Postcards: How The Lights Went Out in Hollywood...

The top performer of the year has been... Utilities. Big things are just getting started... ͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­ Forwarded this email? [Subscribe here]() for more You are a free subscriber to Postcards from the Florida Republic. To upgrade to paid and receive the daily Republic Risk Letter, [subscribe here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Postcards: How The Lights Went Out in Hollywood...]( The top performer of the year has been... Utilities. Big things are just getting started... [Garrett {NAME}](floridarepublic) Sep 9 floridarepublic   [READ IN APP](   Dear Fellow Expat: Nestled in the Hollywood Hills, the Hollywood Bowl began as a natural amphitheater where locals gathered in the 1910s for concerts under the stars. By the 1920s, it had become an official venue with a simple wooden stage. Over the decades, its iconic shell took shape, hosting legendary acts. Famous shows at the Hollywood Bowl include The Beatles’ electric 1964 performance, Judy Garland’s legendary 1961 comeback, and Frank Sinatra’s iconic concerts. More recent highlights include Prince’s stunning shows and the annual fireworks-filled Fourth of July Spectaculars. But for investors like us, Sunday night was the most important show in the Hollywood Bowl’s history. It was a Vance Joy show that never happened. Lights Out in California If you want a picture of what America’s energy infrastructure resembles, look to California. The State of Minnesota is eager to adopt California's EV mandates, effectively banning the sales of non-EV automobiles. California’s grid is a wreck as it tries to electrify everything. Over the weekend, the Hollywood Bowl had to [cancel a performance](. There was no power. The New York Times… they blamed Climate Change. But climate change doesn’t cause power outages. Demand for electricity does. When temperatures rise, more demand for power emerges. When your grid is unreliable, it leads to situations like the one in the chart below. This is California's average residential electric retail cost (yellow line) and the United States (blue line). Electricity prices in California are now double the national average. There are factors like aging infrastructure, population size (Arizona is nearby with a growing population), and hotter temperatures. Other factors include the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) massive tax hikes, reliance on intermittent energy sources and a lack of storage, and many “energy justice” initiatives. Politicians will double and triple down on these policies until the lights go out completely… or electricity is so unaffordable that more people must leave the state. If you want to read something insane… just check out the plans of the California Environmental Justice Alliance. It reads part Bolshevik Revolution-lite (“There is no energy justice without a Just Transition for workers.”)… and Part “How Many X does it take to screw in a line bulb” jokes. Buzz words galore… that don’t mean anything except higher costs across the board and no explanation for how to fix anything. [They’re everywhere.]( Long Electricity Electricity is a real asset, and its costs are impacted by many factors. But these California mandates have fueled skyrocketing prices. And those prices are only heading higher… around the nation. We’re currently looking at where AI data centers are heading (the next massive form of demand) and understanding the core strategies of Bitmining companies, who have traveled the world to find the lowest costs of electricity to mine the cryptocurrency. Electricity generation has been VERY good to the equity markets. The Utilities sector is the top performer of the last six months… and it’s not just the expectation of falling interest rates driving those gains. The markets see what’s on the horizon… More demand. More money printing. More challenges ahead. Please don’t sleep on names like Dominion Energy (D) for traditional utilities. However, pay critical attention to names like Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) as we witness something big on the horizon. We’ll be back with deeper insights about Marathon and why investors need to start paying attention and speculating on these miners starting now. Stay positive, Garrett {NAME} Secretary of Defense Disclaimer Nothing in this email should be considered personalized financial advice. While we may answer your general customer questions, we are not licensed under securities laws to guide your investment situation. Do not consider any communication between you and Florida Republic employees as financial advice. Under company rules, editors and writers cannot recommend their positions. The communication in this letter is for information and educational purposes unless otherwise strictly worded as a recommendation. Model portfolios are tracked to showcase a variety of academic, fundamental, and technical tools, and insight is provided to help readers gain knowledge and experience. Readers should not trade if they cannot handle a loss and should not trade more than they can afford to lose. There are large amounts of risk in the equity markets. Consider consulting with a professional before making decisions with your money.   [Like]( [Comment]( [Restack](   © 2024 Garrett {NAME} 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104 [Unsubscribe]() [Get the app]( writing]()