OlDawg

Fail This guy also appears to be a real tool.

My bet would be that many--if not most--of the workers who became 'stock millionaires' overnight have no clue what happens if they decide to cash out within a year. Can anyone spell Capital Gains and/or AMT to the max? Elon would show how good of a boss he really was if he were to offer financial planning services as part of his employee bennies. THAT would really show his character. On a sidenote, I'd be curious how many of the employees who became stock millionaires are still willing to vote for AOC or Harris?

I think I’ll increase my holdings in P&G (Rolaids) and trade some of my Merck for Pfizer (Xanax). I should see a good bump for the next year or two.

Elizabeth Warren is having a coronary.

Sure am glad Core measurement strips out food prices because El Nino years are heck on food price inflation, and this is expected to be one of the worst El Nino years on record. The energy situation won't be sorted out for at least 6 months to a year, and food prices may be in jeopardy as well. The Fed isn't going to cut rates which means the economy won't get a boost (except maybe from AI), and the Fed may want a higher inflation level anyway as it helps with the debt. This is more than likely what Trump was referring to with his comment about inflation that people didn't think through what he was meaning, and he didn't explain. I think I'll stick to my personal thoughts on possible sticky inflation instead of listening to a political hack for my financial advice. [Hidden Content]

Good Luck! You bought at a multiple of 150. Theoretically, it will take you over a century to break even. I like Musk's creativity and marketing. I like his pure drive. I wouldn't bet against him. I just can't see paying that kind of multiple for an unprofitable company. Definitely not what I'd consider 'buying low.' I'll just take the small sliver that will be allocated in some of my funds, and hope it's successful.

Personal belief is that—similar to ALL Administrations—POTUS receives briefing highlights, and no single person can have knowledge of everything. I would bet he’s aware of the general status. But, I doubt he’s aware of what it will take to replenish, and the details.

Why? Updates are good. I saw many stations around here at $3.29 yesterday. I'm just pointing out the bigger picture. We'll pay the price down the road. SPR will have to be refilled with our tax dollars at some point. With payment on our debt now at over $130 Billion/mo. as of May--up from $80 Billion--I'm not sure where all this money is going to come from... No way I see the Fed raising interest rates with that debt payment, which means sticky inflation for a while. We may well be in an era of 4% inflation being 'normal.' Hope not. But, we may be there. Beginning to wonder if it might be a good time to look at I Bonds again. They're already at a decent 4.26% until October. Safe money for 6 months.

The Strategic Oil Reserve is now down to 243 MM barrels. This is the lowest level since 1982. The SPR is supposed to be an insurance policy, It's not meant to be used for price controls, or election politics. For context, the U.S. consumes about 20MM barrels/day. Basically, our 30 day insurance policy is now down to 10. Refilling SPR to capacity at the highest fill rate of 785,000 BBLs/day means it would take until at least 2031 to refill if it were being filled at maximum rates--which is next to impossible given the age and condition of the infrastructure.

Yeah... I don't see much of the summary happening--especially not the withdrawal of troops from the region. Nuclear ambitions weren't even mentioned. Someone's still not on the same page, the propaganda machine is still working overtime, or both.

U.S. National Debt numbers - June 2026: Relative to one year ago, total gross national debt is $2.99 trillion higher; relative to five years ago, it is $10.94 trillion higher. Assuming the average daily rate of growth over the past three years continues, the U.S. will reach $40 trillion by approximately September 23, 2026. At that rate, an increase of another trillion dollars would be reached in approximately 141 days. [Hidden Content] Debt Update.html

I said ‘credible mentions.’ 😝

Where did this become ‘stealing Iranian oil?’ I read where the U.S. had assisted vessels loaded with about 100 MM barrels through the Strait. I read no credible mentions of it being Iranian oil, or ‘stolen.’

Guess I should say, my son—after 13 years as the Nuke power Chief on the USS Ronald Reagan—got his Nuclear Engineering degree. Funny thing is, he actually works for TI in Dallas as one of the technical engineers that build and maintain their ultra pure semiconductor wafer machines. His Navy clean room, real world engineering experience made all the difference. Texas Instruments likes to hire Navy Nuclear Power vets for this position, and they pay them very well. Hopefully, he’s got a pretty solid job future. He’s been there going on 6 years I think, and really seems to like it.

Off of TexasForever’s initial topic. But, good discussion. Grew up on the farm. THAT was work! lol I also initially went to college on a scholly, became disillusioned, and joined the Navy. I’ve spoken about some of that experience. When I got out, I was hired on at a local petrochemical as a ‘B’ operator partly because of being a vet, was encouraged to go back to school while working, and got an AAS in Engineering Design. From there, I got my Mechanical and went to work contract at multiple firms. Got my PMP, and led projects for years. Got tired of working 80’s for straight pay, went back to school for my BSBM, and was asked to join Sales. I finished up as lead Downstream BD for Mustang/Wood Group, Fluor, Jacobs and a couple smaller outfits before calling it quits to take care of family. Better 1/2 was an Aggie ChemE, and son is a Nuclear Engineer.