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Bitcoin is getting too hard to ignore

Bitcoin is getting too hard to ignore.

For one, it keeps going up. Second, there are too many stories like this one, left as a comment on yesterday’s web site:BitcoinMoney

And this morning I read on Seeking Alpha:

JPMorganBitcoin

My financial guru, Ed,  tells me:

+  Bitcoin penetration is very limited. There are only five million coin accounts worldwide.

+ No self-respecting bank can avoid trading/dealing in bitcoin.After all, it’s just another currency, like the Euro, the Japanese Yen or even the Australian dollar, etc. They’ll all join the bitcoin bandwagon eventually.

Go to www.coinbase.com to open a bitcoin account.

So NAFTA is dead?

Personally I don’t think so. There are more companies benefiting from NAFTA than health-care. The push-back against our withdrawing will be huge. It’s time to learn a little about NAFTA. Here’s a simple, excellent piece from CNN Money.

NAFTA: What it is, and why Trump hates it
by Patrick Gillespie, first published  November 15, 2016

President-elect Donald Trump plans to get tough on Mexico and China starting Day 1 of his administration.

Top of Trump’s wish list is to renegotiate or “terminate” NAFTA — the North American Free Trade Agreement. He also wants to slap a 35% tax on goods, such as Ford (F) cars, that are made in Mexico and sold in the U.S.

Trump has called NAFTA the “worst trade deal in history,” and blames it for the loss of manufacturing jobs in America’s Rust Belt — states that helped catapult him to victory last week.

Here’s what you need to know about NAFTA.

What is NAFTA?

It is a trade agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States that went into effect in 1994 under President Bill Clinton. The framework of the deal was first drafted under President Ronald Reagan in 1987.

NAFTA essentially eliminated almost all tariffs among the three nations, allowing for the seamless flow of goods and supplies across borders. Today, approximately $1.4 billion in goods cross the U.S.-Mexico border every day.

NAFTA also makes it easy for companies to move operations from the U.S. to Mexico.

Can Trump tear up NAFTA without Congress?

Yes. The President has the authority to withdraw from NAFTA under the rules of the agreement. He just has to give Canada and Mexico six months notice.

Has America lost jobs to Mexico because of NAFTA?

Yes, jobs have been lost. But it’s not that simple, because there are also millions of U.S.-based jobs that depend on NAFTA.

The Economic Policy Institute estimates that about 800,000 jobs were lost to Mexico between 1997 and 2013. However, a nonpartisan report by Congress published in 2015 found “NAFTA did not cause the huge job losses feared by the critics.” And there’s analysis that shows America has lost more jobs to machines and automation than to Mexico.

No matter, there have been many anecdotes of companies moving jobs south of the border over the years. Air conditioner company Carrier announced just earlier this year that it is moving about 1,400 jobs from Indiana to Mexico.

However, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says that about 6 million U.S. jobs depend on trade with Mexico.

Who wins from NAFTA?

U.S. companies, especially automakers, are clear winners because they get the benefit of cheap labor in Mexico.

Ford and GM (GM) have major operations in Mexico, but both employ far more people in the United States. Trump has heavily lambasted Ford for announcing that it will move some of its production from Michigan to Mexico. Ford has emphasized that the move won’t lead to any lost jobs at its Michigan plant because it’s going to produce different car models there.

Because it’s cheaper to produce in Mexico, Americans benefit by paying lower prices for food, clothes, cars and electronics that come from Mexico.

Trade between all three nations has increased significantly, and particularly between America and Mexico. U.S. exports to Mexico last year were up nearly 470% compared to 1993, the year before NAFTA became law.

Would tearing up NAFTA bring jobs back?

It’s unlikely. When costs in one country rise — as would happen with Mexico if NAFTA is killed — companies just move operations to the next cheapest country. It could be another country in Latin America or an Asian nation.

Killing NAFTA would more likely cost U.S. jobs, millions of which depend on free trade with Mexico.

For example, denim manufacturers in America depend on NAFTA, even though their industry has lost lots of jobs due to free trade. They ship almost all of their denim to Mexico where it’s cut into jeans and then sold back here in the U.S. All of that travel happens tax free because of NAFTA.

Denim manufacturers say tearing up NAFTA would make the cost of jeans from Mexico expensive. So even though they despise it, the manufacturers say ending NAFTA would hurt their businesses and jobs.

Canada is a bigger thorn when it comes to NAFTA

There are more NAFTA dispute cases between Canada and the U.S. than between Mexico and the U.S. In recent years, there have had more trade tensions with the country north of the border than south.

This appeared here.

I sour on Oracle.

I just received my Oracle 10-K for 2017. Look at the miserable “growth” statistics of the last three years, which I excerpted:OracleNumbers

They went backpacking in Afghanistan.

This week they were released — after five years of captivity by the Taliban.

Afghanistan was a nice place when I visited it in 1966.

Another country not to visit. On a par with Turkey.

Nice words

ExpensiveTrips

Man “humor”

One day my housework-challenged Husband decided to wash his Sweatshirt. Seconds after he stepped into the laundry room, he shouted to me, ‘What setting do I use on the washing machine?’

‘It depends,’ I replied. ‘What does it say on your shirt?’

He yelled back, ‘ Brisbane Broncos !’

And they say blondes are dumb…
+++++

A couple is lying in bed. The man says,’I am going to make you the happiest woman in the world…’

The woman replies, ‘I’ll miss you…….

+++++

‘It’s just too hot to wear clothes today,’ Jack says as he stepped out of the shower..’Honey, what do you think the neighbors would think if I mowed the lawn like this?’

‘Probably that I married you for your money,’ she replied.
+++++

Q: How do you keep your husband from reading your e-mail?

A: Rename the email folder ‘Instruction Manuals’

HarryNewton
Harry Newton, who’s selling his Oracle this morning and buying a little bitcoin.

2 Comments

  1. dave says:

    Harry, please share your Bitcoin buying experience. How did it go? WAs it complicated? Did your money land in the account? What are the parameters and requirements to buy Bitcoin?

  2. gerryb says:

    A cryptocurrency to own as the uptrend continues…

    “Ignoring Crypto Could Be the Biggest Investment Mistake of Your Lifetime,” was the name of Teeka Tiwari’s presentation at our Stansberry Conference in Las Vegas last month.

    Teeka is the editor of Palm Beach Confidential. He has years of experience in the cryptocurrency market. Today, he shares one way to take advantage of the huge upside he sees in cryptocurrencies. Teeka explains…

    What I hear more than anything else is that it’s too late to buy cryptocurrencies. “The opportunity is gone,” people tell me.

    There is $31 trillion of physical money in the world – $66 trillion are in stocks. The entire cryptocurrency ecosystem is hovering between $140 and $150 billion right now. It’s tiny.

    While Teeka says cryptocurrencies have plenty of upside from here, he admits many will not survive. He continues…

    I will tell you right now that 90%-95% of ICOs are garbage. And many of them are outright fraudulent.

    But do not confuse these bad ideas with thinking that the underlying technology doesn’t have value. It does. There are a few diamonds in these lumps of coal.

    One cryptocurrency Teeka likes today is factom. He explains…

    These guys are changing the world. You must own some factom, even if it’s only $100 worth.

    Their technology is already being tested by Homeland Security. What’s amazing about this solution is that it’s cheap… It’s cheap-cheap. We’re talking 99% cheaper than current technology.

    You can instantly tell if a device is under attack, and it can make any digital document impervious to tampering.

    Teeka believes the cryptocurrency market has plenty of room to grow. And he likes factom to take advantage of the opportunity.

    – Steve Sjuggerud with Brett Eversole