
America’s ERP, Korea & Its Stock Market
On the auspicious date of Friday the 13th of December 2024, I published “4 Stock Market Perspectives”. Readers are thanked for their comments. Today, let’s add to that discussion.
David Kotok offers insights and analysis on current economic and political issues and their potential impact on global financial markets. David’s articles and financial market commentaries have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and other publications. He is a frequent contributor to Bloomberg TV, and Bloomberg Radio, Fox Business, and other media.

On the auspicious date of Friday the 13th of December 2024, I published “4 Stock Market Perspectives”. Readers are thanked for their comments. Today, let’s add to that discussion.

Let’s start the new year with an update and a math correction. But first, please remember that this commentary is released for a Sunday publication date on the Thursday before the Friday start of the new 119th House organization for the new Congress.

I wish all readers a healthy and happy new year. Let’s get to a very specific item that may impact every one of us in 2025.
President-elect Trump has proposed former New York congressman Lee Zeldin to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

First, I want to wish all readers the very best and safest holiday celebrations. Our Congress celebrated, too, by giving the United States an added cost of about $50 billion a year in the nation’s interest rate burden.

Assad and company are now with his sponsor, asylum granting Putin (nickname is Putler), in Moscow.

“Would A Recession Blindside The Market?” is the title of Doug Ramsey’s December 6th Advisor Newsletter.

On the day after the election, Kathleen Hays was kind enough to invite me to interview with my initial thoughts about the election outcome as we knew it to be then. I subsequently published a transcript of the interview and the link to Kathleen’s Substack.

We wish all readers a safe and successful Thanksgiving weekend. We’re about to enter the ‘’lame duck” congressional session. Will we have 3 weeks of chaos or clarity?

On Sunday, October 27, 2024, I cited the evolution of history in the WW2 era, in the 1930s and the 1940s, and got a lot of responses (“A History Lesson?” https://kotokreport.com/a-history-lesson/). We thank readers for those responses.
One astute reader had a sensible question about my October 27th missive. He asked, how could Stalin’s divisions that he sent into Germany have been combat-trained against the Japanese when the dates don’t work?

Financial market agents are paying close attention to the coming reorganization of the new Congress – for good reason. Changes are coming and they may be big.

Kathleen Hays of Central Bank Central was kind enough to ask for my initial response to the election. Here’s the interview (edited for readability) which was recorded the day after Election Day.

“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” the 78-year-old president-elect said to a roaring crowd of supporters.