Archive for February, 2015
Alibaba Tests Drone Deliveries in China
February 4th, 2015Via: Forbes: Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos is not the only one with a drone-delivery dream. Alibaba’s billionaire founder Jack Ma is also testing drone-delivery services, as the company races to overcome logistics barriers in the country. The initial scope of Alibaba’s experiment is small. The company’s online Taobao bazaar is inviting 450 shoppers in […]
The Big Lie: 5.6% Unemployment
February 4th, 2015Via: Gallup: Here’s something that many Americans — including some of the smartest and most educated among us — don’t know: The official unemployment rate, as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor, is extremely misleading. Right now, we’re hearing much celebrating from the media, the White House and Wall Street about how unemployment is […]
Draft of Arrest Request for Argentine President Found at Dead Prosecutor’s Home
February 4th, 2015Via: New York Times: Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor whose mysterious death has gripped Argentina, had drafted a request for the arrest of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, accusing her of trying to shield Iranian officials from responsibility in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center here, the lead investigator into his death said Tuesday. The […]
Britain: Three-Person Babies
February 4th, 2015Via: BBC: MPs have voted in favour of the creation of babies with DNA from two women and one man, in a historic move. The UK is now set to become the first country to introduce laws to allow the creation of babies from three people. In a free vote in the Commons, 382 MPs […]
Massive Worldwide Layoff Underway At IBM
February 4th, 2015Via: IEEE: Project Chrome, a massive layoff that IBM is pretending is not a massive layoff, is underway. First reported by Robert X. Cringely (a pen name) in Forbes, about 26 percent of the company’s global workforce is being shown the door. At more than 100,000 people, that makes it the largest mass layoff at […]
Brookings Video Piece on Aquion
February 3rd, 2015Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in NZ. Bring it on. Via: Brookings Institution: More: America’s Advanced Industries: What They Are, Where They Are, and Why They Matter
Apple to Convert Failed Arizona Sapphire Factory to Data Center
February 3rd, 2015Disclosure: I bought a single Feb27 put option on Apple last week. The better to see you with, my pretties! Via: ComputerWorld: Apple on Monday confirmed it will convert a failed sapphire factory into a data center that will also double as the hub to control the company’s other server farms. “We’re proud to continue […]
Disclosure: I’m Long DBA
February 3rd, 2015Warning: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. Went long PowerShares DB Agriculture ETF (DBA) this morning.
Uber Opening Robotics Research Facility In Pittsburgh To Build Self-Driving Cars
February 3rd, 2015Via: TechCrunch: Driver-on-demand service Uber is building a robotics research lab in Pittsburgh, PA to “kickstart autonomous taxi fleet development,” sources close to the decision have confirmed to TechCrunch. They say the company has hired talent from Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute, including lead engineering and commercialization experts.
S&P Reaches $1.38 Billion Settlement with U.S. Government, States
February 3rd, 2015No, it’s not comedy hour this morning on Cryptogon. Via: Reuters: McGraw Hill Financial Inc (MHFI.N) and its Standard & Poor Ratings Services unit have reached a $1.38 billion settlement with the U.S. government and several states over ratings of mortgage-backed securities that went sour in the runup to the 2008 financial crisis. McGraw Hill […]
