2021 - Is inflation finally back in the conversation?

[Incredulity 11650]

12 minutes ago, StassneyHorn said:

My entire post was sarcasm

[StassneyHorn 6573]

Good talk, sport 

[52-80 19147]

19 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

While you could be correct that it is overblown or out of context, numerous articles state that Andy Groff, Kroger's pricing head, confronted with emails, admitted that they raised prices beyond that necessary to pass through cost inflation.

This might be damning if somebody would first please define what is the correct prices sellers have a "right" to set?

(And, you know, think through the implication of that)

Like, are they supposed to do this that is written in the Bloomberg article:

Quote

Kroger and other grocers have benefited from periods of higher inflation as they passed down price increases to consumers. Supermarket operators raised retail prices instead of absorbing all increases, and higher food prices led to jumps in sales until shoppers pulled back on their spending.

It shouldn't need reminding that none of these things are illegal or amoral:

*selling eggs at kroger when buyers have 10 other stores they can buy it from

*asking for variable margins across different products when the companies total residual profit before, during, and after the pandemic was literally less than 2%

nobody limits how much you can ask in exchange for your house, your car, or your labor. it shouldn't need reminding, but a bunch of you take your cues from Newsweek headlines, so maybe it does after all.

[jimmyjazz 45887]

1 hour ago, 52-80 said:

nobody limits how much you can ask in exchange for your house, your car, or your labor. it shouldn't need reminding, but a bunch of you take your cues from Newsweek headlines, so maybe it does after all.

Not so sure on that one.  I recall an investigation in my Travis Heights neighborhood years ago when a house sold at an extreme premium to market rates.  Nefarious intent was suspected.  I never heard what happened, though.

[Captainant 27630]

If these entities like Kroger want to engage in monopolistic practices and take over a plurality to majority of the overall market, then yeah they should probably get some extra rules and governance and not just be allowed to extract as much as they can

[Storm the Field 5293]

Actual inflation news.

September 25 bps cut pretty much locked in at this point, IMO.

[Trey3216 15343]

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Not so sure on that one.  I recall an investigation in my Travis Heights neighborhood years ago when a house sold at an extreme premium to market rates.  Nefarious intent was suspected.  I never heard what happened, though.

I mean, if I suddenly came into FU money and I wanted to buy my parents $600k house from them for $1.2mm and then let them live in the guest house for free, that's my decision and there's nothing nefarious about it.  

[jimmyjazz 45887]

4 minutes ago, Trey3216 said:

I mean, if I suddenly came into FU money and I wanted to buy my parents $600k house from them for $1.2mm and then let them live in the guest house for free, that's my decision and there's nothing nefarious about it.  

Well, you essentially gifted them $600K and there was no tax paid on the first $500K over cost basis, so maybe not exactly kosher?

Full disclosure:  not an attorney or real estate expert.  Happy to be wrong about this.

[Hefeweizen 5310]

Yeah pretty sure if the tax man figured it out you got some explaining to do.

[52-80 19147]

Back when many people didnt understand how the world worked, some natural event like a landslide would rush through a village, and the priest would invent a new superstition to ascribe the occurence. 

Like “well that was obviously the goat-headed mud demon Zuul acting out of malevolence, and if you elect me as elder ill cast a spell to keep him out”

And it worked. The priest gained more followers and the simple villagers gained an avatar towards which they direct their spite. 

Sometimes reading shit about business here feels a lot like that still, just voodoo and superstition. 

[jimmyjazz 45887]

WTF are you yammering about now?

[washparkhorn 9939]

3 month annualized PCE at 0.9% is a stalling signal.  50 bps cut in September looking more likely. 100 bps cut by the end of the year not unlikely. 

[Snake Diggity 4619]

If they don’t cut, the stock market will crash.

If they cut .25, I think the market will suffer some.

 

I would bet heavily on a .50 cut this month.  Wouldn’t bet against another cut (maybe even another .50) in October.

[pearlandhorn 3269]

18 hours ago, Snake Diggity said:

If they don’t cut, the stock market will crash.

If they cut .25, I think the market will suffer some.

 

I would bet heavily on a .50 cut this month.  Wouldn’t bet against another cut (maybe even another .50) in October.

Ehhhh. I’m of the opinion that the market has already priced in a 25 basis point cut. I’m also thinking that Powell won’t want to be seen as political and won’t cut more than that this month. I may be wrong though.

[Snake Diggity 4619]

29 minutes ago, pearlandhorn said:

Ehhhh. I’m of the opinion that the market has already priced in a 25 basis point cut. I’m also thinking that Powell won’t want to be seen as political and won’t cut more than that this month. I may be wrong though.

Yeah I may be wrong too (goes without saying lol).  But my current guess is they cut 50 this month then see if that momentum carries thru to October while trying to manage expectations against another cut.  If the momentum carries, they’ll leave it alone in October but regardless I think they will overreact to sentiment each of these next 2 months.

[UTGrad98 2271]

Wouldn't cutting 50 basis points cause more panic?

[Incredulity 11650]

I said previously, but I think we get a bit of a short term selloff either way.  I think 50 exasperates the sell off.  
 

no cut is a rug pull, so sell off.

cut is brief panic that they actually had to cut.

I’m not bold/crazy enough to bet that in the market.  Just an opinion.

[52-80 19147]

from futures markets

is 4.25 FFTR enough for a big santa rally?

 

Edited September 2 by 52-80

[Storm the Field 5293]

RBOB gasoline futures are at a 3 1/2 year low. By October, pump prices will be close to $1 less than a year ago.

[StassneyHorn 6573]

Inflation at lowest level since Feb 2021. Gas at $2.80.

Remember these times. 

[Incredulity 11650]

12 hours ago, StassneyHorn said:

Remember these times. 

[StassneyHorn 6573]

Have you been in small town Ohio lately?

[Incredulity 11650]

47 minutes ago, StassneyHorn said:

Have you been in small town Ohio lately?

that was your mother's old douche bag

[Hefeweizen 5310]

1 hour ago, StassneyHorn said:

Have you been in small town Ohio lately?

[StassneyHorn 6573]

[Parliament 14239]

2 hours ago, StassneyHorn said:

Have you been in small town Ohio lately?

Not if I can help it.

[B00M 6413]

On 9/13/2024 at 1:02 PM, StassneyHorn said:

Have you been in small town Ohio lately?

Gross

[Conqueeftador 123]

50 bps more likely than 25 now. 
 

 

Senators calling for 75. 
 

 

 

[washparkhorn 9939]

It’s 50. Plus another 50 by the end of the year. 

[Bozo_Casanova 26435]

What a time to be alive 

[Bozo_Casanova 26435]

On 9/16/2024 at 8:21 AM, Conqueeftador said:

50 bps more likely than 25 now. 
 

 

Senators calling for 75. 
 

 

 

Ridiculous 

[UTPhil2006 3804]

On 6/1/2024 at 8:33 PM, Wally Fairway said:

September 2024?

Yup 

[bernorange 8359]

Tidy bowl man getting rich.

[Wally Fairway 5541]

47 minutes ago, UTPhil2006 said:

Yup 

Lol - good job calling heads as coin lays on the ground 

[UTPhil2006 3804]

On 5/31/2024 at 9:18 AM, UTPhil2006 said:

Leaning towards a cut in Sept 

Better? 

[Captainant 27630]

FTC going to work on more artificial cost inflation

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/20/ftc-sues-drug-middlemen-for-allegedly-inflating-insulin-prices.html

Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) sit at the center of the drug supply chain in the U.S. They negotiate rebates with drug manufacturers on behalf of insurers, large employers and federal health plans. They also create lists of medications, or formularies, that are covered by insurance and reimburse pharmacies for prescriptions. The FTC has been investigating PBMs since 2022. 

The agency’s suit argues that the three PBMs have created a “perverse” drug rebate system that prioritizes high rebates from drugmakers, which leads to “artificially inflated insulin list prices.” It also alleges that PBMs favor those high-list-price insulins even when more affordable insulins with lower list prices become available. 

The FTC is filing its complaint through its so-called administrative process, which initiates a proceeding before an administrative judge who would hear the case.

“Millions of Americans with diabetes need insulin to survive, yet for many of these vulnerable patients, their insulin drug costs have skyrocketed over the past decade thanks in part to powerful PBMs and their greed,” Rahul Rao, deputy director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said in a statement. 

“The FTC’s administrative action seeks to put an end to the Big Three PBMs’ exploitative conduct and marks an important step in fixing a broken system—a fix that could ripple beyond the insulin market and restore healthy competition to drive down drug prices for consumers,” Rao continued. 

Roughly 8 million Americans with diabetes rely on insulin to survive, and many have been forced to ration the treatment due to high prices, according to the FTC.

[jimmyjazz 45887]

No way.  Free markets always lead to pure competitive price wars that are in the consumer's best interest.  I read it here.

[washparkhorn 9939]

Just a reminder—‘Heads’ banks win; ‘Tails’ banks win. 
 

 

[Conqueeftador 123]

China trying a little brrrrt. 
 

 

[Parliament 14239]

I

[Incredulity 11650]

can we get this gif with Xi sub'd in?

[StassneyHorn 6573]

23 hours ago, Conqueeftador said:

China trying a little brrrrt. 
 

 

How do you keep getting banned?

[Redneck Mutha 7954]

11 hours ago, StassneyHorn said:

How do you keep getting banned?

The answer is simple, volume.

[Incredulity 11650]

6 minutes ago, Redneck Mutha said:

The answer is simple, volume.

They obtained a truck and paid a farmer $1 each for enough melons to fill it up. Then they drove the truck to a stand they had built by the side of a busy road where they sold the truckload of watermelons for $1 each.

They went back to the farmer and purchased another truckload of melons for $1 each and again sold them for $1 each. As they drove to purchase the third load of melons one of the partners said to the other, “We’re not making much money on this business, are we?” “No, we’re not,” his partner replied. “Do you think we need a bigger truck?”

[tbone_ 14109]

Just a reminder—‘Heads’ banks win; ‘Tails’ banks win. 
 

 

Well we need them to be profitable. And you can always own their stocks.

[Rex Kramer 1332]

No idea where to post this but didn’t wanna start a new thread. Right now, I’m waiting to board a flight from Houston to Dallas. I’m sitting across from one of the biggest douchers I’ve ever seen. He’s probably 60 with white hair and a white goatee - trying REALLY hard to look stylish. But he’s got a Chase button down shirt on, and Chase socks on, so whatever he’s trying to do is rendered fucking moot. 

He’s on the phone loudly talking about needing to hire someone, because he needs to fire someone.  I don’t know to do what - to work in a fucking branch?  And he’s loudly talking about going to the Admiral’s club. I want to assault this motherfucker so bad I make the Hall of Shame thread here. 

[Incredulity 11650]

3 minutes ago, Rex Kramer said:

I want to assault this motherfucker so bad I make the Hall of Shame thread here.

[Rex Kramer 1332]

33 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

The motherfucker was TRIPLE logo’d with a corporate logo. What a putz. I just walked past him and he had gel in his hair. 

[BabaYaga 15288]

54 minutes ago, Rex Kramer said:

No idea where to post this but didn’t wanna start a new thread. Right now, I’m waiting to board a flight from Houston to Dallas. I’m sitting across from one of the biggest douchers I’ve ever seen. He’s probably 60 with white hair and a white goatee - trying REALLY hard to look stylish. But he’s got a Chase button down shirt on, and Chase socks on, so whatever he’s trying to do is rendered fucking moot. 

He’s on the phone loudly talking about needing to hire someone, because he needs to fire someone.  I don’t know to do what - to work in a fucking branch?  And he’s loudly talking about going to the Admiral’s club. I want to assault this motherfucker so bad I make the Hall of Shame thread here. 

Surprised he wasn't on speaker phone or facetiming.  Every one of those bag of dicks need a beating.

[ChickenSandwich 9826]

59 minutes ago, Rex Kramer said:

No idea where to post this but didn’t wanna start a new thread. Right now, I’m waiting to board a flight from Houston to Dallas. I’m sitting across from one of the biggest douchers I’ve ever seen. He’s probably 60 with white hair and a white goatee - trying REALLY hard to look stylish. But he’s got a Chase button down shirt on, and Chase socks on, so whatever he’s trying to do is rendered fucking moot. 

He’s on the phone loudly talking about needing to hire someone, because he needs to fire someone.  I don’t know to do what - to work in a fucking branch?  And he’s loudly talking about going to the Admiral’s club. I want to assault this motherfucker so bad I make the Hall of Shame thread here.