The revolving door

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DAILY ENERGY NEWS | 07/05/2023

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Explains the staff-up at the White House. The "Big Guy" won't leave his ideologues out in the cold.

Wall Street Journal (7/3/23) reports: "George Soros’s $25 billion nonprofit, Open Society Foundations, will cut its staff by about 40% while reorganizing various senior roles, according to a spokeswoman for the foundation. The foundation, one of the biggest backers of progressive causes, is now led by Soros’s 37-year-old son, Alex. The foundation made the decision to trim staff to become a more nimble organization months ago, and it isn’t related to Alex’s recent ascension atop the Soros empire, according to people close to the matter. The decision was approved this week by OSF’s board, which is chaired by Alex. 'Open Society’s board of directors met this week about the future of the organization.… The board has directed Open Society’s senior leadership to proceed with the work necessary to implement this new approach,' OSF said in a statement. 'We anticipate that implementing the proposed new model would involve redesign and retooling of our existing operations, and a substantial reduction in headcount of no less than 40% globally.' OSF, which is backed by George Soros, the legendary investor, philanthropist and right-wing target, currently employs about 800 people in 18 offices globally."

"The race for EVs may be good news for China. It will also enrich a handful of financial and tech oligarchs. But it will be a loss to pretty much everyone else. It’s time we canceled the mad race to an all-electric future."

– Joel Kotkin,
Spiked

What family wouldn't want to pay a 50 percent premium for EVs versus a regular vehicle?

New York Times (7/3/23) reports: "New cars and trucks are packed with sensors and technology that protect and pamper drivers and passengers. But those features are also raising the cost of repairs after accidents. The average cost of making damaged cars good as new has soared 36 percent since 2018, and may top $5,000 by the end of this year, according to Mitchell, a company that provides data and software to insurance companies and auto repair businesses. That big increase is the main reason that insurance premiums have been soaring — up 17 percent in the 12 months through May. New sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks, including a rapidly growing number of electric models, have become so complex and luxurious that seemingly simple repairs can cost a small fortune, auto experts said. Insurers are often on the hook for much of those costs, leading them to raise their rates. Materials designed to crumple or deform in a crash to protect pedestrians or passengers, for example, can be hard or impossible to repair. Many bumpers must be replaced after low-speed dings because the safety sensors embedded in them may no longer work properly after repairs. Other systems, even some that do not appear to be damaged, must be inspected or recalibrated."

Apparently, The Economist hasn’t taste-tested beef vs. coal.

This must be Bidenomics!

Reuters (7/4/23) reports: "U.S. manufacturers reported another widespread decline in business activity during June, which continued to weigh down industrial energy consumption and prices. The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) composite manufacturing index slipped to 46.0 (11th percentile for all months since 1980) in June from 46.9 (14th percentile) in May and 53.0 (35th percentile) a year earlier. The composite index has fallen to the lowest level since the recession associated with the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and before that the recession caused by the financial crisis in 2008, signifying a major downturn in the industrial sector of the economy. The indicator has been below the 50-point threshold dividing expanding activity from a contraction continuously for eight months since November 2022 (Report on Business, Institute for Supply Management, July 3). The length of the downturn puts it somewhere between a mid-cycle slowdown (generally eight months or fewer) and a full cycle-ending recession (generally 11 months or more)."

Energy Markets

WTI Crude Oil: ↑ $71.70
Natural Gas: ↑ $2.72
Gasoline: ↓ $3.52

Diesel: ↓ $3.84
Heating Oil: ↑ $248.05
Brent Crude Oil: ↑ $76.56
US Rig Count: ↑ 732

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