In a well written piece, the CEO of the Cato Institute, and a friend of mine, Peter Goettler, explains the dangers central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) would pose not only to the privacy of America's citizens, but also to the Federal Reserve itself. He writes: In fact, implementing a CBDC could exacerbate many of the existing privacy violations that are already built into the financial system. The United States is often heralded as a free country with substantial protections for civil liberties, but the reality often does not live up to such expectations or constitutional dictates. And … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2023
Inflexible Natural Gas Power Generation Threatening National Security
The horizontal drilling and fracking technology revolution have unleashed vast quantities of new natural gas supplies. There are some problems with that. Natural gas isn't flexible enough to deal with volatile weather patterns, and its use as the primary fuel for American power generation could threaten national security. Naureen Malik reports for Bloomberg: Although natural gas is often promoted as a “bridge fuel” to span the transition from coal power to renewable energy, the country’s vast network of gas plants, pipelines and the regulations that govern them was largely built without the … [Read more...]
Weak Demand Forces Railroads to Lower Prices
Smaller shippers are getting a break on prices from railroads like Union Pacific and BNSF as the companies try to attract customers amid weak demand. Ari Ashe reports for Journal of Commerce: Domestic intermodal providers have lowered contract rates through the end of the year for smaller shippers, according to rate documents obtained by the Journal of Commerce, as they look to attract business to rail amid a weak demand environment. Union Pacific Railroad and COFC Logistics, a wholesaler for BNSF Railway, have updated contractual rates for low-volume shippers, known as the aggregate … [Read more...]
The Same Prices Until You Retire?
In times like these, prices can be your friend. All those juicy dividends and income checks get reinvested at prices you can live with. When you’re an income investor, you aren’t thinking about rising stock prices. Sure, that would be nice, but prices are what they are. Income, on the other hand, is what you see coming into your account regularly. You almost want prices to stay the same until the day you retire. That way, you can be a compounding machine and buy more shares at the same price. Prices can go up, and prices can go down. Hopefully, your income will only grow. Action Line: I … [Read more...]
More American LNG to Power Germany for 20 Years
Germany has signed another deal for American LNG supplies with Venture Global. Derek Brower, David Sheppard, and Shotaro Tani report for the Financial Times: Germany has signed another long-term deal to import more US liquefied natural gas, as Berlin moves to replace Russian energy in its economy amid Moscow’s war in Ukraine. SEFE, or Securing Energy For Europe — the company born out of Berlin’s effective nationalisation of the German operations of Russia’s state-owned Gazprom — will purchase 2.25mn tonnes a year of the super-chilled gas from Venture Global LNG, an American developer of … [Read more...]
Happy Monday: Thinking about Retirement? It Ain’t Cheap
Happy Monday. Thinking about retirement? Think again. Seriously. Because it’s one of the most important financial decisions you’ll ever make. Sure, Your Survival Guy is probably younger than most of you and has decades of work ahead of him. But I know this from speaking with you: You don’t know what retirement feels like until you’re in it. Period. In my conversations with you and from my observations, some retirees jump headfirst into their golden years and love it. Others figure out what works for them and adjust, while others choose to go back to work. But here’s the deal. It’s downright … [Read more...]
MONEY GLOBALISTS: More Calls for Globalized CBDC System
Only shortly after bankers aligned with the IMF called for a globalized central bank digital currency platform, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has unveiled its "game changing" blueprint for privatized, unified control over global CBDCs. The Daily Hodl staff reports: The global central bank umbrella organization known as the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has released a blueprint for the future of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). In its new annual economic report, the BIS deploys the language of the blockchain and smart contract industry, saying the … [Read more...]
Drilling Declines in the Shale Patch
The high cost of drilling and low prices for oil are discouraging oil companies from drilling in America's oil patch. Myles McCormick reports in the Financial Times: The prolific US shale oil and gas industry is decelerating in the face of weakening commodity prices, suggesting production growth will stall at a time of booming demand. Evidence of stagnating activity is mounting. A survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas posted a score of zero for business activity growth in the second quarter among some 150 oil and gas groups in its region — suggesting any expansion had hit a wall. It … [Read more...]
Sweden Embraces Nuclear After Renewables Disappointment
Sweden has recognized that it will need more than renewables to remove fossil fuels from its electricity generation. So, after voting to wean itself off of nuclear power 40 years ago, the country's government has made room for a nuclear comeback. Reuters reports: "This creates the conditions for nuclear power," Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson said in parliament. "We need more electricity production, we need clean electricity and we need a stable energy system." Sweden's parties agreed a deal in 2016 that new reactors could be built at existing sites. However, without subsidies, it … [Read more...]
The Saudis Are Making Biden’s America the World’s Oil Cut Whipping Boy
When Joe Biden took control of the White House, relations with the Saudis almost immediately deteriorated from their Trump-era heyday. Biden insulted the Saudis repeatedly, and they have gotten his message and returned their own by beginning to free themselves from American influence and even harm American interests when counter to their own. Now the Saudis are preparing to use American markets as the whipping boy for their attempt to raise oil prices by cutting production. Javier Blas reports for Bloomberg: When Saudi Arabia needs to quickly convince the oil market that supply is tightening, … [Read more...]
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