Special Update 27/09/2025 PCE Relief. AI Starts To Hit Employment.

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%.

PCE inflation August 2025:

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.

Exponent Calculator

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.

 

AI, Pause Or Bubble Trouble? 100 Percent Tariffs. PCE Day.

Baltic Dry Index. 2266 +26           Brent Crude 69.59

Spot Gold 3747                 US 2 Year Yield 3.68 +0.05

US Federal Debt. 37.527 trillion

US GDP 30.290 trillion.

We must not let daylight in upon the magic.

Walter Bagehot

With unfortunate timing, President Trump imposed 100 percent tariffs on patented drugs starting on October 1^st.

Unfortunate timing? Next Wednesday is the anniversary of the start of the Wall Street Panic of 1907 and the anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Ukraine in 1653. If it happens, day one of the US government shutdown.

Later today, the Fed’s favourite inflation indicator, the release of August’s personal consumption expenditures price index. No shocks please!!!

Asian pharma stocks fall after Trump slaps 100% levies on branded drugs

Published Thu, Sep 25 2025 7:55 PM EDT

Shares of Asian pharmaceutical companies fell Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced fresh tariffs on furniture, heavy trucks and pharmaceutical products.

Starting from Oct. 1, “any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product” faces 100% duties, except for companies that build drug manufacturing plants in the U.S., Trump said in a Truth Social post early Friday.

The Topix Pharma Index fell 1.39% following the announcement. Daiichi Sankyo and Chugai Pharmaceutical were among the companies that led losses, declining 3.34% and 2.18%, respectively. Sumitomo Pharma tumbled 3.03%.

Heavyweight South Korean pharma stocks like Samsung Biologics and SK Bio Pharmaceuticals were down 1.66% and 2.66%, respectively.

Hong Kong-listed pharma companies were among the largest losers on the Hang Seng Index, with Wuxi Biologics in the lead, dropping 2.95%. Alibaba Health Information Technology and Sino Biopharmacutical were also among the top losers list, falling 1.84% and 1.25%, respectively.

In a separate Truth Social post, Trump said that imports of heavy trucks will be imposed a 25% levy. Meanwhile, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and “associated products” will face a 50% tariff, while a 30% tariff will be charged for upholstered furniture.

Overnight in the U.S., Trump also signed an executive order approving a proposal that would keep TikTok alive in the U.S. The transaction values the business at $14 billion, according to Vice President JD Vance.

Under the terms, which China must approve, a new joint-venture company will oversee TikTok’s U.S. business, with ByteDance retaining less than a 20% stake.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was flat, while the Topix rose 0.59% to reach a fresh record high. Investors also assessed September inflation data from Japan’s capital city of Tokyo.

Core inflation in the city came in softer than expected at 2.5%, compared to expectations of 2.8% from economists polled by Reuters. Headline inflation held steady at 2.5%. Tokyo’s inflation figures are widely considered to be a leading indicator of nationwide trends.

South Korea’s Kospi declined 2.02%, leading losses in Asia, while the small-cap Kosdaq retreated 1.57%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was marginally below the flatline.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.86%, while the mainland Chinese CSI 300 index was flat.

Overnight in the U.S., the pullback in tech on Wall Street continued for a third straight day, partly due to rising yields.

The 10-year Treasury yield touched 4.2% after data on initial claims for unemployment insurance came in lower than expected. Artificial intelligence play Oracle slid 5%, while Tesla was also among the day’s laggards, falling 4%.

The S&P 500 closed down 0.50% at 6,604.72, as did the Nasdaq Composite, which settled at 22,384.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.38%, to finish at 45,947.32.

Asia markets fall after Trump announces new tariffs; approves TikTok deal

Stock futures are little changed ahead of key inflation report: Live updates

Updated Fri, Sep 26 2025 7:02 PM EDT

Stock futures were hovering near the flatline night ahead of crucial inflation data.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 18 points, or 0.04%. S&P futures rose 0.06%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures ticked up 0.05%.

Investors are awaiting the release of August’s personal consumption expenditures price index out Friday, as the release is widely known to be the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure. Economists expect the print to reflect an uptick in inflation and markets continue to price in two quarter-point rate cuts at the Fed’s upcoming meetings, in line with what the central bank has projected.

The outcome could sway market reaction, however, after solid jobs data released earlier Thursday and a strong upward revision in second-quarter gross domestic product to 3.8% slightly dampened bullish sentiment. Investors fear fewer jobless claims could mean that the economy is in decent shape and therefore give the Fed less reason to cut interest rates.

The three major U.S. indexes fell again on Thursday while the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.2% at one point during the session on the back the latest economic data.

Major players in artificial intelligence, namely Oracle, Meta and Tesla, also pulled back. Oracle lost 5.6%, reflecting growing concerns among a pocket of investors that tech valuations have run far too high and that the interconnected AI industry could be risky.

Week to date, the S&P 500 is down nearly 0.9%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has lost about 1.1% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has shed 0.8%.

After this week’s losses, some market participants remain wary while still seeking longer-term buying opportunities. Andrew Slimmon, head of Applied Equity Advisors at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, said he would use any weakness to add to positions in tech.

“The market was vulnerable to a pullback and because tech has been a leader, it’s the most vulnerable,” Slimmon told CNBC. “I would not panic on this action. Any pullback or worse for the euphoria stocks is healthy for the market. I don’t think it’s a good long-term sign when speculation gets rampant.”

Stock market today: Live updates

Wall Street is starting to rethink the need for multiple rate cuts into 2026

 Sep 25, 2025, 6:15:00 PM

Traders pare back rate-cut expectations into early next year after Thursday's data showed surprising strength in the U.S. economy

Financial-market participants are scaling back slightly on their expectations for as many as five to seven interest-rate cuts by October 2026 following unexpectedly strong U.S. data on Thursday.

The U.S. economy is looking stronger than many people previously thought, which is giving way to a reconsideration by traders of how low interest rates might need to go into next year.

The rethink is occurring in a subtle way after Thursday's data showed fewer-than-expected initial jobless claims and a surprising upward revision in second-quarter economic growth. The market-implied likelihood of a quarter-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve in October slipped to 85.5%, from 91.9% a day ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. But expectations for a similar-size move by December were also slipping, along with the chances of additional easing into next year.

Read: Now that the Fed has cut rates, investors can focus on what really matters for markets

For now, the economy is signaling "more strength, less need for rate cuts," said economists Lindsey Piegza and Lauren Henderson at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. in Chicago. In a note, they wrote that "an even stronger growth profile in Q2, led by additional strength in consumption and investment, reiterates the storyline of a solid economy despite fiscal-policy uncertainty, relatively elevated price pressures and a reduced pace of hiring."

The impact of this surprising economic strength showed up on Thursday in the form of selling in the bond market, sending yields higher on everything from the 1-month Treasury bill BX:TMUBMUSD01M through the 30-year bond BX:TMUBMUSD30Y. The benchmark 10-year Treasury rate BX:TMUBMUSD10Y rose as much as 5.5 basis points to an intraday high of almost 4.2%, after breaking through the key support level of 4.15%.

Thursday's climb in yields appeared to reflect reduced concerns about the possibility that a softening labor market might translate into broader economic weakness and could require the Fed to keep cutting interest rates. Meanwhile, stock-market investors, who have been hopeful about getting multiple rate cuts without a recession, were sending all three major U.S. stock indexes DJIA SPX COMP to their first joint three-day losing streak in months.

More

Wall Street is starting to rethink the need for multiple rate cuts into 2026 | Morningstar

In other news.

The $100bn deal sparking fears of a dotcom-style crash

Nvidia’s eye-watering investment in OpenAI has experts worrying that the AI bubble is about to burst

24 September 2025 11:25am BST

At the height of the dotcom bubble in 2000, AOL was one of the world’s hottest companies. The internet pioneer had brought the web to millions of American households, and its advertising revenue was doubling year over year.

In a bullish sign of the web’s future, AOL announced a $360bn (£266bn) merger with media firm Time Warner – the biggest deal in American history.

It would take years after the bubble burst to discover the truth of AOL’s meteoric rise. In 2005, American regulators charged the company with propping up its revenues by using fraudulent “round-trip” transactions in which it secretly paid its customers to buy AOL advertising.

“The company effectively funded its own online advertising revenue,” prosecutors said.

AOL paid a $300m penalty to settle the claims.

These circular deals were a common feature of the dotcom bubble. Telecoms and software companies paid each other to finance new networks and boost sales, boosting revenue and maintaining the illusion of growth – until the bubble finally burst.

A quarter of a century later, sceptics of the artificial intelligence (AI) movement claim to be observing similar patterns and suggest a new bubble could be inflating.

Spending spree

On Monday, Nvidia, the semiconductor giant which has become the world’s most valuable company on the back of the AI boom, said it would invest $100bn in OpenAI, the AI company behind ChatGPT.

Much of the cash could ultimately flow back to Nvidia: the deal also includes plans for OpenAI to spend billions on data centres likely to be filled with Nvidia’s chips.

The investment will come in stages, with Nvidia investing more cash as OpenAI spends more.

An Nvidia spokesman says the company was not giving OpenAI money to buy its products and that the deal was an investment opportunity. There is no suggestion that the deal is untoward. However, analysts concede that it will raise eyebrows.

Stacy Rasgon, of equity research firm Bernstein, says the agreement “will clearly fuel ‘circular’ concerns … and – perhaps justifiably – raise concerns over the rationale behind the action”.

Vivek Arya, at Bank of America, says: “The optics of such a large investment in a customer will raise questions until Nvidia clarifies the appropriate accounting treatment.”

Nvidia’s $100bn deal is the biggest of the AI boom, but it is hardly the only relationship that has drawn questions.

Earlier this month, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison briefly became the world’s richest man on news of a $300bn deal with OpenAI that will involve copious purchases of Nvidia chips.

The deal effectively sees OpenAI pay Oracle to spend money with Nvidia. Memes shared online on Tuesday suggested the three companies had invented an “infinite money glitch” – a situation in which a bug is exploited to create limitless funds.

The AI boom that has turbocharged stock market valuations is replete with mutual deals. Amazon has invested billions in OpenAI rival Anthropic, which largely uses Amazon’s data centres to train its systems.

---- ‘Hope and pray’

But any financial return on the investment seems a distant prospect.

OpenAI’s revenues are $12bn on an annual basis. S&P predicts that worldwide revenues from generative AI, across all companies, will be $30bn this year. This is set to hit $85bn by 2029, but still well below the cost of investment.

“Way too much is being spent on AI infrastructure, given that the market for AI products and services is still at a hope and pray stage,” says Aswath Damodaran, a finance professor at New York University.

According to the management consultancy Bain, even under a rosy scenario for AI adoption in which the technology replaces huge portions of companies’ sales, marketing and R&D budgets by 2030, revenues would be $800bn below where they need to be to fund projected infrastructure spending.

And that rosy scenario may not materialise. Last month, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said that 95pc of organisations that had deployed AI were seeing “zero return”. The study set off a brief market panic that knocked $1tn off US tech stocks.

More

Nvidia’s $100bn OpenAI sparks fears the AI bubble is about to burst
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.

Awaiting the August PCE.

Covid-19 Corner

This section will continue only occasionally when something of interest occurs.

Of topic but important.

CDC warns of surge in dangerous, highly antibiotic-resistant bacteria

September 24, 2025

Infections from dangerous bacteria that are resistant to “some of the strongest antibiotics available” have surged in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

Citing a CDC study published Tuesday, the agency said in a news release that infections from NDM-CRE bacteria rose by more than 460 percent in the U.S. between 2019 and 2023.

“These infections — including pneumonia, bloodstream infections, urinary tract infections, and wound infections — are extremely hard to treat and can be deadly,” the CDC said.

NDM-CRE are part of a group of bacteria known as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, or CRE, which caused around 1,000 deaths in the U.S. every year from 2017 to 2019, according to a 2022 CDC report. “NDM” refers to an enzyme that makes the bacteria “resistant to nearly all available antibiotics, leaving few treatment options,” the agency said Tuesday.

The increase in cases poses a “serious risk for patients” because NDM-CRE can spread quickly and are associated with high rates of mortality, the CDC said.

“A single case generates alarm among infectious diseases specialists, and we have cause to be deeply concerned about this trajectory,” said Susan S. Huang, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of California at Irvine School of Medicine who has researched highly antibiotic-resistant organisms, said of the CDC report. “Lives will be lost,” she said in an interview over email.

The CDC said it had not determined the exact reasons for the surge in NDM-CRE infections. But gaps in infection control or limited testing — because many clinics do not have the tools to rapidly detect NDM-CRE infections — may have contributed to the bacteria’s spread, it said.

“Delayed identification leads to slower treatment, increased transmission, and missed opportunities for infection control,” the CDC said.

NDM-CRE infections have been historically uncommon in the United States, the CDC said. The NDM gene — which was first identified in 2008 from a Swedish patient who had been hospitalized in New Delhi — creates an enzyme that destroys most antibiotics, including carbapenems, which are usually used in last-ditch efforts to save patients with infections that fail to respond to standard antibiotics, The Washington Post has reported.

More

CDC warns of surge in dangerous, highly antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Technology Update.

With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, among other things, I’ve added this section. Updates as they get reported.

Piecing together the puzzle of future solar cell materials

News Release 24-Sep-2025 Chalmers University of Technology

Global electricity use is increasing rapidly and must be addressed sustainably. Developing new materials could give us much more efficient solar cell materials than at present; materials so thin and flexible that they could encase anything from mobile phones or entire buildings. Using computer simulation and machine learning, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have now taken an important step towards understanding and handling halide perovskites, among the most promising but notoriously enigmatic materials.

Electricity use is constantly increasing globally and, according to the International Energy Agency, its proportion of the world’s total energy consumption is expected to exceed 50 per cent in 25 years, compared to the current 20 per cent.

“To meet the demand, there is a significant and growing need for new, environmentally friendly and efficient energy conversion methods, such as more efficient solar cells. Our findings are essential to engineer and control one of the most promising solar cell materials for optimal utilisation. It’s very exciting that we now have simulation methods that can answer questions that were unresolved just a few years ago,” says Julia Wiktor, the study’s principal investigator and an associate professor at Chalmers.

Promising materials for efficient solar cells

Materials lying within a group called halide perovskites are considered the most promising for producing cost-effective, flexible and lightweight solar cells and optoelectronic devices such as LED bulbs, as they absorb and emit light extremely efficiently. However, perovskite materials can degrade quickly and knowing how best to utilise them requires a deeper understanding of why this happens and how the materials work.

Scientists have long struggled to understand one particular material within the group, a crystalline compound called formamidinium lead iodide. It has outstanding optoelectronic properties. Greater use of the material has been hampered by its instability but this can be solved by mixing two types of halide perovskites. However, more knowledge is needed about the two types so that researchers can best control the mixture.

The key to material design and control

A research group at Chalmers can now provide a detailed account of an important phase of the material that has previously been difficult to explain by experiments alone. Understanding this phase is key to being able to design and control both this material and mixtures based on it. The study was recently published in Journal of the American Chemical Society.

“The low-temperature phase of this material has long been a missing piece of the research puzzle and we’ve now settled a fundamental question about the structure of this phase," says Chalmers researcher Sangita Dutta.

Machine learning contributed to the breakthrough

The researchers’ expertise lies in building accurate models of different materials in computer simulations. This allows them to test the materials by exposing them to different scenarios and these are confirmed experimentally.

Nevertheless, modelling materials in the halide perovskite family is tricky, as capturing and decoding their properties requires powerful supercomputers and long simulation times.

“By combining our standard methods with machine learning, we’re now able to run simulations that are thousands of times longer than before. And our models can now contain millions of atoms instead of hundreds, which brings them closer to the real world,” says Dutta.

Lab observations match the simulations

The researchers identified the structure of formamidinium lead iodide at low temperatures. They could also see that the formamidinium molecules get stuck in a semi-stable state while the material cools. To ensure that their study models reflect reality, they collaborated with experimental researchers at the University of Birmingham. They cooled the material to - 200°C to ensure their experiments matched the simulations.

"We hope the insights we’ve gained from the simulations can contribute to how to model and analyse complex halide perovskite materials in the future," says Erik Fransson, at the Department of Physics at Chalmers.

Piecing together the puzzle of future solar cell materials | EurekAlert!

Next, the world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.

World Debt Clocks (usdebtclock.org)

Another weekend and my question for all this weekend, is AI going to fail like Overend, Gurney & Co., did in 1866, by vast over expansion into risky ventures, chasing fictitious profits.  At the time, “the banker’s bank” failed, long before the Bank of England and other central banks became the lenders of last resort.

I’m sceptical AI will return the crazy sums now being ploughed into it, let alone return a commensurate level of profits. (My mother’s maiden name was Gurney, but I don’t think there was any connection.) Have a great weekend everyone.

Overend, Gurney and Company

Overend, Gurney and Company was a London wholesale discount bank, known as "the bankers' bank", which collapsed in 1866 owing about £11 million, equivalent to £1,287 million in 2023.^[1] The collapse of the institution triggered a banking panic.^[2]

Overend, Gurney and Company - Wikipedia

Again, it may be said that we need not be alarmed at the magnitude of our credit system or at its refinement, for that we have learned by experience the way of controlling it, and always manage it with discretion. But we do not always manage it with discretion. There is the astounding instance of Overend, Gurney, and Co. to the contrary. Ten years ago that house stood next to the Bank of England in the City of London; it was better known abroad than any similar firm—known, perhaps, better than any purely English firm. The partners had great estates, which had mostly been made in the business. They still derived an immense income from it. Yet in six years they lost all their own wealth, sold the business to the company, and then lost a large part of the company's capital. And these losses were made in a manner so reckless and so foolish, that one would think a child who had lent money in the City of London would have lent it better.  After this example, we must not confide too surely in long-established credit, or in firmly-rooted traditions of business. We must examine the system on which these great masses of money are manipulated, and assure ourselves that it is safe and right.

Walter Bagehot.   Lombard Street. 1873

UK Stagflation Ahead. SK Rethinks. Stocks Pause?

Baltic Dry Index. 2240 +40           Brent Crude 69.03

Spot Gold 3758                 US 2 Year Yield 3.63 +0.02

US Federal Debt. 37.523 trillion

US GDP 30.288 trillion.

The second vice is lying, the first is running in debt.

Benjamin Franklin

In the US stocks casinos, another pause or something more?

On to today’s latest US jobs data and tomorrow’s PCE inflation data that’s the Fed’s favourite inflation indicator.

Asia-Pacific markets rise after Wall Street declines as investors sell tech names

Published Wed, Sep 24 2025 7:42 PM EDT

Asia-Pacific markets mostly climbed in choppy trade Thursday, breaking ranks with Wall Street after investors continued selling tech names like Nvidia and Oracle for a second straight day.

Nvidia slid almost 1%, continuing its declines from Tuesday as heightened fears about the potentially circular nature of the AI industry drew investor skepticism.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.24% up, as investors are watched Chinese automaker Chery Automobile’s debut on the index after its $1.2 billion IPO. Shares of Chery rose 11% to 34.16 Hong Kong dollars ($4.39) at the open, compared with its offer price of HK$30.75.

Separately, Xiaomi shares gained 1.85% after debuting a slew of new devices and appliances, including smartphones to take on South Korea’s Samsung.

On the mainland, China’s CSI 300 advanced 0.76%.

South Korea’s Kospi was just above the flatline, but the small-cap Kosdaq was down 0.49%. However, South Korean defense stocks continued to rise, with major players like Korea Aerospace up 0.66%, and Poongsan 4% higher.

Internet firm Naver was one of the leaders on the Kospi, gaining over 7% after it announced an investment into health startup GravityLabs early Thursday.

Taiwan’s Taiex was down 0.33%, with heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company down 1.12%. This comes after Bloomberg reported that chip giant Intel is seeking an investment from Apple.

Apple had previously used Intel chips in many of its personal computing devices, but switched to TSMC when it launched its M1 chip in 2020. The report however, said that Apple is unlikely to shift back to Intel chips.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.2%, while the broad based Topix gained 0.43%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 reversed course and added 0.21%.

U.S. stock futures were little changed as investors awaited Thursday’s release of weekly jobless claims data, which could influence the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy moves amid increasing concerns about a weakening labor market and rising layoffs.

Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 dropped 0.28% to end at 6,637.97, while the Nasdaq Composite pulled back 0.34% to settle at 22,497.86.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.37%, to finish at 46,121.28.

Asia markets reverse earlier losses as investors sell tech names on Wall Street

Stock futures are little changed ahead of key jobs data: Live updates

Updated Wed, Sep 24 2025 6:24 PM EDT

Stock futures were little changed Wednesday night as investors awaited upcoming jobs data.

S&P futures ticked higher by about 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures hovered above the flatline. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 39 points, or nearly 0.1%.

Intel shares gained 1.5% in after-hours trading after Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that the chipmaker has approached Apple to seek an investment from the iPhone maker.

The three major U.S. indexes fell for the second session in a row on Wednesday as key leaders of the artificial intelligence trade such as Nvidia, Oracle and Micron Technology lost steam. The market action appears to be reflecting concerns about record-high valuations and potentially risky circular relationships in the AI industry after some recent deals.

The S&P 500 had snapped a three-day winning streak on Tuesday.

Thursday’s release of weekly jobless claims data will provide a key economic data point that could influence the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy moves amid increasing concerns about a weakening labor market and rising layoffs. Initial unemployment claims last week eased after a brief spike the week prior.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday that a slowing labor market is outweighing concerns about stubborn inflation, which contributed to the Federal Open Market Committee’s recent decision to lower interest rates for the first time this year. Powell noted “a marked slowdown” in supply and demand and said that “in this less dynamic and somewhat softer labor market, the downside risks to employment have risen.”

Salvatore Ruscitti, U.S. equity strategist at MRB Partners, said he does not expect the recent hiring slump to become a “self-reinforcing negative cycle” that causes a spike in layoffs.

“On the jobless claims data, clearly it is a focus of the equity markets, especially with the Fed leaning more towards emphasizing the maximum employment part of its mandate,” Ruscitti said. “I think you would have to see a meaningful spike higher in weekly jobless claims to elicit a meaningful negative reaction in the equity market.”

Investors are also cautious ahead of the personal consumption expenditures price index due Friday and are monitoring developments regarding a potential government shutdown.

Stock market today: Live updates

South Korean investment in the US is now in peril

Opinion in Seoul is hardening after the Georgia raid

24 September 2025

“The United States seems to have changed,” South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said last week in the national assembly. His remarks came against the backdrop of harrowing accounts from South Korean nationals detained in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency raid on the Hyundai-LG plant in Georgia and recently released to return home.  While President Lee Jae-myung sought to downplay the raid’s impact, citing a “cultural difference”, the issue now appears to have gone beyond visas to further strain the stalled trade talks between the two allies.

 Although both sides agreed in principle to a deal in July, under which the US lowered the tariff on South Korean imports from 25 to 15 per cent in exchange for Seoul’s commitment to invest $350bn in the US, disagreements over the details have bogged down negotiations. Having watched how quickly handshakes at a summit in Washington can turn into handcuffs in an immigration raid in Georgia, public sentiment in Seoul towards the deal is showing signs of hardening. ICE’s operation was a stark reminder that South Korea — despite being America’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partner for over a decade — still lacks a dedicated visa category, unlike some of America’s other FTA partners. 

It has revived long-held perceptions in Seoul that South Korea is receiving unfair treatment, even as its companies pour investment into US manufacturing on a scale unmatched by FTA partners with dedicated visa categories, such as Singapore, Chile and Australia. The Partner with Korea Act — which would create an E-4 visa category for highly skilled Korean nationals while requiring employers to ensure they are not hired for positions US workers could fill — has languished on Capitol Hill for years, despite being reintroduced in every Congress since 2013. US President Donald Trump’s recent proclamation imposing a steep new fee on H-1B visas only underscored the glaring absence of a dedicated category for South Korean skilled workers. 

On September 8, before his trip to the US to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Cho was grilled by lawmakers about the raid. Representative Kim Joon-hyung of the Rebuilding Korea Party pressed the foreign minister, challenging him on why Seoul doesn’t counter by withholding investment. Without offering a clear explanation for why the US is holding South Korea to a “Japan-style” deal, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s comment on the day the detained workers were released that “the Japanese signed the contract. The Koreans either accept that deal or pay the tariffs” did not go over well in Seoul. Lee’s recent remark that US investment demands could trigger another financial crisis in South Korea has deepened domestic concern over the trade talks. In this climate, a debate has emerged over whether Seoul should resist “buying down” the tariff and instead consider swallowing the 25 per cent hit. 

A similar sentiment was voiced by Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan after his unfruitful meeting with Lutnick in New York after the raid. While he dismissed questions about the need for continued trade talks with the US, Kim said, “Some say even if tariffs were raised from 15 to 25 per cent, it would not be much compared to $350bn, and I also sometimes think of this as an option”. Kim’s comment reflects a notable view in Seoul that the $350bn could instead be used to cushion Korean companies harmed by the tariffs. This idea was also advanced by Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, who contends that both Seoul and Tokyo would be far better off spending a fraction of the money Washington demands to support local workers and businesses hit by tariffs, rather than handing over hundreds of billions for little in return.

More

South Korean investment in the US is now in peril

In commodity news.

Copper Prices Jump as Freeport Details Production Hit from Grasberg Mine Suspension

24 September 2025

Copper prices surged roughly 2% in intraday trading Wednesday after Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) outlined the significant production shortfall caused by the suspension of its Grasberg Block Cave mine in Indonesia following a fatal mud rush.

The mining giant confirmed that operations remain halted after two workers were killed, while search efforts continue for five missing employees. Freeport warned that the shutdown will reduce third-quarter 2025 consolidated sales by about 4% for copper and 6% for gold compared to earlier July projections.

The fourth-quarter impact is expected to be even more pronounced. Copper and gold output at PT Freeport Indonesia is now projected to be “insignificant” relative to previous forecasts of 445 million pounds of copper and 345,000 ounces of gold.

Looking further ahead, the company expects 2026 production at PT Freeport Indonesia to come in roughly 35% below prior estimates of 1.7 billion pounds of copper and 1.6 million ounces of gold. Freeport does not anticipate a return to pre-incident production levels until potentially 2027 under its phased restart plan.

The company said that operations at its Big Gossan and Deep MLZ mines are expected to resume by mid-fourth quarter, while Grasberg’s phased restart and ramp-up is scheduled for the first half of 2026.

The disruption comes amid already tight global copper supplies, helping to push prices higher as the market reacts to the unexpected production shortfall at one of the world’s largest copper mines.

Copper Prices Jump as Freeport Details Production Hit from Grasberg Mine Suspension

In other news, AI mania bubbles on.

Sam Altman on OpenAI’s $850 billion in planned buildouts: ‘People are worried. I totally get that’

Published Wed, Sep 24 2025 12:58 AM EDT

ABILENE, Texas — Sam Altman stood on a patch of hot Texas dirt, the kind that turns to dust storms on dry days and mud slicks after a sudden rain. Behind him stretched the outlines of what will soon be a massive data center complex in the west-central part of the state, where heavy wind often meets extreme heat.

It was a fitting backdrop for the OpenAI CEO to unveil what he calls the largest infrastructure push of the modern internet era: a 17-gigawatt buildout in partnership with Oracle, Nvidia, and SoftBank.

In less than 48 hours, OpenAI has announced commitments equal to 17 nuclear plants or about nine Hoover Dams. The plan will require the amount of electricity needed to power more than 13 million U.S. homes.

The scale is staggering, even for a company that’s raised a record amount of private market cash and seen its valuation swell to $500 billion. At roughly $50 billion per site, OpenAI’s projects add up to about $850 billion in spending, nearly half of the $2 trillion global AI infrastructure surge HSBC now forecasts.

Altman understands the concern. But he rejects the idea that the spending spree is overkill.

“People are worried. I totally get that. I think that’s a very natural thing,” Altman told CNBC on Tuesday from the site of the first of its mega data centers in Abilene. “We are growing faster than any business I’ve ever heard of before.”

Altman insisted that the building boom is in response to soaring demand, highlighting the tenfold jump in ChatGPT usage over the past 18 months. He said a network of supercomputing facilities is what’s required to maximize the capabilities of AI.

“This is what it takes to deliver AI,” Altman said. “Unlike previous technological revolutions or previous versions of the internet, there’s so much infrastructure that’s required, and this is a small sample of it.”

The biggest bottleneck for AI isn’t money or chips — it’s electricity. Altman has put money into nuclear companies because he sees their steady, concentrated output as one of the only energy sources strong enough to meet AI’s enormous demand.

Altman led a $500 million funding round into fusion firm Helion Energy to build a demonstration reactor, and backed Oklo, a fission company he took public last year through his own SPAC. 

Critics warn of a bubble, pointing to how companies like Nvidia, Oracle, Broadcom and Microsoft have each added hundreds of billions of dollars in market value on the back of tie-ups with OpenAI, which is burning cash. Nvidia and Microsoft are now worth a combined $8.1 trillion, or equal to about 13.5% of the S&P 500.

Skeptics also say the system looks like a circular financing model. OpenAI is committing hundreds of billions of dollars to projects that rely on partners like Nvidia, Oracle, and SoftBank. Those companies are simultaneously investing in the same projects and then getting paid back through chip sales and data center leases.

More

Sam Altman OpenAI's $850 billion in planned buildouts, bubble concern

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.

Is Britain on the verge of stagflation? What the OECD warning means

24 September 2025

Rachel Reeves suffered a fresh headache after OECD forecasts underlined Britain’s deepening cost of living crisis – with the highest inflation in the G7 – and sluggish economic growth.

The report is likely to raise fears of stagflation - where the economy stagnates at the same time as inflation drives spiralling prices.

It comes as the Chancellor comes under mounting pressure ahead of November’s Autumn Budget as she seeks to fill a black hole of up to £50 billion in the public finances.

Separately, a closely-watched business survey – the purchasing managers’ index – pointed to a sharp slowdown in growth this month.

What is the forecast for the UK economy? 

The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicts that the UK economy will grow by 1.4 per cent this year – a slight upgrade.

For 2026, the OECD continues to forecast meagre 1 per cent growth.

It will be a worry for Ms Reeves if the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is equally pessimistic in November’s Budget. In the spring, it predicted growth of 1.9 per cent for 2026.

The outlook for UK inflation has been sharply upgraded for this year, from 3.1 per cent to 3.5 per cent, and for next, from 2.3 per cent to 2.7 per cent.

The Chancellor said: ‘These figures confirm that the British economy is stronger than forecast – it has been the fastest growing of any G7 economy in the first half of the year.

‘But I know there is more to do to build an economy that works for working people – and rewards working people.’

What's going on with inflation? 

The OECD report confirms Britain’s deepening cost of living problem. It cites the UK as one of a number of countries particularly badly hit by food inflation – adding to the pain faced by households doing the weekly shop.

The forecast means UK continues to face the highest inflation in the G7 this year - though will fall behind the US in 2026.

Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: ‘The OECD confirms what hard-working families already feel - under Labour, Britain is in a high tax, high inflation, low growth doom loop.

‘Rachel Reeves seems to think the solution is yet more tax rises. The UK is now teetering on the edge of stagflation, all driven by Labour’s economic mismanagement.

‘This should be a wake-up call to the Chancellor: you can't tax your way to growth.”

What is stagflation and are we at risk?

Stagflation is the term given to the toxic combination of high inflation and stagnant growth.

The Chancellor and the Bank of England are facing an environment of weaker economic output and above-target inflation.

This was underscored by a closely-watched survey from S&P Global on Tuesday that showed private sector output has slowed to its weakest level since May as higher business costs have sparked ‘subdued’ demand and further job cuts.

The most recent data from the Office for National Statistics shows the UK economy grew by 0.2 per cent in the three months to July, slowing from growth rates of 0.3 and 0.6 per cent in the three months to June and May respectively.

Meanwhile, consumer prices index inflation was 3.8 per cent in August, almost double the BoE’s target of 2 per cent. Inflation is expected to peak this month or next.

Inflation in the UK is considerably higher than the 2.9 per cent level in the US, where growth is at 2.1 per cent. Across the eurozone inflation is 2.1 per cent and GDP growth is 1.5 per cent.

Market concerns over inflation in the UK, the size of our borrowing and the lack of growth to pay for it, have led to longer-term gilt yields rising, with 30-year gilts topping 5.5 per cent in recent weeks.

More

Is Britain on the verge of stagflation? What the OECD warning means

Covid-19 Corner

This section will continue only occasionally when something of interest occurs.

 

Technology Update.

With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, among other things, I’ve added this section. Updates as they get reported.

Maritime firefighters train on tackling electric vehicle and battery fires

Mon 22 September 2025 at 11:53 am BST

Firefighters from across the Maritimes gathered on P.E.I. over the weekend to learn more about combating electric vehicle fires and blazes caused by lithium-ion batteries.

About 75 firefighters from departments in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia began the two-day training Saturday with a lecture at UPEI. On Sunday, they took part in hands-on training.

Peter Vandenbroek, with Red Island Training Days — organized by the P.E.I. Firefighters Association — said EV and lithium-ion battery fires present unique challenges.

"One of the things we're hearing with EVs is the large amount of water it takes to extinguish the fires, because the batteries, when they go into thermal runaway, can… create their own oxygen, which keeps feeding the fire," Vandenbroek told CBC News.

"And the batteries are underneath the vehicle, so they're tougher to access, requiring more water to be applied to the battery pack to cool it down and actually extinguish the fire."

Vandenbroek said there are other challenges when responding to fires caused by smaller lithium-ion batteries.

"Smaller battery packs, like a drill battery, are powered by a lot of smaller batteries inside, and when they catch fire and they explode, the smaller batteries that are inside the packs can actually spread throughout the house," he said.

"And [they] land on sofas, or beds, or on their furniture, causing fires in other locations in the house that you weren't expecting when you first arrived on scene."

A growing threat

Paul Shoemaker, instructor and owner of Next Level Training Network, has spent 14 years educating in the fire service and the last eight focusing on lithium-ion batteries. He led the weekend course.

He said the training addressed both vehicles on the road and batteries involved in house fires.

"I try to show them videos of not only scientific things that are coming out to show what lithium-ion batteries do in a house, but then I also show real-life videos," Shoemaker said.

"Because we're having a lot of people encounter these fires, not only in cars out on the street, but you know, scooters, e-bikes inside of a home."

Shoemaker warned that batteries can turn a regular house fire into a "nightmare" for firefighters as the flames burn with more intensity, and they also have the side effect of emitting toxic gases.

"Our bunker gear is not rated for the intensity of the flames that come off of these things, and the gases that come off of these things are very, very toxic — super, super nasty for our lungs, our skin," he said.

"And these gases carry heavy metals [that] are traced back to cancerous cells that could kill us — maybe not immediately, [but] maybe end our life earlier."

More

Maritime firefighters train on tackling electric vehicle and battery fires

Next, the world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.

World Debt Clocks (usdebtclock.org)

To contract new debts is not the way to pay old ones.

George Washington