Posted on 05/29/2021 11:16:03 AM PDT by blam
The big-box chain store Costco is seeing many areas where prices are increasing due to rising inflation. From aluminum foil to shipping containers, the chain store has seen a 20% increase in meat prices over the past month.
The company's CFO Richard Galanti said, according to CNBC, that there are "inflationary factors abound," adding, "These include higher labor costs, higher freight costs, higher transportation demand, along with the container shortage and port delays … increased demand in various product categories some shortages, various shortages of everything from chips to oils and chemical supplies by facilities hit by the Gulf freeze and storms and, in some cases, higher commodity prices."
However, Costco did report a profit of $2.75 a share, blowing past Wall Street estimates. It also beat Wall Street estimates netting $45.3 in revenue, well past its expected $43.6 billion.
Still, the numbers underneath tell a different story, leading to a domino effect of price increases across the board.
Like its competitors, Costco struggled to pass its increased costs on to customers. The company, while expecting some margin pressures, hasn't seen any significant impacts from the market.
Many economists and those on Wall Street see the trend of inflation going many ways. According to CNBC, some economists believe the annual pace of inflation at 3.1% only to be temporary. Michael Burry, who Christian Bale portrayed in the film the "Big Short," tweeted earlier this year that the high yield printing of the U.S. dollar could lead to a hyperinflation scenario.
Galanti cited prices from goods including pulp and paper, an assortment of plastic products, and soda and cheese, rising to as high as 8%. Even the prices of some apparel items rose anywhere from 3% to 10%.
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(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
That sounds about right based on my consumer and business purchases. 15 years at 6% is prices going up 2.4X which sounds about right.
10 years at 6% means losing 90% of your saved dollar’s purchasing power. Rough on retirees. That’s why we are heavy in equities and real estate.
So, like NO MORE FREE SAMPLES? D@mmit! This is AMERICA! I demand free stuff! *SNORT*
My Step-Dad’s (RIP) favorite thing to do was to see how many free samples he could eat on ‘Free Sample Wednesdays’ at their local Costco.
Everybody needs a hobby, I guess. ;)
Not to worry. The media has dusted off the “unexpected” playbook from Obama where every bad thing was proof how wonderful things were. “Funemployment.” High gasoline meant the economy was booming even when it was not. Shovel ready wasn’t quite “shovel ready.” Joe Biden is in charge of massive infrastructure spending and you better not test Sherriff Joe.
“Of course the Gasoline price increases are evident everyday when we drive by any filling station.”
I have a VW Golf that needed gas and I needed to fill the gas can for the mower. The VW was 1/4 full, the gas can held 4 gallons.
$50.39 for Premium. $3.15 a gallon.
(Beau doesn’t want any CORN in gas we use in mowers, the tractor, etc.)
Oh, it’s here, Baby! Big Time!
I'll give you an exact 1st hand experience.
Right after hurricane Katrina I had to replace a pane of glass and I paid $8.00 and change.
Now, last year after hurricane Sally, I replaced the exact same pane of glass. I bought the glass, same size, etc at the same place, price $24.00 and change.
Three X price increase in 15 years.
No-one I know does.
Your remarks re the Gas prices was what the Produce Manager in the store was telling us.
Higher Gasoline/Diesel prices impact basically everything in produce from planting, raising, harvesting and transporting the produce to the market to be sold.
“Oh, it’s here, Baby! Big Time!”
I wonder how long can they keep their “loss leader” hot dog at $1.50?
Resident Biden
never ever going to call that socialist election thief the cic term
They don’t have it in Alaska anymore.
It’s your state or city that is enforcing covidiocy.
Yup, we’ve been discussing here where to increase the prices of produce to compensate for MA $15/min wage, gas increases, the 86% increase in unemployment tax, etc. The unemployment increase was a big surprise, but they have to have someone pay for all the unemployment the state has doled out (we’ve been at full employment at the farm and markets)...but I guess they needed another thing to kill the remaining businesses.
So Costco does not sell paper products? Is that correct?
China is the number one producer/exporter of pulp and paper.
“Galanti cited prices from goods including pulp and paper,”
I can confirm this from just this weekends trip to Costco.
“The top U.S. import commodities from China are fruits and vegetables (fresh/processed), snack food, spices, and tea – the combined which accounts for nearly one-half of the total U.S. agricultural imports from China.”
They have. Free samples start next month.
Even the pricing at Walmart is going up. We just came from there. Hubby is very upset by the "shrinkage" in the ice cream aisle, where the brand we usually get is in a smaller carton now; but they are charging more money for it.
I admire your plan and your perseverance. Inspiring to me.
My best to you.
He had some inheritance money and made a small website for investing. He was discovered, and hired, by a firm in CA to pick investments for a hedge fund. (I believe he ended up predicting the .com bubble).
In 2005, he predicted the housing market would crash by second quarter 2007. He was able to do that b/c he did what no one else did......he read the (literally) thousands of underlying mortgages within mortgage backed securities and by researching mortgage fraud. Everyone called him crazy.
He pretty much invented the credit default swap, by having several investment banks create him a market to short the housing bonds. Basically, the idiot banks thought they were getting free money from him. The investment helped his investors when the market crashed - and turned a 489% profit.
He tried to contact the government after the crash (SEC I think) to see if they wanted to learn how he was able to predict the crash with such accuracy. They never returned his calls, but he did get three audits by the IRS and investigated by the FBI for his trouble.
Recently, he took to twitter and made his remarks about hyperinflation - noting that people tried to claim he didn't warn anyone about the housing market......so this time he was warning people and no one could say he didn't. He also included a link to an online book detailing the Weimar and American inflations.
He subsequently got a call and threats from the SEC, and so deleted his twitter account.
After the crash, he was disgusted by the way he was treated by his clients, and closed the fund (I think he eventually re-opended it).
He also predicted the GME boom, among a couple of other things.
In short, Burry seems like a good dude trying to do what he thinks is the right thing by warning people so they can prepare for financial hardship.
If there's anyone who has probably locked himself in a room for weeks on end to analyze the U.S. economy......it's Burry.
--
There was a book, and movie by the same title, "The Big Short," that gives a true account of the housing bubble and crash. It is an account of a group of misfits (Burry) who saw it coming. The movie is actually pretty good.
Container shipping costs never exceeded $3000 from 2016-2020. It has now avg $6,527. I’ve heard as high as $10,000 for some. (Shanghai to Rotterdam $10,127).
So...is he predicting hyperinflation in our near future?
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