Business Frame Weekly – Property taxes increased twice as fast last year than in 2021 in the US/ Starwood Capital CEO Barry Sternlicht says inflation is going to drop

Property taxes increased twice as fast last year than in 2021 in the US, with many areas in the South and West increasing by more than the national average.

Starwood Capital CEO Barry Sternlicht, who has a net worth of $4.6 billion, says inflation is going to drop—and it’s going to drop hard.

These stocks were making moves Monday: Micron Technology (ticker: MU) jumped 7.9% to $63.16 after Samsung Electronics said it would make “meaningful” cuts to production of memory chips.

In this newsletter:

• U.S. property taxes rose twice as fast last year
• Billionaire investor Barry Sternlicht says inflation is going to ‘drop hard’—just look at rents
• These Stocks Are Moving the Most Today: Micron, Pioneer Natural, Tesla, Apple, Emergent Bio, and More
• Apple’s 40% Plunge in PC Shipments Is Steepest Among Major Computer Makers
• IRS unveils $80 billion spending plan
• Volkswagen looks to U.S. EV tax incentives to capture buyers

April 11, 2023

U.S. property taxes rose twice as fast last year

Property taxes increased twice as fast last year than in 2021 in the US, with many areas in the South and West increasing by more than the national average. Even after the gains, single-family-home property taxes remain much lower in the Sun Belt than in the Northeast, according to a report released by real estate data firm Attom on Thursday. On average, people in Florida paid less than $4,100 a year on property taxes in 2022 — not even half the bill for a typical New Jersey resident. In that state's Essex and Bergen counties, the charge per homeowner exceeded $13,000 — more than $1,000 a month.

Billionaire investor Barry Sternlicht says inflation is going to ‘drop hard’—just look at rents

Starwood Capital CEO Barry Sternlicht, who has a net worth of $4.6 billion, says inflation is going to drop—and it’s going to drop hard. In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Sternlicht was asked what he’d say in response to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon’s annual letter to shareholders, in which Dimon writes that current economic conditions “create more risk and potentially higher inflation,” and higher rate hikes. However, after saying he’s a big fan of Dimon and that he runs “probably one of the best banks in the world,” Sternlicht clarified to CNBC that “we don’t agree on everything.” Sternlicht, who runs a private equity firm known for its billions in real estate holdings, told CNBC that he thinks “inflation is going to drop hard.

These Stocks Are Moving the Most Today: Micron, Pioneer Natural, Tesla, Apple, Emergent Bio, and More

These stocks were making moves Monday: Micron Technology (ticker: MU) jumped 7.9% to $63.16 after Samsung Electronics said it would make “meaningful” cuts to production of memory chips. Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) was rising 6.1% following a report from The Wall Street Journal that said Exxon Mobil (XOM) had held preliminary talks with the shale driller about a possible acquisition. Tesla (TSLA) shares were down 1.5% following price cuts across its U.S. electric-vehicles lineup late last week. Apple (AAPL) shares fell 2% following an IDC report that said shipments of traditional PCs fell 29% in the first quarter year over year, with Apple shipments falling the most compared with its peers. Emergent Biosolutions (EBS) shares gained 13.6% after the biotech received an upgrade from analysts at Benchmark following recent Food and Drug Administation approval of an over-the-counter version of Narcan, a standard treatment for opioid overdoses.

Apple’s 40% Plunge in PC Shipments Is Steepest Among Major Computer Makers

Apple Inc.’s personal computer shipments declined by 40.5% in the first quarter, marking a tough start to the year for PC makers still grappling with a glut of unsold inventory. Shipments by all PC makers combined slumped 29% to 56.9 million units — and fell below the levels of early 2019 — as the demand surge driven by pandemic-era remote work evaporated, according to IDC’s latest report. Among the market leaders, Lenovo Group Ltd. and Dell Technologies Inc. registered drops of more than 30%, while HP Inc. was down 24.2%. No major brand was spared from the slowdown, with Asustek Computer Inc. rounding out the top 5 with a 30.3% fall.

IRS unveils $80 billion spending plan

The IRS revealed portions of its strategic operating plan to spend the $80 billion it was allocated over 10 years in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, P.L. 117-169. The plan provides budget information for three fiscal years during which the bulk of the money goes to operations support. In a call with reporters Thursday, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo and IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel stood firm on the Service's plan to increase audits of complex cases and not increase audit rates on those making under $400,000 annually.

Volkswagen looks to U.S. EV tax incentives to capture buyers

Volkswagen AG believes that electric-vehicle incentives put in place by President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act will help the company more than double its share of the U.S. market. The German carmaker plans to sell 25 EV models in the US by 2030, all of which should qualify for the maximum $7,500 in tax credits provided by the Biden policy, said Pablo Di Si, chief executive officer of Volkswagen Group of America. That broad availability will help the automaker attract more customers as the company aims to account for 10% of U.S. auto market by 2030 compared to about 4% today, he said. "We have a great opportunity in the U.S.," Di Si said in a Bloomberg Television interview. "I believe this is the right time and the right place."

Random Ramblings

• The IRS's 2023 Dirty Dozen: Trust no one.
• ‘Status quo is the riskiest option’: One leader’s proven approach.
• Trust and consequences: Leaders who don’t listen pay a price.
• Goldman Sachs finds the public's fear about a bank crisis has 'faded'.
• People working in the office spend 25% more time on career development.