Holloween 2015

The annual tradition continues.

Settled

Let there be light

It isn't coming, it is here. The massive switch worldwide from incandesants to LEDs is going to change things in many wonderful ways. In an unusual twist not seen since public water and sewer it will be the poorest that benefit most. Villages in the third world will have extra hours to perform work that raises their standards of living. When not working; reading/learning. Great news. What about we first world slobs? Well since we waste so much lighting the night for no good reason and many bad reasons at least we won't be weasting as much energy while doing it. Hopefully the switch will include smart sensors so that the evils of light pollution can be likewise diminished. And since it often confuses me click this reference page discussing lumens, watts and such.

Better Than Lying with Statistics

You have to admire the warmists.  Here's the alarming graph from the LATimes:

Sure, it says "Extreme heat" but the fine print reveals it to be "heat index." 

DPI by Quintile

Advisors Perspectives Doug Short has a good chart:

And the BEA has their monthly Personal Income report:

The bottom 4/5ths? 

Personal income increased $68.1 billion, or 0.4 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) increased $60.6 billion, or 0.5 percent, in June, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $25.9 billion, or 0.2 percent. In May, personal income increased $66.3 billion, or 0.4 percent, DPI increased $53.8 billion, or 0.4 percent, and PCE increased $90.8 billion, or 0.7 percent, based on revised estimates. 

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Small wonder the bottom 4/5ths still see recession. 

Going to the Bank for a Loan

Dawg: "I've come here for a loan."

Banker: "Excellent.  Contrary to popular opinion that's is indeed what we are here for. 

Dawg: "I have these great ideas for expanding my business."

Banker: "Go on."

Dawg: "It's simple.  Instead of automation I want enough money for the next few years to cover my expenses vice minimum/low wage employees instead of technology displacement investment." 

Banker: "Doesn't sound very smart Mr. Dawg." 

Dawg: "Exactly."

Banker: "Exactly?"

Dawg: "Yes.  Here's how the math breaks down.  All my competitors see the writing on the walls and decide
jettison meatsacks as fast as possible.  I pick them up cheap but not so cheap that I can compete.  At first."

Banker: "Wait?"

Dawg: "Yes, and this is the genius.  I wait.  After the first wave I adopt the best technology and at a fraction of the early adopter prices.  THEN I dump the biological cost centers in favor of optimal capital return.  " 

Banker: "Ahhh, yes.  We can do business." 

Financial Media Are Stupid

Consider:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-has-effectively-re-pegged-the-yuan-2015-08-10
Wherein the claim is made:
Indeed, the Chinese currency, also known as the renminbi, has been remarkably steady over the past month despite the huge selloff in China’s stock market and a spate of disappointing economic data.
Market strategists, including Simon Derrick, chief currency strategist at BNY Mellon, and Marc Chandler, head currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman, said that’s because China’s policy makers have effectively re-pegged the yuan.
“When I look at the dollar-renminbi right now, that looks like a fixed exchange rate again. They’ve re-pegged it,” Chandler said. 

And now a few hours later:
http://www.afr.com/markets/currencies/australian-dollar-falls-as-chinese-yuan-devalued-20150811-giwco8

Wherein we learn:
The People's Bank of China sets a mid-point for yuan trading against the US dollar each day. The rate has remained fairly stable since March but Tuesday's devaluing is the largest on record.

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Better than a "slumdog" call. 

The More You Got The More...

Household Incomes by quintile and the top 5%:

Any wonder the bottom half still thinks there's a recession? 

China is considering merging China Shipping Group and COSCO Group, its two major shipping companies, amid a broader overhaul of inefficient state-run companies.

Got that?   People own stock in these things.  Something something about paying for the rope. 

Okay, unfair.  This is about stealing not killing. 

Political Relativity

We all"know" The Koch brothers are a pox on American sociopolitical landscape.  We "know" this because the left wastes no opportunity to sic their lapdog media on the story. 

I wonder if the Koch donations to NPR & PBS were considered charitable or attempts to purchase influence? 

Jobs per Working Age Population

Turns out today's "most full time jobs since 2008" ain't all that:

And as long as the Hoocoodanode commentariat favors the current crapshow the blog has become they won't see this there. 

Median Family Income per GDP

Your share of the pie is shrinking a lot faster than the pie is growing. 

Lies Repeated ≠ Truth

The usual cast of warmists at HCN are busy parroting the latest clime tipping point propaganda.  This time it is from the esteemed Rolling Stone Magazine.  Point of No Return


I didn't read it.  I didn't have to read it.  The top picture was enough to discredit whatever came after.  A heartrending image of walruses crowed together, trampling pups and all because of climate change. 

Rolling Stone is about to discover that in an age of instant access comes instant discrediting.  Mass haul outs

Turns out for as long as we've been observing mass haul outs have been happening. 

Meet the New Farmworker

Robotic Lettuce Factory Under Development In Japan

Spread already operates the world’s largest vegetable factory using entirely artificial lighting, which is located in Kameoka, Japan. Now, they’re working on a fully robotic factory capable of producing 30,000 heads of lettuce per day, with construction expected to begin in spring 2016 and lettuce grown in the new facility expected to ship in summer of 2017.
...Full automation – from seeding the lettuce to harvesting the heads – will cut down on the cost of production, Spread said. Complete automation reduces labor cost by 50 percent. ...Spread is looking beyond Japan, too: the new factory setup is designed so that the stable cultivation environment could be created in any location around the world.
The factory will be a vertical farm spread out over 4,800 square meters of enclosed space, which also includes R&D and testing facilities. It cost about 1.6 to 2 billion yen ($12 million to $16 million) to build, with annual sales estimated at 1 billion yen. 

If those cost estimated prove accurate you can watch the California Central Valley implode in years, not decades. 

Sneakflation or Lieflation? You Decide

The consumer price index is up 38% from 2000.  Do you earn 38% more than you did in 2000? If so, congratulations; most people can’t answer “yes.”


Urban-area rents are up 56% from 2000. 

State and local government taxes are up 75% since 2000. And this doesn’t even include the rip-off fishing license fees that have gone through the roof, the boat registration fees that have shot to the moon, and the legal-looting parking ticket that used to be $12 and is now $60.  Note: Taxes naturally rise with the economic expansion due to rising population, which has gone up about 13.8% since 2000: 281 million to 320 million in 2015. 

 The price index for college tuition grew by nearly 80 percent between August 2003 and August 2013. Now to make this apples to apples with the rest of the data here, we need to add in the nearly 5 missing years: from 1/1/2000 to 8/1/2003 and from 8/1/2013 to 8/1/2015. 

Excerpted from  Charles Hugh Smith at The Daily Reckoning

Portland Don't Stink

Supersized Cargo Skips Small Ports

They don't call it Poorland for nothing.  The place thinks they can drive on fairy dust and nosh on lotus flowers.  Truth is a functioning city needs smelly trucks and cars and ships and needs roads and ports and they cannot strangle them in the process. 

AIG Plus Profits Equals Facepalm

AIG Doubles Dividend, Lifts Buyback as Profit Tops Estimates

August 3, 2015 — 1:07 PM PDT Updated on August 3, 2015 — 2:12 PM PDT

American International Group Inc. more than doubled its dividend and increased its share buyback by $5 billion after asset sales helped build up cash, even as results slumped at some of the main insurance operations.

ISM Index for July '15

July 2015 Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business® 

Some comments are ominous.

"AI [Avian Influenza] fears in poultry industry [are] killing exports." (Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products) "The market is in the summer slow-down." (Fabricated Metal Products) "Oil price decline continues to negatively impact Oil & Gas industry in North America as many projects are not economically viable. Oil & Gas jobs outlook is in retrenchment. Petrochemical (refining and chemical manufacturing) is positive from a margin perspective, but focus is steady on safe cost containment." (Petroleum & Coal Products) "Falling oil prices are once again driving chemical raw materials prices lower and creating an expectation of even lower prices in the coming months." (Chemical Products) "The month of July was really slow, slower than the previous month. We are optimistic for the remainder of the year." (Computer & Electronic Products) "Global orders still holding up in the wake of international uncertainties." (Fabricated Metal Products) "Business conditions are stable, little change from last month." (Miscellaneous Manufacturing) "There’s an abundance of containerboard in the global markets." (Paper Products) "Inbound logistics are almost back to normal." (Machinery) "Business continues to be strong." (Furniture and Related Products) 

The Fed may be having second thoughts on a Sept rate hike.  

Too Big To Exist

On the list of 2015 America's largest Companies. Number 6: Wells Fargo Market cap: $299 billion 2009 rank: 55 From #55 to #6 in six years. This is so wrong.

Save -OUR- Water

Our water. Very clever. Scarlet W?

Any questions?

Cape Cod Bland & White

The Least Appreciated Historical Site Ever

Any guesses? Hint: cheese and slavery.

So Green

Vacation iInterlude

Sunset at the Commerative Air Force

Plenty of hints to guess the airplane.

Recessions occur for two reasons. Mostly because it is a natural consequence of mortal beings participating in what from their time perspective is an eternal market. Second and the crux is because government presumes to exert authority beyond necessary regulation.

Valley of Fire 2

Click for a larger view.