This will come back to bite the unions, part 16

For transparency and my own agenda, my husband and I own a 2023 Tesla Model Y.

The power struggle between the union IF Metall and Tesla Motor Sweden AB (TM) has been going on since October 2023. Now another organization is trying to put pressure on (TM). Since IF Metall took its members out on strike on 27 October 2023, AMF becomes the 11th organization to try to put pressure on (TM).

This time it is the pension company AMF, owned by the union Landsorganisationen (LO) and Swedish Business Confederation, which is demanding transparency into (TM's) anti-union policy with the help of American lawyers. AMF owns $171 millions worth of Tesla shares.

AMF's head of asset management Tomas Flodén states that the company is trying to persuade other Nordic investors to support a shareholder proposal at the company's annual general meeting on June 13, 2024. The proposal means that (TM) should adopt a policy which means that they should not oppose employees who try to organize themselves into a union. AMF also wants (TM) to enter the negotiations concerning the "voluntary" collective agreement with good intentions. Tomas Flodén states that the company is "fairly optimistic" that many owners will vote for the proposal.

Personally, I hope (TM) does not give in to these pressures. Being able to legally use the help of 10 unions and now a shareholder to get someone to sign something that according to their own statutes is voluntary is an approach that most likely even makes the mafia green with envy.

It gets harder before it gets easier

I sincerely hope that the world's most perfect teenager passed his Spanish test yesterday and gets the first diploma of his life. Hopefully one of many.

Junior had failed to mention that due to having the MUN 2024 conference this Tuesday, he and a couple of his peers missed their Individual and Society (I&A) test. Since they missed the test due to the MUN 2024 conference, they were given an extended deadline to Friday 9:00 p.m. This meant that the offspring had to go straight home and complete his essay in (I&S) immediately after finishing the Spanish test. Exactly 8.50 p.m. he submitted his essay.

Tomorrow "we" start studying for his end-of-year-exams. It will be 3 very busy weeks for Junior. After that, 4 school days await, of which 1 is graduation day before he has 10 weeks of summer break. Hopefully he has then been admitted to grade 11.

I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, obviously...

Yesterday we received more than half of the month's estimated dividends. We have just under 7% of the month's estimated dividends left to receive. At the same time, we sold off our entire holding in Best Buy Co., Inc. Common Stock (BBY), which was 60 shares.

Instead, we reinvested both the sale proceeds and the dividends in British American Tobacco Industries, p.l.c. Common Stock ADR (BTI) and Horizon Technology Finance Corporation Common Stock (HRZN).

That the world's most perfect teenager who has to save 50% of all the money he receives in gifts, such as birthdays, Christmas Eve and more, has managed to save almost $5,000 dollars is incredible. His best investment is NVIDIA Corporation Common Stock (NVDA) which he chose all by himself.

Junior is the only one in the family who owns (NVDA), which makes me both proud and a little annoyed at the same time. I wish I had also understood what (NVDA) is all about. I thought it was just another company developing games.

Each day he doesn't learn to drink soda is a good day

In Sweden we have fantastic drinking water. No matter where you are in the country, provided you do not have your own well, the water is clean and clear. No nasty taste of chlorine or other chemicals. In winter, the water is also incredibly cold. In summer, you have to flush the water in the tap a little longer before the water becomes ice cold.

Even before we had the world's most perfect baby, we have had glass bottles filled with water in the fridge so that even in summer we have instant access to clear, clean and cold water. This has meant that Junior has always been good at drinking water. In addition to drinking milk, he also drinks, depending on the season, between 16.9 oz (0.5 L) and 33.8 oz (1 L) water each day.

Despite turning 17 at the end of August, he still doesn't drink carbonated beverages, which pleases the world's most perfect husband and I. However, I am not naive. The window before he starts to drink carbonated beverages, which literally means soda and beer, is closing fast.

Happy thoughts

I have calculated our upcoming extra dividends for June and since most companies have cut their extra dividends by a cent or two, June 2024 will not be as successful as March 2024. My calculation shows that the final result will be about 4% lower.

This means that June will very likely be our third best dividend month ever. December 2023 will continue to be our second best month, at best this will change in September 2024.

Although 2019 is by far our best dividend year, the distribution between months was more even, meaning that none of the months on an individual basis was higher than March 2024. How many years are left before we are back on the 2019 dividends, I hope will be clearer at the turn of the year.

If it can be exploited, it will be exploited

AI's continued development at record speed will change the world in more ways than we can imagine. The latest talk of the town is Chat GPT presentation of real-time translation.

Since humans are lazy by nature, many future generations will most likely use AI instead of learning new languages. With a possible outcome that language learning will decrease drastically. By extension, this can mean that large groups can allow themselves to be vulnerable as they have to trust that the translation provided is correct.

Just like no one cares about your money as much as you do, it can be equated to no one cares about your true and correct information as you do. Instead, it may be in their interest that you actually have false and incorrect information. AI is a fantastic tool if you are aware of both the pros & cons.

I don't think Riksbanken will rush it

The expectation for April's consumer price index with a fixed interest rate (CPIF) was fulfilled. Instead of the expected 2.4%, the outcome was 2.3%, which is higher than February's 2.2% but still good.

The better, albeit marginal, outcome strengthens hopes for many that Sweden's central bank will make a further reduction in the policy rate at the next monetary policy announcement on June 27, 2024.

Personally, I do not think that Riksbanken will make further interest rate cuts on the policy rate until August 19, 2024 at the earliest.

Specification of CPIF 2024

January 3.3%

February 2.5%

March 2.2%

April 2.3%

Increased cost of living partly man made

For transparency and my own agenda, I strongly dislike socialism and our previous government, the Social Democrats with the support of the Green Party and the tacit acceptance of the Left Party, who ruled Sweden for 8 years. At the last election, I voted for the current government.

Today, the inflation figures for April 2024 are to be published. Most people assume that inflation in April 2024 will be higher compared to March 2024. One of the reasons is said to be that energy prices rose in April compared to March, which affects pretty much everything in society.

Had our previous government not decommissioned 6 of our then 12 nuclear power plants, we would not have had such high energy prices today and thus lower inflation.

Be trusting but not stupid

With Riksbanken's lowering of Sweden's policy rate at the latest monetary policy meeting, advisers are now starting to talk about the benefits of saving. After years of ever-increasing interest costs and rampant inflation, many now see the light at the end of the tunnel and the beginning of the end of extremely high living costs.

This means that many banks and financial institutions now see their chance to push for increased savings. Their advisers always recommend the most obvious first, paying off any loans. In addition to this, self-evident number 2 is mentioned, to have a buffer preferably corresponding to 2 months' net wages. After the advisors mention the "must" savings, they always end up on option 3, mutual funds. Saving in mutual funds is of course a good way of saving and absolutely better than nothing at all, but you have to remember that the advisers speak for themselves, they want to sell their product. Compare between different banks and financial institutions to get the best option for you.

No one cares about your money as much as you do. - Liza Dewlar

A 16-year-old's logic is anything but logical

Even though we studied the geometric pattern series for more than 4 hours last night, I am as hopelessly ignorant as before. Yesterday there were 3 tasks that "we" failed to solve. Today the world's most perfect teenager will ask a peer for help with the solution of our total of 5 unsolved problems. Hopefully his friend can make him understand and help him where I fail. Tonight, no matter what Junior says, "we" will try again to solve the 5 tasks "we" failed.

According to himself, his performance in the MUN 2024 Conference yesterday was average. His commitment and motivation is almost non-existent at the moment. All he is waiting for is the feedback on his personal project. He may not proceed to Year 11 without his personal project being approved.

How he can think it makes sense to neglect the other subjects in school pending the evaluation of his personal project is beyond me.

Group 3 - sometimes there is such a thing as a free ride

The holdings below will give the portfolio a real boost this month through special and supplemental dividends.

Crescent Capital BDC, Inc. Common stock (CCAP), ¢11 with pay date June 17, 2024

Capital Southwest Corporation Common Stock (CSWC), ¢6 with pay date June 28, 2024

Fidus Investment Corporation Common Stock (FDUS), ¢16 with pay day June 26, 2024

Golub Capital BDC, Inc. Common Stock (GBDC), ¢6 with pay day June 14, 2024

Main Street Capital Corporation Common Stock (MAIN), ¢30 with pay day June 27, 2024

New Mountain Finance Corporation Common Stock (NMFC), ¢2 with pay day June 28, 2024

Blue Owl Capital Corporation Common Stock (OBDC), ¢5 with pay day June 14, 2024

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. Common Stock (TSLX), ¢6 with pay day June 20, 2024

He longs for Friday night

The world's most perfect teenager has an intense school week ahead of him. Unlike his peers who have had MUN as extra studies since grade 6, Junior only started in grade 10 because he studied Spanish instead. Today, as in previous years, the school will have the MUN conference all day.

This means that he misses the usual lessons today, including, among other lessons, the math lesson. A lesson he really should have attended because "we" couldn't solve 3 of the problems in the chapter "we" practiced last night for his Thursday math test.

In addition to the MUN 2024 conference today, the math test on Thursday, all of Friday will be devoted to a big test of his previous Spanish studies at The Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera (English: Diplomas of Spanish as a Foreign Language), or DELE.

Which are official diplomas issued by the Spanish Instituto Cervantes on behalf of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science to participants who have passed a standardized test demonstrating their European Spanish language skills.

The diplomas do not expire, which means that a possible diploma can be used for a college or university application.

I don't even know if I've ever studied this or if I've forgotten it

I couldn't sit on the couch and be lazy yesterday after I got home from the car boot sale. First I took a shower and then I was served an early dinner by the world's most perfect husband.

Then a not-so-anticipated task awaited. The world's most perfect teenager and I sat down in the office to study the geometric pattern sequence. Junior has a test later this week and really needs to practice.

I have always found it easy to understand mathematics, but the tasks the 10th graders have to solve when it comes to geometric pattern sequence with the help of the Sigma sign (Σ) are almost incomprehensible. It's been a long time since I felt this stupid. 2 hours later "we" had solved 8 exercises out of 10.

The offspring must go to the school math helper on his lunch break today and have the last 2 exercises explained to him. With the outcome that I have to plunge into the not-so-wonderful world of math with geometric pattern sequences and (Σ) again tonight.

Group 3

As for group 3's extra dividends, I'm still waiting for one of the holdings' announcements. It is Capital Southwest Corporation Common Stock (CSWC) that is keeping back its announcement of upcoming dividends, both the regular and any additional dividends.

Last year they announced the dividend for June on April 26. We are almost half way into May and still waiting for (CSWC) announcement. The last time the declaration took this long was in 2021 when we had to wait until May 25.

We were lucky with the weather

The last time I rented space at a flea market was 14 years ago. It was me, my mother and my sisters who rented 2 tables at an indoor flea market in a suburb of Stockholm. At that time, my youngest sister and I had a lot of clothes with us. We pretty much sold everything but the clothes, so this time I had minimal clothes with me.

Yesterday it was just the opposite, clothes were the most sought after items. My BFF brought 4 boxes of clothes and she pretty much sold everything. I got rid of about 70% of everything I had with me and sold for just over $110. Not a huge amount but I didn't have to throw the things away and got to spend a sunny day outside with my BFF.

WIN-WIN

Hopefully not a hoarder in the making

Today is the time for the car boot sale. Everything is prepared and the van is packed with my things. We are supposed be there at 9 a.m. so I have to leave at 7:15 a.m. since I'm picking up my BFF and all her stuff.

I've forced the world's most perfect teenager to clean out his closet of toys he no longer uses. It turned out that Junior has some traits of his dad. They both have a very hard time getting rid of things.

Group 2

This month is very frugal when it comes to extra dividends. Of all our holdings, only two of them pay extra dividends in May and I list them below. In addition, our holdings in these companies are very small, so in terms of money it will hardly be anything for us. But I'm not excluding anyone.😉

FS KKR Capital Corp. Common stock (FSK), ¢6 with pay date May 29, 2024

Hercules Capital, Inc. Common Stock (HTGC), ¢8 with pay date May 21, 2024

Specification of our holdings that gives extra dividends

Several of our holdings distribute additional dividends more or less regularly every three months, provided that the respective company's results allow it. In order to have a better overview of any dividends, I have made a compilation of the companies in the different three groups. Regardless of whether the company made one or more extra dividends during the year, I have listed the company in the group to reduce the risk of missing an extra dividend. I include everyone.

Group 1 includes January, April, July and October consists of the following companies:

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. Common Shares (APLE)

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. Common Stock (CGBD)

Horizon Technology Finance Corporation Common Stock (HRZN)

Group 2 includes February, May, August and November consists of the following companies:

FS KKR Capital Corp. Common stock (FSK)

Hercules Capital, Inc. Common Stock (HTGC)

Group 3 includes March, June, September and December consists of the following companies:

Crescent Capital BDC, Inc. Common stock (CCAP)

Capital Southwest Corporation Common Stock (CSWC)

Fidus Investment Corporation Common Stock (FDUS)

Golub Capital BDC, Inc. Common Stock (GBDC)

Main Street Capital Corporation Common Stock (MAIN)

New Mountain Finance Corporation Common Stock (NMFC)

Blue Owl Capital Corporation Common Stock (OBDC)

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. Common Stock (TSLX)

I'm tired of tax dollars being wasted

My own agenda, I am a Swedish taxpayer who is tired of the careless handling of tax money.

Sweden's aid agency SIDA works to reduce poverty in the world, on behalf of Sweden's Parliament and government. The operation is financed by Swedish tax money.

SIDA has once again been hit by a scandal. This time by a "top executive who has had a fast and successful career" within the agency. The person in question has been responsible for various projects whose budgets amounted to more than 84,250,000 dollars.

Sweden, which is one of the world's largest contributors, always sends money instead, for example Swedish products. Countries that qualify for Swedish aid are often underdeveloped dictatorships where corruption is a natural part of the culture.

Sending money to these countries is doomed to fail, something anyone with logical thinking can foresee, which everyone who works at SIDA demonstrably lacks. My personal opinion is that Sweden must reduce its aid substantially so that SIDA cannot support projects left and right, but must choose "actual" projects. 

Understanding vs knowing

It looks like the American man will be proven right. The formerly well-reputed giant company, which previously had a monumental trust, is now beginning to crumble. With three accidents within a very short time frame, they have serious problems. Fortunately, none of the accidents involved fatalities.

The American insurance adjuster appears to be correct except that the time frame is shorter than he thought. He guessed 8-10 years but unless management really understands and doesn't just know the gigantic problems they have because of their value-based recruitments, I'm guessing the time frame is shorter.

There is a huge difference between knowing and understanding.

This is crazy

Full transparens, my political views are on the right.

What happened at the press conference after the Eurovision semi-final 2 in Malmo is unimaginable. That a woman is held accountable at a press conference by several men with the accusation that she puts THEM in danger when she is the one who received terrorist threats is incomprehensible. I am deeply impressed by Eden Golan's grace and professional performance. Both on stage and at the press conference.

In addition to this, reading posts on social media by the left that the police presence in Malmo is provocative when the rest of the population feels safe when they are met by the same says something about these people.

Has the left completely lost its moral compass?

I’m on pins and needles!

This morning I went to have blood drawn to check my blood lipids and blood sugar. At the same time, they also checked my blood pressure. I have always had low blood pressure and despite a large intake of salt licorice throughout my entire adult life, I still have a blood pressure on the low side, 120/70 mm Hg.

Given that my diet is largely junk food and sweets and that I am 54 years old, I am happy with the results of my blood pressure. Now I have to wait 20 days for the answer to my blood fats and blood sugar.

If I had to guess, I think they are far from good.

One down, one to go

Blue Owl Capital Corporation Common Stock (OBDC) has now announced its dividend for Q2 2024. The regular dividend of ¢37 is in line with the previous. Additionally, the company is making an additional ¢5 dividend payable June 14, which is ¢3 lower than the additional dividend they paid in March 2024. The only remaining announcement of a possible additional dividend in June is Capital Southwest Corporation common stock (CSWC).

FS KKR Capital Corp. Common stock (FSK), however, gives an extra dividend of ¢6 which is paid out on May 29. Unfortunately, we do not own a full shareholding in this company, so the contribution will be minimal, but welcome.

Heads Up

I sent out a group text to my parents and sisters warning that the scammers may now have access to even your name to which my younger sister replied that they had called her last week.

The fraudsters seem to have changed their MO and are contacting us a little younger than the previous elderly. Instead of claiming that someone has placed an order for, for example, a sofa or mobile phone in your name, it is now about us being robbed of cryptocurrency.

If your "bank" calls you, end the call and call your bank on their official phone number to inform them of the fraud attempt.

That it took 10 seconds before I ended the call annoys me

The phone scammers who mainly contact the elderly called me today. Either they changed the MO or I'm old according to them. The man who called was very nonchalant and forced in his conversation with me, almost demanding.

He stated that he called from one of my banks and claimed that I had been scammed and that he would help me get my money back. Although he said he was calling from one of my Swedish banks, he could not speak Swedish and his English was poor to say the least.

Although I know the bank NEVER calls in a matter like this, I hesitated maybe 5 seconds before thanking and ending the call. I can understand that the elderly allow themselves to be deceived, as even I hesitated for 10 seconds. Then you have to bear in mind that I work as a CFO and have daily contact with banks, both in my professional role and privately.

I have emailed all the information including the phone number he called from to the bank he claimed to represent.

Any acquisition is welcome, big or small

We continue to make smaller acquisitions in our portfolios. Most recently, we purchased a small number of shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. Common Stock (HTGC). In addition to the regular dividend, we also receive the extra dividend with the same payment date, 21 May.

One down, two to go

Of the three companies whose announcements we were waiting for, there are now only two left.

Crescent Capital BDC, Inc. Common Stock (CCAP) continues to make real money. They are making an additional dividend on June 17 of ¢11 which is ¢1 higher than the supplemental dividend in March 2024. Additionally, they are increasing their regular dividend by 2.4% to ¢42 which will be paid on July 15, 2024.

Unfortunately, we only have a few shares in the company, but from acorns grow oak trees.

I am being homeschooled by a teenager

There is always a break between the winter and summer seasons of about 5 weeks. During this break, the world's most perfect teenager hasn't even picked up a golf club once. It was a very happy and maybe not so humble teenager who came home after training session and exclaimed quote "Great! I haven't lost anything. I'm still 4th best in the elite group!" unquote.

Tomorrow is a public holiday in Sweden, so the offspring's school is closed both Thursday and Friday. Junior and I will spend tomorrow practicing solving geometric patterns with negative numbers and fractions because he has a math test next week.

I am grateful for every minute I get to spend with the offspring, even if it means going back to school.

Sweden needs a superhero

Mr. Per Albin Hansson was Social Democratic party leader and prime minister in Sweden from 1932 to 1946 except for the summer of 1936. Mr. Per Albin Hansson is best known for having coined the term "people's home" in a debate in 1928. By people's home, he meant a society that is a home for the whole people, and is characterized by consensus and equality.

Ingvar Kamprad, founder and leader of the world-famous furniture company IKEA, is popularly said to have furnished the people's home.

Considering the extensive gang crime and the profound organized crime that floods Sweden, we are in great need of someone to save the people's home.

- Mr. Per Albin Hansson built the people's home

- Mr. Ingvar Kamprad furnished the people's home

- ...... saved the people's home

Like Ethan Hunt, I was also successful

May 8, 2024 and Jack Frost couldn't care less, instead he let it snow in Stockholm's inner city today. The temperature dropped to 34°F (1°C), luckily the snow melted as soon as it hit the ground.

The outdoor activities of the season have already started for many children and today is the first outdoor training session for the world's most perfect teenager. Standing on the driving range in 39°F (4°C) with a wind that makes it feel like 36°F (2°C) is not a dream scenario.

Getting a vain teenager to dress more warm than nice is a mission worthy of the Mission Impossible movies.

New things are often uncomfortable

I am one of those who mostly see the downsides of artificial intelligence, AI. I am well aware of the benefits of AI, especially in medicine and law. AI will make many in these and many other professions unemployed. The world's most perfect husband is much more open-minded than me in these situations.

He reminded me that Sweden was an agricultural society during the 19th century. The industrial revolution that took place during the 19th century changed Sweden's labor market to the core. Tractors and other work tools could significantly reduce the labor force on the farms. Instead of mass unemployment, the industrial revolution created new jobs that needed labor.

My spouse is convinced that the same thing will happen this time.

The more the merrier

One of our largest holdings, Main Street Capital Corporation Common Stock (MAIN), has announced an extra dividend of ¢30 with pay day June 27, 2024. I had also missed that Fidus Investment Corporation Common Stock (FDUS) pays an additional dividend of ¢16 with pay date of June 26, 2024. Add to that, Hercules Capital, Inc. Common Stock (HTGC) making an extra dividend on May 21, 2024 of ¢8.

Upon review of all the extra dividends we got during March 2024, there is only Crescent Capital BDC, Inc. common stock (CCAP), Capital Southwest Corporation common stock (CSWC) and Blue Owl Capital Corporation common stock (OBDC) that have not declared whether they intend to make any extra dividend in June 2024.

Although almost all of the extra dividends in June 2024 are a few cents lower than those in March 2024, I believe and hope that we will match the March 2024 dividends.

There might be dark times ahead

Today, Sweden's central bank lowered the policy rate by 25 basis points despite being "warned" by various central banks and credit institutions around the world. The purpose of the "warnings" is not really established. That the foreign central banks are worried that the demand for them to also lower their policy rates is increasing or that they intend to speculate in the Swedish krona could be some of the alternatives.

The coming weeks may be problematic for the Swedish krona.

Logical and illogical

I understand that a company's stock value usually increases when management decides to downsize. It is likely that the profit will increase as they reduce their costs, assuming they can maintain their existing revenues. Or in the worst case, the company is making a loss and they cut their costs to reduce the loss.

Although if you look at the entire chain, the stock market price should actually fall because fewer people work, which means reduced purchasing power in society in general and logically the company should risk losing revenue.

Since misfortunes never come singly, the risk is high that when one company lays off its staff, other companies will do the same.

I thought I was done with grade 10

Even though we live in Sweden where school education is financed with tax money, we have chosen to let the world's most perfect teenager attend an IB education for which we pay a fee for each term. We have already paid the fee for the first term of year 11 which is $7,600. Other parents count the semesters until their offspring graduate high school. I count invoices, as of today we have 3 invoices left to pay before the offspring, hopefully, gets his diploma. I try to see it as getting 2 educations for the price of 1, Junior's and mine revived.

Today Junior had a big summative in English literature so yesterday Junior practiced the four different poems with me and tonight we tried to solve geometric pattern with negatives and fractions. Being 54 years old and "back in school" is not easy, either education is more advanced today compared to when I was in school or I have forgotten everything.

The sum of all vices is constant

After my visit to the dermatologist which ended with me having to contact another doctor to get a referral for blood lipid testing, I have now accepted that I will most likely have to give up my last vice, white sugar. This time I have time to mentally prepare and "enjoy" my last days with sweets and soft drinks.

When I get the test results, I am convinced that I must be medicated and completely abstain from white sugar and reduce saturated fat in the future. When I had to give up Coca-Cola because of my vertigo, it was decided the second I was informed of the problem. I never got the chance to "take one last".

We haven't brought home any new candy since the dermatologist gave me the bad news, but we had a lot of candy in our pantry that I've been eating ever since. I am aware that this is not the best behavior but soon I will have no vices.

I don't smoke, barely drink and will soon have to give up sweets, soft drinks and reduce saturated fat. Since the sum of all vices is constant, I wonder which vice I will pick up...

I ❤️ Florida

I miss Florida so much it almost hurts. If we had the financial conditions, we would move there immediately. This summer it will be 5 years since we were there last. I sincerely hope that we can travel there in the summer of 2025 and stay at least 6 weeks.

Apart from the obvious, the great weather, the ocean, the beaches and the shopping, I also love the mentality there. I am socially competent and talk to everything and everyone, just like my grandmother. A quality that is not always appreciated in Sweden. If I see someone with fine shoes, a nice jacket or an flattering haircut, I say so. Most of the time, the person will be happy while looking at you with a certain skepticism.

In Florida, this is how they roll. I don't know how many times I've stood in an elevator in Florida and been complimented on a pair of shoes, a bag, etc. At the same time, I know exactly how many times it has happened in Sweden, zero times.

To be perfect and at the same time completely wrong

For full transparency, I stand politically very far from the Swedish Social Democrats and its socialism plus the Green Party and its environmental movement.

Actually, me and our little family are the most perfect poster boy for the climate movement. I dare say we live more in accordance with their demands than many of them themselves.

We have bought an electric car. Not by choice, but because the municipal politicians forced us. With a fossil car, we would never be able to drive straight home but would always have to take detours because the Social Democrats and the Green Party, which govern the city of Stockholm, will close many streets in the city to fossil-powered cars from next year. We are one of the lucky ones who can walk to work so we haven't used our car in almost 6 weeks. In addition, we live very close to the heart of Stockholm city center, which makes it easy for us to use the various municipal means of transport.

Also, due to the pandemic and the ongoing economic downturn, we have only traveled by airplane once since 2020. Even when it comes to clothes, we live according to the Green Party's latest move.

The Green Party wants to stop "fast fashion", that is, mass-produced clothes at a low price. The textile and fashion industry is responsible for a very large negative climate and environmental impact, and this type of fashion in particular puts a heavy burden on the climate, according to the Green Party. They also believe that the importation of cheap clothes, mainly from countries outside Europe, is one of the major problems.

We have always bought high-quality clothes with a classic cut that last a long time. Junior bought our first and so far only "fast fashion" t-shirt a few years ago which shrunk in the first wash. We would be their perfect voters to showcase if it weren't for our political views.

When you don't see the mote in your own eye

For full transparency, I am politically very far from the Swedish social democrats, socialism and the left-wing movement.

I have a feeling that a certain type of people within the left movement have lost their way in their ideology. They have become so obsessed with ethnicity and skin color that issues of fact are not even secondary to them. In Gaza, homosexuality is prohibited and can lead to up to 10 years in prison. In Iran, women must wear the hijab or face prosecution. There are even young women who have died after being arrested for not wearing the mandatory veil correctly in Iran.

An ethnic Swedish journalist and writer living in Sweden expressed her support for Iran on social media in connection with Iran's attack on Israel on April 13, 2024. One person posted on the woman's social media quote "You call yourself a feminist and celebrate one of the world's most oppressive regimes against women..." unquote. The woman replies quote "I would praise the devil if he attacked Israel" unquote.

In my opinion, such expressions clearly show how certain types of people in the left movement have lost their moral values ​​and only focus on ethnicity and skin color. The saddest thing is that they don't realize it themselves, but instead see themselves as "good".

He's way too smart for that

For transparency and my own agenda, I strongly dislike our previous government, the Social Democrats with the support of the Green Party and the tacit acceptance of the Left Party, who ruled Sweden for 8 years. At the last election, I voted for the current government.

As part of the work to maintain and raise pension levels, the government has set the target age for pension for 2029 at 67 years. The increase in the three pension-related age limits that the Parliament had previously decided on came into force at the turn of the year 2022/2023. The pension group that worked on the proposal consists of representatives from the Social Democrats, Centern, the Liberals, the Christian Democrats and the Moderates. Work on the adjustment of the retirement age began in 2020.

To have, as a decision-maker, participated in the work to raise the retirement age as late as the end of 2023 in order to demand a reduction in working hours 18 months later is unbelievable.

The fact that the Swedish social democrats who were part of the pension group now demand a reduction in working hours clearly shows how disconnected from reality the politicians are. I'm reminded of when Junior came home proudly telling me that he had been voted "most likely to be a politician" in class, to which I responded with the quote "You're a lot smarter than that." unquote.

Being at the top of the class isn't always a good thing

In December 2019, the European Council agreed on the goal that the EU should achieve climate neutrality by 2050, while Sweden has set the same goal by 2045. For Sweden, which is a small country with already extremely low emissions, an expedited climate target would not mean any difference whatsoever to the world's total emissions. On the other hand, the cost to Swedish taxpayers will be huge since Sweden must always be top of the class.

In order to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, one approach is to leave agricultural land fallow, which Sweden considers to have good conditions for. At the same time, Sweden has a food strategy which means that Swedish food production must increase.

One of Sweden's climate ambitions is the reduction obligation for petrol and diesel, which was introduced in July 2018 and aims to promote the use of climate-efficient biofuels. The successive increase in the requirements in the reduction obligation for petrol and diesel was paused by the current government until 2023. Biofuels are vehicle fuels produced from renewable biomass. The raw material can come from the forest or from the field or be biogenic waste. Adapting Sweden's food strategy at the same time as additional agricultural land is left fallow or prepared for the cultivation of raw materials for biofuels is problematic.

Sweden's climate ambitions mean higher food inflation for Sweden than for the other Nordic countries.

Law of least resistance

Full transparency, I suffer from pollen allergy every spring and summer since childhood. I sneeze, my nose runs, my eyes itch and some years I even have asthma.

For being an intelligent being, man is incredibly stupid. Like everything else in the world, the trees also consist of male and female trees. The female trees sap while the male trees release pollen. For easier cleaning, many cities around the world have replaced the trees that produce sap with those that release pollen.

As a result, the cities have had a much greater pollen emission resulting in lots of and more severe allergic reactions. So instead of having a balanced nature in an urban environment, the municipal politicians chose to remove trees and plant new ones. The price for this miscalculation is paid by the residents, both with tax money and health.

A no is a no

As a Stockholmer, I am as obsessed with the weather as anyone. Yesterday was an incredibly beautiful spring day and today is expected to be even warmer. Today's temperature is expected to rise above 68°F (20°C). However, we are expected to get colder weather again next week.

Jack Frost, please understand that it's over. It's not you it's us.

The world's oldest trick

Interest in the police profession has declined in recent years and instead of identifying why and fixing the problem itself, they lowered the requirements for admission, which obviously resulted in wrong recruitment. The actions of one policewoman resulted in two murders.

It is common knowledge that men have fallen for honey traps since time immemorial. Recently, it has been discovered that policewomen and people of foreign descent have warned gang criminals about crackdowns and leaked classified information.

That loyalty to family members is strong is nothing new under the sun. Nor that men have been seduced by beautiful women for centuries. Although women and men are different, we also have many similarities, obviously. The only difference between a male honey trap and a female is that the former is beautiful and the latter is a bad boy. Which fits gang criminals like a glove.

An expensive day

The day started with us receiving the invoice for the false tamper alarm that our alarm system sent to the security company a couple of weeks ago. I was the only one in the family who woke up to the doorbell ringing on our front door at 4 a.m.

The security guard showed his ID, then asked for my ID and made sure everything was okay. After that he wanted to check every single room including Junior's room and our bedroom where they were both still asleep in their beds. After completing the round, the security guard finished and went on his way. This morning we got the bill for the alarm response, $410.

A couple of hours later, the world's most perfect teenager sent a text. He had gotten back the last science exam and managed to get the highest grade, an 8. That means we need to pay him $100, $50 of which goes into his endowment insurance. Our plan to increase the offspring's motivation to study harder by paying him for certain grades on the tests has paid off.

Thank God it's evening now, because I can't handle any more unexpected expenses today.

Changed behavior

The Baby Boom Generation, 1946-1964, saved diligently throughout their working lives. A lifestyle that they gradually changed as they approached retirement age by starting to consume. The children and grandchildren of the Baby Boom Generation, Generation X and Millennials, have a completely different lifestyle.

These generations are more focused on consumption than saving. At the same time, society has also changed and a lot of consumption takes place today with expected future income in the form of consumer loans. The "air cushion" that previous generations gave the financial system by limiting the money supply with savings that pushed down the interest rate is gone today.

Instead, the supply of money is unlimited because of all the "artificial" money fed into the system in the form of consumer loans.

This will come back to bite the unions, part 15

For transparency and my own agenda, my husband and I own a 2023 Tesla Model Y. I strongly dislike our previous government, the Social Democrats with the support of the Green Party and the Left Party's tacit acceptance and the Swedish unions that are not really needed anymore because the Swedish laws are in favor of the employee. Also, I don't like the approach of the unions.

The conflict between (TM) and IF Metall has been going on for 6 months and so far 10 other unions, have been the subject of sympathy measures. The latest union to join the conflict between IF Metall and Tesla Motor Sweden AB (TM) is Unionen.

Unionen is Sweden's largest union for civil servants in the private labor market. The sympathy measures mean that the company, DEKRA Industrial AB, which has an agreement with (TM) regarding inspections of vehicle lifts, pressure vessels and other equipment needed for the Tesla cars to be used, may not be carried out.

After DEKRA Industrial AB has been drawn into the conflict, several members of Unionen have applied to leave the union. However, exits are not granted as long as the workplace is withdrawn in sympathy measures during an ongoing conflict. All according to Unionen's statutes. Given the way the conflict has developed so far, this will be a very protracted conflict.

The end result will mean more collective workers being laid off. A high cost for a voluntary collective agreement.

Everything is going according to plan

I'm afraid to jinx it but so far the forecast for 2024 looks good. Unfortunately, it was determined today that Fidus Investment Corporation Common Stock (FDUS) will not make an additional dividend during June 2024. This will hurt our chances of 2024 being by a margin our second best dividend year ever.

Hopefully the bars for the outcome will exceed those for the forecast every month for the rest of the year. Both in the adjusted chart and the unadjusted one.

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Click to enlarge

I am more than satisfied

The reason why the executed dividends in my chart where I have excluded all extra or supplemental dividends are higher compared to the calculated ones is solely due to the exchange rate change between SEK and USD.

This month it was in my favor, next month it might be the other way around. This is my most important chart because the more accurate it is, the more accurate my forecast is.

Click to enlarge