PBD Podcast | Bet-David Consulting
Joined May 2023
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Small-business Subchapter V filings jumped 24% in October to 280. Energy costs and borrowing rates keep squeezing shops that look fine from the outside.
Wall Street talks growth. Main Street is reorganizing. Which story matches your week?
ALT Small-business Subchapter V filings jump 24% in October
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly says higher rates are likely still needed after today's jobs print. Services inflation isn't falling the way they want.
A handful of people who don't run shops set what every owner pays to borrow. Will another hike fix what you already feel?
ALT Fed's Daly: higher rates still likely needed
U.S. officials say China has met only about two-thirds of its rare-earth commitments under the Busan deal. Treasury and trade chiefs pressed Beijing today to deliver.
China's edge was never just the rocks. It's refining. We nearly stopped doing that at home.
ALT U.S. presses China on rare earth shortfalls
Apple just raised $7.5 billion in bonds. Orders hit about $31 billion. Its longest notes priced tighter than Microsoft, Meta, and Oracle's recent deals.
Wall Street still trusts a balance sheet that isn't betting the farm on AI buildout. Most owners don't get that menu.
ALT Apple raises $7.5B as investors favor non-AI credit
Three people just got charged for using AI to impersonate CEOs and lawyers, stealing about $129 million. Fake video calls. Real wires.
Wall Street talks AI productivity. Main Street still signs the wires. Would your team hang up and call you back?
ALT DOJ charges trio in $129M AI CEO impersonation scam
Microsoft is winding down a deal to rent AI cloud capacity from Oracle. Bloomberg says the older Nvidia chips no longer met Microsoft's needs.
Big Tech can shut off rented capacity overnight. Your trucks and techs don't get that luxury. Are you building something that lasts?
ALT Microsoft winds down Oracle AI cloud rental
AAA put diesel at $6.23 a gallon, down about 9 cents on the week and the lowest since mid-September. National gas is $4.07. Brent is headed for its worst week since 2020.
I'll call it relief when the truck fill actually gets cheaper. Has yours?
ALT Diesel $6.23, lowest since mid-September
AkzoNobel and Axalta just cleared EU antitrust for their $25 billion coatings merger. The catch: AkzoNobel has to sell its European car-refinish paint business.
Paint keeps consolidating at the top. Local shops still win on the truck and the callback.
ALT EU clears AkzoNobel Axalta $25B coatings merger
Delek just posted a record quarter. Refining EBITDA hit $1.24 billion as crack spreads ran about 191% above last year.
Wall Street books the margin. Your diesel invoice already did. Refining capacity is still the bottleneck.
ALT Delek posts record quarter on refining margins
Vistra's adjusted EBITDA jumped more than 50% last quarter to $2.378 billion. They raised their outlook and signed a 20-year power deal for a Texas data center.
AI is buying the electricity. Somebody's bill goes up. Is it showing up at your shop yet?
ALT Vistra Q3 adjusted EBITDA $2.378B, up more than 50%
James Hardie grew sales 24% to $1.428 billion last quarter. Shares still fell about 8% after it flagged a softer U.S. housing market ahead.
New builds can freeze. Remodel usually doesn't. The crews that stay booked through both win. How's your mix?
ALT James Hardie sales up 24%, shares still fall
Fox closed its $22 billion Roku deal today, months ahead of 2027. Roku delists. Founder joins Fox's board. About $400 million in annual cost savings expected in two years.
Big platforms keep consolidating. The shops that get the call already run like a real company. Would yours?
ALT Fox closes $22B Roku acquisition
Chip stocks bounced hard this morning. Semiconductors jumped about 5% after Thursday's 5.5% Nasdaq plunge.
I'm more concerned about Main Street than Wall Street. Screens will keep flipping. Payroll doesn't.
ALT Chip stocks bounce after Nasdaq plunge
The Kansas City Fed says diesel refining margins are still more than 3x last year, and lately over 40% of a gallon's cost. Distillate stocks sit about 20% below pre-pandemic.
Drill debates miss it. We barely add refining capacity. That's why your trucks keep paying.
ALT Diesel refining margins still 3x last year
Canada just ordered regulators to cut $2 of red tape for every $1 of new rules. The directive takes effect December 31.
Every owner accounts for every dollar of compliance. Most governments don't. Would you take that deal in the U.S.?
ALT Canada orders $2 of red tape cut for every $1 of new rules
Traders just raised the odds of a December Fed rate hike to about 76% after this morning's jobs print, up from around 66% yesterday. The 10-year yield climbed too.
Wall Street prices the next move. Main Street pays it. Will another hike fix what owners already feel?
ALT Fed hike odds jump to ~76% after jobs print
U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in October. Economists expected about 65,000. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.1%.
Wall Street will fight over what the Fed does next. I'm more concerned about Main Street. Can you still find techs?
ALT U.S. added 165,000 jobs in October
The Bank of England raised its key rate to 4%, the first hike in more than three years. They cited energy prices and inflation headed toward 5%.
Central banks don't run a shop. They still set the cost of money every owner borrows. Will another hike fix what energy broke?
ALT Bank of England hikes key rate to 4%
Google just committed $17 billion to its first Wyoming data center, with a 702-megawatt fuel-cell plant and air cooling so it doesn't drain local water.
They're locking up power for AI. I'm watching what that does to the electric bill at the shop. Have yours moved?
ALT Google commits $17B to first Wyoming data center
The IRS raised the Section 179 equipment write-off to $2.64 million for 2027. Married couples' standard deduction goes to $33,200.
Owners who buy vans and tools get to write them off faster. More useful than another Wall Street headline. Are you tracking what you can expense?
ALT IRS raises Section 179 equipment write-off to $2.64M for 2027