RJS: Focus on Fracking Summary: US oil supplies at a 17½ year low with SPR at a 35 year low; refinery utilization highest since 2019, refinery throughput highest in 17 months; gasoline supplies at a 6 month low even with gasoline imports at a 46 week high The Latest US Oil Supply and Disposition Data […]

Consumer prices rise 1% in May alone; owners’ equivalent rent at 30 year high; expect the Fed to keep stomping on the brakes Today is a travel day for me, so I’ll keep this relatively brief. People who were hoping inflation would abate did not get the news they wanted from the May CPI. Consumer […]

Initial jobless claims now in a clear uptrend, and other economic notes for the week First, a note on other economic news from earlier this week.  The housing market is getting absolutely crushed by 10 year+ high mortgage rates. Mortgage applications fell to levels not seen since 2017 (except for a few weeks during the […]

Dale Coberly has written on Social Security numerous times over the years. The Northwest Plan which he developed was recognized by the SS Administration as being a potential solution to a shortfall in SS benefits. Dale briefly describes below how the solution might work in resolving the SS shortfall. Just a heads up. I am […]

In this series we explore marketing farm fresh goods in the litany of different ways as a direct consumer edibles farmer. Many types of farms exist within the framework of directly edible, from market gardens, to 100 acre California avocado fields, dairy barns, hen houses, and multiple large monocrop “people food” producers. Direct to Consumer […]

RJS: MarketWatch 666 Summary: Construction Spending Up 0.2% on Higher Prices in April, after March Spending was Revised 0.6% Higher The Census Bureau’s report on construction spending for April (pdf) estimated the month’s seasonally adjusted construction spending was at a $1,744.8 billion annual rate during the month. Up 0.2 percent (±0.8 percent)* from the revised March annual […]

RJS: Focus on Fracking Summary: US oil supplies at a 17 ½ year low with SPR at a 34½ year low; gasoline exports at a 3½ year high; 4 weeks of total oil + product exports at a record high and leads to total oil + products supply at a 13½ year low total oil + product  supplies at a 13½ year low after record exports.. […]

Biden Kowtows To Saudi Arabia  Apparently, President Biden will be visiting Riyadh as part of his forthcoming Middle East tour. The report on this coincides with an apparent end to negative comments about the nation’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), whom the CIA has accused of having ordered the execution and chopping up of […]

 by New Deal democrat Weekly Indicators for May 30 – June 3 at Seeking Alpha My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. The slow drip, drip, drip of decelerating or declining data is continuing, as among other things, the YoY increase in withholding tax payments from workers has declined significantly in the past month. […]

May jobs report: Like the past few months, I was most interested in three main issues: 1. Is the pace of job growth decelerating?  (Yes, but it is still very strong by historical standards) 2. Is wage growth holding up? Is it accelerating? (It is still strong, but decelerated again slightly) 3. Are the leading indicators […]