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Damn Cool Pics |
20 Cool Car Hacks That You Can Put To Good Use Posted: 08 May 2015 07:59 PM PDT Maintaining a car can sometimes be a lot of work. But you can make it easier on yourself by incorporating these cool hacks. Weave a rubber band through an air vent to create a nifty hands-free phone holder. ![]() Take a picture of where you parked in a huge lot. ![]() If you have trouble with blind spots, set your mirrors so you can't see any of your vehicle. This will make the cars around you more visible. ![]() Cool off your car without blasting the AC by rolling down a window and opening and closing the opposite door several times. ![]() Use a coffee filter and some cleaning solution to get rid of any dust and grime on your dashboard. ![]() If your lock is frozen, apply some hand sanitizer to your key to help melt the ice. ![]() Need a little help figuring out which side the exit is on? If the number is on the upper left-hand corner of the sign, the exit is on the left, and vice versa. ![]() While you should always focus on driving, a shower caddy is a great way to keep food organized in the car. ![]() Apply some toothpaste and wipe it away with a cloth to clean your headlights. ![]() Prevent the crack from spreading by applying some clear nail polish. ![]() Keep your car doors from freezing during the winter by applying some cooking spray to the rubber on the inside of the door. ![]() Use a staple remover to get a frustrating key ring open. ![]() If you can't find your car in a garage or parking lot, place your remote lock against your head to create a stronger signal that extends farther. ![]() If you're tight on space in your garage, measure the position of your windshield when your car is in the right spot, and then hang a tennis ball from the ceiling so you know where to stop. ![]() It might sound funny, but a plunger is great for removing small- to medium-sized dents in your car. ![]() Don't know how to change a tire? This graphic is super useful. ![]() Take an old coffee cup and cut open the lid to make your own tissue dispenser. ![]() If you forget where your gas tank is, the arrow on the gauge tells you if it's on the left or right side of the car ![]() De-clutter your car with shoe organizers. ![]() Make a mini trash can using a garbage bag and an old cereal container. ![]() |
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Make it properly
Make it on time
Make it efficiently
Make promises
Make it matter
Make connections
Make a difference
Make a ruckus
Make change
It gets more and more compelling (and more difficult) as you move from making it properly to making change. But we need all of it.
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Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis |
Posted: 08 May 2015 12:18 PM PDT Pension news out of Chicago keeps getting worse. In 2013, the Illinois legislature took a feeble stab at fixing some small aspects of the Illinois pension problem. The legislation, signed by then Governor Pat Quinn reduced the 3 percent compounded cost-of-living adjustment for retirees established in 1989, raised the retirement age for workers 45 and under, and imposed a limit on pensions for the highest-paid workers. That was a step in the right direction, albeit a small one. 2013 Pension Reform Unconstitutional Today we learn the Illinois Supreme Court Finds 2013 Pension Reform Law Unconstitutional. In a unanimous decision, the seven justices declared the law passed 18 months ago violates the state constitution because it would leave pension promises "diminished or impaired."Analysis State rep Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook hits the nail on the head with her analysis. "In its ruling today, the Supreme Court struck down not only the law but the core of that balance. Now our already dire pension problem will get that much worse and our options in striking that balance are limited. Our path forward from here is now much more difficult, and every direction will be more painful than the balance we struck in Senate Bill 1." Underfunding Just Got Worse On Tuesday, I noted the dire state of Illinois pensions on CNBC with Rick Santelli. (See Chicago Board of Education to Default on Bonds? Rick Santelli and Mish Discuss on CNBC). Here's a video clip. Illinois pension underfunding estimates range from $130 billion to $200 Billion. Those numbers assume two things.
Assumption number 1 just went out the window. It is my strong belief that assumption number 2 will soon follow. Expect Negative Returns I expect returns in stocks and bonds over the next seven years to be negative! For further discussion as to why, please see Valuations: Maybe I am Crazy. Chicago Teachers 'Highly Insulted' Over Request for 7 Percent Pay Cut On top of the already mounting fiscal issues, and in spite of the fact the Chicago Board of Education has a $1.5 billion hole, Chicago Teachers 'Highly Insulted' Over Request for 7 Percent Pay Cut. The Chicago Board of Education wants teachers, social workers and other union members to take a 7 percent pay cut by paying their own pension contributions, according to the Chicago Teachers Union.Union Alternate Universe In what alternate universe is Karen Lewis living to believe this is a manufactured fiscal crisis? How is a state that has a $9 billion budget deficit hole going to bail out a single school district that is $1.5 billion in the hole? Give Taxpayers a Chance Today's ruling more than ever shows the need to pass a bankruptcy law. I have been pushing for that as has Governor Rauner. A May 5 Chicago Tribune editorial viewpoint said the same thing: Pass a Bankruptcy Law, Give Taxpayers a Chance. Many people view bankruptcy as a "nuclear option" for local governments in Illinois — a bad choice that will only bring disaster. Actually, if we do it the right way, it may be the best path for averting true financial devastation in communities statewide.Per Household Liabilities Census QuickFacts shows there are 4,772,723 Illinois Households as of 2013. To be generous, let's round that up to 5 million. Let's also ignore my dire prediction of negative gains for seven years while placing the underfunding level at $200 billion. To make the funds actuarial sound, Illinois households need to come up with $40,000 each. If instead of assuming 7% returns one assumed 2% returns (yield on the 10-year bond), the hole is closer to $500 billion. And what if the stock market dives 30-40% over the next two years as I believe likely? Promises, Promises ![]() Image from Sun Times. Jan. 3, 2013 photo, a "Pension Promise" sign is seen as Illinois state union members and supporters rally in support for fair pension reform in the at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield Ill. | AP file Dishonest Promise A promise is a promise, not an eternity. Marriage is a promise as well. And this promise was not even an honest one. Contracts made under coercion and threats are not even valid. But even valid contracts can be broken. That is precisely why we have bankruptcy law instead of debtor's prisons. In this case, corrupt politicians made bargains with corrupt union leaders at taxpayer expense. Unions further contributed to the mess with coercion and threats. Any sensible person knew these promises could not be met. Sue For Divorce The result of the unholy alliance between corrupt union leaders and corrupt politicians was a shotgun marriage made in hell. Taxpayers need to sue for divorce. The way to do that is bankruptcy court. I repeat Miracles Not Coming; Bankruptcy the Sensible Option. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific. |
Clean Sweep by UK Conservatives Masks Huge Rifts Posted: 08 May 2015 10:36 AM PDT The UK results are in. The pollsters could not have been more wrong. The expected result was a close vote and a hung parliament. Instead, Labour and the Liberal Democrats got pounded. Here are the Final Tallies from the Guardian. ![]() In a surge of nationalism that will likely lead to a call for another independence referendum, the Scotland National Party (SNP) won 56 seats of 59 seats. Nigel Farage did not win his seat, but he will be around. So will UKIP. It appears UKIP did not take votes from the conservatives, but rather its anti-immigration platform took votes from Labour. Major Outs
Wow How could the polls have been so wrong? Clean Sweep Masks Huge Rifts The Financial Times reports David Cameron Sweeps to Victory in UK Election. David Cameron, UK prime minister, has swept back into Downing Street after a dramatic election victory, winning an outright majority for his centre-right Conservative party.Milliband Resigns The Guardian reports Ed Miliband Resigns as Labour Leader A devastated Ed Miliband has resigned as leader of the Labour party, saying he is truly sorry for the scale of the party's crushing defeat.Goodbye Labour Any party that campaigns for higher taxes and wealth redistribution deserves to get trounced. And Labour did get trounced. Liberal Democrats all but vanished as UKIP became the third largest party with more votes than SNP. Yet, SNP has 56 seats, Liberal Democrats 8, and UKIP one. SNP still wants independence. And UKIP still wants out of the EU. The "clean sweep" by the Tories masks those problems. Meanwhile, pollsters have to be wondering "how the hell did we get this so wrong?" Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific. |
Establishment +233K Jobs; Household +192K Employment, Part-Time Employment +198K, Labor Force +166K Posted: 08 May 2015 08:41 AM PDT Initial Reaction Today we see a snap back from last month's report on both establishment jobs and household survey employment. Last month the household survey came in at an anemic 34,000. This month it is 192,000. Part-time employment went up by 198,000 meaning the entire increase in household survey employment was part-time. Finally, March nonfarm payrolls were revised lower from 126,000 to 85,000. This snap back is nowhere near as big as it appears at first glance. It will take at least another month to see if weakness in March was the start of something or an outlier. Interesting Details The Bloomberg Consensus jobs estimate was for 220,000 jobs, nearly right on target. The estimate range was a wide 180,000 to 335,000. There is lots of optimism from some economists. Bloomberg: The April employment report is mixed and probably won't be pulling forward expectations for a Fed rate hike. Nonfarm payroll growth came in about as expected, at a soft 223,000. But there is a substantial downward revision to what was already an extremely weak March, from 126,000 to 85,000. The good news is another downtick in the unemployment rate, to 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent and reflecting a favorable mix led by a rise in those finding jobs.You cannot play (at least you should not play the gain in construction both ways). If the weakness was weather-related then a snap back in construction should have been expected. Some but not all of the recent weakness was weather related. Construction probably was more affected than services. Let's take a look at all the key numbers. BLS Jobs Statistics at a Glance
March 2015 Employment Report Please consider the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Current Employment Report. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.4 percent. Job gains occurred in professional and business services, health care, and construction. Mining employment continued to decline. Click on Any Chart in this Report to See a Sharper Image Unemployment Rate - Seasonally Adjusted ![]() Nonfarm Employment ![]() Nonfarm Employment Change from Previous Month by Job Type ![]() Hours and Wages Average weekly hours of all private employees was flat at 34.5 hours. Average weekly hours of all private service-providing employees declined by 0.1 hour to 33.3 hours. Average hourly earnings of production and non-supervisory private workers rose $0.02 at $20.90. Average hourly earnings of production and non-supervisory private service-providing employees rose $0.02 at $20.69. For discussion of income distribution, please see What's "Really" Behind Gross Inequalities In Income Distribution? Birth Death Model Starting January 2014, I dropped the Birth/Death Model charts from this report. For those who follow the numbers, I retain this caution: Do not subtract the reported Birth-Death number from the reported headline number. That approach is statistically invalid. Should anything interesting arise in the Birth/Death numbers, I will add the charts back. Table 15 BLS Alternate Measures of Unemployment ![]() click on chart for sharper image Table A-15 is where one can find a better approximation of what the unemployment rate really is. Notice I said "better" approximation not to be confused with "good" approximation. The official unemployment rate is 5.4%. However, if you start counting all the people who want a job but gave up, all the people with part-time jobs that want a full-time job, all the people who dropped off the unemployment rolls because their unemployment benefits ran out, etc., you get a closer picture of what the unemployment rate is. That number is in the last row labeled U-6. U-6 is much higher at 10.8%. Both numbers would be way higher still, were it not for millions dropping out of the labor force over the past few years. Some of those dropping out of the labor force retired because they wanted to retire. The rest is disability fraud, forced retirement, discouraged workers, and kids moving back home because they cannot find a job. For further discussion of a more accurate measure of the unemployment rate, please see Gallup CEO Calls 5.6% Unemployment Rate "The Big Lie": What's a Realistic Unemployment Rate? Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific. |
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