Economy and Things

[renton42]

Self driving cars is the biggest technology for the future... self driving cars will avoid problems humans make... in 20 years, no human drivers will be allowed.

Steve Wozniak (computerworld.co.nz)

[renton42]

Annual sales at Starbucks are set to break through the $20bn mark this year – enough to buy a tall latte for everyone on the planet. The world’s biggest coffee chain, headquartered in Seattle, is booming after improvements to food menus and service along with the launch of new drinks such as the Toasted Graham Latte. Comparable sales – at cafes that have been open for at least a year – rose 8% in the firm’s fourth quarter, beating analysts’ expectations.

A latte for everyone on earth: Starbucks sales are set to break $20 billion - Business Insider

[renton42]

According to Ron Shaich, founder and CEO of Panera Bread, a tech revolution is coming, and it will be bad news for many workers. "Labor is going to go down," Shaich said Wednesday in a quarterly earnings call. "And as digital utilization goes up — like the sun comes up in the morning — it is going to continue to go up. Digital utilization. You are seeing it happen in Panera today.

PANERA CEO: Robots will replace our labor 'like the sun comes up in the morning' - Business Insider

[renton42]

After adjusting for inflation, US median household income, at $53,657 in 2014, is still 6.5% lower than pre-recession levels in 2007, and 7.2% lower than its peak in 1999, according to the US Census Bureau.

The disappearing middle class is threatening American mega brands, Business Insider

[renton42]

“Reading: 50 pages a day gets you ~60 books a year. One of the best possible investments you can make.”

[renton42]

Apple is becoming a tech company with Chinese characteristics. About 24 percent of the $51.5 billion of sales booked in its latest quarter – and two-thirds of revenue growth over the last year – came from China.

Robert Cyran (http://blogs.reuters.com/breakingviews/2015/10/28/apple-a-tech-company-with-chinese-characteristics/)

[renton42]

History produces a great deal of evidence for the Phillips Curve as it currently stands... (http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fed-has-a-theory-trouble-is-the-proof-is-patchy-1440352846)

[renton42]

In an age when the Federal Reserve is communicating more and more with the public, the public seems to have less and less of an idea what the Fed is going to do next. And there’s a simple explanation for this confusion: economists have a much looser grasp on what causes changes in inflation and employment than they’d like us to believe.

Chris Matthews (http://fortune.com/2015/10/28/inflation-janet-yellen/)