Archive for the 'Economy' Category
36% of Americans Haven’t Saved Anything for Retirement
August 18th, 2014Via: CBS: Over a third of all Americans (36%) have not saved any money for retirement, according to a new Bankrate.com (NYSE: RATE) report. Sixty-nine percent of 18-29 year-olds haven’t saved anything, along with 33% of 30-49 year-olds, 26% of 50-64 year-olds and 14% of people 65 and older.
A $50 Billion Chinese Canal Across Nicaragua
August 17th, 2014Via: NPR: One hundred years ago today, the first ship passed through the brand-new, U.S.-built Panama Canal; a century later, Panama owns the canal outright, and the country is one of the most prosperous in the region. Panama’s neighbor to the north, Nicaragua, is hoping a transoceanic canal and similar prosperity are in its near […]
Central American Gangs: Made in America
August 16th, 2014Via: Guardian: Central America didn’t always have a gang epidemic. That was exported there by us. And the current immigration crisis is as much a United States legacy as it has become a local tragedy – a consequence of US-financed civil wars from the 1980s that sparked the first migration wave, and of US policies […]
The Kilobot Project: A Low Cost Scalable Robot System for Demonstrating Collective Behaviors
August 15th, 2014Here’s one for your This-Will-End-Badly file folder. Via: Harvard: In current robotics research there is a vast body of work on algorithms and control methods for groups of decentralized cooperating robots, called a swarm or collective. These algorithms are generally meant to control collectives of hundreds or even thousands of robots; however, for reasons of […]
Humans Need Not Apply
August 14th, 2014Via: CGP Grey: Research Credit: P7y845W4
Facebook to Track Users Across Devices to Study Shopping Habits
August 14th, 2014In other news, resolution of Google satellite imagery could soon double. Via: Bloomberg: Facebook Inc. (FB) will let advertisers know where a promotion was first viewed and when it led to a purchase by tracking users between their electronic devices, a tool that may reignite privacy concerns. Marketers will be able to see the number […]
Could Hemp Nanosheets Topple Graphene for Making the Ideal Supercapacitor?
August 13th, 2014Via: American Chemical Society: As hemp makes a comeback in the U.S. after a decades-long ban on its cultivation, scientists are reporting that fibers from the plant can pack as much energy and power as graphene, long-touted as the model material for supercapacitors. They’re presenting their research, which a Canadian start-up company is working on […]
Starwood Hotels Trials Robots That Make Deliveries to Guests
August 12th, 2014Via: CNBC: Look out Rosie the Robot, Starwood Hotels’ Aloft brand has a taskmaster of its own. His (or her?) name; A.L.O. pronounced “el-oh”, the hotels’ first Botlr (short of robotic butler.) Standing just under 3 feet tall, A.L.O. comes dressed in a vinyl-collared butler uniform and will soon be on call all day and […]
Wages in U.S. Down 23 Percent Since 2008
August 12th, 2014Via: Plain Dealer: While 8.7 million jobs have been regained since the 2008 recession, they are paying much less, by an average of 23 percent, according to a report released Monday by the United States Conference of Mayors. The report comes as debate continues about income inequality in the United States. “While the economy is […]
U.S. Navy Bombing American-Made Equipment in Iraq
August 12th, 2014Via: Defense News: When the Iraqi Army’s 2nd Division broke and fled ahead of the advancing columns of ISIL fighters near Mosul earlier this summer, they left behind a treasure trove of US supplied military equipment that the jihadists have since turned on the civilian population. Among the spoils were hundreds of Humvees, small arms […]
