Good morning:.
Stocks are relatively tame this morning, but what should be pointed out is we are halfway through August and buyers have yet to take a vacation from trading … as new highs in the S&P are seemingly achieved during each passing week.
A July retail sales number arrived this morning that was far lower than expected, and this raises a bit of concern as strategists try to determine if this is a one-time blip or whether the sales trend continues to soften. It can’t be that Americans are getting more careful (and frugal) when it comes to shopping … as it is strictly not in our DNA.
I might get flack for this (and might lose a reader or two) but I am a little shocked that the Vice President stated on Fox News that goal number one in Iran is keep oil and gas cheap for Americans while goal number two is keeping nuclear weapons out of their hands. I hope these weren’t ranked in order of preference though I do hope oil continues to drop.
That being said, gas prices are still inching up … as AAA reports that at $4.0776/gallon it is higher than it was over the previous day, week and month. Also trickling upward again are mortgage rates as the 30-year is now at an uncomfortable-for-some 6.71%.
The mortgage rate situation is interesting as last night I watched a documentary/show on Lehman Brothers … and one of their workers spoke about how low-rate mortgages were sold to individuals … at great commission to the sellers … without the buyer understanding that if rates rose it would be impossible to pay the mortgage. I recommend “Inside Lehman Brothers” to anyone looking for an interesting story in which those guilty of hurting people received no criminal charges, finding themselves: “too big to jail.”
There was a lot of disgust over Iran stating they might charge passage fees for vessels going through the Strait … but this is not unique in character. A story on Bloomberg this morning points out that ships in the Panama Canal … already paying a navigation fee … have started paying extra fees in order to “cut the line” … just like people do at Disneyland.
Just two other notes.
There is a report that McDonalds is starting to lose market share to … Burger King. This is a shock to me as I’ve completely forgotten about … and dismissed … BK being a challenger to Mickey Ds. Meanwhile another great show is “The Founder” … with Michael Keaton … indicating how badly the original McDonald creators were taken advantage of. I do prefer the flame broiled taste of the Whopper over the Big Mac … but can’t remember the last time I had either one.
And this fast-food talk leads to the last story below where people on diet drugs have found a way to reduce the skeletal look of “Ozempic face” … as they get an injection of fat from … get this … cadavers. Really. Dead people. It is also known as “Zombie filler.”
I think I’ll end this note here as I’m feeling kind of queasy after that.
Have a great weekend,
Joseph G. Witthohn, CFA
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