Baltic Dry Index. 2259 -07 Brent Crude 70.13
Spot
Gold 3760 U S
2 Year Yield 3.67 -0.01
US
Federal Debt. 37.532 trillion
US
GDP 30.292 trillion
A broken clock is right twice a day.
Which
makes it more accurate than economists.
And so it starts; the AI revolution gets underway. Where it
leads and how it ends is anyone’s guess, but my guess is social disorder and
increased violence in the early days.
Accenture
plans on ‘exiting’ staff who can’t be reskilled on AI amid restructuring
strategy
Published
Fri, Sep 26 2025 7:18 AM EDT Updated Fri, Sep 26 2025 12:03 PM EDT
Tech
consultancy Accenture has
set out plans to lay off staff who aren’t able to reskill on artificial
intelligence amid a broader restructuring strategy which will see the company
prioritize AI efforts.
Accenture
CEO Julie Sweet said in a call Thursday that as advanced AI becomes “a part of
everything we do” and the global professional services company continues to
invest significantly in the area, it expects employees to “retrain and retool”
at scale.
“We
are investing in upskilling our reinventors, which is our primary strategy,”
Sweet said. She explained that the company is “exiting on a compression
timeline” people for whom reskilling isn’t a “viable path.”
Sweet
said Accenture had already reskilled 550,000 workers on the fundamentals of
generative AI and outlined a six-month $865 million business
optimization program, which detailed costs associated with severance and
headcount reductions.
“We
expect savings of over $1 billion from our business optimization program, which
we expect that we will reinvest in our business and in our people because it’s
so important for our future growth and so we expect to reinvest that while
still delivering modest margin expansion,” Accenture Chief Financial Officer
Angie Park said.
Alongside
cuts, the company is continuing to hire and has beefed up its AI talent with
77,000 employed AI and data professionals in 2025, up from 40,000 in 2023.
Sweet said its also expecting to increase the company’s headcount in the next
financial year across markets including the U.S. and Europe.
“Our
No. 1 strategy is upskilling, given the skills we need, and we’ve had a lot of
experience in upskilling, we’re trying to, in a very compressed timeline, where
we don’t have a viable path for skilling, sort of exiting people so we can get
more of the skills in we need,” Sweet added.
The
company reported revenue of $69.7 billion this year, growth of 7% from the
prior year. In an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,”
Sweet pinned this growth on massive client demand to deploy artificial
intelligence across organizations.
“Our
early investment in AI is really paying off,” Sweet told CNBC. “We feel very
good as we go into FY26 with the momentum we’re seeing in our business which is
driven by Accenture being the company that you really partner to make sure you
can use advanced AI.”
“Every
CEO, board and the C-suite recognize that advanced AI is critical to the
future. The challenge right now they’re facing is that they’re really excited
about the technology and they’re not yet AI ready for most companies,” she
added.
Accenture
plans on 'exiting' staff who can't be reskilled on AI
In other news,
nothing good.
Germany's
Bosch to cut 13,000 jobs in blow to auto sector
25 September 2025
German industrial giant Bosch said Thursday it would
cut 13,000 jobs, mostly in its auto unit, in the latest blow for the country's
ailing car sector.
The auto industry in Europe's biggest economy has
been hammered by fierce competition in key market China, weak demand and a
slower than expected shift to electric vehicles.
The cuts, all of which will take place in Germany,
represent about 10 percent of Bosch's total workforce in the country, and three
percent of its staff worldwide.
Bosch -- the world's biggest auto supplier, making
everything from braking and steering systems to sensors -- said the layoffs
were needed to help make annual savings of 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) in
the group's car unit.
"Demand for our products is shifting
significantly to regions outside Europe," said Stefan Grosch, head of
industrial relations at Bosch. "We need to orient ourselves to where our
markets and customers are."
Workers' representatives vowed to resist the cuts,
labelling them "unprecedented".
- Slow EV shift -
Bosch had already announced 9,000 layoffs since last
year and other automotive suppliers, including Schaeffler and Continental, have
also laid off thousands.
The top carmakers themselves are facing serious
problems, with 10-brand Volkswagen -- Europe's top automaker -- planning to cut
thousands of jobs in Germany as sales and profits slide.
Sports car maker Porsche, a VW subsidiary, last week
hit the brakes on its EV rollout due to weak demand.
More
Germany's Bosch to cut 13,000 jobs in blow to auto sector
Volkswagen
cuts output, pauses production at German EV plants, Bloomberg News says
25 September 2025
(Reuters) -Europe's top carmaker Volkswagen is
curbing volumes and introducing temporary shutdowns at two of its
electric-vehicle plants in Germany, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
The German automaker's Zwickau factory will stop
production for a week from October 6 due to weak demand for the Audi Q4 e-tron,
the report said, citing a company spokesperson.
The carmaker's Emden plant has reduced employee
hours and is expected to halt production lines for several days, Bloomberg
said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Volkswagen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last week, Volkswagen said it would take a 5.1
billion euro ($6 billion) hit over its unit Porsche AG's delayed EV rollout due
to weaker demand, and rising competition from China coupled with higher U.S.
tariffs.
Volkswagen cuts output, pauses production at German EV plants, Bloomberg
News says
Shale
oil execs say Trump policies are hurting investment, ‘business is broken’
Published Thu, Sep 25 2025 5:28 PM EDT Updated Thu,
Sep 25 2025 5:57 PM EDT
Shale oil executives say President Donald Trump is
hurting investment in the oil patch, and are giving a grim outlook for the
future of the industry that turned the U.S. into the largest crude producer in
the world.
The executives’ anonymous comments were published in
a quarterly survey of
oil and gas companies by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas this week. The 139
companies that responded operate predominantly in Texas as well as northern
Louisiana and southern New Mexico.
Trump has championed fossil fuels while attacking
the renewable energy industry since taking office in January. His One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed by
Congress in July, delivered virtually everything the oil lobby wanted.
But Trump’s push for lower crude prices, higher
tariffs, and the resulting uncertainty caused by his “stroke of pen” policies
are hurting investment, executives at independent oil and gas producers told
the Dallas Fed.
Nearly 80% of executives who participated in the
survey said they have delayed investment decisions in response to heightened
uncertainty about the future price of oil and the cost of producing crude.
“We have begun the twilight of shale,” one executive
said, pointing to layoffs by the thousands and industry consolidation under big
companies like Exxon Mobil. “The writing is on the wall,” the unnamed manager
said.
‘Drilling
is going to disappear’
Another executive warned that “drilling is going to
disappear” as Trump pushes for $40 per barrel crude oil at the same time his
steel tariffs are raising costs. U.S. crude oil prices are currently trading
around $65 per barrel, just above the level producers need to drill profitably.
The shale industry has been “gutted” over the course
of the Biden and Trump administrations, another executive said. Political
hostility from Biden chased away capital from the industry, the person said.
Economic ignorance from Trump is “finishing the job,” they said.
“The U.S. shale business is broken,” the executive
said.
The Trump administration has effectively aligned
itself with the decision by OPEC+ to increase oil supply, “kneecapping U.S.
producers in the process,” the person said.
“Guided by a U.S. Department of Energy that tells
them what they want to hear instead of hard facts, they operate with little
understanding of shale economics,” the same executive said.
More
Shale oil execs say Trump policies are hurting investment, 'business is
broken'
Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession
Watch.
Given
our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians,
inflation now needs an entire section of its own.
Core inflation rate held at 2.9% in August, as
expected, Fed’s gauge shows
Published Fri, Sep 26 2025 8:31 AM EDT
Core inflation was little changed in August,
according to the Federal Reserve’s primary forecasting tool, likely keeping the
central bank on pace for interest rate reductions ahead.
The personal consumption expenditures price index posted a 0.3% gain for the month, putting the annual headline
inflation rate at 2.7%, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
Excluding food and energy, the more closely
followed core PCE price level was 2.9% on an annual basis after rising 0.2% for
the month.
The headline annual inflation rate was a slight
increase from the 2.6% in July while the core rate was the same.
All of the numbers were in line with the Dow Jones
consensus forecast.
Spending and income numbers were slightly higher
than expected.
Personal income increased 0.4% for the month, while
personal consumption expenditures accelerated at a 0.6% pace. Both were 0.1
percentage point above the respective estimates.
Though the Fed targets inflation at 2%, the
readings are unlikely to change course for policymakers who last week indicated
they see two more quarter percentage point reductions before the end of the
year.
The report further indicates that President Donald
Trump’s tariffs have had only a limited pass-through effect on consumer prices.
Though many economists expected Trump’s expansive levies to juice prices,
companies have relied on a mixture of pre-tariff inventory accumulations and
cost absorbing measures to limit the impact.
Moreover, the data showed that consumers have been
resilient despite the round of tariffs, continuing to spend strongly as incomes
have held up.
Fed officials including Chair Jerome Powell say a
likely scenario for the tariffs is that they are a one-time boost to prices
rather than a longer-term cause of underlying inflation. However, some
policymakers have continued to express reservations and see limited room for
further rate cuts.
Markets are strongly betting on a rate cut in
October, though there’s less enthusiasm for another move in December. The
Federal Open Market Committee last week approved a quarter percentage point
reduction in the fed funds rate, the first easing of the year that took the
benchmark down to a target range of 4%-4.25%.
Starbucks to close stores, lay off workers in $1
billion restructuring plan
Published Thu, Sep 25
2025 7:55 AM EDT Updated Thu, Sep 25 2025 12:34 PM EDT
Starbucks announced a $1 billion restructuring plan
Thursday that involves closing some of its North American coffeehouses and
laying off more workers as it moves ahead with its “Back to Starbucks” transformation under CEO Brian Niccol.
The number of
company-operated stores in North America will decline by about 1% in fiscal
2025, accounting for both openings and closures, the company said in a Securities and
Exchange Commission filing.
That figure translates to roughly 500 gross closures, according to TD Cowen
estimates.
Approximately 900
nonretail employees will be laid off on Friday, Starbucks said.
Starbucks estimates that
90% of the expected $1 billion restructuring cost will be attributable to the
North America business. In total, the company expects to incur about $150
million in employee separation costs, plus about $850 million in restructuring
charges related to the store closures, according to the filing. A significant
portion of expenses will be incurred in fiscal 2025, it said.
The company plans to end
its fiscal year with almost 18,300 North American locations, including both
company-operated and licensed cafes. Starbucks plans to start growing its
footprint again in fiscal 2026.
Starbucks said in the
filing it is prioritizing investment “closer to the coffeehouse and the
customer” as it looks to reverse a sales slump in its biggest market. The company’s same-store sales have
fallen for six straight quarters, hurt by increased competition and
price-conscious consumers.
This is the second round
of layoffs in Niccol’s tenure, after 1,100 corporate workers were let go earlier this year. Starbucks ended 2024
with about 16,000 employees who work outside of store locations.
“These steps are to
reinforce what we see is working and prioritize our resources against them,”
Niccol wrote in a letter to employees Thursday. “I believe these steps are
necessary to build a better, stronger, and more resilient Starbucks that
deepens its impact on the world and creates more opportunities for our
partners, suppliers, and the communities we serve.”
In July, the company
announced its biggest investment ever into labor and operating standards, “Green Apron Service,” which involves a more than $500 million
investment in labor hours across company-owned cafes in the next year.
In an interview earlier
this month, Niccol told CNBC, “I really hope we’re moving towards being the
world’s greatest customer service company, [and] the world’s greatest
customer-centric company.
More
Starbucks to close stores, lay off workers in
$1 billion restructuring
Technology
Update.
With events happening
fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section.
Approx. 8 minutes.
Trapped in a Tesla: 3 Deaths in German Crash
Trapped in a
Tesla: 3 Deaths in German Crash
Next, the
world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.
World Debt Clocks (usdebtclock.org)
Exponent
Calculator
Enter
values into any two of the input fields to solve for the third.
This
weekend’s music diversion. The finest opening allegro in classical music. Approx. 19 minutes, but the opening allegro is
only approx. 8 minutes. Performed in a stunning Austrian church.
J. F. Fasch | Concerto in D major - FaWV L:D5
J. F. Fasch |
Concerto in D major - FaWV L:D5 - YouTube
Next, China’s new shipping route to Europe. Approx.
4 minutes.
China's
Arctic Shortcut To Europe | GRAVITAS
China's Arctic
Shortcut To Europe | GRAVITAS
Finally,
more fun on a subject we haven’t covered in at least two years, perfect numbers.
Approx. 30 minutes.
How
One Problem Has Stumped Mathematicians for Centuries
How One Problem
Has Stumped Mathematicians for Centuries | Watch
How many economists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
No one knows. They just keep going on and on about how the last
one broke.
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