investment

Extra! Extra! New daily papers arrive as Myanmar lifts press monopoly

"Privately owned daily newspapers hit Myanmar’s streets for the first time in decades on Monday under new freedoms that represent a revolution for a media shackled under military rule. Four Burmese-language titles — The Voice, The Golden Fresh Land, The Union and The Standard Time — made the transition from weekly as new rules came into effect that swept away state media’s long monopoly on daily printing. The country’s military rulers seized control of private daily papers in 1964, according to veteran journalist Thiha Saw of Open News weekly." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingExtra! Extra! New daily papers arrive as Myanmar lifts press monopoly

How Mobile Devices Are Changing Africa

"Mobile phones are kicking off a revolution in Africa, with everyone from farmers to villagers relying on apps to make electronic payments, check on expiration dates for medicine, and predict future storms or the best prices for produce. More kids in Africa have access to the Internet than consistent electricity. Nobody owns a PC or can access a fixed-line telephone, so mobile phones are a conduit for everything from email to news to making payments via SMS. Many people on the continent also own phones equipped with flashlights and radios and the percentage of the population equipped with mobile devices is primed to explode over the next few years." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow Mobile Devices Are Changing Africa

Yahoo buys mobile newsreader app Summly from 17-year-old London kid for a seven-figure sum

"Yahoo! announced plans Monday to buy mobile news reader app Summly from the London teenager who invented it, likely transforming him into one of the world’s youngest self-made multimillionaires. The company did not disclose the terms of the deal it struck with 17-year-old Nick D’Aloisio, but the London Evening Standard said Yahoo! would pay between £20 million and £40 million ($30 to $60 million). The Wimbledon youth, who would become one of the world’s youngest technology millionaires, claims to have created the app as a hobby. 'I didn’t realize it was possible to make money out of it,' he was quoted as saying." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYahoo buys mobile newsreader app Summly from 17-year-old London kid for a seven-figure sum

NYC Taxi Medallions Sell for $1.1 Million

"More regulation madness. In New York City, Taxi prices are so out of line with what free market rates would be that corporations are now willing to pay over $1 million to own a taxi and collect the fares, which is what the ownership of a medallion allows. In a free market, even allowing for registration with the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission, the cost would be the registration fee ($100?) and that would be it. Below is the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission report for February, which shows 4 corporate taxi medallions were sold for $1,000,000 and 2 sold for $1,100,000." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNYC Taxi Medallions Sell for $1.1 Million

Biofuel breakthrough turns virtually any plant into hydrogen

"Researchers at Virginia Tech announced Thursday that their latest breakthrough in hydrogen extraction technology could lead to widespread adoption of the substance as a fuel due to its ease of availability in virtually all plant matter, a reservoir previously impossible to tap. The new process uses a cocktail of 13 enzymes to strip plant matter of xylose, a sugar that exists in plant cells. The resulting hydrogen is of an such a 'high purity' that researchers said they were able to approach 100 percent extraction, opening up a potential market for a much cheaper source of hydrogen than anything available today." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBiofuel breakthrough turns virtually any plant into hydrogen

Subprime ABS Securitizations Are Back As Absolute Worst Of The Credit Bubble Returns

"The $604 million issue from consumer lender Springleaf Financial, the former American General Finance, will bundle together about $662 million of loans secured by assets such as cars, boats, furniture and jewelry into ABS, according to a term sheet. Some loans have no collateral. Personal loans haven't been a part of the mainstream ABS market since securitizations from Conseco Finance Corp. in the late 1990s, according to Michael Dean, co-head of Fitch Ratings' ABS group. That market dried up as the recession hit and, under the weight of bad subprime loans, Conseco filed for bankruptcy in 2002." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSubprime ABS Securitizations Are Back As Absolute Worst Of The Credit Bubble Returns

Who Got the Fed Minutes in Advance of Everyone Else and Why?

"This is really an odd list and appears to be some type of very insider, VIP group. It contains major investment banks, such as Goldman Sachs, high powered law firms, such as Sullivan Cromwell and bank lobbying firms. I am on the list to receive FOMC minutes and other Fed releases, but did not receive the FOMC minutes in advance, like those on this list did. The real question is what is this list about, how does one get on it and do they receive any type notices from the Fed that are not released to anyone else? Indeed, the BIG question is why was this list put together?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWho Got the Fed Minutes in Advance of Everyone Else and Why?

Bitcoin Crash Spurs Race to Create New Exchanges

"The rush to build a more reliable exchange for the virtual currency bitcoin is under way after another price crash on Wednesday disgruntled customers who directed their anger against the alternative currency's major exchange. This follows a 20 percent crash last Thursday which Mt.Gox blamed on a type of hacking attack called a distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS) -- which slows down the website -- delaying orders and panicking sellers. Another DDoS was again reported by the exchange on Thursday morning, coinciding with another price drop." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Crash Spurs Race to Create New Exchanges

Home Prices in Washington, D.C. Hit Record High

"A lot of the money Fed chairman Ben Bernanke is printing is finding its way back to the crony government-private sector operatives in Washington D.C. The median price of a home in the District reached its highest point in history last month, according to the latest data from RealEstate Business Intelligence. D.C.’s median sale price soared to $460,000 from $405,000 in March 2012, an increase of 13.6 percent year over year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHome Prices in Washington, D.C. Hit Record High

Dutch bank ABN has no gold left for its clients

"This week, a well-known Dutch bank was the first financial institution to inform its clients that their 'gold investments' are no longer physically deliverable, proving that the physical gold and 'paper gold' are different commodities with different prices. The world’s financial system is short on gold and no gold bars, except those that are kept by the owners, are safe from confiscation. ABN AMRO, the biggest Dutch bank, has sent a letter to its clients stating that they will no longer be able to take physical deliveries of the gold they have bought through ABN. Instead they are offered money at the current market rate for gold." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDutch bank ABN has no gold left for its clients