Why is India making it difficult for Google to add its streets to street view? India has stopped Google from continuing its process of mapping and imaging its street for Google Street view although many other countries have allowed Google to proceed with the process of visually mapping streets. India has proposed a myriad of reasons against Google to proceed and all of which I do not believe are their main cause for concern. If Google were to map the streets of India then the world would be easily be able to access and see the terrible living conditions of a large portion of India’s population. India may be trying to protect its image by stopping the digitization of its urban slums. It may be possible that India’s leaders fear a fallout from the visual mapping and that the rest of the world will look differently upon India as a place for investment and business.

http://on.wsj.com/knOWQl

Why would Best Buy repurchase shares? Best Buy is exploring whether to repurchase its shares which I’m sure is an attempt to boost the price of its shares to appeal to the mom and pop investor. Best Buy has to project an image to reassure investors that it is a going concern, and although its stock price could be a representation of management decisions there may be another reason for the repurchase. Best Buy has experienced declining sales per square foot due to an increasing number of its products becoming digitized. Best Buy has more space in its stores than it necessarily needs because it no longer needs to stock cds, dvds, and software which is a result of the distribution moving to the internet. Best Buy has to adapt its stores to the changing retail environment and it will succeed by revamping its retail model to occupy smaller sites. The big box store will be phased out, and a reflection of this change will be realized in the company’s stock price. In order for Best Buy to make the sweeping revitalization of its brick and mortar stores it will require management to make difficult decisions which may be easier to make if they control a greater number of the outstanding shares.

http://on.wsj.com/kFFd15

On Wednesday the Wall Street Journal had an article (http://on.wsj.com/ksOW3K) about the impact defunct malls and shopping centers have had on their local communities and how communities have tried to remedy the situation. During the economic expansion in the earlier part of the century many retailers expanded vastly as Americans spent heavily on consumer goods. The results of  economic expansion and growth of consumerism were malls, shopping centers and an over abundance of places for Americans to spend their dollars. Apparently the growth was unsustainable; however many communities relied heavily on the tax revenues from the retail. Many retailers have closed down due to declining sales during the Great Recession, and their closure has left dark many storefronts across America. Many communities are trying to cope with the shuttered retail by attracting new retail tenants with tax incentives in hopes generating future revenue and to remain vibrant and attractive. Although the reduction in retail may have visibly been attributed to the economic crisis, there are also other forces which have led to its downfall which has primarily been the growth of the internet. Shopping centers do have the advantage of providing tax revenue without burdening school systems and community resources from population growth, but communities have to find alternative avenues for growth and cannot rely on shopping centers for tax revenue.

How long until we have a redux of  suburban sprawl? The Wall Street Journal had an article today discussing a trend in Germany of migration to cities (http://on.wsj.com/ksOW3K). Migration to cities has been a common trend and will continue for some time as the living standards have improved and additionally it provides an opportunity to decouple reliance on automobiles. Although these may seem like the primary factors for the global trend; however each market has to be analyzed separately to determine the attraction of a city. I try to analyze a situation by examining historical precedents while considering modern externalities. At the turn of the 20th century there was a desire for populations to migrate to cities due to the abundance of factories which provided jobs; however suburbs evolved as factories moved out of the city core and automobiles provided commuting opportunities. Factories first found success in cities due to concentration of human capital and an ability to connect and network to innovate, but cities became unattractive due to the pollution factories generated. Once factories left the city they become attractive to inhabit and as witnessed through history, cities provided jobs and a higher standard of living due to the division of labor. We are seeing history repeat itself as populations migrate back towards cities which provide social benefits and jobs. Migration towards cities will drain the suburbs of a tax base and population to support infrastructure and the standard we created. Will there be redux of the flight from the city core? I believe as a larger part of our population moves into cities they will be chased by corporations and commercialize the city and the corporatized cities will be equivalent of the factory pollution which will cause a flight from cities and back towards the suburbs to escape pollution.

The real reason manufacturing jobs are disappearing. The chart above by Richard Florida depicts the change in growth and decline of different sectors of the job market. Clearly we see the decline of farming and manufacturing jobs, we also see the increase in creative work and low wage service sector jobs. The media consistently voices concern over the decline of manufacturing jobs which is perceived to be hindering job growth and stiffing the middle class.  Additionally China is blamed for the reduction in manufacturing jobs as production is shipped overseas. The media typically doesn’t provide alternative reasons for the decrease in manufacturing jobs, but I believe there is a correlation between the decrease in manufacturing and increase in creative jobs. Perhaps the increasing number of creative workers are designing ways to improve the efficiency of manufacturing which has reduced the number of jobs required. Ford has developed robots which can provide a majority of development of car on an assembly line which was probably developed by the creative workers of Ford.