Economic and Investment News Bits
- Brexit: England and the world in the aftermath of the vote. A surprise? An end-of-world-economy event? Hardly. A signal for our presidential election? Maybe. A problem for bureaucrats? Oh, yes. A “New Normal” for travelers? Very likely.
- Looking for a job in the Health Care industry? Columbus is one of the best cities, according to a new report from ZipRecruiter. The report pegs Columbus as No. 3 in the country, behind No. 1 Tucson and second-ranked Phoenix. Top-tier health-care and research facilities means Columbus is the major regional player for the industry.
- An attempted military coup in Turkey last week caught almost everyone by surprise. Its aftershocks could hamstring the country for years, according to Stratfor Global Intelligence. “These are years Turkey does not have. Instability in the region is only deepening, and Turkey desperately needs to help contain this chaos while building up its own position.”
- “Expect a potential 5-10% sell-off ahead on rising presidential election uncertainty,” says Goldman Sachs. “Market leadership is moving through different sectors, and this is positive for a continuation of the recent bullish trend,” says JP Morgan. “Factors are contributing to a positive psychological shift that could support the rally for several more weeks—possibly until a fall correction when the U.S. election comes”, says Guild Investment Management.
- Social Security and Medicare together accounted for 39% of Federal outlays during the 9 months ending June 30. In 2006, the two accounted for 33% of spending.
- In the first two days after the Brexit vote, the S&P 500 lost 5.3% of its value. Since then, the index has gained 8.2% through July 15.
- So you think interest rates are terrible? Be glad you do not live in Germany, where new 10-year government bonds are being sold with negative yields. That’s right, German investors are paying their government to borrow money.
Thought for the week
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”
S. Lewis, British author (1898-1963)
Obsolescence: Coming to a Store Near You
Remember how there seemed to be a Blockbuster Video store on every corner ten years ago. Today, all but a handful are now closed. “Obsolescence isn’t always as quick or complete, but emerging technologies and changing consumer tastes are sounding the death knell for other familiar items,” reads an article from Kiplinger. Here is a sample of the list of things that may soon disappear forever: 1) Keys – fobs and cell phones will take over; 2) Fast-Food Workers – robots will do dishes, flip burgers; 3) Car clutch pedals – replaced by “automated” manual shifts and automatic shifts; 4) College textbooks – digital formats for tablets and e-readers will spell doom for these overpriced, heavy dinosaurs; 5) the Postal Service – with mail volume down almost 60% in the last ten years (and most remaining being solicitations), drastic changes lie ahead; 6) Privacy – if not already lost, growth of electronic technology means even more intrusion in our lives; 7) Incandescent light bulbs – replaced by more efficient, cooler options. Since January 2014, it is illegal to manufacture or import 40 to 100-watt incandescent bulbs.
Chart For July
“Investors have understandably become impatient with international equities, given years of lagging returns compared to U.S. stocks. June’s Brexit vote is simply one more source of uncertainty on a long list of challenges. However, it’s important to take a long-term view and understand that extended periods of lagging results have tended to be followed by extended periods of higher relative returns.” (Source: Capital Group)
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