Friday 31 Jan 2025
This Genius Mechanism Will Blow Your Mind - Youtube.
"“We need to look through and say who is supporting Trump and how can we make them pay a price," Canada's Chrystia Freeland said." - X was Twitter.
The small trade deficit the US has with Canada (red - blue) is due to capital flow from Canada to the US (apart from income payments and receipts), probably to investment in US monopolies:
Thursday 30 Jan 2025
The US official inflation rate (red) matches the increase in average wage (blue), whilst Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) per person (green) has grown 2.3x faster than the average wage. The official inflation rate usually measures affordability, and not the actual inflation rate on goods people stop buying because they can no longer afford it. It is possible that the PCE grew faster than the average wage because people have multiple jobs, but it is more likely spending by the wealthiest 10%. Since there has been a big shift in wealth, the increased spending per person is much higher than shown here. The inflation basket should contain more of the items bought by the rich.
Wednesday 29 Jan 2025
"Commerce Sec nominee @howardlutnick says tariffs are not inflationary, that the suggestion is “nonsense”" - X was Twitter. Poor people pay little income tax due to the progressive tax brackets, but they will now pay more tax due to the import duties. Trump wants to reduce the income tax which are mostly paid by high income earnings. Voters did not learn from Trump's first term.
"BREAKING: Tesla has just announced that new vehicles from the factory now drive themselves autonomously to their designated loading dock without human intervention, a major step forward!" - X was Twitter. When AI take over all jobs they won't needs cars.
"Microsoft probing if Deepseek-linked group obtained OpenAI data" - X was Twitter. Microsoft are experts at copying products.
US president Trump makes a lot of impossible statements, like bringing back manufacturing, and replacing income tax with import duties. What we are waiting for, is for him to consult AI (Artificial Intelligence) for advice.
From 23 Jan: Removing barriers to American leadership in artificial-intelligence - Whitehouse. The leadership didn't last long. China and India has 10x more STEM graduates than the US - Reddit. Studying engineering in western countries is not attractive due to the decline in opportunities.
There are a lot of comments about Americans having to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. Total wages dividend amongst the workforce, and divided by the average hourly wage gives the average hours worked per year (below). It is has only increased 14% since 1964. It is possible that the lower income workers have to work longer hours. It is unclear whether the same workers are included in total wages as well as nonfarm payrolls – some workers might be excluded from one and not the other.
Tuesday 28 Jan 2025
Taiwan's Economy Ministry responds to Trump's threat of up to 100% tariffs on chips, including those from TSMC - Yahoo News. US made semiconductors are so expensive, not even 100% import duties will make a difference. Americans pay the import duties. It is only negative for the exporter if there are alternative cheaper sources, which appears not to be case.
"For an idea of how wild things got, Nvidia's market capitalization started to approach the total value of Japan's Nikkei 225 index. That country has the 2nd-largest stock market in the world." - X was Twitter.
The coffee price has shot up to $355 per pound 27 Jan. We have not yet seen the big jump in Nov 2024 in the retail price of coffee. The price of one random US coffee product has increased 20.2% over the last year (Aislegopher).
Average annual recruitment salary in 38 Chinese cities was ¥123,760 ($17,270) in Q2 2024 (Teamed Up). US Average wage $55,116 in Q4 (green), which was 3.2x higher. China GDP per capita was $12,610 per year 2023 (red). US GDP per capita was $87,118 per year in Q3 2024 (blue), which is 6.9x higher.
The one big difference is that US GDP per capita is 58% higher than the average wage, whilst China's GDP per capita is -27% lower than the average wage. In the US other economic activity generates more income than working, or it is due to people having multiple jobs. In China it is the opposite.
Monday 27 Jan 2025
"NEWS: DeepSeek just dropped ANOTHER open-source AI model, Janus-Pro-7B. It's multimodal (can generate images) and beats OpenAI's DALL-E 3 and Stable Diffusion across GenEval and DPG-Bench benchmarks. This comes on top of all the R1 hype." - X was Twitter.
"An important lesson I learned during the 2000-2002 tech bubble's bust: the bubbleheads are loathe to give up, so they "rotate" (see Apple today - up over $8 - yeeha -such a bargain for no growth, 38+ P/E, 10x sales & $3.5T mkt. cap!) and they continue to buy... all...the...way...down." - X was Twitter.
Some currencies are stronger because these countries export goods with limited supplies. For example, if the coffee bean exporters formed a OPEC type cartel, they too can have a stronger currency.
US president Trump wants to bring back manufacturing, and wants Saudi Arabia to lower oil prices. The US is now a net exporter of oil, so the US benefits from higher prices. US nominal manufacturing output (red) flattened out after 2000. Oil output (blue) declined up to 2006, and then shot up.
US manufacturing as a fraction of the economic output has declined to 25% in Q3 of 2024. The chart doesn't go back far enough.
Employment in manufacturing is down to 8.1% compared to about 32% around 1950, due to cheaper imports and automation:
Imposing further sanctions on Russia to end the war on the Ukraine would be of little value given how small imports are already:
Sunday 26 Jan 2025
"Nixon on the unhappiest people… quite prescient for the social media pretend world of 2025…" - X was Twitter.
"Colombia will reject deportation flights from the US after Brazil decried the treatment of migrants arriving handcuffed and shackled" - X was Twitter.
"Trump to impose emergency 25% tariffs on goods from Colombia" - X was Twitter. Coffee prices are already at all time highs. US farmers will also not have cheap migrant labour.
"The United States is the world's second leading importer of coffee (both Arabica and Robusta varieties). In 2023, about 80 percent of U.S. unroasted coffee imports came from Latin America (valued at $4.8 billion), principally from Brazil (35 percent) and Colombia (27 percent)." - USDA.
Saturday 25 Jan 2025
"Mexico Denies Landing for U.S. Deportation Flight" - X was Twitter.
Friday 24 Jan 2025
Lawrence: No one else on the planet but Americans will ever pay a Trump tariff - Youtube.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Deepseek released out of China at lower cost without the sanctioned US semiconductors: Notes on Deepseek r1: Just how good it is compared to OpenAI o1 - Reddit.
One chart shows worldwide PC (Personal Computer) sales shrunk from 2009 to 2018, but HP, Lenovo and Dell had maintained sales (PC Mag). Another chart shows HP and Lenovo have grown, whilst the other manufacturers either maintained sales or declined (IT Candor). The US is the biggest market for PCs, about twice that of China.
Global shipments of smartphones shot up from 150M in 2008 to 1470M in 2016, and has since declined (Visual Capitalist). It declined to 1164M in 2023, and improved to 1238M in 2024 (X was Twitter).
Natural gas costs a lot more in the EU (blue) than the USA (red). Why has no one laid a gas pipeline? The Yamal–Europe natural gas pipeline is 4,107 kilometre long (Wikipedia). The distance between Portland, Maine, USA and Spain is 4800km. The closest distance between Canada and Ireland is 3000km. The longest pipeline is the 8707km West-East Pipeline in China (Mentorimcgroup).
Thursday 23 Jan 2025
Global Capitalism: What Trump 2.0 Means - Youtube.
"BREAKING: President Trump signs executive order to ban central bank digital currencies" - X was Twitter. Only the Congress has the power: "... the Supreme Court has recognized Congress’s coinage power to be exclusive. The Supreme Court has also construed Congress’s power to coin money and regulate the value thereof to authorize Congress to regulate every phase of currency." - X was Twitter.
"Thailand signs trade deal with European nations as U.S. tariff hedge" - X was Twitter.
US president Trump uses the phrase "Drill baby, drill". During his previous presidential term from Jan 2017 to Jan 2021, the drilling of oil and gas wells (blue) did increase initially, but not as high as the previous decade. It fell towards the end of his term due to Covid lockdowns. Oil production (red) did shoot up to new highs, and went even higher under president Biden. Production is ultimately determined by profitability. The present oil price is too low, however as we have seen with gold mining, as long as management gets paid they don't care what return shareholders get.
The gold miners fund GDX is now at the same level as in 2006 (Bigcharts). The gold price is up 8.8% per year since 2006 (Goldprice.org).
Wednesday 22 Jan 2025
How much did it snow? Florida shatters previous record after rare winter storm - NBC Miami. High temperatures absorb more moisture, and wild fires seed the clouds.
There are videos on the web about the release of a Tesla Pi smartphone. It is difficult to find any official announcement. It is advertised on an Indian commerce website for future release. Another company is already making Tesla branded phones Explr 9 and Series 3, which has nothing to do with the car company.
Trump should introduce a slimming program called the Fat Reduction Act. He could serve as test subject. There is talk about lowering inflation and house prices, but no clear vision of how to achieve it. The ways to lower inflation are: (1) cease printing money, (2) higher interest rates, (3) slash government spending, (4) scrap subsidies and import duties, and (5) break up monopolies to create more competition.
Breakfast is more expensive. Coffee prices (brown) are at new highs, which is growth of 4.2% per year since 1990. Egg prices (yellow) has shot up again, which is 3.8% per year since 1989. The bacon price (red) has grown 3.7% per year since 1989. Inflation on agricultural products has been low.
Average household net worth for the bottom 50% (blue) compared to average household net worth for the top 10% (red). The average household net worth for the bottom 50% was $59,000 in Q3 of 2024. For the wealthiest 10% it was $8.1M.
Tuesday 21 Jan 2025
5 Safety Issues Keeping Tesla Cybertruck Off UK Roads - Youtube.
"Donald Trump says TikTok could be worth $1 trillion total, with the US keeping $500 billion if he does a deal." - X was Twitter. If the capital gains tax on foreign investors is set at 50%, watch foreigners pile out of the US dollar.
'Tariffs alert: President Trump says during executive order signing l: “We are thinking in terms of 25% toward Mexico and Canada…I think we’ll do it on February 1st.” ' - X was Twitter. Big events on 1 Feb: 1790 Start of the US Supreme Court, 1793 France declares war on the United Kingdom (Kidskonnect), 1958 1st US satellite (Explorer I) launched, 1959 Swiss men vote against voting rights for women, 1964 The Beatles' 1st #1 hit "I Want to Hold Your Hand," topped the Hot 100, 1970 West-Germany & USSR sign gas contract (Onthisday), 2025 US president Trump starts trade war resulting in an economic depression - The Great Trading Wars of 2025.
"President Trump withdraws the US from the Paris climate agreement (again)" - X was Twitter.
"This is really remarkable. 31% of large pharma in-licensed development drugs are from China." - X was Twitter.
"Microsoft starts forcing Windows 11’s big 24H2 update on PCs" - X was Twitter.
"A who’s who of the world’s wealthiest people surrounded President Donald Trump as he took the oath of office — gathering a combined net worth exceeding $1.3tn for the occasion" - X was Twitter.
US average wage (blue) compared to the average household net worth (red) which is mostly held by the wealthiest 10%. Voters keep sending wealthy people to Washington. This has not solved their problem in the past. Doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different outcome, is a sign of insanity.
Repeat from 17 Oct 2024: US average annual wage (blue) compared to the average annual increase in wealth for the wealhiest 10% (red). In April the average wage was $53,694, and by Q2 the annual increase in wealth was $183,000 per person.
Monday 20 Jan 2025
This week people will found out whether the world economy will decline into another depression because of president Trump's import duties and external revenue tax, or whether he will renege on his campaign promises. We don't see taxpayers partying because they will no longer be paying tax. They don't believe anything a politician says.
It also remains to be seen whether Trump will cut government spending. One policy will be negative for the economy, and one positive. This could go either way.
US federal spending is decided by the Congress, not the President: "The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the ability to create a federal budget – in other words, to determine how much money the government can spend over the course of the upcoming fiscal year. Congress’s budget is then approved by the President. Every year, Congress decides the amount and the type of discretionary spending, as well as provides resources for mandatory spending." - Fiscal Data. It is up to voters to change the Congress. The president is just there to execute the decisions made by the Congress, but can veto the budget from the Congress.
Sunday 19 Jan 2025
"In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service" - X was Twitter.
"A HISTORIC SNOWSTORM is coming to the Gulf Coast on Tuesday. This has the potential to be a once in a lifetime type of event. I even bought a plane ticket to NOLA to witness it myself!" - X was Twitter.
"TikTok is no longer available in the US" - X was Twitter. From 2 Dec 2024: "TikTok has 1 billion monthly active users globally, with 150 million monthly active users in the United States." - Seo.ai. Democrats losing younger voters.
Saturday 18 Jan 2025
"Mexico and the EU finalized a trade deal that will slash tariffs on EU exports and grant duty-free access for Mexican EVs" - X was Twitter.
Friday 17 Jan 2025
The expected S&P 500 earnings growth for Q4 is 12.5%, with 9% having reported (Factset). The earnings growth for the Magnificent 7 is 21.7%, and the other 493 companies 9.7%.
New patch now available for Windows 10 PCs stuck in update loop - PC World. The constant updates has been going for a decade.
Imported Tesla Cybertruck is seized by police in the UK, deemed dangerous and not legal - Electrek. As if any vehicle is safe for pedestrians. What tripe.
SpaceX's Starship explodes in flight test, forcing airlines to divert - Reuters. There were no Martians on board.
"Too bad bout Starship but SpaceX is always getting better… incredible that the booster catch happened, and so unbelievable to see live. Here’s my video and reactions. Beautiful." - X was Twitter.
"California's socialist price controls drove private insurers out. The controls forced high-risk homeowners into the state-run FAIR insurance plan. Now, FAIR faces ~$6bn in exposure with ~$300m in reserves." - X was Twitter.
From 10 Jan: Treasury Intensifies Sanctions Against Russia by Targeting Russia’s Oil Production and Exports - US Dept of Lost Treasure. It makes no sense. The US can only control commercial activity within its own territory. If these ships are owned by a US company, then Russia and China would just build there own.
The money supply or all debt ratio between countries usually matches the exchange rate over time, because the growth in money supply creates inflation, and exchange rates are determined by the inflation differential. China's all debt to US all debt (red) can't be compared to the exchange rate (blue) due to the high economic growth in China. It does not compute. Based on debt ratio, the Chinese Yuan should have been much weaker due to much higher money creation.
Thursday 16 Jan 2025
Blue Origin reaches orbit in first New Glenn launch - Techcentral.
"India says it has successfully executed the first space docking experiment, becoming only the fourth country in the world to master a critical technology required for other ambitious projects" - X was Twitter.
"President Joe Biden warns of a “dangerous concentration of power” in the hands of a few ultra-wealthy people, threatening democracy and basic rights during his farewell address from the White House " - X was Twitter. Political power is far more dangerous. Politicians sitting in a comfortable office order the bombing of defenceless populations from far away. Even in the few countries with democracy, the party leader has extreme power over the executive government and legislature.
24 EVs Were Driven In Freezing Weather Until They Died. One Car Stood Out - Inside EVs.
The amount of gas trapped in the earth's crust is surprising. A lot of countries use natural gas as main source for electricity generation and heating, but some do not have their own supply. The US has 86 years worth of reserves left (EIA). It has 5.3% of the world's share, with Russia at 24.3%, Iran at 17.3% and Qatar ar 12.5% (Wordometers).
US PPI premiums for homeowner's insurance (blue) goes up with the average house price (red), if the index based statistic represent the actual premiums:
Wednesday 15 Jan 2025
SpaceX launches two lunar landers to the moon - The Guardian.
"A startup trying to bring back the woolly mammoth and the dodo is now valued at more than $10 billion" - X was Twitter.
According to the World Integrated Trade Solution the countries with the highest export taxes in 2021 were Kazakhstan (18.31%), Argentina (16.97%), and Russian Federation (16.06%). The taxes drop to below 1% after the top 8 countries. Most governments try to sell more, not less. Many countries subsidize exports.
From 6 Jan 2025: Milei promises export tax reductions in 2025 - Garra.
Tuesday 14 Jan 2025
"If you wanted evidence that the 117M-gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir in Los Angeles was empty & firefighters knew nothing about it, take a look" - X was Twitter.
"President Donald J. Trump announces the External Revenue Service" - X was Twitter. He will cause the next Great Depression by making an end to international trade. American consumers will pay the import duties. It is not clear what "revenue from foreign sources" would be. It could be sales by US companies abroad, which will make US products more expensive, or foreign investments in the US.
"Here are the percentage changes in federal government employment—excluding the Post Office—under each president since JFK. Note that the sharp spikes reflect hiring for the census, which occurs every 10 years. This one surprised me!" - X was Twitter. The president who did (not) have sexual relationships with Monica Lewsinsky was the only one who cut government size, but government debt still grew 29%. They will have to bring her in as consultant.
China exports more commodities (red) than it imports (blue), despite turning some commodities into manufactured products.
Monday 13 Jan 2025
"The forward 12-month P/E ratio for $SPX of 21.5 is above the 5-year average (19.7) and above the 10-year average (18.2)" - X was Twitter.
"Spain proposes 100% tax on property purchases for non-EU buyers" - X was Twitter.
"A huge strike has erupted in Belgium. 100k are protesting cuts to pensions & social benefits" - X was Twitter. Pensions and social benefits are not the purpose of government.
"Germany’s far-right AfD party warned it would dismantle wind parks should it win power, triggering a scathing response from the country’s energy industry" - X was Twitter.
"Percent change in U.S. government debt under each president since 1966" - X was Twitter.
In the US, roof shingles are often made of asphalt, which is a tar like material. Tar is also sold as paints for sealing a roof. It is used because its viscous properties give the impression that it would last long. Not only is it flammable, it dries out and cracks. In Europe roofs are covered with clay or cement tiles.
The fires in Los Angeles could contribute further to the decline of Hollywood's entertainment industry. The internet ended the dominance of a small number of studios with their big budget productions. Any vlogger without money and just a camera can provide entertainment. Cinemas and cable television providers are struggling. Does it still make sense to build a mansion in Los Angeles, at 2.5x the price in the rest of the US? Buyers will be deterred for a long time. Suddenly renting looks more attractive.
According to AMC Entertainment's (AMC) annual report US and Canada theatre attendance remained fairly constant from 2014 to 2019 at 1270 to 1244 million. In 2023 it had recovered to 833 million from Covid.
Canada's economic output per person in USD (blue) compared to the WTI oil price (red). If the oil price is any indication, there is no real economic growth, and/or prosperity is dependent on the oil price.
Sunday 12 Jan 2025
"The Best China-Made EV I Have Ever Seen | You Can’t Buy This in the States!!!" - Youtube.
"Pacific Palisades led the list where about 1,600 policies were dropped by State Farm in July. Many insurance companies saw this from a mile away." - X was Twitter.
The media and government officials place undue emphasis on looting during the Los Angeles fires. It looks like an attempt to deflect attention away from incompetent government. The losses due to looting is insignificant compared to the lossess due to the fire.
Man loses fight to search for lost R14-billion Bitcoin wallet - Mybroadband. An absurd "investment".
Friday 10 Jan 2025
"The Supreme Court signaled they are likely to uphold a law that would ban TikTok in the US if it isn’t sold by its Chinese parent company by Jan. 19" - X was Twitter.
Trump to be sentenced in hush money case, days before his inauguration - Reuters. He will be sentenced to four year government service, including military service as commander in chief.
Drought in Los Angeles during Dec and Jan is unusual since those are the months with the highest rainfall, although overall rainfall is low (Weather & Climate). It has a dry climate because of the cold sea current on the west coast of all continents. It falls within a sub-tropical mediterranean climate zone (Climate Box).
Thursday 9 Jan 2025
Riding in the disaster zones from LA wildfires.. *footage* - Youtube.
Aftermath: Mobile Home Park Destroyed in Pacific Palisades Fire, Community Reduced to Ashes - Youtube. You would think that a mobile home would be ideal in this situation, but apparently they are not mobile enough.
Where are the Los Angeles area wildfires? - News Nation Now. The fires appear to be near to forests or parkland. If your house is near a forest, you need to fireproof it. People don't foresee anything happening to them, so they don't want to pay for prevention.
There is a link between: Maps: Tracking the Los Angeles Wildfires - NY Times, and California hits milestones toward 100% clean energy — but has a long way to go. Clean air leads to more sunny weather, higher temperatures and more fires. If California had coal fired power plants releasing smoke to seed the clouds, causing rain and less drought, the wild fires would be less likely.
In the old TV show from 45 years ago Match Game Synd. (Episode 222) there is a question: "Dumb Donald, the president, is so dumb once he tried to throw out the first ball at a blank". Some-one must have had a time machine.
"Vietnamese officials are drastically cutting the number of ministries and government agencies, aiming to eliminate red tape and redundancies in a bid to boost growth" - X was Twitter.
Net earnings per employee is 22% higher in California (blue) than in Texas (red). It does not explain the 2.5x higher real estate prices. It looks like the wealthiest people live in California, which pushed up house prices.
The typical house price in California is $790,742 (Zillow). The average annual US income is $59,436 (Demandsage). The interest on a 100% home loan is approximately equal to the average wage (below). So the whole salary is required just to pay the interest.
Wednesday 8 Jan 2025
"One thing that does seem certain, however, is that the relationship between real US yields and #gold is well-and-truly broken" - X was Twitter. Interest rates are too low. The majority have been impoverished by inflation, but they keep voting for the same politicians.
"Biden’s administration plans one additional round of restrictions on the export of AI chips from the likes of Nvidia just days before leaving office" - X was Twitter. The outgoing adminstration must think this will be bad for the incoming administration, otherwise why bother.
How Does Cinnamon Grow?! - Youtube.
"Delaying the green transition will come at a cost for people, businesses and governments alike. To ensure a smooth transition, we need to see a significant increase in green investment in Europe." - European Central Bank, X was Twitter. The green transition is clearly not lowering temperatures, and is not the purpose of the ECB.
.... "The European Central Bank (ECB) manages the euro and frames and implements EU economic & monetary policy. Its main aim is to keep prices stable, thereby supporting economic growth and job creation." - European Central Bank. The ECB has been a disaster, causing high inflation, a growing wealth gap, and a greater dependence on government benefits.
EU vows ‘energetic’ probe into Musk’s X - TechCentral. The present democratic model has been a failure. A political system should operate from the bottom up, instead of from the top down like it does now. The government should not be the rulers, but the servants. The government should be a voluntary service provider, and only the people who want the service shall pay for it.
"In Seoul, I found a glimpse of our future with robots" - X was Twitter. If AI (Artificial Intelligence) creates a fourth industrial revolution, there will be a lot of homeless people living on handouts, like there are in Africa.
The economic output or GDP per capita in California (blue) did outperform Texas (red) and the whole USA (green) since 2013, but it does not explain the much higher real estate prices in California.
Tuesday 7 Jan 2025
Premier of Greenland message today; “Let me repeat - Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland ... " - X was Twitter. If Trump wants to take over Canada, he will have to overthrow the UK government, because King Charles is still the head of state of Canada.
2025 Electric vehicle tax credits and rebates available in the US, sorted by state - Electrek. Politicians love spending other people's money without asking them, otherwise known as theft.
"Lenovo will release the world’s first laptop with an expanding rollable display this March, pricing it at $3,499" - X was Twitter.
"Trump: will change name of Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America" - X was Twitter.
The median listing price per square feet in California (blue) was 2.5x more expensive than in Texas (red) in Nov 2024.
Converting the FRED price index to average home value according to Motley Fool Money, house prices in the two states were similar back in 1975. That is a big difference in asset appreciation.
Monday 6 Jan 2025
New services often have unforeseen problems. The Tesla robotaxi sounds like a great idea, but there might be a big demand from commuters travelling to and from work, whilst the cars sit idle the rest of the day. People will also have to wait for the robotaxi to arrive depending on how many are roaming the streets.
.... From 11 Nov 2024: "Waymo’s autonomous ride-hailing service still can’t compete with traditional rideshares on either price or speed" - Yahoo Finance.
Australia's prosperity based on GDP relative to US total debt as real economic output (blue) peaked in 1974 when the iron and steel price was high relative to US total debt per person, as real iron price (red). It is now at the same level as 38 years ago. Australia has done better than most other countries due to an export with limited supply. It makes sense for companies and countries to concentrate on their comparative advantages. Subsidies and import duties is the wrong way to go.
Sunday 5 Jan 2025
"Australia's Victoria braces for fire danger as 45 degrees Celsius nears" - X was Twitter. All that green energy cooling the earth. They should welcome the fires, because the smoke seeds the clouds, bringing the rain which completes the earth's cooling cycle.
Friday 3 Jan 2025
"$SPX is expected to report Y/Y earnings growth of 11.9% for Q4 2024, which is below the estimate of 14.5% on September 30" - X was Twitter. A lot of companies are doing badly. The overall earnings growth is skewed by the large companies.
Adam Savage of Mythbusters said the Discovery show ended because ratings fell along a bell curve. The internet exposes the facts. The ratings did decline slowly towards season 11, but by season 14 (last one with Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman) it was higher than ever - Ratingraph.
"Biden officially blocks US Steel-Nippon Steel deal" - X was Twitter. Makes sense for the next time the US is at war with Japan. "We are dismayed by President Biden’s Executive Order to block our pending transaction with Nippon Steel. We will take all appropriate action to protect our legal rights to secure a future in which U. S. Steel can thrive and compete." - US Steel, X was Twitter.
Tesla's vehicle deliveries was no surprise given the numbers for the first three quarters, from 2 Oct: X was Twitter. Tesla sales for 2024 are about 1.9% of global passenger car sales.
There is inconsistent information on world car sales: "Last year (2023), global vehicle production reached 93.5 million units, representing a 2% increase compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019 and a significant 17% rise from 2022" - Visual Capitalist.
.... Or sales of 76.67 million 2023 was still below the 2018 level: Our World in Data. With electric cars being more expensive, except in China, one would expect for the number of cars sold to be lower.
Thursday 2 Jan 2025
"Saudi Arabia ran a current account deficit in the third quarter, as oil export receipts didn't cover current external spending. With a balance of payments break even of around $90 a barrel, the q4 external deficit will be large ..." - X was Twitter.
"Prices for nickel, used in stainless steel and batteries, dropped towards $15,000 a ton on the London Metal Exchange" - X was Twitter.
"X and Google have not applied for a social media operating license under Malaysia’s new law which kicked in on Wednesday, according to the country’s internet regulator" - X was Twitter. There are 1.1 billion websites. Social media is probably a tiny percentage of the content on the web.
"Apple finally forced to pull Lightning-based iPhones from sale in the EU" - X was Twitter. Europe's USB-C charger mandate.
Wednesday 1 Jan 2025
"Despite Pres. Milei’s popularity, Argentina’s official inflation continues to surge at a PUNISHING 166%/yr" - X was Twitter.
"Charted: Tesla’s Market Cap Nears Half of Global Auto Industry" - X was Twitter.
"U.S. Dollar is now the most overvalued in history according to Bank of America" - X was Twitter.
Japan residential property prices in dollars (red) look cheap relative to the US average house price (blue). Average home in Japan is ¥30-50 million or $273,000-$455,000 (Tokyoportfolio) compared to $501,000 in US. Index based statistics are useless.
Residential property price for Germany in dollars (red) relative to the US average house price (blue). In 2023 average cost in Germany was €2971/m2, but as high as €10,420 in Munich (Koronapay). Median price in US is $2800/m2 (Properstar).
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