The Daily Feather — Let’s Get Ready to Rumble

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WELCOME TO THE MAIN EVENT OF THE CENTURY, LIVE FROM THE EMERALD CITY GARDEN! In the blue corner, introducing the ultimate underdogs! Hailing from Kansas by way of a Category 5 tornado, she’s the farm-girl phenom packing a mean right hook and a killer pair of slippers, DOROTHY GALE! Flanking her is the intellectual strategist who doesn’t even need a brain to out-box you, THE SCARECROW! Next up, standing six-foot-six of pure, unadulterated polished steel, the heavy-hitting heartthrob, THE TIN MAN! And rounding out the squad, the king of the jungle himself, hoping his bite is bigger than his roar, THE COWARDLY LION! And in the red corner, hiding behind the curtain, reigning all the way from Omaha, Nebraska! The undisputed master of pyrotechnics, the emperor of smoke and mirrors, the big head with the bigger mouth…THE GREAT AND POWERFUL WIZARD OF OZ! Four travelers looking for what they’ve had all along versus one conman with a microphone and a giant green screen! Will virtue prevail, or will the spectacle reign supreme? LET’S GET READY TO RUUUUUMBLLLLLE!

In general, contests of four versus one would seem to stack the odds in favor of the foursome. The August economic calendar has brought us to such a yellow-brick crossroads. Conflicting signals are emanating from the U.S. service sector. S&P Global’s alleged improvement in business activity runs in direct opposition to the reported statistics care of the four Federal Reserve District Banks of Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Richmond.