Which News is News?

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This is getting hard.

Which news is the news that matters?

Is news of just a week or so ago, and news of a week or so before that, still news? Or is it all just a diversion of attention? It’s easy to get caught up in the “news of the day,” but take a few minutes to remember what was big news way back a few weeks ago. It’s still news.

Obviously the BIGGEST current news is the burgeoning war in the Mideast. Specifically the attack on Israel by Hamas and now Israel’s response. Common sense says this is going to spread with unknown consequences. Sadly, this news IS news.

One casualty of the above, and big news a few weeks ago, is the ongoing war in Ukraine. Remember Ukraine? Front page news not long ago. The war is still happening. It’s still news.

News that kind of drifts in and out (depending on Congress’s schedule) is the search for a new Speaker of the House of Representatives. Kind of a big deal since that lucky(??) person is actually third in line to be president. Without that Speaker, not much can get done legislatively. When a potential candidate is selected….news pops up. Not enough votes…..news quiets down. Rinse and repeat each time a new sucker (er, candidate) is announced.

The BIG news here? The US has a non-functioning government.

Oh, and remember the banking failures of a few months ago? Big news then, back burner now. BUT, there is still trouble in bank-land. Which news is news? The one that says all is fine, or the one that points out the same big problems. The same high interest rates are still taking a toll on banks bond holdings.

It seems the financial markets are focusing on the news (or rather potential news) of the direction of interest rates. Investors are focusing on the Fed and hoping the next big headline will be “the Fed holds rates steady and may ease.” Ah, the magic of drugs. It would be a good headline but that has as much of a chance as getting a ‘meet-up’ with Taylor Swift. (But, THAT would be news)

So, news such as expanding budget deficits, cybersecurity beaches, inverted yield curves, crypto fraud, etc. etc. (is Taylor Swift really dating Travis Kelce?) IS certainty news. But which is the most important? Simple answer? The news which you choose to really pay attention to is the most important to you.

However, many times the news that gets ignored winds up being the BIGGEST news.

Don’t ignore what’s right in front of you.