Locator: 48606BLUESKIES.
Are folks paying attention?
I'm trying to get some reading done (The Lunar Men) and keep getting interrupted by incredibly headlines.
First this: the end of the second quarter. Money managers trying to catch the bow wave.
Then, all the US Supreme Court headlines favorable to Trump.
Locator: 48605REMINISCING.
An earlier post brought back some great memories.
Back in the 2002 - 2004 time period, the USAF sent me back to northern England, Yorkshire, along the Scottish border for various reasons. It was an awesome experience.
Mondays through Fridays, I would walk the countryside for a couple of hours each day, usually a half-hour or so before dinner, and then a long "midnight" hike.
On Saturdays, I took the military bus / local train into Harrogate / York and enjoyed the cities.
And then on Sundays, I would hike all day long, generally twelve hours, some nights coming home so exhausted I did not know if I was was going to make it all the way back to my living quarters.
On those walks, I walked through / by / along many Yorkshire farms and inevitably, I would see a Land Rover on every farm. Like something out of Africa, but, of course, a difference post card look.
I never understood how these Yorkshire farmers could afford $200K Land Rovers.
But seriously: name your top twenty automobiles. Is a British car on that list? For me, yes. The Range Rover.
But seriously: The starting price for a new Range Rover is around $107,400.
Prices can increase significantly depending on the trim level, wheelbase, and options chosen. For example, the Range Rover SV can start at $209,000 for a standard wheelbase and go up to $234,000 for a long wheelbase.
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Indoor Garden
The big-leaf plant has a new leaf. Took me completely by surprise. I had not noticed it until yesterday.
This is the weirdest thing. The "big-leaf" plant is sending out "above-ground roots / shoots" that then find their way to other pots and more nutrients.
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Miscellaneous Graphics
I don't follow ZeroHedge any more but a reader sent me a graphic from ZeroHedge.
I've posted that graphic as well as others from today. No links. Easy to find by going to ZeroHedge and scrolling.
The fact that no one in Congress for fifty years has looked at the social security fraud is mind-boggling. Elon Musk figured this out in one week.
Social security: decreased consumer spending. Wow, did Steve Liesman get this wrong. He saw it, mentioned it in passing but never explored it.
The savings rate dropped significantly as folks became more optimistic -- buying stuff and investing in the market.
Locator: 48604CRAMER.
Before we get started, this could be Cancun, Mexico, but it's not: it's north Texas. Whoo-hoo!
Now, back to Cramer.
Cramer, new generation:
A hundred trillion dollars is shifting ....
A generational transfer of money ...
"We're not in touch" with what is happening ...
A switch is happening ...
Cramer: investors are missing the point. A quarter-point change in the Fed rate is getting all the attention, and that makes no difference.
Focusing on the quarter point and missing the big point.
A new kind of buyer. Investors are ignoring this.
Locator: 48603ECONOMY.
May income spending and inflation numbers just released.
Steve Liesman: much of this is still "front loaded" due to tariffs; most likely one-time stuff
Observations:
But with core PCE price not only up 2.7% but well above the Fed's 2% target .... JPow is not going to cut.
Others:
Locator: 48602RANGEROVER.
The starting price for a new Range Rover is around $107,400. Prices can increase significantly depending on the trim level, wheelbase, and options chosen. For example, the Range Rover SV can start at $209,000 for a standard wheelbase and go up to $234,000 for a long wheelbase.
We feel your pain:
But seriously: name your top twenty automobiles. Is a British car on that list? For me, yes. The Range Rover.
But seriously: The starting price for a new Land Rover Range Rover is around $107,400.
Prices can increase significantly depending on the trim level, wheelbase, and options chosen. For example, the Range Rover SV can start at $209,000 for a standard wheelbase and go up to $234,000 for a long wheelbase.
And yes, the Range Rover is seen almost as often as a Tesla in our neighborhood. Wow.
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Miscellaneous
Best airport in America, as judged by The Washington Post: link here. I have to agree. The airport terminal is small, one building, clean, quiet, well-designed, and best food court anywhere -- not just airports. Unfortunately, you can only access these restaurants after you go through security, and only if you have a flight reserved. And for me, McDonald's is right next to my gate! LOL.
And most remarkably, somehow the airport and the city are keeping graffiti, garbage and the homeless out of the area. One has to travel about a mile down the road before one starts seeing the real Portland. But PDX is a (sic) utopia.
From the link:
PDX is “practically a nature bath,” according to the newspaper.
“Skylights built into soaring timber roofs filter sunlight onto the oak floor,” The Washington Post wrote. “Live trees and massive video walls showcase stunning landscapes. Sit for a spell on the stadium-style wood benches. Linger on the real-life view of Mount Hood from Concourse E. This space is — it’s hard to believe — relaxing. And that’s despite construction set to wrap up next year.”
The newspaper went on to highlight PDX’s iconic 1988 carpet design, speakeasy that opened earlier this spring, Hollywood Theater’s microcinema and occasional guest appearances from emotional support llamas. It also praised the prices, noting that Tillamook’s fried cheese curds, treats from Blue Star Donuts and a pint from Loyal Legion Beer Hall could cost just the same as they do outside of the airport. Another plus is travelers’ ability to take the TriMet MAX Red Line to PDX, the Post said.
Not fake:
Locator: 48600AAPL.
Not comparing apples to apples.
But the charts are amazing.
Apple free cash flow.
Nike profits.
Locator: 48599MARKET.
Said to be due to Trump's policies.
Making America great again.
Still, well off its highs.
Locator: 48598B.
Futures:
China deal:
Headlines:
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Back to the Background
WTI: $65.79.
New wells:
RBN Energy: EPA's RVO proposal would raise feedstock prices, compliance costs.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for 2026-27 did more than just set renewable fuel mandates for the next two years, they included dramatic shifts in the way that imported fuels and feedstocks are handled and raised the likelihood of higher compliance costs during a time in which the federal government has been focused on keeping prices under control. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the critical changes that will affect imported biofuels and feedstocks and the potential cost impact.
Let’s start with a bit of background about how the mandates for renewable fuels work. As we noted in Something’s Gotta Give, the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requires certain minimum volumes of biofuels to be blended into fuel sold in the U.S. The required minimum, known as the RVO, is determined each year by the EPA. A Renewable Identification Number (RIN) is the regulatory mechanism for tracking the production and blending of renewable fuels and also allows refiners and importers to prove they’ve met their RVO mandates. A RIN is a 38-digit-number created when a gallon of biofuel (ethanol, biodiesel, renewable diesel, etc.) is manufactured. Once that biofuel is blended for sale in the U.S. (dashed red box in Figure 1 below), the RIN becomes “detached” from the biofuel, and two things can happen: (1) it can be surrendered to the EPA by an obligated party (a refiner or importer of gasoline or diesel) to demonstrate compliance with the RFS, or (2) if a non-obligated party generates the RIN, they can sell it to obligated parties who then surrender it to the EPA to meet their obligation. (Note that the RIN lifecycle differs slightly for fuel exporters.) As we detailed in our Misunderstanding series, RINs essentially act as a mechanism with elements of a tax and a subsidy to force renewables into fuels.
Figure 1. Example Lifecycle of a Renewable Identification Number. Source: EPA
It’s important to note that obligated parties cannot fully satisfy their RVOs just by blending renewable fuel into E10 gasoline, the 90-10 mix of conventional gasoline and ethanol typically available at the pump. There are two reasons for this. First, the RFS blending mandates require that the overall gasoline pool contain more than 10% ethanol, so E10 blending alone is insufficient, meaning that more of the RVO needs to be met with other biofuels. (Conventional biofuels, usually corn-based ethanol, generate a D6 RIN.) Second, any gasoline or unfinished gasoline produced by a refinery also generates an obligation for biomass-based diesel, which cannot be blended into gasoline — E10 or otherwise. That makes the production of fuels such as biodiesel (BD), renewable diesel (RD) and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) — which produce a D4 RIN — critical to the RFS. (As we detailed in Big Bang Theory and shown in Figure 2 below, the EPA’s “nesting” approach to RINs allows higher-standard fuels to be used to meet requirements for broader, lower-standard categories, a structure designed to promote flexibility. For example, a D4 RIN can also satisfy compliance for D5 and D6 RINs, maximizing the options for obligated parties.)
