Notes From All Over -- Part 4 -- The JOLTS Update Edition -- October 8, 2021

JOLTS:

Yesterday I asked readers if anyone had seen a JOLTS graphic more than a year old. No reply.

Today, CNBC provided a graph. I did not catch the source.

Re-posting with the CNBC data:

Request for help from readers: JOLTS -- numbers below in 1,000's (so 12,000 is twelve million)

2021, the year after the year of the plague; JOLTS went almost straight up month over month so that it ended at/near 12,000 in September 2021

• in round numbers, it appears JOLTS runs about 4,500 - 5,000 / month
• in round numbers, it appears JOLTS was 7,500 in 2019, just before the pandemic year of 2020
• huge drop in JOLTs during the year of the pandemic

• JOLTS has been around for at least a couple of decades, I do believe, but even wiki does not have a page on JOLTs, which is surprising since wiki seems to have a page on almost everything else
• I am unable to find a graph going back more than two years regarding JOLTS
• JOLTs seems to have become a thing only beginning in calendar year during the year of the plague, 2020, and especially now, coming out of the pandemic
• Later, October 8, 2021: CNBC showed the JOLTS graph going back to 2005
• in round numbers, it appears JOLTS historically runs about 4,500 - 5,000 / month
• in round numbers, it appears JOLTS was 7,500 in 2019, just before the pandemic year of 2020
• huge drop in JOLTs during the year of the pandemic
• 2021, the year after the year of the plague; JOLTS went almost straight up month over month so that it ended at/near 12,000 in September 2021 

Local job market:

• rode my bike long distance today, visiting all the sites I used to visit pre-Covid
• "my old" bike shop had closed; the owner retired during the year of the plague; couldn't get enough bike inventory to stay in business; the building is now a gold and silver store; my hunch: it won't make it either; we mentioned that briefly yesterday: gold and silver bullion is so yesterday; the new hedge: "bitcoin," a metonym for cryptocurrency
• stopped at Grapevine, TX, new train station food hall; this was huge; incredible; much, much nicer than Faneuil in Boston; (and much nicer prices); it's going to be a huge threat to Grapevine's Main Street; the food hall's problem: too busy and not enough staff to manage the volume of customers, especially on the weekend
• Stacey Furniture: which we should call our second home; had a pretty good year last year;

Market:

• stock-pickers' market
  
• I would love to give examples, but this is not an investment site

Duolingo: I did not know Duolingo was a publicly traded company, ticker symbol, DUOL. Today:

• gained $9.61 / share; up 6 percent; trading at $166/share;
• market cap: $ 6 billion
• P/E: N/A
• EPS: -$2.06

Advice:

• earlier this month / last month, among the energy stocky, a "trusted" advisor strongly advised against one energy company: Phillips 66 (PSX)
• today, CNBC noted that "all" of the energy companies had a great month, but the company that led the list was PSX with a 13% gain in one month
• in addition, PSX announced a dividend increase;
• new quarterly dividend:  92 cents; record date expected to be about November 18, 2021;
  
• first increase since 5/17/19 -- ten quarters at 90 cents;
  
• so, there you have it;
• I'm glad I did not act on that "advice" from the "trusted" advisor.

Spotlight corner: Gabrielle Miller. Wiki entry.

Gabrielle Sunshine Miller (born November 9, 1973) is a Canadian actress who, since the start of her career in 1993, has appeared in hundreds of television films and series episodes, including leading roles in two of Canada's most popular concurrently-running series, the sitcom Corner Gas (2004–09) and the comedy-drama Robson Arms (2005–08). 

She was also a regular or semi-regular on the TV series Pasadena (2002), Alienated (2003–04), Call Me Fitz (2012–13), Mother Up! (2013) and Good Witch (2015–16). 

Miller also had a recurring role on the television series Alienated during 2004, giving her the rare distinction of starring in three ongoing series during the same calendar year. 

She was a cast member of the Canadian television series Corner Gas, for which she won a shared Gemini Awards for Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series in 2007[2] and two Leo Awards for Best Performance or Host in a Music, Comedy, or Variety Program or Series (2005 and 2006). 

She is also featured in the CTV series Robson Arms for which she won another Leo Award for Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series in 2007.