The Economist: It Appears Market Conspiracy Theorists Were Right
February 12th, 2018I wasn’t going to post this. It might have been newsworthy 20 years ago, but since people are submitting it, here you go.
Via: ZeroHedge:
Three new recently published scientific papers seem to confirm what many have claimed for years: the “efficient markets” are not only inefficient – from an informational standpoint – they are also badly rigged. Of the three papers, the Economist reports, one argues that well-connected insiders profited even from the financial crisis, while the other two go so far as suggesting the entire share-trading system is rigged.
Unlike conventional insider trading cases – which traditionally require fortuitous tip-offs and extensive, expensive investigations, involving the examination of complex evidence from phone calls, e-mails or informants wired with recorders – the papers make imaginative use of pattern analysis from data to find that insider trading is probably pervasive, according to the Economist.
The 11 Cities Most Likely to Run Out of Drinking Water – Like Cape Town
February 11th, 2018Via: BBC:
Cape Town faces the unenviable situation of being the first major city in the modern era to run out of drinking water.
However, the plight of the drought-hit South African city is just one extreme example of a problem that experts have long been warning about – water scarcity.
Foxconn Unit to Cut Over 10,000 Jobs as Robotics Take Over
February 10th, 2018Via: Nikkei:
Foxconn’s panel arm Innolux is planning to slash more than 10,000 jobs this year as part of the company’s aggressive efforts to increase the use of automation in manufacturing, said Honorary Chairman Tuan Hsing-Chien on Tuesday.
“We will reduce our total workforce to less than 50,000 people by the end of this year, from some 60,000 staff at the end of 2017,” Tuan said in a press conference.
Innolux is a liquid crystal display-making affiliate of major iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn Technology Group. Tuan is also a technology adviser to Foxconn, Sharp and Innolux.
Israeli Jet Shot Down After Bombing Iranian Site in Syria
February 10th, 2018Via: Reuters:
Anti-aircraft fire downed an Israeli warplane returning from a bombing raid on Iran-backed positions in Syria on Saturday in the most serious confrontations yet between Israel and Iranian-backed forces based across the border.
The F-16, one of at least eight Israeli planes despatched in response to what Israel said was an Iranian drone’s incursion into its airspace earlier in the day, was hit by a Syrian anti-aircraft missile and crashed in northern Israel, an Israeli official told Reuters.
Both pilots ejected and were injured, one critically.
Israel then launched a second and more intensive air raid, hitting what it said were 12 Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria, including Syrian air defense systems.
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said the downing of the plane marked the “start of a new strategic phase” that would limit Israel’s ability to enter Syrian airspace.
Russian Nuclear Scientists Connect Airgapped Supercomputer to Internet to Mine Cryptocurrencies
February 9th, 2018*har*
Via: BBC:
Russian security officers have arrested several scientists working at a top-secret Russian nuclear warhead facility for allegedly mining crypto-currencies.
The suspects had tried to use one of Russia’s most powerful supercomputers to mine Bitcoins, media reports say.
The Federal Nuclear Centre in Sarov, western Russia, is a restricted area.
The centre’s press service said: “There has been an unsanctioned attempt to use computer facilities for private purposes including so-called mining.”
The supercomputer was not supposed to be connected to the internet – to prevent intrusion – and once the scientists attempted to do so, the nuclear centre’s security department was alerted. They were handed over to the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Russian news service Mash says.
“As far as we are aware, a criminal case has been launched against them,” the press service told Interfax news agency.
Stimulus Puts U.S. Debt On An Upward Trajectory
February 9th, 2018Via: AFP:
As part of a pledge to “Make America Great Again,” President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers are pursuing aggressive economic stimulus while slashing taxes at the same time.
The result, budget analysts say, is likely to be swelling debts and deficits for the world’s largest borrower.
America’s budget deficit was already on an upward trajectory, thanks to an aging population and rising health costs. But it is now poised to take off.
After December’s sweeping tax cuts, which are expected to cut federal revenues by $1.5 trillion over ten years, the budget deal Trump signed Friday calls for an additional $300 billion in defense spending over two years.
The White House and lawmakers have also huddled over a $1.5 trillion plan to upgrade the nation’s infrastructure, with perhaps several hundred billion in taxpayer funds contributed in a possible public-private partnership.
U.S. Army Now Holding Drills With Ground Robots That Shoot
February 9th, 2018Via: DefenseOne:
In a historic first, the Army conducted a live fire exercise with a remote-controlled ground combat vehicle armed with a .50-caliber machine gun. It plans to conduct more exercises with more heavily armed ground robots within the next couple of years.
The demonstration was part of the annual Northern Strike exercise, which took place last July and August at Michigan’s Camp Grayling. Primarily geared toward reserve units, this year’s event debuted an unmanned, heavily armed M113 armored personnel carrier. The driver and the weapons operator followed behind in a slightly larger M577 command post vehicle.
Related: The Marines Are Building Robotic War Balls
People Fleeing Bay Area
February 9th, 2018Via: CBS:
The number of people packing up and moving out of the Bay Area just hit its highest level in more than a decade.
Carole Dabak spent 40 years living in San Jose and now she’s part of the mass exodus that is showing no signs of slowing down.
The retired engineer’s packing up and calling it quits about to move to the state of Tennessee.
“I loved it here when I first got here. I really loved it here. But it’s just not the same,” Dabak said.
Of course people come and go from the Bay Area all the time, but for the first time in a long time, more people are leaving the Bay Area than are coming in. And the number one place in the country for out-migration is now, right here.
Russell Hancock with Joint Venture Silicon Valley said, “Silicon Valley has been this place that is growing. And it was mostly due to people relocating here and relocating from other parts of the world. That’s changing.”
Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s own study of the out-migration says workers are moving to Sacramento, Austin, and Portland due to a number of factors. But topping the list is the high cost of housing.
Mad Max Violence Stalks Venezuela’s Lawless Roads
February 9th, 2018Via: Reuters:
It’s midnight on one of the most dangerous roads in Latin America and Venezuelan trucker Humberto Aguilar hurtles through the darkness with 20 tons of vegetables freshly harvested from the Andes for sale in the capital Caracas.
When he set off at sunset from the town of La Grita in western Venezuela on his 900-km (560-mile) journey, Aguilar knew he was taking his life in his hands.
With hunger widespread amid a fifth year of painful economic implosion under President Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela has seen a frightening surge in attacks on increasingly lawless roads.
Just a few days earlier, Aguilar said he sat terrified when hundreds of looters swarmed a stationary convoy, overwhelming drivers by sheer numbers. They carted off milk, rice and sugar from other trucks but left his less-prized vegetables alone.
“Every time I say goodbye to my family, I entrust myself to God and the Virgin,” said the 36-year-old trucker.
Trump Wants a ‘Grand Military Parade’ in Washington
February 6th, 2018
Via: CNBC:
At the urging of President Donald Trump, the Pentagon is moving forward on planning for “a grand military parade later this year showcasing the might of America’s armed forces,” the Washington Post reported Tuesday.
The paper said the cost of the parade “could run in the millions” given the cost to ship tanks and other hardware to Washington.
In September, Trump met with French President Emmanuel Macron and remarked how he enjoyed watching France’s Bastille Day military parade in Paris.
“It was a tremendous day, and to a large extent because of what I witnessed, we may do something like that on July 4th in Washington down Pennsylvania Avenue,” Trump said in September. “We’re going to have to try to top it, but we have a lot of planes going over and a lot of military might, and it was really a beautiful thing to see, and representatives from different wars and different uniforms.”
According to the Post, Trump also made his views on holding the U.S. military parade known to top defense officials during a Jan. 18 defense briefing in the “tank” — a Pentagon secure room. The paper said that discussion ultimately “marked a tipping point,” citing two unnamed officials briefed on the planning.
“The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France,” the paper said, quoting an unnamed military official. “This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.”
The last major military parade held in Washington was in 1991 to mark victory in Operation Desert Storm, the first Persian Gulf War. It reportedly cost about $8 million and involved thousands of troops who fought in the war, nearly a dozen bands, a fleet of missiles, tanks and the flyover of more than 100 aircraft.
