During the lockdowns of 2020, booze consumption soared as checks poured in, and the world coped with the stresses of being stuck at home. Now, the market for booze is turning away from the trends of the Covid era. Bryce Elder reports for the Financial Times: Here’s an interesting recession measure picked up by RBC Capital Markets: Americans who buy cheap liquor have been buying even cheaper liquor: The pandemic sweet spot in the spirits market was $30-$74 a bottle, which is Cîroc vodka and Hennessy VSOP territory. Stimmy cheques and lockdown boredom combined to push midmarket brand share … [Read more...]
Archives for July 2022
Red States Churning Out Jobs While Blue States Lag Behind
You have seen my advice throughout the pandemic, the riots, the inflation, and war: Escape the City. Get out of big blue blob states and move instead to one of my Super States. You can do it. Many people have. The economies of America’s red states (the free states where Main Street businesses are encouraged and families are valued) are soaring, while the other states—I call them the Escape States—are struggling. Josh Mitchell reports in The Wall Street Journal: The pandemic has changed the geography of the American economy. By many measures, red states—those that lean Republican—have … [Read more...]
Avoid This Serious Tax Mistake in Retirement
If you're not paying attention, you could make a serious tax mistake in your retirement. At Kiplinger, John Carruthers explains how to get the most out of your retirement accounts by withdrawing from them in the right order. He writes: Don’t get caught off guard and let taxes adversely affect your golden years. One of the keys to developing a good tax strategy for retirement is understanding the order of withdrawals you should follow. Knowing when and how to draw on your various assets can have a big impact on how much in taxes you’ll owe from year to year. Withdraw from taxable accounts … [Read more...]
“Talk to Me, Goose!” Time Flies in Top Gun: Maverick
“Talk to me, Goose!” If you haven’t seen the sequel to Top Gun, then this is your chance to see it in a movie theater and realize how fast time flies. Because with the opening scene for Top Gun: Maverick, you’ll be brought back in time. It’s hard to believe it’s been 36 years since the first one. And yet, Tom Cruise looks about the same. Incredible he turned 60 over the Fourth of July weekend. You’ll want to see Top Gun: Maverick at a movie theater because one of the best parts is the applause from the audience when the closing credits roll. It’s been years since we’ve been to a theater, … [Read more...]
Could Car Dealers Get Flooded with Cars Mid-Recession?
The automotive industry has been suffering a catastrophic scarcity of vehicles since the beginning of COVID-19, as the global shortage of computer chips took hold and slowed auto production. Now, as the economy appears to tip into recession, automakers may have a new problem, all the inventory they've been waiting for may arrive just at the wrong time. Stephen Wilmot reports in The Wall Street Journal: Don’t worry too much about a recession hitting Detroit. The real concern should be normalizing supply. The U.S. new-car market is stuck in a low but lucrative gear as manufacturers struggle … [Read more...]
Happy Independence Day
In a 3 July 1776, Founding Father John Adams wrote a letter to his wife, Abigail: "I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. -- I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and … [Read more...]
Even Without Food and Gas, Inflation is Soaring
You have probably heard politicians and central bankers who dismiss inflation in gasoline and food, saying they're "non-core." They want you to forget that these are the most important items you buy each week. They say those prices are too volatile to count. You've noticed just how volatile they are when you balance your accounts. Instead, they want you to focus on "core" inflation. The Federal Reserve prefers you to follow an inflation measuring index known as Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), which excludes prices of food and energy. The problem for them, and for you, is that … [Read more...]
Despite Inflation, Best Year Ever for Vacation Demand
Despite the high cost of gasoline and air travel troubles across the country, Americans have been eager to travel so far in Summer 2022. Demand for travel has been so high in the post-lockdown world that it's breaking records. Josh Zumbrun reports in The Wall Street Journal: Gasoline prices at never-before-seen levels, a still unvanquished pandemic, airport nightmares, rental-car shortages and recession fears. Nearly all have been predicted as a death knell for summer travel. Yet so far 2022 has been the “best year ever for demand,” said Jamie Lane, vice president of research for AirDNA, a … [Read more...]
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