Soy In, Corn Out -- Well Not Quite -- 89 / 88 -- March 29, 2018

Pardon the interruption: before we get to what I was going to post first, this weather advisory -- global warming hits North Dakota on Easter:

See first comment which has this link: http://www.cmegroup.com/education/featured-reports/crude-oils-next-move-clues-from-soybean-oil.html.

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

The Agriculture Page

From The Bismarck Tribune:

Corn has been dethroned as the king of crops as farmers reported Thursday they intend to plant more soybeans than corn for the first time in 35 years.

Profitability is the primary reason farmers indicate they intend to plant 89 million acres in soybeans and 88 million acres in corn.

Corn costs much more to plant because of required demands for pest and disease control and fertilizer. When the profitability of both crops is close, farmers bet on soybeans for a better return, said Chad Hart, an agriculture economist at Iowa State University.

Soybeans cost about 60 to 70 percent as much as corn to plant.

************************************ 

Tesla Recall

I was posting all this "stuff" on an earlier post but it was getting too crowded. Instead of posting this additional note at that post, I will post it here.

This is not the way to treat your investors. 

From The Street:

Shares of Tesla fell sharply in after-hours trading Thursday after the company said it is voluntarily recalling Model S vehicles built before April 2016 to fix a power steering component.

The stock fell $9.63 to $256.60 in late trading, undoing gains made during the regular session.

Year to date, shares are up about 10%.The company said in a statement that there have been cases of excess corrosion in the power steering bolts in cold climates where calcium or magnesium road salts are used instead of sodium chloride. It said it is fixing the bolts in all affected cars in the event that the vehicles are ever used in cold climates.

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

Shorts: WSJ. The Journal apparently updates this data twice/month.


A reader suggested I start following the statistics:

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

Porsche EV

There is another option for EV enthusiasts ... range over 300 miles ... can get 80% charge in 15 minutes:


And posted on YouTube earlier today: