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Rand Paul stirs business ire over blocking of U.S. tax treaties

"Citing privacy concerns about Americans' tax data, Paul, a Republican and libertarian, has single-handedly blocked Senate action on treaties with Hungary, Switzerland and Luxembourg that have been signed by authorities on both sides, but have been awaiting Senate review since 2011. Major U.S. businesses such as IBM Corp and Fluor Corp are lobbying for Senate action on tax treaties, according to Senate lobbying disclosure documents. The U.S. Treasury in 2012 began signing new tax pacts with countries as part of implementation of the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, a 2010 anti-tax-evasion law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRand Paul stirs business ire over blocking of U.S. tax treaties

Canada to tax Bitcoin transactions

"Canadians using bitcoins, the decentralized crypto-currency that recently went mainstream, must report their incomes and pay taxes as with other earnings, Canada's Revenue Agency (CRA) confirmed following a media request. The issue was clarified in response to a letter by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) ahead of the country's tax season. Two separate tax rules are applicable to the electronic currency. When bitcoins are used as money to buy goods and services, the transaction is treated as barter and is taxable as such. When they are traded at a market for profit, they may be taxed as capital gains." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCanada to tax Bitcoin transactions

Spy, or pay up: FBI-backed bill would fine US firms for refusing wiretaps

"A US government task force is drafting FBI-backed legislation that would penalize companies like Google and Facebook for refusing to comply with wiretap orders, media report. In the new legislation being drafted by US law enforcement officials, refusal to cooperate with the FBI could cost a tech company tens of thousands of dollars in fines, the Washington Post quoted anonymous sources as saying. The fined company would be given 90 days to comply with wiretap orders. If the organization is unable or unwilling to turn over the communications requested by the wiretap, the penalty sum would double every day." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSpy, or pay up: FBI-backed bill would fine US firms for refusing wiretaps

Feats of Bridge-Building Bravura

"Mr. Johnson saw a way to keep traffic flowing for all but 10 days of the three-year project, helping shave $28 million from its estimated cost. As the new bridge is constructed on temporary piers, cars whiz past it a scant 55 feet upstream on the old bridge. When work on the new bridge is finished, traffic will be briefly rerouted onto it, so the old one can be demolished. In the grand finale this July, the new 15,260-ton steel bridge, pulled by powerful strand jacks, will slide slowly upstream on steel beams lubricated with high-grade silicon grease, before finally coming to rest in the footprint of the original bridge." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFeats of Bridge-Building Bravura

Hiring Spreads, but Only 14 Cities Top Prerecession Level

"Employers are hiring more readily across the U.S., though only 14 of the nation's 100 biggest metropolitan areas have more jobs now than they did before the 2008-09 recession. Six of them are in Texas, according to researchers at the Brookings Institution, who recently analyzed local economic conditions through the end of 2012. Austin added more jobs, percentage-wise, than any other metro area, helped by stable employment at the state government and University of Texas as well as high-tech jobs." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHiring Spreads, but Only 14 Cities Top Prerecession Level

North Dakota Builds The First New Refinery In The U.S. Since 1976

"The U.S. has not opened a new oil refinery since Gerald Ford was in the White House. But that will change next year. So where will the next facility be? In North Dakota, where the locals aren't afraid to drill. When the Dakota Prairie refinery west of Bismarck, N.D., starts turning crude into usable — and essential — products in 2014, it will be the first to open in America since 1976. While much of the country is mired in joblessness, oil-flush North Dakota has openings to fill. The unemployment rate is 3.2%, the lowest in the country. Average weekly wages in the Bakken region have risen 40% since 2009." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNorth Dakota Builds The First New Refinery In The U.S. Since 1976

Google wants to build the Star Trek computer

"Singhal predicted that will happen in three years’ time—by then, he says, Google’s Star Trek machine will be so good that you’ll ask it a question and expect a correct answer at least twice a day. 'And in five years you won’t believe you ever lived without it. You’ll look back at today’s search engine and you’ll say, is that really how we searched?' Singhal says. He adds: 'These are the best times we’ve ever had in search. I have done this for 22 years, and I've been at Google for 12 years, so I should know. This is the most exciting time—every morning I come into work more excited than ever. Strap in. It's all happening in our lifetimes.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle wants to build the Star Trek computer

Will Google Glass Change the World?

"In a sense, we entered a sort of cyborg state over 20 years ago, when the combination of exploding computer power and the rise of the Internet gave us an enhanced perception that streamed the whole world into our heads. At first, we could only experience that at our desks. But in the blink of an eye, we jumped from there to being able to carry our computers around with us in ever smaller packages. Today, the Net is there any time we want it, right at our fingertips." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill Google Glass Change the World?

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo makes first powered flight

"The spaceplane being developed by UK billionaire Sir Richard Branson has made its first powered flight. The vehicle was dropped from a carrier aircraft high above California's Mojave Desert and ignited its rocket engine to go supersonic for a few seconds. Sir Richard's intention is to use the spaceship to carry fare-paying passengers on short pleasure rides above the Earth's atmosphere. His company Virgin Galactic has already taken hundreds of deposits." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVirgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo makes first powered flight

UK businessman found guilty of selling fake bomb detectors to Iraq

"A businessman has been found guilty of a multimillion-pound fraud involving the sale of fake bomb detectors to Iraq and around the world. A jury at the Old Bailey found Jim McCormick, 57, from near Taunton, Somerset, guilty on three counts of fraud over a scam that included the sale of £55m of devices based on a novelty golfball finder to Iraq. They were installed at checkpoints in Baghdad through which car bombs and suicide bombers passed, killing hundreds of civilians. Last month they remained in use at checkpoints across the Iraqi capital. McCormick also sold the detectors to Niger, Syria, Mexico and a UN agency in Lebanon." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUK businessman found guilty of selling fake bomb detectors to Iraq