Notes From All Over -- Part 2 -- The Pre-Market Edition -- WTI Surges: Up $2.72 -- May 13, 2022

Wow, wow, wow: dividend increases — to be reported later. On the iPad on which it is difficult to post. All I can say now is that I can afford to buy new shoes for Sophia.

Wow, wow, wow: WTI surging? What happened?

• Brent: up 2.35% up $2.52; trading at $110.00
• WTI: up 2.56% up $2.72; trading at $108.80; trending higher.
• some shale companies say they break even at $30-somehthing oil
  

Smart retail operators would be wise to starting increasing the price of gasoline now.

• the Pelosi bill moves along in Congress; will make is easier for the president to "freeze" prices
• need to get higher prices on the signs now
• you know, retail operators could do something hotels/motels figured out a long, long time ago
• hotels/motels post a "standard" rate for the room on the inside of their doors (they did this years ago; I don't know if they still do this)
• the rate was excessively high but it was the "bar"
• the hotels/motels always charged a much lower price for the room
• but it allowed them legal wiggle room to raise prices when demand was high and minimize lawsuits, or at least successful lawsuits
  
• retail gasoline service stations need to do that now: post the "standard" price, say, $25 / gallon but then offer a $20-discount on all purchases made on credit; and a $21-discount on cash purchases.
• the service stations would adjust the discount as needed
• think of the passing motorist, seeing a discount of $20 on the marquee
• wow, I would love to buy gasoline at a $20-discount
• I doubt there's any law out there saying retail gasoline can't be sold at a discount.
  

Google:

• can gasoline be sold at a discount?
• yes. Link here.

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All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them.

Pre-market:

• WTI: $108.90 -- could we see $112 by May 31, 2022?
  
• RIVN: up 7%, after being up 39% or something like that yesterday;
• GM: up 1.66%; flat yesterday after a try at a surge earlier in the day;
• F: up 3.14%; flat yesterday -- well, up slightly -- after a try at a surge earlier in the day
• did the market hit a bottom; 

For the Geico Rock community:

• European oil majors are banking huge trading profits; link to Tsvetana Paraskova.

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The Car Page

Peak profits. Link here.

• think about this headline for a few minutes; see if you can see multiple story lines;
• the headline: Wells Fargo double downgrades Ford and GM; says 2022 -- that would be this year -- could be "peak profits" for "legacy" automakers.
• Toyota: cuts North American output for the month of May by 30,000 autos; link here.
• Japanese automaker Toyota will reduce its North American production by 30,000 vehicles in May, adding to prior cuts as the company struggles with semiconductor-related parts shortages across its operations.
• Daimler Truck Group: okay, it's a truck, not a car: I was told last night that my son-in-law is getting overtime at the Portland truck factory; the are behind on orders and working to catch up 
  

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The Apple Page

Dead. Gone. The 3.5 mm headphone jack. Good riddance. Link here.

• Google kills the headphone jack in latest Pixel 6A just months after parodying Apple for doing same thing
• Apple used to copy everyone else -- or so said the detractors;
• now, everyone is copying Apple

Five things you can't do with an Apple MacBook Pro: link here.

• you can't predict the idiotic energy decisions being made by the current administration
• you can't forecast the price of Rivian stock
• you can't open the laptop with a Phillips screwdriver to add more memory
• you can't use it while swimming underwater (don't take that out of context; there are exceptions)
• you can't fax a six-pack of beer