INFLATION

THAT will be handy as we try to dig out from the mess created by the libtiles...

 

Commuter rail. Less gasoline used. Lowers inflation...

[S----T----R----E----T----C----H]

 

Are you saying that elected Dems are akin to a natural disaster? If so, maybe we do need price gouging legislation for when dems are in charge.

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/17/pow...raising-rates-until-inflation-comes-down.html

Powell talks tough on rate hikes:

• Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he will back interest rate increases until prices start falling back toward a healthy level.
• “If that involves moving past broadly understood levels of neutral we won’t hesitate to do that,” the central bank leader told the Wall Street Journal

 

Many retailers aren't raking in the $$$ due to the high prices. Rather, WalMart is really taking it on the chin.

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...ofit-disappoints-on-higher-costs-but-sales-up

"Walmart reported stronger sales for the first quarter, but its profits took a beating as the nation's largest retailer grappled with surging inflation on food and fuel and higher costs from a snarled global supply chain.

And there are sobering signs that inflation may be becoming more entrenched. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, so-called core prices jumped twice as much from March to April as they did the previous month. The increases were fueled by spiking prices for airline tickets, hotel rooms and new cars. Apartment rental costs are also spiking."

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/18/weekly-mortgage-demand-from-homebuyers-tumbles-12percent.html

Mortgage demand down with the higher interest rates. We need more housing. This will not help...

"Mortgage rates actually fell slightly last week, but the damage has already been done to housing affordability. Both refinance and purchase loan demand dropped, pulling total mortgage application volume down 11% for the week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.

Mortgage applications to purchase a home declined 12% week to week and were 15% lower compared with the same week one year ago."

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/20/mortgage-demand-falls-to-nearly-half-of-what-it-was-a-year-ago.html

"Total application [for mortgages] volume fell 5% last week compared with the previous week and was nearly half of what it was one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index."

 

Target gets hammered hard by inflation losses. Guess that's what these greedy store-owning corporations deserve, huh...

Target posts a stunning drop in profit. Stock plunges | CNN Business

On edit: Target lost 1/4 of its market value today!

"The retail giant reported a stunning 52% drop in profit for the first quarter, badly missing Wall Street's forecasts. The company blamed higher expenses due to continued supply chain disruptions.

Consumers also are holding back on nonessential purchases because of rampant inflation."

(That's called "Demand Destruction.")


"Woof!! Woof!! Do I really want to look at these Quarterly numbers...???"

 

Big problems in the diesel market...

Diesel rationing could hit East Coast this summer, refinery owner says

- "Diesel prices hit a new high of $5.557 a gallon on Thursday

- Several truck stop chains and fuel providers have commented on the possibility of rationing [diesel fuel].

- The U.S. has increased diesel exports to help supply Europe with previously Russian-supplied fuel. But higher prices of diesel on the East Coast may impact how much diesel companies send to Europe, where prices are slightly lower, FreightWaves’

- Limited spare capacity in the global refining system, together with reduced exports of Russian fuel oil, diesel and naphtha have aggravated the tightness in product markets, which have now seen seven consecutive quarters of stock draws,”

 

If this starts to get really ugly, do you think we'll ever see Ration Cards on certain products? Maybe Kamala could oversee a new bureaucracy to distribute Ration Cards and determine who gets how much in Rations...?


Not to feed the conspiracy trolls, but... Could it all be part of Schwab's "Great Re-set"???

 

Chop you may be on to something there. Got me to thinking about an ‘end game’ in the sight of Dems. Something is up imo. This weekend was at Port A with family and guy in oil business feels strongly price is going to continue to rise. He anticipates could hit $150/barrel if things do not change. We took it with a grain of salt because he generally over exaggerates but then again,,,,,

 

We continue to see the signs of conservatives being right about what was going to happen with the demands to increase minimum wage to unsustainable levels. The left SWORE up one side of The Hill and down the other that it would have no impact yet the reality is that when production costs go up, those costs go up everywhere else along the process...and then when you factor in the increased costs of transportation due to the failed energy policies that leave the USA going hat in hand to other nations for more oil, costs go up further.

The left ALSO ignores the impact of their failed policies which necessarily include layoffs and hiring freezes when profits are down.

 

Markets are in free fall today. Target and WalMart’s anemic earnings freaked out quite a few of the fatter cats. And they just kept selling and selling and selling.

Well, at least we know from history that the stock market tends to do better during Democratic Presidencies. (A well documented fact). And we have over 2 years left.

 

Diesel is now up 70% year-over-year. Transportation costs sky rocket.

 

Of course, some of the long-game folks in the markets might use this time as a buying opportunity.

 

The ONLY saving grace to the botched energy policy is that my small cap gas stocks have done well...and XOM is ALSO generally doing well compared to a while back.

I have a corner of my portfolio that includes some small natural gas companies which pay monthly royalties. Higher NatGas prices are a good thing for me. I got into most of them for five bucks or less per share and yet they still pay out a buck or so each year. They owe me nothing at this point...but I still take care of them because they are soooooo good to me

I did also learn I need to check my mail AND open envelopes more frequently...one of the REITS that merged quit doing dividend reinvestment and now sends monthly checks. Fortunately, my bank will still cash checks that are six or seven months old...

 

Mike Jennings of Sinclair/Holly Energy Partners (a decent sized refiner in the Western States) said about gas price inflation:

“I don’t see any signs of it ending soon or well.”

 

Yeah, but 0.25% rate hikes guys! Maybe we get another one before the end of the year!

 

My broker and I are trying to watch for good buying opportunities - but there's no way to tell when we'll be at or near the bottom. Market timing is a very risky strategy for investors, but I'd like to think I'm throwing money into stocks somewhere near the bottom. My pension check from my company does not have a COLA provision, so it's continually losing purchasing power - thus, sooner or later, I'll have to start supplementing my income from my market holdings. Now is certainly not a good time to be selling to generate income.

 

Worst days for Wal-Mart and Target since 1987.

Walmart sounds the inflation alarm, and its stock tumbles - CNN

Target posts a stunning drop in profit. Stock plunges | CNN Business

 

Impossible. I keep seeing #BidenBoom all the time on Twitter.

 

Well, like I said in another thread, Biden's hard-work and intelligent planning have brought the markets a "much-needed correction..." (as Joe and his spin-doctors pat themselves on the back...)

...........................................

 

Just as a reminder...implosions ALSO come with a boom. Of course, you are left with a pile of rubble, which is roughly where we are with the economy under this regime.

 

Considering only the Domestic Economy:

Compare Now to the late 1970s (at the worst spot of the Jimmy Carter era).

Are we worse off now, or in the late 1970s?


(I put in my vote for worse off in the late 1970s)

 

Jimmy Carter set a high bar for Biden to reach.
















when it comes to the inflation rate, that is...

 

From the Biden Administration (not really...): Consider this extra high commodities markets inflation to be a sort of benevolent gift to the Third World--much of which relies on commodities exports to support their economies. It's a form of foreign aid to the Third World. They should be thanking Joe.