The Economy

Looks to me like a member of the Greatest Generation.

 

She might not have made it that far.


https://historicipswich.net/2023/08/02/kiss-of-death/

An estimated 110,000 Americans died each year from tuberculosis in the 1900s. In 1921, the publication, “Textile World,” announced a campaign to reduce tuberculosis among factory workers, and included shocking statistics in the United States Department of Labor report, ” Causes of Death by Occupation.” before the age of 35.

Male textile workers: 2,390 deaths in textile mills. 525 died from tuberculosis. In other words, 22 percent of deaths among male textile workers are due to tuberculosis. 47 percent of deaths in the age period 25 to 34 years are from tuberculosis.

Female textile workers: (In the study group of workers who died before age 35) the average at death is 33.9 years, while the age at death of those dying tuberculosis is 26.7. Thirty-six percent of all deaths among female textile workers are due to tuberculosis. Among these, 50 percent of all deaths at age 15 to 24, are due to tuberculosis. At the ages of 25 to 34, 49 percent of deaths are from tuberculosis.”

 

Wildly profitable company decides to make cuts to management positions because it's slightly less wildly profitable, and uses union-bashing rhetoric and the slow delivery season after the holidays as an excuse. Neat.

 

Here's another comical, misleading headline to sum it all up: "UPS Earnings Counter Q4 GDP Data with 12,000 Job Cuts." Uh huh. Stock dropped despite the fact that UPS is increasing dividends. I speculate that Q4 GDP data might NOT be legit. We shall see. UPS has been intentionally reducing its unit count hauled for Amazon, while slightly increasing revenue. (Amazon has been increasing its own shipments, as a look at any BNSF or UP intermodal train will reveal.) UPS has been intentionally reducing Amazon business for a few years already, as Amazon's consumer/retail shipments were hurting UPS margins. UPS's "bread and butter" has always been business-to-business shipments.

UPS CEO Carol Tome said consumer spending is shifting from goods to services, in other words, an economic slowdown. I am not too concerned as logistics companies' management is experienced enough to handle economic cycles, as they should be.

 

I was Q4, which included the holiday and not January.

 

UPS had 395,000 employees on 1/1/14. It had 536,000 on 1/1/23, and increase of 141,000 employees.

So even with a seasonal job cut of 12K, it is far, far ahead of where it was less than 10 years ago.

 

I think this is where we post the retail theft stories. Not a ton of details, but it sounds a little more sophisticated than a simple smash and grab.
Los Angeles man arrested with $5 million worth of Nike merchandise in a warehouse.

Man arrested after $5 million of stolen Nike merchandise found in Hawthorne

 

ok

https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/lux...uppvkbpx5ym&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink


It has been nearly 20 years since the country’s first $100 million home sale, but in some ways the market is just taking off: Since 2020, at least 24 homes nationwide have traded for $100 million and up, more than the total number of nine-figure sales during the entire prior decade combined.

The 24 homes, and their uber-wealthy owners, also tell the compelling story of massive wealth creation and migration in the U.S. since the onset of the pandemic, with a dramatic surge in nine-figure deals in Florida in recent years. Since 2020, three homes over $100 million have changed hands in New York City compared with six in and around Palm Beach, including a $170 million deal in 2023 that set a Florida sales record.

“People’s wealth has grown so substantially and there’s such limited product,” said Chris Leavitt of Douglas Elliman in Palm Beach. “There are more billionaires than there are oceanfront, sprawling estates.”