Cities Continue to Lose Their Luster

London is the latest to experience workers not coming in daily. [The Rude Awakening] March 02, 2023 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Cities Continue to Lose Their Luster - The Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday workers are said to be ruining London. - But why commute every day if you don’t have to? - The quality of life and cost savings trump the five-day slog into the office. [[CHART] Could Inflation Hit 20%+ In 2023?]( [Click here to learn more]( Take a close look at this scary chart pictured here… What you see is the money supply in America… And as you can see, the number of dollars in circulation has exploded in the last few years. In fact, more than 80% of all dollars to ever exist have been printed since just 2020 alone! Which is why some say inflation could soon explode even higher than it is now, to 20% or more. And if you’re at or near retirement age you must take action now to protect yourself… otherwise you risk losing everything. [Simply click here now to see how to survive America’s deadly inflation crisis](. [Click Here To Learn More]( [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Happy Thursday from a lovely, bright day in Asti. As usual this morning, I woke up to take Micah to school. I walk 200 meters to school, collect my kiss, and walk 200 meters back home. No fuss, no muss. That’s the closest I get to a morning commute. Of course, I’ve got to sit down and get to work. But “getting to work” means sitting at my desk in our living room. It takes all of ten steps to get there. At age 48, this suits me just fine. I was lucky to work in New York, London, Singapore, and Hong Kong. I have my network already and can tap it if I need to. But I don’t need to work in a colossal city hoping for a taste of the Metcalfe Effect. The Metcalfe Effect, also known as the network effect, is a phenomenon in which the value of a network increases as the number of users on the network grows. This can be seen in many networks, from social networks like Facebook to financial networks like the stock market. In quick summation, if you work in a city, you’re likelier to get lucky in a job because the networks are much bigger than in suburban or rural areas. But that effect isn’t nearly as strong as it used to be. The world has noticed this and acted accordingly. In this edition of the Rude, I’ll talk about how the face of London is changing because many city workers are taking four-day weekends… every weekend. It Rhymes with a Female Body Part One of my favorite Seinfeld episodes is “The Junior Mint.” In that episode, Jerry is dating a nice girl but can’t remember her name. To help Jerry, she tells him that her name rhymes with a part of the female anatomy. “That’s terrific, Mulva…” he says as she massages him. Nope. Guess again. She finally gets Jerry to admit that he can’t remember her name. As she storms out of his apartment, he shouts names at her. Mulva? Gipple? Loleola? Frustrated and defeated, Jerry closes the door. As he opens his refrigerator, Jerry’s lightbulb goes off! Ohhhhh! Ohhhhhhh! He scurries over to the window and screams, “Dolores!” That episode makes me laugh as hard as it did nearly 30 years ago, when I watched it with my college roommates. But what made me think of it? Those Who Only Work in the Office in the Middle of the Week I was rummaging through my LinkedIn feed when I came upon a Politico article [lamenting how people who only go to work in the office on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday]( are ruining London. From now on, their Delta Tau Chi name is TWaTs. It’s pronounced twat like cat, not twot like snot. In the British vernacular, a “twat” is more akin to the American “dipshit” than to the unsayable “c” word. And one never calls a woman a twat in England. It’s just not done. When people ask me if I’m bilingual, I often answer, “Yes. In American and British English.” Now you know why. In May 2021, I wrote a Rude piece called “[Living in Cities is No Longer Worth It]( In that article, I concentrated on American cities and their clueless mayors. Luckily, Chicago’s voters have just shown Lori Lightfoot the door. But London still hasn’t done so with Sadiq Khan. Let’s get into some of the reasons. [Dollar to Be Replaced With Biden “Spyware”?]( [Click here to learn more]( On March 9, President Biden quietly signed Executive Order 14067. This Order could pave the way for Democrats holding onto power in 2024. In fact, they could control America indefinitely. A former advisor to the CIA and Pentagon believes this order could allow for legal government surveillance of all US citizens; total control over your bank accounts and purchases; and the ability to silence all dissenting voices for good. To protect your freedom and your wealth, [see his dark warning now](. [Click Here To Learn More]( What’s the Point of Coming in Every Day? As [Politico]( is an EU-supporting rag, Brexit is their first reason. The reasons aren't too difficult to identify. First there was Brexit, which led to the loss of thousands of jobs to continental Europe. Then the pandemic changed the way people work. Add Britain's rail strikes to the mix, the higher cost of living that's making commuting more expensive and perhaps a new post-lockdown attitude to work-life balance and it feels like a perfect storm. As of October 2020, [E&Y]( put that “thousands of jobs” number at 7,500. Hardly a dent, considering London employs well over 750,000 in financial services and other related jobs like accountancy, management consultancy, and legal services. The real reasons are closer to these: people realize they don’t need to navigate the crime-infested, ridiculously expensive, and time-consuming city every day of the workweek. And who can blame them? In a 2029 poll by Mercer, London was simultaneously voted the UK city with the best quality of life and the highest crime levels. Come again? It’s ludicrous. Although I look forward to revisiting the Big Smoke, I wouldn’t bring Pam and Micah to live there. Despite all the attractions, it’s a dangerous city. [Politico]( further states: “The number of people operating within London financial services generally, or professional services, will never be as big as it once was,” said Hakan Enver, managing director at recruiter Morgan McKinley. Finance jobs have shifted to the Continent and out of London to lower-cost cities within the U.K. like Birmingham and Milton Keynes. While Morgan McKinley’s figures show the number of open London finance positions has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, they remain well down from a 2015 peak. Another big draw is the buildings themselves. No one wants to work in a gray skyscraper anymore. If there isn’t an adult playroom, people won’t want to work there. “When you look at a house, you kind of go around, and you think, ‘Oh, I could live here,' or 'I can't see it,’" said Josh Lamb, director at the City office of real estate agency Savills. That's now the case for workplaces too. “The buildings that are struggling at the moment are the good, efficient buildings that … are vanilla. They offer office space, but they struggle to offer anything more." Workers are weighing up the costs versus the benefits. If their bosses let them work from home, there’s hardly any incentive to head into the office on Mondays and Fridays. Wrap Up Big, dirty, crime-ridden cities are no longer necessary to corral workers and incentivize them to work. Many will happily work from home, becoming more efficient and less stressed. Managers must navigate around that, as it’s easier than ever for workers to change jobs. Have a lovely day ahead. All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening In Case You Missed It… February 2023: Monthly Asset Class Report [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Happy Hump Day from overcast Asti! It was a funny old month. Everything I thought was going to happen in January happened in February. Stocks, bonds, and commodities all fell. Why? Because the market has woken up to the fact that Jay Powell will raise rates again and keep them higher for longer. We’ve been writing about that for ages in the Rude. Finally, everyone caught up to us. Unfortunately, gold, silver, and real estate also took a hit. Cryptos also got hammered. There’s plenty of room to run on those. But for now, they’ll be licking their wounds. Let’s look at the charts to see… S&P 500 [SJN] It seems Jay Powell has gotten through to the stock market, right when I thought the market was most uninterested. It looks like we had a false breakout to 4,200, and then headed right back down after that. We’re stuck in the 3,800 to 4,100 range on the SPX. A breakout either way next time should show us the way. Nasdaq Composite [SJN] Another reversal of fortune. As soon as February started, the Nazzie turned around. We’re looking to the 200-day moving average as support. I also see the 50-day moving average potentially crossing above to create a golden cross. If we rebound, the next stop is 13,000. If not, 10,500. Russell 2000 (Small caps) [SJN] The Russell couldn’t get through the $200 level. We’re back down to a safe $188. I suspect we’ll try again. If we break through $200, we’ll go first to $205, then $220. If not, it’s $180, then $162 on the downside. The US 10-Year Yield [SJN] Of course, we whipsawed right when I’d given up hope. We’re already at 3.92%, but still suspect we’ll get through 4.20% on the way to new highs this century. Dollar Index [SJN] We indeed headed up to nearly 105 so far. I think we can head higher only because Jay Powell isn’t done hiking rates yet. After four straight weeks of rallying, it looks like we’re taking a break. The next level up is about 106.50, then 108. Below this, it’s 103.20 and 101. USG Bonds [SJN] This turned out to be a double top. We headed back down towards 100. We’re currently at 101.71. We’re looking at 92.5 on the downside. Investment Grade Bonds [SJN] We stalled at about 110.50. Then, we broke down toward our downside target of 105. Below here, we’re at 98. If we recover, back up to 110. High Yield Bonds [SJN] We got that breakdown to 74. We’re stuck in the 71 - 77 range. A definite break, either way, will tell us more. Real Estate [SJN] Real estate couldn’t capitalize on its rally, sadly. After topping out at 92, it headed back to 85. From here we can head to 82, then to 75. [LOCKED OUT of Your OWN Money?]( I don’t mean to scare you, but… President Biden recently signed a despicable executive order that could effectively LOCK YOU OUT of your OWN money! It is absolutely CRITICAL that you know what’s happening, so you can protect yourself and ALWAYS be able to access your hard-earned savings. [Click here for all of the important details](. [Click Here To Learn More]( Base Metals: Copper [SJN] The underlying macro woes are weighing on copper, though not as heavily as I’d thought. We’re still in bull territory, although we’re slightly down over the last month. A breakdown takes us to 3.70. A breakup, 4.90. Precious Metals: Gold [SJN] I’m still a gold bull, but I suppose someone had to smack it down to 1,836. I still think we’ll be well above $2,000 sometime soon. In the meantime, hovering around this level is nothing to sneeze at. Precious Metals: Silver [SJN] Nothing is more frustrating than silver. I wanted to get above $25 to feel super positive about silver. Instead, we turn around to $21. Awful. Cryptos: Bitcoin [SJN] Got the golden cross. Maintained the rally. Bitcoin has stayed just under $24,000. Still not a huge fan, but it is showing signs of life. Cryptos: Ether [SJN] About the same chart as Bitcoin. Same commentary as for Bitcoin. Still not a believer right now. Trad Asset Class Summary [SJN] Of course, everything flipped around from last month. As the market realizes Jay Powell isn’t lying about hiking rates higher for longer, the USD rallied as a result. Commodities were a touch off, down by -0.72%. The SPX gave away half its January gains, losing 3.62%. The 30-year bond finished February down over 6%. Crypto Class Summary [SJN] It was an ugly February for the crypto world. ETH and BTC were the least bad of the bunch, down just over 2% each. The rest performed abysmally. LTC was down over 6.5%, while the worst performer, Monero (XMR) was down over 15%. Wrap Up The market is now aware of Jay Powell and is acting more cautiously. All risk-on assets took a hit last month. It seems the market willed January to new highs, but February made them reconsider. March’s follow-through will give us information about how the rest of the year will look. Finally, let’s take a moment to enjoy the beach and the sun in this meme, courtesy of the Twitterverse: [SJN] Have a great day! [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2023 Paradigm Press, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Rude Awakening e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from Rude Awakening, feel free to [click here.]( Please note: the mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so do not reply to this message. We welcome comments or suggestions at feedback@rudeawakening.info. This address is for feedback only. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, [contact us here]( or call (844)-731-0984. 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