Will These Big Shakeups Lead To Even Bigger Changes?

Some major developments are underway in industries across the country…but will any of them create lasting, positive change? April 05, 2022 [Turn on your images.]( Will These Big Shakeups Lead To Even Bigger Changes? Some major developments are underway in industries across the country…but will any of them create lasting, positive change? A week after condemning Twitter for free speech violations and contemplating making his own rival platform, Elon Musk is now social media site’s largest individual stockholder, securing himself a seat on the board of directors. Is the famously unpredictable Tesla CEO about to begin overhauling Twitter from within…and does he have a larger plan already in the works? Meanwhile, Amazon has a problem on its hands. For years, the company has been accused of underpaying and overworking warehouse employees, and now one New York facility has held a successful unionization vote. Will this victory for workers’ rights lead to a top-down overhaul of how Amazon does business…or will the delivery service find a way to suppress the fledgling movement once again? And finally, with gas hitting new record-high prices every single day, the US government is dipping into the nation’s strategic oil reserve in an effort to lower costs. But with demand still outpacing supply and our emergency stores depleting fast, is this short-term solution only going to make things worse? --------------------------------------------------------------- [Turn Your Images On] [Welcome Aboard, Mr. Musk: Elon Musk Named To Twitter Board Of Directors]( Ryan James Well…that didn’t take long. [Just yesterday, it was announced that]( Tesla CEO Elon Musk had bought a 9.2% stake in Twitter, making him the social media platform’s largest individual shareholder (and if you didn’t catch that update, no worries. You can [read it here.]( There was wild speculation about the Musk Man’s next move. Would he go from a passive investor to an activist investor? Would he still follow through on his musings about creating his own rival social media platform? Would he take over the company by continuing to buy shares? Well, as of now, any potential plot to take over Twitter seems to be on hold…if it happens at all. Because now Musk might not even have to do that. On Tuesday morning, Twitter executives announced that they were naming Elon Musk to their board of directors. I suppose if you can’t beat them, join them, as they say. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal broke the news first, tweeting, “Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board.” [Turn Your Images On]( Agrawal added, “He’s both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need on Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long-term. Welcome, Elon!” [Turn Your Images On]( Twitter founder, former CEO, and resident hippie Jack Dorsey praised the Board’s decision, tweeting that Musk “cares deeply about our world and Twitter’s role in it.” [Turn Your Images On]( Is it just me, or does it seem like the bigwigs over at the Tweedledum company are acting just a tad bit too friendly to Mr. Musk? It’s almost as if they are playing 4D chess trying to assuage Musk’s ego so he doesn’t go forward with an internal takeover plan. Maybe that is just the cynical side in me…but according to social media, I’m not the only one thinking that way… However, that might be exactly what is happening given a report from CNBC in which the financial network reported, “Musk’s term is set to expire in 2024, according to a [filing with the SEC](. For his entire board term or 90 days after, Musk cannot be the beneficial owner of more than 14.9% of the company’s common stock outstanding.” Ah, now it all makes sense. By naming Musk to the board Twitter capped how many shares he could buy at 14.9%, thus making it impossible for him to become a majority stakeholder in the company. Smart. Smart indeed. [Turn Your Images On] This latest bombshell news follows on the heels of Monday’s news that Musk had bought a large stake in Twitter. I know, an Elon Musk news cycle is hard to keep up with. It moves faster than one of his SpaceX rockets. A [Securities and Exchange Commission filing]( confirmed that Musk had taken a 9.2% stake in the company worth $2.89 billion which makes him the platform’s largest individual shareholder. And investors reacted positively to the news, sending shares of Twitter surging on Monday as high as 26%, which is the biggest intraday increase for Twitter [in more than four years.]( Elon Musk might be leveraging his shareholder position to ensure that Twitter does a better job adhering to free speech principles, a subject about which he feels strongly. Or he might have a more diabolical takeover plan that we don’t know about yet (my dark side hopes that’s true because it would give me more juicy material to write about). We might not know what old Elon is up to for a while given his history of cryptic tweets. But for now, we can say welcome to the Twitter Board, Mr. Musk! --------------------------------------------------------------- [Turn Your Images On]( [Shocking Huckabee Interview Goes Viral]( America’s top stock market expert answers this governor’s burning questions: “Why is NOW the best time in 50 years to invest? And what are your top three stock picks?” [His answer is astonishing…]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Turn Your Images On] [Amazon Workers Win The Right To Unionize]( by Shawn Ambrosino I’ve got to be honest, I’m not entirely convinced unions are the best thing for growth–and I come from a family of union members. I generally don’t think unions are a good thing in the modern workforce. They allow for the workers to dictate to business owners what they can and can’t do and who they can and can’t fire. If you’re wondering why profits were so low in the automotive industry for years, look no further than the unions. My grandfather, an autoworker himself, said he once worked with a guy that simply brought sheet metal from one room to another and was paid over $100,000 a year for doing it simply due to his tenure in the union. While that’s great for that guy, his job and countless others like it stifled growth for the company. A business is supposed to focus on growth and profit without having to waste time dancing to the tune of labor union restrictions. But, that said…have you heard what’s happening at Amazon? Because that might be enough to make me rethink my position. The NEED For An Amazon Union The rumors about that place seem positively Victorian, painting a picture out of a late 1800s factory rather than a modern-day business. Workers apparently aren’t allowed to go to the bathroom or take lunch breaks, they work horrendous hours under horrendous conditions, and they get paid a pittance. Disgruntled Amazon workers have been trying to unionize for the past few years, but to no avail thanks to the union-busting efforts of upper management. But then, on Friday, April 1st, warehouse workers in the Staten Island facility formed the first US-born union in the company’s history through a vote. The total was 2,654 "yes" votes to 2,131 "no" votes, giving a margin of victory of almost 11%. Though they’ve won the right to unionize, they’re not out of the woods yet. In the coming days, the Amazon Labor Union may face challenges from Amazon itself over the legitimacy of the election results. Amazon has a few ideas about how to move forward, and has talked about "filing objections based on the inappropriate and undue influence" of the National Labor Relations (NLRB) Board, the federal agency that carried out the election. If those challenges are successful, they could overturn the outcome of the vote and there will be no union. However, if the union beats any potential challenge, it will then enter into negotiations with the company over the shape and size of a union contract between workers and the facility, which can take months to finalize. Can Profits Become TOO Important? These steps will ultimately determine whether unions will survive within the country’s second-biggest employer. The outcome of challenges and negotiations could determine whether this resurgence in workers’ rights will expand beyond Staten Island. On top of that, it could mean the end of Amazon’s current employment model altogether given that all signs point to company practices being archaic and TOO focused on profits. That’s a weird thing for me to say, as I think profits should ALWAYS be the focus of a company, but NOT at the expense of a worker being forced to use a bucket as their bathroom. I’m surprised it’s not criminal, frankly…but for the workers of Amazon, this is a small victory. However, how this will affect profits we won’t know. The Monday after the vote, shares were up big, closing up 3% from Friday’s close. However, as news about the vote spreads, it seems Amazon is taking a bit of a licking, down over 2% from Monday’s close as of this writing on Tuesday afternoon. The only thing we know for sure is that the saga isn’t over. There are still a lot of hoops to jump through before all is said and done, and nothing is set in stone. It'd be great to see some change in these warehouses, regardless of how the negotiations go, and if that means a union, then so be it. Amazon made their bed with their workers…now they have to lie in it. --------------------------------------------------------------- [This Chart Proves the Economy Is About to Collapse]( According to a rogue economist, this one chart proves the stock market is on the cusp of crashing by 70%, maybe more. (There’s a $15 trillion reason it hasn’t happened yet.) [See the full story behind this remarkably accurate chart here…]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Turn Your Images On] [Gas Prices Set To Dip After Strategic Oil Release…But How Long Will It Last?]( by Shawn Ambrosino A few years ago, I was driving one of my favorite cars… It was a 2011 Dodge Ram 1500, it was fire-engine red, and I absolutely loved that car. However, I had bought it used and driven it for seven years, and things were starting to break down. Since I’m not particularly handy, I thought it would be prudent for me to trade it in and get something new. So, I did… I traded Burt (we named the truck Burt after BRT, “Big Red Truck”) in for a brand new 2018 Honda Fit that I immediately named Pam Belam (after the Ram Jam song “Black Betty”). Woah Black Betty (bam ba lam).” [Turn Your Images On] [[ Now, going from a rather large truck to a tiny Honda Fit was almost culture shock, but if there was one thing that made it all worthwhile, it was the fact that I could fill the Fit’s ENTIRE tank for a third of what it took to fill Burt’s tank. Unfortunately, I got T-boned in Pam Belam a short time later and got a new Fit–this time named GiGi for “Gray Ghost”–and I then proceeded to trade that in for Pam Belam II, a black Kia Soul. And all of them get WAY better gas mileage than Burt could ever dream of. That’s the abbreviated history of my last decade of car ownership…and looking at gas prices right now, if I hadn’t stopped driving a big ol’ truck back then, I’d certainly be making that change now. Say Goodbye To Burt And Hello To Pam Belam II Of course, the government is doing what it can to combat high gas prices…but it hasn’t been enough. The demand is outpacing the supply…so what can they really do? Luckily, there is some relief coming…potentially. We saw a small dip in price this week following news from the White House that President Biden will soon be releasing 1 million barrels of crude oil from the US Strategic Oil Reserve per day for the next six months to help alleviate some of the costs at the pump. At an expected 180 million barrels total, this is the largest release EVER from the US reserves. Is it a good move? Well, in the short term, yes. Americans need some help at the pump, and the release of the reserves will give them some relief–but will it be enough? Many experts say no. The release of the reserves does not do anything to combat the biggest issue at hand: our demand is outpacing our supply. Is There An Answer? So while the release from the reserves will help in the short term it won’t be enough. Eventually, that six-month release window will close, the demand will still not be met, and those reserves–originally intended for use during emergency situations–will still have to be replaced. The long-term answer, the best possible solution for moving past this, is the solution that no one in power seems willing to consider… We need to up the supply. The only way for us to get some REAL relief over the next six months is for President Biden to rescind, even if only temporarily, his executive order that bans fracking on federal land. While it’s true that there are thousands of oil leases yet to be used, none of them can be used for fracking. Traditional oil drilling could take upwards of two years to see any yield of oil, while fracking can have us humming again in just a few months. Whether the Biden administration will pursue this route remains to be seen, but in the meantime, investors who want to take advantage are investing in oil and EV companies–because those markets are heating up faster than Usain Bolt’s shoes. Oil and gas companies have been KILLING it during the shortage…and right behind them is the EV industry. This is why I’ve been telling our readers that there’s no reason to freak out if there’s a bear market or a recession. Money is still going to be spent on certain things–and if you know where that money is being spent, you can reap the rewards by investing in those areas. It’s not rocket science. Just takes a shift in our attitude and trading strategy. One thing’s for sure, though: if oil prices keep climbing, I won’t be driving around in Burt, Pam Belam, or Gigi… I’ll be peddling around on my Midnight Rider. --------------------------------------------------------------- For more quality content like this, and to learn more about the Money Moves team and the Green Zone Rating System, [CLICK HERE]( Privacy Policy The Money & Markets, P.O. Box 8378, Delray Beach, FL 33482. To ensure that you receive future issues of Money & Markets, please add info@mb.moneyandmarkets.com to your address book or [whitelist]( within your spam settings. For customer service questions or issues, please contact us for assistance. The mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so please do not reply. Your feedback is very important to us so if you would like to contact us with a question or comment, please click here: [( Legal Notice: This work is based on what we've learned as financial journalists. 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