My Investing Muse

  The latest CPI figure as of 12 Apr 2023 ~ reported by  BLS : The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.1% in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, after increasing 0.4% in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 5.0% before seasonal adjustment.   Observations (based on 12 months ended March 2023): Food inflation remains strong at 8.5% Energy dropped 6.4% though energy services like Electricity and Utility (piped) gas services remain elevated at 9.2% Commodities less food & energy commodities fell to 1.5% Services less energy services (like Shelter, Transportation services) remain elevated at 7.1%. Lead the inflation is transportation services at 13.9% The biggest decline is gasoline (all types) at -17.4% This is one of the biggest drops of YoY inflation in recent times ~ from 6.0% in Feb 2023 to 5.0% in Mar 2023≥ US Retail Gas Price As per the chart above, there is a t...

This section (in italics) is taken from Twitter user CarDealershipGuy: Jeep is the most *under-discussed* canary in the coal mine in the car world: It just had its *worst* first quarter in at least six years with sales falling 20%. For starters, Jeep launched a line of luxury SUVs in 2021. But Jeep's timing couldn't have been worse... This was right before the economy peaked and interest rates started rising, stifling consumer demand for expensive vehicles. Jeep sold a measly 2,000 Grand Wagoneers and about 5,600 Wagoneers across the entire U.S. in Q1. An absolute textbook case of a bull-market investment manifesting in a bear-market. But it's not just the Wagoneer... Jeep's volume-leading Grand Cherokee had a sales decline of *27%* to 54,502 units in Q1. And if you needed more proof that people are disinterested in overpriced luxury Jeeps and simply want affordable... Jeep's least expensive models — Cherokee and Compass — were the *only* models that experienced a y...