Cartoon Tuesday

By Michael Ramirez, Investors Business Daily

Happy Christmas Eve Eve Day!

Dictionary.com defines "Eve" as:

"the evening or the day before a holiday, church festival, or any date or event: Christmas Eve; the eve of an execution."

So tomorrow could properly be referred to as "Christmas Eve" all day long. Or you could call it "the day before Christmas" or "December 24th". Just don't call it "Christmas Eve Day"! Okay?

And if I hear anyone over the age of nine refer to today as "Christmas Eve Eve" I'm just gonna smack 'em!

The week in review

• DJIA pulled back a bit this past week--down 102.30 points, 0.82% and closed Friday at 12, 343.22.
  

• Nasdaq Composite also lost a little ground, down 56.02 points, 2.28% and closed at 2401.18. Ouch!
  

• S and P 500 fell 16.33, 1.14% to close at 1410.76.
  

• 10-year Treasury yield rose 0.028 percentage points to 4.624%.
  

• Crude oil dropped $1.68/bbl 2.62% to $62.41.

Cartoon Tuesday

By Paul Combs

The week in review

• DJIA gained a respectable 138.03, 1.12% and closed Friday at 12,445.52.
  

• Nasdaq Composite also gained 19.84 points, 0.81%and stands at 2457.20.
  

• S and P 500 gained 17.25, 1.22%% to 1427.09.
  

• 10-year Treasury yield rose 0.037 percentage points to 4.597%.
  

• Crude oil rose $1.40, 2.26% to $63.43.

Irony

A company that built a fence to keep illegal aliens out has pleaded guilty to hiring illegal aliens. Huh?

A Southern California fence-building company and two executives have agreed to plead guilty to knowingly hiring illegal immigrants and pay a combined penalty of $5 million, two people close to the case said Thursday, marking a rare victory for the federal government in prosecuting employers for immigration crimes.

Golden State Fence Company built 6,100 feet of the 15-foot-high fence near the Otay Mesa border crossing in San Diego.

It's not clear whether illegal aliens were involved in building the fence to keep out illegal aliens but we're guessing they were. What irony.

Cartoon Tuesday

By John Trever, The Albuquerque Journal

Career futures

A 19 year-old Anaheim Hills, CA student has offered up an interest in his career earnings for $100,000 rather than borrow the money to fund his college education.

In August, Steen put himself on eBay (Charts) to pay for his college education, offering 2 percent of all future earnings to the highest bidder, with a minimum $100,000 bid.

He hasn't had any takers and it's no wonder. Figuring a 43 year career and a 6% discount rate, Mr. Steen would need to average better than $325,000 a year to get my interest. Good luck Ron, but that's just a little more risk than I want in my portfolio.

The week in review

• DJIA picked up 113.36 points this week, 0.93% and closed Friday at 12,307.49.
  

• Nasdaq Composite also gained a very healthy 24.15 points, an even 1.00% and stands at 2437.36.
  

• S & P 500 gained 13.13, 0.94% to 1409.84.
  

• 10-year Treasury yield rose 0.123 percentage points to 4.559%.
  

• Crude oil fell $1.40/barrel, 2.21% to $62.03.

OPEC's October production cut has pushed oil prices back above the sixty dollar mark and caused stocks to stall. After setting a series of record highs in October and November, the Dow flattened out as reserves were depleted and oil prices climbed. OPEC is set to meet next week and might announce another output cut on Thursday, so it might be a rocky week for stocks.

The Happy Capitalist has been a sad and neglected blog of late as travel and professional demands have kept me away. With Christmas just a scant two weeks off, things might get worse before they get better. But these postings, as sparse as they are, help me to keep a more balanced perspective on things so they're not going to go away completely. At least not for awhile.