Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Japan: Celibacy Syndrome
October 20th, 2013Via: Guardian: 45% of Japanese women aged 16-24 are ‘not interested in or despise sexual contact’. More than a quarter of men feel the same way. … Japan’s under-40s appear to be losing interest in conventional relationships. Millions aren’t even dating, and increasing numbers can’t be bothered with sex. For their government, “celibacy syndrome” is […]
Robot Baristas
October 20th, 2013Via: Quartz: In a common area at the University of Texas at Austin, the Briggo coffee kiosk, covered in fake wood paneling and a touch screen and not much else, takes up about as much space as a pair of phone booths. Its external appearance was designed by award-winning industrial designer Yves Behar, with the […]
JPMorgan Agrees to Tentative $13 Billion Settlement with U.S. Over Bad Mortgages
October 19th, 2013Woh. It they are agreeing to a $13 billion settlement, one has to wonder about the true magnitude of the damage caused by JPM’s behavior. These settlements typically represent pennies-on-the-dollar wrist slaps which seem to encourage companies to attempt even greater frauds. Via: Washington Post: JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s largest bank, has reached a tentative […]
Mexico Bans GE Corn
October 19th, 2013Via: Care2: Just when you think there’s no winning against the biotech industry, news out of Mexico City shows that all is not lost. After years of deliberation, a Mexico judge has placed an indefinite ban on genetically-engineered corn. Effective immediately, companies like Monsanto and DuPont/Pioneer will no longer be allowed to plant or sell […]
Recovery: “4 in 5 in USA Face Near-Poverty, No Work”
October 19th, 2013Via: AP: Four out of 5 U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives, a sign of deteriorating economic security and an elusive American dream. Survey data exclusive to The Associated Press points to an increasingly globalized U.S. economy, the widening gap between rich and poor, […]
A Penny Saved: Psychological Pricing
October 18th, 2013The is very old, but I’m surprised by how few people actually know about it. Via: Gumroad: Across the board, prices ending in .99 have higher conversion rates than prices ending in one cent higher, and in one case, the conversion rate is twice as high.
The Science-Is-Self-Correcting Myth
October 17th, 2013The scientific method sounds great on paper. Mix in grant swindling, incompetence and fraud and the “science” you get out the other side can turn into a bunch of bullshit. But don’t worry, science is self correcting! Via: The Economist: Academic scientists readily acknowledge that they often get things wrong. But they also hold fast […]
Senate Leader Announces Bipartisan Deal to Avoid Default, End Government Shutdown
October 16th, 2013Mmm hmm. Via: AP: Democratic leader Harry Reid says Senate leaders have reached a bipartisan deal to avoid default and end the government shutdown, now in its 16th day. … The deal would reopen the government through Jan. 15 and increase the nation’s borrowing authority through Feb. 7.
Cockroach Farming
October 16th, 2013Via: Los Angeles Times: This squat concrete building was once a chicken coop, but now it’s part of a farm with an entirely different kind of livestock — millions of cockroaches. Inside, squirming masses of the reddish-brown insects dart between sheets of corrugated metal and egg cartons that have been tied together to provide the […]
Bitcoin As a Law Enforcement/Natsec Honeypot?
October 16th, 2013Via: Easy Questions Are Boring: Paranoia appears to be the order of the day, given what we know about the NSA and GCHQ thanks to Edward Snowden. Absent from the stories so far is any mention of Bitcoin. I find this odd – Bitcoin is the most cypherpunky of all crypto technologies, after all. I […]
