| UK Seeks "Two-Tier" Europe Enshrined in Law Posted: 02 Nov 2015 05:23 PM PST German chancellor Angela Merkel, EU president Jean-Claude Juncker, and French President Francois Hollande will not be pleased to learn UK Chancellor Seeks Two-Tier Europe Enshrined in Law. George Osborne, Britain's chancellor of the exchequer, will on Tuesday set out for the first time the UK's demands for EU treaty change to protect its economy, taxpayers and the City of London in a two-speed Europe.
After months of diplomatic shadow boxing, Mr Osborne will use a speech in Berlin to set out in detail how Britain wants a new EU settlement to enshrine the rights of non-eurozone countries in the 28-member club.
"Quite frankly, the British people do not want to be part of an ever closer union," the chancellor will tell a business audience. "I believe it is this that is the cause of some of the strains between Britain and our European partners."
Mr Osborne will call for "principles embedded in EU law and binding on EU institutions" to govern a two-tier Europe, with an integrated eurozone surrounded by a looser group of countries using their own currencies.
Mr Osborne will say that the new rules must enshrine the "integrity of the European single market" and ensure that it is not distorted by eurozone countries rigging the rules in their favour.
The treaty changes would include "the recognition that the EU has more than one currency and we should not discriminate against any business on the basis of the currency [area] in which they reside".
That clause is specifically aimed at protecting British financial groups from protectionist measures by the eurozone, and to ensure that London will retain its position as the principal centre for European finance.
Mr Osborne will add: "We must never let taxpayers in countries that are not in the euro bear the cost for supporting countries in the eurozone." The UK wants to keep the British Pound, not bear any Euro country bailout costs, protect London from financial transaction taxes, and enshrine in law measures to protect non-euro countries, effectively creating a two-tier Europe. If Merkel and Hollande will not go along, would prime minister David Cameron then urge UK citizens to vote in favor of the UK leaving the EU? Mike "Mish" Shedlock |
| Rising Trucker's Pay, Falling Desire for Trucking Jobs Provide Reasons Self-Driving Trucks Will Reshape Industry Posted: 02 Nov 2015 09:21 AM PST Fewer and fewer people willing to live the trucker's life. This has created a shortage in drivers and in turn Rising Pay is Reshaping the Trucking Industry. The shortage of truck drivers in the U.S. is driving salaries higher, with gains up to 12 percent over the past year.
Average pay for long-haul truckers jumped 17 percent since the end of 2013 to a record average of $57,000 in 2015, according to the National Transportation Institute. The surge comes as U.S. employment costs overall are up just 2 percent and average weekly earnings are rising only 2.2 percent.
The shortage of truck drivers has grown to nearly 48,000 and could expand further due to a combination of industry growth and a retiring workforce, according to the American Trucking Associations' Truck Driver Shortage Analysis for 2015.
The ATA believes that trucking will need to hire an average of 89,000 drivers per year over the next decade.
"The ability to find enough qualified drivers is one of our industry's biggest challenges," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. Trucking Costs Reader Tim Wallace writes ... Hi Mish
I asked FreightIndex.com if I could use publish their data again, and they granted permission.
Overall Trucking costs are lower per mile now then in 2007. However, that is not the whole story.
Fuel costs are down, but most other costs have gone up considerably, led by a 40% increase in wages.
Tim Trucking Costs Per Mile Trucking Costs Per Mile Less Fuel Truck Fuel Costs Per Mile Thanks Tim! The ATA believes that trucking will need to hire an average of 89,000 drivers per year over the next decade. I propose long-haul trucking jobs will vanish with self-driving trucks. Mike "Mish" Shedlock |
| Manufacturing ISM Flirts With Contraction Third Month, Employment Shifts to Contraction Posted: 02 Nov 2015 08:31 AM PST Economists who looked at last month's barely above contraction report and predicted the same results this month were nearly spot on. Last month the Manufacturing ISM was 50.2, this month the Bloomberg Consensus was 50.0, and the report came in at 50.1. For a third straight month, the ISM is skirting near contraction, at 50.1 in October vs 50.2 and 51.1 in the prior two months.
New orders are showing some life, up nearly 2 points to a 52.9 reading that is safely above breakeven 50. Production is also at 52.9. But other readings are not as a favorable. Backlog orders remain in deep contraction at 42.5 while employment, for the first time in six months, is also in contraction, down nearly 3 points to 47.6. Exports have been the difference this year for the factory sector and new export orders in this report, at 47.5, remain below 50 for the fifth straight month. Prices, at 39.0, extended their long run of contraction. ISM October 2012-Present That was the lowest reading since May of 2013. Let's investigate all the details of today's report straight from the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business® released this morning. | Index | Oct | Sep | PP Change | Direction | Rate of Change | Trend in Months |
|---|
| PMI® | 50.1 | 50.2 | -0.1 | Growing | Slower | 34 | | New Orders | 52.9 | 50.1 | +2.8 | Growing | Faster | 35 | | Production | 52.9 | 51.8 | +1.1 | Growing | Faster | 38 | | Employment | 47.6 | 50.5 | -2.9 | Contracting | From Growing | 1 | | Supplier Deliveries | 50.4 | 50.2 | +0.2 | Slowing | Faster | 3 | | Inventories | 46.5 | 48.5 | -2.0 | Contracting | Faster | 4 | | Customers' Inventories | 51.0 | 54.5 | -3.5 | Too High | Slower | 3 | | Prices | 39.0 | 38.0 | +1.0 | Decreasing | Slower | 12 | | Backlog of Orders | 42.5 | 41.5 | +1.0 | Contracting | Slower | 5 | | Exports | 47.5 | 46.5 | +1.0 | Contracting | Slower | 5 | | Imports | 47.0 | 50.5 | -3.5 | Contracting | From Growing | 1 |
Key Points- Backlog of orders are in contraction
- Growth in new orders barely positive
- Exports contracting for the fifth month
- Prices have plunged
There's nothing in the ISM report to make the Fed want to hike, but the Fed will do what they want. For an interesting alternative to today's ISM numbers please see Gardner Business Index Shows Small to Medium Sized Businesses Struggling Most. Mike "Mish" Shedlock |
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