Electric arc furnaces are used for secondary steelmaking, which means recycled and lower grade.

I think the largest still-American steel producer (Nucor) uses almost exclusively electric arc furnaces, which can be stopped and started and vary production according to demand.  Our blast furnaces seem to have been mostly snapped up by ArcelorMittal (usually swooping in to buy the assets out of bankruptcy).

 

See, e.g., http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/arcelormittal-completes-million-project-on-nation-s-largest-blast-furnace/article_b487d004-10a4-5fda-a96b-1135a9e2ba60.html.

 

I presume that $70 million cost to repair the old Inland Steel Blast Furnace No. 7 included the giant heating bill 327 mentioned to prevent it from going completely cold.  Either way, though, if we're protecting primarily blast-furnace-based steel producers, then we're mostly protecting an Indian steel magnate running his conglomerate out of Luxembourg, who happens to have the remains of fallen American producers as part of his empire.

 

Arcelor Mittal would not be currently running in Cleveland had not LTV hot idled the furnaces they are using. 

Welcome back 18000. We missed you old friend.

Geographic Inequality Is Swallowing the Recovery

http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/05/there-are-more-losers-than-winners-in-americas-economic-recovery-due-to-geographic-inequality/483989/

Latest job report out and it's not good.

 

"US created 38,000 jobs in May vs. 162,000 expected"

 

"There's one word for it, which is just shocking," said Dan North, chief economist at Euler Hermes North America. "Unfortunately it does look like a trend. It's not great news.

 

The drop in the unemployment rate was primarily due to a decline in the labor force participation rate, which fell to a 2016 low of 62.6 percent, a level near a four-decade low. The number of Americans not in the labor force surged to a record 94.7 million, an increase of 664,000."

 

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/03/us-nonfarm-payrolls-may-2016.html

 

The weakest recovery ever is over.  We are heading back into slowdown.

~30% of the country isn't in the labor force?? Lord.

FED: Everywhere we look the job market is tight

Akin Oyedele

Jun. 1, 2016, 6:41 PM

 

The labor market looks tight everywhere the Federal Reserve turns.

 

Its latest Beige Book released Wednesday contained anecdotes from its 12 districts on their regional economies.

 

Most places noted that the gap between the number of jobs and people available to work was shrinking, meaning the labor markets were tightening.

 

More demand for workers also meant modestly higher wages, according to the Fed's districts. Markets like Richmond and Atlanta reported higher wages for lower-skilled workers, while minimum-wage pressures were felt in San Francisco.

 

MORE:

http://www.businessinsider.com/fed-beige-book-june-1-2016-6

nvm

 

CityLab ‏@CityLab  8m8 minutes ago

America's leading startup neighborhoods

http://www.citylab.com/tech/2016/06/americas-leading-startup-neighborhoods/485825/?utm_source=SFTwitter

~30% of the country isn't in the labor force?? Lord.

 

The gray economy (people working off the books) is much larger than the Labor Department reports. I'd say the "real" participation rate is ten points higher than what gets reported.

Also, the jobs number that came out on Friday was a bumper number (287,000). 

~30% of the country isn't in the labor force?? Lord.

 

The gray economy (people working off the books) is much larger than the Labor Department reports. I'd say the "real" participation rate is ten points higher than what gets reported.

 

Correct.  Not only are people working off the books, they are oftentimes collecting unemployment compensation or other forms of assistance while doing so.  Employers are all too complicit in this.  We need to put an end to it.

Am I the only one annoyed by talk of "negative interest rates" to keep the economy going?  For one thing, I don't know of any project that will get done at minus a half of a percent that wouldn't have gotten done at plus a half a percent. For another, even the current rates are destroying the value of savings by individuals as well as pension plans.  I think Yellen & Co. are nuts not to raise rates.

Equities and real estate are about the only places you can put money and get real return the way things are now.

I finally just put some money in a 5 year CD because it's the only way to keep your money safe while actually earning any interest.

I finally just put some money in a 5 year CD because it's the only way to keep your money safe while actually earning any interest.

 

Yeah, but that's only a 2% return that may not even cover inflation when/if it starts rising again.  Are you and other OU'rs out there worried that the economy and markets will do that bad over the next five years?

I finally just put some money in a 5 year CD because it's the only way to keep your money safe while actually earning any interest.

 

You're honestly much better off putting your money in a higher interest savings account.  Ally bank offers 1% interest on a standard savings account.  This is a much better option than locking away your money for 5 years for an extra 0.75%.

 

EDIT - I should clarify that this advice only applies to funds that you need to keep liquid, i.e. emergency savings.  Long term savings (3+ years) or retirement should be placed in indexed mutual funds or high yield dividend stocks as gottaplan mentions below if you're under the age of 50. 

I finally just put some money in a 5 year CD because it's the only way to keep your money safe while actually earning any interest.

 

You're honestly much better off putting your money in a higher interest savings account.  Ally bank offers 1% interest on a standard savings account.  This is a much better option than locking away your money for 5 years for an extra 0.75%.

 

If you can put the money away for 5 years, I'd buy some nice quality stocks that return healthy dividends.  Plenty of options out there that would still kick off 4% dividend even if the stock value stays flat.  whatever sort of downturn the market sees in the next 12-18 months should rebound and still get you a nice net gain in 5 years.  A conservative plan would yield much more than 2%.

Any recommendations for stocks that are relatively stable and pay good dividends?

Any recommendations for stocks that are relatively stable and pay good dividends?

 

IBM, Ford, Pepsi, GE, Disney, Caterpillar...

Let's get back on topic, guys.

Am I the only one annoyed by talk of "negative interest rates" to keep the economy going?  For one thing, I don't know of any project that will get done at minus a half of a percent that wouldn't have gotten done at plus a half a percent. For another, even the current rates are destroying the value of savings by individuals as well as pension plans.  I think Yellen & Co. are nuts not to raise rates.

 

The low interest rates have meant that growth of the U.S. debt has been sort-of contained, so that has been a major positive of this low interest rate period.  But you are correct -- it has been disastrous for pensions.  We had that idiot Chris Smitherman yelling at the Cincinnati pension fund for not moving to stocks during the recovery, but no public pension fund has ever had 60-70-80 percent of its activity in stocks.  And any stocks a public pension fund is invested in should be conservative.  Many public pension funds also invest in residential and commercial real estate.  Unfortunately, they are sometimes corrupted into colluding with an area's sleazier elements -- Chris Christie got the NJ pension fund to invest something like $600 million in the Revel Casino in Atlantic City, only to see said casino close after just one year of operation.  So all his cronies in the construction trades got paid and the state took the risk of the project, taking it off big-pocketed investors who no doubt donated to his campaign. 

 

 

 

 

The low interest rates have meant that growth of the U.S. debt has been sort-of contained, so that has been a major positive of this low interest rate period.

 

Rates have to go up eventually and then the debt will be a whole different animal. Meanwhile, the Fed dithers awaiting more data. Seems to me that if growth hasn't hit targets after 7-8 years of near-zero rates, then the price of money isn't the obstacle to growth. The FOMC never seems to allow for that possibility.

^'Cause they're a shill for the equities markets

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-02/payrolls-in-u-s-rise-by-151-000-in-august-jobless-rate-steady

 

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/94391000-not-labor-force-labor-force-participation-stuck-628

 

U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs in August, coming in below predictions of 180,000.  Labor force participation rate remains below 63%.

Exports declined nationwide in 2015 but many metro areas in South and West grew robustly https://t.co/FCwal1uhqP https://t.co/EcKyKdjqqs

^'Cause they're a shill for the equities markets

 

Yes, look at my previous post.  They're trying to get pension funds to nudge toward or over 75% in stocks and trying to get everyone who understands how 401k's work 100% in stocks.  They want all the grandmas out there who used to buy savings bonds and CD's in stocks. 

 

AT&T could acquire Time Warner.

 

Keep in mind that Time Warner is a separate company from Time Warner Cable. TWC was spun off from Time Warner in 2009, and has now merged with Charter Communications and Bright House Networks.

U.S. Economy Grows at Fastest Rate Since 2014 -- and no one seems to care

https://morningconsult.com/alert/u-s-economy-grows-fastest-rate-since-2014/

Steven Russolillo ‏@srussolillo  3h3 hours ago

Chart of the Day: Bank executives are selling their company stock at the fastest pace on record http://www.wsj.com/articles/insiders-send-wrong-signal-on-bank-stocks-1481225011 … per @InsiderBIS

 

"B-b-but the work-worshiping, overworked Heartland is the most-hardworking part of the country!" Apparently there is something to be said for stopping to smell the roses -- but Southerners might be taking it a little too slow or just aren't well-educated enough to be productive.

 

 

Understanding US productivity trends from the bottom-up

 

Overall, the nation’s largest cities and regions tend to be the nation’s most productive areas.

 

Large metro areas with the highest productivity levels tend to be located on the coasts in California (San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Oxnard) and the Northeast (Bridgeport, CT; Hartford, CT; and New York).

 

https://www.brookings.edu/research/understanding-us-productivity-trends-from-the-bottom-up/

A Nation of Broke People Are Killing Retail More Than Amazon: Top Expert

https://www.thestreet.com/story/14277483/1/a-nation-of-broke-people-are-killing-retail-more-than-amazon-peter-schiff-says.html

I'm not convinced.  For example, the restaurant industry seems to be doing fairly well.  People are finding room in their budgets to support local craft breweries.  That article highlighted the travails of Foot Locker, but could have picked any number of struggling retailers.  If people still really wanted more new athletic shoes, they'd still find a way to make it work.

 

Housing prices have remained fairly moderate in most of the country (the media focuses far too much on the most expensive cities in the country), and gas and energy generally have remained affordable.  Even grocery prices haven't increased all that much in the last couple of years, though they're certainly higher than they were in the aughts.  If people really did want more stuff, they'd find ways to get it.  But we still simply have a ridiculous abundance of retail in this country, even with all those that have closed.

Craft breweries cater to a market segment that is well off.  No one is saying that segment doesn't still exist, it's that the segments immediately below them are shrinking as the bottom segment continues to grow. 

 

I just moved within Lakewood and was shocked at how much rents have increased since my last search 4 years ago.  Rents here had been stable for at least a decade prior but now they're going crazy.  Locally, I think some of this reflects the deterioration of the rest of the city and inner ring, sort of a last man standing situation.  When other areas fall apart, Lakewood benefits from simply holding on.  Nationally, the same pattern repeats.  Poor areas are as poor as anyone's ever seen them, and they're spreading, while the remaining desirable areas are seeing rents and home prices skyrocket.

Consumer spending is and has been trending up. It jumped another 3.3% last quarter, after revised estimates were issued today. I don't buy for a second the argument that people are too broke to spend.  Granted, a lot of the spending increase recently has been on housing, but most spending has just shifted from traditional retail to other consumer products. Fewer athletic shoes, more cell phones, for example. The wireless industry alone accounts for billions of dollars of spending every year, and that's a cost most people didn't have at all a decade or so ago.

In that case, look at the grocery segment.  Akron isn't exactly the most affluent city out there, and yet both mainstream and premium grocers are going crazy.  I'll ignore the incoming Whole Foods 365, the new Mustard Seed, Earth Fare, and the relocated West Point Market, other than to note that they exist.  But Acme is not a premium grocery and is spending serious money expanding most of its stores in the area.  Giant Eagle recently put one of its Market District superscale formats into Cuyahoga Falls, which is not economically identified as a big-money neighborhood.  (Silver Lake is nearby and has money, but it's tiny.)

 

I do see big-ticket items such as cars draining more of household budgets.  People are finding ways to get themselves into trouble again buying $40k+ pickups, SUVs, and even minivans.  (A loaded Honda Odyssey can retail north of $45k now.)  That would be consistent with the article KJP posted about how people just don't have the disposable income to save retail.  But for the most part, we've been living through a really charmed spell for a while now with low interest rates somehow not leading to as much inflation as traditional economics would worry, which means household spending power hasn't eroded as much as you'd expect even with wages also not rising.

 

I still think the article overplays the financial stresses most Americans are facing to make excuses for collapsing retail.  The simpler explanation is that we still have too much of it, most of it is undifferentiated and therefore commoditized, and therefore not only is it very vulnerable to changing consumer attitudes away from physical merchandise, but most of it will not materially impact American standards of living if it vanishes.  There are very few stores in any given mall that I'd actually miss.  I think most Americans feel similarly, and that portion is probably growing.

You're right about independent restaurants doing well -- it's coming at the expense of retail and why retailers avoid central cities. City folks' money all goes in their mouths. The restaurant chains out in the 'burbs are floundering as well.

 

Only cavemen blame everything on Amazon. Think about how much bigger Amazon would be if people just loaded up on stuff constantly like they did in 1996 -- but they don't. Instead, Yet Another night out at Yet Another Taproom. Oh and Sundays, the day people used to engage in expensive hobbies that required them to buy lots of stuff? Instead, Yet Another Brunch at Yet Another Taproom.

Also, Pet Night at Yet Another Taproom, Poker Night at Yet Another Taproom, YP Networking at Yet Another Taproom, Yoga at Yet Another Taproom (seriously, this is a thing), Salsa Dance at Yet Another Taproom, Food Truck Night at Yet Another Taproom ... there was a time during the World Series when a friend asked me if I wanted to go to a regular bar (not a taproom) to drink and watch a baseball game and I was like "wow, I actually haven't done that in a while."

^i rarely get to concur with Ram.  Just wait for September 12 when the new iphone is released. People are saving money more, i don't doubt that.  Millenials are saving up for a new house or even tuition and books.  I feel we have been in a bleeding edge of cashflow where people have been living paycheck to paycheck.

  I've been studying the retail market as I'm contemplating a store, probably not for another 6 months. The department stores that are just boxes of crap with no service and annoying check out system are going to die. One can go to Target or Walmart for cheaper and maybe better service.

  Beyond that boutique and niche stores are still strong. Any store that is strong in service is going to do very well.

City folk will indeed buy unique and unusual stuff... the trick is figuring out what they actually want before the rent clock ticks down to doom. If you don't make it, there's Yet Another Distillery waiting to move in.

(Educated) millennials may be spending money on supposed luxuries like smart phones and eating out, but they are spending a lot less on mortgages and child care (and all associated costs) than prior generations because.. they simply aren't buying homes and having children to the degree as prior generations.

 

Those are a lot of avoided costs that far outweigh iphone bills and the occasional avocado on toast.

Young people would rather spend money on experiences than buying junk to put in their homes. I fail to understand why older people see this as a "problem".

Different approach to governing, in state where nearly 1/8th of all Americans live https://t.co/gEqK3Bzjaq

also https://t.co/J6XWsczXgy https://t.co/6PTXPNLwT8

As of 9:47PM CST (December 13, 2017)

 

DOW (up 24.46% YTD)

24,605.29

+100.49

+0.41%

 

NASDAQ

6,883.20  (up 27.9% YTD)

+20.88

+0.30%

 

 

S&P 500 Index (up 10% YTD)

2,670.11

+6.00

+0.23%

 

An unbelievably crazy year for the markets.

As of 9:47PM CST (December 13, 2017)

 

DOW (up 24.46% YTD)

24,605.29

+100.49

+0.41%

 

NASDAQ

6,883.20  (up 27.9% YTD)

+20.88

+0.30%

 

 

S&P 500 Index (up 10% YTD)

2,670.11

+6.00

+0.23%

 

An unbelievably crazy year for the markets.

 

The S&P 500 is up ~18% YTD.

 

That said, stock markets /= the economy.

I don't buy for a second the argument that people are too broke to spend. 

 

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-households-will-soon-have-as-much-debt-as-they-had-in-2008-2017-04-03

 

American consumers just hit a scary milestone.

 

They now collectively have the most outstanding revolving debt — often summarized as credit card debt — in U.S. history, according to a report Monday released by the Federal Reserve. Americans had $1.021 trillion in outstanding revolving credit in June 2017. This beats the previous record in April 2008, when consumers had a collective $1.02 trillion in outstanding credit revolving credit.

Plus, student loan debt has shot up steadily over the past decade and now outnumbers auto and credit card debt.

^^ So they aren't too broke to spend, at all. If anything, consumers are spending more than they should be. The point being that consumer spending habits are hurting retail, but that doesn't mean people aren't spending, they're just spending elsewhere. In fact, if people are building up record credit card debt they're spending significantly. This is at direct odds with the point that was attempted in the article I was responding to, which claimed people simply didn't have any money to buy things. They do, they're just buying different things than most retailers are selling.

 

Now, building up credit card debt is one of the worst financial decisions a person can make, but that's beside the point - people are spending, some of them are just spending themselves into debt.

A lot more of that debt is medical-related these days rather than just people buying too much crap like it was in the '80s.

 

The healthcare industry is Hoovering money out of the rest of the economy at an alarming rate.

^^ So they aren't too broke to spend, at all. If anything, consumers are spending more than they should be. The point being that consumer spending habits are hurting retail, but that doesn't mean people aren't spending, they're just spending elsewhere. In fact, if people are building up record credit card debt they're spending significantly. This is at direct odds with the point that was attempted in the article I was responding to, which claimed people simply didn't have any money to buy things. They do, they're just buying different things than most retailers are selling.

 

Now, building up credit card debt is one of the worst financial decisions a person can make, but that's beside the point - people are spending, some of them are just spending themselves into debt.

 

They don't have the money to buy things...that's why there's so much credit card debt.  The spending is largely happening on borrowed time.  The increased spending is simply built on a house of cards mostly.

 

People spending themselves into debt today further decreases their purchasing power tomorrow.