One of the perhaps unintended consequences of rising inflation, as it relates to wages, is the rise of the robots: I’m not sure if this means the rise of Skynet (a Terminator movie reference: Skynet was the fictional artificial neural network-based system that rose to overtake humans).

 

However, robots are turning up on more factory floors and assembly lines as companies struggle to hire enough workers to fill rising orders. Orders for workplace robots in the U.S. increased by a record 40% during the first quarter compared with the same period in 2021.

 

Robot orders, worth $1.6 billion, climbed 22% in 2021, following years of stagnant or declining order volumes. Manufacturers in the U.S., where workers have typically been abundant and wages stable, have been slower to embrace robotics than those in some other industrialized countries. The number of robots deployed in the U.S. per 10,000 workers has traditionally trailed countries such as South Korea, Japan and Germany.

 

 

A second chart this week.  Sometimes, investing, and remaining “invested": is trying.  Financial markets are forward-looking mechanisms. They move in anticipation of the future, not in reaction to what’s already passed. Similarly for investors, those who have avoided selling investments as a response to a market decline have tended to be well rewarded. In fact, as the chart below shows, returns in the years following bear markets have been quite strong - on average, the market has risen nearly 14% higher after one year, and 27% higher after three years.” 

 

Avril and I have been fielding calls, and will continue to reach out to make sure that everyone is still on track: Last week, for the RBC Canadian Open, we nailed Rory McIIroy: "Kingsmill Wealth Management, accurate predictions on and off the greens!” But not rest on our laurels, I predict that perhaps some Father’s will be watching on Sunday, as Rory does the back-back, and hoists the US Open trophy.

 

Hope everyone gets to enjoy the weekend, and toast to our Father’s and other Father figures who have played meaningful roles in our lives.