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Archives for July 2017

Is the UK Auto Market about to Change Forever?

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Under pressure from activists, the UK has been forced to release a plan on dealing with air pollution. As part of that plan Michael Gove, the current environment secretary, has announced that by 2040 the sale of cars running on petrol (gasoline) or diesel will be banned in the UK. Jim Pickard and Peter Campbell write of the plan in the Financial Times: Mr Gove will say that all new cars will have to be fully electric within a quarter of a century. His promise to ban other engine types — including hybrids — shifts the government further from its existing position, which was an “ambition” for … [Read more...]

Can Competitors Use Robots to Beat Amazon’s Logistical Dominance?

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In 2012, Amazon recognized the value of a robot producing company known as Kiva Systems. The robots became a centerpiece of Amazon's logistical system, toting shelves of goods from the warehouse floor to lines of humans who would pick out the right items and send the robots back again. Now Amazon's competitors in retail will get their chance to catch up. Some of the same team of roboticists who worked for Kiva Systems is back with a new invention known as the Chuck. The new robot cart helps warehouse workers by carrying many items, and leading the humans around the warehouse to the … [Read more...]

CAT Optimistic About Global Economy

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Caterpillar and other major corporations are getting optimistic about the global economy. Increasing demand for things like steel and construction equipment may be indicating increased economic activity. Cat is taking a cautious view of the future though, perhaps not ready to go all in on an economic boom. Andrew Tangel and Josh Zumbrun write for the WSJ: Caterpillar Inc. CAT 5.88% signaled cautious optimism about global growth, offering fresh evidence that many markets are in rebound mode after a years long slump. The world’s largest heavy-machinery maker, an economic bellwether, in its … [Read more...]

Is This the Best Real Estate Investment Today?

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America's malls and big box dungeons are emptying at a rapid pace. Commercial real estate would appear to have problems, but there are silver linings in certain areas of the market. The Wall Street Journal's Esther Fung writes: E-commerce has been blamed for the struggles of retail real estate, but is proving to be a boon for owners of data centers and cell towers. As more people consume digital content and make purchases online, landlords and owners of data centers and cell towers that house cables and beam data to smartphones are looking to expand faster. The moves show how technology … [Read more...]

The 2% Inflation Fraud

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There is increasing chatter in the financial press that the Fed is becoming concerned about the recent slowing in inflation. By the Fed’s preferred personal consumption expenditures index, inflation is running at 1.4%--down from 1.75% in 2016. I know what you are thinking, oh the horror! The Fed’s focus on hitting an arbitrary 2% inflation target makes little sense to most Americans. Why not target zero? Or if you are going to bother with a target, why not set a range? Does a couple of a tenths of a percentage points in inflation make any difference to anybody outside of … [Read more...]

Can Money Buy Happiness?

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A new study from Harvard Business School says it's possible money can buy happiness. More specifically using money to buy free time can make people happier. The researchers surveyed people in the U.S., Canada, Denmark and The Netherlands to find out "whether—and how much—money they spent each month to increase their free time by paying someone else to complete unenjoyable daily tasks." Then those surveyed responded to another questionnaire about "time stress." Karen Kaplan summarized the results at the LA Times, writing: Survey-takers were asked whether they paid other people to do … [Read more...]

Are Retail Stocks at an Inflection Point?

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Amazon-Mania has taken over the stock market. Every mention or speculation that Amazon is going to enter a sector of the retail market drives the share prices of every company in that market lower. Can Amazon really do it all? That seems to be what many investors are assuming, but what the crowd knows is usually baked into share prices. Here, MarketWatch asks if the ultra-bearish sentiment toward brick and mortar retail has reached an inflection point? “After a two-year, ~24% bear market in the SPDR S&P Retail ETF XRT, -0.57%  , someone is finally creating a way to get short the … [Read more...]

Could Vanguard Take its Show on the Road?

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Vanguard's CEO, Tim Buckley, is being urged to take Vanguard's low cost model into more foreign markets. You probably haven't had the time to research the investment options available to foreigners, but in short they tend to be expensive and narrow. That's just the kind of market that screams for the low cost model Vanguard brings to its customers. FT's Chris Flood writes of Buckley: In May, Vanguard announced it would sell its funds directly to UK retail clients in a move that will intensify the competitive pressures facing rival asset managers. Liberum, the brokerage, predicted that a … [Read more...]

Overseas Money Hoard Grows in Response to Failed U.S. Tax Policies

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Congress after Congress and president after president have promised the American people to fix the broken U.S. tax policies that keep money in corporate treasuries locked overseas with no inexpensive way to come home to benefit American workers or shareholders. The failure has created a record setting $1.84 trillion in overseas corporate money unavailable to Americans. Technology companies from the U.S., exactly the firms that America is relying on to create better jobs, are being hurt the most by the bad repatriation tax policies. Apple is worst hit writes Tatyana Shumsky: Apple Inc. … [Read more...]

Is this a Solution to America’s Pension Crisis?

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Here the FT reports on the value of land underlying America’s city and town governments as a possible solution to America’s pension crisis. According to one estimate, the value of land owned by local governments, excluding public parks is $25 trillion. That compares to $3.8 trillion in municipal debt and $7.5 trillion in accumulated pension obligations. Matthew Klein writes: Boston’s Logan International Airport was built in the wrong place. Instead of occupying undesirable plots on the outskirts of the city, it sits on almost 1,000 hectares of easily accessible waterfront property close to … [Read more...]