College Tuition Costs – Is College Worth It?

A July 2023 survey found that 72% of respondents felt an online degree was more reputable than five years prior. The biggest perceptual shift was among Generation Z participants, a data point that was somewhat surprising. Online degree growth typically came from working students or non-traditional students who had taken time off and returned to school. Yet, the fact that a younger cohort was now coming around to pursue a higher degree online was completely new.

The Experiment in Argentina - Javier Milei Wins and Work to Do

Also known as “shock therapy,” outside observers predicted this campaign fulfillment would result in a rise in poverty. No surprises here but rates this high do risk derailing what could be the region’s biggest turnaround story in decades. Milei and his supporters rightly point out that since Q3, there has been an emerging rise in real wages.6 This has contributed to greater economic activity and some analysts believe the recession likely ended in Q2 2024.7 The President was fully transparent with the electorate during his campaign, communicating frequently that there would be short-term pain and a recession. While some critical welfare programs have been cut, Milei has in parallel expanded the Universal Child Allowance and a popular Food Card program providing support to families in need.

Onboarding New Hires with Generative AI

Gen AI can take company content – video, audio, and text – and distill and deliver the content in e-learning modules. For example, bringing a new warehouse manager up to speed with everything from company culture to day-to-day responsibilities can sometimes take three weeks to a month. With Gen AI, however, one can feed the language model the employee manual coupled with company video and audio that address specific areas of the job. Within minutes, the employee can follow a handful of modules in collaboration with a human being to guide the process.

Why a Nuclear Revival Could Be the Future's Brightest Prospect

Paving the road to a nuclear revival are small modular reactors (SMRs). These reactors are approximately a third of the size of a typical plant and are prefabricated, thus reducing the capital costs that larger plants contend with. Oracle recently announced plans to power a new data center with three SMRs. To date, there are only three SMRs operational in the world. Constellation is in talks to build an SMR at one of its facilities, but most experts agree that SMRs won’t reach a commercial stage until the next decade. Last year an SMR project in Idaho was canceled as the project’s costs skyrocketed from $5 billion to $9 billion due to high interest rates and inflation.

Automation Remains at the Center of ILA Concerns

It was difficult to avoid the national news coverage of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) strike during the first week of October. Doomsday scenarios, people hoarding toilet paper, and Union President Harold Daggett’s 7,136-square-foot New Jersey home, complete with a brick pizza oven and a snappy Bentley in his carport, were social media sensations. However, the heart of the ILA’s concerns surrounds automation and its eventual impact on union jobs.

2024 US Election: Donald Trump and Kamala Harris on Crypto

In June, venture capitalist David Sacks held a swanky fundraiser for the former President in his Pacific Heights, San Francisco mansion. Guests paid up to $300,000, with rumored attendees spanning the C-suites of some of the U.S.'s largest crypto and blockchain companies. Meanwhile, it didn’t take much work for Trump’s team to compile a list of the regulatory crackdowns occurring at the hands of the Securities and Exchange Commission Chair, Gary Gensler. A Biden appointee, Gensler has sued crypto companies for violating securities laws and sought to dissuade banks from serving crypto companies.

Hezbollah Exploding Pagers and Supply Chains

It is still unclear how many members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah were killed when thousands of member pagers exploded simultaneously. Just the next day, Hezbollah walkie-talkies suffered similar malfunctions. Sadly, news of bombings, explosions, and death is commonplace in 2024 in the Middle East. But this latest operation, likely at the hands of Israeli intelligence tacticians, has news outlets and pundits questioning the role of of global supply chains, rightly or wrongly.

Freight Forwarders Predict Tighter Space and Higher Rates Coming out of Asia

Freight forwarders are sounding the alarm that space will be tight during the normal fourth-quarter retail rush. Many forwarding companies are nudging manufacturers and retailers to lock in higher-than-usual rates now to avoid unpleasant surprises come October. Extra capacity will be a premium if not unattainable in 2024. The air cargo business is up broadly for the year. The International Air Transport Association estimates a rise of 12.7% in global airfreight demand over the first four months of the year, with Asia-Pacific notching a 14% gain alone in April.

A Wild Election is Near - Let's Compare Harris and Trump Policies

Unlike President Biden, the Vice President has little trade policy experience. Some pundits suggest she might consider pushing the US back to a more aggressive international digital trade policy with a particular emphasis on Californian tech company interests, her home base. Optimists are hoping that Harris could introduce some much-needed dynamism to trade negotiations, as the past four years have been uncharacteristically stagnant. Meanwhile, Trump is expected to wield his favorite negotiating stick - the tariff.

Fallout from the Chinese Housing and Banking Crises

In addition to the regulations, banks were also constrained from making further loans to developers. President Xi assumed these short-term band-aids could stave off a pending disaster, but in August 2021, the country’s second-largest property developer, the Evergrande Group, promptly halted construction. Overdue payments were at the core of the stoppage, and the following month, Evergrande missed two offshore bond coupon payments for a total of $131 million.

Is all this AI Investment Headed for a Ho-Hum Ending?

One prominent voice hitting pause on the AI investment euphoria is author and economist Daron Acemoglu. In a recent interview with Goldman Sachs, Acemoglu estimated that AI would ultimately grow US GDP by a paltry 0.9% over ten years and affect fewer than 5% of all human tasks. On the other hand, Goldman Sachs internal analysts point to a 6% GDP growth and the automation of a much more robust 25% of human tasks over the same period.

FedEx Restructuring - Technological and Personnel Challenges Prove Sticky

FedEx has embarked on a daunting $1.5 billion company-wide reorganization. Announced last year, the Tennessee-based transportation and logistics giant combined its Express and Ground delivery units into one business model. The move rattled insiders, as the separate operating structure had long been upheld as founder Fred Smith’s legacy. Yet, market forces suggest a change is needed.

It’s a Carrier’s Market Amidst all the Disorder

US forces are currently operating at a pace in the Red Sea not witnessed since World War II. Over the past several months, estimates point to US Navy aircraft strike groups having conducted over 750 engagements. Many of these include very pricey Tomahawk missiles, 135 to be exact. In early July, Maersk confirmed one of their vessels was fired upon by the Houthis in the Gulf of Aden. This was a US-flagged vessel and is considered to be the Houthi rebel’s longest-range attack yet.

A Chinese-backed Peruvian Port has the US Spooked

Washington’s worry is two-fold: expanding Chinese influence in the region and the potential for future military installations. While BRI projects have grown significantly, and the Chinese potential for expanded military presence is vast, to date China operates just one logistics base in Djibouti and a paramilitary outpost in Tajikistan. Yet, a recent RAND report details Chinese interest in Cambodia, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, the Solomon Islands, the UAE, and Vanuatu. Couple those with a March 2024 Newsweek report of additional interest in Cuba, Pakistan, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar, Washington’s anxiety does not appear irrational.

Speaking English - The Palm Beaches Luxury Living & Lifestyles

It’s easy to meander in a project, and while meandering can engender aesthetic revelations, Amy and her team employ a unique process with clients known as the Design DNA. No two homes are alike, and the Design DNA pulls out what is distinctive and personal to homeowners, what is negotiable or starry-eyed, and what’s downright offensive to every fiber of their being. The Design DNA is a Bible of sorts, the standing principles of a project that serve as the ideological pillars to guide the journey.

The Charms of Loudoun County

While the county is without a doubt an equestrian dream, there is plenty more to do and see in Loudoun. Northern Virginia is a key producer of the country’s top wines and part of the state’s nearly 400-year viticultural history. Thomas Jefferson originally wrote of a “dream of Virginia to produce world-class wine,” and the region’s sandstone and granite soils continue to produce exceptional Chardonnay, Viognier, and Bordeaux blends.

Salesforce Implementation the Wrong Way - 5 Common Mistakes

Yet, the most overlooked element of anything new is what the action portends - change. Salesforce is a change, and we know from thousands of years of human history that we creatures are skeptical of change. This doesn’t mean that people won’t eventually come around or even embrace the change, but it’s the latter point that is the most critical when implementing Salesforce - getting your people onboard and excited to change together.

Geopolitics, not Economics, is Front and Center for Global Supply Chains

Factories in countries like Poland or Romania come with higher labor costs but minimal geopolitical hurdles. The shift away from China and other single country or region suppliers began to take shape during the Covid pandemic. Factory shutdowns, transportation delays, and rising shipping costs unnerved suppliers and further incentivized the search for new providers. In addition to international tensions with Russia and Iran, supply chains are squeezed with fewer and fewer options.
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