Locator: 45351INV.
Dow:
I'm lovin' it.
35,459 - 28,725 = 6714
6714 / 28,725 = 23% gain since the low, September 30, 2022.
Saturday, August 5, 2023
This Wasn't Supposed To Happen -- August 5, 2023
Dow:
Canada's Version Of California's Bullet Train -- August 5, 2023
Locator: 45350CANADA.
(Reuters) - A Canadian government agency has guaranteed fresh commercial loans of up to $2.2 billion to the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project that has suffered repeated cost overruns. [Figures in US dollars.]
The information disclosed by Export Development Canada showed that a new loan guarantee was signed in July, though it first appeared on EDC's website late on Friday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government bought the Trans Mountain pipeline in 2018 from Kinder Morgan Inc to ensure the expansion project got built and provided a $7.3 billion loan guarantee to TMC.
It is meant to unlock Asian markets for Canadian oil, which is mostly exported to the United States now. But the project has been hampered by regulatory obstacles, environmental opposition, and construction delays, and is now anticipated to cost $23 billion, more than quadrupling the $5.4 billion budgeted in 2017. [The construction delays mostly due to regulatory obstacles and environmental opposition.]
The cost blowout and the impact of taxpayer has made the government's ongoing support a contentious issue.
Last year, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said that no more public funds would be committed in the project, and TMC has stated that it is looking for external funding.
Trucks -- ELMS, Mullen, Canoo -- August 5, 2023
Locator: 45349EVS.
Updates
December 21, 2023: Mullen is up 75% today.
- This was another company a lot of folks like when it bought a bankrupt EV company. Here where we are today.
- Mullen has just announced a 100-1 reverse split.
Original Post
Warning: all readers should skip this page. I did this for my own benefit because I was starting to lose the bubble.
This is re-capping a rabbit hole from which acabo de volver.
LOL.
It all started when I realized I omitted ELMS from my EV scorecard. Or if it's there, which it probably is, I missed it.
Long story short: ELMS went bankrupt; was bought by Mullan.
Mullan will roll out its class 3 truck on August 24, 2023.
Links:
- ELMS went bankrupt; will be bought by Mullen, October 19, 2022.
- Don't give up on Mullen yet -- Investor Place, August 4, 2023.
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Tickers
Tickers
ELMS:
MULN:
From the link above:
Mullen / ELMS:
The $240 million cash purchase allows Mullen the capability to build up to 50,000 EVs annually, accelerating the launch of the Mullen FIVE and Bollinger B1 and B2 retail vehicles. The deal also gives Mullen control over ELMS’s inventory, intellectual property rights and plant in Mishawaka, Indiana.
Mullen, which went public in a 2021 SPAC merger, is in growth mode, acquiring in September a 60% controlling interest in Bollinger Motors, a Michigan-based startup that aimed to build battery-electric commercial trucks and off-road pickups. Electric Last Mile Solutions, another Michigan startup, filed for bankruptcy in June, less than a year after it went public through a $1.4 billion SPAC deal.
Several startups that went public in high-profile reverse mergers over the past couple of years have faced bankruptcy, SEC scrutiny or cash crunches. The purchase of ELMS will allow Mullen to “to shorten its production path and aggressively expand into the commercial and consumer EV market,” David Michery, CEO and chairman of Mullen Automotive, said in a statement.
The automaker plans to build the Mullen FIVE, as well as the Mullen Class 1 and Class 3 commercial delivery vehicles expected next year, at its factory in Tunica, Mississippi. In addition to the Mullen FIVE slated to enter production in 2024, the company plans to build the Five RS, an “ultra-high-performance EV sport crossover” with 1,000 horsepower, a top speed of 200 mph and 0-to-60 acceleration under two seconds.
Break, break. I also forgot to include Canoo (GOEV) on the EV scorecard, and any updates, or maybe I did and I forgot. I do remember the Canoo - NASA tie-up some month ago.
Today:
Ticker, GOEV:
From wiki:
In a long note like this, there will be typographical and content errors, errors of omission and commission. If this is important to you, go to the source.
Vehicle classification in the US.
Light duty.
- Class 1: passenger cars and really, really light-weight pickup trucks like the Ford Ranger, Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier.
- The F-150 is almost a class 1, but it falls into the the class 2 category, but class 2 is the only class further broken into class 2a and 2b. So, the F-150 "upsets" the "trend" that one sees below.
- Class 2a: F-150
- Class 2b: F-250
Medium duty.
- Class 3: F-350
- Now, it gets a bit interesting. An F-350 is a class 3 truck but an F-450 comes in both the class 3 flavor and the class 4 favor.
- so, Ford markets two class 3 pick-up trucks: the F-350 and the F-450
- class 3 F-450: the typical pick-up truck;
- class 4 F-450: just the cab and the chassis; no "box." It's like the typical urban tow trucks one sees everywhere picking up stalled EVs
- Class 4: F-450 (chassis only model, as noted above)
A trend is starting to develop, continuing with medium duty.
- Class 5: F-550
- Class 6: F-650
Heavy duty
- Class 7 26,001 - 33,000 pounds.: F-750; Kenworth K370, Mack MD, Peterbilt 220 and 337/348, etc.
- Class 8, 33,001 - 80,000 pounds: Volvo Truck VNL, Freightliner Cascadia, Ford F-750, Kenworths, Nikola TRE, Peterbilts, Western Stars, and so on.
I figured out the nomenclature using the quarter-ton, half-ton, three-quarter-ton naming, but now the "class nomenclature" makes sense. Whether it was planned that way or not.
Several Media Links -- Fox's Streak Broken -- August 5, 2023
Locator: 45348MEDIA.
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Television Viewing In The UK
The only "thing" other than sports that I'm watching this summer, an "An Amazon Original": Good Omens.
Fox Fails
Fox watching folks watching Fox: MSNBC is back. Beats Fox. That was last week.
120-week streak broken.
Television Viewing In The UK
The only "thing" other than sports that I'm watching this summer, an "An Amazon Original": Good Omens.
Starting Tuesday, next week, August 8, 2023, the third season Only Murders In The Building, on Hulu.
Nothing on network television except occasional NASCAR when I can find it. In background today, PGA tournament.
Link here. This is the UK, not the US:
The number of viewers tuning in to watch broadcast television each week has seen the sharpest fall since records began, according to a new Ofcom report.
As competition for the nation’s attention intensifies between public service broadcasters and streamers, the proportion of people watching traditional TV each week has declined from 83% in 2021 to 79% in 2022, Ofcom research said.
Similarly, the media watchdog said the average time spent watching broadcast television per person per day fell from two hours 59 minutes in 2021 to two hours 38 minutes the following year.
However, according to the Ofcom Media Nations 2023 report, public service broadcasters (PSB’s) still dominate the UK’s most-watched list with valued national TV moments.
Despite the continuing decline of traditional broadcast TV viewing, BBC One and ITV1 are still the top two first destinations for viewers when they turn on their TV, with Netflix placing third.
The research suggests viewers recognise that PSB channels deliver “broadcast events that bring the nation together for a shared viewing experience”, with England’s quarter-final in the Fifa World Cup, the State Funeral of the Queen and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in the top three spots on the 2022 UK’s most-watched programmes.
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Collapse,
And We're Not Talking About Mitch
And We're Not Talking About Mitch
Collapse:
- Mainstream media: we've never seen such a collapse, as we've seen with Bud.
- Lizzo: here, hold my Miller Lite.
Deficits And Debt — August 5, 2023
Locator: 45347ECON.
VettaFi Advisor Perspectives: link here.
Nice update.
I don't know if there is anything new here.
The reason I posted this today is because I happened to run across a few of the terms / phrases used in this article in a number of other articles posted at other sites this past week.
I guess we're going from Goldilocks economy --> soft landing --> no recession --> short-shallow recession --> recession --> Great Depression.
Mr Vern Whitten Photos -- August 5, 2023
Locator: 45346PHOTOS.
Mr Vern Whitten has always been very generous sending me great aerial photos of the Bakken over the year.
Earlier this week, Mr Whitten sent me this note:
Photography is such a unique endeavor - it will inspire many different
personalities to do many different types of photography. For example,
my friend Mike has incredible patience and will wait hours for a perfect
Wildlife photo. Myself, I have little patience, that's why l specialize in aerial
photography.
Portraits and events require lots of human interaction. These are special skills
that we do not all possess.
Find your passion, pick up your camera, and start shooting!
This is one one many you'll find on Mike VanValkenburg's website: Check it out!)
Thanks for watching.
Vern
Vern Whitten Photography
www.vernwhittenphotography.com
(701) 261-7658
My hunch: Mr Whitten and Mr Van Valkenburg would love to hear from you.
The State Of Oregon Tip-Toes Into The 20th Century -- August 5, 2023
Locator: 45345KEYSTONEKOPS.
Oregon finally moves into the 20th century. But read this article. It's absolutely amazing.
Sheeple.
There's even a video at the link to show folks how to pump their own gasoline.
For the first time in more than 70 years, Oregonians in every county can pump their own gas.
Gov. Tina Kotek has signed House Bill 2426 into law, allowing self-serve gas at stations across the state for the first time since 1951.
With her signature, New Jersey is now the only state in the United States that prohibits drivers from pumping their own gas.
The law goes into effect immediately, but residents won't be forced to start pumping. The law states that stations may allow self-service, but they don't have to. And many must still have attendants available for at least half the pumps.
Despite signing the bill, Kotek sent a letter to =Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, and House Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, expressing "concerns" with enforcement of the new law and encouraging lawmakers to consider strengthening the complaint and enforcement process in 2024's legislative session.
Kotek said her office received more than 5,000 comments from Oregonians about the bill and that support for her signature was a narrow majority.br />
In Creswell, Bill Spencer said his 76 Station would begin offering self-serve next week to make sure his staff are well trained and avoid confusion for customers.
He said his biggest concern was maintaining a fast speed of service, especially with customers now having to go to a cashier to receive authorization at self-serve pumps if they are paying with cash.
It just goes on and on.
Regulators And A Court — Drilling And Pipe -- ND And CA -- August 5, 2023
Locator: 45341REG.
North Dakota: link here.
California: link here.
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WSJ Today: General
EVs: problems in San Francisco.
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WSJ Today: Personal
Kitchen: essential spices.
Cocktails: ratios.
Wine: physician recommendations.
BRK -- Earnings -- 2Q23 -- Amazon -- Bezos -- META -- Not Particularly Sticky -- August 5, 2023
Locator: 45339BRK.
CNBC: link here.WSJ: link here.
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Amazon
Amazon
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos saw his personal net worth increase by a whopping $12 billion on Friday morning as the e-commerce giant’s stock price soared by some 11% in pre-noon trading — the largest single-day jump so far this year.
The Seattle-based company, whose stock was trading at nearly $143 per share as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time on Friday, August 4, 2023, surged after dazzling Wall Street with an earnings report that blew away analyst expectations.
Bezos, the third richest person in the world behind Tesla and X mogul Elon Musk and luxury brand merchant Bernard Arnault, is now worth an estimated $163.5 billion, according to Forbes.
The 59-year-old Bezos, who stepped down from the CEO role at Amazon in late 2021 so that he could focus on his space exploration firm Blue Origin, derives his wealth from ownership in Amazon stock.
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META
Threads: not particularly "sticky." Link here.
Insider: link here.
