#the price growth feeling not proportional to wages at all

[pointlessutility]

Deciphering rise of BTS through their content

Korean Culture

Koreans are deeply influenced by the Confucian philosophy, which emphasizes cultivated knowledge in comparison to creativity and a collectivistic society. Which is quite different from the Western thought.

Despite the political unrest after the Korean War that resulted in the division of the region, these two countries still share the same culture and traditional values.

The French Institut national de l'audiovisuel defines K-pop as a "fusion of synthesized music, sharp dance routines and fashionable, colorful outfits”. Songs typically consist of one or a mixture of pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, and electronic music genres.

The Confucian thought has a huge influence on Eastern political ideas; shaping the moral system, the way of life, social relations between old and young and their work ethic.

This gives us some insight about the highly systemized, regulated k-pop industry owned by three big names YG, SM JYP. That control every aspect of artist’ career to control publishing, licensing and advertising and in the end operating a star-making academy leaving the artist with no creative freedom.  These trainees are put through years of intense musical and chorographical training; they have to sacrifice all guarantees of personal freedom, sleep and comfort. These trainees are monitored for height, weight and figure; they are put through extreme diet regimes, sometimes get plastic surgery done to resemble anime like body proportions. --- to produce idol groups designed to present the very highest standards of beauty, dance, and musicality in Korean popular music.

Korean pop stars have become cultural icons in the region and globally.

Kpop and BTS:

The Korean Wave Hallyu refers to the global popularity of South Korea’s cultural economy exporting pop culture, entertainment, music, TV dramas and movies since 1990s. And since 2000, the Korean government invests great sums in the country’s pop culture to appeal to an international audience. The South Korean government has dedicated a department solely to K-pop to promote the music in Korea and beyond.

It was within this environment that in 2010, a man named Bang Si-hyuk began to quietly build a different kind of studio, and to cultivate the band that would become BTS. His belief is to give the members creative freedom to work on solo tapes, producing and writing. BTS was first launched in 2013.

Where other modern day boy/girl bands have stuck to singing about love and heartache, from the beginning he has encouraged BTS to tell personal stories, and made it imperative to speak about things the group is feeling individually, in a whole that is the reason for the socially critical and introspective lyrics. Honest musical expression of one’s creative anxieties — would become a crucial element of BTS. 

BTS is inspired by a hip-hop trio called Seo Taiji & Boys in 1990s who challenged norms around musical styles, song topics, fashion, and censorship, which was unprecedented for a culture whose musical production had spent the past few decades subjected to strict government oversight. They are considered pioneers of rebel music against the system in K-pop.

Seo Taiji, who’s been called the ‘Culture President, recently proclaimed Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS) to be the true heirs of the original Korean pop ethos he gave birth to decades previously. While collaborating with BTS on his 25th anniversary on his song “ Classroom Idea”, which criticizes the oppressive education system of Korea. This song was written by Seo Taiji in 1994 when all teenagers were forced to stay in school from 7 am to 9 pm. For people without a college degree it would be hard to get jobs, they’d be treated as underdogs, paid no respect, and kept invisible in the society. (Video will be played and explain from it)

Education is considered crucial because of the Confucian tradition of respecting, learning and the particular national desire for greater achievements.

From BTS’ 2013 album O!RUL8,2? song N.O. also talks about students being overwhelmed by the expectations placed on them by elders, and the effect it has on their mental wellbeing. (in relation with the education system, BTS also has a song for it)

Then their 2015 album The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2; entails one of their most political song “Silver Spoon” or “Baepsae” it’s a bird in Korea translated as “Crow Tit” which is a small bird, considered as a weak one compared to a stork, crow tit has short legs and a stork has very long legs. The idiom goes “ a crow tit following a a stork will tear its legs”. Meaning when you try to do something out of your reach or capabilities you are likely to fail. Here storks are referring to people in power; big companies, conglomerates and the older generations. The crow tit being the younger generation. (they flap their hands like birds in their choreography).

They also use the metaphor of a teacher to refer to the older generation who are born with a golden spoon. So during the age of the storks or baby boomers (Baby boomer is a term used to describe a person who was born between 1946 and 1964) in South Korea they were experiencing huge economic growth and was extremely easy to get jobs, housing etc. But the economy of South Korea is now maturing and the side effects of ultra-fast economic growth have boomeranged to haunt the current generation. Millenials are facing high pricing of houses as well as high disparity between the rich and the poor and also all-time high youth unemployment.

Lyric, ‘Passion pay’ is a common practice in Korean society where companies pay young workers below minimum wage or nothing at all in return for experience. (lyrics will be shown in slide)

Speaks much about our society’s treatment to interns who go into the field to work. And the ‘given up generation’ saying that millennials are the generation who have given up on what may be considered as basic human rights and wants because of extreme high youth unemployment rates. 

Sam-po-sadae (show the lyrics here) (read from ppt and explain these things gen Z has given up on). Millennial's giving up of romantic relationships, marriage, children, proper employment, homes, and social life in the face of economic difficulties and societal ills while facing condemnation from the media and older generations.

Then they go on to say that they want to change the system. Like this is not a normal situation. Society is sick but it also says we are not at the top yet and we have to push further. (video played and then this is explained).

Then BTS addresses how the older generation blames the millenials for their struggles saying that it is due to the lack of effort. Baby boomers seem to neglect the fact how society is completely different now compared to when they were growing up, also their economic situation is different. Saying that a lot of the problems millenials face today were infact caused by the baby boomers. But they seem to ignore this fact and tell the crow tits to work harder, try harder, put more effort.

Moving on to to their newer album “Wings”, song Blood Sweat tears, which is rich in literary and art references. Wings album is based on “Demian” a 1919 Herman Hesse novel that explore the psyche of the narrator as he grows up and loses his innocence and is on a journey to find himself. The ideologies presented in Demian are heavily influenced by the German philosopher Nietzsche. Nietzsche often wrote about the creation of the self. And more of his ideas in grounds of self-realization is central to Demian. (video playing in bg) There are motifs of mentorship shown in the video when each younger member is paired with an elder one. Jin the oldest member seen standing alone admiring the painting of the fall of rebel angels, the battle between good and evil. While gazing at this painting, Bminor plays in the background. Jin stands between two door, black and white, one good one evil. In Demian, Sinclair finds some freedom when Demian introduces him that the world cannot be categorized in binary such as good and evil. But rather there is good in all evil and evil in all good.

This concept is represented by the God called Abraxas, the god is nor good or evil but rather the affirmation of the existence of both. Saying that Sinclair will never find himself if he only acknowledges the realm of light he must seek knowledge and learn of both realms.

On the surface level one would say the song is about the dangers of temptation but through the imageries a lot of symbolism is shown, allusions from multiple sources of literature each symbol works harmoniously to create a larger system of meaning.

And their latest album Map of the Soul: Persona, based on archetypes of Carl Jung; is where they identify their stage persona as one part of their whole identities.

So as we see every succeeding album of BTS, one would witness the gradual growth of its members. With group and solo songs of each artist addressing issues like depression, anxiety, social and political injustice. Every member’s own identity plays a crucial role in building themes and concepts for their albums. And how they face these experiences that life brings them is translated in their albums.

Bringing us to the question, what is the machinery behind this idol group?

This boy band is still under a company which has its own producers. Bang-si-Hyuk (the founder), Pdogg (in house producer), Slow Rabbit (producer), Adora,Supreme Boi are the main producers. Main choreographer is Son Sung-deuk and J-Hope (member) takes part in choreography too (as he was a stret dancer earlier). Some members of the group have been credited as producers, RM, Suga, J-Hope and Jungkook.

The Korea Music Copyright Association attributes over 130 songs to RM as songwriter, composer, also including writing for member Jimin's solo song "Promise". The Korea Music Copyright Association attributes over 85 songs to Suga as a songwriter and composer. Suga won the 2017 MAMA (Mnet Asian Music Awards) best producer award for the song Wine. J-Hope produced his mixtape ‘Hope World’. Jungkook produced Magic Shop.

The group’s high-quality visual productions, largely produced by South Korean creative agency Lumpens, are frequently related to the themes of the band’s music. The agency has produced the visuals for some of their hits like Idol, DNA, Serendipity, I NEED U, Fake Love (Forbes article)

Pdogg production in "Love Yourself: Tear" with BTS hit the Billboard 200 albums chart and was nominated for Grammy Awards.

In an interview he was asked, to drop a hint about the sort of music BTS will come up in the future.

He replied, because a new series has started with ‘Love Yourself 承 Her’, we are planning to continue that. After that, [the decisions] will change based on BTS’ situation and the members’ sentiments at that point. The members put a lot of effort to make sure their characteristics can be shown through their music’.

The concept and themes the group work on for their albums come from them. Though the production may not be solely done by them. The ideas originated from the members are worked upon by the members alongside the company.  The ultimate example of the members’ creative independence from their company is their personally composed, freely released mixtapes. They reflect each member’s individual personalities and creative orientations.

Bang-si-Hyuk gave BTS autonomy to run their own Twitter and vlog from their studio, and for the rappers to write alongside Big Hit’s in-house production team.

Since 2000, the Korean government invests great sums in the country’s pop culture to appeal to an international audience. The South Korean government has dedicated a department solely to K-pop to promote the music in Korea and beyond. These cultural exports have benefited the economy and country. BTS have become the youngest ever recipients of the Hwagwan (Korea’s) Orders of Cultural Merit for their services to the promotion of Korean pop culture and Hangul, the Korean alphabet.

How is bts so popular?

“We came together with a common dream to write, dance and produce music that reflects our musical backgrounds as well as our life values of acceptance, vulnerability and being successful,” said BTS’s leader, RM, in a 2017 interview with Time. Their latest record, Map of the Soul: Persona, made them the second group in history to have three No. 1 albums in a single year—the first was the Beatles.

There are six main ways BTS breaks with established precedent for K-pop boy bands to carry out this mission:

·        They frequently write their own songs and lyrics.

·        Their lyrics are socially conscious and especially attuned to describing the pressures of modern teen life in South Korea.

·        They create and manage most of their own social media presence.

·        They aren’t signed to “slave contracts,” nor do their contracts have the grueling restrictions of other idol groups.

·        They tend to focus on marketing entire albums rather than individual singles.

·        They talk openly about the struggles and anxieties of their career instead of presenting an extremely polished image at all times. (To be said- Rap Monster also differentiated the group by taking an open stand in favor of LGBT rights, a topic which is still highly incendiary in South Korea. Idols typically don’t take sides in such topics.)

A lot of these elements have been present in other k-pop groups- most notably Big Bang, which influenced BTS more than any other k-pop band. But Big Hit Entertainment systemized these elements in BTS and marketed it hard.

BTS has broken several charts records during each come-back in 2016 and 2017, not only locally but also internationally. Unlike other K-pop fandoms, BTS fans, span every age, gender and ethnic group -- BTS is not a teenage phenomenon, it is an intellectual phenomenon. Language barrier is no hinderance to spreading their message by their active fanbase who translate lyrics, make video compilations and create fan fiction about the band. Their messages penetrate through language, age, ethinicity and gender (need to add videos of older people attending their concert).

Even before their debut in 2013, they already had contents such as covers and dance practices, published through several medias (Youtube, blog, Twitter...). They have constantly tried to update fans on their activities through planned and unplanned interactions. The boy group was one of the first artists featured in the live broadcasting application launched by Naver in August 2015, V App. BTS’ social angle is always cited by the ARMY as the top reason for their ardent support.

This worldwide popularity is confirmed by their growing strength on social media (linked in article).

Besides being crowned music’s hereditary princes by Korea’s "President of Culture” Seo Taiji, some other prominent supporters of BTS include Korean music critics, philosophers, Jungian psychologists, Brazilian authors, American painters.

That BTS happen to have a small, intimate team to aid them in the production endeavour which does not make their work any less authentic, and it differs fundamentally from other K-pop companies.

K-pop, which has swelled in the past five years from a niche genre to a $5 billion global industry. “Somebody always has to be the one to walk down that path and cut through the jungle and make some noise, and I think that group [was] BTS,” says Phil Becker, vice president for content at Alpha Media, which owns 68 U.S. radio stations.

America and the UK have been the powerhouses of popular music — only three of the 30 highest selling artists of all time have come from elsewhere. It means that the dominance, in terms of both cultural influence and commercial prowess, has been held firmly within the grip of the West. In 2019, BTS came second on the worldwide list of best-selling artists across physical, digital and streaming platforms, beaten only by the all-conquering Drake. BTS have almost single-handedly pulled things back towards the East.

[billehrman]

Darkest Before Dawn

ADarkest Before Dawn

If the Delta virus weren’t enough, the global economy must deal with multiple shortages and supply line issues, penalizing production and causing higher inflation. Demand is not an issue, which is very good news, because as these problems abate, production will ramp up rapidly to meet pent-up demand and rebuild inventories that are at record lows.

Employers have to offer higher wages and increased benefits to attract employees. Job openings are at a record 10.9 million while the total unemployed is less than 8.4 million. While many are worried about labor inflation since it is approximately 65% of the cost of goods, we agree with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who said on Thursday that innovation in digital technology would help alleviate some of the inflationary pressures by making work far more productive. The market is in a tug of war between the economy slowing due to the pandemic, shortages, supply line issues, and reopening, which we expect over the next few months as the number of cases appears to be peaking here and abroad, too.

The real question for investors is how quickly shortages and supply lines issues will begin to ease. We do not see much improvement until mid-2022, which means that monetary and fiscal policies will have to remain overly stimulative during this transition period which will backstop the financial markets. Remember that liquidity creation greater than economic needs finds its way into risk assets which is what we see ahead until the market transitions to accelerating global growth as the pandemic comes under control, shortages ease and supply line issues abate.

A successful investor must be willing to look over the valley when it is darkest before the dawn, where real opportunities exist for the patient investor ready to go against the grain. We know that it is not easy, but it has worked for us over our 50+ year career. We are maintaining a barbell approach, owning companies that will thrive during this challenging period, mostly technology companies, and adding to those that will benefit as we make progress to the other side, such as industrials, capital goods, and commodity companies. All our investments are best in class, generating substantial free cash flows, and are selling well beneath their intrinsic value.

We appear to be getting our arms around the Delta variant as the number of cases over the last 14 days has declined by 2% to 148,562 in the United States and fell by 11% to 586,852 globally. Unfortunately, deaths, a lagging indicator, have increased here but have declined globally by 9%. More than 5.63 billion doses have been administered globally across 184 countries at a rate of 35.7 million doses per day. In the U.S., 378 million doses have been given so far at an average rate of a reduced 786,492 per day. It will take five months to vaccinate 75% of the global population, which should be enough for herd immunity. We expect the CDC and FDA to approve booster shots shortly, and Pfizer/Moderna/J&J will have enough doses of vaccines available to handle all here and abroad. Moderna and we believe Pfizer, too, are working on a two-in-one vaccine for covid and the flu. Don’t forget that the flu is very dangerous, killing on average 38,000 Americans per year. The bottom line is that it appears that the coronavirus is peaking, and we can look forward to better days ahead. We are also confident that new vaccines would be readily available if new variants popped up. It is essential that our government support research spending and domestic supply in our drug industry. Any moves to the contrary are against our national interests.

The Fed is on the horns of a dilemma as the economy has slowed in recent weeks, as evidenced by high-frequency data, a decline in eating out, travel, and tourism. Many sectors are also being restrained by continued supply chain disruptions and labor shortages. Businesses are feeling more substantial inflation and paying higher wages, too.  This was all reported in the recent Beige Book. While the Fed appears split on the timing of when to begin tapering, it seems that the date has been pushed out to year-end or the beginning of next year. All of this depends on the speed of opening, returning to school, the impact of fewer unemployment benefits, and getting vaccinated. Remember that the Fed would rather be a day late than a day too early as they want a strong economy. The Fed will also wait to see what Congress ultimately does on its traditional and social infrastructure bills plus the debt limit. The bottom line is that we expect the Fed to remain overly accommodative for the foreseeable future, which will support financial assets. We still do not see a rate hike until sometime in 2023.

In September, Congress has a lot on its plate dealing with the traditional infrastructure bill, the social one, and the deficit. The Republicans clearly will be obstructionists on all counts, so that the key will be the moderate Democrats in both chambers. Biden needs a victory as his polls continue to fall. While the extremists in both parties are making the most noise, odds favor passage of the traditional infrastructure bill as written and a watered-down, much smaller social spending bill without the onerous tax hikes earlier proposed. We continue to believe that the Dems are likely to lose control of the House next year, creating gridlock in DC for the rest of Biden’s term in office.

While not much economic data was not reported last week, the U.S economy has slowed rather significantly over the past few weeks. While covid appears to be peaking, the real issues facing the economy moving forward are shortages and supply line problems. There is nothing that monetary and fiscal policy can do to alter these problems short term. It just takes time but rest assured that everyone is moving forward to rectify these problems.

Hurricane Ida has not helped the situation, as many plants are still shut down and won’t reopen until power is fully restored for them and their suppliers. Damage exceeds $95 billion. While all this will penalize growth in the third and fourth quarters, it is only deferred growth-boosting demand for 2022. We have raised our economic forecasts for 2022 as production accelerates to fill pent-up demand and restore inventory levels to normalized levels. Liquidity numbers remain off the charts. In addition, we expect the infrastructure bill to begin to kick in late in 2022, moving into 2023. This will be a long cycle as the U.S has underbuilt for the last ten years creating unique investment opportunities in EV, going green, 5G, digital technology, and capital goods. Industrial commodity prices will increase next year as demand increases without the proportional increase in supply.

Growth overseas has been a mixed bag starting to improve in the Eurozone and India but not yet in China. The ECB, at its meeting this past week, revised up its 2021 economic forecast to 5.0% from 4.5%, raising its inflation forecast to 1.5%, which appears low. The ECB did not alter its policy, although it alluded to reducing its bond purchases to a “moderately lower pace.” It stressed, however, that its approach will remain highly accommodative. While China’s growth has slowed over the last month, its August trade surplus increased on an unexpected surge in exports, up nearly 26% from last year, to the U.S. and the Eurozone. Iron ore imports hit a record last month, arguing against reducing their domestic inventories of industrial commodities, including oil. We continue to believe that the Bank of China will make additional accommodative moves to assist its economy as it recovers from the pandemic.

Investment Conclusions

The world is beginning to get its arms around the surge in Delta coronavirus cases. While it is not there yet, there is light at the end of the tunnel, as seen by the global reduction of cases/deaths over the last 14 days. We remain confident that enough doses will be available to vaccinate all, including booster shots, over the next twelve months. The real problem that the global economy is facing is shortages and supply line issues. Unfortunately, it will take time for these problems to diminish, and there is little that monetary and fiscal policy can do to change this but provide additional support during this period. There is no demand problem whatsoever and we will come out of this with substantial pent-up demand needing to be filled with incredibly low inventory levels that need to be rebuilt.

A successful investor must be willing to stay disciplined in the darkness just before the dawn. Patience is a necessity as is controlling risk. We are confident that our portfolios, which are a blend of companies that can thrive during this environment and those that will benefit from growth and margin expansion on the other sideas supply line issues abate will outperform.

[talabib]

Make Your Money Work For You.

Getting on top of your personal finances can be tricky. For millennials, it’s a trickier proposition still, because this generation faces a unique set of economic and financial challenges.

But if your financial situation poses a problem, avoiding that problem will only make it worse. It’s time to rip off the band-aid, bank-account-wise. The sooner you learn to budget, start to save, and educate yourself about investment options, the sooner you’ll achieve financial success.

Being debt-free and financially autonomous has a positive knock-on effect that you’ll notice in every aspect of your life. Taking control of your finances means being able to pursue your passions, hone your confidence, and broaden your career options – it might just be the ultimate form of millennial self-care.

Millennials need to adapt to a changed economic landscape.

Millennials are a generation often stereotyped: They’re addicted to Instagram! They love queuing for cronuts! Such stereotypes, though, are far too narrow to accurately apply to all millennials. After all, this generation of people, born between the late 1970s and the mid 1990s, is the largest and most diverse generation in history. Unfortunately, there is one thing most millennials do have in common, especially in the US. They face unique challenges on the road to achieving financial success.

Previous generations since the 1950s have enjoyed relative economic stability throughout most of their working lives. As a result, they trod a fairly uncomplicated path to financial success. Let’s call this path the success sequence. It starts with acquiring a steady, life-long job, followed by purchasing property, acquiring assets, and finally, retiring with a healthy nest egg.

In the wake of the 2008 global recession, however, the economic landscape changed. The job market became volatile right at the moment many millennials were trying to enter the workforce. A steady job, the first step in the conventional success sequence, became hard to find.

Post-recession, many millennials are still scraping by: The cost of living continues to rise, whilst at the same time, wage growth is sluggish with salaries unable to keep pace with inflation. Housing prices are through the roof, which means millennials struggle to get onto the property ladder. And, finally, when it comes to securing a decent retirement, 72 percent of millennials have less than $10,000 saved for this purpose.  

It’s clear that millennials face obstacles to achieving financial security. Worryingly still, many millennials currently lack the knowledge and confidence necessary to overcome these obstacles. A 2014 study by The George Washington School of Business surveyed over 5,500 millennial Americans between the ages of twenty-three and thirty-five. It found that 76 percent were financially illiterate, meaning they were unfamiliar with even the basic concepts of personal finance. 

No wonder then that, according to a 2015 Gallup study, 70 percent of millennials report feeling financially stressed! The conventional success sequence that worked for previous generations is no longer applicable. This doesn’t mean, though, that millennials can’t achieve financial success on their own terms. 

You’re not bad with your finances – you just lack confidence.

Forget stocks, bonds, and equity. Your greatest financial commodity is your confidence.

Financial confidence is the secret ingredient that empowers you to take control of your money and start making smart financial decisions. It’s not tied to how much you earn, either. You could be earning a lot of money but lack the financial confidence to convert your salary into monetary freedom. Conversely, you could be making a moderate wage except, with financial confidence, are able to convert your income into real, lasting wealth. 

If you’re scared to look at your bank balance or you’ve put saving for retirement into the ‘impossible’ column, you’re probably lacking financial confidence. That’s understandable! Our financial systems are designed to confuse consumers and undermine their confidence. 

Banks want you to pay higher fees. Lenders want you to lock into disadvantageous loans. Credit card providers want you to rack up debt. At the same time, media and advertising bombard us with messages to buy items like designer handbags or the latest smartphone, which distract us even further from the goal of financial security. It explains why so many of us slide into debt or make ill-advised impulse purchases. But here’s the good news. A patchy financial track record doesn’t mean you’re innately bad with money. It means you lack the skills and knowledge to handle your money with confidence.

One key factor inhibiting your financial confidence may be that you can't accurately envision financial success. Many of us have an inaccurate idea of what financial success actually entails. We picture wealth in terms of things: houses, cars, designer clothing, expensive meals and holidays. But this picture of financial success can seem totally unattainable. Worse, it can lead us to make poor purchasing decisions in a misguided attempt to live the ‘rich life.’ 

If you want to achieve true financial success, you shouldn’t work toward simply acquiring material things. Instead, you need to work toward financial autonomy. When you’re financially autonomous, you’re debt-free and not living paycheck-to-paycheck. 

After you achieve financial autonomy, work towards financial freedom. This means having enough of a cushion that your finances don’t dictate what your life looks like. Imagine having the financial flexibility of taking time off work to travel, or to pursue a passion project! 

If you’re ready to start working towards total financial freedom, the next step is tough but necessary: you need to become debt-free.

The main obstacle to financial freedom is debt.

Being in debt can be an isolating experience. Your peers are out there flaunting new purchases on Instagram, while you’re up at 3am wondering if you’ll ever be able to pay off your credit card bills. Rest assured, if you’re in debt, you’re not alone.

Take credit card debt, for example. In 2017, according to the Federal Reserve, US consumers put $1.021 trillion worth of purchases on credit. Additionally, roughly half of millennials report having debt spread across more than three credit cards. 

The problem with credit cards is that they make it incredibly easy to live beyond your means and, unless you pay off the balance each month, this debt can snowball. That’s because every month, your bank charges you interest on purchases that aren’t paid off. Ever heard of TCP? It stands for Total Cost Price. Paying for items on credit often means their TCP works out higher than the number on their price tag. If,for example, you put a $2000 laptop on credit and didn’t pay it off for three months, factoring in the interest, the TCP on that purchase is now somewhere around $2260.

Worst of all, when you’re in debt, any money you have to spare goes into paying off that debt. When you’re debt-free, however, you can put that spare income into assets or investments, which can generate wealth. 

Financial freedom and debt are simply incompatible. Whether you’re paying off your credit cards or your student loans, going debt-free should be your first financial priority. Here’s a simple way to tackle the problem.

To start, list all your debts in ascending order. It’s tempting to tackle big debts first, but strategically, it’s better to pay off the smallest ones. Researchers at Northwestern University have found that paying off smaller debts creates a sense of momentum. People who followed this approach were, in general, more likely to pay off the rest of their other debts.

You can meet your repayment targets by creating a rudimentary flash budget.This is a budget designed around one goal only – in this case, becoming debt-free. Establish your income and your expenses, and then subtract your expenses from your income. Whatever’s left over goes straight to that debt. Cutting your expenses or upping your income will accelerate your ability to pay off your debt for good.  But best of all, living within a budget doesn’t mean living without indulgences.

Sticking to a budget doesn’t mean giving up life’s pleasures.

Millennials, or so the stereotype goes, would rather spend their hard-earned cash on avocado toast than into savings. If they budget right, though, millennials can have their avocado toast and save, too.

It’s all too easy to equate budgeting with cutting out purchases that, while inessential, bring passion and meaning to our lives. But, guess what? The secret to budgeting doesn’t lie in living ascetically, it’s in prioritizing purchases that bring you pleasure. 

There’s a widely-used formula in Silicon Valley known as the 80/20 rule. The idea behind it goes that eighty percent of effects can be traced back to only twenty percent of causes. The best strategy, therefore, is to identify and concentrate on the small proportion of your actions that are yielding the largest proportion of results. 

The 80/20 rule applies neatly to personal budgeting. Take account of your fixed expenses, like rent, debt repayments, and monthly bills. What you’re then left with are your variable expenses, or non-essential purchases. From there, identify which core groups of variable expenses bring you the most pleasure. 

You can approach this task by going ‘old-school’ and printing off your account statements. Highlight all the variable expenses on the document that feed your passions and circle all the variable expenses that didn’t. You might be surprised by how many passionless purchases you make each month! These are the expenses you’re going to try and eliminate. 

Meaningless expenses differ from person to person. If you’re a serious coffee-lover, don’t even think about cutting down on your morning latte. But if you drink your daily to-go coffee without even registering the taste, this might be an expense you can do without. 

 Once you’ve eliminated meaningless purchases from your budget, you’ll have more cash to play with each month. It’s key that this extra cash goes towards paying off debt or into growing your wealth, so make sure the surplus never hits your checking account. Instead, set up an automatic payment to either your savings account or to your credit card account. That way, while your debt dwindles or your savings grow, you’ll still get to treat yourself to the things you love.

Buy big-ticket items strategically to get the most out of your purchases.

Sick of taking the bus to work every day? Ready to stop lining your landlord’s pockets with rent checks? If you’re on the brink of making a big-ticket purchase, like buying a car or investing in property, be smart about it.

Here’s the thing about investing in a car – it can’t be done. That’s because a car isn’t technically an investment. An investment appreciates, meaning its value grows over time. A car is an expense that depreciates, or loses value year after year. According to a survey by Carfax, the typical new car depreciates by 10 per cent the minute you drive it out of the dealership. 

So, if you’re in the market for a car, the smart money is on buying second-hand. Ideally, plan to pay for your car in cold hard cash. Many dealers are willing to negotiate on price if you can give them cash upfront.

Unlike a car, a house is an investment. But that doesn’t mean you should be falling over yourself to get on the property ladder. 

For millennials, buying a house too early might be the worst financial investment they can make. Millennials can expect to change jobs every 3.7 years and move house up to 11 times on average. If you buy a house and then suddenly need to sell up and move, you could easily lose money.

If you’re ready to take the plunge and go in for a home, all your debts should be paid off before you buy. If you have a bad credit score, your lender is likely to set you a higher interest rate. In addition to being debt-free, you should have a 20 percent deposit ready to go.

If this financial prep sounds like a hassle, consider this: in 2018, the average American home cost $362,000. But the length and terms of the average home loan can vary wildly, according to your credit rating and the size of your initial deposit. If, for instance, you take out a 30-year loan with a fixed interest rate of 4.591 percent, totalled up, that $362,000 house will actually cost you $652,110. Compare this to the same home, paid for through a 15-year loan with a fixed interest rate of 3.645 percent. Ultimately, it will cost you $448,777 – that’s over $200,000 cheaper than the same house paid for with a less favorable loan. It goes to show that investing before you’re ready can end up costing you more. 

So, remember: don’t invest early, invest optimally – that’s the secret to living the rich life. 

Three easy steps to saving will set you up for life.

Thinking about how to fund your future can be stressful. But don’t get overwhelmed – take control! Meeting three simple savings objectives will get you on the right track.

Your first savings goal should be an emergency fund, with enough in it to cover any unexpected expenses that might otherwise push you into debt. As a rule of thumb, the typical millennial should aim to have about $3,000 stashed away. Make sure this money isn’t tied up in investments. It should be easily accessible in the event of an emergency. This is, after all, what it’s there for.

Next, establish a slush fund. You should have enough money in here to cover your expenses for three to six months. If you become sick or lose your job, you’ll be grateful for this cushion. While your slush fund should be in an account that’s easy to get at, don’t let that cash just sit there. Choose an account with a high APY or Annual Percentage Yield – an interest rate paid to you annually.

The final non-negotiable savings goal? Your retirement fund. If you’re a millennial, time is on your side here. Start investing in your retirement now and you’ll reap the rewards down the line. To build a healthy nest egg, though, your money needs to be earning interest. The best way to do this is to deposit it in a high-interest, dedicated retirement account.

If you’re an American millennial in an entry-level job, opening up a Roth IRA, or a Roth Individual Retirement account, is one of the smartest financial decisions you can make. As of 2018, you can deposit $5,500 in your fund annually. Best of all, the capital you invest and the interest your capital accumulates aren’t considered as part of your taxable income. That means you’re saving for your retirement and saving on tax at the same time.

It’s always a good idea to diversify your savings and investments, by splitting your savings into different accounts or funds. With that in mind, consider splitting your retirement savings between an IRA and a 401K, another tax-advantaged, dedicated retirement account. Some workplaces offer contribution matching, where every dollar you invest in your 401k is matched by your employer. Failing to take advantage of this scheme is like saying goodbye to free money!

If you’re living and working outside the United States, look for dedicated retirement accounts that offer similar tax advantages, and check to see if your employer offers matched contributions on retirement funds.

With an emergency fund, a slush fund, and a retirement fund established, your financial outlook gets a lot brighter, and you can start looking to the future with anticipation, rather than dread.

Investing might be more accessible than you think.

You work hard for your money, but does your money work hard for you? When you invest, you put your money to work. As a result, you can quickly grow your capital. 

But how does investing work, exactly? Here’s the basic principle. Money has utility, or buying power. When it’s sitting in your account, untouched, you’re not accessing that potential utility. Lending your money to a third party, like a bank or a fund, allows them to use your money to turn a profit. In exchange, that third party offers you a rate of return, or a percentage of any profit they’ve made with your initial investment. There’s a catch, though. If that third party doesn’t make a profit, you won’t see a rate of return. You might even end up losing your initial investment. Nevertheless, investing wisely is the surest way to grow your finances.

When it comes to what you invest in, you have a number of options. Here are some of the most common:

Many people choose to invest by buying equity, meaning they purchase a stake of ownership in a company. This equity is issued in the form of stock, which is a small fraction of a company. When you own a fraction of a company, you receive a fraction of any profits the company makes. As an individual investor you can buy stocks through public stock exchanges, like the NYSE, NASDAQ, or LSE.

As an alternative to investing in stock, you can invest in bonds. Here, you’re still dealing with a company, but rather than purchasing a stake in it, you’re lending the company money. A bond functions like an IOU. For example, if the company needs to raise capital to make a large acquisition, it releases a number of bonds. After an agreed amount of time has passed, the company returns your money with interest.

If investing in stocks and bonds yourself doesn’t sound appealing, try investing in a mutual fund. Mutual funds are collectively financed by investors who decide to buy into them. Their pooled contributions are then invested by a fund manager. Having a professional manage your investments eliminates the need for guesswork and is a great option for those who don’t feel confident playing the stock market themselves.

Streamline savings and invest efficiently by embracing technology.

Now that you’ve given your finances a makeover by paying off your debt, streamlining your savings, and started investing, it’s time for the finishing touch: setting your accounts and investments to autopilot.

To begin, find your financial flow. Every month, as your salary comes into your checking account, it’s up to you to divert that stream of money so that it flows to meet your financial goals. Establish how much of your monthly income you want to put towards paying off debt, bulking up savings, and growing investments. If you’re tackling a student loan, set aside 15 percent of your monthly income for making loan repayments. To do that, set up an automated payment for that amount which will go from your checking account to your student loan account every month. Do the same for savings and investments. With your financial flow established, you don’t have to think about how to allocate your finances each month. 

Another useful tip is to try and consolidate your accounts as far as possible. Open your checking account, your emergency fund account, and any other savings accounts through the same bank and try to use the same brokerage firm for your retirement accounts and investments. That way you’ll save on transfer and withdrawal fees.

Tech-savvy millennials are also uniquely placed to capitalize on automated investment services. In the past, investors have managed their portfolios by turning to financial advisors. But a qualified advisor can be expensive to hire and many won’t take on clients whose portfolios fall below a certain value. As a result, entry-level investors have been shut out from accessing this level of support. 

Some players in the financial services sector, however, have started to embrace automation. This means that formerly intricate and labor-intensive processes can now be performed with ease by automated robo-advisors. The new breed of online investment services can offer high-level services such as rebalancing, whereby an investment portfolio is continually reshuffled so it never takes on too much risk. Previously, these kinds of services were only offered by financial advisors to clients who could make a hefty initial investment. Betterment, Wealthfront, and Personal Capital are all web-based investment services that offer robo-advising for personal investors.

As an added bonus, these online services are far less costly. Conventionally, financial advisors charge a fee that comes to between one and two per cent of AUM or Assets Under Management. That means, if you hire an advisor to manage an investment of $100,000, you’re on the hook for $1,000 to $2,000 in annual fees. By contrast, automated investment services charge an average of 0.5 percent.

So, consider downloading a portfolio management app, where you can check your investments between scrolling Instagram stories. Now you’re making money, millennial-style!

Many millennials feel overwhelmed by the economic challenges they face, and are often ill-equipped to get their finances together. But this doesn’t need to be the case! Simple steps like learning to budget with passion, structuring your savings account, and taking the plunge and investing in homes, stocks or bonds, can set the typical millennial on the road to financial success. If millennials can cultivate the confidence to establish sound financial habits, they’ll soon start to reap the rewards.

 Action plan: Get (financially) naked.

Thinking of getting married? Then, you and your partner need to bare all, financially speaking. Financial stress is cited as one of the leading factors in divorces. That’s why your “happily ever after” begins with laying numbers on the table. Sit down with your partner and compare your respective debts, savings, and credit scores. Awkward as it may seem, having a frank conversation about your financial status, spending habits, and savings goals will set you up for a healthy financial partnership with your future spouse.

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20 Innovative Tactics to Sustain in Food & Beverage Industry – COVID-19

To sustain in food & beverage industry or any other industry isn’t less than a challenge in the prevailing pandemic situation. The world in totality is battling to endure. Food & beverage industry is one of those rarest Industries that have shown some hopes for growth & affluence. It incorporates fast food cafes, catering businesses, quick-service restaurants, pubs, hotels, cloud kitchens, full-service restaurants, food transportation services, etc. Some of them kept operating well in the course of the lockdown also.

However, some are facing problems in formulating tactics to sustain in the food & beverage industry. It’s high time to be vocal about it and show persistence to these unfavorable and unforeseen contingencies in association with DNY Hospitality,  To sustain in food & beverage industry

Challenges to sustain in Food & Beverage Industry

The major challenges to sustain in food & beverage industry to endure and find out the ways to make your restaurant sustainable are due to multi-faceted rationales. Comprehending the impediments to sustain in food & beverage Industry is the most prolific tactic because knowing the target to hit it accurately is indispensable. Here are the challenges making us ask: ‘How restaurants can survive right now?’

1. COVID 19 Phase for Restaurants

The major challenges in Food & Beverage Industry that you are confronting to increase your restaurant sales and to sustain in food & beverage industry are owing to Novel Coronavirus 2019. The lockdown and social distancing have resulted in no gatherings of the masses. It has severely affected all the industries of the world in terms of execution of operations and generation of revenue.

2. Low Salaries of Restaurant Staff

COVID-19 has created very dissatisfactory consequences on all the industries and some of the industries are painfully hit by it. Everybody has understood the importance of savings together with The Corporate. They are in the agony of losses and can’t pay full remuneration to their employees. Individuals also have a propensity to reflect an identical manner to save money for the near future. Therefore, the disposable income that people splurge on weekend sprees and online food ordering from restaurants and hotels isn’t adequate in the present state of affairs. This is one of the major stumbling blocks to sustain in food & beverage industry.

3. Layoffs in Restaurant Industry

Many people have lost their jobs, especially those who were in small-scale companies or outlets because they could not put up with the financial fatalities through the lockdown. Many small outlets have got vacant once again in view of less or no footfalls of clientele. They are under pressure to get new jobs with compromised salary packages making it intricate to sustain in food & beverage industry. It is difficult to order food online to take delight, as anyone would prefer to save money under such dark times.

4. Restricted Movement

The world was on lockdown for almost 2 to 3 months with mere essentials in the process of transport. The restricted movement due to the pandemic outbreak has also made it arduous to sustain in food & beverage industry. Restaurants commenced delivering food online subsequent to a long time of unlocking in an assortment of countries. Food & beverage industry got the liberty to operate quite later with manifold restrictions. The restricted movement has affected the arrangement of ingredients to serve fresh food also. This has compelled the restaurants unable to serve their expert food items with demanded taste on account of the dearth of some ingredients.

20 Tactics to Sustain in the Food & Beverage Industry

Problems are an element of life and this time the world is together to conquer the current situation. Besides, no problem takes birth without a solution. There are numerous ways and tactics to sustain in food & beverage industry. ‘How restaurants survive right now?’ is a burning question of the year and almost certainly the impact of the current year’s circumstances may last long for the whole decade.

As a ray of hope, it’s important to remember that the food & beverage industry is worth multi-billion dollars with escalating scope. Here are all the tactics for you to increase your restaurant sales and triumph over the challenges in food & beverage industry.

1. Serve What’s in Demand

The very first tactic to sustain in food & beverage industry is to optimize your menu and cater to what’s in demand in present age. Strive to launch novel food items and adhere to all the guidelines laid by the government to serve food innocuously to increase your restaurant sales. Try some inventive methods of amalgamating cuisines for by means of spices of different cuisines or preparing High-Tea. Try to bond with your customers by social media marketing and ask for their demands to serve them better to sustain in food & beverage industry

2. Carbon-Free Dining

Carbon-free dining is an ultramodern and happening term in the food & beverage industry. Restaurants are progressively taking the certification for Carbon-free dining to sustain in food & beverage industry. This has an undeviating impact on branding and generation of reverence in the minds of people and besides your diners. It is an initiative in favor of the environment by the Green Earth appeal according to which the diners and the restaurants must plant fruit trees as an attempt to save the environment.

It has proven itself to be one of the most successful ways to make your restaurant sustainable. It is perfect to call this certification program a ‘hotcake’ because it volunteers to your potential to sustain in food & beverage industry in a straight line.

3. Develop Rapport; Then Upsell

Upselling means convincing a customer to buy more that he might not have intended or are more expensive. Upselling at restaurants to increase your restaurant sales is not very uncomplicated. There-fore it’s imperative to develop a rapport with the visitors first to sustain in food & beverage industry. Building rapport entails emotional attachment which results in mounting customer lifetime value (CLV) and conviction in the restaurant staff. Sooner or later, the staff members upsell to the diners with a smiling demeanor and soft-spoken approach.

4. Reduce Costs

A restaurant has miscellaneous costs. For instance, operational costs, rent, salaries, raw material costs, maintenance charges, packaging costs, point of sale system costs, kitchen equipment costs, etc. Decrease some of them like operational costs, maintenance charges and electricity bills due to everyday visitors, salaries & wages to sustain in food & beverage industry. Cost reduction is directly proportional to revenue and profits giving you a cushion to prevail in this pandemic period.

5. Convert to

Cloud Kitchen

Cloud kitchen is a remote or ghost kitchen that serves food to the individuals without offering dine-in space. This is not less than a blessing at this point in time to sustain in food & beverage industry. It automatically reduces various costs like rent, operational costs, electricity charges, salaries and many others. You may be innovative in re-launching your restaurant as a multi-brand cloud kitchen by redesigning the menu. In addition, co-working cloud kitchens are outperforming because it reduces the costs to half or one-third depending on the number of rental partners. Your concerns related to your restaurants’ assets are valid. No worries about them to. You may sell them for their best prices from the restaurant store.

6. Lower the Prices

Lowering prices is one of the most competitive and oldest keys to success in every industry. It has always and it will always grant desired results to sustain in food & beverage industry. Low salaries, layoffs, restricted movement and many other challenges make grounds for cutback the prices. Some of you might think that it reduces the proceeds but it’s vital to transform the outlook and comprehend that the tactic is helping to survive because if you won’t you may not acquire any revenue.

7. Avail Discounts and Offers – Restaurant Marketing

Discounts and offers are an unbreakable part of food & beverage industry on occasions. Offers also serve as a successful tool for market penetration and beating the competition. This is the perfect instance to avail them to sustain in food & beverage industry. It is one of the best ways to persuade people to order food or visit your restaurant. Such a tactic will also lay the foundation for creating an impression on the clientele that they would get valuable offers and become contented during happy occasions.

You will also gain the edge of branding to make the masses in high spirits not only during happy occasions but also during tough times. Don’t forget to market the discounts & offers to let your target market know about them. It is better if you plan it first and then launch it under some creative names. For instance, you may call discounts on Christmas to be Christmas specials with captivating creative designs. It would have a spectacular impact on your attempt to sustain in food & beverage industry.

8. Introduce Happy Hours in your Restaurant

The term ‘Happy Hours’ is common with liquor on hard drinks. It is an excellent idea if you launch Happy Hours in restaurants for your highly-demanded products. For instance, McDonald’s may launch ‘Happy Hours’ for ice creams, shakes, burgers, etc; depending on the demand. It is a great example of an innovation to sustain in food & beverage industry. Your restaurant will gain an instant recognition with the tactic.

9. Pioneer Buffet Using Cart Service

Pioneering and innovation go hand in hand. Buffet service and cart service are poles apart. How about it making a combination of them and creating a tactic to make your guest feel special! When you get people for buffet, allow them to serve themselves initially and then introduce cart service as the part of the buffet all of a sudden as a gesture of care to them. It would give better results if you do not market it officially but if your customers would broadcast it with mouth publicity.

It is equivalent to showering respect to your guests at home. It will be unbelievably helpful to sustain in food & beverage industry. When your staff will begin walking between the tables with the cart asking your guests about their needs it would it give your guests surprise, comfort and peace of mind while consuming their meals, nothing in the world can be more gratifying than this!

10. Get Online to Sustain in Food & Beverage Industry

The food & beverage industry counts on taste and quality. Millions of restaurants haven’t registered their presence online and are still victorious in building an incredible brand image. Some restaurants also serve only one dish and they specialize in it to the extent that people visit them from far-flung areas passionately and they have been serving the industry for generations. However, in the existing situation-demands get online and let your customers discern that you are all set to endow them with your scrumptious eatables at their doorsteps. It is also essential to be updated with changing times.

11. Revise your Restaurant Menu

Your menu engineering skills must be outstanding for sure. However, it is necessary to amend your menu if you are dealing with issues to increase your restaurant sales. To sustain in food & beverage industry look at your menu with a modified outlook and make crucial changes in the presentation like innovative names or offering combo meals; if you are not ready for changing food items. Although, we have already discussed serving what’s on-demand on priority in the article above.

12. Extend Restaurant Services & Open seating

To lucratively sustain in food & beverage industry you must elaborate your restaurant services. You may opt for a quick-service restaurant (QSR) or full-service restaurant (FSR) alongside a cloud kitchen at the same premises. Numerous big hotels also have special dine-in areas and a cafeteria for serving snacks as an example of the tactic of elaborating restaurant services. Similarly, they encompass a retail outlet serving bakery items under their brand logo.

This would augment your points of sale to boost revenue and you can better sustain in food & beverage industry. Adopting open seating will encourage the safety against the spread of virus in AC rooms and closed dine-in.

13. Offer Complementary Food Items

Giving discounts, offers and complementary items in any industry is a trend to handle financial concerns and to revive growth. You may offer some complementary food items along with main offerings like cupcakes with tea or coffee or garlic bread with pizzas as a complementary food item and not in a combo. It may have a slight effect on revenue generation negatively but to sustain in food & beverage industry in the long run, it will be beneficial for sure. Your regular diners would bear in mind about your complementary offers when we all will have overcome this recession-oriented situation.

14. Begin a Customer Loyalty Program

You must have come across ‘customer loyalty programs’ in supermarkets. We present these loyalty programs as an innovative tactic in restaurants also. You may do it by furnishing some exceptional benefits to the customary visitors. For instance, they would get a heavy discount on their 3 or 4 visits in a month. It would persuade your customers to visit again and again. It is also a long-term investment with short results to sustain in food & beverage industry.

15. Organize Events to Sustain in Food & Beverage Industry

You must welcome event organizers at your quick-service or full-service restaurants. There are different kinds of events these days except for the conventional stage performances. You may host a small event without much crowd by a YouTuber which he would post on his channel. Ask him to post it with the hashtag before your restaurant’s name. Hashtag marketing is one of the latest tactics to sustain in food & beverage industry and to get immediate access. We are aware of the popularity of hashtags and YouTubers these days.

You may also cater to the traditional stage performances related to dancing, singing and stand-up comedy. Stand-up comedy by fresh faces is also making people laugh and is adequate for you to sustain in food & beverage industry by creating a long-lasting ebullient impression.

16. Incentives to Employees

We have already discussed upselling previously in the article. To encourage the frontend staff to sell more to the customers, offer them incentives. Give them some proportion of the sold food items or set a target for incentives’ generation for unleashing their enthusiasm to work. Your employees will act in response in your favor because they also need to sustain in food & beverage industry.

17. Tie-ups with Other Food Brands & Franchise

Establishing tie-ups with other brands can consolidate both the brands in the times of need and you both will be able to sustain in food & beverage industry together and better. It is likely to be with diverse arrangements and understandings. For instance, catering business entities may establish tie-ups with cloud kitchens for different food items that are usually not in demand in the conventional menu of catering like sauces. You may also add cloud kitchen franchise in your existing business with cloud brands by DNY kitchens.They invest in the major ingredients that people would consume at the event, like vegetables, bread, etc. Since a catering business would not be able to hold bottles of sauces because their demand is only in events and there is a risk of their getting spoiled if not consumed before the expiry date. After the tie-up with a cloud kitchen, it would make use of the sauces during its operations. A catering business usually invests in crockery, cutlery and furniture that is safe to store. The cloud kitchen may negotiate on rates for taking the sauces’ bottles. This way both can sustain in Food & Beverage Industry.

18. Special Treatment to Guests

Guests are always important to the host according to the cultures of most of the countries. Combining the cultural significance of guests and the practical approach of treating customers giving extraordinary treatment to the visitors is mandatory to sustain in food & beverage industry. Achieving restaurant sustainability is the easiest by making your guests or customers feel special on their visits to your restaurants. Offer them discount coupons if they exceed a particular amount of order.

Avail some complementary food items unexpectedly. Keep some surprises without marketing them like shopping vouchers or welcome drinks or desserts. All these tactics will make your guests feel special and they will definitely come back soon to help you sustain in food & beverage industry.

19. Launch Combo Offers

You might have come to know about combo offers by highly renowned international brands in your country but it has in the reach of small and local brands also. If you have not yet launched combos at your restaurant for cloud kitchens, it’s time to do it to sustain in food & beverage industry. Always remember to broadcast it as much as you can with digital marketing services that we will read about in the next tactic below.

20. Start Digital Marketing for Your Restaurant

Digital marketing is in practice in every business from this year because we all have learned online ordering, online making payments and online interaction. During the lockdown, it became the major means of communication and arrangement of essentials. You may utilize this as an opportunity to sustain in food & beverage industry to approach your target market. The digital world has brought people closer to each other. Food & beverage industry is at a unique advantage because it can design creative and colorful posts with tempting pictures of food items on social media handles.

The Pandemic Outbreak has also made everyone get access to online news channels, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and others for staying updated or getting entertainment. It has given a boost to digital marketing tactics availing a million-dollar opportunity to sustain in food & beverage industry. People are very close to their phones, influence them through SMS, messages, emails, social media, food delivery applications, etc. The correct approach of SEO and content marketing with regular posting can get you to the topmost ranks by Google or other search engines. Use Google Analytics to review the ups and downs of business performance. Have a look at the major tools of digital marketing as one of the ways to make your restaurant sustainable.

Food Delivery Apps

Social Media Marketing  

Email Marketing

SMS Marketing

SEO

Content

WWW

Analytics

Conclusion

The answer to the question of ‘how restaurants can survive right now?’ is not very complicated. Persistence must be in determination to get over the challenges in food & beverage industry and not in the challenges. Keep up the hard work; take consultation from an experienced consultant like DNY Hospitality who can get you through this tough time. It is only a matter of a couple of months. If you sustain in food & beverage industry, you will be able to increase your restaurant sales astonishingly.

Not because many other restaurants have given up and there will be a boost in demand for online ordering but because of these 20 tactics for cloud kitchens and QSR both. Maintaining a little more patience will take you to new heights as soon as normalcy will retain. Good luck!

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I think this article makes a bit too much of specific circumstances just after the trough of the worst recession since 1937.  It references a mainstream economist worried about jobs, which was reasonable in 2010, but now the job market has more or less fully recovered.  

Unemployment in May was down to just 4.3%, which outside of a brief period in 1999 and 2000 was the lowest on record since the 1960s.  The number of unfilled positions has risen to record highs, nearly 6 million, higher than it was in December 2000 at the tail end of the tech boom.  Wages are rising, and incomes for married couple households with two incomes have never been higher - if you and your working spouse earned $100,000 in 2015, then you were in the poorer half your demographic’s income distribution.  

I understand that training people for new lines of work isn’t simple easy for them, but I think in a modern, developed economy that is probably unavoidable.  Note that the author argues against free trade not only between other nations, but even within the United States itself.  He’s right, but that’s not exactly a costless proposition.  Free trade does provide increased competition, but it also reduces various input costs.  It does not seem probably that economic activity would be higher with reduced trade opportunities.     

In Capitalism, the availability of jobs is controlled by the whim of monopolies and large employers. History has clearly shown these companies will readily close down factories and offices in one area to open new ones where they can get cheaper labor.

This isn’t accurate.  The vast majority of American jobs are created by small businesses, not large ones, the availability of jobs is driven by the business cycle.  

The ability for a single employer to devastate a large region gives that employer the ability to control its economic life, and even its government.

Outside of small towns, this doesn’t appear to be true.  It simply isn’t the case that a single large employer could devastate Texas or New York or even a moderately large city like Milwaukee.  I agree it can be a problem for small rural towns a long way away from major cities, but is the solution really to prohibit free trade and business between individual cities?

The value of our currency is controlled by banks that charge usurious interest rates while creating special financial packages to enrich each other.

Usury is not related to the rate of interest (which may or may not be unjust) but the type of loan.  A mutuum loan cannot licitly charge *any* interest (i.e. where the recourse for being paid back falls on the borrower alone).  A commercial loan and a non-recourse mortgage are not properly understood as usury, whereas student loans and credit cards are, because the former are backed by a specific asset (those of the business or the home) whereas the others are backed by personal pledge alone.  

Banks do control the value of currency, with the Fed setting the overall pace, but the value of currency has been relatively stable.  Inflation has been low and positive for many years now, and some positive inflation might help with wage adjustment through money illusion (i.e. with 2% inflation, you can hold wages flat for 3 years and reduce your wage bill by 6% and avoid layoffs, since workers hate nominal wage cuts, 0% inflation might lead the employer to fire some employees rather than cut wages - see chart below which shows huge proportion of wage changes at exactly 0%).  

Many people are forced to invest their retirement funds in that great gambling institution called the stock exchange.

People are not forced to do this, but rather choose to do so because returns in equities are highest.  Would distributists make investing in stocks illegal?  What investment would they choose to replace equities for retirement saving?  Moreover, buying stocks is not gambling, but rather investing, taking ownership shares in businesses and receiving a share of the future profits through dividends and capital appreciation.  Sure, stock prices go up and down (and are uncomfortably high right now), but if you invest over 40 years it’s difficult not to make a nice return as you buy in at both low and high periods.  

Considering the recent great failures of our banks and markets, is it any wonder that even the large businesses are hoarding their assets? 

This is an illusion that was admittedly a prominent concern back in 2010, the notion that big businesses were hoarding cash.  All assets must be held/hoarded by someone.  If large businesses put that capital to work, they would have to sell those assets to other entities, and those other entities would now be accused of hoarding assets.  The growth in hoarded assets largely reflects an increase in government and corporate debt, which when purchased by businesses show up as assets.  More here for a description of this phenomenon in detail.

That great boondoggle mislabeled as a “stimulus package” poured billions of borrowed dollars into the very banks that led us into our current crisis, leaving not only us, but our children and future generations of tax payers to cover the bill.

The stimulus package, ARRA, was separate from TARP, or the bank bailouts.  The bank bailouts were actually capital investments by the federal government that, combined with the other bailouts (e.g. AIG and auto manufacturers), have reduced the government’s debt by nearly $100 billion as of 2017, as the government made a profit on its investments.

ARRA may have been unwise or unnecessary, and perhaps there are other costs of TARP (e.g. there might be an increase in moral hazard, the idea that banks might behave in a more risky manner if they expect a bailout), but future taxpayers were better off from TARP.  

Imagine instead being economically independent. What if you owned your job, either independently or cooperatively, instead of a huge company? 

People can always start their own businesses, or if they work for a public corporation they can buy stock (though I wouldn’t recommend it).  Isn’t that a lot of risk to bear if your independent business fails?  Wouldn’t it not only mean the loss of income, but also most of your assets as well?  

Are we abolishing large corporations?  What about people who don’t mind working for them, and who wouldn’t want their assets tied up in a business that might fail?  

What if the goods and services you need for your daily life were produced locally by people who also owned their own jobs. 

It depends.  Diversification reduces risk.  What if the local economy crashes?  Can I move?  Is free trade prohibited, or are there exceptions if the producers of what I need are no longer operating?  One of the biggest problems of the Great Depression was that banks weren’t allowed to have branches throughout much of the country, so that it only took a few business failures to destroy a town’s banking system.  

Imagine if the government was required to provide a stable currency. 

I’m not convinced that 0% inflation is better than 1.5%-2.0%.  This article merely asserts it as if it were a good thing rather than defends the claim.  

Imagine if there were still dozens of car manufacturers across the country who worked together on innovating new technologies, instead of the “Big Three” who bought out their competition. 

Is technological progress in the auto sector too slow?  I’m actually quite amazed at the pace of progress in that sector.  For example, a 2016 BMW 340i 6 speed sedan is about the same size as the 1998 BMW 540i sedan, it is more comfortable, has better technology, better sound system, is faster, gets better fuel economy, handles better, brakes sooner, is probably more reliable, and the 340i base price of $46,795 actually costs less than the 540i which was $55,678 - not adjusted for inflation either.  It actually just costs less.  

What about economies of scale?  The R&D, for example, of dozens of small car manufacturers would have to be spread across a far lower number of cars, and what about free trade?  What if the best cars are in New Hampshire?  Can I buy them if I live in Texas, or do I have to make do with relatively mediocre Texas vehicles?  

The overall national economy would be more stable because each local economy would be stable. The failure of one company would not have the ability to devastate an entire region. The common man would be economically free because he would own the means of producing his livelihood. This is what Distributism aims to achieve.

I see a lot of assertion and not a lot of demonstration.  This is my problem with full-throated distributism.  There’s a lot that needs to be fleshed out, and often times I see claims I feel have limited support, or for that matter are simply false (like the bank bailouts being a net cost to taxpayers).  It really needs an Adam Smith or Karl Marx type character to come along and address these things.  

My preference at this time is still to improve things at the margins for capitalism (especially with respect to debt and usury, cracking down on slave labor in foreign countries, etc.)  

[directpayrollservices]

Payroll Outsourcing Services

Payroll process outsourcing is becoming a popular trend among entrepreneurs. Organizations, whether big or small want to manage their payroll functions efficiently and in order to do so they take help of professionals from external sources. Best Payroll Services Provider in UK

Third party service providers offer a comprehensive suite of services to meet the specific workforce management needs of an organization. Timely delivery of salary keeps employees happy and helps entrepreneurs to concentrate on other tasks such as the growth of various departments and so on. It relieves an organization from the hassles of in-house processing of salaries, calculation of employee benefits and reimbursements. 

Whether you own a small business or a multinational corporation, your payroll services costs should be managed and budgeted just the same as any other cost to your business. This is particularly true of a small business where these costs represent a significantly higher proportion of income than for larger businesses.

Even though you may employ very few people, the software system you use to manage your payroll does not cost you significantly less than that for a company of hundreds or even thousands of employees. Your wages bill will be less, certainly, but the payroll software and services will likely be similar priced - and therefore a higher proportion of a small business's gross profit. Outsource payroll services company

The time will come when you have a difficult decision to make: whether to continue managing your payroll yourself or to outsource it. If you believe that you are spending too much time and money managing the paying of your employees and not enough actually managing them, then it is time you did something about it - and cost might not be your only problem!

Your business can sink fast if you mess up your employees' payroll. Nobody likes getting paid late because you were busy making sure this week's shipment got off in time. Do you ever feel you just cannot spare the time to run a payroll program, but know that you must if your employees' wages are going to be banked for them today? What about deductions and insurances and all the other financial aspects involved when your employees' weekly or monthly wage bills are being calculated?

It can all get a bit much, and if yours is a small business that employs a bookkeeper or accountant just to look after your taxes then you are likely trying to do it all yourself. It might be time to stop and consider outsourcing. You could employ a permanent wages clerk, but that's a bit over the top if you are only employing a few people. On average, the cost of outsourcing payroll services is about 50% of looking after it yourself.

View More:- UK based payroll Outsourcing services

[biofunmy]

Hiring Slowed in August, but Wage Gains Accelerated

The great American jobs machine is flagging, showing signs of its age and damage from an intensifying trade war with China and a slowing global economy.

The latest evidence came Friday, when the Labor Department said the economy added 130,000 jobs in August, below what analysts had expected. That number would have been considerably lower were it not for the addition of 25,000 temporary census workers.

The report was not all bleak — wages rose at a healthy clip, and people who had not been looking for work returned to the job market — but the signs of a slowdown were unmistakable. The private sector added just 96,000 jobs, a steep deceleration from earlier in the year.

The report also revised down job gains for June and July by a total of 20,000.

“We’ve lost steam — there’s no question we are slowing,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton. “We are losing momentum.”

Worries about a potential recession have mounted in recent weeks, driven by the trade war, new evidence of weaker growth in Asia and Europe, and movements in the bond market. Another negative factor is that the stimulus from the tax cut enacted in late 2017 is fading.

President Trump imposed a new 15 percent tariff on more than $100 billion worth of Chinese imports, many of them consumer goods, at the start of this month. And the administration has said an existing 25 percent tariff on $250 billion in Chinese products will rise to 30 percent in October.

After the jobs report, Mr. Trump said on Twitter that the economy was strong and blamed “the Fake News” for contributing to “uncertainty.”

The August jobs data does not suggest that a recession is imminent. The unemployment rate, for example, was unchanged at 3.7 percent, near a 50-year low. And the labor force participation rate rose to 63.2 percent, from 63 percent, suggesting that workers who had been on the sidelines are gradually being lured back into the labor market.

The proportion of Americans between the prime working ages of 25 and 54 who were employed hit 80 percent in August, the best showing in the current expansion.

“Our labor market is in quite a strong position,” the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome H. Powell, said on Friday in Zurich. “Today’s labor market report is very much consistent with that story.”

[The Fed chair said the central bank would keep the economic expansion going.]

Average hourly earnings increased by 0.4 percent, which is more than analysts had expected and up from a gain of 0.3 percent in July. And the length of the average workweek increased after falling in July.

The first version of the August jobs report tends to be a little weaker, only to be revised up later, said Kathy Bostjancic, chief United States financial economist at Oxford Economics. In nine of the last 10 years, the job gains for August have been revised upward, a statistical quirk caused by the return of college students to school.

“The report is less anemic than it looks,” she said.

But the report, which is based on two surveys of employers and households that sometimes offer diverging pictures of the labor market, fits the pattern of an economy that’s lost a measure of vitality recently. The recovery is now 10 years old, making it the longest period of expansion since record keeping began.

Paul Ashworth, chief United States economist at Capital Economics, said the headline number in August was “flattered” by the census hiring. “But even allowing for that, there has been a clear slowdown in trend employment growth, with the three-month and six-month averages both at around 150,000 now, down from about 230,000 a year ago,” he said.

Making vs. Serving

One way to think about the economy would be to divide it into two parts: making and serving. The first covers businesses like manufacturing, mining and construction, while the other includes fields like health care, education, retailing and technology. The service economy is much larger, but goods-making sectors often point to what lies ahead. In recent months, manufacturing had paltry job gains even as service industries reported steady growth.

Mr. Trump has put goods-producing workers front and center when he describes his vision of economic growth and its beneficiaries. One wrinkle in Friday’s report is that they seem to be paying the price for his trade policies.

“The trade war is weighing on manufacturing,” said Torsten Slok, chief economist at Deutsche Bank Securities. “The tariffs are only on goods, and goods equal manufacturing.”

In August, factories added just 3,000 workers, while mining and logging lost 5,000 jobs. On the service side, education and health category experienced a gain of 32,000 and employment in professional and business services was up 37,000.

A key measure of manufacturing showed this week that the sector was contracting. Factories have been facing headwinds for months from the trade war and slowing global growth.

A parallel survey of the service sector published on Thursday presented a much healthier picture.

Why are factories so sensitive to the tariff issue and economic growth abroad? They export a larger share of their products than other businesses do, and are highly dependent on suppliers overseas. They feel the bite of tariffs right away and can’t easily alter their supply chains.

“The trade effects are flowing through the economy,” Ms. Swonk said. “The first shoe to drop has been manufacturing, and we do know they will hit the service sector next. They snowball over time.”

She added that she was worried economic growth would fall below the 2 percent rate in the third quarter, after a stronger showing in the first half of the year.

Watching the Fed

For the first time in a decade, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rates in July, by a quarter of a percentage point. Analysts expect the central bank to cut the rate by another quarter-point when policymakers meet in two weeks.

Friday’s report strengthens the case for a rate cut this month, although it wasn’t weak enough to suggest that the policymakers will go for a half-point reduction as some traders had thought.

“After September, we expect additional rate cuts in October and December as the downside risks are increasing,” Ms. Bostjancic of Oxford Economics said.

In part, she said, the rate cuts are intended to compensate for the tariffs’ anticipated drag in 2020. She estimates that tariffs will reduce economic growth by more than half a percentage point next year.

The Tariff Impact

Musgrave Pencil Company has been feeling the pressure from tariffs, but it has nevertheless been hiring. Musgrave, which is based in Shelbyville, Tenn., would like to add at least five workers to its assembly line, said Henry Hulan, the company’s chairman and a grandson of its founder.

“We’re 50 miles south of Nashville, where there’s distribution centers, auto plants and hospitals, so there’s stiff competition to find workers,” Mr. Hulan said. Entry-level jobs at Musgrave pay $10 an hour, an increase of $2 from a year and a half ago.

“We don’t have any educational requirements — no degrees or anything,” he said. “We’re just looking for someone who is hard-working. It’s hard to pay much more when you’re competing with Indonesia and China.”

One of only a handful of American pencil makers left after foreign competition drove many others out of business, Musgrave has been operating for 103 years. It has a work force of more than 90 who turn wooden slats and graphite into pencils.

In theory, Musgrave should benefit from 15 percent tariffs that went into effect on Chinese-made pencils on Sept. 1. But Musgrave has also been hurt by the Trump administration’s tariffs on components. Although China is just one source for wooden slats, the Chinese supplies now carry a tariff of 29.3 percent, up from 4.3 percent before the trade war.

“It’s too early to say if the new tariffs will help us,” Mr. Hulan said, referring to the tariff on pencils. “But the other tariffs have definitely hurt us.”

Sahred From Source link Business

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[gyrlversion]

Despite rock-bottom mortgage rates, homebuying stalled in April. It shows how the housing recovery has left many out in the cold.

The average mortgage rate in April hit its lowest mark in more than a year, but that didn’t stop home-sales from sliding. Existing home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.19 million, a 4.4% decline from April of last year, according to the National Association of Realtors.

That’s the 14th straight month of year-over-year declines.

But the grim results were confined almost entirely to one half of the market: Homes worth less than $250,000, which account for nearly half of total sales, according to the NAR.

While home sales fell 10% among houses worth less than $100,000 and 1% among houses worth between $100,000 and $250,000, pricier homes saw no such dropoff.

On the contrary, for homes worth between $250,000 and $1 million, sales increased in the neighborhood of 7%. Million-dollar home sales grew by 0.9%.

The median sale price in April hit $267,300, marking the 86th straight month of year-over-year increases.

National Association of Realtors

A housing recovery, but not for everybody

The housing market, like the economy as a whole, has been on the rebound in recent years. But the broader financial upswing has masked the uneven nature of the recovery and the fact that many consumers have been left out in the cold — which could sap the housing sector’s growth potential.

Overall homeownership started to plummet amid the mortgage crisis more than a decade ago, and as foreclosures piled up the ownership rate kept falling until 2016.

Feeling the cash crunch, many Americans moved into rentals at the expense of keeping or taking on mortgage debt.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimates the housing collapse resulted in 10.7 million fewer home-owning households 2016, than in 2004 — the peak of home ownership in the US.

Ownership has ticked back up to 64%, near the long-run average, but a Fed study released this week suggests that many have been locked out the market. The majority of renting households say they would prefer to own.

One reason why more people haven’t bought homes, according to the Fed, is stricter standards from home lenders.

This chart from UBS shows how crisis-scarred lenders have focused their lending to premium borrowers: In 2018, just 25% of mortgages were originated on credit scores below 719 (a FICO score above 670 is considered “good” by Experian).

UBS

JPMorgan Chase, one of the country’s largest mortgage lenders, has been making its business recession proof, even at the expense of market share and profits.

As Gordon Smith, the CEO of Consumer and Community Banking, said at the bank’s investor day, JPMorgan has been preoccupied with “de-risking” its mortgage business— rebalancing its portfolio and focusing on prime loans to borrowers with top-notch credit scores.

Another factor is that many people simply aren’t financial fit enough to afford a home, even if they’ve got good credit and find these low rates enticing.

In aggregate, consumers are doing great. Jobs are raining from the sky, long-stagnant wages are inching upward, and consumers are brimming with confidence.

But the broad view belies the reality of a very uneven recovery among American households, according to UBS.

“Our longstanding view has been that aggregate data masks material inequality, resulting in 2-tier consumer recovery,” UBS analysts, led by Matthew Mish and Stephen Caprio, wrote in an April report. “Those continuing to struggle — the ‘lower tier’ — have not benefited post-crisis due to a complex set of factors.”

Low wage growth and rising education and healthcare expenditures are part of the picture. The Fed pegs student loans, which have ballooned to proportions not seen in previous generations, as a key issue.

Perhaps ironically, lack of homeownership is part of the picture as well, creating vicious circle of sorts.

Rental costs have soared, UBS has previously noted, amid growing demand and lack of affordable home-buying options.

Meanwhile, the “lower tier” — with less cash flow to invest in property, stocks, or other appreciating assets — haven’t accumulated wealth to put toward homes.

So, less-affluent consumers, in part because of stiffer lending standards and more onerous financial obligations, are having a tougher time getting into homes — which would potentially help them accumulate some wealth. They’ve instead flooded onto the rental markets, driving up monthly rents and making saving for a home all the tougher.

And those that are taking the homebuying plunge appear to be stretching to make it work. UBS said a record 27% of lower-tier respondents in their survey indicated their mortgage loans were not completely accurate or factual.

“Given affordability and down payment pressures lower tier households also seem to be reaching to secure home ownership,” UBS wrote in the April report, adding that the results from their latest consumer survey “suggest lingering stress amongst lower tier households.”

Millennials, especially, are feeling the burden

Much, but not all, of this lower tier is comprised of millennials — a generation of more than 70 million now in their 20s and 30s — who have delayed buying a home later than their parents did.

But as the Federal Reserve and UBS studies lay out, this may have more to do with economic and credit-access factors than any innate preference for renting.

The Fed notes in its Survey of Consumer Expectations that more than 70% of current households that are renting would rather own, but many are pessimistic that it will ever happen.

Younger borrowers tend to have lower credit scores just by virtue of how credit is built, and no generation has been as acutely impacted by the student-loan bubble as millennials.

“Tight credit and other constraints, including the high prevalence of student debt, mean that many of these same renters see it as unlikely that they will ever be able to enter into homeownership,” the Fed wrote this week.

Many of them also graduated from school or college either just before or in the aftermath of the great recession.

Millennials face economic headwinds that previous generations haven’t, and even with low mortgage rates, homes are expensive and only getting costlier.

The post Despite rock-bottom mortgage rates, homebuying stalled in April. It shows how the housing recovery has left many out in the cold. appeared first on Gyrlversion.

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[flappytowel]

What happened to my kiwisaver?! via /r/newzealand Been seeing a lot of these posts pop up recently, with a big dip in international shares, mostly from tech stocks [Google, Amazon, Microsoft etc]. So I thought I'd take a stab at explaining what's going on and giving some food for thought.Before I get into an explanation, I'm not an authorized financial advisor and I have no background in the financial industry. This is all self taught, there may be big pieces that are missing, so I'm happy for people to correct me on anything I get wrong.My money is disappearing? What happened to itBefore getting into this, it's important to understand Kiwisaver and the investment approachWhat is Kiwisaver?Well, hopefully you know that Kiwisaver is a retirement scheme. But what you might now know is that it's not a Government scheme.The money is collected by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) [Taxman] and then passed onto the provider of your choice. What this means is the Government has absolutely no access to your money. It is yours. The Government has the ability to change criteria, such as required employer contributions, reasons to access funds, age of entitlement. But in the end, the money is yours and will always be yours.If you've not chosen a provider, a default provider will have been chosen for you by the IRD and you will be in a conservative fund (More explanation on this to come).The default providers are:ANZ New Zealand Investments LimitedASB Group Investments LimitedBooster Investment Management LimitedBNZ Investment Services LimitedFisher Funds Management LimitedKiwi Wealth LimitedMercer (NZ) LimitedWestpac New Zealand Ltd.Your provider will then contribute the money into an investment portfolio which matches the strategy you've advised them. (Conservative, Moderate, Growth, Aggressive).So what this means, is that if you're contributing to Kiwisaver, then you are an investor and you might not even know it!Your employer is required by law to match you up to 3% of your wages/salary towards kiwisaver. This means that if you chose to contribute 3% of your annual salary towards kiwisaver, your employer MUST do the same. You can contribute additional via regular contributions, 4 or 8%, but your employer is only mandated by law to contribute 3%. Some companies to match higher than 3% even if they aren't required to.Every year, the Government will pay 50 cents for every dollar of member contribution annually up to a maximum payment of $521.43. This means that you must contribute $1,042.86 annually to qualify for the maximum payment of $521.43. This $521.43 will be paid directly into your kiwisaver fund.More information can be found on the MTC here: https://ift.tt/2yYUlSc is one of the main benefits of kiwisaver, as it increases your investment fund, where you would otherwise be missing out on that. It is recommend that if you can afford to, you maximise this tax credit as much as possible. If all you do is contribute $1042.86, you're instantly getting a 50% return on investment without any other investments contributing. You will struggle to find this return anywhere else.So why am I losing money?Relax, I'll get there in a secondWhen can I access my Kiwisaver funds?Kiwisaver is designed as a retirement fund. As population grows and lifespan increases, the resources required to continue a superannuation for everyone over 65 gets harder and harder.Superannuation, is already the largest reason why we pay tax. https://ift.tt/2SoQ7fQ 12c in every dollar you pay in tax will go towards the supperannuation fund. It's a massive pool and recent elections have seen super be a source of debate. Whether we raise age of entitlement, whether super should be means tested, etc. I'm a 34 year old and since I graduated, most people I have spoken to about long term investments have suggested that I should never count on a government superannuation for my retirement. It may not be there when I retire.So Kiwisaver is your retirement fund and can be withdrawn at age 65.There are other ways to access Kiwisaver before age 65 though.First home purchaseFinancial hardshipSerious illnessPermanently moving overseasFor more information on accessing kiwisaver funds early head to https://ift.tt/2z2RDuZ MY MONEY?Almost there.Types of Kiwisaver fundsTypically there are 5 different types of funds, each with their own benefits and risks. The types of funds are:Cash - Bank deposits and other fixed interest investmentsConservative - A high proportion in bank deposits and fixed interest investments, and a lower proportion in growth assets such as shares and propertyBalanced or Moderate - A more equal split between higher risk growth assets such as shares and property, and more stable investments including fixed interest and bank depositsGrowth - A high proportion of shares and property with a lower level of bank deposits and fixed interestAggressive - Mainly sharesIt's important that you match your risk portfolio to the correct fund. As risk increases, the potential returns also increase. However this does mean that volatility increases too. The higher the risk, the more the fund may increase and DECREASE.As a young investor who will have their money locked away for many years, it's likely that you can afford to be in a higher risk fund. This means you can ride out any short to medium term volatility.Where as a person looking to access their funds for first home withdrawal, or getting near retirement may want to make sure their funds don't have that short term dip because they will want them soon. It does mean that some potential gains may be lost, but ensuring you have locked those funds away for when you need them is the reason for this fund, so don't go gambling if you need that money to pay rent, put it in the bank.BUT MUH MONEY?Okay okay okay, here we go.As I spoke about above, market volatility plays a big part on the investment returns. The higher the risk category you are in, the greater volatility you will see.Some examples of volatility include the 2008 GFC. The stockmarket TANKED in a big way. Funnily enough this was about when Kiwisaver was first launched. As a result conservative funds were out performing aggressive and growth and it really confused a lot of people and turned them away from kiwisaver.Since 2008 though, higher risk funds have seen one of the longest and biggest increases in market history. Many funds were seeing growth of > 12% for well over 5 years straight, while conservative funds were seeing growth of less than half of that, simply because they were locked away in lower risk investments. (See above).There have been a few periods since 2008 that have seen a blip in investments. Greece government debt crisis, 2015/2016 Chinese stockmarket turbulence, Even Donald Trumps election caused a short term blip on US shares.But those people who have been able to afford to be in aggressive shares through this period have seen amazing growth on their funds. It's a matter of waiting it out if you can.If you can't, you should be looking at your risk portfolio. Do you need access to your money in the next few years? Perhaps an aggressive approach isn't for you. What would happen if another GFC hit? Could you afford to wait 10 years to recover all those losses?As it's been such a long time since we've seen such volatility in the markets, a lot of people who are new to Kiwisaver haven't had an opportunity to experience market volatility. All they've known is Money in, investment good, money goes up. Where in reality, money can go down too.So what do I do?Absolutely nothing. Don't panic. Currently you're buying funds at a cheaper price than you were a month ago. This is a good thing for long term gains. It's called Dollar Cost Averaging. Keep contributing, and when the market corrects itself, consider these funds that are purchased cheaply as a Briscoes discount sale.If you pull your money into a conservative fund now after seeing the price dropping, you lock in these losses. This is how people lose money.But it is important to make sure you are in the correct portfolio for your risk appetite. Not everyone feels comfortable about seeing a 10% drop. If that freaks you out and you are likely to move funds, then you shouldn't be in a high risk fund. The same could be said if you need to access the funds soon.What will happen in the future?Your guess is as good as mine. I don't know if tomorrow the funds will increase, or decrease. The market is unpredictable. If you want predictable returns, go for a cash fund. It returns you about the rate of inflation from term deposits from the bank. Just don't expect a lot when you retire. Otherwise just take a big breath and continue to contribute to kiwisaver and reap the rewards from the MTC / dollar cost averaging and wait out any short or medium term losses. In 40 years this correction will be distant memory.--editPlug for /r/personalfinancenz if you want any additional discussion, the guys over there are smarter than I am and can probably give more and better advice.the above is all very high level and generic

[mikemortgage]

As joblessness falls, skilled workers might be hard to find

Are America’s employers at risk of running out of skilled people to hire?

The U.S. economy has become a seemingly perpetual job-generating machine, having steadily added workers for nearly eight years. Even with the unemployment rate now at 3.7 per cent — its lowest point since 1969 — hiring hasn’t stalled. So far this year, job growth has averaged a robust 208,000 a month, up from a pace of 182,000 for all of 2017.

The trend has defied the predictions of most economists. Many have long warned that as hiring surged and unemployment fell, the pool of potential hires would shrink and trigger a bidding war that would ignite wage gains.

It hasn’t happened. Many people are still being hired each month. And pay raises, though rising, remain modest

“Every single time that we predict job growth is going to start slowing and wage growth is going to start picking up in recent years, we haven’t gotten that right,” said Martha Gimbel, research director for the jobs listing site Indeed.

To try to explain why employers are still managing to hire skilled workers at a steady pace, Gimbel paraphrased a line from the 1971 movie “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory”:

“There’s no knowing where we’re going, but it shows no sign of slowing.”

In July, America’s employers posted a record 6.9 million job openings, which actually exceeded the number of unemployed people. The abundance of openings suggests that companies expect to keep hiring.

Even the Trump administration, for all its brash public confidence, acknowledges uncertainty about how much further unemployment can fall.

“It’s a tricky question, because I don’t think we know,” Larry Kudlow, the president’s top economic adviser, told reporters Friday.

At some point, many employers will likely feel they’re running out of skilled workers to hire. Just not yet. Here will be five signals that a labour shortage may finally be at hand:

——

PAY RAISES SPIKE

Average hourly wages have risen 2.8 per cent in the past 12 months. That’s basically keeping pace with the inflation rate for consumer prices. But the theory is that as economy keeps expanding and employers find they need to pay more to attract employees, pay could jump, especially in some sectors of the economy that require heavily skilled workers.

Some companies are already taking action. Consider Amazon’s just-announced boost in its minimum hourly wage to $15 starting in November. Amazon’s rival retailers and warehouse operators, in particular, may feel pressure to raise pay, too.

For now, many employers appear to be raising pay only modestly while in some cases also offering short-term bonuses not included in the government’s gauge of hourly earnings.

American Textile, a 93-year-old manufacturer of pillows, sheets and comforters based in Pittsburgh, has found it a challenge in recent months to add and keep workers for its 800-person staff. It’s been raising pay by 3 per cent to 4 per cent annually for years. But it’s now introducing the perk of paying bonuses as soon as three months after a worker joins the company.

“Just show up — you’ll get something extra,” said Pete Marsalis, the company’s director of human resources.

——

LOTS MORE PEOPLE SEEKING WORK

One of the best measures of available workers is what’s called the participation rate. That’s the proportion of working-age adults who either have a job or are actively looking for one.

The participation rate for people defined as prime age — 25 to 54 years old — was 81.8 per cent in September. That is below the peak of 84.6 per cent in January 1999.

The rate increased in 2016 and 2017, but it’s fluctuated this year. Because the rate remains below its peak, it suggests that a pool of people exists who could potentially start looking for work or return to school to obtain specialized skills or training for a job.

To return to the peak participation rate would require roughly an additional 4 million people to start looking for a job and potentially find one.

——

SHARPER MISMATCH BETWEEN OPENINGS AND SKILL SETS

If there already were a severe shortage of skilled workers, a broad mismatch would likely exist between the types of jobs available and the types of jobs people are seeking. But research published last month by the job listing site Indeed suggests that the degree of the mismatch has actually narrowed since 2014.

In examining resumes posted to Indeed, the researchers found that roughly one-third don’t match the available jobs. Though that’s a relatively high proportion, it’s less than in 2014, when the proportion was closer to 40 per cent.

A shortage of skilled workers, like nurses, might now exist in certain sectors of the economy, Gimbel said. But a shortage doesn’t necessarily exist across the entire economy. If it did, the pressures to raise wages would be stronger.

——

A SLOWDOWN IN JOB GROWTH

When Joe Brusuelas scanned the September jobs report, he saw signs that a shortage of skilled workers could emerge in the near future. He’s the chief economist for RSM, a consulting firm that specializes in mid-size businesses.

“Over the past 12 months, we should start to see the pace of hiring grind down,” he said.

Brusuelas sees fewer people entering the labour force, a consequence of lower birth rates and other demographic changes as the vast baby boom generation retires. In June, the growth of the labour force was 1.2 per cent compared with a year earlier. By September, the 12-month growth in the labour force had more than halved to 0.52 per cent.

Fewer people entering the job market could cause employers to slow their pace of hiring because they couldn’t find enough skilled workers.

——

FORMERLY UNDESIRABLE GROUPS BEING HIRED

The Trump administration’s drive to limit immigration could worsen any shortage of qualified workers.

Brusuelas suggested that employers who foresee a lack of qualified workers might broaden their searches to groups they wouldn’t have previously considered for hires. He estimated, for example, that 8 million to 10 million people with felony records can’t fully participate in the job market now. Bringing these people into the job market is among the priorities of President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka.

On the White House lawn Friday, Kudlow, the director of the White House National Economic Council, also endorsed the initiative.

“I’m all for it,” he said.

——

AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber contributed to this report.

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[khohealth]

Physical Therapists

It might be very simple to search for an individual who may be happy with any sort of job, however typically, not all professions have high job satisfaction rates. When you've got plans to start out a brand new profession, it's worthy to note how the professionals fell about their work so you possibly can image the feeling as soon Kho Health Social Profile as you may be training the identical occupation. It could actually assist you decide in the event you actually need to follow this path. As within the case of physical therapists, they show extra satisfaction with their job, giving more thrilling reasons to would-be physical remedy college students to enter the profession.

The National Opinion Research Heart found this to be true based on the survey they carried out in 2007. Based on the survey, only less than one fourth of the respondents did not give a 'very satisfied' mark on their job. In other words, more than seventy five% have been discovered to be very glad, which proves that you'll most probably be satisfied too once you made up your thoughts to pursue bodily remedy.

This percentage positioned bodily remedy at second rank within the highest rated professions for job satisfaction. The highest spot was taken by clergy whereas the remaining professions within the high 5 will not be associated to medical fields.

In reality, bodily remedy is propelled to reputation by other important critiques and lists. The occupation was ranked 4th in CNNMoney.com's prime a hundred finest job within the US for 2010. Physical therapy was also on the 2009 best careers listing of the U.S. Information and World Report.

Since you now realized how highly appreciated physical remedy is throughout the ranks of its practitioners, it's a must to know the rationale behind it. And the surefire high one cause for that is bodily therapy is extremely satisfying almost about how you develop into an instrument in helping and enhancing the lives of others in daily of your work. It all the time brings a positive feeling as a result of in the event you're a physical therapist, you already know that your job is extra significant.

Though immaterial compensations are awesome, let's face it, it's also important to contemplate getting a high-paying wage for your new career. Excessive revenue charges and numerous job opportunities are awaiting the new practitioners. This shows that you will get hired pretty quickly. Thereafter, you may receives a commission deservingly not to mention all of the incentives and benefits you'll get.

Different careers fared hardly beyond 50% in satisfaction price while a lot more did no better than that. With a high seventy five% satisfaction charge amongst bodily therapists, and a prime 2 spot in greatest careers listing, you can not simply ignore kho taking bodily remedy critically. Think about the great rewards of serving to others and lots of opportunities as well as a excessive wage, and the best way you look at physical remedy would never be the identical when you think about taking it up.

While you will discover an individual who likes just about every kind of job out there, not all careers get pleasure from very high ranges of job satisfaction as an entire. It is necessary to know how folks end up feeling about their careers as they're in the midst of them, as a result of it can provide you a clue as to the way you would possibly feel too, and whether or not a selected line of labor is the fitting path for you. Physical therapists, for example, enjoy extraordinarily excessive ranges of satisfaction, making the prospects of coming into this discipline even more exciting for potential college students.

One of many key facts behind this comes from a 2007 survey carried out by the Nationwide Opinion Analysis Center. This survey discovered that over three quarters of bodily therapists responded as being "very glad" with their jobs. That's more than seventy five%, and it exhibits you that if you find yourself pursuing bodily therapy, it is extraordinarily possible that you'll find yourself feeling blissful about your line of work.

Not only is that this an especially high proportion, but it surely's really the number 2 highest rated career for job satisfaction across acupuncture salary any business or area. Number 1 belonged to clergy, and no different health care associated profession ranked within the high 5.

However there are a few different surveys and rankings which assist to bolster the case for bodily remedy even more. In November 2010, CNNMoney.com ranked bodily therapy because the quantity four finest job in America, in a high 100 listing. A yr earlier than that, the U.S. News and World Report included bodily therapy on their checklist of one of the best careers for the yr.

Now that you know how highly passable bodily therapy could be for most of the individuals in the subject, it's necessary to know why. Right on the prime of the record is that physical therapy is extraordinarily rewarding by way of helping folks and improving their lives each and every day of your working life. You will at all times feel constructive and like you're doing something worthwhile as you're employed as a bodily therapist.

Intrinsic rewards are great, however let's be sincere, incomes a good salary is also very important for the profession that you'll have. Bodily therapists bring in very high salaries, and there are additionally great job alternatives proper now for brand spanking new professionals. Meaning you can land a terrific job very quickly, and when you do, that job can pay you what you deserve, on prime of all of these different great benefits and rewards.

Some careers have job satisfaction charges of about 50-50, and lots of others fare much worse than that. So whenever you see that 75% of physical therapists love their jobs, the 2nd highest rating career of any, then you definitely really must take it critically. If you haven't been contemplating physical therapy before, you would possibly undoubtedly wish to contemplate it now, from the excessive salaries and quite a few job opportunities, to the intrinsic rewards of serving to folks daily.

In the present day there's a wealth of information obtainable for practically every occupation, when it comes to employment potential, job outlook, salary levels, and specific details about the place individuals in the area work and what they do. All of this information is obtainable for bodily remedy as nicely, and it will possibly enable you gain a better understanding for what the sphere is all about, and why it has develop into so fashionable. Take a look at all of these info and findings to study bodily remedy as a career in right this moment's world.

A terrific place to start is the job outlook and prospects for professionals within the area. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, provides decade-long projections for every trade and discipline. For physical remedy from 2008 to 2018, there is a projected Squats 30% uptick in jobs. That is obviously a very high charge of growth, and is much faster than common. Whenever you take a look at the number of jobs that translates you to, you see a total of greater than 56,000 new jobs changing into out there.

However it's not enough to know that there will probably be jobs coming accessible for these professionals. You also have to know what these jobs really will probably be, and what you'll be doing. For physical therapists, 60% of jobs are situated in hospitals or health practitioner offices, providing a majority of the employment for licensed, practising bodily therapists.

Even though that is a very excessive quantity, it still means that there's another 40% of bodily therapists who're plying their commerce in other environments. For instance, bodily therapists work in nursing services, outpatient and rehabilitation care centers, adult day care, faculties, and of course, personal practices, just to call a number of different potential choices.

Now that you understand where you may be working, along with realizing that finding a job must be fairly simple with the correct training and full licensure, it's also time to try salary ranges. In 2008, the latest knowledge out there as of this time, the median annual wage for physical therapists was $seventy three,000. Taking a better look, the top 10% earned no less than $104,000, while the bottom 10% earned less than $50,000.

Those totally different environments and settings mentioned above translate to slightly different median salaries. Physical therapists working with home healthcare services average the highest wage, $77,500 yearly, whereas nursing care amenities offered $seventy six,500, and hospitals provided $seventy three,000, for example.

Once you check out all of these statistics and details for bodily therapy, you can start to grasp why the sphere is emerging proper now. There is a very excessive rate of job development, plenty of completely different environments and work settings, high wage levels, and much more. The time to develop into a physical therapist is now, after which you'll be able to reap the benefits of the entire above for your self.

[kevingbakeruk]

The Sadiq Khan audit: Mayor’s transport headache is a revenue great void

ES News Email

A week ago arriving on schedule this year.

A “nationwide humiliation” was the decision of service leaders. Labour peer Lord Adonis, a former transport secretary, questioned whether the project had actually had the necessary oversight.The timing could barely be worse for a Mayor who is hanging on to a cat’s cradle of monetary problems that will be worsened by the loss of Crossrail ticket incomes and a rise in construction costs. Transportation for London, the authority he chairs, is struggling with falling traveler numbers, federal government funding being slashed and the unpredictability of Brexit.In spring this year, TfL forecast a thumping deficit

of practically ₤ 1 billion, up from ₤ 458 million in his very first year in workplace, 2016/17. The financial bind is worsened by Mr Khan’s own flagship pledge to freeze fares, which drew ₤ 640 million from profits, and by the loss of ₤ 700 million in subsidy this year under federal government lowerings.

width =1500 height= 1000 design= responsive srcset =” https://static.standard.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2018/03/29/10/police2a.jpg?w1000 1000w, https://static.standard.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2018/03/29/10/police2a.jpg?w770 770w, https://static.standard.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2018/03/29/10/police2a.jpg?w600 600w, https://static.standard.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2018/03/29/10/police2a.jpg?w480 480w” i-amphtml-layout= responsive >

Learn more Sadiq Khan’ has no plan’ to eliminate criminal offense in London Mike Brown, the Transport for London commissioner, has likewise disagreed with that not a penny of the ₤ 500 million paid in vehicle excise task by London drivers is invested in the capital’s roads.

” That is nuts, it’s definitely crazy,” a frustrated Mr Brown told an audience of 200 industry leaders previously this summertime. He included, “It’s neither sustainable nor reasonable,” referring to the “ridiculous situation” where Tube and bus passengers were efficiently subsidising, through their fares, repair work to London’s significant roadway network.The numbers are indeed bleak. TfL’s overall income was down ₤ 189 million, 3 percent below budget plan. Tube fares were ₤ 121 million listed below budget plan, and ₤ 37 million lower than the previous year. Bus fares were down ₤ 21 million (but ₤ 17 million ahead of budget). Rail earnings was up ₤ 4 million, however ₤ 34 million listed below budget. Guest journeys across the network were down– the second succeeding yearly decrease. There were 21 million fewer Tube journeys (though TfL confesses rush-hour services were as crowded as ever )and 15 million less bus trips. TfL intends to eliminate the deficit, currently ₤ 968 million, by 2021 through effectiveness. Transport is the field where the Mayor’s choices straight affect more individuals than any other and every saving is unpleasant and risks a backlash.A review of bus services recently leaked out, exposing some paths in main London are likely to be pruned back,

with cars rerouted to increase outer London services. This fight for cash, midway through Mr Khan’s four-year term, is a core issue of his mayoralty. Practically 3 quarters of TfL’s income originates from fares. What can be done to get the money rolling back in to provide on services and take a legacy? Boris Johnson, speaking among buddies, has dubbed him” Sadiq Khan’t”. Some experts think the only method to solve the problem is for Mr Khan to drastically overhaul the blockage charge to bring in more money and motivate more walking, cycling and riding on public transport. The idea is backed by the Centre for London believe tank, which states the C-charge, presented by Ken Livingstone in 2003, is “not fit for function”. Nicole Badstuber, a researcher at the Centre for Transport Studies at UCL, told the Requirement: “If we can price using your automobile on the length of time you are driving or how far you are travelling or how crowded it is, we can encourage individuals to use public transport. That will produce more ticket sales for TfL– or increased revenues for the congestion charge itself.”” With the elimination of direct federal government aid we have actually got to find new methods of funding transportation in London “Deputy mayor Heidi Alexander Mr Khan’s very first challenge is to comprehend whether the fall in guests is a blip or a long-lasting pattern. Shashi Verma, TfL’s ticketing guru, said the fall in passenger numbers was due to a decline in off-peak leisure journeys instead of less commuters.” Television is

the maximum it has ever been at peak times,” he stated.” The question is whether it is down to individuals living their lives in a different way or down to the truth there has actually been a wage capture of unmatched proportions.” Mr Khan’s 2nd obstacle is to discover ₤ 1 billion of savings and, third, to grow earnings from non-transport schemes, such as property. In his 2016 mayoral manifesto, Mr Khan made it sound simple. He would squeeze waste from an “inefficient and flabby” TfL without cutting services. However investment in new Northern and Jubilee trains has actually been shelved. Pits are going unrepaired. Bus services will be cut by 7 per cent. After the Mayor axed the Metropolitan line extension from Croxley to Watford Junction previously this year, the Federal government demanded the return of about ₤ 80 million in grants. The 2 sides are “in discussion”, says TfL.He has actually kept a pledge to cut the ₤ 383 million TfL spent on specialists and on agency personnel, down by ₤ 175 million. Average headcount has actually fallen by just 137 out of an army of 26,994 workers. 617 TfL personnel now earn ₤ 100,000 or more. Last year it paid a record ₤ 51.4 million in “golden farewells” to 704 leaving executives, triggering Mr Khan to release an investigation.Highlights of the Mayor’s time in Town hall to date consist of a four-year fare freeze and the Hopper recompense, which permits one hour’s unlimited switching between buses for ₤ 1.50. TfL officials have taken to scrutinising fares income on a weekly basis. Financial projections are now ultra-cautious. Tube delays are falling, and there has actually been a dramatic reduction in strikes.Mr Khan has been radical and tough in tackling pollution: introducing the T-charge– an additional levy on top of the blockage charge for older contaminating cars– and bringing forward the Ultra Low Emission Zone to next year. Mr Khan took advantage of some plans inherited from his predecessor, releasing the Night Tube. But his desire to part-pedestrianise Oxford Street was shelved after Westminster council objected.On the roadways, traffic speeds have continued to fall. The typical daytime speed is 8 miles per hour in main London and 17.6 mph throughout Greater London, partly due to the growth in Uber minicabs

and vans delivering products purchased online. Read more So Sadiq Khan, where are all those new houses you guaranteed? He authorized a new interstate under the Thames at Silvertown to relieve dire congestion at the Blackwall tunnel– however which campaigners say will increase pollution. No pledge has drawn in more sniping than his vow to” make London a byword for biking all over the world”. Mr Khan assured to spend an average of ₤ 169 million a year on cycling, beating the ₤ 913 million pledged by Mr Johnson over 10 years. But he has dealt with consistent barbs from the cycling community. No brand-new

cycle superhighways have actually been

developed. Work has been limited to a northern extension of the north-south

superhighway and a filling-in of gaps on the east-west superhighway near Buckingham Palace. The CS11 route that would connect Swiss Cottage and Oxford Circus and the CS9 through Chiswick

are postponed after sparking vociferous minority opposition.The Mini-Hollands initiative, which shared ₤ 100 million between Waltham Forest, Enfield and Kingston to develop walking and cycling locations, has been replaced by the” liveable areas fund “, which provides

only ₤ 10 million. A straw survey of 1,000 cyclists in June asked whether Mr Khan had actually made London more secure to cycle in. Half responded to” no”. Danny Williams, who ran the poll on his Bicyclists in the City Twitter page, said:” He’s truly bucked taking any choices about bigger schemes so far.” Dr Rachel Aldred, a transportation professional at the University of Westminster, invited the Mayor’s” healthy streets” policy that looks for to decrease cars and truck dominance in boroughs such as Waltham Forest and Hackney.” However Londonwide, Sadiq’s aspirations seem stymied– high-profile walking and biking schemes blocked or postponed, regardless of the high expenses of failing to cut motor car use across the capital,” she said.One of Mr Khan’s boldest relocations might be the current consultation of former Labour frontbench MP Heidi Alexander as his deputy mayor for transportation. Three weeks into the task, she declared an intent to “turbo charge” the biking program and encourage more people from their cars. She claimed it was” unreasonable” to criticise his record on biking however promised far more was in shop.” I know that Sadiq desires to supercharge the shipment of biking infrastructure,” Ms Alexander informed the Requirement.” I think if people see brand-new cycling facilities it also serves as something of a motivation to begin changing behaviour. This problem about our roadways being safe and individuals feeling safe is truly important.” She said TfL’s finances were “under control”, including: “The elimination of the direct subsidy from government indicates that we are in a position where we have actually got to find brand-new methods of moneying the shipment of transportation in London.” Plainly if the Government do not get their

act together and we get a bad Brexit, that might have possibly substantial ramifications on the economy.” Public transportation usage does not exist in a vacuum. There is this huge financial unpredictability that possibly Transport for London will be needing to manage. “A spokesperson for the Mayor stated the typical home would save ₤ 200 over 4 years from the fares freeze and Hopper ticket.” Sadiq is investing record quantities

in brand-new transportation infrastructure, while making sure more budget-friendly travel for millions of Londoners,” he said. “This includes the Mayor’s TfL fares freeze, and over 200 million bus journeys already benefiting from Sadiq’s brand-new Hopper fare. After yearly fare rises and interruption under the previous Mayor, Sadiq has actually overseen a 65 per cent decrease in strike action on television, enhancing journeys for commuters.” While cutting year-on-year operating expense at TfL, the Mayor is both doubling London’s investment in brand-new cycling and walking facilities, and

spending record amounts modernising London’s Tube network. “The Night Tube has surpassed all expectations given that it launched in August 2016, with 3 million more journeys than expected, and night services now working on the London Overground.”

Source

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/the-sadiq-khan-audit-mayors-transport-headache-is-a-revenue-black-hole-a3928131.html

from TAXI NEAR ME http://taxi.nearme.host/the-sadiq-khan-audit-mayors-transport-headache-is-a-revenue-great-void/

from NOVACAB https://novacabtaxi.tumblr.com/post/178017960951

[novacabtaxi]

The Sadiq Khan audit: Mayor’s transport headache is a revenue great void

ES News Email

A week ago arriving on schedule this year.

A “nationwide humiliation” was the decision of service leaders. Labour peer Lord Adonis, a former transport secretary, questioned whether the project had actually had the necessary oversight.The timing could barely be worse for a Mayor who is hanging on to a cat’s cradle of monetary problems that will be worsened by the loss of Crossrail ticket incomes and a rise in construction costs. Transportation for London, the authority he chairs, is struggling with falling traveler numbers, federal government funding being slashed and the unpredictability of Brexit.In spring this year, TfL forecast a thumping deficit

of practically ₤ 1 billion, up from ₤ 458 million in his very first year in workplace, 2016/17. The financial bind is worsened by Mr Khan’s own flagship pledge to freeze fares, which drew ₤ 640 million from profits, and by the loss of ₤ 700 million in subsidy this year under federal government lowerings.

width =1500 height= 1000 design= responsive srcset =” https://static.standard.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2018/03/29/10/police2a.jpg?w1000 1000w, https://static.standard.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2018/03/29/10/police2a.jpg?w770 770w, https://static.standard.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2018/03/29/10/police2a.jpg?w600 600w, https://static.standard.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2018/03/29/10/police2a.jpg?w480 480w” i-amphtml-layout= responsive >

Learn more Sadiq Khan’ has no plan’ to eliminate criminal offense in London Mike Brown, the Transport for London commissioner, has likewise disagreed with that not a penny of the ₤ 500 million paid in vehicle excise task by London drivers is invested in the capital’s roads.

” That is nuts, it’s definitely crazy,” a frustrated Mr Brown told an audience of 200 industry leaders previously this summertime. He included, “It’s neither sustainable nor reasonable,” referring to the “ridiculous situation” where Tube and bus passengers were efficiently subsidising, through their fares, repair work to London’s significant roadway network.The numbers are indeed bleak. TfL’s overall income was down ₤ 189 million, 3 percent below budget plan. Tube fares were ₤ 121 million listed below budget plan, and ₤ 37 million lower than the previous year. Bus fares were down ₤ 21 million (but ₤ 17 million ahead of budget). Rail earnings was up ₤ 4 million, however ₤ 34 million listed below budget. Guest journeys across the network were down– the second succeeding yearly decrease. There were 21 million fewer Tube journeys (though TfL confesses rush-hour services were as crowded as ever )and 15 million less bus trips. TfL intends to eliminate the deficit, currently ₤ 968 million, by 2021 through effectiveness. Transport is the field where the Mayor’s choices straight affect more individuals than any other and every saving is unpleasant and risks a backlash.A review of bus services recently leaked out, exposing some paths in main London are likely to be pruned back,

with cars rerouted to increase outer London services. This fight for cash, midway through Mr Khan’s four-year term, is a core issue of his mayoralty. Practically 3 quarters of TfL’s income originates from fares. What can be done to get the money rolling back in to provide on services and take a legacy? Boris Johnson, speaking among buddies, has dubbed him” Sadiq Khan’t”. Some experts think the only method to solve the problem is for Mr Khan to drastically overhaul the blockage charge to bring in more money and motivate more walking, cycling and riding on public transport. The idea is backed by the Centre for London believe tank, which states the C-charge, presented by Ken Livingstone in 2003, is “not fit for function”. Nicole Badstuber, a researcher at the Centre for Transport Studies at UCL, told the Requirement: “If we can price using your automobile on the length of time you are driving or how far you are travelling or how crowded it is, we can encourage individuals to use public transport. That will produce more ticket sales for TfL– or increased revenues for the congestion charge itself.”” With the elimination of direct federal government aid we have actually got to find new methods of funding transportation in London “Deputy mayor Heidi Alexander Mr Khan’s very first challenge is to comprehend whether the fall in guests is a blip or a long-lasting pattern. Shashi Verma, TfL’s ticketing guru, said the fall in passenger numbers was due to a decline in off-peak leisure journeys instead of less commuters.” Television is

the maximum it has ever been at peak times,” he stated.” The question is whether it is down to individuals living their lives in a different way or down to the truth there has actually been a wage capture of unmatched proportions.” Mr Khan’s 2nd obstacle is to discover ₤ 1 billion of savings and, third, to grow earnings from non-transport schemes, such as property. In his 2016 mayoral manifesto, Mr Khan made it sound simple. He would squeeze waste from an “inefficient and flabby” TfL without cutting services. However investment in new Northern and Jubilee trains has actually been shelved. Pits are going unrepaired. Bus services will be cut by 7 per cent. After the Mayor axed the Metropolitan line extension from Croxley to Watford Junction previously this year, the Federal government demanded the return of about ₤ 80 million in grants. The 2 sides are “in discussion”, says TfL.He has actually kept a pledge to cut the ₤ 383 million TfL spent on specialists and on agency personnel, down by ₤ 175 million. Average headcount has actually fallen by just 137 out of an army of 26,994 workers. 617 TfL personnel now earn ₤ 100,000 or more. Last year it paid a record ₤ 51.4 million in “golden farewells” to 704 leaving executives, triggering Mr Khan to release an investigation.Highlights of the Mayor’s time in Town hall to date consist of a four-year fare freeze and the Hopper recompense, which permits one hour’s unlimited switching between buses for ₤ 1.50. TfL officials have taken to scrutinising fares income on a weekly basis. Financial projections are now ultra-cautious. Tube delays are falling, and there has actually been a dramatic reduction in strikes.Mr Khan has been radical and tough in tackling pollution: introducing the T-charge– an additional levy on top of the blockage charge for older contaminating cars– and bringing forward the Ultra Low Emission Zone to next year. Mr Khan took advantage of some plans inherited from his predecessor, releasing the Night Tube. But his desire to part-pedestrianise Oxford Street was shelved after Westminster council objected.On the roadways, traffic speeds have continued to fall. The typical daytime speed is 8 miles per hour in main London and 17.6 mph throughout Greater London, partly due to the growth in Uber minicabs

and vans delivering products purchased online. Read more So Sadiq Khan, where are all those new houses you guaranteed? He authorized a new interstate under the Thames at Silvertown to relieve dire congestion at the Blackwall tunnel– however which campaigners say will increase pollution. No pledge has drawn in more sniping than his vow to” make London a byword for biking all over the world”. Mr Khan assured to spend an average of ₤ 169 million a year on cycling, beating the ₤ 913 million pledged by Mr Johnson over 10 years. But he has dealt with consistent barbs from the cycling community. No brand-new

cycle superhighways have actually been

developed. Work has been limited to a northern extension of the north-south

superhighway and a filling-in of gaps on the east-west superhighway near Buckingham Palace. The CS11 route that would connect Swiss Cottage and Oxford Circus and the CS9 through Chiswick

are postponed after sparking vociferous minority opposition.The Mini-Hollands initiative, which shared ₤ 100 million between Waltham Forest, Enfield and Kingston to develop walking and cycling locations, has been replaced by the” liveable areas fund “, which provides

only ₤ 10 million. A straw survey of 1,000 cyclists in June asked whether Mr Khan had actually made London more secure to cycle in. Half responded to” no”. Danny Williams, who ran the poll on his Bicyclists in the City Twitter page, said:” He’s truly bucked taking any choices about bigger schemes so far.” Dr Rachel Aldred, a transportation professional at the University of Westminster, invited the Mayor’s” healthy streets” policy that looks for to decrease cars and truck dominance in boroughs such as Waltham Forest and Hackney.” However Londonwide, Sadiq’s aspirations seem stymied– high-profile walking and biking schemes blocked or postponed, regardless of the high expenses of failing to cut motor car use across the capital,” she said.One of Mr Khan’s boldest relocations might be the current consultation of former Labour frontbench MP Heidi Alexander as his deputy mayor for transportation. Three weeks into the task, she declared an intent to “turbo charge” the biking program and encourage more people from their cars. She claimed it was” unreasonable” to criticise his record on biking however promised far more was in shop.” I know that Sadiq desires to supercharge the shipment of biking infrastructure,” Ms Alexander informed the Requirement.” I think if people see brand-new cycling facilities it also serves as something of a motivation to begin changing behaviour. This problem about our roadways being safe and individuals feeling safe is truly important.” She said TfL’s finances were “under control”, including: “The elimination of the direct subsidy from government indicates that we are in a position where we have actually got to find brand-new methods of moneying the shipment of transportation in London.” Plainly if the Government do not get their

act together and we get a bad Brexit, that might have possibly substantial ramifications on the economy.” Public transportation usage does not exist in a vacuum. There is this huge financial unpredictability that possibly Transport for London will be needing to manage. “A spokesperson for the Mayor stated the typical home would save ₤ 200 over 4 years from the fares freeze and Hopper ticket.” Sadiq is investing record quantities

in brand-new transportation infrastructure, while making sure more budget-friendly travel for millions of Londoners,” he said. “This includes the Mayor’s TfL fares freeze, and over 200 million bus journeys already benefiting from Sadiq’s brand-new Hopper fare. After yearly fare rises and interruption under the previous Mayor, Sadiq has actually overseen a 65 per cent decrease in strike action on television, enhancing journeys for commuters.” While cutting year-on-year operating expense at TfL, the Mayor is both doubling London’s investment in brand-new cycling and walking facilities, and

spending record amounts modernising London’s Tube network. “The Night Tube has surpassed all expectations given that it launched in August 2016, with 3 million more journeys than expected, and night services now working on the London Overground.”

Source

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/the-sadiq-khan-audit-mayors-transport-headache-is-a-revenue-black-hole-a3928131.html

from TAXI NEAR ME http://taxi.nearme.host/the-sadiq-khan-audit-mayors-transport-headache-is-a-revenue-great-void/

[therealestatesparkblog]

Why "Overpriced" Markets Like San Francisco May Be Healthier Than You Think

Housing Prices in Expensive Markets Are Unsustainable! Housing Costs as a Percentage of Median Income Make Absolutely NO Sense! A Crash is Imminent! Investors, homebuyers, and ordinary residents of expensive markets around the country seem to share the above sentiments. In this article, I am going to explain in very simple terms why things are sustainable even in the most expensive markets in the country and why housing costs as a percentage of median income make perfect sense, even in perhaps the most extreme market in the countrySan Francisco. I have no idea if a crash is imminent or not, but I personally plan to continue my consistent, yet nonaggressive accumulation of rental properties. Do not mistake this article as an expression of an opinion that the market will continue to rise, stagnate, or fall. I make no such market predictions. Instead, I want to simply point out that the median/average resident of an expensive market can afford the housing costs of those cities. Housing prices as a percentage of total spending can and will continue to be sustainable, so long as median wages remain above the national average. Many market pundits like to use the fact that, in many markets, the cost of housing has appreciated at a considerably faster rate than the growth in median income. The problem with this logic is that growth in median income does not linearly correlate with proportional increases in the cost of housing.

To demonstrate this point, we will compare and contrast two American cities: San Francisco, CA, and St. Louis, MO. I chose San Francisco, CA because it epitomizes a city where housing costs are significantly more expensive than the rest of the country, and where housing expenses comprise a greater percentage of household spending than other parts of the country. I chose St Louis, MO because it exhibits income, housing, and spending trends that are remarkably close to the national average. Also, I dont like making work for myself when its already been done for me by someone else. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released two in-depth studies that nearly perfectly assist me in constructing this article for these two cities. The studies analyze consumer expenditures in San Francisco and St. Louis. The question we are trying to explore here is this: Is the median earner in an expensive market like San Francisco spending an unsustainably large amount of money on housing, such that the market cannot bear further increases in home prices and rental rates? Or do the underlying economics for household expenditures support current pricing? To answer this question, lets start off with some numbers. All data is from the U.S. Census Bureau (median income) and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (everything else). San FranciscoMedian Income: $87,701Average Income: $118,098Average Household Spending: $75,380Percent of Spending on Housing: 40.3%Dollars Spent on Housing: $30,378Remaining Dollars Spent Elsewhere: $45,002Dollars Spent on Personal Insurance and Pensions: $10,026 Heres a chart breaking down that $75,380 in spending by category:

St. Louis, MOMedian Income: $61,103Average Income: $69,351Average Household Spending: $57,774Percent of Spending on Housing: 31.7%Dollars Spent on Housing: $18,314Dollars Spent on Everything Else: $39,460Dollars Spent on Personal Insurance and Pensions: $6,760 Heres a chart breaking down that $57,774 in spending by category:

What do these numbers tell us? Well, first off, lets point out that we have a data problemthe spending data is based on averages, but ideally, wed be looking at median household spending. I typically prefer using numbers spent by the median American, rather than taking averages, because the top earners typically skew the averages way up, and I believe that looking at median spending would give us even better insight into what reality looks like for your ordinary resident of these two cities. But I could not find this level of detail for median spending in these two counties. If you are able to link me to that data, I will revise and repost this article using median figures. If that totally blows up my argument for you, please feel free to say so in the comments and stop reading. If you can bear that data problem, then lets do some analysis and see if we cant learn something here. Related: I Live in a High-Priced U.S. City. Can I Still Invest in My Local Market? Point #1: Outside of housing, the average cost of living is remarkably similar in both cities. After Housing and Personal Insurance and Pensions, average household spending is remarkably similar for a citizen in San Francisco and a citizen in St. Louis. A citizen in San Francisco spends about $35,000 after housing and insurance/pensions. A citizen in St. Louis spends about $33,000 after housing and insurance/pensions. For all that talk about San Francisco being an expensive place to live, it would seem that your median income earner is making do just fine spending only $2,000 more than a resident of St. Louis. I take out personal insurance and pensions as well, because this is really a form of savings and life insurance. The increased spending here, in my opinion, is a sign of financial strength, not a cost of living that rises proportionally based on location. Feel free to disagree in the comments! There could be some big insurance spending that residents of San Francisco have to pay that I am unaware of. Note that this excludes health, auto, and home insurance. You can argue all day long about which household experiences the better quality of life at these spending levels, but the fact of the matter is that your resident in these two cities is getting by at those levels of spending, so therefore, we must conclude that they enjoy a similar quality of lifeor would, by and large, relocate. One notable item to consider is transportation. It seems that transportation expenses are lower as a percentage of household spending in SFO than STL. This makes sense to mepublic transportation was great, and traffic was terrible last time I was in SFO, whereas I found fewer attractive public transit options and more reasonable traffic when I passed through STL.

Point #2: Housing is nearly twice as expensive in San Francisco as it is in St. Louis. Remember, this is average housing. Im aware that for the people at the very bottom of the economic ladder, very affordable housing exists in and around St. Louis, but that this same affordable housing does not similarly exist in San Francisco. Thats a real problem, but its outside the scope of this article, which is geared towards helping your everyday real estate investor develop their opinion about their own markets. Housing costs in San Francisco average $30,378 per year, and housing costs in St. Louis, MO average $18,314 per year. To put this in perspective, median household income is 30% greater in San Francisco than it is in St. Louis, MO. But housing costs are 65% higher. As much as the people in expensive housing markets stamp their feet and complain about how overpriced their markets are, the fact of the matter is that the folks earning median incomes are able to sustain the burden of housing costs. The data is quite clearmedian households in their respective markets do not spend materially different amounts of money on their lifestyles outside of housing expenses. ALL of that increase in median income, net of taxes, can therefore be spent on housing, and one could theoretically enjoy a very similar quality of life in both regions. And because the cost of life outside of housing expenses is roughly equal in most parts of the country, housing prices do not scale linearly with growth in median income. They scale exponentially. Think about this for a second: Imagine that San Franciscos median income rises by enough such that the median household all of a sudden has an additional $5,000 per year in disposable income. If everyone still wants housing, then all or nearly all of that $5,000 increase will be spent on housing. Housing costs will rise to 44% of household spending, still further out of touch with the rest of the countryand everyone will continue getting by and enjoy basically the same lifestyle they do today. Related: How I Landed a Solid 4-Plex in Denver, One of the Hottest Markets in the Country And this story works both for rents and the price of housing. A $6,000 increase in after-tax, take-home pay enables a household to afford the payments on roughly $100,000 more in property value. (Monthly payments, just principal and interest, on a $100,000 mortgage at 4.5% interest comes out to about $500 per month or $6,000 per year.) And, of course, they can make a $6,000 annual increase in rent work too. Conclusion The ratio of median incomes to housing prices are not an effective manner of gauging the health of your market, particularly if median incomes in your market deviate substantially from the national average. Much, if not most of, household spending is on goods and services that are priced at relatively similar levels, no matter what part of the country you reside in. A TV, new piece of clothing, groceries, and the like cost me pretty much the same in St. Louis or San Francisco. Dont believe me? Go to Amazon.com. I can buy basically anything I want and ship it anywhere in the continental United States for free with my Prime Account. I get the same price and speed of delivery regardless of whether I ship to Denver, St. Louis, New York, or San Francisco. Again, this means that all or nearly all of the increase in median incomes in expensive cities can go towards rent and/or mortgage payments. It means that your city may well have a healthy housing market that is sustainable for as long as median incomes remain proportionally higher than in other parts of the country. I havent done this study on the opposite tracklooking at markets with median incomes well below the national averagebut I suspect the same trend to be true. In markets with much lower median incomes, I expect the median resident in those areas has next to nothing to spend on housing, resulting in housing expenses that are a relatively small percentage of household spending. That, or housing prices make up a large amount of household spending and quality if life IS worse for the median household than in areas that are closer to the national median. If you fail to grasp this concept and instead measure the health of housing markets by measuring median incomes as a ratio of housing prices, then I believe that you run the risk of misunderstanding markets that have median wages materially deviating from the national average. I suspect that a better way to predict the impact of median income growth on housing prices in expensive markets is to predict whether the median income in said city will diverge further and increase faster than the national average or revert towards and increase more slowly than the national average. In the former case (and assuming all else is equal), continued above-average pricing inflation is both sustainable and to be expected. In the latter case, Id expect below-average appreciation both in rents and prices. The further median incomes divert from the mean, the more extreme the housing market will appear, even though median residents are perfectly capable of sustaining their lifestyles. Because the cost of food, clothing, transportation, and the like are materially similar in every city in the country, nearly 100 percent of the increase in after-tax, take-home pay in more expensive cities can go towards rent or housing payments. That means that folks can afford to spend larger and larger percentages of their take-home pay on housing and still come out ahead. Remember, our average resident of San Francisco saves MORE in both real dollars and as a percentage of total spending on insurance (like life insurance) and pensions than our average resident in St. Louis in spite of higher housing costs as a percentage of total spending. Were republishing this article to help out our newer readers.

Do you agree with this assessment? Argue your point below! https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/overpriced-market-health

[investmart007]

Why many Americans aren't benefiting from robust US economy

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/qRHhEy

Why many Americans aren't benefiting from robust US economy

WASHINGTON/June 16, 2018 (AP)(STLRealEstate.News) — “The economy,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell declared this week, “is doing very well.”

And it is. Steady hiring has shrunk unemployment to 3.8 percent — the lowest since the 1960’s. Consumers are spending. Taxes are down. Inflation is tame. Factories are busy. Demand for homes is strong. Household wealth is up.

Yet the numbers that collectively sketch a picture of a vibrant economy don’t reflect reality for a range of Americans who still feel far from financially secure even nine years into an economic expansion.

From drivers paying more for gas and families bearing heavier child care costs to workers still awaiting decent pay raises and couples struggling to afford a home, people throughout the economy are straining to succeed despite the economy’s gains.

They are people like Katy Cole, a 33 year-old music teacher from North Creek, New York, who’s still repaying her student loans. It took her two years of working a second job to repair her credit and amass enough money to try to buy a home with her boyfriend. She just gave birth last month — the fourth child in her blended family — which means having to take unpaid leave from her school job.

“As far as the numbers saying everyone is working, that’s great,” Cole said. “But is everybody surviving? I don’t think so. In a great economy, everybody is thriving — and not just a certain group.”

When analysts at Oxford Economics recently studied American spending patterns, they found that the bottom 60 percent of earners was essentially drawing on their savings just to maintain their lifestyles. Their incomes weren’t enough to cover expenses. “Many people are still living on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis,” said Gregory Daco, head of U.S. economics at Oxford.

Daco and other economists describe the economy as fundamentally healthy, a testament to the durable recovery from the 2008 financial crisis. The job market, in particular, is booming. But even many people who have jobs and are in little danger of losing them feel burdened and uneasy.

Here’s a look at the economy from their perspectives: ___ COMMUTERS Even with inflation running at a relatively low 2.4 percent, one particular expense is weighing on anyone idling in traffic: Gasoline prices have surged 24 percent over the past year to a national average of $2.94 a gallon, according to AAA. That’s the highest average since 2014.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley have estimated that the increase this year will likely eat away a third of people’s savings from Trump’s tax cuts. Gas prices are still below their high reached roughly a decade ago. Yet the increase this year represents an additional financial burden on consumers and businesses compared with a year ago. ___ HOMEBUYERS A strong job market can actually be a curse for would-be homebuyers. With more people drawing paychecks and able to afford a home, demand has intensified. Yet the number of homes listed for sale is flirting with historic lows. The combination of high demand and low supply has driven prices to troubling high levels. It’s not just that home ownership is largely unobtainable in San Francisco or Seattle. The Case-Shiller index shows that home prices are rising more than 6 percent annually in Atlanta and Minneapolis. In the Detroit metro area, they’re up nearly 8 percent over the past 12 months. By contrast, average hourly wages have risen just 2.7 percent over the past year.

The real estate brokerage Redfin says the median sales price in the 174 markets it covers has jumped 6.3 percent over the past year to $305,600. A general rule of thumb is that buyers can afford a home worth roughly three times their income. So the median home sales price far exceeds what a typical U.S. household earning a median $57,000 income can manage.

On top of that, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are growing costlier. The average interest rate on these mortgages has jumped to 4.62 percent — from 3.95 percent at the start of the year — according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. ___ THE MIDDLE CLASS $100 trillion. That’s roughly the net worth of U.S. households and nonprofits, according to the Federal Reserve.

Problem is, America’s wealth is increasingly lopsided, with the affluent and the ultra-wealthy amassing rising proportions and everyone else benefiting modestly if at all.

The top 10 percent of the country holds 73 percent of its wealth, a share that has crept steadily up since 1986, according to the World Inequality Database. The most sweeping gains are concentrated among the top 1 percent; this group holds nearly 39 percent of the wealth. And they’re arguably poised to become even more prosperous because Trump’s tax cuts largely favored the wealthiest slice of individual taxpayers.

Contrast that with the middle 40 percent of the country, a group that would historically be considered middle class. In 1986, they held 36 percent of the country’s wealth; now, it’s just 27 percent. Worse off is the bottom 40 percent of Americans: They have a negative net worth and almost no financial cushion in case of an emergency.

Most Americans can’t draw on stocks, rental properties, capital gains or significant home equity to generate cash. They depend almost exclusively on wages. And after adjusting for inflation, the government reported that Americans’ average hourly earnings haven’t budged over the past 12 months. ___ HIGH SCHOOL-ONLY GRADS Employers increasingly favor college graduates over people with only a high school diploma. Out of the 2.6 million jobs added in the past year, the government’s job data shows that 70 percent of them went to college graduates. Workers who have graduated only from high school made up less than 1 percent of the job gains.

It wasn’t this way in May 2000, when the unemployment rate was nearly as low as today. Back then, only 30 percent of new jobs went to college graduates. Census figures show that only 30 percent of Americans older than 25 have college degrees, which means a majority of the country isn’t receiving the full benefit from the sustained job growth. ___ COLLEGE GRADS For all their good fortune as the favored recipients of job growth, there’s a major downside for recent college graduates. Obtaining a degree has increasingly coincided with ever-higher student debt loads. Since 2004, total student debt has climbed 540 percent to $1.4 trillion, according to the New York Federal Reserve. About 60 percent of college graduates from 2016 held debt, with an average of $28,400, according to the College Board. That figure doesn’t include any graduate school debt. The Urban Institute found that advanced degree students borrowed an average of $18,210 in 2015 — about triple what undergraduates borrowed that academic year. Mounting student debt could hinder the buying of homes and formation of families that helped growth in previous decades. A survey last year by the National Association of Realtors found that student debt was delaying home ownership by seven years among millennials, a generation it defined as people born between 1980 and 1998. ___ ANYONE PAYING FOR CHILD CARE Children are immensely expensive. For nearly a third of families, the costs of child care swallowed at least 20 percent of their income, according to a survey posted in March by the caregiver jobs site Care.com. Nearly a third of parents said they went into debt to cover child care expenses.

When Care.com assessed how much its members were spending on day care centers for infants yearly, the average cost was $10,486, and it ranged as high as $20,209. Nannies were even pricier.

Research also suggests that some women remain outside the workforce because of the comparatively weak family leave and child care policies in the United States relative to those in other developed economies. A result is that families are forgoing income that would otherwise benefit them and the economy.

When the unemployment rate was last around 3.8 percent in 2000, the proportion of women who either had a job or were looking for one was peaking. For women ages 25 to 54, that proportion — called the labor force participation rate — was roughly 77 percent in 2000. It’s now 74.8 percent.

If women’s labor force participation were to return to 77 percent, there would be 1.4 million more women in the work force.

________

By JOSH BOAK, AP Economics Writer

[aaltjebarisca]

Jobs and Manufacturing Reports Look Pretty Good – Market Update

So I was at a wedding this weekend. It was quite a party. My sister actually got on the dance floor, and if you knew her, you would understand that’s an event not likely to be seen again for several years.

It was a pretty good week for jobs and in the markets as well. Let’s jump into the reports that moved markets.

Headline News

S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller HPI

Across the nation, home prices were up 6.5% annually in the top 10 metropolitan markets in March, up from 6.4% the month prior. However, in the nation’s 20 largest cities, prices increased a little more, up 6.8% on the year, unchanged from February.

Home prices in Seattle are 13% higher than a year ago, while Las Vegas remains another top gainer. Even Chicago, which had the lowest annual gains, is up 2.8% annually, well above the inflation rate.

Consumer Confidence

Consumers were more confident in May, with the index going up from 125.6 to 128.0 last month. The present situation component and the index was up just over four points to 161.7, while expectations were up a little over a point to 105.6.

More people think business conditions are good, with this number rising 3.6% to 38.4%, while the number of people who think business conditions are bad was down 0.3% to 12.0%. Additionally, 4.2% more people think jobs are plentiful, at 42.4%. However, 15.8% of people also think jobs are hard to get, up from 15.5% last month.

In terms of short-term expectations, those anticipating that business conditions would improve was down from 23.6% to 23.1% in May, but the proportion of people who believed business conditions would get worse decreased 1.5 points to 8.3%. The percentage of people who thought there would be more jobs in the next six months increased, along with the percentage of people who felt there would be fewer jobs. Fewer people also expect to see an increase in their incomes, while more people see their income decreasing, although both changes represent small percentage swings.

MBA Mortgage Applications

Mortgage applications were down 2.9% last week, as the average rate on a 30-year-fixed mortgage was down two basis points to 4.84%.

Refinance applications were down 5% last week and are now at the lowest level since December 2000. Refinance implications now represent just 35.3% of total activity. Meanwhile, purchase applications were down 2% from one week ago.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

In the second revision of estimates for the first quarter of this year, GDP growth was down to 2.2% from an expected 2.3%.

There were a couple of reasons for the slowdown. The housing market is just a little bit cooler than it has been. Investment in home building was down 2.0%. Additionally, consumer spending was only up 1.0%, which is the slowest pace since the second quarter of 2013. In the fourth quarter, spending was up 4.0%.

The amount of inventory being stacked increased at a rate of $20.2 billion, but that’s slower than the $33.1 billion pace that economists expected and also slowed GDP growth.

In better news, business spending was revised up to a 5.5% increase from 4.7% in the last estimate, although it’s still down from the 10%-plus growth in the last six months of 2017.

International Trade in Goods

The U.S. trade deficit decreased $400 million to $68.2 billion in April. However, the news wasn’t all good, as both exports and imports fell 0.5%. There will be more data in the international trade report itself, which will be released this week.

Jobless Claims

Initial jobless claims were down 13,000 last week to come in at 221,000. The four-week moving average was 222,250, which was up 2,500. The government still notes that claims in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands may be inaccurate because claims taking procedures are still feeling the aftereffects of last year’s hurricane season.

Continuing claims were down 16,000 to come in at 1.726 million. The four-week moving average was down 8,500 to come in at about 1.744 million.

Personal Income and Outlays

Consumer spending was up 0.6% in April, according to the Commerce Department. Nondurable goods purchases were up 0.9%, and demand for household utilities was up. Services spending also rose 0.5%. Increased gas prices also drove spending.

Taking out food and energy, inflation was up 0.2%. Personal incomes were up 0.3% as wages rose 0.4%. The savings rate fell to 2.8% from 3.0% in March.

Pending Home Sales Index

Pending home sales were down 1.3% last month to an index level of 106.4. This index of existing homes under contract is down 2.1% on the year. No regions saw an increase in sales activity.

The dip is once again being blamed on supply shortages in the market.

Employment Situation

The unemployment rate fell 0.1% to 3.8% in May after employers added 223,000 jobs to nonfarm payrolls. Average hourly earnings were also up slightly, raising 2.7% from last year.

The retail sector added 31,000 jobs in May with healthcare adding 29,000 jobs. Construction was up 25,000 jobs, and 23,000 jobs were added in professional and technical services. Transportation added 19,000 jobs, while 6,000 jobs were added in mining and 18,000 new jobs came from manufacturing.

It wasn’t all good news. Part of the reason the unemployment rate decreased was that the labor force participation rate was down 0.1% to 62.7%. The average number of hours worked per week was still 34.5.

ISM Manufacturing Index

Manufacturing numbers increased 1.4 points to 58.7 in May, indicating that manufacturing is growing at a faster pace. Among the reasons for this was that construction spending was up 1.8%.

There was a 2.8% increase in construction projects in April.

Mortgage Rates

Mortgage rates fell last week across the board. It’s still a great time to lock your rate if you see one you like.

On a 30-year fixed mortgage, the average rate last week was 4.56%, down 10 basis points from the week prior, with 0.4 points in fees. The average rate at this time last year was 3.96%.

In shorter terms, a 15-year mortgage was down nine basis points this week to 4.06%, with 0.4 points. At the same time a year ago, the rate was 3.19%.

Finally, looking at 5-year treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable rate mortgages, the average rate was 3.80% with 0.3 points, down seven basis points on the week and up from 3.11% last year.

Stock Market

Whether you have a real portfolio or you’re in our fantasy stocks competition, you probably had a decent week.

Among other reasons, the market reacted positively to a strong jobs report. Even the Dow Jones industrial average was up more than 200 points Friday after having a down week.

The Dow was up 219.37 points to 24,635.21, which was down 0.48% on the week. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 finished the week up 0.49% and 29.35 points on the day to close at 2,734.62. The Nasdaq closed at 7,554.33, up 112.22 points on the day and 1.62% on the week.

The Week Ahead

Wednesday, June 6

MBA Mortgage Applications (7:00 a.m. ET) – The mortgage applications index measures applications to mortgage lenders. This is a leading indicator for single-family home sales and housing construction.

International Trade (8:30 a.m. ET) – International trade is composed of merchandise (tangible goods) and services. It’s available by export, import and trade balance for six principal end-use commodity categories and for more than 100 principal Standard International Trade Classification system commodity groupings.

Thursday, June 7

Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m. ET) – New unemployment claims are compiled weekly to show the number of individuals filing for unemployment insurance for the first time. An increasing trend suggests a deteriorating labor market. The four-week moving average of new claims smooths out weekly volatility.

After all of last week’s releases, this week is pretty chill, and the stock market will drive most of the movement. We’ll have it all covered next week.

If mortgage rates and market data aren’t your thing, we’ve got more for you to check out by subscribing to the Zing Blog below. This week, I want to spotlight our new writer Molly Grace and her guide to “adulting.” Have a great week!

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