Five interesting things that Hodges Capital research analysts discovered this week...

#1 HOUSEHOLD BUDGET: Gas and utilities spending is taking up a larger share of wallet, while the share of monthly expenditures allocated to new clothes and restaurant meals has declined. Gas price inflation is disproportionately impacting lower-income and rural adults. Adults from households earning less than $50,000 allocated 11.3% of total spending in February to gas and utilities, compared with 9.4% for adults from households earning $100,000 or more. The difference in energy category spending allotments was even more pronounced for rural (13.2%) and urban (9.4%) consumers. – Morning Consult

#2 FINANCIAL LITERACY: Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, recently signed legislation into law requiring that high school students in the state take a financial literacy course in order to graduate. The bill, titled the Dorothy L. Hukill Financial Literacy Act, requires students to take a half-credit in personal financial literacy and money management. – Fox Business

#3 BIG BUYBACKS: A record $319 billion of share buybacks have been authorized in 2022 so far, compared to $267 billion at the same point last year, according to Goldman Sachs.  

#4 CAR PAYMENTS: According to LendingTree.com, the average new car monthly payment now stands at $644, which is up nearly 12% over the prior year’s statistics. It’s an even crazier jump for used vehicles, where loan payments are up 18% and 15% for leased vehicles.

#5 ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME: Roger Jenkins, CEO of Murphy Oil Corporation, stated that the improvement in commodity prices is “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fix your balance sheet forever.” Murphy Oil Corporation increased its 2022 debt reduction goal to a range of $600 to $650 million, more than double the $300MM outlined at the beginning of the year.

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