luni, 22 iunie 2015

Seth's Blog : New times call for new decisions

New times call for new decisions

Those critical choices you made then, they were based on what you knew about the world as it was.

But now, you know more and the world is different.

So why spend so much time defending those choices?

We don't re-decide very often, which means that most of our time is spent doing, not choosing. And if the world isn't changing (if you're not changing) that doing makes a lot of sense.

The pain comes from falling in love with your status quo and living in fear of making another choice, a choice that might not work.

You might have been right then, but now isn't then, it's now.

If the world isn't different, no need to make a new decision. 

The only question, then, "is the world different now?"

       

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duminică, 21 iunie 2015

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis


The Most Common Job in 29 States to Nearly Vanish in 10 Years; Know What That Job Is?

Posted: 21 Jun 2015 07:38 PM PDT

The NPR claims the most common job in 29 of 50 US states is truck driving. This seems a bit overboard, and depends on how jobs are categorized, but here is the chart.



The above chart from NPR "Planet Money" report that says ...
We used data from the Census Bureau, which has two catch-all categories: "managers not elsewhere classified" and "salespersons not elsewhere classified." Because those categories are broad and vague to the point of meaninglessness, we excluded them from our map.
Self-Driving Trucks Will Hit Us Like Ton of Bricks

Please consider Self-Driving Trucks Are Going to Hit Us Like a Human-Driven Truck.
It should be clear at a glance just how dependent the American economy is on truck drivers. According to the American Trucker Association, there are 3.5 million professional truck drivers in the US, and an additional 5.2 million people employed within the truck-driving industry who don't drive the trucks. That's 8.7 million trucking-related jobs.

One further important detail to consider is that truck drivers are well-paid. They provide a middle class income of about $40,000 per year. That's a higher income than just about half (46%) of all tax filers, including those of married households. They are also greatly comprised by those without college educations. Truck driving is just about the last job in the country to provide a solid middle class salary without requiring a post-secondary degree. Truckers are essentially the last remnant of an increasingly impoverished population once gainfully employed in manufacturing before those middle income jobs were mostly all shipped overseas.

Short-Term Job Outlook of the American Trucker

The trucking industry expects to see 21% more truck driving jobs by 2020. They also expect to see an increasing shortfall in drivers, with over 100,000 jobs open and unable to find drivers to fill them. Higher demand than supply of truckers also points to higher pay, so for at least the next five years, the future is looking great for truck drivers. The only thing that could put a damper on this would be if the demand for truck drivers were to say… drive off a sharp cliff.

That cliff is the self-driving truck. So when will the process end? When will self-driving cars conquer our roads?

Adoption Timeline



According to Morgan Stanley, complete autonomous capability will be here by 2022, followed by massive market penetration by 2026 and the cars we know and love today then entirely extinct in another 20 years thereafter.

Other Estimates

  • Navigant Research: "By 2035, sales of autonomous vehicles will reach 95.4 million annually, representing 75% of all light-duty vehicle sales."
  • IHS Automotive: "There should be nearly 54 million self-driving cars in use globally by 2035."
  • ABI Research: "Half of new vehicles shipping in North America to have driverless, robotic capabilities by 2032."
  • Nissan: "In 2020 we're talking more autonomous drive capability. It's going to be an evolutionary process and 2020 will be the first year to truly see some of these capabilities start to be introduced in the vehicle."
I think the the timeline is off a bit in two ways.

  1. Technology change and adoption are happening at a breath-taking pace. Penetration will happen faster than most of the estimates above suggest.
  2. Truck hauling jobs will vanish faster than inner-city truck driving jobs. 

At $40,000 a year, the incentive to replace truck drivers with software is massive. And it will happen. Not only that, but insurance costs will drop. Most truck accidents are caused by user error: Driving too fast, driving while tired, driving intoxicated, etc.

Robots don't drink, don't get tired, won't drive unsafe to get to a destination faster, etc. My initial vision is that drivers may still be needed for inner-city driving (at least initially), but most long-haul operations will quickly vanish as soon as licensing is complete in most of the states.

What About Taxis, Uber?

Taxi and limo driving jobs will also vanish.
Travis Kalanick, the CEO and founder of Uber, said at a conference last year that he'd replace human Uber drivers with a fleet of self-driving cars in a second. "You're not just paying for the car — you're paying for the other dude in the car," he said. "When there's no other dude in the car, the cost of taking an Uber anywhere becomes cheaper than owning a vehicle." That, he said, will "bring the cost below the cost of ownership for everybody, and then car ownership goes away."
People keep emailing me about insurance. Many believe the cost of insurance will skyrocket. I believe accident rates will plunge, and insurance costs with it.

So what happens to a lot of insurance salesmen? Claims investigators?

As for car ownership, those who live in cities and seldom leave their city will have a huge incentive to dump their car. That too is a massive disruption.

Think of the manufacturing jobs that will vanish. Then again, cars will be nearly entirely robot-made, so those jobs will have already vanished.

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

Goodbye Kiss Today?

Posted: 21 Jun 2015 05:39 AM PDT

Parties on both sides still talk as if a deal over Greece is possible, but how realistic is that? And yesterday, the ECB voted to continue ELA, but did so with an amount less than Greece requested.

Last Minute Phone Talks

This morning, Reuters reported EU's Juncker, Greek PM Tspiras Hold Telephone Talks.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker spoke to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Saturday and will speak again on Sunday to seek a solution to Athens' debt crisis, an EU official said on condition of anonymity.

Over the weekend, senior officials have remained in close contact ahead of a meeting of finance ministers and euro zone leaders scheduled for Monday, the official said.
Tomorrow, eurozone officials hold an emergency meeting to discuss Greece. However, France and Germany Insist Greece Needs to Table Offer Today.
France and Germany have told Greece it must have an agreement on economic reform measures with the trio of bailout monitors finalised and delivered before a crucial leaders' summit between Athens and its creditors on Monday.

With the Greek cabinet meeting on Sunday to consider compromise proposals, François Hollande and Angela Merkel both telephoned Alexis Tsipras, the prime minister, to remind him that he needed a "staff level" agreement with the European Commission, IMF and ECB ahead of the summit.

If a deal is reached, the two leaders said the summit could start talking about the Greek debt and a third bailout. France is open to discussing debt relief and restructuring, Mr Hollande told Mr Tsipras, whose radical leftwing government won office in January setting Greece on a collision course with its creditors.

The Greek cabinet was summoned to a meeting at Mr Tsipras' Maximos Mansion residence on Sunday morning for a last-ditch meeting to hash out the government's strategy.

Ministers are expected to discuss how Mr Tsipras can bridge his two seemingly intractable electoral mandates: to end austerity and block further cuts in spending while also satisfying creditors' demands for reform to keep Greece in the eurozone.

Yanis Varoufakis, Greece's finance minister, writing in German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, has said German chancellor Angela Merkel faces "a stark choice" ahead of the crucial summit of European leaders in Brussels on Monday.

Ms Merkel could enter into "an honourable agreement with a government that opposes bailouts" and wants "a negotiated solution that ends the Greek crisis once and for all". The second option was to "heed the sirens" from her government, which he said were "encouraging her to jettison the only Greek government that is principled and which can carry the Greek people along the path of genuine reform."

Mr Varoufakis said the Greek government would come to Brussels on Monday willing to compromise. but it would only compromise as long as the Syriza-led government was not asked to take on new loans "under conditions that offer little hope that Greece can pay back its debts".

"The choice, I am very much afraid, is hers," he said.

In a sign of the growing anxiety in Greece, savers withdrew more than €1.6bn in deposits on Friday, according to two banking sources, the largest withdrawal in one day since Greece's left-wing government took office in January. More than €6bn have left the system this week, and bankers fear the withdrawals could speed up when the banks reopen on Monday.

Syriza supporters will rally in front of Parliament on Sunday evening to urge the government not to give in to creditors' demands.
By stating willingness to discuss debt relief and restructuring, while Greece offered little, it should be clear which side is willing to bend more. However, Merkel's hands may be politically tied. A majority of Germans now favor Greece leaving the eurozone.

Those still expecting Merkel to cave may be in for shock therapy tomorrow.

It is Yanis Varoufakis, Greece's finance minister, who signaled goodbye intentions stating Greece would not take on more debt, with both France and Germany talking about a third bailout.

This dance has gone on far too long already. A goodbye kiss is long overdue.

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

Seth's Blog : The problem with holding a grudge

The problem with holding a grudge

...is that your hands are then too full to hold onto anything else.

It might be the competition or a technology or the lousy things that someone did a decade ago. None of it is going to get better as a result of revisiting the grudge.

       

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sâmbătă, 20 iunie 2015

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis


Warmongering Jackass Proposes Forced Servitude by Millennial to Fight Isis

Posted: 20 Jun 2015 11:27 AM PDT

National Journal writer and senior political columnist Ron Fournier is calling for "shared sacrifice" to fight ISIS.

His odd definition of "shared sacrifice" is forced conscription for all 18- to 28-year-olds.

Please consider How to Defeat ISIS With Millennial Spirit and Service.

"I know a better way to fight ISIS. It starts with an idea that should appeal the better angels of both hawks and doves: National service for all 18- to 28-year-olds," says Fournier.

Fournier is not only a "warmongering jackass", but a moron as well if he believes his idea can appeal to doves.

He says he has a better idea. Actually, I do. Send Fournier and all the other jackasses who believe in forced servitude to fight Isis.

The way to perpetual war is forced servitude and attitudes of those like Fournier. We rightfully got rid of servitude, so let's not bring it back.

You can send a protest email to Fournier here: rfournier@nationaljournal.com.

On most browsers, this link opens up your email server automatically: Email Ron Fournier

The gall of this moronic jackass is stunning. My friend Pater Tenebrarum at the Acting Man blog pinged me with this comment just a bit ago: "Oh my god, what a creepy statist slave-driver this guy is."

When I asked Pater if I could post his comment, he replied "Please quote in capital letters!"

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

Seth's Blog : You will rarely guess/create/cause #1

You will rarely guess/create/cause #1

The breakthrough pop hit is so unpredictable that it's basically random.

You will always do better with a rational portfolio of second and third place reliable staples than you will in chasing whatever you guess that pop culture will want tomorrow.

Of course, it means giving up hoping for a miracle and instead doing the hard work of being there for the people who count on you.

       

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vineri, 19 iunie 2015

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis


Euroskeptics Poised to Form Government in Denmark, Seek Alliance and Rules Changes with Cameron

Posted: 19 Jun 2015 03:59 PM PDT

Anti-euro parties are on a roll. In a shocking election result in Denmark, Eurosceptic Danish People's Party Surge in General Election.
The eurosceptic Danish People's Party could become the largest party in a new right-wing government in a shock result that brings David Cameron a powerful new ally in his bid for EU renegotiations.

The anti-immigrant party took 21.1 percent of the votes, jumping past their Liberal allies to become Denmark's second biggest party.

With 99 percent of votes counted, Denmark's national broadcasters DR and TV2 projected opposition leader Lars Loekke Rasmussen's bloc would get more than the 90 seats needed to secure a majority in the 179-seat legislature.

"It is completely unreal," said Kristian Thulesen Dahl, the Danish People's Party (DPP) leader, as he congratulated his party, but he gave no hints even on whether his party wanted to join a ruling Right-wing coalition let alone lead it.

"It's an astonishing result," said Ian Manners, a British politics professor at the University of Copenhagen. 
Right-Wing Eurosceptics Look Set to Form a New Government

In the wake of the election, The Independent reports Right-Wing Eurosceptics Look Set to Form a New Government.

Euroskeptic Party Wins Danish Elections

Strator explains things a little better with its analysis: Euroskeptic Party Wins Danish Elections.
The results are in following Denmark's elections, and the Euroskeptic and anti-immigration Danish People's Party (DPP) has won with 21.1 percent of the vote. Denmark's voting system is based on groupings of parties, called voting blocs. To form a government, an individual party's bloc must win an overall majority. This system worked against the Social Democratic Party, the lead party of the incumbent center-left coalition. Although it received 26.3 percent of the vote, its left-wing "red bloc" did not perform as well as the right-wing "blue bloc," in which the DPP is the highest placed.

However the DPP chooses to interact with the government, the party's influence will be significant — and its increased role will impact wider European trends. Recently re-elected British Prime Minister David Cameron is renegotiating the United Kingdom's relationship with Europe and will hold a public "in-out" referendum before the end of 2017. The DPP is part of the same European Conservatives and Reformists Group as Cameron's Tories in the European Parliament and is equally concerned about the erosion of national sovereignty in Europe and perceived high levels of immigration. European Parliament member and DPP vice-chair Morten Messerschmidt said the party's intention is to "make Denmark into Cameron's biggest ally." Indeed, even before the election, the DPP had managed to convince Venstre, which is nominally pro-Europe, to offer its support for Cameron's renegotiation if the blue bloc won. Once the new government takes power, the United Kingdom looks set to gain a firm ally.

The Alternative for Germany party, another member of the European Conservatives and Reformists, is well-positioned to taking advantage of German frustrations with the Greek debt situation. Although the party is currently beset with internal strife, if it emerges united it could also ally with the DPP and the Tories. Poland's Euroskeptic Law and Justice Party, also a member of the right-wing European Parliament group, won the country's presidential election last month and stands to perform strongly in general elections in October 2015. Although some of Cameron's immigration policies might be distasteful to the Polish people, a potential Law and Justice-led government in Warsaw would find common ground on reclaiming sovereignty from the European Union. With all of these likely supporters, Cameron's Conservatives and the DPP have the potential to form an alliance of Northern European parties dedicated to the repatriation of power to European countries.
Euroskeptics on the March

The Stratfor report is via email. I don't have a link for it yet.

Euroskeptic (some spell it Eurosceptic) parties are on the march in Denmark, Greece, France, Spain, Finland, and Poland. We may see renewed life from AfD in Germany.

A potentially huge victory party may be in the works in Spain, where anti-euro party Podemos is flirting with a lead in national elections later this year.

See Shifting Sentiment in Spain: 2011 vs. 2015; Could an Anti-Euro Party Win the 2015 Spanish National Election? for further discussion.

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

ECB Unscheduled Conference Today; Emergency Eurozone Meeting Monday; ECB Ponders Shutting of ELA as Cash Withdrawals Accelerate

Posted: 19 Jun 2015 05:03 AM PDT

The mad dash and perhaps last dash for euros in Greece is on. Some will undoubtedly be frozen out as soon as the ECB halts emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) to Greek Banks.

Emergence Meeting Monday, Unscheduled ECB Conference Call Today

There's an Emergency Meeting of Eurozone Leader on Monday to discuss Greece, but the ECB may very well act in advance. Once ELA is removed, Greece will soon be forced to issue capital controls.
Greek banks have continued to suffer withdrawals amid concerns that Athens and its creditors will fail to strike a deal to avoid a debt default.

The eurozone's top central bankers are set to decide in the next few hours whether to approve an increase in emergency loans to Greece's banking system after talks on Thursday between finance ministers failed to strike an agreement to prevent the country from defaulting on its debts and potentially crashing out of the currency bloc.

Depositors pulled out more than €1bn on Thursday from the country's four systemic banks, bringing the total for the week to €3bn - three times the average weekly amount over the past two months.

Greece has already seen more than €30bn of deposit flight this year in an orderly process under which depositors notify their bank of withdrawals and take the cash out 24 hours later.

The latest withdrawals came as eurozone leaders were summoned to an emergency summit on Monday in a last-ditch effort to prevent Greece from defaulting on its debts and potentially crashing out of the EU's common currency.

The European Central Bank's governing council will hold an unscheduled conference call on Friday where they will decide whether to allow a rise of around €3bn in Emergency Liquidity Assistance available from the Bank of Greece, the country's central bank.

A two-thirds majority of voting members of the council would be needed to block the rise. The council, made up of the ECB's top six officials and the governors of member states' central banks, could also approve a smaller rise.

The request for an increase came from the Greek central bank on Thursday evening -- just a day after the ECB backed a €1.1bn rise in ELA that took the figure of emergency loans available to €84.1bn. Greek banks are thought to have around €95bn-worth of collateral that they can use in exchange for the loans under the current terms of the loans.

According to people briefed on eurozone planning, Greece's central bank could request that Mr Tsipras legislate for capital controls if no agreement is reached at the Monday night summit, called for 7pm.
Question of Collateral

The ECB requires collateral in exchange for loans, but pray tell, how good is that collateral?

Capital controls actually violate EU rules, but that will not stop eurozone leaders from telling Greece to impose them.

My suggestion to Greece, and one that I already think is being acted on, is to wait until the ECB halts the ELA. At that point, Greece can and will blame the ECB for the controls.

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