We know what’s coming and we are prepared.
📝 Lomez on X:
"Zoomers are the first cohort to be fully immersed in the reality of generational downward mobility. While millenials will also earn less than their parents, they were formed under the expectations of America ascending to a kind of Post-History stasis where at worst their status and wealth was permanently locked in.
Zoomers have none of these illusions and rightfully reject the obsolete and facile narratives they’re expected to swallow and obey to make sense of their lives and ambitions. Those are dead narratives. They do not reflect reality at all. They do not reflect the deranged cultural and political circumstances they’re expected to navigate from a position of negative expected value for pretty much any career path outside of genius tech outlier.
Scolding them is a stupid and pointless exercise that will only drive them further into despair and resentment.
Yes. Don’t be resentful. Don’t give in to despair. Be resourceful and lay a claim on your own life. But it’s also going to require offering Zoomers much better and updated narratives and opportunities for how to accrue status and wealth and the basic conditions for living a dignified life for the average guy who is not an outlier tech genius.
There are short, medium, and long term fixes for this. Some straightforwardly political. Some more complex cultural questions. But the implicit promise of boomer America, even Gen X America, is no longer viable, and that broken promise has absolutely nothing to do with Zoomers themselves."
📎 Lomez
Mercuria shipping head says fuel shortages could idle 10% of global fleet
This would trigger immediate and severe breakdowns in global supply chains, as container ships, tankers, and bulk carriers sit idle, halting the movement of food, fertilizer, fuel, and critical imports that modern economies depend on.
"The shipping sector is fast approaching a fuel crisis that could paralyze a tenth of the global fleet, Larry Johnson, global head of freight at commodities trading house Mercuria, said in an interview.
Since the Middle East war erupted, markets have been preoccupied with potential shortfalls in the diesel and jet fuel traditionally exported in large quantities from the Persian Gulf.
However, as refiners strain to capture soaring clean product cracks, residual fuels have suffered. Increasingly, feedstocks have been held back from the marine fuel market to kept for further processing, leaving the shipping sector at risk of crippling shortages, Johnson said.
"My view on marine fuel...
Inflation in Europe is rising rapidly:
Eurozone Manufacturing PMI Input Prices spiked to 80 points in May, the highest since May 2022.
This also marks the largest monthly increase in costs for firms over the last 4 years.
Furthermore, PMI Output Prices surged to 62 points, the highest in 3.5 years.
The rate companies are increasing the prices they charge for goods they produce has surged +12 points, or +24%, since the start of 2026.
This surge has been primarily driven by rising energy and raw material costs.
Meanwhile, supply chain delays are up to the highest level since the pandemic supply squeeze of 2022, adding further pressure on prices.
As a result, factories are forced to pass higher costs on to customers, which will push inflation even higher over the next few months.
Price pressures across Europe are accelerating.
(@TheKobeissiLetter)
US inflation is set to rise further:
ISM Services Prices rose +0.6 points in May, to 71.3, the highest since August 2022.
Since February, the index has risen +8.3 points, the biggest 3-month increase since 2021.
Diesel, gasoline, oil, and related commodities were the most frequently cited as "up in price" in the survey.
In May alone, no commodities were reported as "down in price."
Historically, rapidly rising services prices have led CPI inflation with a ~3-month lag.
The current reading suggests CPI could rise above 5.0% for the first time since early 2023, from the 3.8% seen in April.
Inflation pressures are mounting.
(@TheKobeissiLetter)
