I thought this was lovely enough to share. Oh, Instagram!
Author: Carl Setzer
This Week In Economic News
This week has some key indicator announcements which should tweak the markets. They may be national numbers, but they do impact at the local level.
Economic Calendar for the Week of Dec 8 – Dec 12
| Â Date | Time (ET) | Release | For | Consensus | Prior | Impact |
| W Dec 10 |
10:30 | Crude Inventories | 12/6 | NA | –3.689M | Moderate |
| W Dec 10 |
14:00 | Federal Budget | Nov | –$59.0B | –$135.2B | Moderate |
| Th Dec 11 |
08:30 | Initial Unemployment Claims | 12/6 | 295K | 297K | Moderate |
| Th Dec 11 |
08:30 | Continuing Unemployment Claims | 11/29 | 2.350M | 2.362M | Moderate |
| Th Dec 11 |
08:30 | Retail Sales | Nov | 0.4% | 0.3% | HIGH |
| Th Dec 11 |
08:30 | Retail Sales ex-auto | Nov | 0.2% | 0.3% | HIGH |
| Th Dec 11 |
10:00 | Business Inventories | Oct | 0.3% | 0.3% | Moderate |
| F Dec 12 |
08:30 | Producer Price Index (PPI) | Nov | –0.1% | 0.2% | Moderate |
| F Dec 12 |
08:30 | Core PPI | Nov | 0.1% | 0.4% | Moderate |
| F Dec 12 |
09:55 | Univ. of Michigan Consumer Sentiment | Dec | 89.5 | 88.8 | Moderate |
Thinking Thanksgiving & Christmas
I hope your holiday was lovely, filled with bonding and growing those relationships that truly add meaning to our lives. Ours was spent in one of my favorite NW cities: Bellingham. Since the day was spent with family, we didn’t get to any of my favorite shops or eateries, but I was prepared. The weather was blessedly calm, and traffic rather lite, so the drive was uneventful. Having the Stillaguamish bridge back open was particularly nice.
Over the past week, I’ve noticed several neighbors with Christmas lights up. Add to that Christmas marketing already going, and I find I’m struggling with acceptance. I grudgingly tolerate the Christmas season starting today, the day after Thanksgiving. There’s only so much resisting one can do.
But I still can advocate for Advent, the season of preparation for the coming of the Christ. Preparation, awareness, anticipation; all these elements get lost in the commercial madness that’s modern Christmas. Perhaps it’s intertwined with our overall impatience, or just our inability to filter out marketing.
So, I’m a bit pleased to see the rain, which seems to have built up with it’s delayed delivery. Maybe we’ll have another day or so without the frenetic lights, et al, of Christmas blazing. Of course, this will probably make the malls that much more desirable. So be it, makes the rest of the region that much more accessible to me. So it begins, I guess. For me, it’s clearly a good day to get some coffee, avoiding the roads near the malls.
Wishing you a safe holiday season filled with light, delight and warmth.
Ah, the clouds are back!
Well, the clouds have rolled back in to the greater Puget Sound region. With them come less bitter temperatures. I appreciate that. The past week or so, with temperatures down in the 20s, has been deeply uncomfortable. Yes, I am aware that a good deal of the country would love to WARM UP to our lows. And I am content.
During the summer, there are times that I am uncomfortably warm while the rest of the country broils significantly hotter. Yes, I’m fine with my discomfort in the 80s while the rest of the country broils in the hundreds.
Seattlites have been labeled weather-wimps by most of my friends who live in other regions. Whether the discomforts above, or our disdain (terror?) of snow, we have a reputation. Personally, I’m fine with that. It’s delightful to live in a pleasant climate, rather than where simply surviving brutality is the goal.
I welcome the return of the clouds, and gentler weather. It’s not for everyone, but for me it’s home.
Living la Vida soccer, or not
Am I terrible for being thankful my son didn’t get into soccer? I look at those families that have kids playing the game and am just flummoxed by the time commitment.
Now, I get the importance of learning to function on a team. Along with the value of personal growth in support of the team. Both are quite important. Soccer teaches great things.
However, when I see so many of the week’s hours absorbed by practices, then two or more games over a weekend, I think that maybe it’s too all consuming.
Perhaps it’s simply the hubris of league managers who demand full focus on THEM. Maybe these folks can’t plan; challenged by the time management piece. Or they just love the sport so much that they can’t conceive of life existing off the field. Perhaps my view from the outside is skewed by the frustrations of the parents, without seeing the larger picture. I’m unsure.
I value a rich and balanced life. That seems to be what we have. I guess that should be enough for me.
Some thoughts on Lynnwood
I noticed that the House of Rock restaurant going into the old Celtic Bayou space changed names. What does that means for a business that hasn’t opened its doors yet? Perhaps there’s some uncertainty about their vision. To me, I worry that they’re more focused on their name and signage than on getting the doors open and serving customers. Thus that this might end up vaporware.
Another building is under construction at the Lynnwood Crossing site. Watching the way they’re developing lends me to believe they already have tenants for the space. I’ve not seen any signage, so don’t know for certain. Looking forward to seeing what lands there.
The changes I’ve witnessed in this area are amazing. Development along 196th and over by the mall remind me of the changes in downtown Bellevue in the 80s. Lynnwood had a rather unique environment, though, so it will grow into a rather different business community.
Snoqualmie Pass Throwback Thursday
The WSDOT just posted this to their Snoqualimie Pass Twitter feed.
These historic references really delight me. It got me thinking about this road’s history and importance.
What we now call Snoqualmie Pass was first utilized by the region’s indigenous tribes. Then, in 1867, the first incarnation of a road was completed. What we see above, though, as it looks like a Model A, I would expect it’s from the late 1920s to early 1930s. The entity that we think of nowadays as Snoqualmie Pass really came to being during the 1950s and the creation of the Interstate System.
Here are a few links to explore this further:
November Morning
This morning, gazing outside, I watch the fog drift through the treetops. This multitude of gray, muted varieties of darkness and light, both delights and calms me. Today’s chill holds a sharper bite: I re-befriend my sweaters. The gentlest of breezes activates the chimes upon my porch. So gentle, their movement imperceptible.
Northwest winter rains
Calming my mind deep within
Strange comforts I find
Such things reach deep into my psyche. Memories of early mornings, awake before everyone else, quietly reading. Such things being forth love and contentment. The glories of this northwestern life.
Halloween Post Part ii
I have lots of fun with my Spotify playlists. So, it being Halloween, and long-sinced burned out by the Monster Mash, I decided to craft “An Atypical Halloween” playlist.
So, enjoy my friends!
Happy Halloween Everyone
After darkness fun
Costumed ghouls, goblins and such,
Roam seeking candy.
