STOCK MARKETS: SOMETHING 100%

So far, 2017 has seen 17 new all-time closing highs for the SandP 500 and just 10 days where the index moved more than 1 percent in either direction. That kind of higher highs with low volatility always — yes, always — has been positive for the market, according to Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA.

The previous 17 times that has happened, the market has averaged a 19.4 percent gain, with advances happening 100 percent of the time.

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/29/get-ready-for-the-big-jobs-report-a-potential-june-market-swoon-more.html

LEFT BEHIND - FINANCIAL HEALTH OF AMERICANS

As can be seen in the figure below, Metro areas are in good shape regarding employment gains since the Great Recession, but Non-Metro (rural) areas are lagging behind, even 9 yrs after the end of the Great Recession though they have improved some.  Employment in Non-Metro areas are still 2.4% below the pre-Great Recession values.  In fact, the Metro Areas turned positive in 2014 and have been gaining since and now are 4.2% above the pre-Great Recession values.  Note at the bottom of the Great Recession, the employment figures were pretty close, i.e. Metro areas were only a little better off than Non-Metro areas.
In 2016, Luzerne County, which had twice previously cast majorities for Obama, supported Trump 57.9 to 38.6 percent.
Similarly, in Defiance County in northwest Ohio, population 38,158, the unemployment rate rose from 5.3 percent in August 2007 to 5.9 percent in February 2017. The local labor force shrank over this period by 1,379 workers.
In 2016, Defiance became much more Republican than it had been: while voters there had supported Romney over Obama 55.5 to 42.2 percent, they supported Trump over Clinton 63.7 to 29.3 percent.
Compare Luzerne and Defiance counties to the Los Angeles-Glendale-Long Beach metropolitan area. There, not only did the unemployment rate fall from 5.6 percent in July 2007 to 4.8 percent in February 2017, but total employment grew from 4.68 million to 4.84 million.*

Employment Recovery: Metro vs Non-Metro Areas
Comparison 1Q 2008  to subsequent years**

(Click on figure to enlarge)

In addition, college educated adults have fared much better than non-college educated.  I presume that Metro areas tend to be more educated than non-Metro areas.**

Some 70% of respondents polled in October 2016 said they were either “living comfortably” or “doing okay,” up from 69% the year before, and 62% when the question was first posed in 2013, the Fed found in its latest Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (sic), released Friday.

Yet the share of respondents with no more than a high-school diploma who said they were “living comfortably” or “doing okay” declined last year to 60% from 61% in 2015.
.............................................................................
In another sign of the educational divide, 79% of those with at least a bachelor’s degree said they would still be able to pay all of their other bills in full if hit with a $400 charge. Just 52% of those with no more than a high school diploma said the same.**
.............................................................................
Still, the overall share of adults who would struggle to come up with $400 in a pinch has declined by 6 percentage points since 2013, indicating Americans’ financial situation is slowing getting better. While 25% of respondents reported skipping medical treatments due to cost in 2016, that was down 7 percentage points since 2013.
...........................................................................
Many respondents also reported that they lack retirement savings, with 28% of adults who haven’t retired yet indicating they had no retirement savings or pension whatsoever. That is down from 31% in 2015.**

I urge you to read the entire articles.  Also see: http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2017/04/economic-recovery-uneven.html
and
http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2017/05/economy-roars-ahead-in-april-2017.html

* https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/13/opinion/reaching-out-to-the-voters-the-left-left-behind.html?_r=0
** https://www.wsj.com/articles/financial-health-improved-for-most-americans-in-recent-years-fed-survey-says-1495210829

LEFT BEHIND - MISSISSIPPI EXAMPLE

The recovery of states from the Great Recession, not surprisingly, has been uneven.  One of these states that is economically being left behind is, again not surprisingly, Mississippi:*

Call them the unrecovered—a handful of states where job markets, nine years later, are still struggling back to where they were before the recession.

That's true in Mississippi, where job numbers and the overall size of the economy remain below 2008 levels. Unlike states that have long since sprinted ahead, Mississippi is struggling with slow economic growth and slipping population in a place that's rarely at peak economic health.** The Mississippi economy is so bad that it is essentially a "ward of the Federal government."

.......................................................................................

Not only Mississippi, but also Alabama, Michigan, New Mexico, and West Virginia are still short of pre-recession job levels by multiple measures. That contrasts with states including Colorado, North Dakota, Texas and Utah, where employment numbers have soared. Nationwide, job numbers surpassed pre-recession peaks in the middle of 2014, about the same time Mississippi was saddled with the nation's highest unemployment rate.**
..............................................................................
Growth has long lagged in Mississippi, and jobless rates are high even in good times. The unemployment rate fell to 5 percent in March, the lowest since the U.S. Labor Department began the current system of measurement in 1976. But at the same time that the Magnolia State's unemployment rate was at a record low, it tied for the ninth highest among the states.**
..............................................................................
It is not just the number of jobs, but what they pay. Workers made an average of $669 a week in Meridian and surrounding Lauderdale County in late 2016, compared to $739 statewide and $1,027 nationwide.**

* http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/19/9-years-after-recession-began-some-states-still-unrecovered.html
** http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2016/11/infrastructure-program_23.html

YOU MUST WEAR A DRESS - Biographical

About 20 or so years ago, we were going to Tucson, Arizona, that is right on the Mexican border - in July!   I was going to present an award at a small scientific society banquet so I told my wife she had to take along a dress.  We were in our 60s and she really resisted doing this, but I eventually convinced her that it would be very embarrassing if she didn't wear a dress.  So we got to Tucson and, boy, it was HOT.  I'm not sure how hot but probably over 100 degrees.

When the time came for the banquet my wife dutifully put on her dress, pantyhose,and  made herself up.  She looked beautiful, if a bit wilted, and off we went to the banquet.  As we were walking into the building where the banquet was to be held, we were passed by some women geologists wearing cut offs, knapsacks, stringy hair, and flop flops.  My wife stopped me and glaring at me said., "You will never get me to do this again!

Some years later I was again to present an award at a large scientific society meeting in Denver, but I knew better than insist she bring a dress.  The banquet was to be held in a large fancy hotel.  We were in a crowd mulling around in the lobby before the banquet hall when in came the women geologists again, straight from the field, I guess, dressed in their costumes of stringy hair, knapsack, cut offs, and flip flops.  My wife and I just looked at each other and smiled.

How times have changed.  I now live in a continuing care facility, and it is very rare to see a woman in a skirt or dress.  Pants are the rule, though actually in the summer, a dress or a skirt is cooler than pants if the legs are bare.  Think of Arab men in the Middle East wearing their long tunics, equivalent to long dresses (actually called a thawb).  And of course, in Scotland there is the men's kilt, a sort of skirt  even though it never gets real hot in Scotland.

SYMPATHY FOR COMEY

Though I think it was proper to fire Comey, I have sympathy for him because he got into situations he didn't know how to handle and didn't handle them well.  Overall, I guess he well as Deputy Attorney General of the Justice Department although he seemed confused about whether waterboarding was torture that showed he could become rattled.

After getting Trump elected, Comey did seem to pursue the Russian election scandal seriously; however, it was too late.

Comey's replacement might be a matter of concern.  Rumors are the favorite is Joe Lieberman.

Now with a special prosecutor, things might progress even better.  Mueller seems to be a popular choice and bipartisan choice; however, it seems like the White House will attempt to muddy the waters.*

I'm not sure about Joe Lieberman as a replacement.  Lieberman is also senior counsel at Kasowitz, Benson, Torres, and Friedman, a law firm that has frequently represented Trump  ...**  It would seem that conflicts with Lieberman are even more severe than for Mueller.  As far as I am concerned, Lieberman also got kind of weird late in his career and was very critical of President Obama.  I think that the acting FBI director might be the best choice.

* http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/05/reuters-trump-mueller.
** http://theweek.com/speedreads/700053/trump-says-joe-lieberman-leading-candidate-replace-comey-fbi-director

CRYBABY TRUMP NO SURPRISE

Now we see President Trump as a crybaby before the Coast Guard Academy.
“Look at the way I’ve been treated lately,” Trump said, as some in the audience burst into laughter, “especially by the media. No politician in history — and I say this with great surety — has been treated worse or more unfairly.”*

On second thought it should come as no surprise as he was forever crying "rigged" during the nomination and election process.  I'm hardly the first person to use the word crybaby for Trump.  Certainly his first wife thought so.**

Of course, he has been the most unfairly treated President ever in his eyes.  Whatever it is it must be the greatest or biggest, no matter what the facts.  He might even think of his predecessor President Obama where the Republicans went after him with a "full-court press" from the day he was inaugurated.

I must say, however, that I don't recall any previous President in my lifetime who was able to cause such a furor from the "git go."  And I must say that Republicans and President Trump should not always assume that the Democrats will be the adults in the room.

President Trump may not have been in collusion with the Russians prior and post the election, but he certainly was in collaboration with them when he urged, in public, the Russians to find the missing 30,000 e-mails of Sec. Hillary Clinton.

And Trump can't seem to resist contradicting the efforts of his aids that are trying to help him.  No sooner do they come out with some spin on his actions to save him from himself than he contradicts them.  A good example was the firing of Director Comey from the FBI.

Well, if something he has already done doesn't get him, President Trump will find something new to keep him in hot water.  Actually all this has had some positive results.  President Trump hasn't dared to try to get rid of the sanctions on the Russians and it has slowed action on his policies to a crawl.


* http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/17/donald-trump-coast-guard-gradution-unfairly-treated-president-238505
** http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/donald-trump-cry-baby

HOWARD STERN ON DONALD TRUMP

I know it is an old cliche, but the "Shock Jock" Howard Stern "hit the nail on the head" with Donald Trump.*  We are watching a president become unhinged, not is slow motion, but rather rapid motion.  Small government conservative "Morning Joe" Scarborough mentions this sort of thing almost daily now.  Trump is throwing everybody under the bus.  No sooner do his surrogates try to bail him out on something then Trump says something to contradict them, even the National Security adviser Gen McMaster's non-denial denial.**

Stern said last February,
"I personally wish that he had never run, I told him that, because I actually think this is something that is gonna be detrimental to his mental health too, because, he wants to be liked, he wants to be loved," Stern said. "He wants people to cheer for him."

I really don't look forward to President Trump being replaced, but Republicans better start getting serious about Trump.  It could be either impeachment or the 25th amendment (mentally incapacitated) and they shouldn't wait until he seriously impairs the country, if he hasn't already.

I'm no fan of Mike Pence but maybe he can at least keep a secret.  but he to has had to lie for the president and been" thrown under the bus."  And Pence certainly knew about Flynn when he, Pence, was in charge of the transition team, long before Flynn lied to him.

* Stern if a friend of Trump and Trump has appeared on Stern radio show a number of times.  When there, Trump and Stern trade, ah, "Locker Room Talk." http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/02/media/kfile-stern-on-trump/
** https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/05/16/mcmaster-and-tillerson-are-complicit-in-trumps-dishonesty-so-must-they-resign/?utm_term=.fdc84d704984

ECONOMY ROARS AHEAD IN APRIL 2017

The current economic expansion is now the 3rd longest ever, only less than the 1990s and 1960s.*

(click on figures to enlarge)

One wag said we shouldn't celebrate the current value of employment to population is the same as the last two lows in the business cycle.  Has she noticed from whence this recovery started?  For heaven's sake we barely escaped the death spiral of a depression.  She writes as if this one is over, but it could be the longest ever if President Trump doesn't screw things up.

The Labor Department reported that businesses added 211,000 jobs in April, after adding just 79,000 jobs the month before. The pickup in hiring underpinned projections that economic growth is set for an upturn. Output grew at an annual rate of just 0.7% in the first quarter. After seeing the latest numbers, economists at forecasting firm Macroeconomic Advisers increased their projection for second-quarter growth to 4%.**

(Click on figure to enlarge)


Wage increases have had remarkable steady growth beginning with 2015, though news media thinks it is not good enough.  I have come to the opinion that people may be happier with a "Boom and Bust Economy" rather than steady growth.

* https://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2017/03/01/this-is-now-the-third-longest-economic-expansion-in-u-s-history/
** https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-economy-adds-a-robust-211-000-jobs-in-april-1493987658

LOAN DELINQUENCIES - 2017

How much problem are we seeing in credit delinquencies?  For now they are higher than before the Great Recession and seem to be growing but are not yet alarming.  Below are considered all loans and leases, student loan debt, automobile loan debt, and mortgage debt.

(click on figure to enlarge)

Suggested Citation (above figure):

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (US), Delinquencies on All Loans and Leases, To Consumers, Credit Cards, All Commercial Banks [DALLCCACBEP], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DALLCCACBEP, May 15, 2017.*

Student Loan Debt:
In the third quarter of 2016, 16% of borrowers — but only 10% of outstanding dollars — were in default. In other words, defaulters have lower average balances than other borrowers.**

Automobile Loan Debt:
When considering auto ... loans originated in Q4 of the last 8 years — going back to 2008. ... I analyzed the first three, six, and nine months from the loan origination date.  ... the rates of delinquency have steadily increased in recent years, with the increase in the Q4 2015 loans opened equaling or even surpassing 2008 levels.
...........................................................................
When considering ... only for trades originated by Superprime and Prime consumers at the time of origination. You can see that although the trend is not as pronounced as when all grades are considered, even these tiers of consumers are showing significant increases in their 60+ days past due (DPD) rates in recent vintages.***

Credit Card Debt

At the same time, the improving jobs market and low unemployment has increased consumer confidence and spurred the demand for credit cards.

But as the number of credit card accounts in the U.S. rises, the majority of new customers are subprime borrowers, generally meaning those with a credit score of 660 or below. These are also the consumers who were affected the most by reduced lending during the recession and are gaining access to credit once again.****

(click on figure to enlarge)

The bottom line, however, is that credit card delinquencies are still low.

Mortgage Debt
We need to remember that there is some problem from loans made before the Great Recession. Mortgage debt has been increasing gradually for several years (https://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/releases/mortoutstand/current.htm)

(click on table to enlarge)

The seasonally adjusted FHA delinquency rate increased to 9.02 percent in the fourth quarter from 8.3 percent in the third quarter, MBA data show. The jump, which followed the lowest delinquency rate since 1997, was driven by loans made since 2014 and early-stage delinquencies, those just 30 days past due. (http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/15/mortgage-delinquencies-among-some-homeowners-just-spiked-spelling-trouble.html)

* https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DALLCCACBEP
**http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/collections/federal-loans/default-and-delinquency/
*** http://www.experian.com/blogs/insights/2017/02/auto-loan-delinquencies-extending-beyond-subprime-consumers/
**** http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/10/credit-card-auto-loan-delinquencies-rise.html

CLIMATE CHANGE CONVERSATIONS - 2017

A curious piece in the NY Times discusses how often people talk about climate change.*  I am very interested in climate change but I certainly don't discuss it with anyone very often.  I think that how often you discuss climate change has little to do with your interest.  That said there are some interesting features in the map below.  In Texas discussing climate change is not a big issue, except along the coast where things like coastal erosion and sea level change are important.

(Click on figure to enlarge)

Thirty three percent of Americans surveyed said they discuss global warming at least occasionally with friends and family — and 31 percent said they never do.

* https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/03/21/climate/how-americans-think-about-climate-change-in-six-maps.html?mcid=nyt&mc=einternal&subid=retention_dual%20subs&subid1=engagement&subid2=off%20the%20press&mi_u=29112017&_r=0

DEBT: PERSONAL, ALL KINDS MAY 2017

Credit cards are on the move again (quotes [Italics] and figure are from the reference

...171 million consumers now have at least one credit card, the highest level since 2005, according to the most recent quarterly report by credit monitoring firm TransUnion.

That works out to about 2.7 credit cards per consumer, TransUnion said, with the total number of cards in circulation now at more than 405 million.

That number peaked at just over 496 million in the second quarter of 2008, and fell sharply during the global financial crisis by 24 percent to about 379 million in the third quarter of 2010, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.*

............................................................................

But in addition to the rising number of card accounts, credit-card balances are also steadily creeping higher. Total balances for cards reached $693 in the first quarter of 2017, up from $644 billion last year, an increase of more than 7 percent, according to TransUnion.*

(Click on figure to enlarge)

* http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/09/credit-card-growth-is-back-to-its-prerecession-high.html

THAT'S GRATITUDE FOR YOU

So President Donald (The Bully) Trump has fired the FBI Director James Comey allegedly for how he treated Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.  That's a laugh, make that a double laugh.  First of all Donald (The Bully) Trump praised Comey multiple times on how he managed the Clinton e-mail affair and, second, Comey's behavior over the matter is why Trump became President. That's gratitude for you.

I slept better last night knowing that Sec. Mattis  was head of our armed forces and Trump's National Security officer Lt. Gen. McMaster was to be informed if the "Red Button" was pushed to initiate a nuclear war.  Incidentally there are those who are out to get Lt.  Gen. McMaster also.*

Of course no one (make that only a few) are fooled by the firing as Comey and the FBI is getting uncomfortably close to the real reasons behind Donald (The Bully) Trump's dealings with the Russians.

But actually, it was the FBI organization getting uncomfortably close and not just the Director.  Lindsay Graham assures us that the FBI investigation will continue (but will the Justice Depart. act on their findings?).  The investigation is not on The Bully but does hit more than one of his associates, and this might lead to Trump.  So The Bully is getting nervous.

What good is a 10 yr term, if the President can fire him at any time?  So any time the FBI Director does anything that disagrees with the President, the job of the FBI Director is in jeopardy.

Note May 11, 2017: Two reasons for the firing of Comey are bandied about.  One is that Comey said it gave him mild nausea to think he might have influenced the election, and two that he went to the Justice Dept and asked for more resources to concentrate on the Russian probe and participation by the Trump campaign.  If Trump thought this would squash the Russian collusion probe, he is sadly mistaken.  Now Trump says he fired Comey because he is a showboat and grandstander!  Comey was getting too much attention and getting more famous than the president.  I can understand Trump couldn't tolerate that.

Notes added May 14: Now there are claims that Comey never asked for more resources to pursue the Russian "affair" (my italics):

But a Justice Department spokesman denied that Comey had made the request.“Totally false,” said Ian Prior. 
Comey “never made the request for more resources and money for the Russia investigations.”**

Now it is suspected by counter-terrorism expert Malcolm Nance*** on a news program this morning that Rosenstein may not have even written the memo.  Diane Feinstein said:
Given Rosenstein’s legal expertise and 27-year Justice Department career, I would have expected him to produce a detailed and comprehensive rationale for Director Comey’s firing including input from the agents and staff who worked with Director Comey.
 But instead of a document that provides meaningful analysis, the memo reads like political document. It includes quotes from op-eds and television appearances that are as old as six months. It doesn’t include any contemporary insights from inside the FBI. The memo appears to have been hastily assembled to justify a preordained outcome.****

* http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/05/09/the-knives-are-out-for-hr-mcmaster-trump-bannon-nsc/
** http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-comey-asked-for-more-resources-for-1494434774-htmlstory.html
*** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Nance
**** http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-feinstein-rosenstein-s-memo-reads-like-1494511819-htmlstory.html

REPUBLICANS LIKE TO FALL INTO LINE, DEMOCRATS ...

LIKE TO FALL IN LOVE.  This saying was popularized (but did not originate) by President Clinton..  We just had a demonstration of this in the recent passage of the American Health Care Act bill by the House of Representatives that is actually a tax cut bill masquerading as a health bill..

Many so-called Republican "moderates"* (Tuesday caucus)  originally opposed the bill as put forth because it would take away the Medicaid expansion from the ACA (Affordable Care Act).**  This opposition was because their districts had many people who were on the Medicaid expansion.  Thus, they were afraid that, if these people lost their Medicaid, reelection might not be possible.  There was also a group of ultra conservative Republicans (Freedom caucus) opposed to the original bill because it was what they called Obamacare Lite.**  Plus they wanted the money in Medicaid expansion to give it to the wealthiest Americans as a huge tax cut plus some extra for future tax cutting.

So the bill was modified by the Rep. MacArthur Amendment to make it even more conservative.  A couple of the "moderate" Republicans were given an excuse to "fall-in-line" and support the revised bill by adding $8 billion to the High Risk pool to cover people who had dropped out of health insurance but then rejoined but now had  pre-existing health conditions.

However, the revised bill still eliminated the Medicaid expansion that was the reason they originally opposed the AHCA.  We will see if, what they sold their souls for, will appeal to their constituents.


* There no longer anything like a moderate Republican.  People now given this title may be somewhat less ultra conservative than some in the Republican party, but they are still very conservative compared to the Republican party of say 1964-1965 when many Republicans supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
** The Freedom caucus really doesn't want a government health care act at all  (http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2017/03/trumps-base-escapes-silver-bullet.html).

U.S. STEEL AND AMERICAN PIPELINES - REDUX

President Trump once again trips over his own proposals.  For example on the requirement that new pipelines must use American made steel from American mined ore:

There are very few, and in some cases zero, U.S. companies that make steel for the parts required by large pipelines, so companies must buy overseas, says the American Petroleum Institute.
...........................................................................
Energy Transfers Partners (NYSE:ETP) tells the Commerce Department that requirements to use domestic steel for its pipelines would "severely delay project schedules, drive up costs, decrease availability, and lower quality."
............................................................................
Williams Cos. (NYSE:WMB) says "any sort of requirement to use U.S.-sourced steel or pipeline materials manufactured in the United States has the potential to cancel or delay projects." - also, WMB already has purchased more than 1M ft. of pipe in storage for its Atlantic Sunrise project, and nearly 500K ft. for the Constitution pipeline.*

Wasn't Trump in favor of getting rid of regulations?

* https://seekingalpha.com/news/3261954-pipeline-companies-rebel-trumps-buy-american-rule?uprof=46#email_link

SELF-DRIVING CARS AND TRUCKS IMPACTS

The impact of driverless cars will have a great impact, and not only by putting taxi and truck drivers out of work.  For example: The U.S. has about 144 billion square feet of total parking, which represents up to one-third of the total real estate in some large cities. Reports estimate self-driving vehicles have the potential to reduce parking space by about 61 billion square feet, which is about the size of Connecticut and Vermont combined. A reduction in the demand for parking can result in reclaiming this valuable real estate for more beneficial social and economic purposes. However, it also means significantly less money for cities through parking tickets. In 2012 alone, Washington, D.C. collected $92.6 million in parking ticket revenue.*

And here is a weird one you may not have thought of: The need for lodging will drop as people sleep in their cars during overnight road trips. Utilizing cars as a moving motel is much more cost-efficient and convenient than purchasing a hotel room. Audi's vice president of brand strategy and digital business, Sven Schuwirth, has predicted that car interiors will eventually be able to morph between driving mode and sleeping mode, presenting a major obstacle for the hotel industry.

These are just two of the 10 examples of how autonomous vehicles will change America.  For the rest, see the article cited.

* http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/03/self-driving-cars-will-disrupt-10-industries-commentary.html

BEST CITIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS 2017

CNBC has an interesting article on the best cities for small business.  I was surprised to see that New York City was the best, but not by a long way.

(click on figure to enlarge)

New York City overtook last year's small-business city leader, San Jose, the hub of Silicon Valley, which dropped to the No. 4 spot on the list. Technology companies in Silicon Valley are still thriving, but it's the supplementary companies that are faced with challenges of growing. The skyrocketing cost of living in Silicon Valley impedes the profits of many firms. Commercial rents, housing and labor costs weigh down non-tech businesses dramatically. Furthermore, taxes are higher in California, in general. Lacking that economic balance in the area has prevented San Jose from reigning as the leader in top small-business cities this year.*  I'm surprised that New York City is lowere cost than Silicon Va;;ey.
............................................................................
New York City overtook last year's small-business city leader, San Jose, the hub of Silicon Valley, which dropped to the No. 4 spot on the list. Technology companies in Silicon Valley are still thriving, but it's the supplementary companies that are faced with challenges of growing. The skyrocketing cost of living in Silicon Valley impedes the profits of many firms. Commercial rents, housing and labor costs weigh down non-tech businesses dramatically. Furthermore, taxes are higher in California, in general. Lacking that economic balance in the area has prevented San Jose from reigning as the leader in top small-business cities this year.*
.............................................................................
Just four years removed from Chapter 9 bankruptcy as a result of the auto bailout, Detroit is on the rebound. Last year was a banner year for automakers, and car manufacturers are incorporating technological advances into their designs. Car buyers want the latest gadgets. Motown has risen to the top 15 of this year's study.*

Detroit was also mentioned in 2016 by BankRate as the 5th best city in which to build wealth.**  Also see best states for business that states Utah is the best and Michigan is 7th, New York is 29th.***

* http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/02/new-york-owes-top-spot-for-small-biz-in-america-to-its-immigrants.html
** http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2016/10/detroit.html
*** http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2016/09/top-states-for-business-cnbc.html

WHAT IS GOING ON IN LIBYA 2017?

Well, what about Libya in 2017?

You may recall that: United States In 2016 U.S. President Barack Obama stated that not preparing for a post-Gaddafi Libya was the "worst mistake" of his presidency.*

But what about 2017:

 JANUARY Two United States Air Force B-2 bombers attacked Islamic State training camps in Libya overnight, killing more than 80 militants, including some who were involved in plotting terrorist attacks in Europe, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

The attack, which also included strikes by armed reaper drones flying from a base in Sicily, was a parting shot from President Obama at the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and one of his final actions as commander in chief.

“We need to strike ISIL everywhere they show up,” Ashton B. Carter, the departing defense secretary, told reporters. “We know that some of the ISIL operatives in Libya were involved in plotting attacks in Europe.”** ***

FEBRUARY Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj stated in late February that he hopes Russia will serve as a mediator between the GNA and the government in Tobruk**

MARCH On 2 March 2017, GNA vice premier Ahmed Maiteeq and foreign minister Mohamed Taha Siala met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. There they discussed solving the Libyan crisis, including the possibility of dialogue between the GNA and the House of Representatives.

APRIL  Rome has brokered a diplomatic breakthrough in Libya that has the potential to bring the two main warring sides together in a new political agreement after years of division, fighting and economic misery.****

VACATIONS IN LIBYA  There is still time to plan your vacation in Libya with special items for children.  Here is just one vacation package: https://www.temehu.com/tours/family_vacation.htm  Here is just one opportunity you may want to pursue: Tripoli Zoo: the zoo, located south of the city centre in Annaser Forest, is a very popular destination for Libyan families who take their children for a day out, and therefore is a great opportunity to introduce your children to Libyan children.

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_Civil_War_(2014%E2%80%93present)
** https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/us/politics/united-states-bombs-isis-camps-in-libya.html?_r=0
***https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_Civil_War_(2014%E2%80%93present)#January_2017
****https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/24/libya-warring-sides-diplomatic-breakthrough-rome