and rely on two floor lamps after sunset). however, this is the second week where it stays pretty gloomy. i miss the california sunshine! this weather makes me feel so sleepy and lazy. i don’t want to go outside because it’s misty and cold. and staying in isn’t fun because it’s so dark and cold (and lonely - just me and my electronics lol). making my apartment cozy for the cold weather will be a work in progress.

i officially have 6 plants now: peace lily, boston fern, snake plant, dumb cane (i initially thought it was a chinese evergreen), devil’s ivy, and umbrella plant. my umbrella plant’s leaves were falling off, and the dumb cane had droopy leaves - i suspect these two to be the most temperamental of the bunch. but now, they look pretty happy. i have a corn plant coming in next week from home depot- this will be my biggest one at 4-5 ft tall.

the ongoing thing i’m working on for my apartment is wall art/decor. i initially wanted to recreate some art work and print it myself to save money. i started working on a studio ghibli piece but i have to admit, my work definitely does not look as good as the original. i don’t want to be wasteful. at the same time i find decor important as i’m home all the time now. then again, i spent a couple hours last night browsing for wall art and none really spoke to me for its price point. i’ll take it easy and figure it out eventually.

food budget: we’re coming very close to our $1000/mo budget and still have a week left. i don’t mind if we go over $100 or so. being that we both are foodies and food is what we like to splurge on, i’d say our budget is pretty decent. i’m learning a lot about cooking and been experimenting/trying out new recipes multiple times a week. i’m pretty happy about the lack of waste as well. we’ve been really good at finishing all leftovers and making sure ~90% produce gets used up before it expires. things that i made this week: beef tongue, clams, pan seared salmon with mustard mashed potatoes, tacos, tortilla chips, salsa, etc.

i felt very emotional last week and ended up crying to matt. all those horror stories i read from the medspouse subreddit were happening in real time. a piece that i enjoyed “A rant: I'm just so sick of the idea that they have a monopoly on being tired, or sad, or just to feel bad in general. I'm sick of the idea that we have to be the rock because that shit gets old. I'm sick of living in a place that doesn't have access to the things I love to do, diving into trying to keep a home, and have no support in doing so. I'm tired of not fucking, and I'm tired of having to turn it on in the rare moment of my med spouse actually wants to be affectionate.” i felt like the vibe at home, because he was so stressed out, was like being at work. it was mostly about doing this, getting that done, helping him do x, but lacked warmth, affection and appreciation. i felt like i flew across the country to move in with him and be his servant.

after that happened, it felt like a light went off and it just clicked for him. finally. since then, he’s been more understanding. i feel a lot more love between us these days (cue heart emoji).

i learned (from the internet) it’s a common thing to fight a lot when you first move in with somebody. spending a lot of time with someone is still quite different from living with somebody in a shared space. previously, i’ve spent 1-2 weeks consecutively with matt and i thought i kinda knew what to expect. however, this was when we were traveling/on vacation and no one was territorial because we knew who the space belonged to. i never picked up on his OCD quirks until we moved in together. i’m difficult because i want things to be placed in certain ways and am controlling about the layout of the room.

basically, the stresses/transitions of moving from LDR -> in person relationship, living apart -> living together, living alone/with family -> living with a partner, all in a time of residency + pandemic was a challenge for both of us to navigate. i’m happy that all our fights are leading us in a stronger direction, and not backwards. and we’re learning to grow with each other.

note: after 1.5 months, it seems that matt has finally learned to relax a little bit. there was that period of time when he was anxiously waiting for news about the PGY-2 position and then transitioning into his new role, but now he seems much better. we had another fun day yesterday running to ichiran in 50 degree weather, eating ramen outside in the cold in our workout gear, exploring super hipster bushwick, getting coffee and taking the subway back home. it actually seems like the first half of his PGY-2 will be not bad! meaning he’ll have clinics and electives = full weekends off sometimes. i believe he’ll have a weekend off next month- i hope to go explore a different east coast city together.

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junker-town · 6 years ago

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Bracketology: North Carolina replaces Duke as No. 1 seed in latest NCAA tournament projection

Plus, LSU is now a No. 2 seed, somehow. Down at the other end of the bracket picture, we’re going to need Championship Week to sort out the bubble.

Let’s start today’s update with the four No. 1 seeds. The North Carolina Tar Heels swapped places with the Duke Blue Devils, the final top seed in Tuesday’s bracket and Friday’s bubble update, after sweeping the pair’s season series with a 79-70 victory in Chapel Hill. The now Tar Heels rank fourth overall behind the Virginia Cavaliers (victorious over the Louisville Cardinals), Gonzaga Bulldogs (who next take the floor Monday night in the WCC Tournament semifinals) and Kentucky Wildcats (relatively comfortable winners over the Florida Gators).

While Duke dropped to seed line No. 2, the Blue Devils aren’t out of the race yet. After last night’s game, head coach Mike Krzyzewski indicated that Zion Williamson should return for next week’s ACC Tournament. And guess what, the third-seeded Blue Devils could meet the second-seeded Tar Heels again in Friday night’s semifinals. But now Williamson isn’t the only injury worry for Duke, as the Blue Devils lost their main post presence, Marques Bolden, to an MCL sprain in last night’s second half. Krzyzewski stated that the timetable for his return is less clear.

The Michigan State Spartans, who defeated the Michigan Wolverines for a second time this season, 75-63, are now the second-ranked No. 2 seed, followed by the SEC co-champions, the Tennessee Volunteers (despite a loss at the Auburn Tigers) and LSU Tigers. The latter jumped up despite Friday’s news that the school was suspending head coach Will Wade indefinitely following his appearance on an FBI wiretap and Saturday’s decision to hold Javonte Smart, the player referenced in that recording, out of action. The Tigers ended up defeating the Vanderbilt Commodores, who finished 0-18 in SEC play, 80-59, on a surreal evening at the Maravich Center.

Michigan falls to the No. 3 line after its loss in East Lansing, and the Houston Cougars, Kansas Jayhawks and Purdue Boilermakers — Big Ten co-champions alongside Michigan State — follow the Wolverines. The Big 12’s co-champions, the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Kansas State Wildcats, reside on seed line No. 4, along with a pair of ACC teams, the Florida State Seminoles and Virginia Tech Hokies.

Now it’s time to look at the field as a whole, starting with the left side of the traditional bracket (East and Midwest), followed by the right (West and South). I’ve eliminated team nicknames from the projection, mostly to help speed things up over the final week of the season. As is my tradition, the names of actual auto bid winners appear in ALL CAPS. (You’ll have to ignore the teams represented by acronyms only, LSU and VCU, for now.)

Note: Auto bid holders in this section are noted by the conference names in parentheses. Arrows indicate movement up or down the seed list relative to Tuesday’s bracket. New entrants are marked with an asterisk.

1. East (Washington, D.C.)

Columbia, South Carolina (Fri./Sun.)

1. Virginia (ACC) vs. 16. St. Francis (Pa.) (NEC)/Norfolk State (MEAC) ↑8. UCF vs. ↓9. Ole Miss

San José, California (Fri./Sun.)

↑5. Maryland vs. ↓12. Lipscomb (ASUN) 4. Kansas State (Big 12) vs. 13. Vermont (Am. East)

Hartford, Connecticut (Thu./Sat.)

↓6. Marquette vs. ↑11. TCU 3. Purdue vs. ↓14. Old Dominion (C-USA)

Jacksonville, Florida (Thu./Sat.)

↓7. Wofford (SoCon) vs. ↓10. Syracuse 2. Tennessee vs. 15. Colgate (Patriot)

4. Midwest (Kansas City, Missouri)

Columbia (Fri./Sun.)

1. North Carolina vs. 16. Sam Houston State (Southland) ↑8. Oklahoma vs. ↑9. Utah State

Salt Lake City, Utah (Thu./Sat.)

5. Mississippi State vs. *12. MURRAY STATE (OVC) 4. Texas Tech vs. ↑13. UC Irvine (Big West)

Tulsa, Oklahoma (Fri./Sun.)

↑6. Iowa State vs. ↓11. Ohio State 3. Houston (American) vs. 14. Georgia State (Sun Belt)

Columbus, Ohio (Fri./Sun.)

7. Buffalo (MAC) vs. ↑10. Seton Hall 2. Michigan State (Big Ten) vs. *15. Omaha (Summit)

2. West (Anaheim, California)

Salt Lake City (Thu./Sat.)

1. Gonzaga (WCC) vs. 16. Iona (MAAC)/Prairie View (SWAC) ↑8. Louisville vs. ↓9. Washington (Pac-12)

Hartford (Thu./Sat.)

5. Wisconsin vs. ↓12. Temple/Texas ↑4. Florida State vs. 13. Hofstra (CAA)

Des Moines, Iowa (Thu./Sat.)

↓6. Villanova (Big East) vs. ↓11. Florida 3. Kansas vs. *14. Radford (Big South)

Tulsa (Fri./Sun.)

7. VCU (A 10) vs. ↑10. Arizona State ↑2. LSU (SEC) vs. 15. Montana (Big Sky)

3. South (Louisville, Kentucky)

Columbus (Fri./Sun.)

1. Kentucky vs. *16. Bradley (MVC) ↓8. Iowa vs. ↓9. Baylor

San José (Fri./Sun.)

5. Nevada (MW) vs. *12. Indiana/Clemson 4. Virginia Tech vs. 13. New Mexico State (WAC)

Des Moines (Thu./Sat.)

6. Cincinnati vs. ↑11. St. John’s ↓3. Michigan vs. 14. Harvard (Ivy)

Jacksonville (Thu./Sat.)

↑7. Auburn vs. ↑10. Minnesota ↓2. Duke vs. 15. Wright State (Horizon)

Rundown

Last Four Byes: St. John’s, TCU, Ohio State, Florida Last Four IN: Temple, Texas, Indiana, Clemson First Four OUT: Belmont, Creighton, NC State, Oregon Next Four OUT: Furman, Alabama, Liberty, Memphis

New Today: Bradley, Murray State, Omaha, Radford Leaving Today: Belmont, Campbell, Loyola Chicago, South Dakota State

Bids by Conference: 9 Big Ten, 8 ACC, 8 Big 12, 7 SEC, 4 American, 4 Big East, 2 Mountain West, 2 Pac-12, 24 one-bid conferences

Saturday’s bubble wrap

The bubble picture continues to be as clear as mud. And you can see why after taking a look at Saturday’s key results.

The 19-12 TCU Horned Frogs dominated the Texas Longhorns in Austin, with the 69-56 final score honestly flattering Shaka Smart’s team. While the Horned Frogs left the “Last Four In” group with the win, the Longhorns, now 16-15, replaced them. And Texas would be well advised to win at least one game at the Big 12 Tournament. For starters, the ‘Horns’ next loss will be their 16th, and the Selection Committee has never taken a team with that many defeats. Plus, a one-and-done performance in Kansas City would leave Texas at 16-16, which would virtually guarantee an NIT bid.

The Temple Owls and Clemson Tigers earned a bit more cushion with their respective home wins over the UCF Knights and Syracuse Orange, but both still need to do some work next week.

As for the NC State Wolfpack, their 73-47 rout of the Boston College Eagles didn’t do much to move the needle. Usually, teams can rely on a strong conference schedule to boost a weak non-conference slate. But the Wolfpack, owner of the nation’s worst non-conference schedule, didn’t get many favors from the ACC in that department, and as a result, their overall schedule ranks just 217th. In other words, Kevin Keatts’ squad has some work to do in Charlotte, starting with a potential bubble elimination game against Clemson on Wednesday.

The Creighton Bluejays look to be the Big East team with the best shot of breaking through with a strong performance at Madison Square Garden, thanks to a home win over the DePaul Blue Demons. Meanwhile, the Georgetown Hoyas (over the fading Marquette Golden Eagles) and Xavier Musketeers (victorious over the St. John’s Red Storm for the second time in 10 days) could cause some headaches in New York.

The Red Storm, along with Syracuse and Florida were among yesterday’s biggest bubble losers. The Alabama Crimson Tide joined this group with an 82-70 setback against the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Tide’s third straight loss. So did the Washington Huskies, the Pac-12 regular-season champions who seem intent on making #Pac1Bid happen. Mike Hopkins’ squad scored only 18 first-half points in a dispiriting home loss to the Oregon Ducks, who are now the fourth team out. At least the Arizona State Sun Devils managed to sweep the Arizona Wildcats for the first time in Bobby Hurley’s tenure in Tempe. That win gave ASU a little bit more margin for error in Las Vegas next week.

Conference tournament update

If you want to witness the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat and nearly every other emotion in between, mid-major conference tournaments are as close as you’re going to get to experiencing ABC’s long-departed Wide World of Sports program here in 2019.

Three potential March headliners faded into NIT oblivion within a 26-hour span on Friday and Saturday. First, the Campbell Fighting Camels, featuring 3,000-point scorer Chris Clemons, lost their Big South Tournament semifinal at home as the No. 1 seed to the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs. Then, late on Saturday afternoon, the Bradley Braves eliminated last season’s Final Four surprise, the Loyola Chicago Ramblers, in the Arch Madness semifinals in St. Louis. A few hours after that, one of the biggest shocks you’ll ever witness in a conference tournament happened in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In the first Summit League Tournament quarterfinal, the eighth-seeded Western Illinois Leathernecks, 9-20 in the regular season, won a virtual road game to eliminate the top-seeded South Dakota State Jackrabbits, featuring yet another 3,000-point scorer in Mike Daum. The Jackrabbits were aiming for their fourth consecutive NCAA trip and had defeated the Leathernecks by 42 and 20 in their two regular season matchups, the second of which happened exactly one week earlier.

The one big mid-major star who is so far guaranteed to take the floor on either March 21st or 22nd is the Murray State Racers’ Ja Morant, who scored 36 in his team’s 77-65 OVC Tournament title game triumph over the top-seeded Belmont Bruins last night. That was the Racers’ second consecutive championship game win over the team that’s become their most significant rival.

But again, the Racers’ joy was accompanied by the bitterness the Bruins are surely now feeling, along with the anxious wait they’ll experience over the next week. Rick Byrd’s squad is my first team out as of this morning. While Belmont is 2-2 in Quad 1 games and 3-1 in Quad 2 matchups, the team’s profile lacks the marquee, name-brand win the Committee has recently wanted bubble teams to own. And while the Bruins are 12-3 in true road games, they also have a whopping 17 wins against teams ranked 200th or worse in the NET.

But considering how weird this season is and how mediocre Belmont’s bubble competition is, you can’t rule them out. Too many twists and turns and pothole remain on 2019’s version of the road to Selection Sunday.

I’ll have a fresh update Monday taking into account the final games of the regular season and Sunday’s three big conference championship games.

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shawnjacksonsbs · 8 years ago

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Just another good day, kinda. Lol 1-11-17

So, it’s just after 7pm. I just walked in the door and I am in an exceptionally good mood considering the day I had. I imagine that my perspective is definitely where it needs to be.

So, I started out my day earlier than normal, as I said yesterday. I got to work, had about 10 minutes worth of coffee time then I headed out, picked up my helper and headed to the job. Got there a there about 10 minutes early. Met with the homeowner and went over everything I am already doing for his fence, and then we looked at the other side of his property. Discussed some of the options and he liked the second plan I laid out, so I’ll get the numbers to my project manager in the morning and if he is ok with the price we’ll be doing that extra as well.

He left and we started working. Everything was going as planned, as I said it would, in the time I said it would and planned for. That is, until I start to carry out pickets to nail up. I noticed that a few bad boards were in the stack of 15 I just sat down. So, I went back to the truck and checked and sure enough as I am going through them about 1 in 2 or 1 in 3 boards are bad.

It’s funny, because there has been this ongoing issue about guys not getting rid of their bad boards when they come back to the shop to unload. Instead. Probably because they get in a hurry, they sometimes just stack the bad ones in with good ones, which in turn leaves me throwing out bad ones on my jobsites, taking more time than I should have to, to throw my bad boards and those from other crews away. As if I am not already pressed for time. Well these 5 foot boards have had a lot of bad ones for quite some time. I have even brought it up at out Monday meeting more than once about guys not doing this.

Anyways there are about 300 or so boards that are bundled together that need to be gone through, and because most of us are so strapped for time we don’t take that bundle out, especially me. I wouldn’t mind going through the stack at the shop sometime, like if I get off early one day or even a Saturday, but just not on one of my jobs. I just don’t ever have the time for that. Anyways, so as I was loading up yesterday afternoon our yard guy assured me that he and one of our bosses had gone through the bundle why I was on vacation, so I loaded them up and took them to my job, only to find out onsite that they hadn’t.

Aside from the fact he just lied to me, it cost me time on my job. Needless to say, I drove that whole fucking bundle back to the shop and loaded up a new bundle for my job and went back up there. Well I didn’t quite accomplish what I wanted to get done today, because of it, but I think I can make it up tomorrow, plus the hour or so over I worked today. I had to go to the lumber yard for some specialty wood for this job today too, which closed at 5pm. We just barely made it there. They were literally pulling their gates closed as we pulled up. On the brightside, I had called in the order on my lunch break so it didn’t take nearly as long.

I set the receipt on in the back of the truck while I directed the forklift loader where to set the load, because the boards were 12-foot-long they barely fit on my truck. We finished strapping it down and drove to the shop. I decided that to save some time I would stop and by the clip hangers from Home Depot on my way home. Got to the shop and realized that I left the receipt in the truck and it had blown away. Lol Good thing I know what I got from where and they can get an invoice.

Left the shop, stopped at the ATM. I loaned my helper a twenty, since we worked late on a payday. Dropped him off at home and then went to Home Depot. By now I’m starting to feel the wear of the day. I went in thinking, I got 36 rails. So, I bought 36 clip hangers. I got all the way out to my car, when I realized that I’m an idiot. I’ve been doing this long enough to know that I need double that many because one goes on each end. Lol so back in I went, only to discover that they only had 22 more. Now I am still going to have to stop by a different one in the morning on my way to work.

Now I had one more stop to make, Walmart. I had to send some money back home for my kid and my ex-wife (I still owe a little to het for my half of the divorce). I waited in line forever because some kid, with about 30 or 40 gift cards was trying to pay his phone bill and between him and the cashier they couldn’t figure out why his cards weren’t working. If I had to guess I’d say they were stolen, but that’s just me. So, that took forever.

Now I’m home. I still have a little bit of paperwork to do, a lunch to make, a shower to take, and coffee to get ready. In a good and grateful mood though. I one of the fortunate ones in this life who has the problems I do because of the position I hold, the responsibilities I live up to, and because through all of it – I never thought about using. That, in and of itself, would have been unheard of it not that many years ago. Hell I probably would have blown all of it off and been the guy at Walmart with 30 or 40 gift cards that wouldn’t work! Lol

The love and the laughter are easier to share some days than on others. I trying to see how many consecutive days in a row I can share them.

Until tomorrow;

“Learning lessons is a little like reaching maturity. You're not suddenly more happy, wealthy, or powerful, but you understand the world around you better, and you're at peace with yourself. Learning life's lessons is not about making your life perfect, but about seeing life as it was meant to be.” - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

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brandonfullers · 5 years ago

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Market Overview | 07 August

Technical Corner

Currency market

NZDUSD: The New Zealand Dollar over 2% in hitting its lowest level against the US Dollar since January 2016, at 0.6377, and trading at near seven-year lows in the case against the Yen. This followed a more aggressive than expected 50 bp rate cut by the RBNZ to an all-time low 1.00%, which was pinned on flagging growth conditions as a consequence of simmering trade tensions and a global economic slowdown. Meanwhile, technically Kiwi entered oversold territory today with RSI at 25 suggesting that correction or a bit of consolidation might be seen today before another attempt lower. Overall outlook remains strongly negative with Next Support levels at 2015-2016 low territory, i.e. 0.6346, 0.6290 and 0.6235. Resistance set at 2019 lows, at 0.6487 and at 0.6585, which is week’s peak and the November 2018 up to April 2019 Support which has not turned into Resistance.

AUDUSD fell in sympathy, with the RBA, after cutting rates in June and July, having signalled yesterday that more rate cuts could be in the pipeline. The pair smashed through the early January flash-crash low on route to printing a 10-year nadir at 0.6677. AUDJPY also dove into 10-year low territory.

Elsewhere, the other main currencies traded in relatively narrow ranges:

USDCAD rallied to a 7-week high at 1.3315. USDCAD climbed as the pairing reportedly found buyers from Canadian names, returning from the Monday holiday but also because of oil prices which declined sharply over the last week, with the WTI crude prices having dropped by over 8.5% from week-ago levels, reflecting the air of pessimism in global markets with regard to the consequences of the ratcheting-up trade warring between the US and China.

Sustained oil prices swings impacts Canada’s terms of trade, which in turn affects the valuation of the Canadian currency.

Interestingly, the pair is into its 4th bullish week, while it retests the 20-week SMA at 1.3295. A close this week above the latter could suggest further bullish bias in the medium term, and attention could turn to 1.34 area.

In the meantime, immediate Resistance is at 1.3345 for today. USDCAD immediate Support comes in at 200-day EMA, at 1.3236, while further down Support could be at 1.3207-10 (50-day EMA).

USDJPY: The Yen lifted against the Dollar and Euro, though remained below highs seen earlier in the week. USDJPY posted a low at 105.93, extending the retreat from yesterday’s 107.09 high. It is currently traded below the midpoint of yesterday’s movement, as daily and weekly lower BB lines are extending lower, suggesting the continuation of the bearish outlook for USDJPY. Intraday though, the 3 consecutive 4-hour candles below 20-period SMA and 50% Fib. level along with the flat RSI suggest that the asset entered a ranging market in the near term.

EURUSD has made a slow descent under 1.1200, coasting towards 1.1180 after skirting to a high of 1.1219 earlier, during the Asian session. This puts in some space from the near 3-week high seen yesterday at 1.1249, which was the culmination of four consecutive sessions of ascent as the pair rebounded from the 27-month seen last week at 1.1027. Intraday, as the price is moving southwards below the 20- and 50-period SMA and as the 50-period SMA looks ready to cross above 20-period SMA, further decline is expected. RSI is sloping towards 30 barrier, while MACD eliminated and looks ready to turn negative. Immediate Support stands at 1.1160-1.1165 and Resistance comes in at 1.1200-1.1250.

Click here to access the Economic Calendar

Andria Pichidi

Market Analyst

Disclaimer: This material is provided as a general marketing communication for information purposes only and does not constitute an independent investment research. Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of buying or selling of any financial instrument. All information provided is gathered from reputable sources and any information containing an indication of past performance is not a guarantee or reliable indicator of future performance. Users acknowledge that any investment in FX and CFDs products is characterized by a certain degree of uncertainty and that any investment of this nature involves a high level of risk for which the users are solely responsible and liable. We assume no liability for any loss arising from any investment made based on the information provided in this communication. This communication must not be reproduced or further distributed without our prior written permission.

Market Overview | 07 August published first on https://alphaex-capital.blogspot.com/

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click2watch · 6 years ago

Text

Bitcoin Remains On Hunt For $4.2K Despite Price Consolidation

View

Bitcoin’s low-volume price consolidation has taken the shape of a bull flag on the 4-hour chart. A break above $3,930 would confirm a flag breakout and open the doors to $4,330 (target as per the measured move method).

The flag breakout looks likely, as the longer duration charts are biased bullish: Monday’s high-volume triangle breakout is still valid, while a bullish crossover between the 5- and 10-day exponential moving averages (EMAs) on the 3-day chart indicates a positive shift in market sentiment.

Another failure to take out $4,000 could yield a pullback to the 100-day moving average, currently lined up at $3,782.

Bitcoin’s three-day price consolidation looks to be a bull breather before a continuation of the recent rally to above $4,000.

The leading cryptocurrency by market value is currently trading largely unchanged on the day at $3,920 on Bitstamp. Notably, prices are trapped in a narrowing price of $4,000 to $3,860 for the third consecutive day.

As a result, traders may feel tempted to question the reliability of the high-volume triangle breakout, confirmed on Monday. The bearish-to-bullish trend change, however, will remain valid as long as prices are held above $3,614, as discussed yesterday.

Trading volumes have dropped 43 percent from the nine-month high of $9.93 billion seen on Tuesday, according to CoinMarketCap. So, the pullback from highs near $4,000 to $3,900 is likely nothing more than temporary bullish exhaustion.

Further, BTC seems to have created a bull flag pattern – a pause which often refreshes on the higher side – on the technical charts. Therefore, the cryptocurrency could soon pick up a strong bid and rise above $4,000.

4-hour chart

A 4-hour close above the upper edge of the flag, currently at $3,930, would confirm a bull flag breakout and open the doors to $4,330 (target as per the measured move method).

The RSI, currently at 63, is again reporting bullish conditions, as opposed to overbought readings seen three days ago.

Major averages – 50, 100 and 200 – are also trending north indicating a bullish setup.

Daily chart

On the daily chart, BTC has bounced upwards at the ascending 5-day moving average (MA), reinforcing the bullish view put forward by the short-term MA studies.

A high-volume break above $4,000 would bolster the already bullish technical setup and allow a rally to December highs above $4,200.

A less-likely close below Monday’s low of $3,614 would abort the bullish view.

Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing.

Bitcoin image via Shutterstock; charts by Trading View

This news post is collected from CoinDesk

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everettwilkinson · 7 years ago

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Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged, But Sounds Hawkish… – Daily Pfennig

November 2, 2017

* 3rd Consecutive day of little movement in the currencies

* Eurozone PMI prints strong again!

* Palladium knocks on the $1,000 door!

Good Day… And a Tub Thumpin’ Thursday to you! As usual, you’ll have to pick up the slack from me having an infusion today, for Tub Thumpin’! Congratulations to the Houston Astros, who beat the Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series last night… I tried to stay awake for the end, but just couldn’t, as the game dragged on with all the pitching changes. I was glad to see that nothing happened after I went to bed! Head East greets me this morning with their song: Never Been Any Reason… My good friend, Duane and me have breakfast now and then at the Olivette diner, where the picture of Head East members sitting at the counter was taken many years ago…

Can you say, three days in a row? I knew you could! HA! But that’s what we had yesterday, a third consecutive day of little or no movement to speak of in the currencies… the early morning gains in Gold couldn’t be held onto by the shiny metal, and the price of Oil slipped for the first day in a week. The Dollar Index moved 2 ticks in the past 24 hours, and there you have it. I’ll Talk to you Monday… Just kidding… I can write for hours about things on my mind, if that were the charge…

The Fed left rates unchanged as suspected they would, but changed one word in their statement that got the markets all riled up… The Fed decided to change their outlook for growth from “moderate” to “strong”… Makes sense given the fact that Fed Chair, Janet Yellen has used the phrase “strong and robust” to describe the economy in the past. The Fed had two other points for us… “Inflation on a 12-month basis is expected to remain somewhat below 2 percent in the near term but to stabilize”, and : “Near-term risks to the economic outlook appear roughly balanced”

The Fed sure sounds like a Central Bank that’s hell bent and whiskey bound to hike rates at their next meeting in December… But something about that just doesn’t feel right to me, and I’ve said it for several months now that the Fed is finished hiking rates in this cycle… Two years ago all points were directed at a Fed rate hike in December, and I held my ground on no rate hike, and had to wipe the egg off my face after the Fed hiked rates for the first time in a decade… I sure don’t want to have to go through that again, and I truly don’t believe I’ll have to!

It’s a real problem that’s going on with the Petrol Currencies of Norway, Russia, Brazil, Canada, and few others. I told you yesterday, that the Petrol Currencies hadn’t been able to rally with the rise in the price of Oil… But boy did they sure get sliced when the price of Oil slid lower yesterday… The slicing was done thinly, so the losses to the Petrol Currencies was not much to speak of, but it was a loss nonetheless.

Have you been tracking the price of Palladium in the past week? Letting Gold get all the headlines, Palladium has moved, stealthlike, up the $900 handle with ease, and is knocking on the door of $1,000 this morning. Remember last month when Palladium passed Platinum in price, and reached levels it hadn’t seen in 16 years, only to have the rug pulled out from under it, by “the boys in the band”? It takes about 100 days of production of the this metal to meet the short positions that have been taken in the metal… I’m just saying… But will they leave Palladium alone to rally this time? I doubt it…

Boy, you sure sound negative this morning Chuck! Sorry, I’ll try to do better.. This morning, Eurozone PMI printed for Rocktober. For all of you new to class, the PMI is a Manufacturing Index that has a line of demarcation between expansion and contraction at and index number of 50… PMI actually stands for Purchasing Manager’s Index… Well, the Eurozone’s Rocktober PMI remained strong at 58.5, the same figure that printed for September. But the euro can’t seem to find a bid to move higher this week, even with a strong economic print like this!

Today is the day the U.S. Tax Reform bill is supposed to be made public, which means the clock is ticking for a passage of the bill before the lawmakers leave for their Thanksgiving break. That’s less than 10 days as I see it, and given the battles that go on in Congress, I just don’t see it happening… And the longer it goes on without any resolution and vote, the pressure will begin to build against the dollar…

This is why I believe we’re seeing the no or little movement in the currencies each day… Traders don’t want to make a call on the direction of the dollar, until this Tax Reform thing gets settled… And we also have the nomination of a new Fed Chairman that’s supposed to be done before the President heads to Asia next week. Will it be Jerome Powell, or Kevin Warsh? Either one is a dove, and will keep rates low.. it sounds like it will be Powell, and it will be announced today…

So, that’s one of the things that was helping the dollar along that will be out of the way… The saber rattling with N. Korea has been put on the back burner for now, and as I see it, the dollar should be getting back to the underlying weak trend soon..

The Swiss franc is at parity with the dollar this morning, trading at 1.00… This move in francs has nothing to do with things in Switzerland… It’s all about the cross with the euro, and with the euro weaker, the franc gets stronger, and then that carries over to the franc / dollar cross… The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has stated over and over again that they want a weaker franc… Negative deposit rates, haven’t done the trick for the SNB… If that’s the case then forget about a weaker franc and embrace a stronger franc with positive deposit rates!

I’ve not been a fan of the SNB since they put that floor on the euro/ franc cross years ago, and then removed it to everyone’s surprise (except the wife of the SNB president! HA!) a few years later… The SNB has tried everything under the sun, moon and stars to weaken the franc, and that immediately gets you put on Chuck’s list… Which is someplace you don’t want to be!

As I said above Gold wasn’t able to hold on to its early morning gains of $9.40 yesterday morning… the “boys in the band” were working hard and saw to it that 363,000 contracts were traded in Gold yesterday… That’s right I said 363,000 contracts…. That’s crazy folks! The price of Gold flip-flopped a couple of times yesterday, as the short sellers would bring it down every time the shiny metal would mount a rally… Gold did end the day on a positive note, but up only $3.90 to close at $1,274.30 on the day.

The U.S. Data Cupboard has the stupid Productivity report for Rocktober this morning, along with the Unit Labor Costs… These are interesting data prints but not market moving, even though the Fed members have been making a BIG Deal about the lack of productivity… Yesterday’s Data Cupboard has the ADP Employment Report for Rocktober, and it showed that 235,000 jobs were created in Rocktober.. WOW! The ADP report is more reliable than the BLS report which will print tomorrow…

I of course will be resting and not looking at the markets at all tomorrow morning…

To recap… Another day of little or no movements in the currencies… Gold couldn’t hold its early morning gains but ended the day up nearly $4, and the price of Oil slipped. Eurozone PMI was strong for Rocktober, but wasn’t able to give the euro the traction it needs to move higher. The Swiss franc is at parity to the dollar this morning, and it’s all about the euro/ franc cross, nothing that the SNB has done.

For What It’s Worth… You’ve got to love it when a plan comes together right? Well, the plan in Russia was to make doing business easier, and they have done just that! This is where you can find the article:http://russiafeed.com/russia-soars-global-ease-business-rankings/

Or, Here’s Your Snippet: ” Russia has jumped five spots to 35th in the World Bank’s annual Doing Business Report that evaluates the ease of doing business in a country.

The Doing Business survey ranks 190 national economies based on 11 areas of business regulation. Russia’s new ranking places it ahead of many Western countries such as Belgium and Italy, and just behind Japan.

Last year, Russia ranked 40th based on categories evaluating the ease of starting a business, registering property, getting loans, paying taxes, and enforcing contracts.

Russia has steadily risen in the overall “Doing Business” rankings over the years. After the country had ranked 120th in 2011, President Vladimir Putin signed a “100 steps” decree the following year with the goal to reach 20th place by 2018.”

Chuck again…. WOW! Now that’s the way to set a goal and then go about achieving or meeting that goal!

Currencies today 11/2/2017… American Style: A$ .7706, kiwi .6916, C$ .7787, euro 1.1638, sterling 1.3250, Swiss $1.00, … European Style: rand 13.98, krone 8.1437, SEK 8.3915, forint 266.85, zloty 3.6390, koruna 21.96, RUB 58.19, yen 114.05, sing 1.3603, HKD 7.8014, INR 64.66, China 6.6136, peso 19.05, BRL 3.2690, Dollar Index 94.66, Oil $54.24, 10-year 2.37%, Silver $17.10, Platinum $931.15, Palladium $995.75, and Gold…. $1,277.10…

That’s it for today, and this week, as today is an infusion day, and tomorrow is Infusion Confusion… I had a great lunch yesterday with some friends from high school, and with a 3 month old baby girl, named Poppy.. One of my friends was on grandma duty so she brought the baby to the lunch, and we all loved it! I was happy with the Astros winning the World Series, good thing for Houston. My two sisters live near Houston, so I’m sure they were excited! Next week I’ll be writing to you from S. Florida… And I’m sure to be in a better mood each day! Depeche Mode takes us to the finish line today with their song: Personal Jesus… And with that, it’s time for me to reach out and touch faith, and send you on your way to a Tub Thumpin’ Thursday! Be Good To Yourself!

Source link

from CapitalistHQ.com https://capitalisthq.com/fed-leaves-rates-unchanged-but-sounds-hawkish-daily-pfennig/

#TrumpNews #CapitalistHQ.com

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melindarowens · 7 years ago

Text

Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged, But Sounds Hawkish… – Daily Pfennig

November 2, 2017

* 3rd Consecutive day of little movement in the currencies

* Eurozone PMI prints strong again!

* Palladium knocks on the $1,000 door!

I of course will be resting and not looking at the markets at all tomorrow morning…

Or, Here’s Your Snippet: ” Russia has jumped five spots to 35th in the World Bank’s annual Doing Business Report that evaluates the ease of doing business in a country.

Last year, Russia ranked 40th based on categories evaluating the ease of starting a business, registering property, getting loans, paying taxes, and enforcing contracts.

Chuck again…. WOW! Now that’s the way to set a goal and then go about achieving or meeting that goal!

Source link

source https://capitalisthq.com/fed-leaves-rates-unchanged-but-sounds-hawkish-daily-pfennig/ from CapitalistHQ http://capitalisthq.blogspot.com/2017/12/fed-leaves-rates-unchanged-but-sounds.html

0 notes

stickyyouthstudent · 7 years ago

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US employment falls for first time in seven years amid hurricane destruction - business live

Non-farm payrolls fell by 33,000 last month as Hurricanes Harvey and Irma triggered a record drop in employment in the hospitality and leisure sectors

Halifax report: UK houses prices grow at fastest rate in eight months

Pound hits four-week low against dollar as Tory infighting builds

UK productivity falls in the second quarter and lags G7 average

1.33pm BST

Payrolls actually fell by 33,000 last month in figures just out, far worse than expected.

Economists had predicted 90,000 jobs would be added. Figures for August were revised up to show 169,000 jobs were added (up from a previous estimate of 156,000).

#UnitedStates Non Farm Payrolls at -33K https://t.co/AL0r1gqseN http://pic.twitter.com/k39zqwxVWR

1.29pm BST

Andy Haldane, the Bank of England’s chief economist, is speaking about trust at the Royal Society of Arts in London.

He says that in some ways, loss of trust in institutions is the very definition of a financial crisis, including the most recent one which has been “hugely trust-busting”.

Even as the scars of this crisis heal, this trust deficit might not repair itself naturally. The trust deficit that those in money and finance face may be not cyclical, not temporary, but structural and permanent.

And if that’s true, then those of us within financial services, including central banks, will really have to go some to repair that deficit.

1.20pm BST

US non-farm payrolls for September are coming up at 1.30pm.

Economists polled by Reuters are predicting the number of jobs added last month fell sharply to 90,000, from 156,000 in August, largely as a result of hurricane disruption.

1.11pm BST

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced it is extending its investigations to other 2 Sisters poultry plants in England and Wales, as well as its scandal-hit West Bromwich chicken processing plant.

It follows a Guardian and ITV News investigation that revealed poor hygiene standards and food safety records being altered.

Related: UK's top supplier of supermarket chicken fiddles food safety dates

12.16pm BST

Over in Greece pensioners have been protesting outside the country’s highest administrative court against further cuts demanded by international creditors. It is the second such demonstration this week as anger mounts over the spectre of yet more cutbacks next year. Helena Smith reports.

12.03pm BST

Howard Archer, chief economic advisor to the EY Item forecasting group, has analysed the UK productivity figures and says Brexit negotiations could further hold back progress:

There is a risk that prolonged uncertainty may end up weighing down markedly on business investment and damage productivity. Prolonged difficult Brexit negotiations could increase this risk.

This could also be compounded if foreign companies markedly reduce their investment in the UK, diluting any beneficial spill-over of skills and knowledge.

Related: UK productivity fall leaves it well behind world's big economies

11.49am BST

Easyjet is the biggest faller in the FTSE 100 with shares down 2.7% this morning.

The low cost carrier is down despite flying a record 24.1m passengers in the three months to September. The airline also said in a trading update that it was on track to make annual profits of £405-£410m, at the higher end of its guidance but below last year’s £495m.

11.28am BST

A separate report from the ONS shows that the UK was less productive than the average among the G7 advanced economies in 2016.

Output per hour worked in the UK was 15.1% below the average in 2016, compared with 15.5% below in 2015.

11.11am BST

Britain was less productive between April and June compared with the previous quarter, with output per hour worked down 0.1%.

It was dragged down by the manufacturing sector, where productivity fell in the second quarter by 1.3% according to the Office for National Statistics. Meanwhile services sector productivity was up 0.2% over the period.

Poor productivity performance underpins the stagnation of real wages, and presents the government with a particular challenge since it appears likely that previous forecasts of earnings, and hence also of tax revenues, have been overoptimistic.

Commenting, on today’s productivity figures, ONS Head of Productivity Philip Wales said: https://t.co/gJg5IopFKT http://pic.twitter.com/zkhiDZ1j2i

10.33am BST

David Madden, analyst at CMC Markets, has this take on developments in Spain and the implications for markets:

The IBEX has been hit by profit taking as yesterday’s impressive bounce back was short lived. The decision by Madrid to suspend the Catalan parliament is a short-term solution to the problem, as the two sides are still locked in a stalemate.

The Spanish government is in the process of making it easier for companies headquartered in Catalonia to switch their head office to another part of Spain. While Madrid is keeping the pressure on Catalonia, it is likely that dealers will steer clear of the Spanish stock market.

10.11am BST

Spanish equities and government bonds are underperforming other European markets after Catalonia’s head of foreign affairs said the region’s parliament would meet on Monday.

It is in defiance of Madrid, after the the Spanish constitutional court suspended the Catalan parliament, threatening more tensions and instability.

9.42am BST

Jeremy Leaf, a north London estate agent and a former residential chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors:

Once again, the market has proved its resilience and confounded the doom mongers. Not that there is too much to get excited about with these figures which confirm what we have seen at the coalface recently - that prices are holding up reasonably well where vendors are realistic, partly in response to a continuing shortage of stock.

Sadly, we are not seeing the hoped-for autumn bounce but a steady market is more than welcome with so much uncertain economic news.

The sudden surge in Halifax’s measure of house prices—up 3% over the last three months alone—is impossible to reconcile with all the other housing market evidence.

Halifax’s measure is the most volatile of all the indices we track. Other surveys show that the pipeline of demand is soft; RICS has reported that new buyer enquiries have fallen in six of the last seven months. Real wages still have further to fall over the next six months and mortgage rates will rise soon in response to the increase in banks’ funding costs.

In the current cautious market, prices treading water is good – and stability plus gentle growth is very good.

But momentum remains patchy and what growth there is is wavering rather than sustained, and prices remain under intense pressure in several key regions.

9.23am BST

Halifax said UK house prices are partly being propped up by a shortage of homes on the market:

9.03am BST

Guardian Business has launched a daily email.

Besides the key news headlines that you’d expect, there’s an at-a-glance agenda of the day’s main events, insightful opinion pieces and a quality feature to sink your teeth into each day.

Related: Business Today: sign up for a morning shot of financial news

8.56am BST

Annual house prices rose by 4% in September according to the Halifax price index.

It was the strongest rate of growth since February, bucking the trend of other recent reports which have indicated a weakening market.

The annual rate of growth has picked up for the second consecutive month, rising from 2.6% in August to 4% in September. The average house price is now £225,109 – the highest on record.

UK house prices continue to be supported by an ongoing shortage of properties for sale and solid growth in full-time employment.

There has been recent speculation on the possibility of a rise in the Bank of England base rate. We do not anticipate this will have a significant effect on transaction volumes.

8.44am BST

Wall Street hit fresh record highs on Thursday, with risk appetite among investors boosted by signs of a robust US economy.

A backdrop of strong economic data, optimism for corporate earnings in the third quarter and the recently released plan for tax cuts are fuelling the latest surge.

It’s hard to see how Donald Trump’s plan to revamp the US economy can live up to the hyped-up expectations but repeatedly fresh record highs indicate confidence not caution.

8.33am BST

It’s pretty quiet in markets across Europe this morning, as markets await the main event at 1.30pm with the publication of the US non-farm payrolls report in September.

Markets are feeling a little more relaxed about developments in Spain, where politicians in Catalonia do no seem able to agree on the best way forward. For now at least, that is helping to ease investor fears.

8.15am BST

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone crisis and business.

The pound is under renewed pressure this morning as uncertainty builds over Theresa May’s future as Prime Minister.

We did have a result that was not at all what anyone wanted, least of all what she wanted or anticipated, and... sometimes when things happen you have to take responsibility for them.

This is a view I have held for quite some time and quite a lot of colleagues feel the same way, including five former cabinet ministers.

Related: Tory ministers privately agree Theresa May should go, says Grant Schapps

The pound has had another poor week its third weekly decline in a row, as concerns about political instability as well as disappointing economic data have undermined sentiment.

seems likely that this discontent will once again amount to nothing more than hot air in the short term at least. The last thing the currency, the Conservative party and more importantly the country needs right now is the self-indulgence of another leadership battle.

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janiklandre-blog · 8 years ago

Text

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

10 a.m. - a day when I'm happy to be still alive and alive in the city consecutive 55 years - from 1962 until now - also two years from 1955 to 1957 - the largest chunk of my life, the city I dreamed of in the freezing apartment in Prague, much danger, little food - the war - 1939 to 1945 - the dream of so many - and miraculously I found ways to survive here - also, there never was a place to go home to. When my son was in Minneapolis he assured me, I would do much better there - he well may have been right - I never tried.

First today: Yesterday I stopped in with the manager of my house and reserved the community room for my 85th birthday - Saturday, June 24. Ian - will you be around to make music? I'd like as much music, as much poetry as possible - to me a lot more important than food - but I'm sure people will bring food - there even is a kitchen where anyone eager to cook could cook - alcohol in reasonable quantities is allowed - there is a piano - there is a dance floor - there is a garden - where we ended up sitting on my 75th birthday - one friend rushed to the super market to buy food - still at the end a number of us repaired to the Ukrainian Home, my favorite restaurant, on Second Avenue between 8 and 9 where we had a good meal. Then there also is the roof - you can go freely up there - I've had small parties there - but the community accommodates up to 75 I believe. I do know so many people in different walks of life - they have made my life rich - I only complain about the lack of that significant other - the daily intimate friend - a few lucky ones have into their 90's and beyond. Still, I do count my blessings.

Another announcement for those of you in the vicinity: It was in the early 90's that I met Deanne - on the sidewalk of East 7th Street off Avenue A - this lively singer was surrounded by a bunch of Rastafarians - dreadlocks and all - about to open her Jazz Cafe, called Deanne's. She had met an Egyptian taxi driver who had become her partner - and they had this large oval table for many people - table d'hote - the table of the host, the French call it - and should I walk by in the evening Deanne called out, come in, join us and I was offered a great free meal, wine and Deanne singing. Most though, it became a breakfast scene for squatters - in those years great $2 breakfasts - two eggs, potatoes, toast, coffee were promotional items in the cafes. The squatters also used the bsthrooms to wash their hair and other parts of the body - the houses where they squatted had been mostly demolished and had no amenities. They were somewhat demanding - for lots of coffee, leaving hardly any tip and I tried to lecture to them that they were giving squatting a bad name. I doubt they listened.

These "specials" ran from 8 to 11 - mostly they would arrive ten to eleven and make this their lunch - and there I also met the sweetest waitress, my dear friend to this day - alas she did not stay in New York. And also alas - Deanne ran into trouble with a liquor licence - there was a church nearby and the neighbors did manage to get her closed down - the Egyptian bought a farm upstate where I think he still lives - and Deanne now has an apartment on East 4th, has a son who is approaching a difficult age, a British partner whom I met briefly - and she is struggling to keep her singing career going - sang for a while on 4th Street, I went there and enjoyed it - then in places too far for me to go to - and now at the NOMAD - I believe it's Morrocan - on Wednesdays - today - from 7 to 10 - it is on Second Avenue between 4th and 5th street and I intend to make it at last tonight - and hope a few friends may come - I'm offering to treat them to a glass of vine. So - if anyone who is close here has read this far - do join us.

It is going on 11. The next thing I was going to write about is the lovely correspondence resulting from this here writing - I open your letters, read them with pleasure, mark them unread and also much enjoy writing individual letters - but - these days I do like to get to the Polish church which I also connect with shopping - keep forgetting the eye drops - by 1 I'm ready for a nap and have been falling asleep - I see the sun is shining and I have been heading for the rediscovered Washington Square Park. I used to go there in Paco years - until 1988 - then when I met the squatters Tompkins Square park became the cxenter of my interest - there was a tent city, there were raids, there wqre concerts, I met lots of people there - a lively scenario - then switched to Central Park where I do hope to go also - but now that I walk less, I appreciate an also very lively Washington Square.

Dinner with my wiggly teeth has become a bit of a sad story - I put together as much liquid stuff as I can, don't spend time on it - stopped going to the masses at the CW - can elaborate on that - and last night shortly after 6 p.m. did return to this here computer and enjoyed responding to several letters at some length. Then a couple hours later my phone rang and my friend said she would come - I went upstairs and we had lively 90 minutes together - and then - my house guests appeared. I got to know the lovely Lebanese friend of my Dutch friend who is here to help me get through cataract op eye number one next Monday. .

Had a lovely breakfast with my grandson and his wife - always ready to give people unsolicited advice - now keep looking at my watch - weird encounter yesterday on my way to the church - somebody called Dean - has fallen on hard times - stops me in the rain and tells me he urgently needs $3 - I only have one dollar bill and a twenty on me - then he tells me how hungry he is, I say, come to the church with me for $1.25 I will buy you lunch - he comes with me - they are very friendly to him, I pay for him, find two seats - before he sits down he says he is not hungry - says all he wanted and needs is $3 - I am not about to give him money - he splits - Polish woman starts talking to me in Polish, asks if this was my husband - I say luckily "no".

I often do refer to a book a good friend bought for me in Zurich - in German: Stilvoll verarmen - to become poor in style - written by a German aristocrat - very good, and my friend did stay to me, you could write such a book too - indeed I could - but now I've become so involved with this here blog - thank you Molly for posting - I really enjoy the blog and got an incredibly encourageing email from a German friend - a woman of very discerning taste - neveer thought she would like this sloppy, wild writing - she loves it, says she waits for it - what music to my ears - I did write to her a lengthy letter in German last night - anyway, at this moment as I described above, my morning energies go into the blog and I think getting poor in style - is a theme rujnning through my writing - Dean, toothless at this point - is one of those men growing old but still believing they could charm $3 out of an old woman - forget it Dean. I better stop. Marianne

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click2watch · 6 years ago

Text

Bitcoin Remains On Hunt For $4.2K Despite Price Consolidation

View

Another failure to take out $4,000 could yield a pullback to the 100-day moving average, currently lined up at $3,782.

Bitcoin’s three-day price consolidation looks to be a bull breather before a continuation of the recent rally to above $4,000.

4-hour chart

A 4-hour close above the upper edge of the flag, currently at $3,930, would confirm a bull flag breakout and open the doors to $4,330 (target as per the measured move method).

The RSI, currently at 63, is again reporting bullish conditions, as opposed to overbought readings seen three days ago.

Major averages – 50, 100 and 200 – are also trending north indicating a bullish setup.

Daily chart

On the daily chart, BTC has bounced upwards at the ascending 5-day moving average (MA), reinforcing the bullish view put forward by the short-term MA studies.

A high-volume break above $4,000 would bolster the already bullish technical setup and allow a rally to December highs above $4,200.

A less-likely close below Monday’s low of $3,614 would abort the bullish view.

Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing.

Bitcoin image via Shutterstock; charts by Trading View

This news post is collected from CoinDesk