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High-frequency stock traders turn to laser networks, to make yet more money

"Financial traders are now turning to high-speed laser networks between stock exchanges, to decrease latency by a few milliseconds, to squeeze a few more trillion dollars per year out of high-frequency trading (HFT). Perseus Telecom recently completed a microwave link between London and Frankfurt that reduced the round-trip latency to just 4.6 milliseconds — almost halving the 8.35-millisecond round-trip for the London-Frankfurt fiber link. The microwave network cost between $13 and $26 million to build, but for the financial trader who uses it could earn billions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHigh-frequency stock traders turn to laser networks, to make yet more money

Bill Bonner: Fed’s QE has not created one single extra job

"Our central banks are engaged in a breathtaking program of activism. We don't know where it will lead. But, from the historical record, activism and central banking go no better together than drinking and driving. Keep it up long enough and you're bound to have an accident. But the accident hasn't happened yet. So most people have stopped worrying about it. They smell the liquor on the driver's breath. But they get on the bus anyway. The most reckless driving in central bank history...raising the footings of the US financial system by a factor of 5 times...from $800 billion to $4 trillion...and it has not resulted in one single extra job." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Fed’s QE has not created one single extra job

President Obama Nominates Penny Pritzker for Commerce Secretary

"Pritzker is a Chicago billionaire heiress. Her father co-founded the Hyatt Hotel. She is estimated to be worth at least $1.7 billion. She was instrumental in funding Obama in his senatorial campaign and later his presidential campaigns. Cronyism will go wild with her at Commerce. She didn't spend all that money on Obama for nothing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPresident Obama Nominates Penny Pritzker for Commerce Secretary

Uh-oh: AT&T and Comcast are ecstatic about the FCC’s new chairman

"The same President who said 'I am in this race to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over' when he was running for office has given the FCC's top job to a former lobbyist. Wheeler donated $38,500 to Obama's election efforts and helped raise additional money for Obama by becoming a 'bundler,' arranging for large contributions from other donors after hitting legal limits on personal contributions. Not surprisingly, the cable and telecom companies that Wheeler springs from are ecstatic about the nomination. Wheeler led the NCTA from 1979 to 1984 and the CTIA from 1992 to 2004." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUh-oh: AT&T and Comcast are ecstatic about the FCC’s new chairman

Puerto Rico: We’re Watching this Offshore Tax Haven

"Although residents must still file a federal tax return, they are exempt from paying U.S. income taxes. Residents also avoid a 15% capital gains tax on assets held before moving there, and sold after 10 years of residence on the island. Former governor Luis Fortuno, who narrowly lost the re-election at the end of 2012, is responsible for the attractive tax incentives on the island. He not only slashed property taxes to zero for new homeowners for the first five years, but he also included a 100% tax exemption on all supplemental, passive income. Moreover, international financial institutions that move to Puerto Rico are eligible for full property-tax exemption." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPuerto Rico: We’re Watching this Offshore Tax Haven

Britain signs agreement with off-shore havens to share tax information

"Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands have agreed to 'much greater levels of transparency of accounts held in those jurisdictions', Britain’s Treasury said. The agreement means the jurisdictions have agreed to pass on names, addresses, dates of birth, account numbers, account balances and details of payments into the accounts. The jurisdictions will share the details with Britain but also with tax authorities in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Britain recently reached similar tax information-sharing agreements with Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBritain signs agreement with off-shore havens to share tax information

Arizona governor vetoes bill making gold legal tender

"Republican Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a bill late Thursday that would have made Arizona the second state in the nation to recognize gold and silver as legal tender. Brewer said she shared concerns with the measure's proponents about a declining dollar, but she said the proposal was sloppily put together and did not address basic issues such as how transactions usingprecious metals would be taxed. Brewer said it was unclear whether the state would have to exempt income tax related to a transaction involving precious metals under Senate Bill 1439. She said it could give businesses that buy and sell collectable coins an unfair tax advantage." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArizona governor vetoes bill making gold legal tender

Engineers build bug-eyed camera that sees the world as flies do

"Taking their cue from Nature, engineers have built a camera using stretchable electronics that scans the world like a fly’s compound eye — with a wide field of view and no distortion, they said Wednesday. The digital device, which has a multitude of tiny, pliable lenses like those found in ant, beetle, and lobster eyes, also allows for a near-infinite depth of field and high motion sensitivity, the team wrote in the journal Nature. 'We’ve figured out ways to make cameras that incorporate all of the essential design features of eyes found in the insect world,' study co-author John Rogers of the University of Illinois’ engineering department told AFP." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEngineers build bug-eyed camera that sees the world as flies do

Flight of the RoboBee: Tiny hovering robot creates buzz

"A robotic fly with a body not much taller than a penny standing on edge has taken to the air, passing its tests with flying colors. The Robobee, as it's called, is the smallest artificial insect yet flown, according to the team that built it. The tiny craft's success – the team that designed it said it was the first such object to fly in a controlled manner – represents a key step in developing insect-size drones that designers say could one day search collapsed buildings for survivors after a disaster, sample an environment for hazardous chemicals before humans are sent in, or pinpoint enemy soldiers or terrorists holed up in urban areas." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlight of the RoboBee: Tiny hovering robot creates buzz

Iraq still using James McCormick’s fake bomb detectors at checkpoints

"A policeman in Baghdad knows the bomb detector he uses is fake, and will do virtually nothing to save anyone’s life, but he has his orders. 'If I were given a mop and told that it detects bombs in cars, I would still do it without any hesitation,' he told AFP, asking not to be identified. 'The device is a 100-percent failure and we know that, but it is imposed on us; we cannot disobey direct orders,' he added. James McCormick, a British businessman, made an estimated £50 million ($76 million/59 million euros) selling the 'bomb detectors,' based on a novelty golf ball finder, to Iraq and other countries. He was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in jail for fraud." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIraq still using James McCormick’s fake bomb detectors at checkpoints