Thursday, June 5, 2008

A Change Occurred

I just checked a commodity research site to which I subscribe. The gasoline demand chart shows current demand vs. last year and the 16 year average. Last week's drop was a singular event. This year's demand had been trending a bit below last year, but the drop last week puts it at a new, lower level. Perhaps the summer driving season will not occur. Last week's gasoline demand was about at late-March levels. Is the US driver finally acting rationally and seriously cutting back on driving ? Doing something instead of just griping ? The drop vs. last year's demand is not large - about 4%. I think people can cut 4% of gasoline demand easily, by combining trips and thinking first about taking the SUV or the compact to go mall. Perhaps the public is doing it.

I'll monitor this for awhile and provide updates.

The implications would be that the commodity peak might pull back to a sustainable plateau. My guess has always been the $100/barrel of crude area and time frame around the Beijing Olympics. Time will tell.

Ruling Classes

WSJ: "WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted along party lines Wednesday to approve a budget resolution that includes more than $1 trillion in discretionary spending for the first time."

That's "discretionary" spending, not entitlements like Social Security or Medicare.

One trillion dollars is one million millions. There are about 300 million Americans. So that's spending over $3,000 per person. Considering that most common people get nothing from this, the amount is stunning.

Unrestricted looting ...

Word of the Day

"Sough" - verb, intransitive [$10] - pronounced "sow" to rhyme with "how" or "suf" to rhyme with "rough".
Sough means to make a moaning, whistling or rushing sounds as of a wind in trees, etc.
Sentence: Reading of the enormous size of the Federal spending sow feeding all the innumerable piglets made me sough in surprise as if suffering from food poisening. Uhhhhhhh.

49 comments:

Bud said...

decrease in gasoline demand is good on many fronts....financially, national security, healthwise....

i agree with most of your first paragraph.......but you make me laugh when you say 'griping'

no one pisses and moans and whines and cries and huffs and puffs and......'gripes'.....more than the Bman

Bud said...

i see Hillary will concede in a day or so

as soon as that happens i will contribute to john mccain's campaign

still haven't decided wether i will officially join the republican party..........but....i am definitely quittin the democratic party

i have been a lifelong democrat

but the party has been hijacked by liberals and blacks......i want no part of that

howard dean and nancy pelosi and harry reid and barack obama can go f'k themselves

Bunkerman said...

Just be an independent. The R's haven't proven themselves worthy for years.

Bunkerman said...

Jobless claims down. Soughing ... and that question again comes to mind.

Bud said...

saw that hilarious movie again last nite......it was on HDnet.......what great acting

some characters

'ruprecht'

'dr emil schuffhausen'

lmaoooooooooooooooooo


what flic??


mern not allowed to answer

Bunkerman said...

no idea ...

Bunkerman said...

I've been watching tapes of the old "Untouchables" TV series. Great series ... Elliot Ness, Frank Nitti, etc.

Bud said...

we'll wait til someone gets it .......and then you will have to order from netflix.........but i think you may have seen it

mfl59 said...

starring Mr Steve Martin I believe....Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Bud said...

yup....martin was great............but i thought michael caine as dr shuffhausen was just incredibly funny

watch that flic Bman.......mern is the one that actually told me about it here

Bunkerman said...

OK, added it. Added Three Amigos, too.

Have never seen either.

mfl59 said...

Bud, politically speaking, what is the difference between Hillary Clinton and Obama?

Bud said...

was that mfl's circle change ?? or his curveball ?

not sure....but it was low and away......i don't swing at those

mfl59 said...

lmaooo get the bat off your shoulders and swing sir...

Bunkerman said...

People whom I know personally and who know both say Hillary is a smart liberal and can be rational. They say Obama is just a speech, quite ignorant of reality and very dangerous.

Hmmm ... Truman is to Henry Wallace as Hillary is to Obama.

Bunkerman said...

What little I've seen of both confirms that impression.

mfl59 said...

a smart liberal??? what is that? lmaoooo

mfl59 said...

http://www.rootforamerica.com/

if anyone out there is looking for a true candidate...a true man of the people...a man who gets it...

Bud said...

"I love the smell of vetoes in the morning! I pledge that I will veto more bills than any President in modern American political history."

--Wayne Allyn Root

Spin-em said...

MUSSINA WINS AGAIN(9-4)...SUCK ON IT BUDDDDD-EEEEEEES...LMAOOOOOO

Bud said...

michelle mussina won???

it must be june

Bunkerman said...

Schumer is a very smart liberal. One can be smart but have incorrect values or be power-fungry. A knave can be smart.

Bunkerman said...

Barney Frank is another smart liberal.

Both are smarter than Hillary.

Frosty said...

Bunkerman...like how the real buyers are coming in ahead of the fake jobs data...goverment cheese making it's way to arkansas sammmy...Ben has inflation in check...second half looking bright...the bunky recovery on track..well played sir.

Bunkerman said...

It's OK with me. Buying on data like jobs #s is really risky as beefers love to hit that.
Bob, weave, jab, cover, then 1-2-3.

Must be flexible against these computer beefers.

mfl59 said...

bunkerman so when the market goes up its real buyers, yet when the market goes down its beefers? Bud what say you sir?

Bud said...

don't real buyers ever sell?? do they buy and pass it on to their great grandchildren


this real buyers nonsense is a bunch of crap

Bud said...

who/what is arkansas sammy??

wtf is frosty talkin about

Bunkerman said...

uh ... mfl ... when the market goes up after dips and news is good but not spectacular, of course it's patient real buyers adding. Now tomorrow if the jobs number is good, the beefer shorts will cover, stocks will pop and the computer beefers will hit it hard and the shorts will barge in again. Then real buyers will scoop up that stock and the computers & beefers shorts will be crushed.

Later, the home default data flowing in from CMO trustee reports will seep out and all the bears and shorts will be crucified as the S&P goes to 1500.

Hehe ... I can dream ;-)

I think that's about a triple. A good lesson in reading the signs of the beefers.

Bunkerman said...

I've said in the past that real selling was happening. I'm objective.

mfl59 said...

lol bunkerman I do admit I find your theory of real buyers a bit funny....

Bunkerman said...

Hmmm ..."funny" ... thinking of a scene from a fine movie.

What is the scene and the movie ?

Spin-em said...

"it must be june"

rofl....nasty splitter..sit downnnn spinny

Spin-em said...

Goodfellas.What..Im here to ammmuse you?

Frosty said...

chicken beak pen in the neck indeed.

Bunkerman said...

correct, spin.

Spin-em said...

I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you mfl? I make you laugh, I'm here to amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How the f***am I funny mfl?

mfl59 said...

oil lmaooooo....up 5 1/2.....madness

Bunkerman said...

shocking ... oil market being manipulated ... nahhhhh

markets are efficient


lolololol

Bunkerman said...

by whom ... beefers !?

impossible ... they do not exist.

Frosty said...

mern can do 97 tps reports, all his co-workers jobs while stroking his boss with time to post endlessly in the bunker yesterday...man, he must be doing the work of his entire division today while blazing 60 miles on the treadmill.

Bud said...

ching ming wang .....a few too many egg rolls


he got tattooed today


lmaooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Spin-em said...

the only team yanks can beat is Seattle

Bunkerman said...

tattooed ... is that a joke or a code for something ?

Frosty said...

poor M's...9th highest MLB payroll playing AAA ball...fewer hits than Bud in the bunker.

offer a man a crab leg and he beats ya' with it...sweat meat indeed.

Spin-em said...

common man speak

like in football or rugby...he was hit so hard..it left a "mark" a tat..lol

mfl59 said...

hmmmmmm.....i guess the lads don't use the word "tattooed" while sipping highballs at the local country club....

Bunkerman said...

All I know is the tattoo that some fools get on their bodies.

Bunkerman said...

hmmm ... yes I remembered that usage, spin. It didn't occur to me.