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Introduction to the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Start of the Great Depression

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Famous Headline INTRODUCTION Before reading this essay, I strongly recommend you see the PBS video on YouTube. Type in Stock Market Crash 1929. Look for US – The Crash of 1929 (PBS), ALLHISTORIES – PLAYLIST.  Documentary  broken into 6 parts to show commercials. Or purchase video on Amazon. Great documentary with wonderful photos, videos, and scenes from movies of the 1920s and the crash. Shows what a crazy time this was.    I also recommend you read Frederick Lewis Allen,  Only Yesterday; An Informal History of the 1920’s . This a wonderful popular history on the 1920s and the crash. It shows how the economic, social, and psychological changes in the 1920s contributed to the speculative frenzy in the stock market. The author lived through it all. You can skip some of the chapters the first time through; for example, skip Chapters III, VI, IX, And X.   DEFINITIONS The Stock Market . In the 1920s, this meant the New York Stock Exchange. This is where mo...

Robots: The Future is Arriving

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All Together Now, Comrades Robot Production and Use in 2024 This is a summary of 2024 statistics from Google AI. Most of the numbers come from the annual report of the International Federation of Robotics. In 2024,  over 542,000 industrial robots were installed globally. This was  a 10% increase from the previous year, with Asia leading installations. China became the largest single market and manufacturer for the first time. China's domestic market share grew to 57%, surpassing foreign suppliers. Other notable trends included a 30% worldwide increase in professional service robot sales and a growing trend in digital twins for robot optimization.   Global Industrial Robot Production and Installation   Global installations:  Installations have been over 500,000 for the last four years, with no trend in growth. Regional dominance:  Asia accounted for 74% of new deployments, with Europe at 16% and the Americas at 9%. Top markets:  China was the largest m...