Archive for the 'Economy' Category
International Construction Firm Balfour Beatty Considering Drone Workers
November 10th, 2013Via: Technology Advice: Most people associate drones with military and counter-terrorism programs, but Balfour Beatty CIO Danny Reeves wants to use them for a rather different purpose. Speaking at the Fujitsu Forum, he told Techworld that unmanned aerial vehicles could be used to build walls, and improve project efficiency. Balfour Beatty is a international construction […]
Meet the American Nomads of Walmart’s Plentiful Parking Lots
November 9th, 2013This was my dad’s cunning plan: At 80-years-old, and in poor health, set off with his cat and a .357 magnum—for Arizona. If he had gone through with it, he would probably be dead by now. He held off, waiting for his arthritis pain to improve. It didn’t improve, but rather worsened until he couldn’t […]
Obamacare: Tens of Millions Forced Out of Health Insurance They Had
November 9th, 2013Via: McClatchy: Even as President Barack Obama sold a new health care law in part by assuring Americans they would be able to keep their insurance plans, his administration knew that tens of millions of people actually could lose those their policies. “If you like your private health insurance plan, you can keep your plan. […]
Google Barges: Places “Where People Can Learn About New Technology”
November 6th, 2013Via: TechCrunch: Google has issued a statement (finally?) about its months-long mystery barge project. The barges, which are anchored in both Portland, Maine and San Francisco, have been the topic of intense interest since multiple reports surfaced last month. A Google spokesperson told TechCrunch that the barges are ‘an interactive space’ to teach people about […]
Los Angeles: Citywide Gigabit Access for Homes and Businesses
November 5th, 2013People living in shipping containers with fiber optic links to the Metaverse? *chortle* Via: Arstechnica: Los Angeles is about to unleash one of the most ambitious city-led broadband projects to date, with the goal of bringing fiber to all of its 3.5 million residents and all businesses. Next month, the city plans to issue an […]
Mob Illegally Dumped Nuclear and Industrial Waste Around Southern Italy
November 5th, 2013Via: Daily Mail: Toxic nuclear and industrial waste, dumped illegally by the Neapolitan mafia, is responsible for a surge in cancers in southern Italy, it is feared. The Italian Senate is investigating a link between buried pollutants and a rise of almost 50 per cent in tumours found in the inhabitants of several towns around […]
Britain: Face-Scanning Screens That Can Determine Your Age and Gender
November 5th, 2013Via: Vice: Next time you absent-mindedly watch the ads as you’re waiting to pay for a tank of gas, they might be watching you back. Digital advertising company Amscreen (a division of Alan Sugar’s Amshold) has announced a deal with British supermarket giant Tesco to roll out its OptimEyes technology across their 450 petrol forecourts. […]
Rich Families Hoarding Cash
November 5th, 2013Via: CNBC: A new survey of family offices by Citi finds that the wealthy are cash heavy—meaning they may fall short of the investment returns they’re expecting. Wealthy families have about 39 percent of their assets in cash, according to a recent poll of more than 50 large family office representatives from 20 countries conducted […]
Apple Opening Arizona Plant With 2,000 Workers
November 5th, 2013Via: Bloomberg: Apple Inc. (AAPL) said it’s opening a new plant in Mesa, Arizona, that will create 2,000 jobs to make components for its products, part of a push by the world’s most valuable company to boost manufacturing in the U.S. Apple struck a deal to pay $578 million to GT Advanced Technologies Inc. (GTAT) […]
U.S. Nuclear Upgrade Over the Next Decade: $350 Billion to $400 Billion
November 4th, 2013Via: Reuters: The U.S. nuclear arsenal needs a multi-billion dollar overhaul in the coming decade to ensure the weapons’ safety and effectiveness, defense officials said on Tuesday, despite warnings from arms control groups that the effort is unaffordable and unnecessary. Assistant Defense Secretary Madelyn Creedon told a panel in the U.S. House of Representatives that […]
