Mass Layoffs To Return With A Vengeance

From Zero Hedge:

Remember the mass layoffs of 2008-2009? The US economy shed millions of jobs quickly and relentlessly, as companies died and the rest fought for survival. Then the Fed and the US government flooded the banks and the corporate sector with bailouts and handouts. The nightmare of 2008 soon became a golden era of 'recovery'. Well, 2016 is showing us that that era is over. And as stock prices cease to rise, and in fact fall within many industries, layoffs are beginning to make a return as companies jettison costs in attempt to reduce losses.

Since January 1st, here is a but of subset of the headlines we've seen:

• Johnson & Johnson to slash 3,000 jobs
• Wal-Mart pulls plug on smallest store format, shuts 269 stores
• GE plans to cut 6,500 jobs in Europe
• BP to slash thousands more jobs in face of oil downturn
• Macy's to cut 3,000 jobs, close 36 stores
• Sprint cutting 2,500 and closing call centers to cut costs
• Canadian Pacific Railway plans to cut 1,000 positions
• Brazil economy shed 1.5 million payroll jobs in 2015
• Pearson to cut 4,000 jobs in latest restructuring
• Barclays to slash about 1,000 investment bank jobs worldwide
• Southwestern Energy to lay off 1,100 workers amid oil slump
• Major banks are making cuts: Bank of America, Citi Group and JPMorgan Chase are trimming jobs and branches.
• Autodesk to cut 10 pct of workforce
• Caterpillar closing 5 plants, cutting 670 jobs
• VMware posts higher-than-expected revenue, announces job cuts
• AIG to cut jobs in sweeping overhaul
• Monsanto to slash 1,000 more jobs, total planned cuts at 3,600
• Instacart layoffs may be a sign of things to come
• EMC plans layoffs as it cuts annual costs by $850M

Note that nearly all of these companies are in the Energy, Finance and Tech sectors -- the three biggest engines of growth, profits and market value appreciation within the economy over the past 7 years.
What will the repercussions be if those three industries go into contraction mode at the same time?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-04/mass-layoffs-return-vengeance

The Korean version of QE continues: 돈 풀기식 단기부양 한계.. "구조개혁 액션플랜 나와야"

동아일보로부터:

세계 각국이 유동성 공급을 대폭 늘리고 금리를 추가 인하하는 등 경기 부양에 안간힘을 쏟고 있지만 3일 정부가 꺼낸 카드는 재정의 조기집행 확대가 전부였다. 전임 ‘최경환 경제팀’이 2014년 출범 초 41조 원에 이르는 재정 확장 패키지와 내수 부양을 위한 세제 지원 방안, 대출규제 완화를 포함한 부동산 정책, 기업 투자 활성화 대책 등을 쉴 새 없이 쏟아낸 것과 비교해선 무게감이 떨어진다는 평가다. 경제 체질의 근본적인 개선 없이 재정에 의존한 ‘땜질식 처방’이어서 한국 경제가 처한 현재 위기를 돌파하기엔 역부족이란 지적이 나온다.

이준협 현대경제연구원 경제동향분석실장은 “금리 인하가 소비, 투자로 이어지는 메커니즘이 제대로 작동하지 않고 있다”며 “오히려 가계부채 증가, 외국인 자금 유출 등 부작용만 키울 것”이라고 우려했다.

전문가들은 정부가 단기부양책을 내놓은 만큼 이제는 고통스럽더라도 경제 체질 개선에 속도를 내야 한다고 조언했다. 유일호 경제부총리 겸 기획재정부 장관의 취임 일성이 ‘구조개혁’이었지만 구체적인 액션플랜(실행계획)은 나오지 않고 있다. 조동근 명지대 교수(경제학)는 “돈을 주고 산 성장은 후유증이 생긴다”며 “구조개혁으로 경제 체질을 개선해야 중장기적으로도 성장세를 이어갈 수 있다”고 말했다.

http://media.daum.net/economic/others/newsview?newsid=20160204030805365

Kyle Bass Asks If China Is Fine, Why Are They So Worried About "Some Hedge Fund Manager In Texas"

From Zero Hedge:

“If some fund manager in Texas is saying that your currency is dramatically overvalued, you shouldn’t care on a $10 trillion economy with $34 trillion in your banks. I have, call it a billion - it’s so small it should be irrelevant and yet somehow it’s really relevant.”

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-04/kyle-bass-asks-if-china-fine-why-are-they-worried-about-some-hedge-fund-manager-texa

Why Microsoft Is Testing Data Centers That Live On The Ocean Floor

From fastcodesign:

Last year, a dive crew dropped a perfectly fine server rack encased in steel into the Pacific Ocean. When they brought it back up a few months later, it looked like something that had been underwater for years, covered in algae and barnacles. The electronics inside it, which you could find at any conventional data center, were cool and dry. Is this the future of data center design? A team of engineers at Microsoft, operating under the name Project Natick, think it could be.

http://www.fastcodesign.com/3056183/innovation-by-design/why-microsoft-is-testing-data-centers-that-live-on-the-ocean-floor?partner=rss

Retail Apocalypse: 2016 Brings Empty Shelves And Store Closings All Across America

From Zero Hedge:

Major retailers in the United States are shutting down hundreds of stores, and shoppers are reporting alarmingly bare shelves in many retail locations that are still open all over the country. It appears that the retail apocalypse that made so many headlines in 2015 has gone to an entirely new level as we enter 2016.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-02/retail-apocalypse-2016-brings-empty-shelves-and-store-closings-all-across-america

A look into TI Manufacturing

From Adafruit blog:



Ever wondered how a TI semiconductor chip is made or what the inside of a wafer fabrication plant looks like? Journey through the life of a semiconductor chip with this quick look inside TI’s world-class manufacturing processes.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2016/02/01/a-look-into-ti-manufacturing-manufacturingmonday/

The most colourful cities in the world

From the Guardian:



From the arts hub of Valparaiso to the ‘blue city’ of Jodhpur, we take a look at the neighbourhoods and cityscapes that have been transformed by colourful paint

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2016/jan/19/most-colourful-cities-neighbourhoods-world-in-pictures

The Bank Whistleblowers United – Who are We, and Why are We Trying to Help Implement Real Banking Reform?

From Naked Capitalism:

The stories of the four whistleblowers who came together to push for bank accountability in the next Administration.

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/02/the-bank-whistleblowers-united-who-are-we-and-why-are-we-trying-to-help-implement-real-banking-reform.html

Total U.S. Debt Surpasses $19 Trillion; Rises $8.4 Trillion Under President Obama

From Zero Hedge:

Two months ago, when we calculated that the US would need a new debt ceiling of $19.6 trillion to last until after Obama's tenure, we may have been overoptimistic: since the hard limit of $18.15 trillion which was raised at the end of October, the US appears to be growing its debt at a far faster pace than we had originally expected, and according to the latest public debt data, as of the last day of January, total US debt just hit 19,012,827,698,417.93.

 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-01/total-us-debt-surpasses-19-trillion-rises-84-trillion-under-president-obama

"Stable" China's Economic Bounce Is Over: PMIs Plunge In January

From Zero Hedge:

After an almost unprecedented surge in credit (total social financing) and over-invoicing enabled a bounce in China's PMI data in December, both Manufacturing and Services data tumbled in January, confirming South Korean trade data. While manufacturing continues its contraction (dropping to 49.4, the weakest since Aug 2012), it is non-manufacturing's plunge from a one-year high "transition is happening, see" narrative to practically the weakest print since 2008. But apart from that all that, China is "stabilizing" according to officials.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-31/stable-chinas-economic-bounce-over-pmis-plunge-january