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  • Post 324

    Post 324
    2025/07/14
    • US booze companies see impact from tariffs.
      • First positive and then negative.
    • Nike has not grown its sales for seven straight quarters.
      • And just experienced its largest sales decline so far.
    • Cocoa bean prices are very volatile and near historic highs.
      • A look at the world’s largest chocolate manufacturer.
    • Hershey sales are suffering.
      • As is its profitability as the high cocoa bean price bite.
    • A look at how growth in household wealth is only partially a reflection of growth in capital being produced in the economy.
      • And how the vast majority of wealth is held by the top 10%
    • In Financial Ructions:
      • We zero in on the equities and mutual funds part of household wealth.
        • And try to get a sense of how much real wealth has been created since 1989.
          • Spoiler alert, a lot less than the headline numbers.
    • Book review:
      • In our book review of The Way The World Works we look at two chapters:
        • In chapter 4 he looks at capital and reminds us that the increased capital production during wartime does not contribute to a flourishing economy.
        • In chapter 5 he looks at what leads to greater productivity and how well-intended government actions can detract from the wealth of society.
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    29 分
  • Post 323

    Post 323
    2025/07/08
    • Florida is one of the weakest housing markets in America.
      • But prices are still sky-high compared to pre-COVID
    • Nationally, sellers outnumber buyers by half a million.
      • Prices are falling in some areas, but even with prices falling many will remain priced out of the housing market.
    • America’s largest home builder’s sales are accelerating downward.
      • The issue is affordability constraints, but it’s not about mortgage rates.
    • Tesla’s car deliveries fall for the second straight quarter.
      • Robotaxi to the rescue?
    • The Canadian government has rescinded its proposed digital services tax.
      • This is good news for Canadians.
    • US jobs numbers appear to be a mixed bag.
      • But the number of government workers are finally falling.
    • Microsoft lays off more employees.
      • But its share price continues to soar.
    • A look at the wealth of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and how he achieved it.
    • In Financial Ructions:
      • Social Security in the US will be insolvent in 8 years.
        • And the cost of making it solvent has continued to increase as policymakers perpetually kick the can down the road.
          • Refusing to make tough but necessary decisions.
      • A look at what has been influencing stock market valuations.
    • In our book review of the Way The World Works we look at the economic law of supply and demand and how things happen at the margin.
      • And how the best political leaders don’t take criticism personally but rather as a way to understand the struggles of the electorate.
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    42 分
  • Post 322

    Post 322
    2025/07/01
    • Carnival continues to ride the wave of higher prices.
    • General Mills sales are declining
      • But would be a lot worse if not for their pet business.
    • Yet, JM Smucker’s pet division had a double-digit sales decline.
      • And a look back.
    • Airliner JetBlue is seeing declines in air travel.
      • Its share price has been a 25-year disaster.
    • Student loan delinquencies in the US are soaring.
      • And government workers have a sweet deal.
    • Insolvencies in Canada fell in April.
      • We may finally be getting to a level that is less influenced by government.
    • Jobs growth in Canada has been nonexistent since January.
      • The unemployment rate is the highest in 9 years.
    • No Financial Ructions this week.
    • In our book review of The Way the World Works, we look at the age-old issue of how much wealth should be redistributed.
      • And the importance of relying on a sound system rather than hoping the right leader happens to come along.
      • Low taxation, a strong currency and the rule of law lead to economic prosperity.
        • We’re currently moving in the wrong direction.
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    26 分
  • Post 321

    Post 321
    2025/06/09
    • Campbell’s Soup sales are back in positive territory.
      • Restaurants getting so expensive people are eating more at home.
        • But not eating as many snacks.
    • Hudson’s Bay is being liquidated.
      • But its brands will live on.
    • The percentage of first-time home buyers in the US has plummeted.
      • It’s a result of deliberate policy.
    • The alcohol industry is still struggling.
      • Brown Forman, maker of Jack Daniel’s, recently announced their results and they were met with plenty of booze.
        • Its share price is going down faster than shots of Jack Daniels at a Honky-Tonk line dance.
    • Home sales in the Toronto area are down more than a third from pre-COVID.
      • Yet active listings are way up: over 40%.
    • Lululemon comparable store sales in the Americas have not grown for five straight quarters.
    • Procter & Gamble sales growth has been declining.
      • And now its number of employees is following suit.
    • P&G competitor Kimberly Clark also saw sales weaken and are now in negative territory.
    • In Financial Ructions:
      • We look at how real interest rates were distorted into negative territory for years by Ben Bernanke.
        • With other central banks following suit this was the start of the housing affordability crisis in many countries.
      • Manufacturing has been contracting in the US for some time.
        • But prices are rising.
      • Canadian banks may be getting nervous.
      • Activist Treasury Issuance survives the change in government.
    • We start Chapter 1 of our book review of The Way the Economy Works: How Economies Fail – and Succeed by Jude Wanniski
      • Government must be of the people and must be trusted.
        • Decadence only occurs when government goes its own way and in a direction different from that demanded by society.


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    40 分
  • Post 320

    Post 320
    2025/06/02
    • The producers of alcoholic beverages say that the health concerns related to alcohol consumption are exaggerated.
      • I hope so.
    • Shoppers continue to flock to Costco.
      • And investors to its common stock.
    • Target, not so much.
      • Home furnishings sales are down over 8%.
    • In Financial Ructions:
      • We look at a speech that John F. Kennedy made to the Economic Club of New York in 1962.
        • Income taxes were finally being cut.
      • A look at how money is created in the US.
        • And no, the government does not spend it into existence.
      • If the US does not increase the debt ceiling it is not at risk of defaulting on its debt obligations.
        • The only thing at risk is deficit spending.
      • The great Thomas Sowell reminds us that it was FDR’s New Deals that extended the Great Depression.
    • Book Review
      • I’m excited to start reviewing the first of two books on supply side economics.
        • This one by Jude Wanniski called The Way the Economy Works: How Economies Fail – and Succeed.
          • I review the Preface, but before getting into that we review the Bretton Woods system.
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    39 分
  • Post 319

    Post 319
    2025/06/02
    • Truck maker Paccar sales continue to fall.
    • Freight shipments in the US are still down.
    • A look at how tariffs impact trade: Lobsters.
    • Petrol cars may not be going the way of the Dodo in California after all.
    • Both Home Depot and Lowe’s broke eight quarter losing streaks at the end of 2024 with sales finally back in positive territory.
      • It only lasted a quarter.
    • Inflation in Canada is rising again.
    • On an adjusted basis, Canada has lost jobs for two straight months.
      • And the government artificially increased the unemployment numbers in order to boost unemployment benefits.
    • We dive into just how unaffordable a house is in Toronto.
    • In Financial Ructions:
      • Things look like they’re unravelling in Japan.
        • Inflation is forcing the Bank of Japan’s hand on interest rates.
        • That’s what happens when you increase the monetary base at an annual rate of 14% over 14 years.
      • Yes, longer-term rates are affected by central banks.
        • And not just through QE.
      • We look at an FT opinion piece which says that efforts to improve liquidity in the US Treasury market could exacerbate the basis trade.
        • But don’t worry, the Fed will come to the rescue.
    • We finally finish our book review of The Great Depression.
      • I actually found myself agreeing with a couple of the author’s comments.
      • But don’t worry, I disagreed with most of what he had to say in the final chapter.
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    51 分