Monthly Archives: September 2013
Mostly Cloudy With Occasional Drones In The Afternoon
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Mostly Cloudy With Occasional Drones In The Afternoon
Marseille has a problem: “account settlements” – a guy machine-gunned at close range for a drug deal gone awry. So the city is getting drones to keep an eye on hot neighborhoods. It’s not the only city. One more element in how privacy is traded in for corporate profits, governmental controls, spookily personalized ads, and harebrained hype about security.
Fear, Loathing, and Collective Amnesia in Crisis-Ridden Spain
by Don Quijones • • Comments Off on Fear, Loathing, and Collective Amnesia in Crisis-Ridden Spain
By Don Quijones: If Spain and Catalonia were playing real, rather than figurative, Russian Roulette, the revolver would be loaded with two or three bullets. Now an extra one was slipped into a chamber: prize-winning economist Juan Valerde announced that Madrid may have to “bomb Barcelona” in order to put a halt to the region’s rising separatist aspirations.
“When Will China Be More Expensive Than The US?”
by Oilprice.com • • Comments Off on “When Will China Be More Expensive Than The US?”
With wages increasing and strikes engulfing the country, the cheap labor force that fueled China’s economic boom by underselling competitors is coming to an end. The game is to move factories into the interior. But costs of land, water, energy, and shipping are also rising. So, offshoring to cheaper countries. But….
Was The Fed Scared Of This Graph?
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Was The Fed Scared Of This Graph?
Trade Is Supposed To Save Japan, According To The Gospel Of Abenomics, But In Reality…
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Trade Is Supposed To Save Japan, According To The Gospel Of Abenomics, But In Reality…
Trade is one of the aspects that Abenomics designated as critical. So the Bank of Japan has embarked on a radical money-printing program to devalue the yen and make exports more competitive. It would also render imports so expensive that buyers would cut back. The resulting trade surplus would save Japan. In theory. In reality, the opposite is happening.
Colorado’s Fracking Industry At Threat From The Floods?
by Oilprice.com • • Comments Off on Colorado’s Fracking Industry At Threat From The Floods?
Colorado, one of the most densely fracked areas in the US, is experiencing some of the worst flooding it has ever seen, and people are beginning to worry about the stability of those fracking sites and wells, many of which have been completely covered by the floodwater and are leaking (with video of leaking wells).
Just Replace The Whole Kit And Caboodle With Asset Bubbles
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Just Replace The Whole Kit And Caboodle With Asset Bubbles
Fed digs in its heels, refuses to taper, though it could still start later this year, soon-to-be-ex Chairman Bernanke said. It would continue doing exactly what hasn’t worked for five years, in the hope that even more of the same might finally do the trick, rather than admitting, tail between its legs, that all QE has done is create asset bubbles.
The Other Reason Why IBM Throws A Billion At Linux (With NSA- Designed Backdoor)
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Other Reason Why IBM Throws A Billion At Linux (With NSA- Designed Backdoor)
IBM announced today that it would throw another billion at Linux, the open-source operating system, to run its Power System servers. It may be making hay of the revelations that the NSA has roped in American tech companies to perfect a seamless spy network. Linux, being free of NSA influence, would be a huge competitive advantage for IBM. Or so it would seem.