Target $9.36, page-782

This would not be wise considering we are here trying to buy as many shares as possible on the cheap. I would love nothing more than if the SP tanked to $1 tomorrow (all else remaining the same of course) and the work experience kid gets ridden like a wild horse to make sure he buys as many shares as possible. Imagine $500 million buys back 50% of the company, anyways that is likely only happening in my dreams tonight. Lay low and accumulate is the aim of the game right now.

Movement of the coal price today is indicative that the month of June will remain well above US$400 per ton. We have broken the prior coal price record. As I type the coal price is US$427. After studying the prior months of 2022 coal prices it was a trend for the coal price to fall sharply at the end of/beginning of a month and then gradually rise during the middle of the month. We are now seeing the opposite with a global depression looming, war and global political tension/instability rising and continued inflation pushing prices of all goods and commodities higher. Market demand for coal is only increasing it would seem with no new coal mines scheduled to come on line we are likely to see elevated prices push countries further into depression.

Insolvency in the building industry is becoming common and this will create a hollowing out process which removes liquidity in the economy when jobs are taken off the table. Less employed workers means no wages, leading to less money being spent in the economy which in turn effects the income of other companies pushing them closer to insolvency and creating more unemployment and again even less liquidity in the economy etc, etc...

The liquidity problem will leave government policy makers with little choice than to continue printing money to create some liquidity in the economy. This is the least painful option with companies collapsing and people losing work, rising interest rates are an attempt to reduce inflationary pressures on the economy but the question is whether it is too little too late as large companies are now declaring bankruptcy and many more are approaching insolvency. We are looking at the tip of the COVID-19 created iceberg.

Large amount of cash that was printed and debt that was created to drag us out of the COVID 19 slump is catching up to the economy. Financial and economic costs to the economy from cash printing have to be offset over time but the problem is it has been done too aggressively and we will have to pay the price of that cash printing (2008 included) in a much shorter amount of time, a few years instead of a few decades. There have been too many devaluations in too short a time frame to escape the bite. Personal and corporate spending has been decadent in the west and we are the creators of our ow misery.

What this means is that continued inflation and instability will support commodity prices in the years to come unless policy makers cut unnecessary government spending (however painful it may be), devalue the currency to a point that makes exports more competitive, reduce imports and use the discretionary funds to stimulate key sectors in our economy. This would reduce inflation and make rising interest rates more effective, of course, what the US does is very important with their reserve currency. It would be a global effort. $1 trillion in debt inherited by the incoming Labor party is a burdensome load to carry and the policies they put forth to tackle the problem they have in the next 12 months will give us a clear picture in the direction we are headed.

I would also expect oil demand to wane in the coming year or two as depression bites, economies slow and the cost drives many out of business. This is another likely cause of a fall in commodity prices but it may be much more painful than keeping the commodity prices as high as they are and devaluing the currency to afford to buy them.