i wouldn't call this underperforming... Democrats won 22 races,republicans won 11 Democrats got 53 million votes,republicans got 35 million. Democrats won the Senate races in Pennsylvania,Wisconsin,Michigan,Nevada,Virginia ,Minnesota ,Arizona and Ohio in 2018,the states that will decide 2020. Dems won all of the blue senate seat races. Democrats won 8 of the 9 swing state senate seats and only lost the 9th by 20,000 votes Democrats won red states West Virginia,Montana and Arizona and came within 2.5 points in Texas,a seat that republicans won by 25 and 16 points in the prior 2 elections. Republicans lost all blue state races,8 out of 9 swing state races and 3 red state races and only won thier biggest EC state by 2.5 points
https://www.wired.com/story/elections-2018-extreme-gerrymandering-blue-wave/ EXTREME GERRYMANDERING COULD STILL STYMIE THE BLUE WAVE If you look at the polls and the forecasts put out by election oracles like Nate Silver, the race to win control of the House of Representatives on Tuesday seems tilted in Democrats’ favor. Michael Li will tell you that if Democrats do take back the House, it will have been against all odds. In areport released earlier this year, Li and his colleagues at the Brennan Center for Justice found that in order to win a bare majority in the House, Democrats would need to win the national popular vote by 11 points, a margin no party has seen in decades. That’s thanks to gerrymandering, the process of strategically manipulating an election map’s boundaries to preference one political party or group over another. Since 2012, the country’s electoral map has been so heavily skewed toward Republicans that in severely gerrymandered states like Ohio, North Carolina, and Michigan, Democrats could win more than half the vote and still walk away with a minority of congressional seats.
Americans' Confidence in Their Finances Keeps Growing by Jim Norman February 11, 2019 https://news.gallup.com/poll/246602/americans-confidence-finances-keeps-growing.aspx
OPEC’s Nemesis, Shale Oil, Is Back, Setting New Production Records Commodities7 hours ago (Feb 20, 2019 03:18AM ET) Shale oil is setting new production records, threatening the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with another showdown that could upend the market as U.S. crude prices cross $55 per barrel. Indian Oil Corporation (NS:IOC) announced this week that it has signed a $1.5 billion deal to buy oil from the United States in an effort to reduce dependence on traditional suppliers. It was the first term contract finalized by an Indian oil company for import of U.S.-origin crude grades. Interestingly, the announcement came a day before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MbS, landed in India for a state visit. Said Kilduff: “That Indian-U.S. deal strikes at the heart of the Asian market that everyone’s fighting for, including the Saudis and Russians.” “This willingness to cede Asian market share is something you’d have never seen on the watch of Ali Naimi, the former Saudi energy minister. But the current minister Khalid al-Falih is a willing player who’ll do as directed by MbS, who’s basically determining the Saudi oil policy.”
Enormity Of U.S. Imports From China Revealed In Latest Data President Trump announced over the weekend that he would extend the March 2 deadline he set for the United States and China to come to terms to end the trade war that began last year with the imposition of tariffs on $50 billion and then another $200 billion in U.S. imports. The problem is, this is the second extension. He had done the same thing at the end of the year, extending a Dec. 31 deadline. In both cases, he had threatened to increase the 10% tariffs on the $200 billion to 25%, similar to the tariffs on the first $50 billion. But, this time, he didn't mention a new deadline. He also didn't specify what progress had been made, though he deemed it substantial. Or when or where a meeting between him and Chinese President Xi Jinping to conclude the trade deal would occur. Here's what we do know. U.S. exports to China have fallen four times in the last five months, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. The very opposite has been happening with Chinese imports into the United States. Until November, when they fell, U.S. imports from China had increased seven months in a row -- right through the escalating trade war. The export story is by now all too familiar. I have written about it previously. Soybean exports off a cliff, oil exports virtually vanishing, motor vehicle exports, down sharply. Then there's imports. Imports of computer parts and accessories from China, up 15.24% through November.
Damn....serious maga: Fiat Deepens SUV Bet With $4.5 Billion for Jeep, Ram Plants By Gabrielle Coppola February 26, 2019 Carmaker says factory projects will create almost 6,500 jobs Company keeps expanding even as supply of iconic SUV builds up The 2019 Ram Power Wagon pickup truck Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV plans to invest $4.5 billion to produce new Jeep models and boost Ram truck output, as it banks on selling more high-margin sport utility vehicles even as U.S. sales lose steam and a slew of rival offerings hit the market. The Italian-American automaker is putting $1.6 billion into its Mack Avenue engine plant in Detroit to produce the next-generation Grand Cherokee, plus a new full-size three-row Jeep with an optional plug-in hybrid engine, Chief Executive Officer Mike Manley said on a call with reporters. It’s also spending $1.5 billion on its Warren, Michigan, truck plant to bring back the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer nameplates, and continue production of its Ram 1500 Classic truck through this year. Those models will hit the market at a time when crosstown rivals General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. are relaunching storied nameplates including the Ford Bronco and Chevy Blazer. An unexpected spike in inventory of Jeep’s iconic Wrangler already is stoking concern that the American SUV boom fueling Detroit automakers’ profit growth is reaching its limits. In an early sign of this potential strain, Fiat Chrysler said later Tuesday that it’ll cut a shift at its Jeep plant in Illinois to align production with demand. Manley downplayed these concerns on a call with reporters. Entering segments where the company doesn’t have an offering -- such as with the three-row SUV and the Grand Wagoneer -- will allow Fiat Chrysler to keep growing, he said. The automaker’s U.S. shares dipped as much as 0.7 percent after the announcements. “Even if we see mitigation in the industry in the coming years, entering white space” will expand the addressable market, Manley said. “Notwithstanding the fact that the industry is going to be, in total, slightly down year-over-year, the economic indicators as we see them are still strong.” Fiat Chrysler was the only one of Detroit’s three automakers to increase sales in a flat U.S. market last year, thanks to record deliveries for its Jeep and Ram brands. The company is looking to build on that momentum in 2019 with redesigned heavy-duty Ram trucks and the new Jeep Gladiator pickup being introduced in the first half of the year. Jeep Gladiator Source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Still, Fiat Chrysler hasn’t been completely immune from the broader auto market’s slowdown. It started this month with 166 days’ supply of Jeep Wranglers on dealer lots, almost double the inventory of cars and light trucks in stock industrywide. The company said its Jeep Cherokee plant in Belvidere, Illinois, will move to two shifts, from three, starting May 6, leading to indefinite layoffs for 1,371 workers. The National Automobile Dealers Association expects industrywide deliveries to dip to 16.8 million cars and trucks this year, down from about 17.3 million in 2018. As the market shrinks, showrooms are getting more crowded with new models. Researcher LMC Automotive projects automakers will offer 191 different SUVs by 2024. That’s up from just 100 in 2014. fell short of investors’ expectations in the fourth quarter, prompting a stock plunge and slew of analyst downgrades. The company is counting on U.S. sales to sustain earnings while it seeks partners to help cut costs for its ailing European business. It’s also struggling to find its footing in a slowing Chinese market and shore up the Maserati luxury brand. “They’re more reliant than ever on the good mix in the U.S. and North America in general to offset the foreseeable weakness in Europe and China,” said Pierre Quemener, an analyst at MainFirst Bank AG. “If they falter here, that’s going to be a big issue for them.” Before today’s announcement, the company had spent $4.9 billion on truck and SUV assembly in the U.S. since 2009, compared with $1.3 billion on passenger cars, according to the Center for Automotive Research. The investments have helped Fiat Chrysler curry favor with President Donald Trump. The White House has attacked GM for its plans to close factories as it kills off some sedans and frees up resources to invest in electrification and autonomous vehicles. Fiat Chrysler won plaudits from Trump in January 2017 when it announced a $1 billion investment to build three new Jeeps and shift production of the heavy-duty Ram pickup from Mexico. But Manley said Tuesday the truck’s planned exit from Mexico has been scrapped. Still, the United Auto Workers praised the move to create more jobs at Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. factories. “At a time when the Detroit area and our communities have seen auto plants without work and companies continue to ship vehicles into the U.S. from Mexico, China, Korea and other countries, it’s exciting to see now that we can have good union jobs here,” Cindy Estrada, a UAW vice president, told reporters at a press conference. Here’s a breakdown of Fiat Chrysler’s investments in detail: Retooling of the Mack Avenue plant will start in June, with the three-row model coming off the production line by the end of 2020 and the new Grand Cherokee debuting in the first half of 2021 Production of the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer models will start at the Warren plant in early 2021 Investments to enable plug-in hybrid and other electrified variants of new Jeep models will be made as demand develops in the U.S. market, Manley said Fiat Chrysler confirms production of all-new Ram heavy-duty will continue in Saltillo, Mexico, reversing an earlier decision to shift output to the U.S. Fiat Chrysler also will spend $900 million to retool another Detroit plant, Jefferson North, to continue production of the Dodge Durango SUV and make the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee The company is also earmarking $400 million in upgrades for stamping plants in Warren and Sterling Heights, Michigan
All I need to know from an economics/finance viewpoint that this is a black hole of money that will lose... FIAT is thorwing billions in just when they will face a bust and even more competition from Japan and Korea.
Toyota to invest $749 million to expand in 5 states Jim Lentz: “In a time when others are scaling back, we believe in the strength of America and we’re excited about the future of mobility in America." Toyota Motor North America on Thursday said it plans to invest $749 million and add about 600 jobs at plants in five states as part of a U.S. manufacturing expansion that now is expected to total $13 billion by 2022. The automaker plans to increase engine capacity in Alabama, add production of the RAV4 hybrid and Lexus ES 300h hybrid in Kentucky, and double hybrid transaxle capacity in West Virginia. It also plans to raise output of castings at plants operated by its Bodine Aluminum subsidiary in Tennessee and Missouri. “In a time when others are scaling back, we believe in the strength of America and we’re excited about the future of mobility in America,” Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota Motor North America, said on a call with reporters. In an earlier statement, he said: "By boosting our U.S. manufacturing footprint, we can better serve our customers and dealers and position our manufacturing plants for future success with more domestic capacity." Toyota said it would spend $288 million to expand and add 450 jobs at the engine plant in Huntsville, Ala., $111 million to expand and add 123 jobs in Buffalo, W.V., and $50 million to expand and add 13 jobs at the Bodine plant in Jackson, Tenn. Investments of $238 million in Georgetown, Ky., and $62 million in Troy, Mo., do not include plans to add jobs. The Georgetown plant will have capacity to build 12,000 ES 300h hybrids annually starting in May and 100,000 RAV4 hybrids annually starting in January 2020. More investments In 2017, Toyota said it would invest $10 billion in U.S. manufacturing within five years. The company says it now plans to increase that commitment by 30 percent. Lentz said Toyota has spent about half of its original $10 billion commitment already and isn’t ready to disclose details about the remainder of the $3 billion it’s now adding. He said adding the RAV4 hybrid benefits the Georgetown plant, which currently builds only cars, by giving it a crossover to build at a time when light trucks make up about 70 percent of the market. “Adding an SUV to that plant was important,” Lentz said. But he said the company has no plans to convert Georgetown into a truck plant. Lentz and Chris Reynolds, the company’s chief administrative officer for manufacturing and corporate resources, said U.S. trade policy isn’t the major factor prompting the expansions. But they said the company is eager to learn whether the Trump administration will indeed declare imported vehicles to be a national security threat and go forward with the tariffs it has threatened to impose. “Our investment cycles go beyond any particular political cycle. We need to make decisions based on what we think the market needs rather than the policy direction of the moment,” Reynolds said. “All of this activity, I hope, shows that we’re a plus factor to the economic national security of the United States.”