U.S. Politics

[Rick Plant]

Gasoline Prices Should Keep Falling Unless This Happens

Gasoline prices are at their lowest levels since March and are likely to keep falling, analysts say.



Gasoline prices are expected to continue their downward trend during Labor Day weekend as consumers are still receiving a reprieve.

Crude oil prices declined on Sept. 2 to $86.97 a barrel on ongoing fears of an impending recession curbing demand. Inflation rates remain high and consumers face tighter budgets from paying more in food, housing and energy costs. The possibility of more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve and more lockdowns in China due to covid-19 have also played a factor.

Consumers are facing the "cheapest summer holiday this year," Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis, GasBuddy, a Boston-based provider of retail fuel pricing information and data, told TheStreet.

The decline of gas prices can be attributed to a number of factors, including an uptick in domestic oil production and an expansion of U.S. refining capacity, Bernard (Bud) Weinstein, a retired energy economist at Southern Methodist University, told TheStreet.

"At about $3.80 per gallon, the national average price for gasoline over Labor Day weekend will be considerably lower than it was over the July 4 holiday when the average was just under $5 per gallon," he said.

A sluggish economy in China, the world's second largest consumer of fossil fuels, and the onset of a recession in most of Europe has "depressed the demand for oil and petroleum products and pushed down the price of crude oil by $30 per barrel since June," Weinstein said.

Gasoline Prices Decline For 11 Weeks

The drop in gasoline prices has been significant with 11 consecutive weeks of declines and is estimated to continue declining.

"Prices have been falling and that trend will stick around through the weekend," De Haan said.

The current decline in gasoline prices marks the longest period since 2018, De Haan said. During the height of the global pandemic in 2020, gasoline prices fell for 10 weeks in a row.

Between the Fourth of July through Sept. 2, gasoline prices have dipped by 20%, De Haan said.

"Americans will come back Monday and see prices a little bit lower than when they left their houses," he said.

The national average is now $3.802 per gallon and will continue to decline to even $3.29 by later this fall, barring unexpected disruptions to refineries from any hurricanes, De Haan said. Gas prices are now at their lowest level since March, falling every week of the summer.

As of Sept. 1, there were at least 15 states selling gasoline for $2.99 or lower.

Prices falling to $2.99 a gallon on average is a possibility, he said.

"We could see the first CITY average falling under $3/gal this weekend -- not just one or two stations... Lawton, OK the average price is currently $3.05/gal," De Haan tweeted.

Gas Prices Face a Big Unknown

Unless a major hurricane shuts down refineries along the Gulf Coast, the decline in gasoline prices at the pump is expected to continue, De Haan said.

Crude oil prices have fallen on concerns about the global economy slowing down, another shutdown in China has impacted demand and factory activity and rising interest rates by both the Federal Reserve and ECB.

OPEC and and its allies, known as OPEC+ have discussed the possibility of lowering the production of oil and has a scheduled meeting on Sept. 5.

When OPEC+ met on Aug. 3, the group agreed on increasing production  by 100,000 barrels for September.

If OPEC decides not to slash production, gasoline prices will remain under $3.50 a gallon, De Haan said. If they do cut production, gasoline prices will fall only another $0.10 to $0.15, he said.

In September, gasoline prices typically fall as the summer holiday driving season comes to an end and refiners shift to "winter" gasoline, which is cheaper to produce.

The average retail gasoline prices should drop another $0.20 to $0.25 per gallon this month, Weinstein said.

"Even with hostilities continuing in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, which has disrupted global oil markets, this should still be the case as plenty of supply is available elsewhere in the world," he said.

Peak Hurricane Season Started

Colorado State University researchers predict an active hurricane season and estimate 18 named storms, eight hurricanes, and four major hurricanes that are Category 3 or higher this year.

The National Hurricane Center said on Sept. 2 that Danielle became the first Atlantic hurricane of the season.

Danielle is estimated to be a category 2 hurricane and will "meander over the open Atlantic during the next couple of days," before moving to the northeast early next week, the hurricane center said. The projected route poses no threat to oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.

Crude oil prices could spike by $10 only if a major hurricane made landfall along the Gulf Coast and increasing gasoline prices by $0.25 a gallon, Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at Tortoise in Overland Park, Kan., told TheStreet.

An outage at refineries could throw gasoline prices back into the mid $4s, he said.

A hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico that forces the shutdown of rigs and production platforms could "cause a short-term blip in prices," Weinstein said.

"If we see a Hurricane Harvey or Ida, the impact could be significant," De Haan said. "Any major hurricane entering the Gulf of Mexico would be bad news for gas prices, but it's pretty rare to see an Ida going into the backyard of refineries. By and large if we see a hurricane prices could go back up."

https://www.thestreet.com/personal-finance/gasoline-prices-should-keep-falling-unless-this-happens

[Rick Plant]

Desperate Ron Johnson lies about 'ever' wanting to cut Social Security as he dips in the polls



Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) falsely suggested over the weekend that he has never proposed cutting Social Security.

"Probably the most outrageous lie they are telling now is I want to cut or end Social Security," Johnson told the hosts of Fox & Friends on Sunday. "I mean, just give that a second of thought. What elected official would ever want to cut Social Security? It is absurd on its face."

"I want to save Social Security," he added. "We need to stop all this deficit spending."

Johnson, however, did not explain why he recently proposed making Social Security subject to yearly cuts. And he did not address why he said on his campaign website that cutting Social Security may be necessary.

Johnson is on record referring to the popular program as a "Ponzi scheme." One local publication accused Johnson of a "crusade" against Social Security.

In recent weeks, Johnson has been slipping in the polls against Democratic challenger Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.

Watch the video below:

[Rick Plant]

Secretary Marty Walsh @SecMartyWalsh

August 2022 #JobsReport Facts:

☑️ Labor force participation rose to 62.4%
☑️ Over the past 3 months, we've added 378,000 jobs/month to our economy
☑️ Nonfarm employment has risen by 5.8 million over the past 12 months
☑️ Since @POTUS took office, we’ve created 9.7 million jobs

https://twitter.com/SecMartyWalsh/status/1565715898530422785

[Rick Plant]

Democrats' Chances of Flipping North Carolina's GOP-Held Senate Seat: Polls


Above left, Republican Representative Ted Budd speaks at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center on June 18, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee. Above right, Democrat Cheri Beasley speaks to a crowd during an election night event on May 17, 2022, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Recent polling suggests Beasley is narrowly favored to win North Carolina's Senate race against Budd.

Democratic Senate candidate Cheri Beasley appears to be well-positioned to possibly flip North Carolina's Republican-held Senate seat blue in the upcoming November 8 midterm election, with multiple recent conservative polls showing her tied or narrowly ahead.

Beasley, a former chief justice of North Carolina's Supreme Court, will face off against GOP Representative Ted Budd, who represents North Carolina's 13th District. The candidates aim to win the seat being vacated by Senator Richard Burr.

While Budd was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, Burr was one of the seven GOP senators to vote to convict Trump at the conclusion of his second impeachment trial for inciting his supporters to attack the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Recent polling data shows Beasley is narrowly favored to flip the GOP-held seat blue in the upcoming election. A new poll released Thursday by the conservative think tank The John Locke Foundation showed a tied race.

In the survey, which was conducted from August 13 to August 15 by Civitas Poll, Beasley and Budd were both backed by 43.2 percent of North Carolina's likely voters. However, 12.6 percent of respondents were undecided and 2.7 percent backed third-party candidates. The poll included 615 likely voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percent.

The Lock Foundation poll showed a shift from a June survey by the conservative think tank, when Budd led Beasley by 5 points. In that survey, the Republican had the backing of 45 percent of likely voters compared to the Democrat's support from only 40 percent.

Previous polling by PEM Management Corporation for former Trump administration official John Bolton's super PAC showed Beasley in the lead. The survey was carried out from July 22 to July 24 and had the Democrat at 43 percent while Budd was at 40 percent. The survey included 300 likely voters in North Carolina.

An early-August survey by Blueprint Polling showed Beasley ahead by 4 points. The Democrat had the backing of 46 percent of likely voters compared to her opponent's 42 percent. The poll included 656 likely voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.83 points.

The current FiveThirtyEight average for the North Carolina Senate race shows the Democrat narrowly favored. The polling average has Beasley at 44 percent and Budd at 43.9 percent. It was last updated on August 18.

Currently, there are 50 members of the Senate's Democratic caucus and 50 Republicans. Although the chamber is evenly split, Vice President Kamala Harris can cast tiebreaking votes as Senate president.

Recent historical precedent suggests that Republicans are favored to gain seats in the midterm, but recent polling data and forecasts by analysts show Democrats could likely keep, and possibly even expand, their majority. However, they cannot lose one seat without forfeiting control of the Senate.

https://www.newsweek.com/democrats-chances-flipping-north-carolinas-gop-held-senate-seat-polls-1734993

[Rick Plant]

Barack Obama: president, Nobel laureate, and now an Emmy winner



Hollywood newcomer Barack Obama was awarded an Emmy for narrating his Netflix documentary series "Our Great National Parks," the Television Academy announced Saturday.

The former two-term US president had already won a pair of Grammy Awards -- for audio versions of his memoirs "The Audacity of Hope" and "Dreams from My Father" -- so he now only needs an Oscar and a Tony to complete the estimable EGOT.

According to an Entertainment Weekly tracker, only 17 people have achieved an EGOT, including Mel Brooks, Whoopie Goldberg, Audrey Hepburn and -- most recently -- Jennifer Hudson.

One other president had already been awarded an Emmy -- Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 -- although his was an honorary award.

After leaving office in 2017, both Obama and his wife Michelle have each written best-selling memoirs, and in addition to their non-profit foundation, have established a production company which has inked a major deal with Netflix, reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars.

Their company's first documentary for the streaming service, "American Factory," won the Oscar for best documentary feature and an Emmy for directing, though the awards went to the filmmakers and not to the Obamas themselves.

Obama's successor to the presidency, Donald Trump, did not win an Emmy for his reality competition show "The Apprentice," although he was nominated twice.

Other nominees in Obama's narrator category included former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ("Black Patriots: Heroes Of The Civil War"), Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o ("Serengeti II") and veteran naturalist David Attenborough ("The Mating Game").

Obama also received the Nobel Peace Prize after his 2008 presidential election win, for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

© Agence France-Presse

[Rick Plant]

President Biden at Laborfest in Milwaukee

[Rick Plant]

Charlie Crist @CharlieCrist

Thousands of Floridians are being kicked off of their property insurance because of Ron DeSantis's crisis.

Unlike him, I’ve taken on the big insurance companies and fought to lower rates.

Floridians deserve a governor who will fight for their homes.

https://twitter.com/CharlieCrist/status/1566880266878083075