Bob Cramer's Blog

There is an old saying in business: it is all in the numbers. That couldn’t be more correct, especially today as the Federal Reserve announces how much it will raise interest rates to combat inflation. .50%, .75%, or even I dare say 1.00% will be sure to set off a flurry this afternoon with stock prices flying either higher or lower, portfolio balances gaining or dipping, and analysts gauging the impact all of this will have on company profits and P/E ratios.

Numbers are everywhere, and numbers, I suppose, tell us the score. 13 wins in a row for my Atlanta Braves, 6-0, 6-0 in tennis or a 3-2 victory in golf match play. SAT scores, streaming counts, social security numbers, they are everywhere.

Numbers also reflect time. How many hours did i sleep (7 hours, 17 minutes last night to be precise, a particularly good showing)? My son’s new album is called 5AM Paradise. I have an investment in a company called 6AM City. To make sense of all of this, it has to be 12 noon somewhere, right? Bartender, give me a double.

Right now, I am helping my daughter buy a new car. We are deep in the numbers. How much, what interest rate, how many cylinders, what is the horsepower? 0 to 60, gas mileage, warranty length, please make it stop. Makes me want to eat, but calories, fat grams, 3 cups of coffee don’t provide any escape.

The iPhone 12 doesn’t help: miles walked, heart rate, screen time, today’s date. It gets worse. Our entire digital transformation is based on, there it goes again, digits. 0’s and 1’s really make up the heart of current and future technologies. Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, all relying on numbers.

Instead of fighting the numbers barrage, I am going to embrace it. Tell me the odds, let it roll, just like at the craps table. I’ll celebrate my winnings, drown in my losses, marvel at the passing of time, but, most importantly, keep my head up no matter what is the count.