Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Two-Thirds of U.S. Would Struggle to Cover $1,000 Crisis
May 19th, 2016Via: AP: Two-thirds of Americans would have difficulty coming up with the money to cover a $1,000 emergency, according to an exclusive poll released Thursday, a signal that despite years of recovery from the Great Recession, Americans’ financial conditions remain precarious as ever. These financial difficulties span all income levels, according to the poll conducted […]
‘If you have pigs with partly human brains…’
May 18th, 2016Am I reading the news, or the new D&D Monster Manual? — Also, as my sons reminded me: Minecraft Zombie Pigman: Via: NPR: “If you have pigs with partly human brains you would have animals that might actually have consciousness like a human,” Newman says. “It might have human-type needs. We don’t really know.” That […]
Venezuela: ‘We Want Food!’
May 18th, 2016Via: AFP: It was around noon when a food truck rolled up to a Venezuelan state-subsidized supermarket in the town of Guarenas just east of the capital. But, to the fury of the long line of people waiting out front, the cargo wasn’t unloaded. Instead soldiers took it away. “We want food!” the crowd roared […]
Visitor Logs Show Google’s Unrivaled White House Access
May 18th, 2016Via: watchdog.org: A project examining White House visitor logs shows the Obama administration has extended an open door to Google. Johanna Shelton, Google’s director of public policy — in effect, the company’s top lobbyist — has visited White House officials 128 times since President Barack Obama took office in 2009. To put that in perspective, […]
Google, Apple, Tesla Veterans: Startup Developing Self-Driving Truck Kits
May 17th, 2016Via: The Verge: Former employees of Google, Apple, Tesla, Cruise Automation, and others — 40 people in total — have formed a new San Francisco-based company called Otto with the goal of turning commercial trucks into self-driving freight haulers. Prominent staffers include former Google Maps lead Lior Ron and Anthony Levandowski of Google’s self-driving car […]
Fastest Selloff of U.S. Debt Since 1978
May 17th, 2016Via: CNN: Central banks are dumping America’s debt at a record pace. China, Russia and Brazil sold off U.S. Treasury bonds as they tried to soften the blow of the global economic slowdown. They each sold off at least $1 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds in March. In all, central banks sold a net $17 […]
Wendy’s Installing Self-Service Ordering Kiosks in 6,000-Plus Restaurants
May 13th, 20162014: Notice how companies in Seattle have between three and seven years to start paying the $15/hour rate? *wink* And now… Via: IBD: Wendy’s (WEN) said that self-service ordering kiosks will be made available across its 6,000-plus restaurants in the second half of the year as minimum wage hikes and a tight labor market push […]
Hyperloop One: Open Air Prototype Tested in Nevada
May 11th, 2016I’ve found that Americans, in general, only have a vague concept of what a bullet train is. They know that it’s theoretically possible to travel around the Homeland on the ancient and lumbering Amtrak system, if they want to pay a lot and go slow, but that’s about it. Nothing worth seeing in other countries, […]
Volvo’s Self-Driving Program Will Have Redundancy For Everything
May 11th, 2016Via: IEEE: Next year Volvo will do something no other company has tried: it will put 100 fully self-driving cars in the hands of customers. The tests, which will begin small and ramp up slowly, are to be held in Gothenberg, Sweden and in London. It’s a lot harder than it may seem. True, the […]
UPS Using Drone Delivery for Medical Supplies in Rwanda
May 9th, 2016Via: MarketWatch: United Parcel Service Inc. has for decades been the company that delivers packages to your doorstep with its signature brown trucks, but the company has quietly begun expanding into drone delivery. The UPS Foundation announced Monday it has entered into a partnership with drone startup Zipline and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to deliver […]
