Tuesday Morning News And Links; Housing Starts Miss Expectations (But Not By Much)

My site has been "taken over" by someone redirecting "milliondollarway.com" to spam. I first became aware of it about 6:00 a.m., June 18, 2013. I will let it play out several days, but if by the end of the week, it is not fixed, I will end the blog. It's been a good run.

Active rigs: 182 (decreasing)

RBN Energy: Natural gas storage by region, first in a series.

****************************

Regular readers of the blog know that the "job watch" numbers coming from the government are bogus and the spin from the mainstream media is incredible.

It is now interesting to watch the mainstream media regarding housing starts. Today, Reuters reports that housing starts miss expectations but "overall tone upbeat." Incredible. Simply incredible. But just as interesting, in the big scheme of things, housing did not miss by much:

Housing starts rose less than expected in May, likely reflecting labor and material constraints, but the overall trend remained consistent with strength in the housing market.

Though permits for future home construction fell, that followed a surge in April, which hoisted them above the 1 million-unit mark. The pullback last month reflected a drop in the volatile multi-family sector, but permits for single-family construction touched their highest level in five years.

The Commerce Department said on Tuesday housing starts rose 6.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 914,000 units. April's starts were revised up to show a 856,000-unit pace instead of the previously reported 853,000 units.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected groundbreaking to rise to a 950,000-unit rate last month.

****************************

Too much ink: I honestly don't get it. CNBC and a few others seem to be fixated on a car company that has delivered -- has it delivered any cars? -- Tesla. Now, yet another story. Tesla wants to see directly to the consumer, not through dealers. But apparently there are laws about that. Yahoo!News is reporting:

Mr. Musk, the billionaire behind PayPal and now Tesla Motors Inc., wants to sell his $70,000 Tesla electric luxury vehicles directly to consumers, bypassing franchised automobile dealers. Dealers are flexing their considerable muscle in states including Texas and Virginia to stop him.

The focus of the power struggle between Mr. Musk and auto dealers is a thicket of state franchise laws, many of which go back to the auto industry's earliest days when industry pioneer Henry Ford began turning to eager entrepreneurs to help sell his Model T.

Dealers say laws passed over the decades to prevent car makers from selling directly to consumers are justified because without them auto makers could use their economic clout to sell vehicles for less than their independent franchisees. Dealers say Tesla's direct sales violate those laws. These franchise laws have insulated car dealers from much of the e-commerce revolution that has hammered other sectors from books to electronics.

On this one: I agree with Tesla 100%. Maybe that's how EVs will finally get a toehold in this country.

***************************

All you have to do is look at the number of times the IRS commissioner visited the White House last year to tell the story.

CNN is reporting:

Last month only 37% of the public thought that the IRS controversy led to the White House, with 55% saying that agency officials acted on their own without direct orders from Washington. Now the number who say the White House directed that IRS program has increased 10 points, to 47%, virtually the same as the 49% who believe the IRS agents acted on their own.