Tuesday -- September 17, 2024

Locator: 48603ARCHIVES.

Big Oil win: 9th Circuit Court. Link here. The big story? It was a(n) unanimous decision:

Several oil companies including Exxon Mobil, opens new tab and Chevron, opens new tab defeated an appeal on Monday by consumers who accused them of colluding with former U.S. President Donald Trump, Russia and Saudi Arabia to cut oil production, boosting prices at the pump.

In a 3-0 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said two dozen consumers could not pursue class action claims because they concerned political questions and the oil-producing policies of foreign countries.

Natural gas: it all started with these two stories -- RBN Energy and Bloomberg/Javier Blas. The rabbit hole:

• DeLa Express, Wood, September 16, 2024;
• natgas pipeline, selected Texas; EIA, September 10, 2024;
• DeLa, Oil & Gas Watch, June 6, 2024;
• DeLa, KXAN, June 4, 2024;
• TETCO, wiki;
• Plaquemines, Oil & Gas Journal, April 17, 2024;

Gasoline, road to Califorrnia, Barron's, September 17, 2024.

BRK:

• $300 billion cash
• Jain sells half his BRK stock; previously reported

MSFT: link here --

• raises dividend by 10%;
• announces $60-billion share buyback

Intel's turnaround plan: link here.

• to spin off its chipmaking business -- 
• just the other day someone over on social mediat said that rumor was absolutely bonkers; wouldn't happen;
• huge story;

Previously reported:

Dow hits new high; tech struggling but it's shorterm and its "select." From Yahoo!Finance:

Boeing: bankruptcy was mentioned 24 hours ago on CNBC when discussing Boeing. Meanwhile, days after thousands of Boeing employees went on strike, the company said it would freeze hiring and cut costs, halting production of its most popular commercial jet.

Amazon Prime Day: October 8 - 9. The Verge. Two full days.

Peter Zeihan today: substitute SPR for offshore production --

Tupperware: to file for bankruptcy. Tectonic shifts in American dining habits over the past 50 years.

UT-Austin: to drop automatic admissions fro top Texas students to 5% in 2026.

Apple iPhone 16 sales: is something being missed? Date/time bragging rights. We'll see. Link here. Regardless, Tim Cook, master of logistics, can rightly crow that shipping times have greatly improved Great news for consumers. After dropping 2.8% yesterday, AAPL shares are up slightly in pre-market trading. 

Affirm: Affirm's BNPL deal with Apple is now live; investors have been waiting for this. Link here.

Affirm Holdings pay-over-time options are now available to Apple Pay users on the iPhone and iPad, the ‘buy now, pay later’ company announced Monday.

“We are thrilled to bring the power of Affirm to Apple Pay users in the U.S. and the retailers where they shop,” said Vishal Kapoor, Affirm’s senior vice president of product.

“This integration combines the ease, convenience and security of Apple Pay alongside the features users love in Affirm—flexibility, transparency and no late or hidden fees.”

Users with iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 or later can select “Other Cards & Pay Later Options” when checking out with Apple Pay, and after choosing Affirm, they will undergo an eligibility check. Approved users will see customized payment plans, according to the release.

Politics: Chief Justice Roberts, Donald Trump, three decisions favoring Trump -- NYT exclusive -- Chief Justice Roberts got it right. He schooled the court. Link here.

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Brief Reminder 

• I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
• I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
• See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 
• 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. 
• Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
• I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
• And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia.