By Michael Knowles – Re-Blogged From Prager University
Month: April 2018
Swedish Study Reveals Secrets to Long, Healthy Life
By AFP/Relaxnews – Re-Blogged From Newsmax Health
An ongoing Swedish study has revealed some of the key steps that we can all take to age healthier and stay independent for longer, even after the age of 90.
Researchers at Uppsala University have shared some of the findings from their ongoing Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men (ULSAM), a study that began in 1970 and looks at 2,322 men who were born in the early 1920s.
The latest follow-up found that 276 of the 369 men originally taking part were still living alone and leading an independent life, even though the average age of the participants is now 87.
China Plans to Bring Artificial Rain to Area Three Times the Size of Spain
By Marc Prosser – Re-Blogged From Singularity Hub
Artificial rain is set to fall on mountainous plains three times the size of Spain. At least, that’s the plan for China’s latest weather manipulation project.
As reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the system includes solid fuel burners, drones, planes, artillery, and a network of weather satellites covering vast swathes of the Indian Ocean. The aim is to create a distributed system capable of combatting climate change and increasing rainfall in the region by up to ten billion cubic meters, or approximately seven percent of China’s annual water consumption.
Did Official Climatology Know Its Predictions Were Nonsense?
By Christopher Monckton of Brenchley – Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com
In this series, we have demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt, that after correction of the giant error of physics by which official climatology defined feedbacks in such a way as to exclude or misallocate the large feedback response to emission temperature, global warming in response to doubled CO2 will not be 2-4.5 K with a mid-range estimate of 3.3 K, as the modelers would have us believe, but not much more than 1.2 K.
The question arises: did They know of Their grave error?
They were and are utterly unable to provide a convincing answer to the following question:
Engineered Antibodies Block HIV Infection in Primates for 6 Months
Despite more than 30 years of HIV research, there’s still no vaccine for the immune-targeting virus. If left untreated by antiretroviral therapies, HIV results in full-blown AIDS, a total collapse of the immune system, which has claimed 35 million lives since the HIV/AIDS epidemic first began in the 1980s.
While a lifelong HIV vaccine remains elusive, exciting progress has been made with a class of antibodies that appear to protect against HIV infection for weeks at a time. And now a team of researchers working with new, lab-mutated versions of these antibodies has reported that a single injection of their altered antibody protected monkeys from HIV infection for an average of more than six months — and in some cases as long as 8.5 months.
A Dramatic Upward Reversal In US Monetary Inflation
By Steve Saville – Re-Blogged From http://www.Gold-Eagle.com
In February of this year the year-over-year rate of growth in the US True Money Supply, a.k.a. the US monetary inflation rate, was only 2.4%. This was its lowest level since March of 2007 and not far from a multi-decade low. In March of this year, however, the monetary inflation rate almost doubled — to around 4.6%. Refer to the following chart for more detail. What caused the reversal and what effect will it have on the economy and the financial markets?
Likely Coldest April Since 1895
Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com
Farmers are suffering as the cold, wet spring has put a stunning halt to agriculture. Ice Age Farmer Report – 19 Apr 2018
Soil temperatures are below normal, and not conducive to planting yet.
“Temperatures going down, greenhouses going up. Crop losses continue globally, and we must all be preparing for the times ahead.”
Hire for Attitude and Aptitude, Train for Skill
By Oleg Vishnepolsky – Re-Blogged From Linkedin
As a hiring manager, I learned:
There is a real person behind every resume and profile.
There’s a story behind every person. Don’t judge someone if you don’t know their story.
The Negative Impact of the #MeToo Movement
By Heather Mac Donald – Re-Blogged From Imprimis
Our nation is about to be transformed, thanks to the #MeToo movement. I am not speaking about a cessation of sexual predation in the workplace. If that were the only consequence of #MeToo, the movement would clearly be a force for good. Unfortunately, its effects are going to be more sweeping and destructive. #MeToo is going to unleash a new torrent of gender and race quotas throughout the economy and culture, on the theory that all disparities in employment and institutional representation are due to harassment and bias. The resulting distortions of decision-making will be largely invisible; we will usually not know of the superior candidates for a job who were passed over in the drive for gender parity. But the net consequence will be a loss of American competitiveness and scientific achievement.
Putting The Hype Back Into Hyperloop
By Willis Eschenbach – Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com
A recent article has discussed how Elon Musk’s “Boring Company” has raised $113 million dollars in startup capital. This is the company Musk formed to drill the tunnels for his proposed “Hyperloop” transportation system. It has encouraged me to discuss some of the engineering and practical problems with his LA-to-San Francisco Hyperloop proposal. The Hyperloop concept involves a windowless “pod” traveling at just below the speed of sound in a tube with all the air evacuated from it. There’s a reasonable description of the Hyperloop at Wikipedia and a much more hyper description at their website. It all sounds so good and so 21st Century, what’s not to like?
Marc Faber: Countries Unwise To Let Antagonistic US Hold Their Gold
By Stephan Gleason – Re-Blogged From http://www.Gold-Eagle.com
Mike Gleason: It is my privilege now to be joined by a man who needs little introduction, Marc Faber, editor of The Gloom, Boom and Doom Report. Dr. Faber has been a long-time guest on financial shows throughout the world, and is a well-known Austrian economist and investment advisor, and it’s a tremendous honor to have him on with us today.
Dr. Faber, thanks so much for joining us again, and, how are you?
Marc Faber: Well, it’s my pleasure to be on your show. Thank you.
Bad Bankers Drive Out Good Bankers: Wells Fargo, Wall Street, And Gresham’s Law
By John Rubino – Re-Blogged From Dollar Collapse
Back in the 1500s, a financial agent of Queen Elizabeth I named Thomas Gresham observed that that “bad money drives out good.” That is, if two kinds of money are circulating at the same legal value, people will spend the lower-quality money and save the higher. The latter as a result ceases to circulate. This became known as Gresham’s law.
More recently, in our book The Money Bubble, James Turk and I extended this concept to bankers, observing that in times of very easy money, bad bankers drive out good:
Economics 101: Who Sets Prices?
By Alasdair Macleod – Re-Blogged From http://www.Gold-Eagle.com
Since the advent of nineteenth century socialism, politicians and economists in the centre ground have argued for a balanced approach, where vital services are provided by the state, and capitalism is left to provide the rest. Vital services in a modern economy are taken to include pensions, unemployment and disability benefits, healthcare and education. Most states also provide communications, such as rail and road infrastructure, electrical grids and perhaps telecommunications. They often own and operate on behalf of the people utilities, such as the railways, ports, electricity and water.
New U.S. Sanctions on Russia Make It Personal
Re-Blogged From Stratfor
Highlights
- Recently passed U.S. sanctions against key Russian oligarchs and officials probably won’t have a major effect on the Russian economy, but they will hurt key companies such as aluminum producer Rusal.
- Given Rusal’s importance to the global aluminum industry, the effects of the U.S. sanctions will extend beyond Russia, and Chinese companies are the logical replacement for the Russian giant on the international market.
- Russia will offer financial support to relieve the affected companies and oligarchs while pushing back against the U.S. sanctions, not only through political and economic means but also potentially on the battlefield in Syria and Ukraine.
Stock Plunge Could Hasten State Pension Collapses
By Aaron Brown – Re-Blogged From Newsmax
Warnings about looming public pension disasters have regularly cropped up since the 1950s, pointing to problems 25 years or more down the line. To politicians and union leaders, the troubles were someone else’s predicament. Then crisis fatigue set in as the big problem remained down the road.
Today, the hard stop is five to 10 years away, within the career plans of current officials. In the next decade, and probably within five years, some large states are going to face insolvency due to pensions, absent major changes.
Liquidating Civilization
By Keith Weiner – Re-Blogged From http://www.Gold-Eagle.com
Further to our ongoing theme of capital destruction, let’s look at a topic which is currently out of favor in the present market correction. Keynes called for pushing the interest rate down near to zero, as a way of killing the savers, whom be believed are functionless parasites. The interest rate has been falling since 1981.
It did not merely fall near to zero. Nor even to zero. It has gone beyond zero, into negativeland. This alone ought to wipe out the mainstream notions of how interest rates are set in our very model of a modern monetary system. You know, the rubbish about bond vigilantes, inflation expectations, real interest rates, risk, etc. Might as well add unicorns, dragons, and leprechauns!
Macron and Merkel Will Put on Their Best Poker Faces With Trump
Re-Blogged From Stratfor
Highlights
- Germany is looking for a negotiated solution to trade and sanction disputes with the United States.
- France is using Brexit and colder U.S.-German relations to try to become the main intermediary between the United States and the European Union.
- Paris is also trying to use the current global environment to make progress on its long-sought goal of deeper European political and strategic autonomy.
(KAY NIETFELD/AFP/Getty Images)
Fake Climate News about the 100th meridian Agricultural belt
Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com
Supposedly the climate of the US Agricultural Belt has shifted 100 miles east according to a model analysis. But as we know, climate models aren’t reality.
Actual data analysis shows it hasn’t and that precipitation in the 100th meridian states has actually increased, which is good for crops.
From Dr. Roy Spencer:
Fake Markets Produce A Fake Economy
By Steve Saville – Re-Blogged From http://www.Silver-Phoenix500.com
Automtaic Earth’s Raúl Ilargi Meijer just posted an essential essay on the world’s financial markets – or what used to be the world’s financial markets. Here’s an excerpt:
“[Price discovery] is the process of determining the price of an asset in the marketplace through the interactions of buyers and sellers”, says Wikipedia. Perhaps not a perfect definition, but it’ll do. They add: “The futures and options market serve all important functions of price discovery.”
What follows from this is that markets need price discovery as much as price discovery needs markets. They are two sides of the same coin. Markets are the mechanism that makes price discovery possible, and vice versa. Functioning markets, that is.
Choosing the Best Company for Recruiting for Economic Services
By Deanna Jurek
Financial services businesses were the hardest hit during the last recession. While many took significant salary reductions, lots of CEOs of such organizations were fired. Nevertheless, the economy slowly is restoring itself from the downturn, and the money industry is becoming hot again. Put simply, there are a lot of companies in the field looking to hire top talent for their top jobs.
How can you make sure your financial services recruitment requirements are met? In many cases, it’s best to employ a firm specializing in such recruitment for top level positions. You likely use outside resources for several functions, so consider adding a high quality recruiting service today. In some cases, keeping the hiring process in-house may lower hiring costs in the short-term, but it frequently is far better long-term, when you are hiring people for top level position, to use a professional service.
Ford Plans $11.5 Billion in Extra Cuts, Killing Most US Cars
By Bloomberg – Re-Blogged From Newsmax
Ford Motor Co. is cleaving an additional $11.5 billion from spending plans and dropping several sedans, including the Fusion and Taurus, from its lineup to more quickly reach an elusive profit target.
The automaker is almost doubling a cost-cutting goal to $25.5 billion by 2022, Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks told reporters Wednesday. By not investing in next generations of any car for North America except the Mustang, the company now anticipates it’ll reach an 8 percent profit margin by 2020, two years ahead of schedule.
“Take A Pill” Consequences
By Gary Christenson – Re-Blogged From http://www.Gold-Eagle.com
Headache? Muscle ache? Back ache? Take a pill! An over-the-counter pill will diminish the symptoms and pain. The consequences will come later.
High cholesterol? Take a pill. There are other ways to reduce cholesterol but none that produce $ billions for Big Pharma. Consequences to your body and finances will manifest in other ways.
High Blood Pressure? Take a pill. There are other means to lower blood pressure, but none that produce $ billions for Big Pharma. Side effects may require other drugs, which will also have side effects.
Economic sluggishness? Take a pill – an extra-large dose of Quantitative Easing. There are other ways to stimulate the economy, but QE bailed out banks at taxpayer expense, increased banking profits, expanded debt, printed $16 trillion from “thin air” and levitated the stock market.
Drinking Water Helps Aging Brains Get More From Exercise
By HealthDay – Re-Blogged From Newsmax Health
Older adults, drink up. You need plenty of water during exercise so your brain gets the full benefits of working out, researchers say.
“Middle-age and older adults often display a blunted thirst perception, which places them at risk for dehydration, and subsequently may reduce the cognitive [mental] health-related benefits of exercise,” said Brandon Yates, of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, and colleagues.
Silver Scrap Supply Falls To 26-Year Low
By SRSrocco – Re-Blogged From http://www.Silver-Phoenix500.com
Global silver scrap supply fell to its lowest level in 26 years. World silver recycling in 2017 dropped by nearly 50% since its peak in 2011. According to the 2018 World Silver Survey, global silver scrap supply declined to 138 million oz (Moz) compared to 261 Moz in 2011. While the lower silver price is partly responsible for the large drop in silver recycling, there are other market dynamics.
How Solar And Wind Are Causing Electricity Prices To Skyrocket
By Michael Schellenberger – Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com
Over the last year, the media have published story after story after story about the declining price of solar panels and wind turbines.
People who read these stories are understandably left with the impression that the more solar and wind energy we produce, the lower electricity prices will become.
And yet that’s not what’s happening. In fact, it’s the opposite.
Interesting Charts
Here are two charts, both relating to Climate, that I find very interesting.
NOAA collects US temperature data from over 1000 stations across the country. They’ve been doing this every day (mostly) for years and years. They go through the data as it comes in to correct mistakes – the usual QA process. But in recent years, they have started historical adjustments – 5 major adjustments over a recent 6 year period.
“Ryan Zinke’s Great American Fire Sale” AKA The New Yorker’s total ignorance of oil & gas leasing.
By David Middleton – Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com
Ignorance unbound…
Ryan Zinke’s Great American Fire Sale
By Carolyn Kormann April 14, 2018
Not long ago, the Bureau of Land Management, an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, began distributing “vision cards” to its employees. The front of each card features the B.L.M. logo (a river winding into green foothills); short descriptions of the Bureau’s “vision,” “mission,” and “values”; and an oil rig. On the flip side is a list of “guiding principles,” accompanied by an image of two cowboys riding across a golden plain. Amber Cargile, a B.L.M. spokeswoman, told me that the new cards are meant to reflect the agency’s “multiple-use mission on working landscapes across the West, which includes grazing, energy, timber, mining, recreation, and many other programs.”
EPA to End “Secret Science” With New Transparency Law
From the Daily Caller – Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com
This is why liberals are really mad at Scott Pruitt and demand his resignation – he’s demanding accountability and transparency in environmental science, something they didn’t have to do before
Video follows.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt signed a proposed rule on Tuesday to prevent the agency from relying on scientific studies that don’t publish the underlying data.
“The era of secret science at EPA is coming to an end,” Pruitt said in a statement. “The ability to test, authenticate, and reproduce scientific findings is vital for the integrity of rulemaking process.”
Immune Therapy Scores Big Win Against Lung Cancer in Study
By Associated Press – Re-Blogged From Newsmax
For the first time, a treatment that boosts the immune system greatly improved survival in people newly diagnosed with the most common form of lung cancer. It’s the biggest win so far for immunotherapy, which has had much of its success until now in less common cancers.
In the study, Merck’s Keytruda, given with standard chemotherapy, cut in half the risk of dying or having the cancer worsen, compared to chemo alone after nearly one year. The results are expected to quickly set a new standard of care for about 70,000 patients each year in the United States whose lung cancer has already spread by the time it’s found.
Earth Day Should Celebrate “Engines and Electricity”
By Viv Forbes – Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com
Most chapters of human history are defined by the tools and machines that were used.
In the Stone Age, the first tools were “green tools” – digging sticks, spears, boomerangs, bows and arrows made of wood; and axes, clubs, knives and grinders made of stone. These were all powered by human energy.
Then humans learned how to control fire for warmth, cooking, warfare and hunting.
Getting the Public’s Attention on Global Warming
By Dr. Tim Ball -Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com
It is 28 years since Channel 4 in the UK produced The Greenhouse Conspiracy. It covered almost all the skeptical critiques. They are still valid, but now they are time -tested. Sadly, even today most people would not understand what was said in the movie and how it disproves the claim of anthropogenic global warming (AGW). Encouragingly, there are some signs that the continued efforts of the global warming skeptics are influencing public opinion, but overall little has changed. The public is in a holding pattern, knowing something is wrong but not reaching a final understanding for several reasons including that:
It’s Been a Bad Winter All Over – Snow in Japan 56 Feet High!
By Anthony Watts – Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com
You think we had a bad winter here in the USA? Look at Japan where they have walls of snow 56 feet tall (almost the height of a 6-story building).
There’s an avalanche of tourists coming to the Tateyama to see the walls of snow.
Exercise Halves Risk of Dying After Heart Attack
By AFP/Relaxnews – Re-Blogged From Newsmax Health
Exercising after a heart attack may help stave off death for longer, Swedish researchers said Thursday.
A study which followed 22,000 heart attack survivors aged 18-74, found that those who boosted their exercise levels after being discharged from hospital, halved their risk of dying within the first four years.
“It is well known that physically active people are less likely to have a heart attack and more likely to live longer,” said Orjan Ekblom of the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences. Continue reading
Japan to Trial Urine Test to Spot Cancer in Humans
Re-Blogged From Newsmax Health
A Japanese firm is poised to carry out what it hailed as the world’s first experiment to test for cancer using urine samples, which would greatly facilitate screening for the deadly disease.
Engineering and IT conglomerate Hitachi developed the basic technology to detect breast or colon cancer from urine samples two years ago.
(Junqiang Yan | Dreamstime)
More Absolutely Crazy Pension News
By John Rubino – Re-Blogged From http://www.Silver-Phoenix500.com
“War” and “pensions” are conceptually about as different as it’s possible to be. But – in a measure of how far into Crazy Town we’ve wandered – they’re both taking the world in the same direction.
If a Middle East (or Asian!) war doesn’t spike oil prices and push the global economy into recession, then pensions will probably produce the same end result. Here’s an excerpt from a much longer New York Times article that should be read in its entirety for a sense of what public finance has become:
A $76,000 Monthly Pension: Why States and Cities Are Short on Cash
Pet Cloning is Bringing Human Cloning a Little Bit Closer
By Antonio Regalado – Re-Blogged From MIT Technology Review
When Barbra Streisand revealed to Variety magazine that she’d had her dog cloned for $50,000, many people learned for the first time that copying pets and other animals is a real business.
That’s right: you can pay to clone a dog, a horse, or a top beef bull and get a living copy back in a matter of months.
Canada’s Climate Change Policies Are Affecting Its Economy When it Comes to Resource Development
By Pat Reilly – Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com
Canada is a vast and rich country that has among its bounties the third largest known oil reserves in the world. The exploitation of these resources should be paying for our socialist leaning Liberal and Nation Democratic Party agendas with money left over much like Norway. Instead our governments are running massive deficits and spending money we do not have to try and maintain the façade that we can give away free social programs without worry. At the same time these governments are virtual signaling that Canadians are to blame for the Climate changing and we must have a price for carbon to pay for our sins.
Kinder Morgan Trans-Mountain Pipeline Edmonton Yard
Your Shopping Experience Is on the Verge of a Major Transformation. Here’s Why.
By Peter H Diamandis – Re-Blogged From Singularity Hub
Exponential technologies (AI, VR, 3D printing, and networks) are radically reshaping traditional retail.
E-commerce giants (Amazon, Walmart, Alibaba) are digitizing the retail industry, riding the exponential growth of computation.
Many brick-and-mortar stores have already gone bankrupt, or migrated their operations online.
Massive change is occurring in this arena.
For those “real-life stores” that survive, an evolution is taking place from a product-centric mentality to an experience-based business model by leveraging AI, VR/AR, and 3D printing.
Let’s dive in.
E-Commerce Trends
Last year, 3.8 billion people were connected online. By 2024, thanks to 5G, stratospheric and space-based satellites, we will grow to 8 billion people online, each with megabit to gigabit connection speeds.
These 4.2 billion new digital consumers will begin buying things online, a potential bonanza for the e-commerce world.
At the same time, entrepreneurs seeking to service these four-billion-plus new consumers can now skip the costly steps of procuring retail space and hiring sales clerks.
Today, thanks to global connectivity, contract production, and turnkey pack-and-ship logistics, an entrepreneur can go from an idea to building and scaling a multimillion-dollar business from anywhere in the world in record time.
And while e-commerce sales have been exploding (growing from $34 billion in Q1 2009 to $115 billion in Q3 2017), e-commerce only accounted for about 10 percent of total retail sales in 2017.
In 2016, global online sales totaled $1.8 trillion. Remarkably, this $1.8 trillion was spent by only 1.5 billion people — a mere 20 percent of Earth’s global population that year.
There’s plenty more room for digital disruption.
AI and the Retail Experience
For the business owner, AI will demonetize e-commerce operations with automated customer service, ultra-accurate supply chain modeling, marketing content generation, and advertising.
In the case of customer service, imagine an AI that is trained by every customer interaction, learns how to answer any consumer question perfectly, and offers feedback to product designers and company owners as a result.
Facebook’s handover protocol allows live customer service representatives and language-learning bots to work within the same Facebook Messenger conversation.
Taking it one step further, imagine an AI that is empathic to a consumer’s frustration, that can take any amount of abuse and come back with a smile every time. As one example, meet Ava. “Ava is a virtual customer service agent, to bring a whole new level of personalization and brand experience to that customer experience on a day-to-day basis,” says Greg Cross, CEO of Ava’s creator, a New Zealand company called Soul Machines.
Predictive modeling and machine learning are also optimizing product ordering and the supply chain process. For example, Skubana, a platform for online sellers, leverages data analytics to provide entrepreneurs constant product performance feedback and maintain optimal warehouse stock levels.
Blockchain is set to follow suit in the retail space. ShipChain and Ambrosus plan to introduce transparency and trust into shipping and production, further reducing costs for entrepreneurs and consumers.
Meanwhile, for consumers, personal shopping assistants are shifting the psychology of the standard shopping experience.
Amazon’s Alexa marks an important user interface moment in this regard.
Alexa is in her infancy with voice search and vocal controls for smart homes. Already, Amazon’s Alexa users, on average, spent more on Amazon.com when purchasing than standard Amazon Prime customers — $1,700 versus $1,400.
As I’ve discussed in previous posts, the future combination of virtual reality shopping, coupled with a personalized, AI-enabled fashion advisor will make finding, selecting, and ordering products fast and painless for consumers.
But let’s take it one step further.
Imagine a future in which your personal AI shopper knows your desires better than you do. Possible? I think so. After all, our future AIs will follow us, watch us, and observe our interactions — including how long we glance at objects, our facial expressions, and much more.
In this future, shopping might be as easy as saying, “Buy me a new outfit for Saturday night’s dinner party,” followed by a surprise-and-delight moment in which the outfit that arrives is perfect.
In this future world of AI-enabled shopping, one of the most disruptive implications is that advertising is now dead.
In a world where an AI is buying my stuff, and I’m no longer in the decision loop, why would a big brand ever waste money on a Super Bowl advertisement?
The dematerialization, demonetization, and democratization of personalized shopping has only just begun.
The In-Store Experience: Experiential Retailing
In 2017, over 6,700 brick-and-mortar retail stores closed their doors, surpassing the former record year for store closures set in 2008 during the financial crisis. Regardless, business is still booming.
As shoppers seek the convenience of online shopping, brick-and-mortar stores are tapping into the power of the experience economy.
Rather than focusing on the practicality of the products they buy, consumers are instead seeking out the experience of going shopping.
The Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and computation are exponentially improving the in-person consumer experience.
As AI dominates curated online shopping, AI and data analytics tools are also empowering real-life store owners to optimize staffing, marketing strategies, customer relationship management, and inventory logistics.
In the short term, retail store locations will serve as the next big user interface for production 3D printing (custom 3D printed clothes at the Ministry of Supply), virtual and augmented reality (DIY skills clinics), and the Internet of Things (checkout-less shopping).
In the long term, we’ll see how our desire for enhanced productivity and seamless consumption balances with our preference for enjoyable real-life consumer experiences — all of which will be driven by exponential technologies.
One thing is certain: the nominal shopping experience is on the verge of a major transformation.
Implications
The convergence of exponential technologies has already revamped how and where we shop, how we use our time, and how much we pay.
Twenty years ago, Amazon showed us how the web could offer each of us the long tail of available reading material, and since then, the world of e-commerce has exploded.
And yet we still haven’t experienced the cost savings coming our way from drone delivery, the Internet of Things, tokenized ecosystems, the impact of truly powerful AI, or even the other major applications for 3D printing and AR/VR.
Perhaps nothing will be more transformed than today’s $20 trillion retail sector.
Hold on, stay tuned, and get your AI-enabled cryptocurrency ready.
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Do Antacids, Antibiotics Lead to Allergies?
By Associated Press – Re-Blogged From Newsmax Health
Infants who are given antacids like Zantac or Pepcid are more likely to develop childhood allergies, perhaps because these drugs may alter their gut bacteria, a new large study suggests.
Early use of antibiotics also raised the chances of allergies in the study of nearly 800,000 children.
Researchers combed the health records of kids born between 2001 and 2013 and covered by Tricare, an insurance program for active duty and retired military personnel and their families. A surprising 9 percent of the babies received antacids, reflecting the popularity of treating reflux in infancy.
This Really Is The Everything Bubble: Even Subprime Mortgage Bonds Are Back
By John Rubino – Re-Blogged From Dollar Collapse
Record student loan balances? Check. Trillion dollar credit card debt? Check. Six tech stocks dominating the Nasdaq? Check. Subprime auto loans at record levels? Check.
All that’s missing is subprime mortgages and we’d have every bubble base covered. Oh wait, those are back too, just under a different name:
Subprime mortgages make a comeback—with a new name and soaring demand
Black Tuesday October 29th 1929 Revisited?
By Richard Lancaster – Re-Blogged From http://www.Gold-Eagle.com
Note: This article was originally posted October 29, 2002, when US stocks were in the midst of a severe market crash. Appropriately, and in view US stocks have already fallen 10% during the first 3 months of 2018, we believe everyone should carefully review the present update as another CRASH may be brewing on the horizon in 2018.
“These are days when many are discouraged. In the 93 years of my life, depressions have come and gone. Prosperity has always returned and will again.”
– John D. Rockefeller on the Depression in 1933
More Signs Of Inflation: Home Prices Jump Again And “$3 Gas Is Coming”
By John Rubino – Re-Blogged From Dollar Collapse
Cornflakes and milk may or may not be getting more expensive, but some higher-profile things are rocking like it’s 1979. Houses, for example:
Home prices just took the biggest jump in four years
(CNBC) – Homebuyers, hold onto your wallets. The gains in home prices are getting bigger as the supply of homes for sale gets leaner.
The median price of a home sold in March surged 8.9 percent compared with March 2017, according to Redfin, a real estate brokerage. It is the biggest annual increase in four years. Redfin tracks prices in 174 local markets and calculated the median home price at $297,000.
Central Bankers Consider Dictating Climate Policy to Private Businesses
By Eric Worrall – Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com
What is the difference between a centrally planned Communist economy, and an economy where Central bankers punish businesses which defy their investment directives?
Global Warming Is a Central Bank Issue
Ferdinando Giugliano, 13 April 2018, 3:30 PM
Last week, central bank governors from the U.K., France and the Netherlands met in Amsterdam to discuss how to adapt regulation to the risks posed by climate change. Together with five other institutions (from China, Germany, Mexico, Singapore and Sweden), these central banks have formed the “Network for Greening the Financial System” (NGFS). This group has two objectives: sharing and identifying best practices in the supervision of climate-related risks, and enhancing the role of the financial sector in mobilizing “green” financing.
Gold Nearing Bull Breakout
By Adam Hamilton – Re-Blogged From http://www.Gold-Eagle.com
Gold remains largely forgotten, off the radars of most investors. But that’s likely to change soon as this leading alternative investment is nearing a major bull breakout. Once gold climbs to decisive new bull-market highs, sentiment will turn and investors’ interest will surge. Their resulting buying will rapidly drive gold higher, attracting in more capital inflows. Gold is only a couple modest up days away from that key breakout.
Universally in all markets, traders’ psychology is completely dependent on price action and levels. When prices are high and rising, speculators and investors alike eagerly buy in. They love chasing winners, so buying begets buying. This creates powerful self-reinforcing virtuous circles, with rising prices helping to entice in ever-more traders. In recent years this dynamic catapulted the market-darling FANG stocks higher.
New Zealand Bans Offshore Gas and Oil Exploration
By Eric Worrall – Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com
The New Zealand government has banned offshore oil and gas exploration as part of its 30 year quest for 100% climate purity.
New Zealand bans all new offshore oil exploration as part of ‘carbon-neutral future’
Tooth Loss in Middle Age Tied to Heart Disease
By Thomson Reuters – Re-Blogged From Newsmax Health
Losing two or more natural teeth in middle age may signal an increased risk for coronary heart disease, a U.S. study suggests.
“In addition to other established associations between dental health and risk of disease, our findings suggest that middle-aged adults who have lost two or more teeth in recent past could be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease,” Dr. Lu Qi of Tulane University in New Orleans said in a statement. “That’s regardless of the number of natural teeth a person has as a middle-aged adult, or whether they have traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as poor diet or high blood pressure.”
The Bill of Rights is Missing an Amendment
By The Common Constitutionalist – Re-Blogged From iPatriot
One of greater problems that plague our federal government is that of cross-delegation. What do I mean by this?
I describe this phenomenon as such, owing to the fact that three branches of government are no longer “separate but equal.” As we see by the take-over of government by the federal judiciary, they are clearly the most powerful of the three. The other two branches, the legislative and executive, take to bended knee before them, and as blind mutes, comply with any and every decree. This was clearly not intended by the founders.
Will Debt Leverage Gold Even More?
By Arkadiusz Sieron – Re-Blogged From http://www.Gold-Eagle.com
Attention, please! The leverage in the stock market has been recently rising. As one can see in the chart below, the stock market margin debt surged more than $113 billion in 2017, one of the largest annual surges. Moreover, it was the ninth annual increase in a row.
Chart 1: Stock Market Margin Debt (in $ billions) from February 2010 to January 2018.
