Someday Everyone Will Own An Apple -- Cleaning Out The In-Box, April 12, 2016

https://www.unitedvanlines.com/uvl/migration-map/

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Apple: still on top and the one bright spot in declining PC sales. From MacRumors -- worldwide Mac sales hold steady (actually increase slightly) as PC market SLUMPS almost 10% in 1Q16.

Amid a decline in worldwide PC shipments, Apple's Mac sales have held steady, according to new PC shipping estimates from Gartner. During the first quarter of 2016, Apple shipped 4.6 million Macs worldwide and held 7.1 percent of the market, up from 4.56 million Mac shipments and 6.4 percent of the market during the first quarter of 2015.

While Apple only saw 1 percent worldwide growth, it fared better than the overall PC market, which saw total worldwide shipments of 64.8 million, a 9.6 percent decline from 71.7 million shipments in Q1 2015. Among other vendors, Lenovo and HP saw some of the biggest shipment drops with 12.5 million and 11.4 million shipments in 1Q 2016, down from 13.5 million and 12.5 million, respectively, in the year-ago quarter.  

I still "wish" Tim Cook would take the company private and I think there's a very good chance he he entertains the idea once the Mother Ship is completed. 

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I'm not sure why this was in the in-box. But we will press on. Maybe there was something in the body of the article. The Wall Street Journal reports something we already know: Alcoa results hurt by weak aluminum price. Well, duh. Oh, this is it. The jobs that will be loss: Alcoa says it could cut up to 2,000 jobs as it prepares to split. And every week we hear from Washington, DC, the jobs picture has never been brighter. Unfortunately, the 2,000 jobs that will be cut by Alcoa are high-paying jobs with great benefits. 

And then we get this jobs story from Fox News. Yes, I know. As soon as one reads Fox News one stops reading or goes to the next story. Fox News is the least reliable news source out there. But we will forge ahead, fair and balanced. SEIU losing the battle by any measure.

The Service Employees International Union is believed to have spent $20 million on its campaign to have the minimum wage raised to $15 last year, according to a new report.

The report by the Center for Union Facts, a watchdog group, says that the new figure is in addition to the $50 million already spent since 2012. The numbers come from the 2015 financial disclosures released by the SEIU that were was analyzed by the CUF. [The spending was likely much more because staff salaries, legal services, and lobbying money was not included.]

And then this:

“While the SEIU has made some headway in its push for a job-killing $15 minimum wage, working Americans appear to be sending a clear message to SEIU big spenders: ‘Find a way to create jobs rather than diminishing them.’" CUF Executive Director Richard Berman said in a statement. “The $15 campaign may generate some legislative wins, but even former SEIU boss Andy Stern has acknowledged that this big-spending strategy isn't sustainable."

Followed by this story: former CEO of McDonald's says $15 minimum wage is a job killer. No, I did not read that article. I went on to read that the Kepler emergency is over; the probe has been stabilized and will continue its journey to look for intelligent life -- having not found much on Earth.

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Debacle: the Dodge Dart: from USA Today -- there's no reason to post this story, but I've always wondered about the Dodge Dart. I thought it was second only to the American Motors Gremlin for ugliness; I thought it died long ago. But apparently not.

The Dart has been a disappointing car for Fiat Chrysler ever since it was launched in 2012. At the time, the automaker hoped the Dart would become a credible competitor to other compact cars such as the Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.

The car is a little larger than many of its direct competitors and was under-powered when it was launched. It also came in a dizzying array of color and option combinations that were intended to appeal to young buyers but made it difficult for dealers to predict which variations to order for customers.

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne also said in January that both the Dart and the Chrysler 200 midsize sedan will "run their course" -- meaning they will eventually be phased out.

Until then, the Dart will be sold as the Dart SXT Sport, Dart Turbo and Dart GT Sport. Currently, the 2016 is available in SE, SXT, Aero, Limited and GT variants.

The good news: one can get a brand new Dodge Dart for about the price of a top-of-the-line Apple Watch.

GM's Orion plant: plans cancelled to build small Cadillac -- will move operations to Kansas to save costs. I can't make this stuff up. From The Wall Street Journal:

General Motors Co. has scrapped a plan to invest an additional $245 million in a factory north of Detroit to build a small Cadillac, with management deciding instead to build the future product in Kansas to contain costs.

The move, communicated to employees earlier in the year, threatens the security of workers at GM’s Orion assembly who have long dealt with uncertainty due to product mix. The plant, left open as a condition of 2009 federal auto bailouts, is working on one shift and logging overtime as the company plans to start producing the Chevrolet Bolt electric car in the facility later this year.

The company hasn’t confirmed the brand of the new product it plans to build, but multiple people familiar with the plans say it is a Cadillac luxury product designed to compete with other premium small cars. The vehicle will be built at the Fairfax facility in Kansas City, KS, a 3,200-worker factory that builds the Chevrolet Malibu sedan.

The story just gets worse and worse as you read through it, but nothing was said how the move to Kansas will save costs.