Missed another chance to cover some of the oil short/The real estate downturn is global and other good stuff

Well, I guess the Department of Energy missed again its chance to refill the SPR when crude oil got to $70. It seems that if the intent is to eventually rebuild it, they will have to get off the $70 goal and raise its buying price. 

SPR Inventories

I forgot to mention Friday's August auto sales number where the SAAR was 15.04mm, well below the estimate of 15.4mm and compares with just below 17mm in August 2019. With inventories normalizing, I can only guess that high vehicle prices and high financing costs dissuaded buyers. The auto sector has been the last group standing in the industrial space as dealer lots got filled up again and a particular strong point for the semi companies that sold into this market.