Taiwan Will Hike Minimum Wages on July 1, 2015

Digitimes reported this morning that tomorrow Taiwan will hike its minimum wages for hourly and monthly workers.

Taiwan will hike its monthly minimum wage by 3.81% from NT$19,273 (US$623) to NT$20,008 and the hourly minimum wage rate will rise 4.35% from NT$115 to NT$120, with the new wage schemes to take effect on July 1, according to the labor ministry.

This works out to new minimum wages for Taiwan in US dollars of

• Monthly $623
• Hourly $3.88

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I can see why many chip companies have moved manufacturing out of the Silicon Valley where the minimum wage in many cities is or will be $15 per hour soon.  

From www.mountainview.gov - CITY MINIMUM WAGE 

On October 9, 2014, the Mountain View City Council, approved the first reading of a Minimum Wage Ordinance establishing a minimum wage in the City of Mountain View of $10.30 per hour effective July 1, 2015, with annual adjustments for inflation on January 1 of each following year. The second reading of the Minimum Wage Ordinance was held on October 28, 2014.

The City Council also adopted a goal of reaching a $15.00 per hour minimum wage by 2018, working in cooperation with neighboring cities and regional organizations, and with input from the Mountain View community. In March 2015, staff will update the Council on minimum wage provisions in the region and seek direction on a work plan to achieve this goal.

Fear & Greed Index Plunges to 8!

CNNMoney has a sentiment index called the "Fear & Greed Index."   Here is a snapshot of the index for today.

Fear and Greed now down to 8!

Update 6/30/15

Newsletter Buy Alert sent to subscribers today!

This index is a summation of seven indicators explained in detail here. 

1. Stock Price Momentum: The S&P 500 versus its 125-day moving average
2. Stock Price Strength: The number of stocks hitting 52-week highs and lows on the New York Stock Exchange
3. Stock Price Breadth: The volume of shares trading in stocks on the rise versus those declining.
4. Put and Call Options: The put/call ratio, which compares the trading volume of bullish call options relative to the trading volume of bearish put options
5. Junk Bond Demand: The spread between yields on investment grade bonds and junk bonds
6. Market Volatility: The VIX, which measures volatility
7. Safe Haven Demand: The difference in returns for stocks versus Treasuries

"For each indicator, we look at how far they've veered from their average relative to how far they normally veer. We look at each on a scale from 0 - 100. The higher the reading, the greedier investors are being, and 50 is neutral.

Then we put all the indicators together - equally weighted - for a final index reading."

Wow! We got here fast! 

3-Years of Fear & Greed Index

 Older Chart

Update 6/30/15

Newsletter Buy Alert sent 6/30/15

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New Record Nasdaq High - First New High in over 15 Years!

Today the Nasdaq stock market made a new, record, intraday high which eclipsed its prior record high of 5132.52, a record that had stood for over 15 years! (Click charts to view full size)

Click charts to view full size

The Dow and the S&P500 set new records long ago as these two charts below clearly show.

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