Labor

We noted last week that 1.3 million industrial robots would be installed between 2015 and 2018, and this would more than double the stock of active robots around the world.

While many of those robots will be used in the automotive and electronics sectors, VisualCapitalist's Jeff Desjardins notes that there are many other roles that robots will be filling in the future. Surprisingly, according to global consultant McKinsey & Co, not all of these jobs are low-skill, low-wage jobs, either.

Switzerland’s interior ministry has announced plans to give homeopathy and four other complementary therapies the same status as conventional medicine.  By May 2017, homeopathy, holistic medicine, herbal medicine, acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine will acquire the same status as conventional medicine when it comes to health insurance.

Submitted by Lance Roberts via RealInvestment Advice.com,

Fed Levitation

In a stark reminder of the entrenched problems facing the French economy, today police used tear gas to disperse thousands of angry activists across the nation, who are protesting new labor reforms. French rail and air traffic suffered serious disruption on Thursday after transport staff stopped work and took to the streets along with high-school students to challenge plans for a pro-business loosening of the country's protective labor laws.

For those wondering why Trump rallies tend to devolve to pugilistic matches, where even belligerent 15-year-old protesting (or perhaps "provocative" is a better word) girls end up getting pepper sprayed much to the media's fascination, the answer is Craig's List ads such as the one below, in which allegedly "I'm feelin' the Bern"-affiliated organizers provide paid positions for protesters at Trump rallies, and which provide not only shuttle buses, parking, and signs (as well as time cards) but also hand out $15/hour (as a "part-time employment") for said protest activity "