Post 361: Corporate Bifurcation With Consumers Buying Less Stuff While Governments Bail Out Governments

• The construction of multifamily properties in the US has soared over the last few years.
  • Resulting in higher vacancy rates and lower rents.
• European consumer products company Unilever got rid of its ice cream business last year.
  • Now they’re bidding adieu to the rest of their food business.
• US confectionery company Mondelez has been rapidly increasing its prices to offset higher commodity costs.
  • Volume has been down four quarters in a row.
• Netflix continues to hit it out of the park in terms of sales growth.
  • In the last six months members watched 96 billion hours of content.
• Nike returns to negative growth.
  • And its share price continues to plummet.
• Tesla sales are up a bit from last year but down from two years ago..
  • But the big news is that they will start mass production of their cybercab.
• Canada’s Federal and Provincial government (taxpayers) bail out Ontario’s municipal governments.
  • This shouldn’t go down well in provinces with low new home development charges.
• In Financial Ructions
  • US jobs were stronger than expected.
    • As was the quality of those jobs.
• Book Review: False Dawn by George Selgin
  • First, we see that the NRA (National Recovery Act) served to delay the recovery.
    • PM: Not for the first time, the government would have been better off doing nothing.
  • Second, most of the benefits of well-intended policies to help homeowners instead went to lenders.
    • And that cheap credit is “dangerously habit-forming.”
      • PM: I’ll say.