From Reason, March 14, 2016:
On March 21, the Orlando suburb Altamonte Springs is starting a pilot program
that pays for part of riders' Uber fares. This misguided year-long
initiative has a budget of $500,000 and will cover 20 percent of each
fare for rides within the city's limits and 25 percent of each fare for
rides that start or end at mass transit stations.
Altamonte Springs is not
Monday, 28 March 2016
Saturday, 26 March 2016
The 1916 Fabergé Imperial Eggs
Over the years we've looked at most of the Imperial Fabergé eggs (and one non-imperial).
Here are the two 1916 Easter eggs via Pearly's Qunol:
1916 - Steel Military
Egg
The exterior of
this egg is made from steel, coated in translucent enamel, surmounted by a gold
crown. It is divided into three sections by two smooth horizontal lines. In the
middle section, in inlaid gold, is an image
Here are the two 1916 Easter eggs via Pearly's Qunol:
1916 - Steel Military
Egg
The exterior of
this egg is made from steel, coated in translucent enamel, surmounted by a gold
crown. It is divided into three sections by two smooth horizontal lines. In the
middle section, in inlaid gold, is an image
The Hottest PhD Market In the World
From The .Plan: A Quasi-Blog:
Fei-Fei Li,
a Stanford University professor who is an expert in computer vision,
said one of her Ph.D. candidates had an offer for a job paying more than
$1 million a year, and that was only one of four from big and small
companies.
--John Markoff and Steve Lohr, NYT, on the brains arms race in artificial intelligence
Fei-Fei Li,
a Stanford University professor who is an expert in computer vision,
said one of her Ph.D. candidates had an offer for a job paying more than
$1 million a year, and that was only one of four from big and small
companies.
--John Markoff and Steve Lohr, NYT, on the brains arms race in artificial intelligence
"What would it take to disrupt Facebook?" (FB)
Disruption as a goal is probably looking at things the wrong way around but if you are going to think it anyway you might as well think it big.
From Digitopoly:
[reposted from HBR Blogs]
To this day, Microsoft Office remains
the dominant office software suite, a position it has held since the
1990s. While competitors have emerged to appeal to different customer
niches (Google Docs with
From Digitopoly:
[reposted from HBR Blogs]
To this day, Microsoft Office remains
the dominant office software suite, a position it has held since the
1990s. While competitors have emerged to appeal to different customer
niches (Google Docs with
"It Is Obvious FT Alphaville Does Not Understand Rocket Internet (RKET:GR)"
That was our headline story a year ago today.
Rocket is the little Berlin-hipster corporate-knockoff-making machine that thinks of itself as an incubator and says stuff like:
"Our proven winners generated aggregated net losses of €442 million" ($568 million)
-Rocket Internet prospectus via "How Do You Say 'Dot-Com Crash' in German?"
And they get no love from FTAV.
Proven winners, bub.
The
Rocket is the little Berlin-hipster corporate-knockoff-making machine that thinks of itself as an incubator and says stuff like:
"Our proven winners generated aggregated net losses of €442 million" ($568 million)
-Rocket Internet prospectus via "How Do You Say 'Dot-Com Crash' in German?"
And they get no love from FTAV.
Proven winners, bub.
The
Florida Man Patiently Waiting For Gawker Money To Arrive
Via the Florida Man feed:
Florida Man Begins Patiently Waiting for Gawker’s Money to Arrive pic.twitter.com/Q27lFWZ5t6
— Florida Man (@_FloridaMan) March 21, 2016
Florida Man Begins Patiently Waiting for Gawker’s Money to Arrive pic.twitter.com/Q27lFWZ5t6
— Florida Man (@_FloridaMan) March 21, 2016
"Guard at ‘terror target’ Belgian nuclear site killed, access badge stolen – media"
From RT, March 26:
A security officer at a nuclear site was killed in the Belgian city of
Charleroi two days after the terror attacks in Brussels, local
newspaper Derniere Heure reported, citing police sources. The paper
added that the man’s security pass was stolen.
Charleroi is located 50 km from the Belgian capital.
A security guard, who was walking his dog, was shot dead in the early
A security officer at a nuclear site was killed in the Belgian city of
Charleroi two days after the terror attacks in Brussels, local
newspaper Derniere Heure reported, citing police sources. The paper
added that the man’s security pass was stolen.
Charleroi is located 50 km from the Belgian capital.
A security guard, who was walking his dog, was shot dead in the early
Alt Investment: "How to Buy Bill Ackman, Dan Loeb on the Cheap"
I wouldn't touch the former, a little voice keeps saying Ackman is nothing more than fortuitous leveraged beta with a sidecar of front-running but it's an interesting way of looking at things. Having said that out in public, it'll probably double.
As to Loeb, maybe.
From Barron's:
Closed-end funds run by these hedge fund pros trade at a discount to net asset value.
Few prominent investors have
As to Loeb, maybe.
From Barron's:
Closed-end funds run by these hedge fund pros trade at a discount to net asset value.
Few prominent investors have
Thursday, 24 March 2016
A Novel Co-Authored By An Artificial Intelligence Program Longlisted For Japanese SciFi Literary Prize
From the Yomiuri Shimbun's The Japan News:
AI-written novel passes literary prize screening
The Yomiuri Shimbun
A short-form novel
“coauthored” by humans and an artificial intelligence (AI) program
passed the first screening process for a domestic literary prize, it was
announced on Monday. However, the book did not win the final prize.
Two teams submitted novels that were produced using
AI-written novel passes literary prize screening
The Yomiuri Shimbun
A short-form novel
“coauthored” by humans and an artificial intelligence (AI) program
passed the first screening process for a domestic literary prize, it was
announced on Monday. However, the book did not win the final prize.
Two teams submitted novels that were produced using
More On Current Oil Prices, Equities and Economic Activity
I quit supporting the Oxford comma.
Following up on the piece from the IMF blog, "Oil Prices and the Global Economy: It’s Complicated".
From Real Time Economics, Greg Ip weighs in:
One of the economy’s big puzzles is why lower oil prices have done so little to help economic growth. The correlation between oil and stocks is now strongly positive. The opposite should be true since cheaper oil is
Izabella Kaminska's Oil Trade Goes Sour: Shakespearean Tragedy Edition
Default, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
First rule of bidness: Know your counterparty or use a clearinghouse.
From FT Alphaville:
That time I defaulted on Bloomberg’s Tracy Alloway
Back in October, 2015, Bloomberg’s Tracy Alloway and I struck an OTC futures deal over a teeny, tiny vial of crude oil, which Tracy for some reason felt compelled to
"Oil Prices and the Global Economy: It’s Complicated"
From iMF Direct, Mar. 24:
Oil prices have been persistently low for well over a year and a half now, but as the April 2016 World Economic Outlook will document, the widely anticipated “shot in the arm” for the global economy has yet to materialize. We argue that, paradoxically, global benefits from low prices will likely appear only after prices have recovered somewhat, and advanced economies
Oil prices have been persistently low for well over a year and a half now, but as the April 2016 World Economic Outlook will document, the widely anticipated “shot in the arm” for the global economy has yet to materialize. We argue that, paradoxically, global benefits from low prices will likely appear only after prices have recovered somewhat, and advanced economies
Artificial Intelligence: Here's Why Microsoft's Teen Chatbot Turned into a Genocidal Racist, According to an AI Expert
Headlines from the future, today.
A twofer from Business Insider:
Microsoft is deleting its AI chatbot's incredibly racist tweets
Microsoft's new AI chatbot went off the rails Wednesday, posting a deluge of incredibly racist messages in response to questions.The tech company introduced "Tay" this week — a bot that responds to users' queries and emulates the casual, jokey speech patterns of a
What $40 Oil Means: Floor and Ceiling Edition
The writer says $35 will eventually be the new floor while we, for a couple reasons think it will be lower.
More on that after the OPEC production freeze meeting.
WTI $38.55 down $1.24; Brent $39.39 down $1.08.
From RBN Energy:
Are We There Yet? - What $40/Bbl Means To Crude Oil Markets
In the five weeks since February 11, the price of WTI crude oil on the CME/NYMEX spiked 50%, up from $26/bbl
More on that after the OPEC production freeze meeting.
WTI $38.55 down $1.24; Brent $39.39 down $1.08.
From RBN Energy:
Are We There Yet? - What $40/Bbl Means To Crude Oil Markets
In the five weeks since February 11, the price of WTI crude oil on the CME/NYMEX spiked 50%, up from $26/bbl
IBM Says Their Newly Purchased The Weather Company Is An IoT Platform
And here I was thinking* the purchase was just a fancy way to mobilize Watson as a crop-insurance salesman along the lines of Google funded The Climate Corporation.
From http://www.ibm.com/annualreport/2015/why-weather-matters/:
Three Reasons Why Weather Matters
We surprised some with our acquisition of assets from The Weather Company. This is why it’s strategic
1. Weather Data + Other
From http://www.ibm.com/annualreport/2015/why-weather-matters/:
Three Reasons Why Weather Matters
We surprised some with our acquisition of assets from The Weather Company. This is why it’s strategic
1. Weather Data + Other
Wednesday, 23 March 2016
"LPL: ‘Modest Stagflation’ Would Benefit TIPS"
For the last couple months we've been going on about inflation ticking up and the relative value in TIPS vs. treasuries. Here's a decent proxy, the iShares TIPS ETF, which seems to be digesting recent gains:
$113.43 up 17 cents. Closing that gap from Fed day would probably be healthy for the chart structure but it matters less than it would for a straight bond, or equity for that matter.
From
$113.43 up 17 cents. Closing that gap from Fed day would probably be healthy for the chart structure but it matters less than it would for a straight bond, or equity for that matter.
From
Lessons From the Mississippi Bubble--Edward Chancellor
Whenever emerging markets felt a little too frothy this last decade we'd trot out a bit of Chancellor profundity:
"Emerging market speculation tends to appear at a juncture in the economic cycle when
declining yields on domestic bonds combine with an excess of capital to make
foreign investments particularly attractive."
-Edward Chancellor
Devil take the Hindmost: A History of Financial
"Emerging market speculation tends to appear at a juncture in the economic cycle when
declining yields on domestic bonds combine with an excess of capital to make
foreign investments particularly attractive."
-Edward Chancellor
Devil take the Hindmost: A History of Financial
Oil: A Bit Of the 'ol Pump and Dump
Following up on yesterday's "Oil - American Petroleum Institute (API) Data - Inventory Build +8.796 Million Barrels".
WTI $40.28, down $1.17.
From ZeroHedge:
Oil Pumps'n'Dumps As DOE Reports 2nd Biggest Inventory Build In A Year, Production Drops
Following last night's API-reported yuuge build in crude of 8.8mm
barrels (and draw in gasoline and Cushing - confirming Genscape's
earlier report
WTI $40.28, down $1.17.
From ZeroHedge:
Oil Pumps'n'Dumps As DOE Reports 2nd Biggest Inventory Build In A Year, Production Drops
Following last night's API-reported yuuge build in crude of 8.8mm
barrels (and draw in gasoline and Cushing - confirming Genscape's
earlier report
British Pound: The Action Is In the Options
From Brown Brothers, Harriman & Co.'s currency maven:
Great Graphic: Brexit Fears Boost Sterling Put Buying
The UK referendum is three months away.
Three-month options are a common benchmark for various market segments;
from speculators, to fund managers to corporations. Events over the
past week have raised the risks that the UK votes to leave the EU.
The market has responded
Great Graphic: Brexit Fears Boost Sterling Put Buying
The UK referendum is three months away.
Three-month options are a common benchmark for various market segments;
from speculators, to fund managers to corporations. Events over the
past week have raised the risks that the UK votes to leave the EU.
The market has responded
New York Fed On Bitcoin
From the Federal Reserve Bank Of New York's Liberty Street Economics blog:
Is Bitcoin Really Frictionless?
The Case for Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency yet developed. Proponents
assert that bitcoin can remove frictions involved in payment and
settlement systems by eliminating the need for the financial
intermediaries that exist in traditional currencies. In this blog
Is Bitcoin Really Frictionless?
The Case for Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency yet developed. Proponents
assert that bitcoin can remove frictions involved in payment and
settlement systems by eliminating the need for the financial
intermediaries that exist in traditional currencies. In this blog
Some Positive Impacts Of Russia's Ruble Devaluations On The Country's Economy--Moody's
From Sputnik:
Russian Gov't Protected Public From Oil Price Fall by Devaluing Ruble
Moody's Investors
Services said that the impact of the decline in global oil prices on
regions in Russia has been cushioned by an accompanying decline in the
value of the ruble versus the US dollar.
WASHINGTON
(Sputnik) — The impact of the decline in global oil prices on regions
in Russia has been
Russian Gov't Protected Public From Oil Price Fall by Devaluing Ruble
Moody's Investors
Services said that the impact of the decline in global oil prices on
regions in Russia has been cushioned by an accompanying decline in the
value of the ruble versus the US dollar.
WASHINGTON
(Sputnik) — The impact of the decline in global oil prices on regions
in Russia has been
Tuesday, 22 March 2016
Oil - American Petroleum Institute (API) Data - Inventory Build +8.796 Million Barrels
WTI $41.19 down 33 cents
From ForeXlive:
Weekly oil inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute (API):
Prior was +1500K
Oil inventory build of 8796K barrels for the week
Gasoline -4302K vs -1900K expected
Distillates -391K vs -750K exp
Cushing -1370K
The big gasoline draw takes a bit of the shine off the massive oil build.
From ForeXlive:
Weekly oil inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute (API):
Prior was +1500K
Oil inventory build of 8796K barrels for the week
Gasoline -4302K vs -1900K expected
Distillates -391K vs -750K exp
Cushing -1370K
The big gasoline draw takes a bit of the shine off the massive oil build.
The FBI's Hack On The Apple Phone Probably Won't be Described as 'Elegant'
From Zdziarski's Blog of Things:
My Take on FBI’s “Alternative” Method
FBI acknowledged today that there “appears” to be an alternative way into Farook’s iPhone 5c – something that experts have been shouting for weeks now; in fact, we’ve been saying there are several viable methods. Before I get into which method I think is being used here, here are some possibilities of other viable methods
Financial Stability Oversight Council Considers Regulating Asset Managers Such As BlackRock
From the Washington Examiner:
Financial officials promise update on possible asset manager regulation
Top financial regulators plan to let the public in on their
plans for regulating the asset management industry sometime this spring,
the regulators said Monday.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council, the super-group of
regulators empowered under President Obama's banking reform law to
Financial officials promise update on possible asset manager regulation
Top financial regulators plan to let the public in on their
plans for regulating the asset management industry sometime this spring,
the regulators said Monday.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council, the super-group of
regulators empowered under President Obama's banking reform law to
Tajikistan: Banking Crisis Nears Cracking Point
One of the countries we thought might be ripe for a color revolution this year. From January's "Report: UK, U.S., Russian troops in Libya":
Got a little (four years and counting) regime change going on here.
For those playing at home, some of the early betting favorites for 2016
are Moldova, Burundi, Tajikistan, Macedonia and Burkina Faso....
We'll probably be hearing next from Burundi as, to
Got a little (four years and counting) regime change going on here.
For those playing at home, some of the early betting favorites for 2016
are Moldova, Burundi, Tajikistan, Macedonia and Burkina Faso....
We'll probably be hearing next from Burundi as, to
Oil: Dreaded 'stealth' supply becomes reality as U.S. drillers turn on 'ducks'
WTI new front month May $41.38 down 14 cents.
Brent $41.58 up four cents.
From Reuters:
A dreaded scenario for U.S. oil bulls might just be becoming a reality.
Some U.S. shale oil producers, including Oasis Petroleum (OAS.N) and Pioneer Natural Resources Co (PXD.N),
are activating drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs) in a reversal in
strategy that threatens to bring more crude to a
Brent $41.58 up four cents.
From Reuters:
A dreaded scenario for U.S. oil bulls might just be becoming a reality.
Some U.S. shale oil producers, including Oasis Petroleum (OAS.N) and Pioneer Natural Resources Co (PXD.N),
are activating drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs) in a reversal in
strategy that threatens to bring more crude to a
Monday, 21 March 2016
The FBI Has A ‘Possible Method’ to Unlock iPhone, Receive Postponement of Tomorrow's Court Hearing (AAPL)
From Politico:
Feds gain postponement of iPhone hearing
The Justice Department may not need Apple's help any longer.
Citing new leads about how to access an iPhone used by one of the
perpetrators of the San Bernardino terrorist attack, the Justice
Department on Monday asked to postpone a court hearing set for Tuesday
on whether Apple should be forced to help the FBI break into that
device.
Feds gain postponement of iPhone hearing
The Justice Department may not need Apple's help any longer.
Citing new leads about how to access an iPhone used by one of the
perpetrators of the San Bernardino terrorist attack, the Justice
Department on Monday asked to postpone a court hearing set for Tuesday
on whether Apple should be forced to help the FBI break into that
device.
"Vice Media Traffic Plummets, Underscoring Risky Web Strategy"
If I was in the media biz this would get my attention.
In December Disney put another $200 million into VICE at a $4 billion valuation, bringing their ownership to 10%.
From Variety:
Vice Media has come into the month of March looking more like a lamb than the proverbial lion.
The irreverent content brand saw its Web traffic suddenly
plunge 17.4% compared with the previous month, according
In December Disney put another $200 million into VICE at a $4 billion valuation, bringing their ownership to 10%.
From Variety:
Vice Media has come into the month of March looking more like a lamb than the proverbial lion.
The irreverent content brand saw its Web traffic suddenly
plunge 17.4% compared with the previous month, according
"Gawker Trial: Hulk Hogan Awarded $25 Million More in Punitive Damages"
Following up on "Gawker: Nick Denton's Is Not As Big As He'd Have You Believe".
From The Hollywood Reporter:
A Florida jury awards $25 million to punish the news site
for posting a sex tape (on top of an earlier $115 million verdict).
A Florida jury has awarded Hulk Hogan $25 million in punitive
damages in his sex tape lawsuit against Gawker Media. That's $15
million from
From The Hollywood Reporter:
A Florida jury awards $25 million to punish the news site
for posting a sex tape (on top of an earlier $115 million verdict).
A Florida jury has awarded Hulk Hogan $25 million in punitive
damages in his sex tape lawsuit against Gawker Media. That's $15
million from
"The Time and Place for ‘Helicopter Money’"
From the Wall Street Journal:
The promise of monetizing the debt is often too good to be true. That doesn’t mean it ought to be taboo, Greg Ip says.
With fiscal and monetary policy reaching their limits, the search for
new solutions to the world’s low-growth, low inflation rut has turned
to “helicopter money.”
The policy gets its name from an essay by Milton Friedman in 1969
that imagined
The promise of monetizing the debt is often too good to be true. That doesn’t mean it ought to be taboo, Greg Ip says.
With fiscal and monetary policy reaching their limits, the search for
new solutions to the world’s low-growth, low inflation rut has turned
to “helicopter money.”
The policy gets its name from an essay by Milton Friedman in 1969
that imagined
Gawker: Nick Denton's Is Not As Big As He'd Have You Believe
Net worth.
That should read Nick Denton's net worth is not as big as he'd have you believe.
What?
From Women's Wear Daily:
Gawker Asks for Leniency as Jury Deliberates Adding to $115M Judgment in Hulk Hogan Sex Tape Trial
Attorneys for Gawker Media asked a jury to show mercy when deciding on the amount of punitive damages to award to Terry Bollea, aka Hulk Hogan, after it already awarded him $
That should read Nick Denton's net worth is not as big as he'd have you believe.
What?
From Women's Wear Daily:
Gawker Asks for Leniency as Jury Deliberates Adding to $115M Judgment in Hulk Hogan Sex Tape Trial
Attorneys for Gawker Media asked a jury to show mercy when deciding on the amount of punitive damages to award to Terry Bollea, aka Hulk Hogan, after it already awarded him $
U.S. Mining & Extractive Industries: 2015 Losses Wipe Out Profits Of the Peak Of the Bubble Years
From Real Time Economics:
U.S. Mining Losses Last Year Wipe Out Profits From Past Eight Years
The U.S. mining industry—a sector that includes oil drillers—lost more money last year than it made in the previous eight.
Mining corporations with assets of $50 million or more recorded a
collective $227 billion after-tax loss last year, according to Commerce Department data released Monday. That
U.S. Mining Losses Last Year Wipe Out Profits From Past Eight Years
The U.S. mining industry—a sector that includes oil drillers—lost more money last year than it made in the previous eight.
Mining corporations with assets of $50 million or more recorded a
collective $227 billion after-tax loss last year, according to Commerce Department data released Monday. That
Apple's Plan To Be At The Center Of Healthcare: "Talk to Your iPhone and See Me in the Morning" (AAPL)
From MIT's Technology Review:
Apple wants to put its devices at the center of health care by figuring out how to solve medicine’s version of the last-mile problem. Today, Apple launched software to help hospitals and others more easily create apps that let patients manage their own conditions, such as by following a digital version of doctors’ orders, recording and tracking symptoms (with
Apple wants to put its devices at the center of health care by figuring out how to solve medicine’s version of the last-mile problem. Today, Apple launched software to help hospitals and others more easily create apps that let patients manage their own conditions, such as by following a digital version of doctors’ orders, recording and tracking symptoms (with
Hurricane Risk and Insurance Pricing Coming Into the 2016 Season
Following up on Friday's "Re/insurance: 'El Niño in decline but impacting global weather, ~50% chance of La Niña'".
La Niña correlates with more hurricanes and in addition, as pointed out in the piece linked above, the now-ending El Niño bears some resemblance to what the Japanese researchers dubbed the Modoki varient, which is also correlated with more hurricanes.
From Artemis:
Will an
La Niña correlates with more hurricanes and in addition, as pointed out in the piece linked above, the now-ending El Niño bears some resemblance to what the Japanese researchers dubbed the Modoki varient, which is also correlated with more hurricanes.
From Artemis:
Will an
Agricultural Futures: "Hedge funds cover ag shorts en masse..."
They've fallen into my trap.*
From Agrimoney:
Hedge funds threw in the towel on short positions in
agricultural commodities at one of the fastest paces on record, in many cases
realising losses – although ironically raising questions about market strength
to come.
Managed money, a proxy for speculators, turned from a net
short position in the main US-traded ags of 213,000 contracts - the
From Agrimoney:
Hedge funds threw in the towel on short positions in
agricultural commodities at one of the fastest paces on record, in many cases
realising losses – although ironically raising questions about market strength
to come.
Managed money, a proxy for speculators, turned from a net
short position in the main US-traded ags of 213,000 contracts - the
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