Archive for the 'Economy' Category
U.S. Agencies Said to Swap Data With Thousands of Firms
June 14th, 2013Via: Bloomberg: Thousands of technology, finance and manufacturing companies are working closely with U.S. national security agencies, providing sensitive information and in return receiving benefits that include access to classified intelligence, four people familiar with the process said. These programs, whose participants are known as trusted partners, extend far beyond what was revealed by Edward […]
Chipotle Becomes First U.S. Restaurant Chain to Voluntarily Label GMOs
June 14th, 2013Via: Natural News: The recent decision by Whole Foods Market to label all genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) sold in its stores by the long-off date of 2018 looks silly and almost meaningless compared to the right-now policy of fresh food chain Chipotle, which is officially the first and only major U.S. food supplier to voluntarily label […]
U.S. Says It Will Give Military Aid to Syria Rebels
June 14th, 2013For the first time, no less. Via: BBC: The US is to supply direct military aid to the Syrian opposition for the first time, the White House has announced. President Obama made the decision after his administration concluded Syrian forces under Bashar al-Assad were using chemical weapons, a spokesman said. Ben Rhodes did not give […]
Companies Scramble for Consumer Data; Don’t Have to Pay Much
June 13th, 2013Via: Financial Times: Corporate competition to accumulate information about consumers is intensifying even as concerns about government surveillance grow, pushing down the market price for intimate personal details to fractions of a cent. Over recent years, the surveillance of consumers has developed into a multibillion-dollar industry conducted by largely unregulated companies that obtain information by […]
NIKKEI 225 DOWN 6.4%
June 13th, 2013Via: Bloomberg: Japanese stocks plunged, with the Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average entering a bear market at the close, as the yen rose to its strongest against the dollar in two months. All shares on the gauge fell for the second time this year. All 33 industry groups declined on the broader Topix index, which […]
Britain: Workers Take 6% Pay Cut Over the Last Five Years
June 12th, 2013Via: Guardian: Britain’s workers have suffered more financial pain since 2008 than in any five-year period of the modern age, according to research by a leading tax thinktank that shows employees have sacrificed pay to keep their jobs. Describing this downturn as the longest and deepest slump in a century, the Institute for Fiscal Studies […]
On Technology Eliminating Jobs: ‘This Time It Might Be Different’
June 12th, 2013Via: MIT Technology Review: Given his calm and reasoned academic demeanor, it is easy to miss just how provocative Erik Brynjolfsson’s contention really is. Brynjolfsson, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and his collaborator and coauthor Andrew McAfee have been arguing for the last year and a half that impressive advances in […]
Ava 500 Telepresence System
June 10th, 2013Via: TechWorld: Ava 500 is essentially a Cisco TelePresence EX60 personal video endpoint mounted on top of an iRobot mobile robotics platform, which can self-navigate busy environments like offices, manufacturing floors and laboratories without bumping into people or objects. The robot is controlled via an iPad interface. This means that the remote user can select […]
To Improve Today’s Concrete, Do As The Romans Did
June 9th, 2013Via: UC Berkeley: In a quest to make concrete more durable and sustainable, an international team of geologists and engineers has found inspiration in the ancient Romans, whose massive concrete structures have withstood the elements for more than 2,000 years. The researchers’ findings are described in two papers, one that was posted online May 28 […]
Nicaragua Gives Chinese Firm Contract to Build Alternative to Panama Canal
June 7th, 2013Via: Guardian: Nicaragua has awarded a Chinese company a 100-year concession to build an alternative to the Panama Canal, in a step that looks set to have profound geopolitical ramifications. The president of the country’s national assembly, Rene Nuñez, announced the $40bn (£26bn) project, which will reinforce Beijing’s growing influence on global trade and weaken […]
