While You Were Out: Jobs, PMI, PCE, Confidence, GDP, Thrift Stores, IRS, and who was Andy D'Arrigo?
While You Were Out
If you are of a certain age, you may recall that there used to be a person called a receptionist, usually positioned in the lobby of a business, who greeted people when they walked in the door, as well as answering the phone as directed.
Now, it is an intercom at the front door that only gets answered if you are wearing a UPS, FedEx, or Amazon outfit, and even then, reluctantly. I digress.
If someone called your office number, the receptionist would take the call and make a note of who called, and if there was a message, they would then write it down on a piece of paper. If you were lucky, it was in duplicate, because they always seemed to get misplaced.
That’s going a long way for a Boomer Alert…. At any rate, while I was out:
On Friday, the U.S. jobs report was released for July. It surprised, and not in a good way.
While the consensus was to gain about 80,000 jobs, not only did the country not gain the 80,000, but it lost 23,000. Ouch.
But unemployment fell to 4.1%. Those Boomers keep retiring and shrinking the workforce. Zoomers everywhere are demanding promotions.
But here is a key point: In May, when the job numbers were much higher than expected, Leisure and Hospitality was the leader with an increase of 70,000+ jobs. Now that the World Cup is over, it was down 40,000. And here is the fun part:
Health Care (for all those aging Boomers), Manufacturing, and Construction remained in positive territory and has been for a while. And that’s a good thing.
Regardless, the negative number immediately shifted the conversation from Fed rate increases to the Fed not raising rates at all. And the stock market liked that.
As a reminder, when interest rates go up, more money goes to paying interest and less goes to net income.
The purchasing managers index – PMI – for manufacturing was posted and…
It came in at 55.6, the highest level since May 2022. Manufacturing is continuing to forecast growth.
New orders rose to 56.7 and production jumped to 58.5. Anything over 50 indicates a belief in expansion.
And weekly jobless claims came in at 199,000. Not bad. It’s usually 210,000 plus.
Going back to the previous week:
The Personal Consumption Expenditures index – PCE (the Fed’s key indicator of inflation) came in at 3.7%, down from the previous month's 4.1%.
That’s in the right direction.
Consumer confidence went back down, per the Conference Board. Last month it was at 92.2, and this month it dropped back down to 90.8.
Hormuz is open, Hormuz is closed, Hormuz is open, Hormuz is closed…
Finally, GDP – the Gross Domestic Product – for quarter 2 came in at 1.5%. Meh.
It’s OK, but it’s not the 2.1% from Q1.
To sum it up… unemployment is staying moderately low, manufacturing is doing ok, inflation isn’t getting worse (but wages aren’t keeping up with it), and GDP is still positive.
What’s in your thrift store?
Quinn Brown is a teenager who was in a Portland, Oregon thrift store in January.
Nothing unusual about that.
He happened to notice someone toss a short-sleeved, Los Angeles Lakers warm-up jacket with the name Chamberlain on it back in a huge pile of clothing.
Remarkably astute for a Zoomer, he jumped all over it. As it happens, he sells used clothing online, so he knows a value when he sees it. He paid $3.07.
Oh, that would be Wilt Chamberlain, by the way.
Yeah, well so what, Boomer?
Sotheby’s, the auction house, verified the authenticity of the jersey, and Mr. Brown decided to sell it at auction.
Good decision. It went for $89,600.
His Lakers jersey beats your Apple stock any day of the week.
It gives you an appreciation for thrift stores, doesn’t it? Or not.
Some tax tips
For those of you who are members of Gamblers Anonymous (unless you win, then everyone knows about it), starting with your 2026 tax return, you can only deduct 90% of gambling losses on Schedule A of the 1040, and only to the extent of winnings reported by the taxpayer on Schedule 1.
The good news is that casinos have a higher W-2G threshold for reporting winnings. Starting with 2026 forms sent out in 2027, casinos must file Form W-2G with the IRS for each person who wins $2,000 or more in bingo, keno, or playing the slots.
The prior thresholds for reporting gambling winnings were $1,200 for bingo and slots and $1,500 for keno.
Finally, unrelated to gambling – unless you're driving to Vegas – the IRS increased the standard mileage allowance for business vehicle usage to 76¢ a mile for the final six months of 2026.
That’s a 3.5¢ hike in case you are keeping track.
That makes your EV a profit center.
Who Was Andrew D’Arrigo?
He was the son of Stefano D'Arrigo, one of two brothers who came to America from Messina, Sicily in 1911. The older brother, Andrea, arrived in Boston in 1907, coming in through Ellis Island. Both were teenagers.
They learned English, became citizens, and worked a variety of jobs along the way. And they both served in World War I.
In 1920, they got into the grape business with cousins, and in 1923 formed their own company: D’Arrigo Brothers Company, with Stefano in California and Andrea in Boston.
Stefano started a family and in 1922 welcomed Stephen Jr. In 1924, Andrew D’Arrigo was born in Stockton.
In that same year, they adapted ice-packed railcars to ship broccoli to the East Coast, very much an innovation at the time.
Well, at least it wasn’t Brussels sprouts.
They were also the first produce grower to specifically brand their produce, leading other growers to do the same. They placed their produce in distinctive bags, with the tagline of “Trust the Original”.
This helped cement the brand as a symbol of fresh quality produce. Up to that point, no one had a reason to care where their produce came from.
Stefano became Chair of the Western Growers Association.
After serving in the Navy in WW II, Andrew D’Arrigo attended UC Davis, graduating in 1949 and then joined the family business.
He became president of D’Arrigo in 1965, with his brother, Stephen, elevated to VP and Director of Sales.
Andrew would go on to establish seed development programs, focusing on authentic Italian produce and flavors, including fennel, and controlling the entire growing, harvesting, and shipping process.
He would also become Chair of the Western Growers Association.
In 1992, Andrew’s son, John D’Arrigo, took over as President and CEO.
Andrew was Chairman of the Board until 2014, officially retiring in 2015, and forming the Andrew and Phyllis D’Arrigo Family Charitable Foundation.
The name of the company?
The picture on the bags were of a 2 ½ year old Andy D’Arrigo and the brand was Andy Boy.
Andy went to the great farm in the sky last month at the age of 102.
D’Arrigo Brothers is in the 4th generation of family involvement, has 3500 employees on thousands of acres of farmland.
That’s a Legacy.
It is a classic Italian immigrant family story; come with nothing, build something, pass it on to the next generation, become the leader in quality and innovation, support thousands of families, and then give back to the community through hospitals, youth programs, education, and farmworker initiatives.
The year is wrapping up, folks, and some school districts have taken it upon themselves to start school already. The union must have some rationale for it, but I don’t get it. At any rate, if you are behind goal, step it up! Your employees are counting on you!
Stay cool!
