It's not all about the bright lights and big city. For the first time since the financial crisis, Americans are moving to the outer suburbs at a faster rate than they are to the city core. Americans are also moving from North to South once again, another traditional movement pattern that has started once again. Paul Overberg writes: Central counties of metropolitan areas grew 0.7% last year while outlying counties grew 1%, according to new Census Bureau population estimates for the year that ended July 1. After two years of roughly comparable growth, this marked the first time since the … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2017
Amazon Delays Overwhelmed Retail Stores
Amazon has delayed the launch of its Amazon Go stores due to technical issues that have snagged development of the cashier-less groceries. It turns out, Amazon's software is having trouble keeping track of people inside the store if there are too many of them, or if they are moving too quickly. In a test store in Seattle that was only open to Amazon employees, the company's technology had trouble handling crowds of people larger than 20. The store also had a hard time following an item if it hadn't been properly replaced in its spot on the shelves by a shopper who may have considered buying … [Read more...]
Fake News now as Popular as “Real” News
The FT reports on a study by the Oxford Internet Institute that found a quarter of web content shared on Twitter by users in Michigan in the final days of the presidential election was fake news. Professional news stories received the same percentage of shares on Twitter. Fake news of course doesn’t serve the public good, but then neither does biased professional news passed off as objective. Is there even a difference between the two? The FT writes: Nearly a quarter of web content shared on Twitter by users in the battleground state of Michigan during the final days of last year’s US … [Read more...]
After Healthcare Failure, Can GOP Now Muster Tax Reform?
With the epic failure of Paul Ryan's healthcare reform bill in the House , can the GOP get it together enough to pass tax reform? The editors of The Wall Street Journal write that prospects for a tax bill have gotten much harder. President Trump campaigned on breaking Washington gridlock, increasing economic growth and lifting American incomes. The health collapse undermines those pledges. The legislative failure is obvious, but less appreciated is that House Speaker Paul Ryan’s reform included a pro-growth tax cut and major improvements in work incentives. The 3.8-percentage-point cut in … [Read more...]
Will Sears Holdings be the Next Victim of the Retail Cull?
The retail sector is getting hammered by changing tastes and competition from a trend toward e-commerce that doesn't appear to be slowing down. Now Sears Holdings, which controls Sears and Kmart stores, is flashing the warning signals about a possible bankruptcy. Anne Steele writes at The Wall Street Journal that Sears says it's "probable" that the company can mitigate its problems with "cost cuts, asset sales and other actions." The warning—the first such for the company—is the latest stumbling block for Sears, whose stock had dropped 39% in the 12 months through Tuesday. The shares fell 12% … [Read more...]
As Apple Moves In, Is it a New Day for India’s Economy?
For the first time, Apple will be producing iPhones in India in the next month or so. Apple will be working with the Taiwanese manufacturing firm Wistron to build iPhones in Bangalore. Rajesh Roy and Newley Purnell report that Apple is looking for Indian production to lower the cost enough to make iPhones affordable for Indian consumers who have so far been cool on the phones. Apple will also avoid Indian import tariffs by producing locally. With sales cooling in China, long an engine for Apple’s growth, manufacturing iPhones locally would help Apple address what analysts say is its biggest … [Read more...]
Should you Buy Solar Panels?
The cost of photovoltaic solar has dropped by over 80% since 2008. Is solar now cost effective for you? Google’s Project Sunroof can help you decide. Project Sunroof has built 3-D models of rooftops in all 50 states, looked at the trees around people’s homes, considered local weather, and figured out how much energy each house or building can generate if its owners buy solar panels. Google has found that nearly 80% of all buildings it has modeled are viable for solar panels. You can see what google has to say about solar for you by entering your address on its Project Sunroof … [Read more...]
Are Investors Sick and Tired of Buybacks?
Over the last few years of bull market excess, companies have been spending less on capital, and more on buying back stock. But Justin Lahart reports that non-financial companies are slowing down their stock buybacks and doing more capital spending compared to their cash flows. But the data also suggest a shift is underway. In the fourth quarter, nonfinancial companies bought back a net $323 billion in equities, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, half as much as in the previous quarter and the lowest amount since the second quarter of 2014. And unlike the third quarter, companies’ … [Read more...]
Vance Returns to Ohio to Create New VC Opportunities
You may recognize the name J.D. Vance from his bestselling book Hillbilly Elegy which I wrote about in the "Trump’s Great White Wall" series (Read Parts I, II, III, and IV). In the book you see how he made himself into a success. Vance worked for Peter Thiel’s Mithril Capital and is now moving back home, according to this WSJ article, to work for Steve Case’s (founder of AOL) investment funds Revolution LLC. to bring venture capital to the Ohio area. “A lot of problems I write about are not entirely economic,” said Mr. Vance, 32 years old. “But a lot of these areas have been left behind and … [Read more...]
A Big New Push for Solar Power in America
Renewables Now reports that German solar power inverter compnay, SMA Solar Technology, will be hiring a "massive" number of Americans for its push into the U.S. market, which its CEO Pierre-Pascal Urbon calls "extremely attractive." The company announced Thursday it has named Charles Ellis vice president of distributed sales, and Andrew Mears vice president of strategic sales. It did not give specific figures as regards to its recruitment plans, but said several positions will be created to support the sales group. Target regions such as California and the Northeast will see significant … [Read more...]
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