Central Perk: 23 feb. 2013

sâmbătă, 23 februarie 2013

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Robots Don't Commit Suicide (and Other Robot Advantages)
Half of Detroit Properties Have Not Paid Taxes; Update on Detroit Bankruptcy
Beppe Grillo Surges in Last Minute Rush; Is That a Good Thing?

Robots Don't Commit Suicide (and Other Robot Advantages)

Posted: 23 Feb 2013 10:11 PM PST

Robots don't eat, drink, demand coffee breaks, or protest working conditions. And they certainly don't commit suicide.

Following a wave of suicides in China, one at Foxconn where a worker twice attempted to kill himself and succeeded the second time, Foxconn suspended hiring, deciding to use more robots.

Electronics manufacturer Foxconn has halted recruitment in China, which it claims is due to plans to further automate processes, amid speculation of a reduction in production demand by its key client Apple.

In fact, the recruitment freezes among Foxconn this time is due to its long pronounced plans to install million robots to replace human, Chinese newspaper Beijing News reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified employees.

Foxconn chairman Terry Gou had ordered all factories in China earlier this year to beef up automated manufacturing processes by using more robots. According to the report, if any factories plan to conduct large-scale recruitment, it will need his personal approval.

In June 2011, Gou announced the company would deploy one million robots across factory assembly lines within three years.

The move will improve production efficiency and combat rising labor costs, and is also believed to be in response to a spate of suicides and criticism over working conditions at the company.

Get rid of a million workers, replace them with a million robots, and you get rid of a million complaints about working conditions, as well as unwanted, high-profile, work-related suicides.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Half of Detroit Properties Have Not Paid Taxes; Update on Detroit Bankruptcy

Posted: 23 Feb 2013 08:04 AM PST

The hollowing out of Detroit is nearly complete. All that's left is a bankrupt shell of a city with no services and scattered citizens that do not pay taxes.

The Detroit News reports Half of Detroit Property Owners Don't Pay Taxes

Nearly half of the owners of Detroit's 305,000 properties failed to pay their tax bills last year, exacerbating a punishing cycle of declining revenues and diminished services for a city in a financial crisis, according to a Detroit News analysis of government records.

The News reviewed more than 200,000 pages of tax documents and found that 47 percent of the city's taxable parcels are delinquent on their 2011 bills. Some $246.5 million in taxes and fees went uncollected, about half of which was due Detroit and the rest to other entities, including Wayne County, Detroit Public Schools and the library.

Delinquency is so pervasive that 77 blocks had only one owner who paid taxes last year, The News found. Many of those who don't pay question why they should in a city that struggles to light its streets or keep police on them.

"Why pay taxes?" asked Fred Phillips, who owes more than $2,600 on his home on an east-side block where five owners paid 2011 taxes. "Why should I send them taxes when they aren't supplying services? It is sickening. … Every time I see the tax bill come, I think about the times we called and nobody came."

Update on Detroit Bankruptcy

Detroit is financially and morally bankrupt yet the governor refuses to make that declaration. A Review team says Detroit faces financial crisis, has no plan to fix it so why won't the governor act?

For the second time in a year, a state review team has found Detroit is in a financial emergency that requires Gov. Rick Snyder to intervene in City Hall.

But this time, if Snyder agrees that a financial emergency exists, the governor's choices are more limited. He could appoint an emergency manager to keep Michigan's largest city from plunging into bankruptcy, experts say, or he could continue state financial supervision through a new consent agreement, which seems a faint possibility.

State Treasurer Andy Dillon ruled out a bankruptcy filing at this time.

The six-member review team unanimously concluded in a report released Tuesday that the city failed to restructure its debt-laden bureaucracy under the financial consent agreement signed in April and that Detroit's financial crisis requires Snyder's intervention "because no satisfactory plan exists to resolve a serious financial problem."

Chapter 9 bankruptcy is "always a possibility but I don't think the city should go through (Chapter) 9 to cure its ailments," he added.

The review team said the city's charter adds "numerous restrictions" and hurdles for closing departments, canceling contracts and the type of wholesale restructuring financial experts say is necessary to make city government live within its means.

Restrictions? Who Cares?

In bankruptcy, restrictions go out the window. So do union contracts and pensions. Since all of that needs to go out the window, what's holding the governor back?

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Beppe Grillo Surges in Last Minute Rush; Is That a Good Thing?

Posted: 22 Feb 2013 11:39 PM PST

Reader "AC" who is from Italy but now lives in France informs me that the Italian elections this weekend are getting even more interesting.

Specifically, "AC" writes "Grillo claims 800,000 assisted at his closure meeting in Rome with another 150,000 via streaming. My feeling is that there will be a huge turnout for Grillo in the election".

Joe Weisenthal on the Business Insider writes "I Have Seen The Scariest Chart In Europe".

The chart Weisenthal refers to is from Google Trends. It shows a surge in searches on Beppe Grillo. Weisenthal says ...

Grillo is a comedian-turned-politician who is doing shockingly well the Italian elections (coming up this Sunday and Monday) by running on an aggressive anti-bank, euro-skeptic platform.

He's capitalizing on the deep frustration that exists in Italy due to the weak economy, and the perception that the current government is too corrupt and cozy with banks. Were he to gain a sizable block in the upcoming parliament, he represents a pretty serious threat.

A threat? A Threat to What?

Grillo wants Italy to vote on whether or not to stay in the Eurozone. On that score I happen to agree. The sooner the eurozone splinters the better. Greece would be better off if it left four years ago and Spain would be better off if it left now.

That does not mean I endorse all the policies of Grillo, and indeed I don't. My point is that huge change is desperately needed.

As I have stated on many occasions "Eventually, there will come a time when a populist office-seeker will stand before the voters, hold up a copy of the EU treaty and (correctly) declare all the "bail out" debt foisted on their country to be null and void. That person will be elected."

The scare should not be that a breakup happens, but rather that the inevitable is delayed with grave consequences.

Scariest Chart Ever?

Weisenthal calls that the scariest Europe chart ever. Assuming the chart does represent an increasing interest in Beppe Grillo, I call it a necessary trend on the path to rebalancing Europe.

For more on the election in Italy, an explanation of Beppe Grillo's "5 Star Movement" and some election predictions, please see European Reader Offers Insights on Upcoming Italian Election

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

SEO Blog

Three Ways to Make More Money with Your Blog
Must Use WordPress Plugins for Every Blogger
The Importance Of An SEO Campaign For Your Business
4 Simple Tips to Rank Your Blog Higher On Search Engine
Social Media: Branding Yourself In The Digital Age

Three Ways to Make More Money with Your Blog

Posted: 23 Feb 2013 06:31 AM PST

Having a blog is one thing, but creating a successful and authority site is another. A common goal among all bloggers is that they want to have a successful site that people visit, read and comment on. Oh yea, they also want to make money in the process. Before making...
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Must Use WordPress Plugins for Every Blogger

Posted: 23 Feb 2013 03:39 AM PST

Running a successful blog isn’t easy, but thanks to WordPress plugins the job can be made a lot easier. Since WordPress is the number one solution for building web sites and blogs, it would only make sense that they have thousands of free and premium plugins for site owners to...
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The Importance Of An SEO Campaign For Your Business

Posted: 22 Feb 2013 11:42 PM PST

Search engine optimization is a must in today’s internet marketing world. If you want your business to compete online then you must not only run a search engine optimization campaign but one that is successful and in order to do this you must hire a Phoenix web design team that...
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4 Simple Tips to Rank Your Blog Higher On Search Engine

Posted: 22 Feb 2013 11:36 PM PST

You love writing a blog and sharing your experience and thoughts with people? Or are you a business entity that reaches to its reader and customer base through a blog to let them know about your work and helping them in their needs? In both the cases, you would seriously...
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Social Media: Branding Yourself In The Digital Age

Posted: 22 Feb 2013 09:42 PM PST

Social media has completely revolutionized the way that businesses brand themselves to consumers. With an influx of information and advertisements, it has become increasingly important for marketers to ensure that their potential customers become acquainted with their business in an engaging and compelling manner. Therefore, in order to spur business...
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Weekly Address: Congress Must Act Now to Stop the Sequester

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Weekly Address: Congress Must Act Now to Stop the Sequester

President Obama urges Congress to stop the sequester -- the harmful automatic cuts that threaten thousands of jobs and affect our national security from taking effect on March 1.

Watch this week's Weekly Address.

In Case You Missed It

Here’s a quick glimpse at what happened this week on WhiteHouse.gov:

Sequester Looming: On Tuesday, with just days left until a set of deep, across-the-board budget cuts are set to take effect, President Obama discussed what’s at stake for our country’s economy, security and future and pushed lawmakers to work out a deal for the American people.

“So these cuts are not smart. They are not fair. They will hurt our economy. They will add hundreds of thousands of Americans to the unemployment rolls,” said President Obama, as emergency respondents stood behind him. “This is not an abstraction -- people will lose their jobs. The unemployment rate might tick up again.”

The President called for “a balanced approach to deficit reduction,” which ends tax loopholes and deductions for the wealthy, while targeting wasteful spending in the process.

Giving Every Child a Chance: Last Friday, President Obama headed home to Chicago to promote his proposals from the State of the Union address and emphasized the importance of protecting our children from gun violence, illustrating the importance of family in our communities.

“And so that means that this is not just a gun issue. It’s also an issue of the kinds of communities that we’re building. And for that, we all share a responsibility, as citizens, to fix it.”

President Obama wants to create “ladders of opportunity” for Americans who are “working to build a strong, middle-class life for themselves.” In order for millions to work their way up, they must have the right skills and good-paying jobs. The President presented pathways to get there in his State of Union address, which include high-quality preschool for every child, raising the minimum wage and sparking American manufacturing.

Medal of Valor: On Wednesday, Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder paid tribute to 18 remarkable individuals who have displayed exceptional courage, while risking their own lives, in order to protect fellow citizens. Recipients traveled to the White House for the Medal of Valor ceremony, which marks the highest national award for valor a public safety officer can receive. Watch the full ceremony here and learn more about the 18 heroes here.

“I love Big Bird”: Celebrating Let’s Move!’s third anniversary, First Lady Michelle Obama welcomed a special guest to the White House: Big Bird. The pair headed to the kitchen and hung out in the East Room to talk about fun ways to exercise and the ease of finding delicious fruits and vegetables. The First Lady started the Let’s Move! initiative in February of 2010 to start “solving the problem of obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams.”

Follow the First Lady for updates and learn more about Let’s Move! here. Be sure to also see special behind the scenes video with the First Lady and Big Bird here.

Easter Egg Roll Lottery: On Thursday, the lottery officially opened for the 135^th annual White House Easter Egg Roll. More than 35,000 people are expected to join the First Family and activities will include games, dancing and singing. This year’s theme is “Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You” -- a reflection of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! campaign. Watch highlights from previous White House Easter Egg Rolls and learn more about the event here.

Enter the free lottery and give yourself a shot at joining the First Family on the South Lawn this Easter.

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Seth's Blog : Hooked on hacking life

Hooked on hacking life

Perhaps you can quote the GTD literature chapter and verse, understand lean and MVP and the modern meeting standard. Maybe you now delete your emails with a swipe. It's possible you've read not just this blog but fifty others, every day, and understand go to market strategies and even have a virtual assistant to dramatically increase your productivity.

That's great. But the question remains, "what have you shipped?"

You're saving a ton of time, freeing yourself up to... do what, precisely?

The productivity industry doesn't do this work to entertain us. They're trying hard to help you get more done better. Emphasis on done.

Striving to get smarter, better and faster helps us create our future. The risk is that merely collecting, trading and discussing the tools turns into the point.

It's possible that your next frontier isn't to get more efficient, it's to get more brave.