The hardest part about losing our dog Louis is how losing him brought back feelings for others we’ve lost. That feeling of loss resurfaces. That and the quiet. The house is quiet. It’s missing a life that was literally just there. Certain times of the day are harder than others. The mornings and coming home from work are tough. It’s jarring when daily rituals stop. “Will you get another?” I’m asked. Time will tell. It hurts to lose. It hurts to lose anything, money included. There are memories that go along with those dollars you earned. I remember cutting lawns and scooping ice … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2024
America’s Most Productive Farmland at Risk
P. J. Huffstutter and Christopher Walljasper of Reuters tell their readers that as the Biden administration pushes to build up the green infrastructure, they are failing to protect valuable farmland being locked up by solar farms. They write: Dave Duttlinger's first thought when he saw a dense band of yellowish-brown dust smearing the sky above his Indiana farm was: I warned them this would happen. About 445 acres of his fields near Wheatfield, Indiana, are covered in solar panels and related machinery – land that in April 2019 Duttlinger leased to Dunns Bridge Solar LLC, for one of the … [Read more...]
Why is the Fed Always Surprised About Inflation
With the Fed heads meeting this week it begs the question: Why are they always surprised about inflation? When they target two percent inflation and miss it by such a wide margin it’s Main Street that pays. Joseph Sternberg of The WSJ writes: Jerome Powell owes us an explanation. The Federal Reserve chairman this week confirmed what investors already had guessed: Surprisingly persistent inflation is dissuading the Fed from cutting its short-term policy rate as soon and perhaps as quickly as Wall Street had hoped. It’s the right call. The Fed committed its worst error in 40 years when it … [Read more...]
U.S. Natural Gas-Fired Electricity Generation Grew in 2022 & 2023
From the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Electricity generation from units that primarily consume natural gas in the U.S. Lower 48 states has increased for all hours of the day since 2021, according to data reported on Form EIA-930, Hourly and Daily Balancing Authority Operations Report. Increased electricity generation from natural gas was due mostly to coal retirements, increases in natural gas-fired electricity generating capacity, and low natural gas prices in 2023. Off-peak natural gas-fired generation rose about 22% between 2021 and 2023, according to our data, … [Read more...]
Our Dog Louis Passed Away on April 17th
Our dog Louis passed away on April 17th. He was thirteen. When he was a puppy, our kids were in elementary school. “Hi, Mom,” one said. “We’re home.” That was our cue to release him from around the corner to meet them for the first time. And that was the beginning of Louis doing almost everything with us. Trips to the grocery store. Riding shotgun to pick up burgers, pawing at me to share a fry. Walking the beaches and going on hikes. Long car rides to New Hampshire in the back with the kids watching them unwrap their sandwiches. And kayaking down the Saco River, which he preferred to … [Read more...]
National Security Risk: Shortage of Fuel Powering U.S. Missiles
Drew FitzGerald of The Wall Street Journal tells his readers how a U.S. missile supplier’s effort to make a key chemical has struggled to meet demanding Pentagon requirements as global conflicts rise. He writes: The Pentagon long relied on one U.S. company to make the main ingredient that fuels its most powerful missiles. Northrop Grumman’s effort to build a second source has been slow to take off. Years after building a factory to make more of the key chemical, Northrop’s output is still missing from the fuel powering many U.S. weapon systems—when global conflicts have spurred demand for … [Read more...]
Permian Basin Output Has Reined in Middle East Oil Price Volatility
Benoît Morenne and Andrew Mollica Satellite of The Wall Street Journal report data reveals the impact of oil and gas drilling on the Permian Basin’s landscape. They write: In a desolate stretch of desert spanning West Texas and New Mexico, drillers are pumping more crude than Kuwait. The oil production is so frenzied that huge swaths of land are literally sinking and heaving. The land has subsided by as much as 11 inches since 2015 in a prime portion of the Permian Basin, as drillers extract huge amounts of oil and water, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of satellite data. In … [Read more...]
What Does an AI Business Model Look Like?
With massive investment being injected into AI startups with no real business, the question that must be answered is, what does an AI business model look like? Berber Jin reports in The Wall Street Journal: Artificial intelligence startup Imbue has hoodies branded with its circular orange logo, an office in the heart of San Francisco and marquee investors who lavished the company with more than $210 million. Work and life blend together for its few dozen employees, who share their emotions with one another at a weekly event called “Feelings Friday” to build trust and connection. More … [Read more...]
How Investing in AI Speaks Volumes about You
How you invest in AI speaks volumes about you, specifically your risk tolerance. Because it’s been Your Survival Guy’s experience that investors realize their risk tolerance is intolerance, like a food allergy, after the fact. When they lose money. When you consider AI’s pull-on energy, doesn’t it make sense to have some utilities? Why not include ones that have a history of paying dividends and increasing them? The WSJ reports: In the U.S., with the most data centers, their share of electricity consumption could rise from 4% in 2022 to 6% in 2026, the International Energy Agency … [Read more...]
Rule #1: Don’t Lose Money
Warren Buffett famously said, “Rule #1, don’t lose money. Rule #2: don’t forget rule #1.” When I think of this, I’m reminded of Your Survival Guy’s efficient frontier. Worry more about how you invest than what you invest in. Keeping within your proper comfort zone is up to you. Action Line: If you need help finding your comfort zone, let’s talk. P.S. Happy Efficient Frontier Friday! “What do you do if the market crashes?” a new client asked me last week. “Good question,” I said. “I get that one a lot.” And it’s one of the reasons I’ve been writing to you, valued reader, on my … [Read more...]
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