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Three Environmentally Friendly Industrial Stocks to Buy for War or Peace

Three environmentally friendly industrial stocks to buy for war or peace are seeking to give birth to breakthroughs that will position them for bright…

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12 months ago

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Three environmentally friendly industrial stocks to buy for war or peace are seeking to give birth to breakthroughs that will position them for bright futures.

The three environmentally friendly industrial stocks to buy are pursuing goals such as increasing agricultural productivity, manufacturing electric-powered farming equipment and recycling fibers to produce packaging. As social consciousness aimed at protecting the environment gains support amid growing concerns about climate change, companies that provide solutions should gain staying power.

High inflation, continuing Fed rate hikes, risk of recession and Russia’s ruthless shelling of civilian targets in Ukraine this week to intensify attacks on the neighboring nation it invaded on Feb. 26 are sources of uncertainty, but none will change environmental awareness momentum. Russian’s onslaught against Ukraine is still raging, disrupting the world economy, and Europe and Asia are mired in recession, wrote Mark Skousen, a presidential fellow in economics at Chapman University, in his monthly Forecasts & Strategies investment newsletter.

“The primary negative, of course, is that the Federal Reserve is determined to slow the economy, reduce demand, and thereby bring down inflation,” Skousen opined.

Three Environmentally Friendly Industrial Stocks to Buy Face the Fed

But too much quantitative tightening, too fast, may push the United States into a recession, continued Skousen, who uses his analysis of inflation, interest rates and monetary policy in recommending stocks and options to buy in his weekly Home Run Trader advisory service. Economic statistics are showing a slowdown in the economy, but not an actual recession thus far, he added.

“Even though real gross domestic product (GDP) is slightly negative, second-quarter gross output (GO) — which measures total spending in the economy — grew by 1.7% in real terms,” Skousen stated. “GO includes the supply chain, which is still catching up from the lockdown-induced shortages.”

Mark Skousen, Forecasts & Strategies chief and Ben Franklin scion, meets Paul Dykewicz.

Three Environmentally Friendly Industrial Stocks to Buy Despite Russia’s Invasion

A big question is whether Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will persist in attacking Ukraine and its civilians, in addition to military and industrial targets. On Monday, Oct. 10, Putin-led forces unleashed terror on more than 20 cities across Ukraine with at least 84 cruise missiles and 24 drones, marking one of Russia’s largest assaults against civilians since starting what its leaders call a “special military operation.” The strikes killed at least 14 civilians and wounded dozens of others.

Russia’s shelling of hospitals, schools, residential areas, churches, nuclear power plants, oil refineries, a children’s playground, a park, a German consulate, a business center and a theater used as a shelter have been combined with brutal rapes, torture and outright executions of Ukrainian civilians. Those acts caused many nations to place sanctions on Russia that included scaling back or severing ties with the aggressor as a producer of grain, oil and natural gas.

Investors can consider a fairly new exchange-traded fund that offers broad exposure to companies providing automation infrastructure, if not environmental awareness, said Bob Carlson, a pension fund manager who also leads the Retirement Watch investment newsletter. The fund is Gabelli Automation (GAST), which has been available only since Jan. 5, 2022.

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

GAST owns only 38 stocks, and 41% of the fund is in the 10 largest positions. About 50% of the fund is in industrial companies and 24% in technology firms.

The fund is down 8.78% in the last month. GAST invests primarily in stocks listed on U.S. exchanges and looks for stocks management believes are underpriced.

Bob Carlson, investment guru of Retirement Watch, talks to Paul Dykewicz.

Three Environmentally Friendly Industrial Stocks to Buy Include AGCO

AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AGCO), an agricultural machinery manufacturer in Duluth, Georgia, is delivering a 20% increase in both farmers’ productivity and profitability, according to Chicago-based investment firm William Blair & Co. Thus, AGCO’s precision products generally offer a two-year payback, and in some cases, a one-year payback, the firm added. 

Some of AGCO’s innovation efforts focus on real-time “sense and react” in the field across an entire crop cycle, the investment firm wrote. The use of “edge processing” and “advanced sensors” will help maximize outcomes by enhancing productivity and sustainability for its customers, William Blair added.

AGCO, rated “outperform” by William Blair, intends for Fendt to be its premium brand in both North and South America, requiring a strong precision agricultural portfolio, a diverse array of solutions that work across the entire crop cycle and robust distribution and after-sales support, according to William Blair. Fent sales are expected to be $700 million in 2022, and then more than double to $1.5 billion in three to five years, with an additional goal to achieve 20% market share in North America.

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

The company brings its newest equipment to the market, while the aftersales approach adds the latest technology to an existing piece of AGCO equipment. As for retrofit, the company sells advanced, agronomic solutions to farmers who want to update existing pieces of equipment with modern technology economically.

Former Money Manager Connell Also Advocates for AGCO

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Michelle Connell heads Portia Capital Management, of Dallas, Texas.

Most analysts have AGCO rated to achieve upside of 30-35% in 12-18 months, Connell counseled. When AGCO reported results in July, the company beat its revenue and earnings per share estimates. However, it left its estimates for the second half of 2022 at the same levels.

Plus, the company continues to experience strong demand, with a potent order book into 2023, Connell said. Typically, at this time of year, the company does not have that strong of an order base, she added.

Unless some external factors come into play, AGCO should experience strong financials for the end of the year, as well as next year, Connell continued. Possible risks include economic exposure to the European Union (EU), as well as China, along with supply chain uncertainties. In addition, manufacturing in Europe could be affected by an upcoming energy crisis for the region this winter. However, AGCO is expected to have enough alternative energy sources in the EU to remain largely protected. Finally, the company’s stock performance has been tied to economic cycles in the past.

AGCO benefits as the population of the world increases, since it needs to grow quality food in a world of declining acreage. Companies that manufacture equipment that maximize a farm’s acreage will continue to experience high demand, Connell concluded.                     

Deere Jumps Among Three Environmentally Friendly Industrial Stocks to Buy

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE), an environmentally oriented agricultural machinery company headquartered Moline, Illinois, halted its dividend during the pandemic but reinstituted it with a current dividend yield of 1.27%. Additional evidence of the company’s conservatism is a payout ratio of just 20% to retain cash on hand.

Deere, rated “outperform” by William Blair, also has done an “excellent job” supporting its stock price, Connell said. In the last 10 years, the company has repurchased 25% of its shares outstanding, she added.

The company is known for buying shares when valuations are low and using its cash for such purchases, Connell continued. There have been some concerns regarding Deere’s insider sales of approximately $4 million in 2022 but Connell said she is not worried.

“Executives frequently have tight windows for the sales of their shares and estate planning may also be part of the executives’ strategy,” Connell told me. “I like DE because it takes advantage of the fact that that as a population increases, the demand for affordable food increases as well.”

Deere has done a “great job” of utilizing technology with its machinery to maximize crop yield, Connell said. While the stock has held up well in a falling market, potential upside for the next 12 to 18 months could top 20%.

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

Deal for Kreisel Keeps Deere Prancing with Three Environmentally Friendly Industrial Stocks to Buy

Deere & Company signed a definitive agreement to acquire majority ownership last December in Kreisel Electric, Inc., a battery technology provider based in Rainbach im Mühlkreis, Austria. Kreisel develops high-density, high-durability electric battery modules and packs. Plus, Kreisel developed a charging infrastructure platform that uses patented battery technology.

Since 2014, Kreisel has focused on the development of immersion-cooled electric battery modules and packs for high-performance and off-highway applications. Kreisel has a differentiated battery technology and battery-buffered charging infrastructure to serve a global customer base across multiple end markets, including commercial vehicles, off-highway vehicles, marine, e-motorsports and other high-performance applications.

Deere sees demand growing for batteries as a sole- or hybrid-propulsion system for off-highway vehicles. Products such as turf equipment, compact utility tractors, small tractors, compact construction and some road building equipment could rely solely on batteries as a primary power source. Deere intends to continue to invest in and develop technologies to innovate, deliver value to customers and work towards a future with zero emissions propulsion systems.

A majority investment in Kreisel Electric will allow Deere to optimally integrate vehicle and powertrain designs around high-density battery packs while leveraging Kreisel’s charging technology to build out infrastructure required for customer adoption.

Kreisel’s battery technology can be applied across the broad portfolio of Deere products to ramp up the latter company’s battery-electric vehicle portfolio. Deere will provide the global footprint and funding to enable Kreisel to continue its fast growth in core markets, said Pierre Guyot, senior vice president of John Deere Power Systems.

Kadant Canters Among Three Environmentally Friendly Industrial Stocks to Buy 

Kadant Inc. (NYSE: KAI), a Westford, Massachusetts-based global supplier of technologies and engineered systems, offers sustainable industrial processing engineering services and technologies to help its customers create more value with fewer inputs. On the horizon is a totally new recycling market for Kadant Inc.’s fiber recycling business. Indeed, fiber-based packaging for beverages and food for consumer goods have undergone extensive trials in Europe and the United States.

In 2023, two private European (Paboco and Pulpex) and one North American (Footprint) fiber-based consumer packaging companies are expected to materially accelerate the commercialization of environmentally friendly fiber-based packaging, according to William Blair. As adoption of fiber-based food and beverage packaging becomes more widespread, it will create an entirely new market for Kadant’s IP business, the investment firm wrote in a recent research note.

“Full-scale global conversion to fiber and cellulose-based packaging will take several years to become mainstream but the estimated $315 billion market for fiber to replace plastic for food and beverage packaging will create an entirely new segment for the worldwide fiber recycling market, in which Kadant holds 60-70% global market share, according to William Blair. Kadant is benefiting from three capital expansion cycles for its core businesses: a modernization cycle for sawmills for Industrial Processing (IP); a conveyance refurbishment and expansion cycle for aggregates, ore and agricultural producers at Material Handling (MH); and a new emerging market that expands fiber recycling as cellulose and fiber packaging to replace plastic containers for Flow Control (FC).

“To meet rising demand across all its end-markets, Kadant is expanding capacity in India, Finland, Mexico and Ohio, while the government in China is building Kadant a new modernized replacement plan,” William Blair wrote. “Kadant is also improving its supply chain resilience by near-shoring capacity closer to some of its largest markets such as North America and Europe. Given the company’s strong recurring revenue from parts and consumables sales –approximately 65% of sales — management noted that it would anticipate a 5% to 10% decline in parts and consumable sales in a recession, with potentially 10% to 20% lower capital equipment sales, skewed to large projects.”

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shifted where fertilizer and grains are being transported around the world, with incremental demand now coming from the EU to increase capacity for material handling equipment to replace Russian exports of grain, wood, mineral and more, William Blair wrote. Valuations for food production equipment businesses are elevated due to their stability but Kadant expects moderation due to increased interest rates. Expanding Kadant’s industrial business market reach and geographic penetration could further help it to leverage a capital spending renaissance that could extend until late this decade.

Three Environmentally Friendly Industrial Stocks to Buy Should Be Aided by New Bivalent Booster

Experts at Dartmouth Health recommend that everyone eligible for a new bivalent COVID-19 booster receive it to gain increased protection against the omicron BA.5 variant, which has become the predominant strain in the United States. As a resident of Maryland, I personally received a phone call from the state’s health department on Tuesday, Oct. 11, to advise me of the booster’s availability at pharmacies close to my home.

Even though COVID cases and deaths can hurt supply and demand for environmentally friendly industrial stocks, availability of a new booster to enhance the vaccine’s efficacy is a plus for these stocks. U.S. COVID-19 deaths rose more than 3,000 in the past week but less than the 4,000-plus in the previous week.

Cases in the country totaled 96,772,268, as of early Oct. 12, while deaths jumped to 1,063,310, according to Johns Hopkins University. America stands out dubiously as the country with the most COVID-19 deaths and cases.

Worldwide COVID-19 deaths in the past week rose by more than 10,000, down about 1,000 from the prior week. The number of deaths totaled 6,560,508, as of Oct. 12, according to Johns Hopkins. Global COVID-19 cases reached 622,605,453.

Roughly 79.7% of the U.S. population, or 264,562,221, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, as of Oct. 6, the CDC reported. Fully vaccinated people total 225,870,613, or 68%, of the U.S. population, according to the CDC. The United States also has given at least one COVID-19 booster vaccine to almost 110.6 million people.

The three environmentally friendly industrial stocks to buy can be purchased at discounted prices after the market’s drop so far in 2022. Even with high inflation, Russia’s war in Ukraine and rising recession risk after 0.75% rate hikes by the Fed in June, July and Sept. 21, the three environmentally friendly industrial stocks to buy appear much more resilient than economically sensitive cyclical stocks.

Paul Dykewicz, www.pauldykewicz.com, is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, the Journal of Commerce, Seeking Alpha, Guru Focus and other publications and websites. Paul, who can be followed on Twitter @PaulDykewicz, is the editor of StockInvestor.com and DividendInvestor.com, a writer for both websites and a columnist. He further is editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C., where he edits monthly investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts, free e-letters and other investment reports. Paul previously served as business editor of Baltimore’s Daily Record newspaper. Paul also is the author of an inspirational book, “Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame’s Championship Chaplain,” with a foreword by former national championship-winning football coach Lou Holtz. The book is great as a gift and is endorsed by Joe Montana, Joe Theismann, Ara Parseghian, “Rocket” Ismail, Reggie Brooks, Dick Vitale and many others. Call 202-677-4457 for multiple-book pricing.

 

The post Three Environmentally Friendly Industrial Stocks to Buy for War or Peace appeared first on Stock Investor.

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Just 3 Nobel Prizes cover all of science – how research is done today poses a challenge for these prestigious awards

The Nobel Prize categories were set up more than a century ago. Since then, science has grown and evolved in unpredictable ways.

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33 mins ago

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September 28, 2023

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Has the Nobel Prize category 'chemistry' morphed into 'biochemistry'? picture alliance via Getty Images

I’ve been primarily an experimental chemist – the kind of person who goes into the laboratory and mixes and stirs chemicals – since the beginning of my career in 1965. Today, and for the past 15 years, I’m a full-time historian of chemistry.

Every October, when the announcements are made of that year’s Nobel laureates, I examine the results as a chemist. And all too often, I share the same response as many of my fellow chemists: “Who are they? And what did they do?”

One reason for that bewilderment – and disappointment – is that in many recent years, none of my “favorites” or those of my fellow chemists will travel to Stockholm. I am not suggesting that these Nobel laureates are undeserving – quite the opposite. Rather, I am questioning whether some of these awards belong within the discipline of chemistry.

Consider some recent Nobel Prizes. In 2020, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna received the Nobel Prize “for the development of a method for genome editing.” In 2018, Frances H. Arnold received the Nobel Prize “for the directed evolution of enzymes,” which she shared with George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter “for the phage display of peptides and antibodies.” In 2015, Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar received the Nobel Prize “for mechanistic studies of DNA repair.”

All of them received Nobel Prizes in chemistry – not the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, even though these achievements seem very clearly situated within the disciplines of medicine and the life sciences. There are many other similar examples.

woman and man in formal dress at awards ceremony
2018 co-laureate Frances Arnold receives her Nobel Prize in chemistry from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Henrik Montgomery/AFP via Getty Images

These recent mismatches are even clearer when you look further back in time. Consider the 1962 Nobel Prize awarded to Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins “for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material.” DNA, of course, is the most famous nucleic acid, and these three scientists were honored for deciphering how its atoms are bonded together and arranged in their three-dimensional double-helix shape.

While the “structure of DNA” most certainly is an achievement in chemistry, the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine to Watson, Crick and Wilkins. Clearly, their Nobel achievements have had great consequences in the life sciences, genetics and medicine. Thus awarding them the Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine is quite appropriate.

metal model of structure of DNA molecule double helix
A model of a DNA molecule using some of Watson and Crick’s original metal plates. Science & Society Picture Library via Getty Images

But note the disconnect. The Nobel Prizes in chemistry in 2020, 2018 and 2015 are more life-science- and medicine-oriented than Watson, Crick and Wilkins’ for the structure of DNA. Yet the former were awarded in chemistry, while the latter was in physiology and medicine.

What is going on? What does this trend reveal about the Nobel Foundation and its award strategies in response to the growth of science?

A gradual evolution in the Nobel Prizes

Several years ago, chemist-historian-applied mathematician Guillermo Restrepo and I collaborated to study the relationship of scientific discipline to the Nobel Prize.

Each year, the Nobel Committee for chemistry studies the nominations and proposes the recipients of the Nobel Prize in chemistry to its parent organization, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which ultimately selects the Nobel laureates in chemistry (and physics).

We found a strong correlation between the disciplines of the members of the committee and the disciplines of the awardees themselves. Over the lifetime of the Nobel Prizes, there has been a continuous increase – from about 10% in the 1910s to 50% into the 2000s – in the percentage of committee members whose research is best identified within the life sciences.

Restrepo and I concluded: As go the expertise, interests and the disciplines of the committee members, so go the disciplines honored by the Nobel Prizes in chemistry. We also concluded that the academy has intentionally included more and more life scientists on their selection committee for chemistry.

Now some perceptive readers might ask, “Is not the discipline of biochemistry just a subdiscipline of chemistry?” The underlying question is, “How does one define the disciplines in science?”

Restrepo and I reasoned that what we term “intellectual territory” defines the boundaries of a discipline. Intellectual territory can be assessed by bibliographic analysis of the scientific literature. We examined the references, often called citations, that are found in scientific publications. These references are where authors of journal articles cite the related research that’s previously been published – often the research they have relied and built on. We chose to study two journals: a chemistry journal named Angewandte Chemie and a life science journal named, rather aptly, Biochemistry.

We found that the articles in Angewandte Chemie mostly cite articles published in other chemistry journals, and the articles in Biochemistry mostly cite articles in biochemistry and life sciences journals. We also found that the reverse is true: Scientific publications that cite Angewandte Chemie articles are mostly in chemistry journals, and publications that cite Biochemistry articles are mostly in biochemistry and life science journals. In other words, chemistry and the life sciences/biochemistry reside in vastly different intellectual territories that don’t tend to overlap much.

Not letting labels be limiting

But now, perhaps a shocker. Many scientists don’t really care how they are classified by others. Scientists care about science.

As I’ve heard Dudley Herschbach, recipient of the 1986 Nobel Prize in chemistry, respond to the oft-asked question of whether he’s an experimental chemist or a theoretical chemist: “The molecules don’t know, nor do they care, do they?”

But scientists, like all human beings, do care about recognition and awards. And so, chemists do mind that the Nobel Prize in chemistry has morphed into the Nobel Prize in chemistry and the life sciences.

black and white head shot of man in early 20th C attire
Jacobus Henricus van ‘t Hoff received the first Nobel Prize in chemistry for 'discovery of the laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions.’ Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Since the Nobel Prizes were first awarded in 1901, the community of scientists and the number of scientific disciplines have grown tremendously. Even today, new disciplines are being created. New journals are appearing. Science is becoming more multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary. Even chemistry as a discipline has grown dramatically, pushing outward its own scholarly boundaries, and chemistry’s achievements continue to be astounding.

The Nobel Prize hasn’t evolved sufficiently with the times. And there just are not enough Nobel Prizes to go around to all the deserving.

I can imagine an additional Nobel Prize for the life sciences. The number of awardees could expand from the current three-per-prize maximum to whatever fits the accomplishment. Nobel Prizes could be awarded posthumously to make up for past serious omissions, an option that was used by the Nobel Foundation for several years and then discontinued.

In truth, the Nobel Foundation has evolved the prizes, but very deliberately and without the major transformations that I think will certainly be required in the future. It will, I believe, eventually break free, figuratively and literally, from the mire of Alfred Nobel’s will and more than a century of distinguished tradition.

When Nobel designed the prizes named after him in the late 1800s and early 1900s, he couldn’t have known that his gift would become a perpetual endowment and have such lasting – indeed, even increasing – significance. Nobel also could not have anticipated the growth of science, nor the fact that over time, some disciplines would fade in importance and new disciplines would evolve.

So far, the extremely competent and highly dedicated scholars at the Nobel Foundation and their partner organizations – and I acknowledge with real appreciation their selfless devotion to the cause – haven’t responded adequately to the growth of the sciences or to the inequities and even incompleteness of past award years. But I have confidence: In time, they will do so.

Jeffrey I. Seeman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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Tesla rival Polestar reveals lineup of its new electric vehicles

The Sweden-based electric vehicle maker completes key testing before launching production of its new SUV.

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September 28, 2023

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Tesla's Model Y crossover, the best-selling vehicle globally, is the standard that electric vehicle makers strive to compete with. The Austin, Texas, automaker sold about 267,200 Model Y vehicles in the first three months of the year and continued leading the pack well into the second quarter.

It's no wonder that the Model Y is leading all vehicles in sales as it retails for about $39,390 after tax credits and estimated gas savings. Ford  (F) - Get Free Report hopes to compete with the Model Y about a year from now when it rolls out the new Ford Explorer SUV that is expected to start at $49,150.

Related: Honda unveils surprising electric vehicles to compete with Tesla

Plenty of competition in electric SUV space

Mercedes-Benz (MBG) however, has a Tesla rival model with its EQB all-electric compact sports utility vehicle with an estimated 245 mile range on a charge with 70.5 kWh battery capacity, 0-60 mph acceleration in 8 seconds and the lowest price of its EVs at a $52,750 manufacturers suggested retail price.

Tesla's Model X SUV has a starting price of about $88,490, while the Model X full-size SUV starts at $98,490 with a range of 348 miles. BMW's  (BMWYY) - Get Free Report xDrive50 SUV has a starting price of about $87,000, a range up to 311 miles and accelerates 0-60 miles per hour in 4.4 seconds.

Polestar  (PSNY) - Get Free Report plans to have a lineup of five EVs by 2026. The latest model that will begin production in the first quarter of 2024 is the Polestar 3 electric SUV, which is completing its development. The vehicle just finished two weeks of testing in extreme hot weather of up to 122 degrees in the desert of the United Arab Emirates to fine tune its climate system. The testing was completed in urban cities and the deserts around Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

“The Polestar 3 development and testing program is progressing well, and I expect production to start in Q1 2024. Polestar 3 is at the start of its journey and customers can now visit our retail locations around the world to see its great proportions and sit in its exclusive and innovative interior,” Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said in a statement.

Polestar 3 prototype is set for production in the first quarter of 2024.

Polestar

Polestar plans 4 new electric vehicles

Polestar 3, which will compete with Tesla's Model X, Model Y, BMW's iX xDrive50 and Mercedes-Benz, has a starting manufacturer's suggested retail price of $83,000, a range up to 300 miles and a charging time of 30 minutes. The company has further plans for the Polestar 4, an SUV coupé that will launch in phases in late 2023 and 2024, as well as a Polestar 5 electric four-door GT and a Polestar 6 electric roadster that the company says "are coming soon." 

The Swedish automaker's lone all-electric model on the market today is the Polestar 2 fastback, which has a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $49,900, a range up to 320 miles and a charging time of 28 minutes. The vehicle accelerates from 0-60 miles per hour in 4.1 seconds. Polestar 2 was unveiled in 2019 and delivered in Europe in July 2020 and the U.S. in December 2020.

Polestar 1, the company's first vehicle, was a plug-in hybrid that went into production in 2019 and was discontinued in late 2021, according to the Polestar website.

The Gothenburg, Sweden, company was established in 1996 and was sold to Geely affiliate Volvo in 2015.

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Our Society Is Melting Down Even Faster Than Most People Thought That It Would

Our Society Is Melting Down Even Faster Than Most People Thought That It Would

Authored by Michael Snyder via The End of The American Dream…

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September 28, 2023

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Our Society Is Melting Down Even Faster Than Most People Thought That It Would

Authored by Michael Snyder via The End of The American Dream blog,

It can be difficult to believe that the wild scenes that we are witnessing on the streets of America are actually real.  Earlier this week, I wrote an article entitled “What Life Is Really Like In America’s Hellish Inner Cities”.  I wrote that article before the widespread looting that just erupted in Philadelphia.  Just when I think that conditions in our core urban areas have reached a low point, they seem to find a way to get even worse.  Unfortunately, this is just the beginning of this crisis.  As economic conditions continue to deteriorate, countless numbers of people will become very desperate.  And when countless numbers of people become very desperate, our society will descend into a permanent state of chaos.

On Tuesday night, dozens of young people went on a rampage in the city of Philadelphia.

It is being reported that “stores in several areas of Philadelphia” were hit…

Dozens of people faced criminal charges Wednesday after a night of social media-fueled mayhem in which groups of thieves, apparently working together, smashed their way into stores in several areas of Philadelphia, stuffing plastic bags with merchandise and fleeing, authorities said.

A total of 52 arrests have been made so far, police said Wednesday.

Burglary, theft and other counts have been filed so far against at least 30 people, all but three of them adults, according to Jane Roh, spokesperson for the Philadelphia district attorney’s office.

The largest group consisted of approximately 100 young people, and there was violence when the police finally confronted that group outside of a Lululemon store…

Police in the city said that a large group of around 100 juveniles kept moving from store to store and looting them.

Videos shared on social media show officers attempting to grab thieves, some of whom are wearing Halloween masks, as they run riot through a Lululemon store.

One officer manages to hit one of the looters with a punch after tackling them to the ground.

Many on social media seem to be quite entertained by videos of the looting, but the truth is that this footage should break all of our hearts.

Our society is literally coming apart at the seams all around us.

I had warned my readers that total retail theft would exceed 100 billion dollars this year, but now it is being reported that total retail theft already broke that threshold in 2022…

Last year, total losses tied to theft amounted to $112.1 billion, according to data from the 2023 National Retail Security Survey. That is up from $93.9 billion in losses in 2021 and $90.8 billion in 2020.

Retailers within metros including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland as well as Houston, New York and Seattle were hit the hardest last year.

So if last year’s number was 112 billion, what will the final number be for 2023?

130 billion?

140 billion?

150 billion?

Major retail chains all over America are shutting down stores due to rampant theft.

As I discussed yesterday, Target has decided to permanently shutter nine stores in high crime areas…

Target Corp. will shutter nine stores across four states on Oct. 21 because of theft and threats to safety, the company announced Tuesday, the latest — and loudest —example of a retailer exiting urban locations because of crime.

Target said it made the “difficult decision” to close the stores — which include locations in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, Seattle, Portland and the San Francisco Bay area — after the Minneapolis-based company determined that theft-preventive measures had proved ineffective. The company said it had tried adding more security, including third-party guards, and using deterrents such as locking up merchandise.

“We cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests and contributing to unsustainable business performance,” the company said.

But nine stores is just a drop in the bucket compared to what other retailers are doing.

For example, it is being reported that Rite Aid will close approximately 500 stores…

One of the largest U.S. drugstores chains Rite Aid is set to close around 500 stores nationwide as it negotiates a plan to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the firm, which is the third largest in the country, is looking to close branches and either sell or let creditors take over their remaining operations.

And CVS is in the process of closing a total of 900 stores by 2024…

Drugstore chain CVS is set to close hundreds of stores across the US as it undergoes a major reform to adjust to the needs of modern online shoppers.

The retail giant is coming to the end of a policy launched in 2021 which will see 300 stores closed each year – meaning 900 will have shuttered by 2024.

In the announcement, which has hit headlines again recently amid rampant shoplifting at the store, bosses they said that they were undergoing a new ‘retail footprint strategy.’

Drugstores used to be all over the place in our core urban areas.

But now our inner cities are littered with scores of boarded up establishments with “space available” signs on them.

This is what the future of America looks like, and it isn’t good.

Once upon a time, we could be proud of the shiny new cities that we had built from coast to coast.

Those cities were safe and they were clean.

But now our major cities have degenerated into crime-ridden hellholes that are absolutely filthy.  In New York City, the millions of rats that live there are constantly making headlines…

This is the moment a group of horrified New Yorkers is forced to hop over scores of vermin scurrying across their path from bins outside a pizzeria.

Footage shows a few rats brazenly scurry across the pavement before scores of them emerge from an overflowing bin.

Taryn Brady, 29, who was with a group of friends when she filmed the rat encounter, said she was left in ‘fear and disgust’ after she and her friends had to hop over the rodents running towards them.

This is our country now.

I know that I keep saying that, but it is such an important point.

We don’t have the same nation that previous generations passed down to us.

Over the past 50 to 60 years, we have literally ruined America.

From the White House all the way down to the kids that are looting retailers in our major cities, we have become a laughingstock to the rest of the world.

And if we don’t find a way to turn things around, our story is going to have an absolutely tragic ending.

*  *  *

Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/28/2023 - 18:20

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