Ford Motor Co. and General Motors (GM) have formed partnerships with major semiconductor manufacturers to speed the end of the current chip shortage now hobbling vehicle production and ensure supplies during future disruptions. GM has made deals with Infineon Technologies, NXP Semiconductors, ON Semiconductor Corp., Qualcomm Inc., Renasas Electronics Corp., STMicroelectronics, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing...
Author: user (UserName LastName)
Post
IN EUROPE, COAL MAKES A COMEBACK
A funny thing is happening in Europe. Coal power, thought to have been rendered moribund by the push for “greener” energy, is enjoying a resurgence, and a most profitable one at that. All actions have consequences, and Europe’s shift from coal to natural gas for power-generating and heating has made it vulnerable to shortfalls in...
Post
SIX COUNTRIES AGREE TO COORDINATED RELEASE OF OIL FROM STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVES
The U.S. will release 50 million barrels of crude oil from its strategic petroleum reserve as part of a joint six-country agreement to bring more oil to market to reduce prices of gasoline and other petroleum products. The nations involved are China, India, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and the U.S. U.S. gas prices at...
Post
WALL ST. CRIME GANG
Insider trading, even by those who are supposed to be regulating the financial industry, has been the topic of a number of Trends Journal articles; see, for example, “FED TIGHTENS TRADING RULES AFTER SCANDAL FORCES RESIGNATIONS” (26 Oct 2021), “BANKSTER BANDITS: CRIME SYNDICATE COVER UP” (16 Nov 2021) and “FED ETHICS? FU!” (21 Sep 2021)....
Post
CONTAINER CLOG EASES AT LONG BEACH, LOS ANGELES PORTS
The number of containers at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles has fallen 25 percent to 71,000 during the first three weeks of this month, as the ports threatened a $100 daily fine for each container left sitting in storage yards for nine days or more. The number of containers eligible for the...
Post
HOME SALES UP AS MONEY GANG GOBBLES UP HOUSES
Sales of previously owned homes edged up 0.8 percent in October to an annual rate of 6.34 million units, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported, 5.8 percent below October 2020, which was the market’s cyclical high point last year. If full-year sales top six million, it would be the largest number of existing homes...
Post
CONSUMERS KEPT ON BUYING IN OCTOBER
Despite rampant inflation, U.S. shoppers spent 1.7 percent more in October than in September, according to the U.S. commerce department. Spending climbed 4 percent at online retailers, 3.9 percent among gas stations, 2.2 percent at department stores, 1.8 percent for auto dealers, 1.5 percent among book, hobby, music, and sporting goods stores, and 1.1 percent...
Post
U.S. JOB GROWTH. BETTER THAN EXPECTED
In June through September, the U.S. labor department under-reported the number of filled jobs in the economy by 626,000, an average of 156,500 per month and the largest under-estimate on record for any four-month stretch. After July posted 943,000 new jobs, August’s report found the economy had created only 235,000, which was seen as a...
Post
SEMICONDUCTOR STOCKS RIDING HIGH ON CHIP SHORTAGE
Share values of computer chip makers Advanced Micro Devices, Nvidia, and Qualcomm have shot up 34 percent, 48 percent, and 40 percent, respectively, since mid-October as the global chip shortage drives chip prices steadily higher. Chip makers have been among leaders in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, which has gained 3.9 percent over the...
Post
HILLARY CLINTON COMES OUT AGAINST CRYPTOS
Cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, and the disinformation industry are among the “asymmetric power centers” that could destabilize governments, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum on 19 November. “The rise of cryptocurrency…has the potential to undermine currencies, undermine the dollar as the [world’s] reserve currency, for destabilizing nations, starting...