⛽ The Price Of Oil Is Soaring

In today’s newsletter I discuss how oil prices are soaring, Stephen Colbert is writing a new Lord of the Rings movie, inflation could hit 4.2% in the U.S. by the end of 2026, Travis Kelce has signed a massive brand ambassador and creative collaboration deal with Tommy Hilfiger, 12 tons of KitKat bars shaped like Formula 1 race cars were stolen, Logan Paul he smartest thing he’s ever done and sold his Pikachu Illustrator card for $16.49 million dollars, and Netflix wants to expanding their package of live games to include a huge Thanksgiving Day NFL broadcast. Let’s get into it!

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⛽ The Price Of Oil Is Soaring

I don’t know about you, but I’m almost at my breaking point with this HUGE jump in gas prices over the last few weeks. Before this most recent war in the Middle East: Iran edition, gas prices here in Upstate New York were around $2.75. Today I just filled up my wife’s car with 16 gallons at $3.89 per gallon for $62.24. If you go back only 3 weeks ago I would have only paid $44. So in 3 weeks I’m paying $18.24 more for gas because of a war that recent polling shows 69% of Americans disapprove of. I thought politicians were focused on affordability? Didn’t I hear that soundbite just a few weeks ago? Huh! I must have imagined it.

In January/February the price for West Texas Intermediate was between $60-$65 a barrel. Since the war in Iran broke out that price has been incredibly volatile, ranging between $90-$119 per barrel.

So why have oil prices been so volatile, and the price of gas shot up so much in the last few weeks? One word: The Strait of Hormuz (actually that’s 4 words, but you get my point).

Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to attack any ships that attempted to transit the waterway. Everyone thought they were bluffing. Then they attacked a few oil tankers, and the ish got real.

The blocking of the Strait of Hormuz has stopped some 21 million barrels of oil per day from reaching the global market. That’s nearly 20 percent of the world supply.

Let’s level-set for a minute. I’m guessing most of you, like me, have no idea how the gas we put in our cars and trucks is made, or even where it comes from. Well I was curious, so I went down a deep rabbit hole and found out, and learned so much more than I ever thought I’d know about the different types or blends of oil, the refining practices they use in places like the Middle East, and how gas is made from oil. Basically, if you imagine a big witch’s cauldron with a tube to collect the vapor that boils off, and then collects those drops in a big bucket, that’s how gasoline is made. Obviously I’m simplifying it, but gasoline is lighter than things like diesel or the type of oil that is burned to generate heat, so it rises to the top and boils off, and what’s collected is then treated with some chemicals that help engines to burn it more cleanly. The result is the typical 87 octane you put in your gas tank. Then it’s put on a ship and sent across the ocean to North America, loaded onto tanker trucks or put into gas pipelines, and delivered to your local gas station. The disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has made that entire process more costly, and the result is gas prices have jumped up over $1 a gallon, or a 41% increase since the beginning of the Iran war.

The rise in gas prices is hitting working class families really hard. They’ve already been struggling to barely live paycheck-to-paycheck. They literally can’t afford these increases. If you had nothing left in your bank account at the end of February, and now you’ve got to find an extra 

$18.24 a week, or $73 for the month, more to fill your car’s gas tank, where is that money supposed to come from? It’s not like your boss is going to give you a $73 raise to cover the extra it’s going to cost you to continue driving to work. That’s not how any of this works. The skyrocketing price of gas is taking money directly out of the pockets of hard working Americans who just want to get to their jobs and provide for their families without going broke.

And if you think the “rich” can escape rising gas prices then think again. We’re entering that time of year called “Spring Break”, at least for those of you with kids still in school, and I’m not talking about college kids trying to live out their dreams of being on the MTV show Jersey Shore. Families who’ve been saving up for years to take their kids on a cruise, or to Disney World, are now facing airline ticket price spikes of 110%. You can thank the increase in jet fuel prices for crushing your vacation dreams. Jet fuel has jumped from $2.50 dollars before the war in Iran to $3.93 dollars per gallon today. This is a 57 percent increase in less than a month. It means a flight to Florida that once cost $200 dollars a ticket will now cost you over $420 dollars by the time you reach the checkout screen. Airlines are adding new fuel surcharges of between $58-$80 dollars per ticket. You better believe airlines aren’t about to eat those costs. That’s right. They’re passing them onto consumers as quickly as they can, and that means you!

You know what else is about to get a whole lot more expensive next time you make a trip to Walmart or Target? Everything! Literally everything is getting more expensive, and you can thank the increase in diesel fuel for that. Diesel is made from oil. Oil isn’t being shipped through the Strait of Hormuz right now, so the markets have done what they do, and traders have bid the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate oil up to a record $119 per barrel last week. Remember that example I gave of how gas is made? Well diesel is made pretty much the same way, and it’s costing more to make and ship a barrel of oil thanks to the war in Iran. 

The price for a gallon of diesel fuel just reached a national average of $5.34 dollars a gallon at the time of this article. My guess is it’ll be more expensive by the time you read this newsletter or watch my YouTube video. That’s just how the price of oil goes these days. Diesel fuel is the single largest variable expense for any trucking company, and it accounts for 40 percent of the total operating costs of a truck. When fuel costs this much it forces trucking companies to add a surcharge to every single shipment they move across the country, which sometimes comes out to a 20% increased charge. A typical $1,200 dollar shipment of groceries and household items would now cost $1,440 dollars. Our supply chains are under massive pressure because of the rising cost of oil and gas prices. You know what happens to supply chains when they’re pushed to their limits? They break! And consumers end up paying the price.

Quick Hits

📈 Business

The American economy is facing massive challenges, to say the least. Now there’s a warning coming from Mathias Cormann, the Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), that the U.S. inflation rate will surge to 4.2 percent by the end of 2026. This represents a clear and present threat to the $28 trillion dollar U.S. economy.

All the while Jerome Powell over at the Federal Reserve is watching these numbers closely,  while trying to manage our national debt of $39 trillion dollars, which is such an insane number it seems made up.

The OECD believes that the global trade industry will suffer the most because of the war in Iran, and the impact it is having on rising fuel costs, which are making shipping goods much more expensive. These rising transportation costs will eventually drain even more money from hard working American’s pockets, at a time when too many families are already living paycheck to paycheck.

So much for that political conversation about affordability.

🧙‍♂️ Entertainment

Fans of the Lord of the Rings movies awoke to news last week that late night comedian Stephen Colbert is writing a new Lord of the Rings movie for Warner Brothers Discovery with his son Peter Colbert, who is a producer, director and screenwriter who’s known for “Where’s Noah?” (2019) and “At the Crossroads Down Yonder” (2018). The father and son are writing the screenplay for the film titled “The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past”, which takes place 14 years after the events of “Return of the King”.

I know what ya’ll are wondering? How is Stephen Colbert involved in the writing of a new Lord of the Rings movie? Apparently Stephen Colbert is a huge fan of the books, and he personally pitched the idea for the film to director Peter Jackson two years ago. Stephen Colbert felt there was still much to tell about the tale, so he wanted to focus on chapters 3-8 that were not included in Peter Jackson's original film “The Fellowship of the Ring”.

Details are still faint, but the story includes Sam, Merry, and Pippin as they go on a journey retracing their steps from the original trilogy, but this time Sam’s daughter Elanor finds a secret related to the “War of the Ring” origin story. The new movie is expected to go into production sometime after “The Hunt for Gollum” is completed.

The Lord of the Rings films have earned $6 billion dollars at the box office worldwide, while the total market for the movies and collectibles and merchandise is worth $30 billion dollars.

Stephen Colbert has a net worth of $100 million dollars, and owns a production company called Spartina, which is also producing the new movie “The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past”.

If you had asked me a year ago if Stephen Colbert, host of CBS’s “The Late Show” would be co-writering a new Lord of the Rings movie I would have said you’re crazy, but that’s 2026 for you!

🍫 Funny But Not Funny

The worlds for Formula 1 and chocolate collided over the weekend when thieves stole 12 tons of KitKat bars shaped like Formula 1 race cars that were being shipped from Italy where they were made and destined for Poland.

Stefano Domenicali, the President and CEO of Formula 1, signed a multi-year global partnership deal in November 2024 between Formula 1 and Nestlé to make KitKat the Official Chocolate Bar of Formula 1.

This theft happened as the brands were launching a partnership worth millions of dollars in advertising and promotion. The 12 tons of chocolate was designed to capitalize on the popularity of drivers like Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

Formula 1 generates more than $3.87 billion dollars in annual revenue while Nestle brings in over $113.32 billion dollars in sales every year.

My heart goes out to the Formula 1 fans who love chocolate, because they’re the real losers here. Give me a break!

🏈 Celebrities

The worlds of professional sports and high fashion just collided as Travis Kelce has signed a massive brand ambassador and creative collaboration deal with Tommy Hilfiger. Together Travis Kelce and Tommy Hilfiger are looking to capitalize on the massive growth of the sportswear market, which is currently valued at between $395-$422 billion dollars as of 2024, and is projected to reach over $800 billion dollars by 2030, which is a CAGR of between 6.6%-10.7%.

Travis Kelce will be at the center of Tommy Hilfiger's Fall 2026 campaign, and he’ll be working with the brand to launch his own upcoming capsule collection that’s scheduled to come out in Spring 2027.

Travis Kelce currently plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, and just signed a 3-year contract extension for $54.73 million dollars plus incentives, which could bump him up to $57.73 million dollars over the 3 years. That comes out to on average $18.24 million dollars per year!

Travis Kelce has a very good couple of years. He’s engaged to mega star Taylor Swift, he signed a $100 million dollars deal with Amazon’s Wondery for his New Heights podcast that he does with his brother Jason Kelce, who retired from the Philadelphia Eagles after 13 years. Travis Kelce has a net worth of around $90 million dollars, and is a dominant force in not only the NFL, but now the fashion world.

🏡 Crypto

The American housing market is about to change forever. Coinbase has formed a partnership with Fannie Mae to provide crypto-backed mortgage down payments for new homeowners. The new program allows borrowers to pledge their Coinbase held Bitcoin as collateral for a down payment instead of selling their assets for cash. Coinbase is working with Better.com, an AI-native digital mortgage lender that aims to make homeownership faster and cheaper, to offer these crypto-backed loans to 52 million Americans who currently own digital assets.

To date, Better.com has funded more than $100 billion dollars in loans, and right now they’re offering new home buyers a rebate of $10,000 dollars on closing costs. WoW! That’s a good deal! 

💸 Pokemon

Logan Paul, the “Internet famous” YouTubers, is shaking up the alternative asset market with a record breaking sale of his PSA 10-graded Pikachu Illustrator card for $16.49 million dollars, setting a new world record for the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction.

The global trading card market is estimated to be between $11-$15 billion dollars as of 2024, and projected to reach over $23 billion dollars by 2030. The trading card market is experiencing a post-pandemic boom with significant growth in both digital and physical, high-value collectible cards, which is being driven by intense demand for sports cards and gaming cards like Pokémon. The specific Grade 10  Pikachu Illustrator card that Logan Paul sold is 1 of only 39 known to exist, which makes it so valuable.

I say this with all sincerity, selling this Pokemon card is by far the smartest thing Logan Paul has ever done.

📺 Sports

Netflix is making a massive play to dominate streaming by expanding their package of live games to include a huge Thanksgiving Day NFL broadcast. This is part of Netflix’s pivot toward live events that draw millions of viewers all at once. Netflix has shown its ready, willing, and able to spend billions of dollars on live entertainment events. If I was a traditional broadcast network I’d be getting nervous right about now that Netflix might outbid me for the rights I thought I had secured and locked up for the next ten years.

Netflix acquired the rights to 2 NFL Christmas Day games in 2024 for a reported $150 million dollars per year for the next 3 years running through 2026 Christmas day, which breaks down to approximately $75 million per game.  Netflix has more than 270 million paid subscribers, and its advertising tier recently reached 40 million monthly active users.

As of March 31, 2026, Wall Street has rewarded Netflix with a valuation of approximately $394.36 billion, so yea, they can afford to buy as many Thanksgiving Day NFL games as they want.

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The Business Behind The News is written, edited, and published by Chris Thompson.