{"id":29165,"date":"2015-01-24T08:29:45","date_gmt":"2015-01-24T16:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=29165"},"modified":"2023-11-10T10:13:13","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T18:13:13","slug":"black-coffee-cheap-gas-43-hot-dogs-hasty-hedge-fund-managers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id29165-black-coffee-cheap-gas-43-hot-dogs-hasty-hedge-fund-managers.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Cheap Gas, $43 Hot Dogs & Hasty Hedge Fund Managers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe<\/em> …<\/p>\n

Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.<\/p>\n

Okay, off we go …<\/p>\n

Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Somebody pinch me. Believe it or not, gasoline is now cheaper than sparkling water<\/a>. I’ll drink to that.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Heck, even my<\/em> corner gas station is offering a gallon of unleaded for $2.33. Yes, in Southern California! Of course, that’s a rip-off compared to Lubbock, Texas, which currently has the cheapest gas in the US. According to Gas Buddy<\/a>, it’s only $1.69 there. Wow.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> You know, Lubbock isn’t the only place you can find a gallon of cheap unleaded these days — more than half<\/a> of all US gas stations are currently selling it for less than $2.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> If you’re wondering what to spend your surplus fuel dollars on, keep in mind that a new Treasury rule allows travelers to import $100 worth of cigars from Cuba. How many stogies is that? Just four<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> This week, at the World Economic Forum<\/a>, billionaire real estate mogul Jeff Greene warned that, “America’s lifestyle expectations are far too high and need to be adjusted so we have less things and a smaller, better existence.”<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Yes, this is the same guy who, according to Bloomberg<\/a>, flew his wife, children and two nannies on a private jet across the Atlantic to this week’s economic conference in Davos, Switzerland. Uh huh. Another elite espousing rules for thee but not for me.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Then again, who else but a billionaire has the money to hang out in Davos, where hot dogs sell for $43.50<\/a>, a burger — sans cheese — costs $47, and a chicken Caesar salad fetches $55?<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> On second thought, that $47 hamburger is a relative bargain compared to celebrity chef Martin Blunos’ $184 cheese sandwich<\/a>. I know.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Maybe those high prices are why President Obama challenged those who oppose<\/a> raising the minimum wage to try raising a family of four on $15,000 per year. Psst. Mr. President: The only place where minimum wage jobs are a legitimate career path is Utopia.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> One person who may be looking for a minimum wage job soon is hedge fund manager Owen Li who, according to CNBC<\/a>, lost 99.8% of his $100 million Canarise Capital hedge fund in nine short months. And I thought I<\/em> had a bad year.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> In a letter to his clients, Li said he’s “truly sorry<\/a>.” He also explained that he “acted overzealously, causing devastating losses for which there is no excuse.” No kidding, Captain Obvious.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Speaking of empty wallets, Microsoft founder Bill Gates is pushing the world to become a cashless society<\/a>. I guess Bill has no concerns about privacy, personal liberty or giving governments the means to easily confiscate everyone’s money at will.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> I wonder if Mr. Gates is floating a trial balloon in advance of the global monetary system reset that will be here sooner rather than later. In fact, some people believe the reset process is already in motion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/span><\/strong> One thing’s for sure: When the reset finally does<\/em> come, the US will no longer be willing to waste $432,000 on frivolous studies like the one they recently commissioned to investigate gay hookup apps<\/a>. Oh, yes; they did. Remember that the next time a politician clamors for higher taxes.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/span><\/strong> Hopefully, the feds will be less willing to repeat their mistakes too, as the IRS recently did when it awarded an IT contract worth $4.2 million<\/a> to the company responsible for the bungled Obamacare website. No, really.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Finally … As McDonald’s earnings continue to fall, I see they’re now looking at new ways to woo customers<\/a>. Here’s my suggestion: change the name to In-N-Out Burger and start selling Double Doubles. You’re welcome.<\/p>\n

By the Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gasoline, like real estate, is all about location, location, location. Here are average prices for a gallon of unleaded gasoline as of January 23, 2015 for select states:<\/p>\n

$1.78 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Missouri (Rank: 1)<\/p>\n

$1.80 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Oklahoma (2)<\/p>\n

$1.84 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Texas (4)<\/p>\n

$1.94 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>New Jersey (19)<\/p>\n

$1.99 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Georgia (27)<\/p>\n

$2.01 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Illinois (29)<\/p>\n

$2.10 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Florida (33)<\/p>\n

$2.21 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Nevada (42)<\/p>\n

$2.47 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>California (48)<\/p>\n

$3.29 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Hawaii (50)<\/p>\n

Source: Gas Buddy<\/em><\/p>\n

The Question of the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n

[poll id=\"45\"]<\/code><\/p>\n

Last Week’s Poll Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are eight tokens in the latest edition of Monopoly; which one would you choose?<\/p>\n

\"monopoly<\/a><\/p>\n