Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

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JCPenney to Eliminate All Checkout Clerks, Instead Using RFID Chips and Self-Checkout; End of JCPenny? How Many Jobs At Risk? Posted: 29 Jul 2012 06:44 PM PDT By 2014 JCPenney PLans to Eliminate All Check-Out Clerks, and instead use self-checkout machines and RFID chips. Struggling retailer JCPenney is making some big changes that will affect customers and its clerks. The store is getting rid of its check-out counters. CEO Ron Johnson said it will remove check-out counters in stores and replace them with a system that won't require clerks. It's all part of an effort to return the department store chain to profitability. Shoppers will be able to use self check-out machines, similar to those found in grocery stores. JCPenney is also planning to replace traditional bar codes on price tags with high-tech radio frequency identification, or "RFID" chips to make purchases faster. Johnson told "Fortune" magazine he hopes to phase out check-out counters by 2014. End of JCPenny? My first thought was a question: Will this work? A move to entirely self-service is a risky bet-the-company type of move. Given that many large grocery stores have both self-checkout and manned checkout lanes, I suspect in reality that JCPenny will not go big-bang with this concept but instead will use a series if trials to see how customers respond. How Many Jobs At Risk? I personally loathe self-checkout but it's not my opinion that counts. If there are enough who think like me, and JCPenny does go big-bang, this move will the death of JCPenny. However, If I am wrong, then note that JCPenny has 1100 stores so we are talking about the elimination of lots of jobs. Also note that if the move by JCPenny is successful, other stores will follow. Finally, even if this ends up as a half-way measure, we are talking about the elimination of 10's of thousands of jobs if other stores follow suit. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Foreigners Dump Nearly €80 Billion in Spanish Debt; Haircuts Come After More Dumping Posted: 29 Jul 2012 09:13 AM PDT Through the first half of the year, foreigners reduced Spanish debt by Nearly €80 Billion as banks in Spain gobbled up more of the toxic garbage. Foreign investment in Spanish public debt has decreased by €78.168 billion in the first six months of the year, standing at  €203.271 billion euros, compared to  €281.439 billion which reached the end of 2011. This is a break of 27.7% over last year. The largest decreases were recorded in February and March, at nearly €25 billion each month. Analysts note that Spanish financial institutions that are supporting strongly the Treasury issues and thus raising their level of debt thanks to interventions by the ECB. Contrary to popular belief, the LTRO and other ECB financing programs that allowed Spain to accumulate more Spanish bonds is not a favor to Spain but rather a favor to foreigners who are now unloading the debt. Just as happened with Greece, as soon as foreigners dump enough Spanish debt, haircuts on the bonds will come. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.