Oil Markets Are Pricing A Supply Surge That Isn't Guaranteed

Here's What Happened Inside Gas Stations When Gas Hit $4 In Goldman's first-quarter "Nicotine Nuggets" survey of retailers and wholesalers covering roughly 44,000 U.S. stores, or about 28% of all tobacco outlets nationwide, analysts observed that once the national average for regular 87-octane gasoline hit the politically sensitive $4-a-gallon level, the squeeze on consumers began to emerge. One of the clearest signs of stress was a downshift in purchases as budget-conscious consumers started pulling back on tobacco purchases or, in some cases, trading down.  "The outlook remains cautious but retailers &...

Conference Board Consumer Expectations Hit YTD Highs, Inflation Fears Dip In May With war (and rising gas prices) now fully embedded in respondents' minds (along with record high stock prices), it is perhaps not entirely surprising that The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence dipped in May (but was better than expected). The headline index dipped 0.7 points to 93.1 in May, down from an upwardly revised 93.8 in April. The Present Situation Index - based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions - retreated by 3.2 points to 121.2. The Expectations Index -...

Trump HHS Launches Probe Into 13 States Over Abortion Coverage Mandates The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), is investigating 13 Democrat-run states for allegedly forcing employers' health insurance plans to cover abortions. Officials say these rules trample the Weldon Amendment's federal conscience protections.  The Weldon amendment blocks states from punishing health insurers, plans, or providers who refuse to pay for, provide, or refer for abortions on moral or religious grounds, and has appeared in every HHS spending bill alongside the Hyde Amendment since...