• AROUND 17% OF THE 800+ JOB CATEGORIES WILL DISAPPEAR WITHIN SEVEN YEARS. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that biggest losers will be workers at the $30K to $50K wage level, including: over half the Respiratory Health Technicians; around a third of Word Processors/Typists; and around a quarter of Data-entry/Computer/Telephone operators, Post Office, and Factory Workers. Other ‘average’ jobs are projected to expand by only 7% during this period. [IMPACT LAB – 5/4/19]
• OVER 100,000 MILLIONAIRES MIGRATED TO OTHER COUNTRIES LAST YEAR, and over a quarter of the rest are planning 2019 emigration. ‘Citizenship and Residency’ programs are big business, notwithstanding a blacklist of 21 countries that OECD says are being scrutinized for tax-avoidance schemes. “Wealth migration figures point to present conditions in some attractive countries– relative lack of crime or religious tensions, along with business opportunity –versus concern over safety, volatile investment markets, and diminishing inheritance tax protection and privacy in their home countries (due to ‘foreign account holder’ disclosure requirements under OECD standards launched 2018). Australia is the most popular destination, followed by New York, Los Angeles, Miami & San Francisco. Demand for second passport & residencies grew 14% last year, led by neuveux riche Russians and Chinese. [BLOOMBERG NEWS – 4/10/19] 
• PHONE SCAMS HIT ONE IN SIX AMERICANS LAST YEAR. Using spoofed numbers to make calls look legitimate, scams often “prey on people’s generosity or fear… The common thread is their sense of urgency – needs to be addressed immediately or the opportunity will be lost.” The most common scams involve criminals impersonating: (1) IRS or medical insurance agents, and debt collectors; (2) Technical Support agents from a bank or browser company, who have ‘detected a problem in your account’ which can be fixed by clicks/account numbers/passwords, but instead download malware to hijack funds or data; (3) Fake charity appeals; (4) Foreign Lottery scams which only require payment of taxes or government fees in order to collect; (5) Family Members in Peril – typically pitched to grandparents, demanding ransom paid by immediate phone transfer or gift card payment for release of the relative; (6) Fake Customers with some sort of emergency requiring immediate wire of funds. There is no legitimate reason for account # or password requests by phone from a stranger.  Best to hang up immediately. [U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT – 5/3/19]
• “THE HUMAN IMMUNE SYSTEM PROVIDES AN APT ANALOGY TO CYBERSECURITY, by mounting a 3-step defense, dependent on each component efficiently fulfilling its role: sound the alarm, solve the problem, then recover and remember… An effective cyber protection program includes careful planning, smart delegation and a system for monitoring compliance – all of which directors, executives and middle managers should own, since ability to identify & respond to a problem quickly will determine the company’s ultimate recovery.” Outsourcing aspects of IT infrastructure is a start, but conducting independent review by experts can be as important as having an annual personal physical exam to identify potential info security risks. Let DCG help protect your organization before your reality check bounces!  [CORPORATE BOARD MEMBER – 5/10/19]
• ARCTIC PERMAFROST COVERS A QUARTER OF LAND IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE. As climate warming increasingly causes ground to thaw from permafrost melt, carbon dioxide and methane get released by “soil microbes digesting gigatons of organic carbon from plants & animals that have been buried frozen for thousands of years,” which researchers warn will have serious implications. Nat’l Geographic reports that projected benefits from shortened shipping routes will be offset by cost to society (as seas rise and droughts last longer) likely exceeding benefits by ten times, some $70 trillion. [THE WEEK – 5/10/19]
•  THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:   An Apple Airbud continued to play in a Taiwanese man’s belly after accidentally swallowing it, and when recovered (after passing thru his digestive track), he reported it was still working with 41% battery.
•  FYI, much confused vocabulary:  AFFECT is a verb meaning to influence or produce an EFFECT – which can also be a verb when it causes something to happen, but usually relates to the actual thing (a noun) or change or result from the cause.