Notes From All Over -- Part 2 -- The Recovery -- October 25, 2020

US auto sales show signs of recovery: link here.

New auto sales fall 16.3% through third quarter. Link here.

GDP 35% growth in 3Q20? https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/10/23/trump-predicts-35-growth-in-q3-were-coming-back-stronger/.

GDP Now estimate for 3Q20: concurs with link above. Graphic pending. Will be released October 29, 2020, just before the election (though by then most of the dead will have already mailed in their ballots, along with felons, and those looking to vote more than once). 

Recessions are a good thing:

European trucking: link here.

Later, October 26, 2020: trucking provides rare boost to Europe oil demand. Link at Bloomberg via Rigzone:

Europe may still be mired in a deep economic slump, but the region’s truck drivers are hauling bumper volumes of goods across the continent as online shopping surges, offering a rare boost to oil demand.

Girteka Logistics, owner of Europe’s largest fleet of trucks, said it will deliver about 800,000 full loads this year, up about 10% on 2019. The company has more than 7,000 vehicles, moving everything from ice cream to electronics.

The freight surge is being driven by a boom in e-commerce during the coronavirus outbreak, said Kristian Kaas Mortensen, director of strategic partnerships at Girteka. While individuals have had their movement limited by virus restrictions, the Vilnius, Lithuania-based firm has been hauling bumper volumes of consumer goods, food and pharmaceuticals, often for home consumption.

“The money that is not going to Spain on vacation, or on a business trip, is going to another spending,” said Mortensen. “That happens to be a spending that benefits the transport patterns we are operating in.”

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Off The Net

And with that, I'm outta here. Some shopping. Sunday is my only free day to go shopping. Then some reading. NASCAR. Football. Busy, busy, busy day. 

NASCAR: later this afternoon. Link here.  

Just to be clear: I am blown away by Apple TV+. I can watch NFL games I would otherwise not see. This $4.99 / month purchase will lead to a $1600-retina-27-inch-iMac. 

How 'bout them Cowboys? At the half, 22- 3, losing to the Washington No-Names. Ezekiel ("Pat, I'd like to buy an 'e'") Elliott, 45 yards on 11 carries. Dalton taken out after a "thuggish" hit.

Human behavior: this is not rocket science. 

Even the Dallas-WNN play callers are noting that, for the most part, the Cowboys defense is pretty much "just standing around." Think about it. This is not rocket science.

Like every other NFL player, every Cowboy player is haunted by Covid-19.

On top of that, every Cowboy player has seen how their "queen bee" can be injured in a split second, and not just an injuy that takes their quarterback out for a game or two, but for the entire season. It's very possibly a career-ending injury. The Cowboys were not doing well when they had their star quarterback. Every Cowboy now knows that this season is over. Way over. If you were a Cowboy player, would you play 110% risking a career-ending injury? The Cowboys are simply going to phone it in for the rest of the season. They're not going to win one for the gipper.

The worst case scenario for any Cowboys player? Being traded at the end of the season. My hunch: most are hoping.