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Spain museum uses robot to spot cracks in artwork

“In the basement of Madrid’s Reina Sofia museum, a giant robotic machine painstakingly scans a painting by Catalan surrealist artist Joan Miro, slowly snapping hundreds of microscopic shots. The pictures taken by the machine, which uses infrared and ultraviolet photography, will help experts determine the condition of the 1974 oil on canvas painting in unprecedented detail. The device lets restorers see cracks, scratches and creases as well underlying preparatory sketches and all subsequent touch-ups that would be otherwise undetectable. The robot can work unsupervised round-the-clock and can be controlled by a computer from a remote location.” Continue reading →

Walmart tells India it can’t buy enough local products for new supermarket

“Walmart has told India that it is unable to meet local sourcing requirements for foreign supermarket groups wanting to open stores in the country, a report said Wednesday. Under rules introduced when the government opened up the sector in 2012, foreign supermarkets are required to buy 30 percent of their products from local small-scale industries. India’s left-leaning government has opened up or proposed opening the banking and insurance, airline, energy and media sectors to foreign investors but has imposed conditions in each case.” Continue reading →

India seizure of smuggled gold zooms 365% in Q1

“After a two-decade lull, gold smugglers seem to be back in business in India, thanks to recent hikes in import duty on gold — from about one per cent to eight per cent in 18 months. In the April-June quarter of this financial year, seizure of smuggled gold hit Rs 59.82 crore — an increase of 365 per cent over Rs 12.86 crore in the same period a year ago. In volume terms, the increase would be even higher, because the average gold price in the quarter came down 6.6 per cent from that in the same quarter last year. According to rough estimates, only 5-10 per cent of smuggled gold is caught by authorities, while the rest manages to get into the country unnoticed.” Continue reading →

Paul Rosenberg: The Beauty and Dignity of the Productive Class

“If you are a member of the productive class, you should re-arrange your mind and stop responding to the demands of hierarchy and status. Instead, pay attention to things that really improve human life in the world. Creating things, improving things, or making it possible for other people to create… these are noble, beautiful, and important things. We should gain a deep and enduring satisfaction from doing them. And, indeed, when we put our minds and efforts to it, that’s exactly what we will gain.” Continue reading →

Chris Martenson: Bankers Own the World – And are ultimately destroying it

“It wasn’t that many decades ago that a list of the top companies with the most wealth and influence would have been dominated by companies that produced real, tangible products – that is, those that created wealth by adding value to goods by transforming resources into products. Companies like GE, GM, IBM, Exxon, and other industrial giants would have been the wealthiest, because, well, they create actual wealth. Today the top fifty companies in the ‘super-entity’ list of 147 from the above study is concerning. Out of the fifty, 17 are banks, 31 are an assortment of investment, insurance, and financial services companies, and only 2 are non-financial companies.” Continue reading →

Banks shiver as UBS swallows $885 million U.S. fine

“UBS will pay $885 million in a settlement with a U.S. regulator over allegations the Swiss bank misrepresented mortgage-backed bonds during the housing bubble, paving the way for billions more to be paid by other banks. European and U.S. lenders such as Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank have set aside money to cover the cost of any losses arising from the dispute with the Federal Housing Finance Agency but estimates vary widely. The Swiss bank is the third to settle, after Citigroup and General Electric did so for undisclosed sums.” Continue reading →

US blows out $16.7 trillion debt limit

“The US Treasury has already exceeded the federal legal borrowing limit of $16.7 trillion in May. That signals the main structural problems remain unresolved putting at risk the fragile recovery. The country’s outstanding public debt is already $38.82 million above the statuary debt ceiling and now at $16,738,220,000,000.00, according to Treasury data. In the debt ceiling debate two years ago, lawmakers and the White House battled for months before Obama signed an increase into law on Aug. 2, 2011, the day the Treasury Department warned that US borrowing authority would expire, Reuters reports.” Continue reading →

Obama, Republicans gear up for bruising U.S. budget fight

“Another dramatic showdown between Republicans and the White House over federal spending looks inevitable this fall, with scary talk of government shutdowns and default on government debt. While Capitol Hill analysts are not predicting catastrophe, they have several reasons to worry that the conflict just weeks away could be even worse than usual. Obama and Congress face two fiscal deadlines in quick succession. They must agree by October 1 on a stop-gap measure to keep the government funded or face a shutdown. And in early November, Congress must raise the legal limit on the country’s borrowing authority or risk an unprecedented default.” Continue reading →