1) Another wave of technology displacement is sweeping across America, with 32 stores getting rid of their cashiers and checkout lanes. For the last decade or so, there has been an increasing incident of self checkout facilities appearing in stores. Driven by Amazon’s marketing model, retailers are experimenting with ways and methods to dispense with the labor cost from check out clerks. The ‘one of a kind’ Sam’s Club Now is really an incubator to develop the technologies for automated check out systems in stores. Walmart has its Scan & Go app, Kroger its Scan Bag & Go service and fast food chains such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and burger King have kiosk systems for ordering.
2) California is not seeing the expected revenues for legalization of cannabis for personal use. After three years of legalization, the anticipated windfalls have failed to materialize a result of regulations and a robust black market cutting into legal sales. The legal market has produced just a fraction of what the state had anticipated, while legal growers who invested millions to cultivate the product are not seeing any profits. Growers must pay a number of fees to the government annually, which cut heavily into their profits.
3) If China signs a partial trade deal with the U.S., it will buy at least $20 billion dollars of agricultural products in a year. This would take China’s farm goods imports back to the levels of 2017, before U.S. imposed tariffs, which once removed might actually push imports up to as much as $40-$50 billion dollars a year. China has already issued waivers for 10 million tons of soybean purchases this week, and is considering an additional 4-5 million tons of grains.
4) Stock market closings for – 24 OCT 19:
Dow 26,805.53 down 28.42
Nasdaq 8,185.80 up 66.00
S&P 500 3,010.29 up 5.77
10 Year Yield: up at 1.77%
Oil: up at $56.15