Afternoon podcast 9-14-26

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Welcome to the afternoon Rob Black Show podcast, a guaranteed human podcast, which can also be heard on AM 1220 KDOW weekdays at 5 p.m. and on 860 AM The Answer weeknights at 11 p.m. The views and opinions expressed in the program are not necessarily those of this radio station or its sponsors and should not be construed as legal tax or investment advice. You should always consult the appropriate advisor before making any financial decision. All rights reserved.

SPEAKER_2 (0:31)

Now, new focus on wealth, new focus on wealth. Get a new focus on personal finance, wealth management, Wall Street and the economy. Now, Rob Black.

Rob Black (0:43)

Well, I would say summer is over. At least the movie going season is over. There was less magic at the box office over the weekend as fall distractions are setting in.

The entire weekend came in at 83.4 million, which was down 44% from the frame a year ago. Nicole Kidman and Senator Bucks, Practical Magic 2, filed just $30 million domestically. Why do I bring that up? Wall Street is about product, and the box office is about product.

AI is about product. Caterpillar is about product.

Try to get better as best you can. Be best in becoming a product manager.

This will upset my wife. Higher champagne inflation. Consumers can expect higher prices as champagne output is set to be almost cut in half this year, as extreme weather and scorching temperatures are battering yields. France is facing an agricultural war with the food industry grappling with challenges from climate change to trade wars. What's interesting to note about how hot it was this summer, that sent some people to Europe, not during the summer, but during the fall. A fall occasion, if you will, the wealthy continue to shift their holidays to September, October, and November to avoid summer crowds. One of the things that I've been excited about doing in retirement is traveling. Because right around retirement, and I don't know if it's going to be right around, but it's they're kind of coming close to clashing. My kids will be done with high school. My kids will be able to drive. My kids will have friends in college or post high school. They don't want me there.

I got into a little kerfuffle with my son this weekend because he's kind of a trash talker with fantasy football. And I hate it. I want him treating his friends with respect and not trash talking. I don't know. I wasn't allowed to trash talk. I was raised in a military family where, like, my friends were sometimes their fathers were serving underneath my father. My father was a colonel in Vietnam. Two or one. My dad was an intelligence officer in two or two. He was a tank commander. He had my brother Michael in two or one. He had me in two or two.

We weren't allowed to trash talk, so it's the thing that drives me insane.

But when he's done with school, I'm going to travel. He doesn't need me to tell him, you don't need to trash talk anymore. He'll have heard that lesson plenty of times and he'll hate me. He'll want to hang with his bros. September is now a peak month with sales up 77% year over year. October is up 54% and November sales for travel up 71%.

I look at the heat wave in the last two years in Europe, and I go, no chance do I want to be in France or Italy. I might want to be in France where the naked ladies dance, but there's no chance I want to get around the summer months. They don't have air conditioning as much as the United States does, and I love my air conditioning.

I'm soft like a delicate baby lamb. Not a lot of work has been done in these fingers if you pick up what I'm putting down. Oh, how sweet. Who is going on vacation? A fallcation. Who is going to Italy right now? Who is going to France? The restaurants are packed. The motels are packed. Both of are still overcharging. It's the demographics that are going. Most wealth is now held by baby boomers, and they want to spend their money. And then the genetic experts are starting to join them as their kids are mostly grown, and they're no longer tied to a school calendar. I am an elder. No, I'm a younger millennial, which makes me elder. No, I'm not a millennial. What am I talking about? I'm a young? No, no. I was one of the very first. This is how I should say. I was one of the very first genexers. So I'm an old genexer. Why is that so difficult for me to explain? I wonder if I've had a stroke.