Archive for the 'Economy' Category
With Camera Sales Slowing, Canon Looks to Surveillance Sector for Growth
September 4th, 2013Via: Reuters: Nosy governments and nervous homeowners, among other drivers of the surveillance society, may soon upstage amateur photographers as the focus for big camera makers such as Canon Inc who spot growing opportunities in the security market. Canon, the industry leader, has been hit with a sudden downturn in shipments of its top-end digital […]
Fukushima: Japanese Government to Build Ice Wall in Desperate Attempt to Contain Leaks of Contaminated Water
September 3rd, 2013For a moment, let’s just assume that this will work. I doubt that it will work, but let’s pretend that will. What happens to all of the frozen slop when the grid goes down during the next disaster and the “ice wall” thaws out? Have a nice day! Via: AP: The Japanese government announced Tuesday […]
Microsoft to Acquire Nokia Handset Business
September 3rd, 2013I wonder how reckless Microsoft will get as the realization sinks in that Android and iOS are too far ahead to catch. Via: BBC: Microsoft has agreed a deal to buy Nokia’s mobile phone business for 5.4bn euros ($7.2bn; £4.6bn). Nokia will also license its patents and mapping services to Microsoft. Nokia shares jumped 45% […]
Fukushima Radiation Levels 18 Times Higher than Previously Admitted
September 2nd, 2013This is definitely one for your Not The Onion file folder. Via: BBC: Radiation levels around Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant are 18 times higher than previously thought, Japanese authorities have warned. Last week the plant’s operator reported radioactive water had leaked from a storage tank into the ground. It now says readings taken near the […]
China Wants Operational Control Over Nuclear Power Plants It Finances in Britain
September 2nd, 2013Via: Power Engineering International: China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) is looking for increased influence over EDF nuclear power facilities in the UK in return for investment in the sector. The state-owned group is currently in negotiations with EDF over potential investment in the Hinkley Point project in England. The FT reports that CGN wants […]
Worse Off Than a Medieval Peasant?
September 2nd, 2013Via: Reuters: Life for the medieval peasant was certainly no picnic. His life was shadowed by fear of famine, disease and bursts of warfare. His diet and personal hygiene left much to be desired. But despite his reputation as a miserable wretch, you might envy him one thing: his vacations. Plowing and harvesting were backbreaking […]
Arbitrage on Equities in Millisecond Time Frames
August 30th, 2013The “national best bid and offer” prices—Aren’t. Via: Fortune: Here’s how Hendershott’s latency-arbitrage strategy worked: Redline allowed him to use its “direct market access” — cables that run directly from exchange servers to its own. Redline’s server was co-located with that of BATS Exchange so that the “latency” on information and orders coming from BATS […]
How Poverty Taxes the Brain
August 30th, 2013Via: The Atlantic Cities: Human mental bandwidth is finite. You’ve probably experienced this before (though maybe not in those terms): When you’re lost in concentration trying to solve a problem like a broken computer, you’re more likely to neglect other tasks, things like remembering to take the dog for a walk, or picking your kid […]
Black Budget: $52.6 Billion
August 30th, 2013Via: Washington Post: The $52.6 billion “black budget” for fiscal 2013, obtained by The Washington Post from former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, maps a bureaucratic and operational landscape that has never been subject to public scrutiny. Although the government has annually released its overall level of intelligence spending since 2007, it has not divulged how […]
Shocker: Israel One of the Top Spying Threats Facing U.S. Intelligence Services
August 30th, 2013The U.S. will probably punish Israel by giving it another $115 billion. Via: The Hill: The Obama administration views Israel as one of the top spying threats facing its intelligence services, leaked documents reveal. A secret budget request obtained by The Washington Post from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden lumps Israel alongside U.S. foes Iran […]
