Off The Net -- July 4, 2022

We spent thirteen (my wife says fourteen) consecutive years overseas -- Germany, England, Turkey - permanent assignments and many more places -- Japan, Italy, Morocco to name a few -- on temporary duty. The Italy "assignment" was spectacular, two words: the Dolomites. Named after the French mineralogist who "discovered" / described the mineral, calcium magnesium carbonate.

We spent more holidays -- like July 4th -- in Paris than any other city, then, before, and since. 

We visited Paris so often our two daughters often said, "no more." LOL. 

This July 4th I'm reminded of our times in Paris with a number of YouTube videos (all the same music, sorry, not sorry).

Midnight In Paris, Intro

Tatiana Eva-Marie, Avalon Jazz Band

Recession? What Recession? Foxconn Raises Outlook -- Reuters -- July 4, 2022

Apple is tracked here.

EVs are tracked here.

Through those two sites Foxconn is tracked indirectly, as is TSMC.

A reader caught this and sent it my way this morning: Foxconn raises full-year outlook on strong tech demand. Data points:

• full name: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd
• world's largest contract electronics maker
• raised its full-year business outlook
• based on strong tech sales from smartphones
• company's June, 2022 (2Q22) sales jumped 31% from a year earlier
• this is a record high for the month of June (last month of the 2Q22)
  
• smartphones: make up the bulk of its revenue
• Micron had opposite guidance/outlook -- but raised its dividend, nonetheless
• Foxconn: saw "significant growth" compared with a year earlier

My Favorite Chart -- July 4, 2022

Link here. 

Data through May 31, 2022.

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The Entertainment Page

Hulu original: Only Murders In The Building.

• weekly, every Tuesday
• second season has just begun; second episode last week
• third episode, tomorrow night
• strong language; very adult themes; sort of woke
  

IMDB.

Wiki entry.

Steve Martin.

Martin Short.

Selena Gomez:

• triple threat
• born down the street from us: Grand Prairie, TX

As of 2017, Gomez has sold over seven million albums and 22 million singles worldwide, according to Billboard. 

Named Billboard's Woman of the Year in 2017. 

Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020. 

The most followed musician and actress on Instagram. 

Gomez's other ventures include makeup, clothing, handbag and fragrance lines. She has worked with many charitable organizations and served as a UNICEF ambassador since age 17. 

She earned her high-school diploma through homeschooling in May 2010.

Gomez was born when her mother was 16 years old. 

The family had financial troubles throughout Gomez's childhood, her mother struggling to provide for the pair (after parents divorced, when Gomez was five years old). 

At one point, Gomez recalls that they had to search for quarters just to get gas for their car. 

Her mother later recalled that the two would frequently walk to their local dollar store to buy spaghetti for dinner. 

Gomez has said, "I was frustrated that my parents weren't together, and never saw the light at the end of the tunnel where my mom was working hard to provide a better life for me. I'm terrified of what I would have become if I'd stayed [in Texas]." 

She later added that her mother "was really strong around me. Having me at 16 had to have been a big responsibility. She gave up everything for me, had three jobs, supported me, sacrificed her life for me." 

Gomez had a close relationship with her grandparents as a child and appeared in various pageants. Her grandparents often took care of her while her parents finished their schooling, and she has said they "raised her" until she found success in show business.

Whataburger Day -- July 4, 2022

Trending on my twitter feed this a.m.: Whataburger. 

• Texas: Whataburger
• California: In 'N Out
• no contest

Oil: it may be a holiday in the US ... but ...

• WTI: up 0.67%; up 73 cents; trading at $109.20
• Brent: up similarly; trading at $112.60

Tesla:

• shutting down for two weeks in Berlin
• link here;
  
• re-tooling
• can't get the necessary hiring

German wind: Nordex closes the last German wind blade factory -- uneconomic

• Germany wants to double wind installations in the year ahead

California:

• link here;
• state gasoline tax increases by 3 cents from 51 cents to 54 cents
• the state will send upwards of $1,000 to residents to help cover the cost of gasoline
• California's average gasoline price: $6.27
• average means many folks paying much more
• nationwide average: $4.84
• by the way, that $1,000-inflation relief: the funds will arrive next year.

Chips:

• South Korea's stock of chips is growing amid demand concerns; link here.
• GM continues to struggle to get enough chips

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The Book Page

Charlie Munger: reads 500 pages / day

His top 20 books (which I assume changes periodically); in bold, the ones I've read

• In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives, Stephen Levy
• The Outsiders, William Thorndike
• Influence, Robert Cialdini
• Living Within Limits, Garrett Hardin
• The Warren Buffett Portfolio, Robert Hagstrom
• Damn Right, Janet Lowe
• Benjamin Franklin, Walter Isaacson
• Man's Search for Meaning, Vicktor Frankl
• Models of My Life, Herb Simon
• Genome, Matt Ridley
• Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr, Ron Chernow
• Andrew Carnegie, Joseph Wall
• The Wealth and Power of Nations, David Landes
• Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond (over-rated, but "everyone" recommends this book)
• The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins (near the top on my list)
• Master of the Game, Connie Bruck
• Benjamin Franklin, Carl Van Doren
• The Third Chimpanzee, Jared Diamond (near the top of my list; way under-recommended; if you have time for only one Jared Diamond book, this is it)
• Deep Simplicity, John Gribbin (I've read several John Gribbin books; don't recall this one)
• Ice Age, John Griffin (ditto)

EV Scorecard Update -- Foxconn - Lordstown - Endurance Pickup -- July 4, 2022

EV scorecard.

Axios: one month ago.

Taiwan-based Foxconn, known officially as Hon Hai Technology Group, reached a deal last week with Lordstown Motors to acquire the EV startup’s sprawling plant in northeast Ohio, where Foxconn has agreed to produce Lordstown's Endurance pickup.