Evening Wrap -- Nothing About The Bakken -- September 12, 2018

Doubling down. I have to laugh. Going into today's Apple presentation, "everybody" said Apple had to "come down on their prices." So, what did Apple do? Raised prices significantly. Sure, they brought in a lower-priced phone .... at $749 ... but the top end is pushing $1,500. But these phones are heavily subsidized by the carriers. And, yes, folks will trade up.  Bottom line: bigger, pricier phones. What a great country. And now, get this: one phone -- two telephone lines. Wow. I did not see that one coming -- and apparently neither did anyone else. Politicians with mistresses are going to love that feature.

Can Americans afford these expensive phones? You decide. From The Washington Post, "middle-class income rose above $61,000 for the first time every," according to Trump's census bureau.

Hurricane Florence: speaking of Trump, apparently the president called Mother Nature, threatened the old lady with sanctions if she didn't moderate the storm. Mother Nature blinked. The hurricane has been downgraded from Category 4 to Category 3 -- and hasn't even hit landfall yet. Can't make this stuff up.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.

UNP: thank goodness for "my" readers. I would have missed this story. Union Pacific's dividend has been raised three times in the last year and the payout ratio is still very low. I was not paying attention. I did not know that. I've been accumulating UNP for the past eighteen months or so. Completely unaware about the dividend story. Better lucky than smart, my dad always used to say. My dad was both smart and lucky.

One of my mom's favorite singers:

A Statue of a Fool, RVS
Jamie Dimon's salary: in 2017, total compensation, $29.5 million, let's call it $30 million. Meanwhile, in Chicago, it looks like the city is one step closer to doling out $6 million / year to give 1,000 families $500/month -- a proof-of-concept to see if this will end poverty as we know it in our lifetime. Or proof-of-concept to see if it will get Rahm Emanuel the Democratic nomination for president to run against the Donald in 2020. I know the first thing a Chicagoan would buy if given $500 -- a gun to protect himself/herself. Then a deep dish pizza at Tano's Pizzeria.