Did You Know? In 1979 a Mercedes S-class cost about $34,000. Today about four decades later, an S-class Mercedes sells for around $111,000, more than triple.
Did You Know? I'm confused.....Chipotle - a fast-food chain in the US - cited growing food, labor and transportation costs to justify raising prices....... their profits DOUBLED in the last quarter. Surely if you are simply raising prices to offset higher costs - or so you claim - your profitability would remain about the same....not DOUBLE? Hmmmmm...... Is it possible there are many in this entire inflationary moment who are simply price gouging? OPEC is another perfect example: they know there is a growing demand for oil, but they purposefully limit (and control) supply - even though there is an abundance of it - simply to prop up prices dramatically.
Did You Know? Married couples can exclude up to $500,000 in gains from capital-gains taxes. That figure hasn’t changed since a 1997 law, while the median home sale price has more than doubled since then. That's almost a quarter century without any adjustment for inflation. (WSJ)
Did You Know? Between 2006 and 2011, VCs spent more than $25 billion funding cleantech and lost more than half their money, according to research by MIT Energy Initiative. The funding for clean energy companies all but dried up from VCs. That was until 2020. According to PitchBook data published this week, more than $40 billion of VC money has poured into climate tech companies from January 2020 to August 2021, exceeding the total for the previous two years by 37%.
- Saudi Arabia - the world's largest oil producer - just announced it will be carbon-neutral by 2060.
- Renewable energy - wind and solar - is, for the first time, starting to compete with fossil fuel counterparts on price without relying on government subsidies. Massive energy cost spikes fuel this.
- Texas is the US’s top producer of renewable energy: most of its renewable electricity comes from wind turbines. And Texas produces the most oil and natural gas.
- Texas, Washington, California and Oregon produce the most renewable energy in the US.
- Kansas and Nebraska have seen the largest percentage growth. 39% of Oklahoma's electricity comes from....wind!
- Vermont generates most of its electricity - over 99% - from green energy, mostly hydroelectric. Washington State, 75%. (FT)
Did You Know? Walmart Billionaire Marc Lore is planning a $500 billion “City of the Future” called “Telosa,” the urban center could potentially house up to five million residents somewhere in the American Southwest
Did You Know? Annual inflation rose at its fastest pace in more than 30 years during September despite a decline in personal income. Headline price pressures as gauged by the personal consumption expenditures price index including food and energy increased 0.3% for the month, pushing the year-over-year gain to 4.4%. That’s the fastest pace since January 1991. Without food and energy costs, inflation rose 0.2% for the month and 3.6% for the 12-month period, unchanged from August but the highest since May 1991. Personal income declined 1% in September, more than the expected 0.4% drop. Consumer spending increased 0.6%. (CNBC)
