{"id":84728,"date":"2024-09-21T01:00:25","date_gmt":"2024-09-21T08:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=84728"},"modified":"2024-09-24T06:32:35","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T13:32:35","slug":"black-coffee-21-sept-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id84728-black-coffee-21-sept-2024.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Stupid Money Games"},"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

Well … another busy week is behind us. So with that in mind, let’s get this party started …<\/p>\n

I am the Empire at the end of decadent days, watching the pale tall Barbarians advance …<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— Paul Verlaine <\/strong><\/p>\n

The key is not to predict the future, but to prepare for it.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— Pericles<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? This week the mainstream media gushed that, while investors have been fretting about weak consumer spending, retail sales in August had actually surpassed Wall Street’s estimates. Hooray! Now for the punchline: That final figure showed that sales rose by just 0.1%<\/a>. When it comes to the press, the jokes continue write themselves, folks.<\/p>\n

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Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Now for some actual<\/strong><\/em> good news: The number of eggs hatched in the US has risen by more than 3%<\/a> since early July, while the number of chicks placed for production rose to the highest seasonal level in two years. As a result, growing supplies should result in lower chicken retail prices over the coming months. That’s great – but we’re hoping falling pizza prices aren’t far behind …<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> On the other<\/strong><\/em> end of the meat spectrum, the US beef cattle herd size has collapsed to its lowest level in 73 years<\/a>. This has resulted in soaring beef prices across America. It also means that many consumers will be substituting chicken for beef as a way to hold their grocery bills down – much to the relief of neighborhood cats and park geese everywhere.<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Indeed, a key measure of US inflation showed prices rising<\/a> at a faster pace in August than they did in the prior month, with services prices rising swiftly (0.4%) even while goods prices remained flat. That caught most economists completely off guard. As for their reason why, well … let’s just say we were hard pressed to find a truly satisfying answer. In fact, we may as well have asked these people:<\/p>\n