Thursday, June 1, 2023

AAPL Appears To Have Hit A 52-Week High Today — June 1, 2023

Locator: 44825AAPL.

Quietly And Without Any Fanfare Schumer Gets It Done -- June 1, 2023

Locator: 44824DEBT. 

Can't wait to read the details tomorrow morning. Good luck to all.

Apparently the pipeline issue is resolved.

My wife will get her social security check. 

Recession "Imminent" -- Bank Of Trump? June 1, 2023

Locator: 44823ECON.

We will end on a positive note for tonight. 

Can't help myself. LOL.

Link here.

Screenshot for what it's worth:

Biden Not Getting The Credit He Deserves For IRA -- June 1, 2023

Locator: 44822EVS.

I remember posting a note on the big "bills" Joe Biden backed and got passed last year. On the blog, search: IRA Biden.

Here's one: BiMAGA. [Biden making American great again.] -- climate, health, tax reform. 

Don't take this out of context. It doesn't mean I support everything his administration is doing but there's a lot more getting done than some folks are reporting.

Not a day goes by but I can find another story where a company -- often a foreign company -- announces a major new product and says it was the IRA that helped them make decision.

US investors are taking a big risk if they forget about the IRA of 2022.

Exhibit A.


From the linked article:
Toyota will invest another $2.1 billion in an electric and hybrid vehicle battery factory that's under construction near Greensboro, North Carolina.
The plant will supply batteries to Toyota's huge complex in Georgetown, Kentucky, which will build Toyota's first U.S.-made electric vehicle, a new SUV with three rows of seats.

The plans, announced Wednesday, won't immediately create any more jobs at either the Kentucky or North Carolina factories. Susan Elkington, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, said the new vehicle reflects the company's "journey toward an electrified future.”

Toyota will tap into a “growing market segment” with its new three-row SUV, Elkington said. She sidestepped media questions Wednesday regarding specific details of the new vehicle, saying: “I know everybody really wants to know about the vehicle, but today’s announcement is really about our manufacturing location.”

Toyota plans to employ 2,100 workers at the North Carolina battery factory, which will start production in 2025. The investment will prepare infrastructure for expansion. It brings the total investment in the Randolph County plant to $5.9 billion to meet the company's goal of selling 1.8 million electric or hybrid vehicles in the U.S by 2030. Toyota broke ground to begin building the plant in 2021.

The 9 million-square-foot Kentucky complex now employs 9,500 people who make the Camry sedan, RAV4 Hybrid SUV, several engines and other components. The company says jobs will shift to the new electric vehicle when production starts in 2025.

Much more at the linked article. 

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.

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

Again, all my posts are done quickly. There will be typographical and content errors in all my posts. If any of my posts are important to you, go to the source.

Wow, Did Anyone Else Miss This? Holy Mackerel -- Wasn't Rivian Like #2 After Tesla? June 1, 2023

Locator: 44821EVS.  

EV scorecard here.

Link here: the Rivian story today.

This was absolutely predictable once it was clear interest rates were headed higher and Ford's announcement that EVs won't reach parity with ICEs until at least 2030. 

  • RIDE: down 4.4% today on a huge day for the market on the upside.
  • ARVL: down 0.85.
  • LCID: down 16%.
  • GOEV: down 1.4%.
  • FSR: down 2.2%.
  • Polestar: down 3.7%.
  • TSLA: UP 1.8%.
  • RACE: UP 2.24%.

The chart, max:

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.

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

Again, all my posts are done quickly. There will be typographical and content errors in all my posts. If any of my posts are important to you, go to the source.

Seriously, Does This Look Like We're In A Recession? June 1, 2023

Locator: 44820INV.
Locator: 44816INV.

Updates

June 1, 2023: does this look like we're in a recession? Futures mean "squat," but having said that, futures remain green tonight.

June 1, 2023: released today, GDPNow. A higher reading than the previous one in late May (May 26, 2023).

June 1, 2023: From twitter:

-- and from earlier today --

Original Post 

Wow, wow, wow, I just looked at the market. I have not been following it closely for the past several weeks -- folks know why -- except for tech -- folks know why. [Or, IYKYK.]

The common theme for the six weeks: a handful of companies / tickers are accounting for the incredible gains; without these few companies -- two, four, six, eight -- who do we appreciate -- the market would be a shambles.

Wow, wow, wow: everybody has been concerned about that -- apparently "everybody" wasn't looking at the opportunities, and why there might only be a handful of companies -- two, four, six, eight -- who do we appreciate -- surging. 

I'll get back to this later, but there's too much going on that needs to be read, linked, studied, etc. 

By the way, does this look like an impending recession, or does it even look like we are in a recession now, as Charlie Munger says we are?


Highest since August, 2022? This is now June -- that's almost one full year ago and all I've heard from talking heads over at CNBC is "recession, recession, recession." Okay.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.

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

Again, all my posts are done quickly. There will be typographical and content errors in all my posts. If any of my posts are important to you, go to the source.

Thursday Night On A Very, Very, Busy, Busy Day -- June 1, 2023

Locator: 44819ARCH.
Locator: 44819INV.

NBA: game one of best of seven. 

US Senate: to vote "within hours." If before midnight, one comment -- "wow, that was fast!" 

Market: futures remain green. 

MDU: completes Knife River spin-off. A reader told me Knife River was valued at 20% of MDU. When the spin-off was completed, MDU shares dropped 30%.

**************************
Investing

A reader sent me this link.

My not-ready-for-prime-time reply:

Cramer wears two hats:

  • sometimes, a short-term trader;
  • other times, he's a long-term investor.
In this one, I don't know which he is.

For a rolling-30-year horizon investor, which of the seven would I not invest in?

Cramer's seven:
  • AAPL
  • MSFT
  • NVDA
  • AMZN
  • META
  • TSLA
  • GOOG
By elimination:
  • If I had to eliminate one, first to go: AMZN.
  • If I had to eliminate two, add META.
  • If I had to eliminate three, add GOOG.
And that's it, I wouldn't eliminate any of the others.

Current favorite:  AAPL, but so overweight, hard to add more. I will add more on significant pull-backs.

My next position:  TSLA. I don't think people know NOW how things have changed. I can't build this position fast enough on pullbacks.

Favorite after AAPL but already have a position: MSFT. Probably the best of the seven.

I'll post this for the archives.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.

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

Again, all my posts are done quickly. There will be typographical and content errors in all my posts. If any of my posts are important to you, go to the source.

One Question: Who Was The Lone Wolf? June 1, 2023

Locator: 44818SCOTUS.

Link here.

From the linked article:

In a lone dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the decision would "erode the right to strike" and undermine the National Labor Relations Board's oversight of workplace law.

Talk about convoluted reasoning. And obviously ....

Next question ... what about DAPL protests that destroyed property? Or was that already resolved? I have no idea ... but ...

Weekly EIA Petroleum Report And Gasoline Demand -- June 1, 2023

Locator: 44817EIA.

Weekly EIA petroleum report, link here:

  • US crude oil in commercial storage increased by 4.5 million bbls; at 459.7 million bbls, commercial storage is a whopping 2% below the five-year average;
  • imports averaged a pretty healthy 7.2 million bopd, increasing by 1.367 million bopd; the four-week average tends to rn about 6.4 million bopd.
  • refiners are operating at a very healthy 93.1% of their operable capacity;
  • distillate fuel inventories increased by 1.0 million bbls but are still 18% below the five-year average;
  • propane in storage is a whopping 33% above the five-year average;
  • jet fuel supplied was up 3% y/y.

Gasoline demand, link here:

Investing For A Recession -- June 1, 2023

Locator: 44816INV.

Updates

June 1, 2023: does this look like we're in a recession? From twitter:

-- and from earlier today --

Original Post 

Wow, wow, wow, I just looked at the market. I have not been following it closely for the past several weeks -- folks know why -- except for tech -- folks know why.

The common theme for the six weeks: a handful of companies / tickers are accounting for the incredible gains; without these few companies -- two, four, six, eight -- who do we appreciate -- the market would be a shambles.

Wow, wow, wow: everybody has been concerned about that -- apparently "everybody" wasn't looking at the opportunities, and why there might only be a handful of companies -- two, four, six, eight -- who do we appreciate -- surging. 

I'll get back to this later, but there's too much going on that needs to be read, linked, studied, etc. 

By the way, does this look like an impending recession, or does it even look like we are in a recession now, as Charlie Munger says we are?


 
Highest since August, 2022? This is now June -- that's almost one full year ago and all I've heard from talking heads over at CNBC is "recession, recession, recession." Okay.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.

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

Again, all my posts are done quickly. There will be typographical and content errors in all my posts. If any of my posts are important to you, go to the source.

Busy, Busy, Busy -- June 1, 2023

Locator: 44815B.

Happy Pride Month

Diesel prices: even my wife was amazed how low diesel prices are here in north Texas -- almost at parity with gasoline.

In our neighborhood, gasoline is now below $3.00 / gallon again. Will Biden get any credit for gasoline prices dropping just before driving season gets into full swing?
All things being equal low price of crude oil and gasoline should constrain inflation, something "everyone" seems to want.

Market today:

No default! Wow, that was well played. There will be no default. The only question is whether wwe get a "90-day billl" oor a "two-year bill"?

If I were a US Senator, not up for re-election in 2024, I would want a "90-day bill." Two-thirds of US senators are not up for re-election in 2024.

**********************
Back to the Bakken

Active rigs: 36.

WTI: $70.18.

Natural gas: $2.162.

Six new permits, #39931 - #39936, inclusive:

  • Operator: Hess
  • Field: Alger (Mountrail)
  • Comments:
    • Hess has permits for three RS-Juma wells and three RS-Feldman wellls, NENW, section 14-156-92; 
      • to be sited 397 FNL and between 1461 FWL and 1626 FWL. 

Two permits renewed

  • 34984, Liberty Resources, Sundhagen,
  • 37593, Hess, AN-Lone Tree;

Quiz: Let's See How Much Readers Know About The Bakken -- June 1, 2023

Locator: 44815B.

I have so much fun solving "mysteries" in the Bakken.

CLR has two cases of interest in the June, 2023, NDIC hearing dockets. In one case, CRL will be drilling five wells in a 1600-acre stand-up unit. The question ("mystery") is this: will the laterals up/down the east half of the drilling unit, or the west half?

See if you can solve the "mystery." The case is summarized below and can be found here:

  • 30154, CLR, Catwalk and/or Last Chance-Bakken, amend, i) establish an overlapping 640-acre unit, S/2 of sections 4/5-153-100; three wells; ii) establish an overlapping 1600-acre unit, sections 28/33-154-100 and N/2 of section 4-153-100, five wells; iii) establish an overlapping 1600-acre unit, sections 29/32-154-100 and N/2 of section 5-153-100; six wells; iv) establish an overlapping 1920-acre unit, S/2 of sections 4/5 and all of sections 8/9-153-100, one well; Williams and McKenzie counties.

It does not matter at all, one way or the other, and I might be wrong, but I love it when I find these little questions / "mysteries" in the Bakken.

NDIC Hearing Dockets -- June, 2023

Locator: 44814B.

Link here. Won't load on Firefox. Use Safari or some other browser.

The NDIC hearing dockets are tracked here.  

The usual disclaimer applies. As usual this is done very quickly and using shorthand for my benefit. There will be factual and typographical errors on this page. Do not quote me on any of this. It's for my personal use to help me better understand the Bakken. Do not read it. If you do happen to read it, do not make any investment, financial, job, relationship, or travel plans based on anything you read here or think you may have read here. If this stuff is important to you, and I doubt that it is, but if it is, go to the source.

Reminder: these are cases, not permits.

Wednesday
June 14, 2023
One Case

One continuation case: #28637.

Tuesday
June 20, 2023
Four continued cases.

Four continuation cases: #30116 - #30119.

Wednesday
June 28, 2023
Eleven pages.

The cases:

  • 30126, MRO, Murphy Creek-Bakken, i) terminate an overlapping 2560-acre unit; and, ii) establish an overlapping 3840-acre unit, sections 22/23/26/27/34/35-145-96; one well; Dunn County.
  • 30127, MRO, Killdeer-Bakken, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit, sections 1/12-145-95 and sections 6/7-145-94; one well; Dunn County.
  • 30128, Hess, Wheelock-Bakken, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit; sections 5/6/7/8-156-98; one well, Williams County.
  • 30129, Neptune Operating, Ft Buford, Buford and/or Briar Creek-Bakken, establish an overlapping standup 1920-acre spacing unit, sections 4/9/16-152-104, four wells; Williams County.
  • 30130, Kraken, Hebron-Bakken, lengthy; four wells; Willliams County.
  • 30131, BR, amend, Charlson-Bakken, Hawkeye-Bakken, and/or Antelope-Sanish to establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit; sections 35/36-153-95 and the W/2W/2 of section 3, all of sectioon 4, and thteh E/2 and E/2W/2 of section 5-152-95; one well; McKenzie County.
  • 30132, Phoenix Operating, Berg and/or Green Lake-Bakken, amend, to establish an oveerlapping 1920-acre unit, sections 5/6-159-99 and section 1-159-100W, four wells, Williams County.
  • 30133, Hess, pooling
  • 30134, Hess, Juniper-Bakken, 7 wells on a 1280-acre unit, sections 25/36-149-99, McKenzie County;
  • 30135, Hess, commingling,
  • 30136, Hess, commingling,
  • 30137, Hess, commingling,
  • 30138, Hess, commingling,
  • 30139, Hess, commingling,
  • 30140, Hess, commingling,
  • 30141, BR, pooling
  • 30142, BR, commingling,
  • 30143, MRO, commingling,
  • 30144, MRO, commingling,
  • 30145, MRO, commingling,
  • 30146, Cornerstone, SWD

Thursday
June 29, 2023
Seventeen pages.

The cases:

  • 30147, NDIC, CO2 storage, 9/10/11/12/13/14/15/22/23-139-92; Stark County;
  • 30148, NDIC, CO2 storage, 26 sections in Oliver County
  • 30149, NDIC, CO2 storage, 40 sections in Oliver County
  • 30150, NDIC, CO2 storage, 32 sections in Mercer County
  • 30151, NDIC, CO2 storage, 11 sections in McLean County
  • 30152, White Rock, temporary spacing, #11841, Grassy Butte well; section 21-146-99, McKenzie County;
  • 30153, Crescent Point Energy, Little Muddy-Bakken, amend; i) six overlapping 1920-acre units; four wells on each overlapping unit; 24 wells; four overlapping 3840-acre units, one well along the section lines; Williams County; see this post.
  • 30154, CLR, Catwalk and/or Last Chance-Bakken, amend, i) establish an overlapping 640-acre unit, S/2 of sections 4/5-153-100; three wells; ii) establish an overlapping 1600-acre unit, sections 28/33-154-100 and N/2 of section 4-153-100, five wells; iii) establish an overlapping 1600-acre unit, sections 29/32-154-100 and N/2 of section 5-153-100; six wells; iv) establish an overlapping 1920-acre unit, S/2 of sections 4/5 and all of sections 8/9-153-100, one well; Williams and McKenzie counties. See this post.
  • 30155, CLR, Last Chance-Bakken, amend, i) establish an overlapping 1600-acre unit, sections 28/33-154-100 and the N/2 of section 4-153-100; one well; ii) one well on an existing 1280-acre unit, sections 27/34-154-100; Williams. 
  • 30156, CLR, Little Knife, open receptacle, Dunn County.
  • 30157, CLR, Rattlesnake Point, open receptacle; Dunn County;
  • 30158, CLR, Little Knife, open receptacle; Dunn County;
  • 30159, Liberty Resources, Temple-Bakken; establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit, sections 25/36-159-96 and sections 1/12-158-96; four wells; Williams County.
  • 30160, Liberty Resources, Gros Ventre and/or Cottonowood-Bakken; establish two overlapping 1920-acre units, 1/12/13 and sections 24/25/36-159-93; eight wells; Burke County.
  • 30161, EOG, Alger-Bakken, existing 2560-acre unit; sections 33/34-157-92 and sections 5/6-156-92; two wells; Mountrail County.
  • 30162, KODA Resources, pooling,
  • 30163, KODA Resources, pooling,
  • 30164, KODA Resources, pooling,
  • 30165, KODA Resources, pooling,
  • 30166, KODA Resources, pooling,
  • 30167, KODA Resources, pooling,
  • 30168, KODA Resources, pooling,
  • 30169, Hunt, pooling,
  • 30170, Hunt, pooling,
  • 30171, Hunt, pooling,
  • 30172, Hunt, pooling,
  • 30173, Hunt, pooling,
  • 30174, EOG, pooling,
  • 30175, EOG, pooling,
  • 30176, EOG, commingling,
  • 30177, Slawson, pooling,
  • 30178, Slawson, pooling,
  • 30179, Slawson, commingling,
  • 30180, CLR, pooling,
  • 30181, CLR, pooling,
  • 30182, CLR, pooling,
  • 30183, CLR, pooling,
  • 30184, CLR, commingling,
  • 30185, CLR, commingling,
  • 30186, CLR, commingling,
  • 30187, CLR, commingling,
  • 30188, Liberty Resources, pooling,
  • 30189, Liberty Resources, pooling,
  • 30190, PetroShale, Bear Den-Bakken, on an existing 1280-acre unit, sections 30/31-149-95, fourteen wells, McKenzie County. See this post.
  • 30191, PetroShale, Croff-Bakken, on an existing 1280-acre unit, sections 13/14-149-96 fourteen wells, McKenzie County. See this post.
  • 30192, WPX, commingling,
  • 30193, XTO, commingling,
  • 30194, Rocky Top Energy, Homesteaders Gap-Bakken, commingling,
  • 30195, Crescent Point Energy, SWD,
  • 30196, KODA Resources, SWD,
  • 30197, Iron Oil Operating, SWD,
  • 30198, KT Enterprises, SWD,

Friday
June 30, 2023.
Two pages.

The cases:

  • 30122 - 30125: CO2 storage projects.

Activity East Of Alexander -- June 1, 2023

Locator: 44813B.

Activity east of Alexander.

We'll get back to the wells later.

Happy Pride Month -- June 1, 2023

Locator: 44812B.

Day 1: Saturday, May 27, 2023

Today, day 6:

  • biking weather, scale 1 - 10: an 11 (eleven)
  • a swimming day later this afternoon

Headline of the day: analysts miss ADP (jobs) growth number by 54%. 

Analysis: we're in a recession. 

Reading:

  • The Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer, chapter 6, part 2.
  • "Words Fail," Rachel Avia, The New Yorker, May 29, 2023, p. 42.
    • the tortured bond of Alice Sebolld and Anthony Broadwater, the man wrongfully convicted of her rape.

Most egregious use of a word:

  • media referring to Elizabeth Holmes as an entrepreneur on the day she reported to prison, to begin her 11-year sentence.

******************************
Around The Net

Debt ceiling: in the US Senate; the Dems need nine GOP votes to avert a default

  • $35 trillion debt (or thereabouts, in round numbers)
  • GOP: $2.1 billion is too much to spend on the homeless and our military vets. Link here (temporarily purposely taken off line).

Huge: XOM and CVX shareholders -- show us the money! Imagine that. Link here. This may get a stand-alone post later:

Shareholder anger over the pace of Big Oil’s action on climate change may have peaked, judging by the latest US proxy voting season.

At their annual meetings Wednesday, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. comfortably saw off resolutions that would have forced them to align with the Paris Agreement and reduce fossil-fuel production.

Support for the proposals put forward by activist investor group Follow This plunged to about 10% of the shareholder base from more than half a year earlier. 

Similar motions received more backing from shareholders of European majors BP Plc, Shell Plc and TotalEnergies SE, but still fell well short of the 50% required to pass. For much of the past decade, the climate movement’s shareholder activism was buttressed by weak investor returns. 

It was easier for Wall Street to get behind the idea that Big Oil should rein in production when many flagship projects were over-budget and needed high crude prices just to break even.

EPD: announces completion of a 400-MMcfd expansion of its Acadian Haynesville Extension natural gas pipeline, increasing its capacity to 2.5 bcfd. Also

Enterprise’s 1.65-billion lb/year polymer-grade propylene PDH 2 plant is also scheduled for completion in second-quarter 2023 at its Mont Belvieu complex in Chambers County, Texas.
S&B Engineers and Constructors Ltd. is performing engineering, procurement, and construction for the plant using Honeywell UOP technology
The project includes a “sizeable” C3 splitter column, which S&B installed in pieces onsite using a specialized gantry crane. Other scope includes a modularized reactor section, compression equipment, multiple fired heaters, and associated infrastructure and utilities.

Throwing in the towel: NYC mayor will give city workers four day weekends -- link here.

Buffett, put sad face emoji here: HP and HPQ.

  • memo to self: call Warren Buffett later today to advise him on how he could really spur investor return

Memorial Day weekend:

  • travel by automobile: down slightly
  • travel by air: breaks through the 2019 seven-day average

Charles Barkley: never ceases to amaze.

Odds And Ends -- May 31, 2023

Locator: 44805STRM. 

Overheard at Starbucks this a.m.:

  • "I don't know who's more tone-deaf? Bud Lite or Target?"
  • A MAGA Republican: "Here, hold my beer."

Hulu:

There are days -- generally every day, now that I feel strongly I don't need Hulu, currently running about $81 / month. Amazon's Prime Video meets all my needs; it's all I watch any more, with one exception -- live sports. And live sports I get through Hulu.

I can watch this over and over, on Amazon Prime Video, "The Sound of 007." Wow, so great on so many levels. 

I cannot pick out my favorite. But this is either #1 or tied for #1. "Nobody Does It Better" might be tied for #1. But then I hear another and I have to add another #1.

The interesting thing: the song / writer / artist that becomes a "Bond song" is in the Pantheon of Bond" and I don't think there's any other franchise that has its own Pantheon.


The only thing for which I need Hulu: live sports. I canceled my subscription to Apple+ -- it simply was not offering me anything in which I was interested.

Three Wells Coming Off Confidential List -- June 1, 2023

Locator: 44811B.

***********************
Back to the Bakken

Active rigs: 35.

WTI: $67.88.

Natural gas: $2.188.

Peter Zeihan newsletter. E-mail campaign archive.

Friday, June 2, 2023: 4 for the month; 114 for the quarter, 369 for the year
39294, conf, Petro-Hunt, Hot Rod 149-102-27B-26-3H,

Thursday, June 1, 2023: 3 for the month; 113 for the quarter, 368 for the year
39242, conf, CLR, Meadowlark FIU 5-6H1,
39166, conf, WPX, Pennington 16-15HA,
36294, conf, WPX, Skunk Creek 3-24-25-14HB,

RBN Energy: plunging natural gas prices spur continued declin in E&P earnings in 1Q23.

U.S. E&P companies engineered a spectacular recovery from the near financial disaster brought on by the pandemic. They rode a rising tide of commodity prices to generate record profits and cash flows that peaked in mid-2022 when West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crested at $114/bbl in May and natural gas prices breached the $9/MMBtu mark in August. But sustaining that level of return has been an uphill battle against commodity prices that have fallen off significantly from their peak as well as persistent inflation that has burdened the entire economy. In today’s RBN blog, we analyze the impact of this battle on the Q1 2023 results of oil and gas producers and provide an outlook for Q2.

Holy Mackerel -- A Miss By 54%? Job Growth -- June 1, 2023

Locator: 44810JOBS.
Locator: 44810ECON.

Overheard in Starbucks this morning:

  • Liz Sonders, "Yesterday the data was in line with past recessions."
  • Charlie Munger, "Yeah, we're in a mild recession."
  • ADP bureaucrat working from "home," "Here, hold my coffee. You're looking at the wrong data."



I'm old enough to know two things:

  • business cycles are called cycles for a reason; recessions cycle through; yees, we will eventually have another recession;
  • job growth like this is not consistent with a recession

But if this is a recession, give me more.

  • I can accumulate equities at bargain basement prices; and,
  • I can park my money almost anywhere and get 5%.

Checking the math:

  • Okay, let's see.
    • estimated: 180,000
    • had it been 188,000, that would have been a 4% miss [(188 - 180 / 180 = 4.4%]
    • had it been 208,000, that would have been a 16% miss [(208 - 180) / 180 = 15.6%]
    • had it been 228,000, that would have been a 27% miss [(228 - 180) / 180 = 26.7%]
  • But .... drum roll .... we got:

278,000

  • Doing the math: (278,000 - 180,000), that would have been a 54% miss (208 - 178) / 178 = 54.4%].
  • Checking:
    • 180,000 * 1.544 = 278,000.