Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Former Tesla Executive to Build €4bn Battery Factory to Take on Elon Musk
March 13th, 2017Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — Via: Independent: NorthVolt, the Swedish company founded by a former Tesla executive, wants to cut the cost of storing power in half with a €4bn (£3.5bn) lithium-ion battery factory. The Stockholm-based company wants to raise €1bn by 2018, when it plans to break ground on […]
Intel Buying Mobileye for $15 Billion
March 13th, 2017Via: Recode: Cars coming off the assembly line in the next few years will have computing power to rival your cellphones, and they’ll get even more complex as automakers introduce more self-driving technology. That’s why Intel — known for its chips, data centers and computing capabilities — just bought self-driving tech supplier Mobileye for $15 […]
New GOP Bill Lets Companies Force Employees to Take Genetic Tests
March 12th, 2017Via: ExtremeTech: A new bill introduced by Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and approved by the House Ways and Means Committee would allow corporations to force employees to undergo genetic testing — and then share those results with third parties. In theory, this is already illegal, thanks to a 2008 law known as GINA. This type of […]
Thousands of Upcoming Nuclear Weapons Shipments During $1 Trillion Nuclear Arsenal Upgrade
March 12th, 2017Via: Los Angeles Times: The unmarked 18-wheelers ply the nation’s interstates and two-lane highways, logging 3 million miles a year hauling the most lethal cargo there is: nuclear bombs. The covert fleet, which shuttles warheads from missile silos, bomber bases and submarine docks to nuclear weapons labs across the country, is operated by the Office […]
San Francisco: Imbeciles Paying $1900 Per Month to Live in House with Dozens of Roommates
March 11th, 2017Man, if you thought the Podshare story from January was nuts, be sitting down for this one. That Podshare place looks like a 5-Star resort compared to this. Via: Reuters: Zander Dejah, 25, pays $1,900 a month rent to live in a downtown San Francisco house with at least 40 other people, many of whom […]
Musk on South Australia Grid Crisis: Tesla Will Install 100 MWh of Powerpacks Within 100 Days of Contract Signature or It’s Free
March 10th, 2017“That serious enough for you?” Via: Reuters: Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk on Friday offered to save Australia’s most renewable-energy dependent state from blackouts by installing $25 million worth of battery storage within 100 days, and offering it for free if he missed the target. The offer follows a string of power outages in the […]
Aquion Energy Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
March 9th, 2017Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — Bummer. That’s the battery I wanted, albeit for less than half the price of what they were asking. *chortle* Maybe the chemistry will survive with whichever entity picks over the carcass… I doubt it’s a coincidence that this happened just as the Tesla Powerwall 2 […]
U.S. Crude Oil Slumps Below $50 After Stocks Build
March 9th, 2017Via: Reuters: Oil prices fell more than 2 percent on Thursday, extending the biggest falls this year as record U.S. crude inventories kept sentiment weak, pointing to a global glut despite supply cuts. Crude oil stocks in the United States, the world’s top oil consumer, surged last week to 528.4 million barrels, an all-time high […]
Who Controls Your Computer? (And How to Make Sure It’s You)
March 7th, 2017Good luck with that. My paranoia doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of this thing. Keep going, keep pushing through, and the next thing you know, you’re falling through fractals of fuckedness that endlessly reveal more fuckedness the deeper you descend. Via: François-René Rideau: At least in theory, we therefore know how to build […]
Automated Mining Will Cost Jobs and Tax Income
March 6th, 2017And the remaining employees, living in “company-run mining camps” are to be monitored by the same sensor technology used to monitor the machines: Thousands of Rio Tinto personnel live in company-run mining camps, spending not just work hours but leisure and home time in space controlled by their employer – which in this emerging era […]
