Mid-Week Observations -- March 23, 2016

LOL: I see that President Obama has said the "trading embargo" on Cuba could end. It would have been nice to see President Obama announce that the "trading embargo" with Canada was also over. 

LOL. From the front page of The Wall Street Journal this morning:

The Justice Department’s move to postpone a showdown with Apple over unlocking a terrorist’s iPhone appears to be a victory for Apple. But it comes at a cost: the suggestion that there may be a gap in Apple’s software. 

First of all, "they" haven't hacked the iPhone; they still haven't cracked the code; they haven't found a back way in. 

Second: it looks like the FBI required "all the king's men" and they still might not have the phone cracked. 

Something tells me Apple isn't too worried ... and they are working on stronger encryption anyway. 

Politics: it appears that folks are losing interest with the primaries now that the GOP has announced the primaries no longer count. The results of yesterday's primaries merited a Drudge headline but that was about all. Jeb Bush endorses Ted Cruz.

Apple Watch: "don't leave home without it." Yes, my wife loves her Apple Watch and will never leave home without it.

Brussels: the "single black glove." Too bad the western world (outside of Israel) frowns upon profiling.

ObamaCare: although the reasons for a change in Coca-Cola's business plans had nothing to do with ObamaCare based on information available, one wonders. Coca-Cola's business plan has been in the works for quite some time, but it is now being accelerated out of "fear, anxiety" that it could become a takeover target. But when I see the employee numbers before/after it only makes me think that Coca-Cola is cutting employee costs due to ObamaCare. From today's Wall Street Journal:

Operating margin will jump to 34% from 23% and head count will shrink to 39,000 from 123,000 as capital-intensive factories, warehouses and trucks come off its balance sheet.

Again, for those who missed it: by jettisoning 100,000 employees from their payrolls (think pensions, ObamaCare, OSHA rules, and federal regulations), Coke's margins will jump from 23% to 34%. The employees will still have jobs but their contracts will be re-written and less generous no doubt working for a company with pockets not nearly as deep as Coke's.