Crude oil prices are booming and is now up 34.5% since late June BUT THIS IS NOT JUST A SUPPLY STORY - WATCH OUT DEMAND AS WELL!!!
The OPEC+ (Saudi/Russian) production cuts are the easy culprit to blame for higher prices. They do matter. But another equally important factor is booming demand. Bloomberg uses Department of Energy data for production, imports, and inventory changes to "input" the weekly demand for crude oil. Below is a five-week average to smooth the noise. Demand is through the roof! This suggests the economy is okay (aka "no landing") as there are few if any, signs of "demand destruction." The combo OPEC+ cutting back + demand booming = 34.5% crude oil rally in 10 weeks... Is there more to come? Source: Jim Bianco
A Monday Reminder
Source: DividendBuilder
China Gold Premium to the rest of the world hit a new record of $120 an ounce as Beijing defends yuan
Gold in China is trading at a record premium to international prices, a sign of Beijing’s escalating battle to defend its currency. Bullion on the Shanghai Gold Exchange traded at a premium of more than $120 an ounce on Thursday, according to calculations by Bloomberg. That’s the highest since the exchange was founded over two decades ago, as a weak yuan drove up prices in recent weeks. Source: Bloomberg
McKinsey annual State of artificial intelligence survey is here, and the results confirm 2023 is all about generative AI:
by McKinsey & co
The king of pricing power...
How Apple’s $AAPL iPhone pricing evolved over time (higher and across more price points), and versus Android (lower) by Eugene Ng
5 types of powerful moats:
🏰 INTANGIBLE ASSETS: Example: Brand, Patents, Copyrights 🏰 SWITCHING COSTS: It would be expensive in terms of cost, time, or training, to switch to an alternative provider. 🏰 NETWORK EFFECT: A network becomes more powerful as more users join. 🏰 COST ADVANTAGE: A company can produce a product or service at a lower internal cost than competitors. 🏰 EFFICIENT SCALE: A company's buying power or market position allows it to dominate its category. by Brian Feroldi / Morningstar
CASH IS KING...
Where investors have put their #cash this year (hint: NOT stocks) via Goldman
Credit Suisse bond investors plot lawsuit against Switzerland
A group of international bond investors is drawing up plans to sue Switzerland in the US courts for expropriation over the losses they suffered after the state-orchestrated rescue of Credit Suisse. The case is being brought together by law firm Quinn Emanuel, according to people familiar with the matter. Quinn Emanuel is already suing Switzerland’s financial regulator, Finma, over its decision to wipe out $17bn of Credit Suisse bonds when the bank was taken over by UBS six months ago. Lawyers at Quinn Emanuel are laying the groundwork to sue Switzerland in the US, where they believe there is a greater chance of convincing a judge to waive the country’s sovereign immunity rights. The suit could be filed by the end of the year, though it is not certain to proceed, according to people involved in the discussions.
