Month: October 2024

The United Nations has issued a statement estimating that 600,000 Lebanese have now been internally displaced from their homes amid the ongoing Hezbollah-Israel war, and as a massive Israeli bombing campaign on the capital of Beirut has continued. Another 300,000 have already fled the country. The UN called the situation “catastrophic”.

“Lebanon finds itself facing a conflict and a humanitarian crisis of catastrophic proportions,” Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, said. She described that the UN and Western leaders remain hopeful “that Israel too will now be ready to add its support to the many calls and appeals that are out there” for de-escalation and potential ceasefire.

Another official, Imran Riza, who is UN’s humanitarian coordinator described that Lebanon is facing “one of the deadliest periods” given that 600,000 civilians are internally displaced. He identified that over 350,000 these internal refugees are children. “Even wars have rules.” This week the US State Department appeared to back off the idea of calling for immediate ceasefire. The US wants to see Hezbollah weakened and defeated.

Israel has pushed back against the growing international criticism of its large-scale bombing of dense neighborhoods by saying, “We are not targeting civilians. But at the same time, if we will find Hezbollah activities or intention to launch rockets into Israel, we will do what any other country would do about it,” according to the words of Israel’s ambassador to the UN Danny Danon.

Since Sept. 23, Lebanon’s Health Ministry has said Israeli aggression has killed more than 1,323 people and injured nearly 3,700; however, Lebanon’s government figures make no distinction between combatants and civilians. Overall, going back to Oct.8, 2023 in the wake of the Hamas terror attacks and the conflict’s origin, Lebanon says a total of  2,141 have been called and over 10,000 injured.

As for what amounts to 900,000 displaced at this point, the NY Times summarizes:

More than 600,000 people have been displaced within Lebanon, and over 300,000 more have left the country since the war broke out last month, the U.N. said, a total nearly on par with the number of people displaced during Lebanon’s 2006 war with Israel. Lebanese officials have put the total latest displacement figure at more than one million.

Hezbollah, for its part, has stepped up deeper rocket attacks into Israel, the last several days sending hundreds of rockets on the north, and many dozens on the port city of Haifa, in some cases damaging infrastructure and causing injuries to Israeli civilians.

In southern Lebanon, Israel’s military has ordered over 100 towns and villages to evacuate north. It is trying to create a buffer zone to precent Hezbollah launches into northern Israel.

The UN says a quarter of Lebanese territory is now under Israeli military displacement orders. “Lebanon’s humanitarian crisis is deteriorating at an alarming rate. Israeli airstrikes have not only intensified but also expanded into previously unaffected areas and increasingly targeted critical civilian infrastructure,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Wednesday.

Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

More than a dozen states are coming together to sue TikTok, joining many other states that had previously done so, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Oct. 8.

The attorneys general announced that they are co-leading a bipartisan coalition of 14 attorneys general in filing suits against the social media company.

The legal actions, filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court and other jurisdictions, accuse the social media platform of exploiting and harming young users while deceiving the public about its dangers.

“Our investigation has revealed that TikTok cultivates social media addiction to boost corporate profits,” Bonta said in a statement. “TikTok intentionally targets children because they know kids do not yet have the defenses or capacity to create healthy boundaries around addictive content. When we look at the youth mental health crisis and the revenue machine TikTok has created, fueled by the time and attention of our young people, it’s devastatingly obvious: Our children and teens never stood a chance against these social media behemoths.”

A TikTok spokesperson told The Epoch Times that they “strongly disagree” with the claims by the attorneys general, many of which they believe to be “inaccurate and misleading.”

“We’re proud of and remain deeply committed to the work we’ve done to protect teens and we will continue to update and improve our product,” Michael Hughes, a TikTok spokesperson said in an email. “We provide robust safeguards, proactively remove suspected underage users, and have voluntarily launched safety features such as default screentime limits, family pairing, and privacy by default for minors under 16.”

The company added they have tried to work with the attorneys general for over two years, stating it is “incredibly disappointing they have taken this step rather than work with us on constructive solutions to industrywide challenges.”

The lawsuits allege that TikTok’s business model focuses on maximizing young users’ time on the platform to increase revenue from targeted advertising.

The attorneys general accused the company of employing manipulative features designed to keep minors engaged compulsively, despite the dangers of excessive use.

Specific features cited include the following:

• Beauty Filters: Alleged to foster unrealistic beauty standards and harm self-esteem, potentially leading to negative body image issues among young users.
• Autoplay and Infinite Scroll: Designed to make it difficult for users to disengage, leading to longer periods of uninterrupted use.
• Time-Sensitive Content: Features like TikTok Stories and TikTok Live exploit users’ fear of missing out, encouraging them to return to the platform frequently.
• Push Notifications: Used to entice young users back onto the platform, sometimes employing fake notifications to manipulate engagement.
• Social Validation Through Likes and Comments: Highlighting these metrics can have a powerful effect on young users, driving compulsive use and impacting mental health.

The coalition said that TikTok violates state consumer protection laws, including California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law. They seek significant penalties, as well as injunctive and monetary relief, to address the alleged misconduct.

The use of TikTok is widespread among young people in the United States. A 2023 Pew Research survey found that 63 percent of Americans aged 13 to 17 reported using TikTok, with 17 percent stating they are on the platform “almost constantly,” according to the suits.

Attorneys general from Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia joined the legal action.

With the latest filing, 23 attorneys general have now filed actions against TikTok regarding its conduct toward youth, including previous lawsuits from states like Utah, Nevada, Indiana, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, and Texas.

“Kids and families across the country are desperate for help to address this crisis, and we are doing everything in our power to protect them,” said James, New York attorney general.

Bonta previously announced in 2022 a nationwide investigation into TikTok and later filed an amicus brief demanding the company comply with state investigations.

In October 2023, the state also joined a bipartisan coalition in filing a federal lawsuit against Meta, alleging the company designed features that addict children and teens to their detriment.

Not even lottery tickets are immune to the inflationary disaster created under the Biden/Harris administration. 

Mega Millions ticket prices will rise from $2 to $5 in April 2025, but the company – doing its best Stephanie Kelton impression – promises “bigger jackpots” and more chances to win, according to Consumer Affairs.

Of course, they mean bigger nominal jackpots, as by the time the changes are implemented it’ll likely cost $50 for your morning coffee, but we digress…

Joshua Johnston, Lead Director of the Mega Millions Consortium, commented: “We are creating a game that both our existing players and people new to Mega Millions will love and get excited about playing.”

He added: “We expect more billion-dollar jackpots than ever before, meaning creating more billionaires and many more millionaires as the jackpots climb, plus this game will continue the important legacy of supporting great causes everywhere Mega Millions is played.”

Consumer Affairs writes that this is only the second price hike since Mega Millions’ current format launched over 20 years ago – but the last increase was in 2017, when tickets doubled from $1 to $2.

The new ticket price comes with enhanced features: better odds of hitting the jackpot, more frequent and larger starting jackpots, faster growth, and a built-in multiplier that can boost non-jackpot wins up to $10 million. Players will also no longer face breakeven prizes—every win will exceed the ticket cost.

The company aims to attract both seasoned players and newcomers with these updates, hoping to build on a history that has produced six billion-dollar winners since 2018. The largest prize, $1.6 billion, was claimed by a Florida resident in August 2023. With these changes, Mega Millions hopes to welcome more players into the billion-dollar club.

Although the changes take effect in April 2025, players can still participate in drawings every Tuesday and Friday night at 11 p.m. ET.

At this rate, rising 150% every 6 years, tickets will cost $12.50 by 2030. 

Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times,

A federal appeals court will hear arguments on a high-stakes case that could determine whether hundreds of thousands of people will lose their ability to work and remain in the United States.

On Oct. 10, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will revisit the case challenging Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which since 2012 has shielded more than 830,000 people who came to the United States illegally as children from deportation and provided them with renewable work permits.

The prolonged legal battle over the fate of DACA, which was promulgated through executive action by President Barack Obama and never approved by Congress, dated back to 2018 when Texas and eight other Republican-led states filed a lawsuit, arguing that the Obama administration had overstepped its authority to create an immigration program without congressional consent.

In July 2021, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen ruled in favor of the states, declaring DACA unlawful. However, he stopped short of terminating the program, saying that “hundreds of thousands of individual DACA recipients, along with their employers, states and loved ones, have come to rely on the DACA program.”

As part of Hanen’s ruling, federal immigration officials could continue processing DACA renewals, but they are barred from accepting first-time applications.

The Biden administration appealed the decision, and in October 2022, the Fifth Circuit agreed with Hanen that Obama’s 2012 memo creating DACA was unlawful.

Still, it allowed current DACA recipients to continue renewing their status and sent the case back to the district court to assess the impact of a Biden administration policy that incorporated DACA into the federal regulations.

Shortly thereafter, Hanen ruled against the 2022 DACA regulation, but again fell short of ordering an immediate end to the program. The federal government has since appealed, and the case is now once again before the Fifth Circuit.

It is unlikely the three-judge panel will issue a ruling immediately following the October 10 oral arguments. A decision could take weeks or even months, and any outcome is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

If that happens, it would be the second time in four years that the legality of DACA is heard by the nation’s highest court.

In June 2020, the Supreme Court ruled 5–4 to preserve DACA, finding that President Donald Trump’s administration had acted arbitrarily in his efforts to terminate the program.

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), a nonprofit legal group representing DACA recipients in the case, expects the Supreme Court to take up the case during its October 2025 term.

However, if the Fifth Circuit issues a ruling sooner, the case could be heard as early as the current term, with a decision by June 2025.

“It’s important to note that even if the Fifth Circuit rules DACA is unlawful, it won’t necessarily order an immediate end to DACA, but could permit current recipients to continue to renew,” MALDEF said on its website.

According to the latest data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), more than 535,000 people in the United States have active DACA status as of June. Most recipients are between the ages of 31 and 40.

The vast majority of DACA recipients are from Mexico, with around 81 percent (433,840) born there. El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru round out the top five countries of origin.

DACA beneficiaries are spread across the United States but are heavily concentrated in states that are traditional immigrant destinations. California (150,090) and Texas (89,360) together account for 44 percent of all DACA recipients, followed by Illinois (28,330), New York (21,250), and Florida (21,170). These top five states have remained unchanged since 2017.

At the local level, the Los Angeles metropolitan area has the largest concentration of DACA recipients, with over 10 percent living there. Other major metroplexes, such as New York, Dallas, Houston, and Chicago, each host around 30,000 DACA participants.

While DACA protects recipients from deportation and provides work authorization, it does not offer a pathway to permanent residency or U.S. citizenship. According to the USCIS, DACA is not a lawful immigration status but rather classifies recipients as low-priority for removal.

“Deferred action is a form of prosecutorial discretion that does not confer lawful permanent resident status or a path to citizenship,” the USCIS said on its website. “Only Congress, acting through its legislative authority, can confer these rights.”

A new national database reveals that between 2019 and 2023, a total of 13,994 minors in the US have received ‘gender-affirming care’ – of which more than 5,700 were operated on.

Researchers with Do No Harm analyzed insurance claims filed nationwide, finding 5,747 unique patients receiving gender affirming surgery, which ranges from mastectomies to genital reassignment surgery. They also found 8,519 minors who have been prescribed puberty blockers and/or hormone replacement therapy. Overall there were more than 60,000 total prescriptions written.

The cost of the insurance claims added up to $119 million, according to the website, which provides a searchable database that allows parents to search over 225 hospitals.

The researchers say they were extremely conservative in their estimates – and therefore their database likely underestimates the actual number of children receiving ‘care,’ the NY Post reports.

“We’ve really been meticulous in trying to make sure that the data are as clear as possible and are as accurate as possible,” said Do No Harm chairman, Dr. Stanley Goldfarb.

Detransitioners speak out

Detransitioner Chloe Cole, who is now 19-years-old, received a double mastectomy at the age of 15.

“Once I even said that I was detransitioning, that I regretted it, in that I was talking about my experience and how transitioning damaged my life, the immediate response from my transgender friends in this community that I once looked up to, that I once saw as a second family … was now entirely against me,” she told Fox News in January. 

Harvard study BTFO

The database completely dismantles a July study by researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, which found ‘little to no utilization of gender-affirming surgeries by transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) minors in the U.S.’ 

The study found no gender-affirming surgeries performed on TGD youth ages 12 and younger in 2019. This was expected, the researchers said, as current international guidelines do not suggest any medical or surgical intervention for TGD individuals prior to puberty. –Harvard University

“We found that gender-affirming surgeries are rarely performed for transgender minors, suggesting that U.S. surgeons are appropriately following international guidelines around assessment and care,” said Elizabeth Boskey, instructor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences – while lead author Dannie Dai, research data analyst in the Department of Health Policy and Management, added, “Our findings suggest that legislation blocking gender-affirming care among TGD youth is not about protecting children, but is rooted in bias and stigma against TGD identities and seeks to address a perceived problem that does not actually exist.”

Except that’s total bullshit, as we now know.

The Harvard report accompanying the study specifically mentions the fact that at present, half of US states have bans on ‘gender-affirming’ care for minors.

The following states are protecting children from their mentally ill parents and medical providers.

Eli Lilly has launched a wave of cease-and-desist orders targeting compounding pharmacies, telehealth companies, and medical spas that produce and sell “compounded” versions of tirzepatide, the active ingredient in the pharma giant’s diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight-loss wonder drug Zepbound. 

As early as December 2022, Tirzepatide was placed on the Food and Drug Administration’s shortage list. The shortage designation allowed pharmacists, doctors, and licensed outsourcing facilities to compound copycats of Zepbound amid the GLP-1 craze that swept across America. It was removed from the list last Wednesday.

Bloomberg noted Lilly began targeting telehealth companies and medical spas with cease-and-desist letters on Thursday. 

Here’s an excerpt from the letter, first obtained by Bloomberg: “Because Lilly’s FDA-approved medicines are available, you must immediately cease any production, sale, dispensing and marketing” of compounded copies. 

The latest estimate from Fierce Pharma shows as many as two million Americans have been taking “copycat versions of Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk’s incretin hormone drugs, compounding pharmacies have suddenly thrived from their ability to help meet the booming demand for these products.” 

After the FDA removed Lilly’s tirzepatide, the Outsourcing Facilities Association, a compounding industry group, sued the federal agency. 

More from Fierce Pharma… 

In the US District Court in Fort Worth, Texas, the Outsourcing Facilities Association (OFA) has alleged (PDF) that the FDA’s action was contrary to law and that it should be immediately revoked. The OFA also is seeking a temporary order that would prevent the FDA from taking action against its members for making compounded versions of tirzepatide until the lawsuit is resolved.

The suit criticizes the agency for not soliciting public comment on the move and for taking the word of Lilly that it can meet the demand for the products. The suit said that Lilly “is self-interested in monopolizing the market.”

“The agency’s decision will have tremendous implications across the nation for patients and physicians, as well as the outsourcing facilities that made an enormous investment to meet patient demand in light of product shortages and delays,” Lee Rosebush, the chairman of the OFA, said in a release.

Tracking the GLP-1 craze in markets, Goldman’s index of companies with high exposure to GLP-1s shows momentum in these stocks has widely stalled throughout 2024 as companies at risk from GLP-1s’ success have been clawing back losses. 

There is mounting evidence that GLP-1s like tirzepatide are wonder drugs for obesity and diabetes. Wall Street’s looming question is whether the pharmaceutical company can keep up with demand following the FDA’s action last week. 

Authored by Josh O’Sullivan via CoinTelegraph.com,

The documentary Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery aired on Oct. 8 by Home Box Office (HBO). It controversially claimed that it knew the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin.

The film suggests that Peter Todd, a Bitcoin Core developer, is secretly Nakamoto. However, several inconsistencies quickly emerge when the facts are examined more closely.

In response to the documentary’s interpretation of Todd’s statements, the timeline misrepresentation and other inaccuracies, Cointelegraph breaks down everything wrong with the documentary.

“We’re all Satoshi”

One of the central claims of HBO’s documentary is that Todd used the pseudonymous title to give Bitcoin credibility, despite Todd’s personal timeline contradicting this theory.

Bitcoin was launched in 2008 while Todd was studying for a fine arts degree. Although Todd had an interest in cryptography, he has publicly stated that he didn’t begin working on BTC until 2014.

In the documentary, Todd sarcastically remarks that he is Satoshi, a comment that HBO may have taken too seriously or used to further an already overstretched and unwinding theory.

Todd stated:

“Oh, no, I am Satoshi. I’m Satoshi Nakamoto.”

BitcoinTalk forum post misinterpretation

The HBO documentary presents evidence in a 2010 post on the BitcoinTalk forum, one of the oldest online communities dedicated to discussing BTC and crypto-related topics.

The filmmaker implies that Todd accidentally posted from his account instead of Satoshi’s, allegedly revealing himself when finishing Satoshi’s thought and disappearing alongside the BTC creator.

Todd explained that:

“Satoshi’s last post was one week after I signed up for Bitcointalk, but […] then I disappeared.”

Despite Todd’s implied tone that it was coincidental, the filmmaker uses this to suggest a more suspicious connection than a mere coincidence.

Dismissing accusations 

Throughout the documentary, Todd repeatedly critiques the filmmakers for sensationalizing the story, calling them “pretty creative” when creating the “crazy theories” that Todd says are “ludicrous.”

In a sarcastic tone, Todd remarks, “Of course I’m Satoshi, and I’m Craig Wright,” making it clear that he finds the accusations absurd. He also predicted the documentary would be “very funny” for “a bunch of Bitcoiners.”

“It’s going to be yet another example of journalists really missing the point in a way that’s very funny […] The point is to make Bitcoin the global currency, and people like you being distracted by nonsense can potentially do good on that.”

Replace-by-fee mischaracterization

The documentary also claims that Todd’s introduction of “replace-by-fee” (RBF) in 2014 was a pre-planned feature tied to Nakamoto’s original vision for Bitcoin. However, this falls short, as RBF was not part of the cryptocurrency’s initial design.

Todd’s introduction of RBF came years after Satoshi’s disappearance, but the filmmaker implied that RBF was tied to government influence after John Dillion offered a $500 reward for the solution.

The “strangely small fee,” as stated in the documentary, is presented as suspicious in the film but seems more like an attempt to build a larger narrative without sufficient supporting evidence.

On the surface, today’s PCI prints came in hotter than expected across the board, yet all were in line with whisper numbers which as we noted, were higher than consensus. To be sure, the continued surge in auto insurance, and medical costs, will come as surprise to exactly nobody…

… and if anything, some will balk at the BLS’s suggestion that auto insurance has risen “only” 56% under Biden when many have seen their auto insurance premiums double in just the past year.

Adding insult to wallet injury, food inflation is also back: five of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 0.8% in September; the eggs index jumped 8.4%. The fruits and vegetables index increased 0.9% over the month, following a 0.2-percent decline in August. “The index for shelter rose 0.2 percent in September, and the index for food increased 0.4 percent. Together, these two indexes contributed over 75 percent of the monthly all items increase” the BLS said.

Some other notable highlights from the report:

• College textbook prices jumped 4.2%, a record monthly rise
• Admission to sporting events surged by 10.9%MoM in Sept, the biggest monthly increase on record
• Jewelry and watches rose 5.2% MoM, the biggest-ever monthly climb.
• Despite the narrative around airlines losing their pricing power, airfares rose 3.2% in the month.

And yet, there was a several silver lining to today’s report, most notably the unexpected easing in shelter/rent inflation…

…. yet even here questions emerge: just where does the BLS see this slowdown in housing costs? After all, according to both Case-Shiller and various real-time indexes, both prices are the highest they have been and are rising 6% YoY.

While that contrasting dynamic summarizes today’s CPI report, here is a sample of what some of Wall Street’s fastest-to-draw analysts and strategists had to say about today’s inflation report:

Leo He, UBS S&T

“US headline and core CPI printed 18bp m/m and 31bp m/m in September, respectively, higher than respective 0.1% and 0.2% m/m consensus. Looking at the detail, owners’ equivalent rent slowed to 33bp in September from 50bp the prior month. However, medical care services rose to 66bp from -9bp, used cars rose 0.3% m/m from -1%. Super core rose to 40bp, the highest since April.”

Ali Jaffery, CIBC Capital Markets

“Today’s data will reinforce the message that the Fed is not in a hurry. The labor market is cooling but not breaking yet, and inflation is trending a bit above target.”

Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay

“Investors may have been overoptimistic in expecting a rapid sequence of outsized cuts after September’s decision, but a long series of gradual moves still remains the most likely outcome in coming months.”

Anna Wong, head of Bloomberg Economics

“The September CPI report contains both good and bad news about inflation. The good is that rent disinflation may finally be making faster progress. The bad is evidence that elevated inflation is lingering in some key services categories, like car repairs and insurance. Disinflation in core goods prices has stalled.

“Even so, the Fed’s preferred price gauge, the core PCE deflator (due out Oct. 31), could increase more slowly than the CPI, as has been the case in recent months. Altogether, despite the upside surprise in core CPI, we don’t think the report will do alter the FOMC’s view that inflation is on a downtrend trajectory. We expect the FOMC to cut rates by 25 basis points at the Nov. 6-7 meeting.”

Ira Jersey, head rates strategist at Bloomberg Econ

“The higher-than-expect CPI headlines should take any chance of 50-bp rate cuts off the table and may cause the market to doubt the Fed may cut another 150 bps, as priced. Our focus has been the consumer, so next week’s retail sales report is key for the Treasury-yield outlook for the rest of the month. Core services continued to moderate, and most of the upside surprise appears to have come from automobile costs, which have been extremely volatile… Less-volatile sectors within core CPI continue to trend lower, while this month it was a spike amid more volatile sectors that appear to have driven the core CPI to beat expectations. Over time, this suggests inflation will once again trend lower.”

David Russell, head of market strategy at TradeStation:

“This number might not be as bad as it looks because shelter slowed sharply. That’s important because housing costs have been the biggest lingering issue for inflation. It’s not great news overall, but it’s also unlikely to have much impact because the Fed is still early in its easing cycle. The days of CPI triggering major volatility could be fading.”

Jamie Cox, Harris Financial Group

“Disinflation continues, but anyone who thought the Fed was going to lower rates by another 50 basis points in November is dead wrong. When interest rates aren’t high enough to lower growth, they aren’t high enough to stifle inflation completely either. The Fed will lower rates, but at a measured pace from here.”

Olu Sonola, head of US econ research at Fitch Ratings

“The good news is that the trend remains broadly disinflationary, but the bad news is that services inflation is still a problem. Inflation is dying, but not dead. Coming on the heels of the surprisingly strong September employment data, this report encourages the Fed to maintain a cautious stance with the pace of the easing cycle. The likely path is still a quarter point rate cut in November, but a December cut should not be taken for granted.”

Michael Brown, Pepperstone

“Despite the stronger than expected September jobs report, and given continued disinflationary progress, 25bp cuts at each of the remaining 2 FOMC meetings this year, with that cadence of cuts likely to continue into 2025 as well, until the fed funds rate returns to a roughly neutral level around 3% next summer. This, in essence, is the ‘Fed put’, which persists in a forceful and flexible form, and continues to provide participants with confidence to reside further out the risk curve, while also leaving equity dips to remain relatively shallow, and viewed as buying opportunities.”

Florian Ielpo, Lombard Odier

“The inflation data, while generally unwelcome, plays favorably into corporate earnings, thus benefiting stocks. A significant portion of the recent gains in equities can be attributed to the dual tailwinds of lower interest rates and economic stimulus from China. However, with inflation proving stickier than expected, interest rates might face temporary upward pressure.”

Source: Bloomberg

The quick one-two punch of Hurricane Helene and Milton hammering the US Southeast, sparking widespread devastation and massive power outages, has driven portable generator sales higher and supplies to critically low levels for at least one major manufacturer.

Bloomberg spoke with Generac CEO Aaron Jagdfeld this week, ahead of Milton making landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednseday night, who said the company sold out of portable power products after Helene hit weeks ago. 

Generac specializes in backup power generation products for residential, light commercial, and industrial markets. Last month’s widespread power outages from Florida to North Carolina sent demand for portable backup generators quite literally through the roof. 

“The more outages that are occurring and the more they are happening, then the more interest grows in our product,” Jagdfeld said during an interview.

As of Thursday morning, following Milton’s landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, a barrier island next to Sarasota, there were over three million power outages across Florida. Still, in Georgia and North Carolina, tens of thousands of people were without power weeks after Helene devastated those states. 

Jagdfeld said the challenge is getting enough portable generators into the region after Milton makes landfall. This is due to logistical hurdles caused by damaged critical infrastructure. 

“If it’s not there yet, it probably isn’t not going to get there until a couple days after landfall,” he said.

Shares of Generac have surged to multi-year highs this hurricane season, especially in the last few weeks. However, shares are well off the $500 peak seen during the pandemic mania era of cheap money, when the stock traded like a ‘penny stock.’ 

Heading into earnings season, Goldman’s Jerry Revich told clients earlier this week: 

Generac (GNRC, Buy): Our 2024 EPS (management definition) estimate of $6.51 is in line with consensus $6.50, while our sales estimate of $4,250 mn is in line with consensus $4,246 mn. We note that search trends are up 75% yoy over the past four weeks – a positive indicator for in home consultations. Our 12-month price is $148, based on 22.1x 2025E P/E (vs 23x 2024E P/E prior), as we roll forward our valuation framework to 2025E. Risks to the downside include lower than expected demand, labor and cost inflation, natural gas could be an ESG risk, and supply chain challenges.

According to the latest Google Trends data, internet search demand for “portable generator” has surpassed decade highs. 

Besides portable generators, we suspect households in these storm-ravaged areas will seek whole-house power backup systems in the weeks and months ahead as an insurance policy against the next storm or disaster of any kind. Separately, we suspect Starlink demand in these areas will surge too.

A professor at the University of Kansas was suspended Wednesday after footage emerged of him telling a class that men who choose not to vote for Kamala Harris should be “lined up and shot.”

Seriously ⁦@UnivOfKansas⁩? You’re letting this be said in your classrooms? That men who won’t vote for Kamala Harris for President should be lined up and shot?? ⁦@RogerMarshallMD⁩ ⁦@JerryMoran⁩ pic.twitter.com/7hHihxScEg

— Ned Ryun (@nedryun) October 9, 2024

Athletics lecturer Phillip Lowcock can be seen in the clip telling students: “(If you think) guys are smarter than girls, you’ve got some serious problems,” adding “That’s what frustrates me. There are going to be some males in our society that will refuse to vote for a potential female president because they don’t think females are smart enough to be president. We could line all those guys up and shoot them. They clearly don’t understand the way the world works.

“Did I say that? Scratch that from the recording. I don’t want the deans hearing that I said that,” Lowcock continued.

As Modernity.news opines;

The tolerant left saving democracy by disavowing it again.

Realising his bat shit crazy rantings we’re being filmed, he quickly added, “Did I say that? Scratch that from the recording. I don’t want the deans hearing that I said that.”

Too late bud.

The University suspended the professor after the video went viral, issuing a statement that read “[We] have been informed that the instructor is being placed on administrative leave.

A statement from the university regarding a classroom video. pic.twitter.com/SWnmhsNuPa

— University of Kansas (@UnivOfKansas) October 9, 2024

They claim that was trying to stand up for “women’s rights” and “equality” but did a “poor job” of it.

Saying men should be shot for their political beliefs is not in any way advocating for women’s rights. Also @UnivOfKansas is soft af for posting this but turning comments off. https://t.co/PGq7DvQ3Fw

— DWhitty1 (@D_Whitt_1) October 9, 2024

What a crock. He knew exactly what he was saying.

#BREAKING: @UnivOfKansas has placed instructor on administrative leave, following viral video.

Response from Professor Jonathan Brumberg states source identity was not correct, but that University has identified and placed the instructor on leave.

NB: This is why source… https://t.co/YyyhSSz1Ra pic.twitter.com/7Ss926yyPO

— Bree A Dail (@breeadail) October 9, 2024

And the footage is old. They only did something when it went viral and he got caught.

The most important parts of that message are “earlier this semester”and “instructor is BEING placed”

Basically saying it happened a while ago but now that it’s in the spotlight we have to do something about it for public relations.

— the chosen orca (@thechosenorca) October 9, 2024

This is the mindset of the left.

If they can’t murder children in the womb, they’ll murder you instead – and their bosses will write apologia for it. https://t.co/qrrzbJJUhW

— Lord Woodstone (Toss all MAPS out the airlock) (@EricMertz_KC) October 9, 2024

Modern political violence is a thing of the left. Change my mind. https://t.co/Yz53xsGFQb

— Erick Neavens (@ENeavens555) October 9, 2024

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