ALT-fuel cars hit America's on-ramp

8:30 AM ALTfuel, Americas, onramp No Comments

| By Jason Notte, MSN Money

The number of vehicles in the United States anything other than plain old gasoline powered is still small, but growing steadily.

Meet American drivers, the 4.2%.

The proportion of 14,44 million cars is sold in the year 2012, the either hybrid, pure electric or clean burning diesel engines, had according to HybridCars.com and tree & associates. Yes, it is still less than one in every 20 cars-allowing the excitement about the New York Times' Tesla (TSLA) test drive all the ratselhafter.

But make no mistake - this number increasing with the aid of automakers and Government incentives.

The energy information Administration Department of energy notes that more than 12 million alternative drives on American roads in 2011 were. This includes 10 million ethanol/Flex-fuel vehicles and 2.1 million gas/diesel electric hybrid. The reason is that ALT-fuel fleet, why the United States only 41% of its oil in the first five months of 2013 according to DOE, down from 65% in 2005 introduced. ALT-fuel cars alone not America go to his long-awaited goal of energy independence, but they can bring it closer.

They overall, are 210 million conventional fuel drive vehicles, but grow the EIA expects 15 million at the end of the old fuel quota is still a pittance in comparison. While cars, which is theoretically a E85-ethanol mixture (15% gasoline, 85% ethanol) process can still likely reasons, the majority of these gains, the number of gas electric hybrid cars make up to 2017 with the number of plug-in hybrid and electric cars, also to double plug ins, rise sharply.

In the longer term, the number of hybrids and plug-in, that the United States expected crossing of 23.2% and 17.9%, or until 2040 will increase.

But the current class of the alternatives to the straight gas engines is probably much larger. The EIA sees a future where the vehicles with gasoline, methanol and hydrogen fuel cells which share the street with vehicles, natural gas and propane fuel mixtures. This means that the ranks of the gasoline-powered cars by 2040, with conventional light truck sales stagnated just 0.5%, will increase in the same period.

This is also a future in which the average mileage for a gas-powered car 39 miles per gallon for hulking trucks and 54 mpg for small cars, while hybrids range spans from 52-75 mpg (gas electric) and 61-98 mpg (plugins). For comparison, the most efficient gas-electric hybrid on the road today-- Toyota's (TM) Prius c-managed currently 51 miles per gallon, the EIA the big hybrid SUVs and vans expects in the year 2040.

It is assumed, that US car buyers stop freaking out long enough to buy. Although marketing company Mintel, says old vehicle sales growth more than 70% in the last year and expects hybrid and electric cars Sales alone by 14% in 2013 to increase, buyer fears are even higher sales.

A Mintel survey found that 34% consumers age 25-34 too, that think "it's easy to make the extra money on a hybrid car savings at the pump" despite evidence to the contrary. But "the" live for today "Mentality, which prompted the rise of SUVs has disappeared," said Mintel analyst Colin Bird. "Today, consumers require products that promise protection and durability."When Americans sheer that size and brute-force price, longevity and efficiency of favors, the alternative-fuel vehicles.

The plugs on Ford (F) Fusion Energi, General Motors (GM) Chevy Volt and Prius Plug-in still make nervous consumers, but with 87% 86% fear sure how long your battery will last a fee collected, they won't be able to find a charging station when she leave nervous, that their car to recharge according to Mintel takes long House and 85%.

Most people is still a major problem with ALT-fuel vehicles, even though they have for more than a decade already: Price. Mintel found that the average consumer ready more $2,000 to spend updating of a conventional car to an electric version of the same car. The problem is, that plug-in hybrid and electric cars cost between $10,000 and $20,000 more than their conventional counterparts, and so far the plug in mpg does not offer hybrid enough non-electrical, while the electric cars offer insufficient coverage or quick charge options worthwhile make the switch.

Although enough Americans, market share of less than 0.5% to 4.2% have made the jump to ALT-fuel vehicles in the last decade to the category, the cost of this change proves unaffordable for all but a few car manufacturers. Toyota, considers, for example, still accounted for 67% of the U.S. hybrid market, especially because it can keep a Prius base price under $25,000. Ford, which hybrid share is slightly more than 15%, will begin to get the picture and offers its C-Max and fusion hybrids in the vicinity at the same price.

Federal and national authorities try to Goose has been a sore spot the market stating the buyer against laws and incentives that reduce costs somewhat, but government investments in the automotive industry in recent times. Chrysler has a diesel-powered Jeep Cherokee this year and GM offers a diesel Chevrolet Cruze, some car buyers are still angry about the Government bailout money back a couple of years they received, to keep afloat. Some of Tesla's New York Times was while controversy to the electric car manufacturer electric car of the company bound Government backing, as have, Fisker and Coda, which sputtered come though you actually taken federal funds under the magnifying glass.

It is still being subsidized energy "Independence", if this is a new source of energy? When you consider how much money regardless has raised the Federal Government at the automakers from the energy source that you use, it is perhaps.And if their dynamism to ALT-fuel cars can only get, they deserve their independence from Uncle Sam allowance.

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America's saving madness

6:30 PM Americas, madness, saving No Comments

By Anthony Mirhaydari, MSN Money

Sequester the budget and recent tax hikes are Americans, a pinch of start feeling that will only get worse. But unfortunately, what done so far has been the country's finances will not fix.

It is still real.

After years of special interests kicked doses of false alarms, and a general shift of responsibility, Washington is increasingly becoming the task of our out-of-control budget deficit to close.

With the higher payroll taxes, higher investments higher, Obamacare taxes, surcharges, and now the furloughs and docked aircraft carrier of the budget sequester slow Americans to feel the sting. (Stock exchange, seems for the time being forgotten, what comes.)

It will hurt. It will hurt, because the economy still for most people, with stagnant wages, higher living costs and the percentage of the population actually work on the early 1980s stinks levels. And it will hurt to keep, because despite the budget is progress, much more needs to be done to make the Ministry of Finance on a sustainable fiscal foundation.

Given the current state of our political leadership, this nightmare is worse before it gets better. Here is why, along with a few thoughts on how we can wake up from this bad dream and what do investors in the meantime.

As I discussed column last week ("why is there no way that Obama can win"), we are only about halfway toward the stabilization of public finances in the near future in the face of the 2011 deal, the fiscal Cliff deal with his tax increases, and now spending sequester debt ceiling of cuts. Opinion of the Committee for a responsible federal budget, we at least 2.4 billion need $ or so in reducing the budget deficit over the next 10 years to keep debt stable.

In addition takes the fact that during this period no recession, natural disasters, wars or other outflows of the Treasury be finance. If there are, we must be more on track to tighten.

Anthony Mirhaydari

Already, are tax increases and spending cuts that were made at least 1.5% to chop GDP growth this year. It could be is more than 2%, because investigations from the International Monetary Fund, in situations such as the one we have now, deficit worsening growth harder than normal results. The entire draw could easily 3% top as expected if fresh taxes and new cuts, the upcoming battles over a new budget and the debt ceiling.

Fall with the U.S. economy in the essential flat-lining, and with Japan and much of Europe into a new recession would not much of a shock to self-perpetuating downswing start takes. (Again, the stock market is to their own beat now due to the stimulation of central banks March.) But, as in "gas under $4?" or Dow 14,000 are mentioned, that this strategy risks rise, while decreasing the benefits for consumers. And a new recession is still clearly not prices in the market.)

If our tax hunting a bit is how a dog well to catch his cock feels tempted, because it is.

You see this downward spiral in real time across the Atlantic to play. Europe began its efforts austerity 2010 after the Greek debt crisis focused everyone's attention on the unsustainable borrowing of many developed economy Governments. The results are plain to see: public deficits show a slight decline, Yes, but at a price of lingering unemployment, lingering economic stall, restless population, political unrest and negligence in the austerity commitments.

In other words, has austerity measures as a failure. Deeper cut, the worse gets your economy, lowers tax revenues, increased expenditure use and your deficit is widening, while irritating ingredients. It is a toxic downward spiral.

Fringe, political parties are anti-austerity resurgence in Athens and Rome. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators hit, to announce the roads in Portugal, with banners "Austerity of kills", demanded the resignation of the current Conservative Government and an end to the tax hikes and use cuts. And Spain and France demand eurozone leaders for more time to the 3% deficit to the GDP targets to achieve those Germany has pushed so hard.

Granted, I think European policy as exciting as the average American. This not very mean.

But only a cursory look at what is happening there prophesied the United States Whither. It's not nice. And it risks, a repeating of the mistakes of 1937 double-dip recession-fuelled by the misguided belief in President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his conservative Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, the austerity measures needed to stimulate the economy. The result was an extension of the great depression, which does not support the fight against the Empire of Japan and Nazi Germany at the end of America's factories ramped.

In 1937 and 1938 the budget deficit was closed by a total of 5.4% of GDP. No tightening of this magnitude has happened outside the drawdown after World War II. So far: in the next two years on the basis of President Barack Obama 2013 we are budget, on track for a tightening of the 4.6%, mainly through tax hikes.

Nothing to do or not do, risks of a Japan's decline into extreme debt load enough to stabilize the debt. And that, the academics, risks a period of stagnation, a fragile vulnerability to financial crises and a dangerous temptation to simply the debt $ humiliation by the Federal Reserve to earn money.

Washington's debt is currently $16.7 trillion, now almost 1 trillion $ more than the total economic output in one year. The debt-to GDP ratio of around 105% work. In Japan, where the debt with aplomb has accumulated, the debt-to GDP ratio is expected hit 230% next year-create a reality where economists do not know how the land of the rising sun can reverse its long decline.

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America's disappearing jobs

10:38 PM Americas, disappearing, jobs No Comments

Paul Sakuma / AP

A manufacturing technician produces chips in a clean room at Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif. Robots, however, are typically better at this type of work than humans

By Michael B. Sauter, Lisa Uible & Alexander E.M. Hess, 24/7 Wall St.
Between 2010 and 2020, the United States is expected to add nearly 20 million new jobs. That represents a 14.3 percent increase in labor. A good part of that change has to do with population growth, as well as the growth of several sectors. Certain medical and personal care jobs will grow by 50 percent or more as the baby boomer population ages and their needs increase. Other occupations, however, will decline considerably.

Changes in population and technology also will lead to certain jobs shrinking dramatically or even becoming obsolete -- if they are not already. Using Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) information on thousands of separate occupations, 24/7 Wall St. identified 10 job categories that will shrink by at least 14 percent, and in some cases by much more than that. These are America’s 10 disappearing jobs.

No single occupation category is projected to lose more jobs than postal service workers. The evolution and increasing use of digital communication has taken a toll on delivered mail. As a result, the government has implemented planned cuts to the number of postal employees. As of 2010, there were approximately 524,000 USPS positions in the country. By 2020, the BLS expects that number will decline by nearly 140,000, or 28 percent.

There will be more severe declines within certain postal occupations. Postal Service mail sorters, processors and processing machine operators increasingly are being replaced by more efficient mail-sorting machines, and their numbers are projected to decline by more than 50 percent by 2020.

A review of the remaining categories is a who’s who of job sectors that are increasingly becoming obsolete. Two of the 10 positions are in the declining print business. Three are in the textile repair or manufacturing industry, which continues to move jobs overseas.

24/7 Wall St. looked at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Matrix on the projected growth or decline of more than 800 different occupations between 2010 and 2020. To avoid insignificant percentage changes, we excluded all jobs that had less than 10,000 positions as of 2010. We ranked all remaining positions by the projected decline of jobs by 2020 as a percentage of 2010 employment. For positions that were too similar, or fell into the same category, we included the broadest category. For example, postal service workers is a job category that includes several categories, many of which are expected to decline a great deal. In this case, we discussed postal service workers as a whole, mentioning occupations within the category that will lose the most jobs.

These are America’s disappearing jobs.

1. Postal service workers

Percent decrease: -26.4 percent 2010 jobs: 524,200 Total job loss (2010-2020): -138,600 Median annual wage: $53,090
It is not news to anyone that the U.S. Postal Service is suffering. In August of this year, the USPS announced that it was losing $57 million a day in the third quarter. The USPS cannot afford to hire more workers and many jobs will be replaced by machines to save money on salaries and benefits. There will be a decline of 48.5 percent in the number of mail sorters and processors because their functions are being automated. Similarly, there will be a decrease of 48.2 percent in the number of postal service clerks as a result of the drop in first-class mail use. The number of mail carriers is expected to fall by 12 percent, as their areas for delivery can expand as the volumes of mail contract. Because postal workers are considered government employees, their wages and benefits are quite good for the lack of an education requirement.

2. Sewing machine operators

Percent decrease: -25.8 percent 2010 jobs: 163,200 Total job loss (2010-2020): -42,100 Median annual wage: $20,600
Sewing machine operators use machinery to manufacture and decorate garments and a range of other products. By 2020, more than one quarter of such jobs will no longer exist, as the number of operators falls to 121,100. Further, only a handful professions are projected to lose a larger number of jobs than sewing machine operators, where 42,100 positions are expected to be lost. Among all jobs typically requiring less than a high school diploma, none is projected to lose more jobs, either as an absolute number or as a percentage of 2010 workers.

3. Shoe and leather workers

Percent decrease: -23.1 percent 2010 jobs: 13,300 Total job loss (2010-2020): -3,100 Median annual wage: $23,980
The number of shoe and leather workers is expected to decline by more than 23 percent this decade from 2010 to 2020. The profession has witnessed a steady fall in the number of jobs over the past few decades because of the drop in the price of manufacturing -- these days, people are inclined to buy new shoes rather than repairing old ones, unless the shoes or bags are very expensive or one of a kind. Most laborers in this field therefore specialize in luxury products in big cities across the country, where there is a larger market for their services. On the bright side, there is hope for shoe workers that have experience working with fitting shoes for orthopedic reasons. As the populations ages there will be an increased need for these services.

4. Communications equipment operators

Percent decrease: -22 percent 2010 jobs: 164,000 Total job loss (2010-2020): -36,100 Median annual wage: $25,570
Most communications equipment operators either are telephone operators who provide customers with directory or billing information, or switchboard operators who relay calls. The BLS expects the number of telephone operators to decrease by 16.6 percent by the end of the decade and the number of switchboard operators to decline by 23.3 percent over the same time frame. Though the total number of operators is expected to fall by 36,100 by 2020, there will still be a projected 33,600 job openings as many workers decide to retire or otherwise leave a profession that paid a median annual wage of just $25,570.

5. Semiconductor processors

Percent decrease: -17.9 percent 2010 jobs: 21,100 Total job loss (2010-2020): -3,800 Median annual wage: $33,130
Despite a growing demand for semiconductors, the job outlook for semiconductor processors is rather somber. Semiconductors need to be produced in a clean room and with the utmost precision. And robots are typically better at this type of work than humans in bunny suits, the standard uniform for semiconductor processors. In addition, many of the manufacturing facilities are expected to move overseas, where costs are lower. Most of these positions require an associate’s degree and completion of a training program. The median income for semiconductor processors is slightly lower than the national median income for all occupations.

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