{"id":81658,"date":"2024-01-06T01:15:01","date_gmt":"2024-01-06T09:15:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=81658"},"modified":"2024-01-10T12:26:42","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T20:26:42","slug":"black-coffee-6-jan-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id81658-black-coffee-6-jan-2024.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Cocktails & Dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"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

I’ve got another busy weekend ahead of me, so let’s get right to this week’s commentary …<\/p>\n

Debts are like children – begot with pleasure, but brought forth with pain.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– Moliere<\/strong><\/p>\n

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– George Carlin<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? It looks like consumers are finally waking up, as the electric vehicle (EV) craze has finally peaked<\/a>. In fact, growth in gasoline-powered cars is once again far higher than electrics, convincingly flipping a dubious trend that began last year. One analyst summed it up this way: consumers are realizing that EVs make for a “good second car, provided you\u2019re driving (locally), can charge it at home overnight, and you don\u2019t suddenly have to go out of town. It\u2019s a toy, sometimes a fun one, but not a real car. For that, you need gas.\u201d Uh huh. The batteries also only operate reliably in warm-weather locations. And speaking of new cars …<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Cocoa prices are at the highest level since 1978<\/a>, as the outlook of poor crop harvests across West Africa has been a major bullish factor pushing prices higher this year. Now for the punchline: The world’s largest chocolate makers – Hershey Co. and Nestle – have yet to feel the full impacts of soaring prices because cocoa is bought well in advance. This means consumers will see a further increase in the prices of their favorite candy bars in 2024. Um, and apparently cocktails too …<\/p>\n

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Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Speaking of high prices, the markets believed that the Fed could successfully return price inflation to 2% and keep it there. But macro analyst Peter Schiff says such beliefs are \u201ca fantasy<\/a> that\u2019s just not going to happen – and the markets haven\u2019t come to terms with that.\u201d Okay … just don’t tell that to guys like this<\/strong><\/em>:<\/p>\n