DHUnplugged #758: Dropping the Hammer

WAR! (or is it?) Tesla Robotaxi Update Japan's rice problem Drink up! New guidelines coming... PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts! Click HERE for Show Notes and Links DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar. Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter Warm-Up - WAR! (or is it?) - Tesla Robotaxi Update - Japan's rice problem - Drink up! New guidelines coming... Markets - Not phased by Iranian attack - (well planned attack for markets - timing, newsflow and narrative of "successful mission") - A ceasefire now - quick wars! - P/E forward nearing 22 - Leading indicators - dropping - VERY Resilient overall - dips are for buying - NASDAQ 100 closing in on all-time highs - triple top Dropping the F Bomb - 7am CNBC - " Two counties that have been that have been fighting so long and so hard that they do not know what the "F***ck" they are doing" Oil - Drops from high of $78 to $66 - Iran bombing news spikes the price on Sunday night - and then....free fall.... Tesla - Everyone is a flutter about the RoboTaxi test in Austin - Stock moved up 10% on the news Monday -- Everyone knows it is a long haul - but the hope and the promise is something that investors live on - Tesla Robotaxis spotted speeding, making improper turns on first day of service, according to Bloomberg HAMMER - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine, in a news conference Sunday, reviewed operational details of Saturday’s “Operation Midnight Hammer,” the well-concealed strikes against nuclear development facilities in Iran that both men called an “incredible and overwhelming success.” - “We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” President Donald Trump said Saturday. - Bunker Buster Bombs - lots of them - Was it a success? -- Monday: Iran coordinated the attacks on U.S. base in Qatar and gave officials advance warning to minimize casualties Interesting - Online job listing company CareerBuilder + Monster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday. Leading Indicators - A measure of future U.S. economic activity fell in May for the sixth straight month and triggered a recession signal, held down by consumer pessimism, weak new orders for manufactured goods, an uptick in jobless benefits claims and a drop in building permit applications. - The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index fell by 0.1% to 99.0 last month after a downwardly revised 1.4% drop in April, which was the largest decline in the index since the spring of 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The decline matched the consensus expectation among economists polled by Reuters. - "With the substantial negatively revised drop in April and the further downtick in May, the six-month growth rate of the Index has become more negative, triggering the recession signal," she said. "The Conference Board does not anticipate recession, but we do expect a significant slowdown in economic growth in 2025 compared to 2024, with real GDP growing at 1.6% this year and persistent tariff effects potentially leading to further deceleration in 2026." Global Rates and Central Banks - Update World Rates Japan's Rice Problem - Rice prices in Japan more than doubled in May, spiking 101.7% year over year and marking their largest increase in over half a century. - The huge spike follows a 98.4% increase in April, and a rise of 92.1% year over year in March. - Japan’s rice prices have been in the spotlight in recent times, with the government releasing emergency stockpiles to moderate the price of the country’s staple food. - The surge in rice prices comes as Japan’s core inflation rate climbed to 3.7% in May, marking its highest level since January 2023.