The 10 Most Important Things In The World This Morning | ||
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Good morning! Here is what you need to know before your first meeting of the day. 1. The European Parliament voted to break up Google because it is too monopolistic. Don't worry, it will probably never happen. Google has, however, leveraged its dominance to distort non-search markets in the past, so you can see why this vote happened. 2. Inflation numbers for Europe are due out today. We're expecting a new low of less than 1%. The eurozone is flirting with deflation, the nightmare scenario we told you about recently. 3. Japan's bond yields went negative as the BoJ fights deflation. The central bank is purchasing assets in order to ease Japan out of recession. Reuters says: "The two-year JGBs traded at the yield of minus 0.005 percent JP2YTN=JBTC. Negative yield is an unusual, but not uncommon occurrence - record-low interest rates in Europe, for instance, have flipped bond investing on its head with Germany and Switzerland seeing negative yields." Japan's recovery is at risk as inflation came in at a new low. 4. OPEC declined to cut oil production and the price of oil remains in freefall, we told you yesterday. The Saudis are beggaring everyone in their war for share of the US oil market. Non-oil producing countries are jumping for joy, of course, as everything is getting cheaper. 5. Today is Black Friday. You will go shopping. The US phenom is going global. Here are all the UK's best Black Friday deals. Here are Apple's. But the big shocker is Sainsbury's, which is slashing prices on a range of electronics to new eye-popping lows. 6. Outbrain is filing for an IPO. The Israeli adtech startup automates content recommendation on web sites. The company is looking to raise $70-$100 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. 7. Romanians became Britain's biggest new group of immigrants and Prime Minister David Cameron wants to restrict their benefits. Immigrants are streaming into the UK because its economy is still growing, unlike those of Southern Europe. Cameron would prevent new immigrants from receiving benefits for four years after their arrival, the BBC reports. 8. Egypt is expecting a wave of Muslim unrest. Bloomberg reports: "With security forces in the midst of an offensive against Islamist militants in the Sinai peninsula, an ultraconservative group known as the Salafi Front has called for a “Muslim youth uprising” after dawn prayers tomorrow. The government today began deploying units in riot gear and backed by armored vehicles, according to photos and video clips released by the military spokesman and Interior Ministry." 9. The Bank of England will raise interest rates next summer, economists predict. BofE governor Mark Carney has been threatening this for a while. (We'll believe it when we see it — some parts of Europe are still in recession/deflation, dragging on the UK economy.) 10. Uber is driving down the cost of taxi medallions in New York. The evidence is anecdotal but it would appear that the taxi app is having its intended effect of devaluing local taxi monopoly/licensing cartels. Read more in The New York Times. And finally ... A trailer for the new Star Wars film will be shown in some cinemas this weekend. People are going to be lining up to see it. It's Disney's first chapter in the franchise. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The ‘Freemium’ Model Is Brilliant, But It’s Ruining My Life | ||
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Three years ago, I downloaded "The Simpsons: Tapped Out." One of my favorite shows of all time is “The Simpsons,” and as a proud owner of a new iPhone 4S at the time, I wanted to own this game. In the end, it ended up owning me. The gist of the game is that Homer Simpson caused the town of Springfield to blow up, and now you, the "Sky Finger," must recreate the town and bring back all its residents. You make money by collecting rent from buildings and making characters do various jobs, which all take time to complete. I have witnessed how this game has grown through the years, with the load times and overall quality improving with each new iPhone release. I’ve been there for every new character, new building, holiday and special promotion. My Springfield is immaculate. It's gorgeous. You wish you lived there.
I want to quit. I do. I'm maxed out at Level 47, as high as Electronic Arts will allow me to go, and have all the current characters and buildings you can own through normal gameplay. But I don't have it all. And I'll never have it all. That's what makes this a "freemium" game and not a "free" game. (Also why Apple needed to subtly change the App Store recently.)
Getting the premium items requires a special kind of currency, which can only be attained through either time or money. In the case of “The Simpsons: Tapped Out,” donuts are your “premium” currency, which you can collect by leveling up, or simply when the Electronic Arts developers feel charitable. I've saved — no, hoarded — donuts for years, but my 458 donuts will only get me two or three quality items. I’m not kidding: I can’t even afford all four of these characters.
And there’s the rub: Even after spending three years collecting donuts, I would still have to spend money to achieve “100% completion.” But in mobile games like “The Simpsons: Tapped Out,” 100% completion doesn’t even exist; EA regularly adds new characters and premium items each month. If you truly want to own everything, you’ll need to shell out money regularly. The idea that you can get all the items through time and patience is just a red herring. The freemium model has gained momentum on mobile, thanks to early popular games like “Angry Birds,” but now it’s spreading elsewhere. While watching a review of “LittleBigPlanet 3,” a new game for the PlayStation 4, I learned that in order to collect some really fun costumes for your characters, you need to spend money in addition to the $60-plus you’ve already spent on the game.
These gaming companies are smart to implement freemium into their titles: The game teases you with its best rewards, which can only be attained by a spending an inordinate amount of time in the game — each day, and consistently over time — or by spending money. And there are plenty of people who will spend thousands of dollars to progress through their favorite games, just ask the lead singer of the Sex Pistols. So freemium works out great for these gaming companies. But for the consumer, it’s downright cruel. And yet, I can’t stop playing. SEE ALSO: How Flip Phones Could Return In A Big Way Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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I have a confession to make: I have an embarrassing addiction to a freemium game.
20 Incredibly Useful Free Apps From Microsoft | ||
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Microsoft makes a whole lot of money selling software. But it also gives a lot of it away for free. Here's a collection of useful free Microsoft apps for all sorts of devices — not just Windows PCs, but also Macs, iPhones, and even Android devices. These apps will help you take photos, share them, give you access to your documents, notes, organize your travel and more. Photosynth lets you create 3D photographsPhotosynth is a tool that lets you create a 3D photograph, known as a synth, which is a collection of overlapped photos. This is available for Windows Phone and iOS, or can be used on the Web. The 3D view allows you to navigate photos in all sorts of ways, whether its a tour of your home or climbing a mountain. ICE (Image Composite Editor) creates panoramic imagesICE (Image Composite Editor) works with Photosynth to create panoramic images. The panorama can be shared with friends and viewed in 3D by uploading it to the Photosynth web site. Or it can be saved a wide variety of image formats, from common formats like JPEG and TIFF to the multi-resolution tiled format used by Silverlight's Deep Zoom and by the HD View and HD View SL panorama viewers. Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red by INicR on Photosynth Xim is a photo-sharing app for mobile Microsoft Xim lets you share up to 50 photos with friends via your Windows Phone, iOS, or Android device. Photos appear synchronously on everyone’s devices even if they don’t have the app. Anyone in "a Xim" can advance the slide show or pan and zoom to see specific photo details. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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This 24 Year Old High School Dropout Is Tackling A Problem Every Startup Hates To Deal With | ||
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That experience led her to do something more serious for her next business. She leased servers out of a few data centers and created a fully managed hosting service for small businesses, which she describes as a “cheaper version of Rackspace.” She had about four part time employees and generated six-figure revenues from it. Although she had sales, Mah struggled to deal with cash flow and her server business eventually closed when she was 14 years old. By then, she was spending 40 hours a week on her business, and school was no longer a priority. Her grades were terrible and she ended up dropping out of high school. “I was so stressed out,” Mah told Business Insider. “I remember thinking I was never going to start my own company and would never go into technology.” But Mah was still smart enough to get into Simon’s Rock, an “early college” designed for students who want to get college education before graduating high school. It took her two years there to realize computer science was the only major she was happy with, and so, at age 17, she applied to UC Berkeley’s computer science program. After another two years, at 19, Mah graduated from UC Berkeley’s CS program. Her time at Berkeley also brought back something she had been missing for a few years: her entrepreneurial drive. From her past experience running small businesses, Mah knew how the current accounting software were outdated. She knew accounting was an area ripe for innovation, but none of her fellow computer scientists were interested in the space because most of them had never dealt with it before. So by graduation, she created an accounting software called Indinero with her friend. “I wished there was some service like the ‘Google of accounting for small businesses,’” Mah says. And the day after graduation, with a prototype, she headed down to Mountain View to join Y Combinator’s summer program. After 3 months, Mah raised $1.2 million for the seed round of Indinero. She was only 20 years old. Indinero is a software that provides accounting, tax filing, and payroll management all under one service. It basically takes care of all the back office work by automatically importing data from the business owner’s financial accounts. It also has full-time professional accountants and tax specialists manually reviewing financial statements to make sure all the books are in order. “We just make it a lot more cost-effective and affordable because you have all these software layers doing so much of the work,” Mah says. Indinero has been growing quite fast and now has 75 employees. It’s raised $8 million from angel investors, including 500 Startups’ Dave McClure, Yelp’s Jeremy Stoppelman, and Khosla Venture’s Keith Robois. Mah says over 500 companies use Indinero, including small businesses and bigger ones like some PR firms and law firms. Despite all this success, Mah, now 24, says running a company has been a big challenge for her. “It’s my first company that’s doing millions in revenues, my first company that has full-time employees and a full office…So it’s been pretty difficult,” Mah says. But she still thinks it’s all worth the struggle. “It’s challenging at times. But it’s an incredibly rewarding job.” Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Jessica Mah, the founder and CEO of Indinero, was only 11 years old when she started her first business. Having learned how to code in fifth grade, Mah built websites for people and got paid a few thousand dollars a month. Check Out The Cast of Star Wars VII During A Script Read-Through... | ||
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The first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens is about to be released. Those of you fearing that you will have to go to a movie theater to see it will be relieved to hear that it will also be released online. In the meantime, from TV Secrets (follow here), here's a fun picture of some of the cast during a script read-through. Note the cameo by R2D2 in the upper right. The actor who plays him was apparently unavailable. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Here Are Some Of The Crazy Things Best Buy Does To Prepare For Black Friday | ||
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Black Friday no longer waits until Friday. This year, a handful of stores kick off their holiday sales on Thursday evening, including Best Buy, which will gets started at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. But the prep starts far before that. On Saturday morning, Best Buy employees all around the country gathered before the store officially opened for a "dress rehearsal" for the big day, according to a fun profile of a store in Alexandria, Virginia, by The Washington Post's Sarah Halzack. "If you do a Black Friday at Best Buy, believe me, you can do anything," the store's manager told employees that morning. The piece is packed with fun details, but here are some of the craziest ways Best Buy prepares for and handles Black Friday:
Read more about the crazy process in The Washington Post. SEE ALSO: Amazon Fires Back At An Ex-Employee Who Is Planning A Hunger Strike Outside Its Seattle Headquarters Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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How Samsung Executive David Eun Changed His Life After Surviving A Plane Crash Last Year | ||
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Samsung mobile ad executive David Eun shares the three ways he changed his life after surviving the crash landing of the Asiana Airlines 777 at San Francisco airport last year. We interviewed Eun at last year's IGNITION conference. Produced by Kamelia Angelova, Alana Kakoyiannis, and Justin Gmoser. Originally published in November 2013. Follow BI Video: On Facebook Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Meet Plague, A Social Networking App That Spreads Information Like A Virus | ||
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Plague is a new social networking app with a fun twist that could just work. Plague is all about discovering "viral" content, but the way you discover the next viral video or hilarious photo is what's unique. Instead of seeing posts from people you follow or whatever is trending, a post on Plague is designed to spread much like a virus in real life. Whenever a user submits a funny picture or video, it gets sent to the four Plague users closest to that person, who can either pass it along to the four closest Plague users nearby, or strike it down and stop the spread.
It's a fun concept, and it means that every Plague users has a chance to see their post gain traction. It doesn't matter how many followers you have (since there aren't any), so it all comes down to the quality of the content.
You can see how many people have passed along a post along with any comments, but the app only keeps track of the original poster, the rest of the time you can just anonymously flip through nearby posts and either swipe upwards to pass it along or downwards to stop the spread. In an age where all social media sites seem to be converging into a Facebook and Twitter hybrid, Plague sets itself apart with a twist that's both fun and levels of the playing field, which should encourage more posting rather than lurking. To try Plague out for yourself, you can download it for free over at the App Store. SEE ALSO: 17 iPhone-Only Apps That Will Make Your Android Friends Jealous Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Sainsbury's Is Doing Black Friday For The First Time And Its Deals Look Insane | ||
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Sainsbury's is taking part in the "Black Friday sales craze" for the first time this year. On Thursday the company released a sneak peek of its best deals — and they're exciting. The event will take place in 485 of its stores and Sainsbury's is operating a typical "when it's gone, it's gone" policy. The retailer says there'll be 13 product lines discounted, including TVs, tablets, and kitchen electricals. Apparently, Nectar customers get exclusive information about offers. Here's Sainsbury's list as of Thursday afternoon:
Although early days, the discounts appear to top most other retailers' this year — and could spark mad rushes around Sainsbury's shops. Also, at its 24-hour branches, the food giant is opening its doors at 1am on Friday, so it's not just online that people will be up in the early hours. The company also says customers will only be able to get one of each product, cannot reserve or hold back items, and opening hours won't be extended in its shops. Its Black Friday sales go on for three days. Roger Burnley, Director of Retail and Operations at Sainsbury’s, says "it’s a competitive market, so it felt right to be part of the mix this year and kick off the busiest trading time of the year with a popular sales event." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Facebook's Privacy Policy Is Changing And You're Going To Get A Long Email About It (FB) | ||
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Facebook is sending users a lengthy email detailing changes to its privacy policy that'll start on January 1, 2015. Here's the quick version: Facebook is launching a tool called Privacy Basics that'll show users who can see what they share. A longstanding problem with Facebook is that it's not always clear who can see the photos, updates, links, etc. you post. The Privacy Basics tool walks you through that and gives you other tips like how to remove your name when someone tags you in a photo. Here's one example from the Privacy Basics tutorial:
Facebook will also give you better control over the types of ads you see. Before, if you opted out of a certain type of ad on the desktop version of Facebook, there was a chance you'd still see it on the smartphone or tablet version. Facebook will now save those settings across all versions. You can get more details about that here. Here's the full email Facebook is sending to users: We wanted to let you know we're updating our terms and policies on January 1, 2015 and introducing Privacy Basics. You can check out the details below or on Facebook. Over the past year, we’ve introduced new features and controls to help you get more out of Facebook, and listened to people who have asked us to better explain how we get and use information. Now, with Privacy Basics, you'll get tips and a how-to guide for taking charge of your experience on Facebook. We're also updating our terms, data policy and cookies policy to reflect new features we've been working on and to make them easy to understand. And we're continuing to improve ads based on the apps and sites you use off Facebook and expanding your control over the ads you see. We hope these updates improve your experience. Protecting people's information and providing meaningful privacy controls are at the core of everything we do, and we believe today's announcement is an important step. Sincerely, Privacy Basics Along with our privacy checkup, reminder for people posting publicly and simplified audience selectors, Privacy Basics is the latest step we've taken to help you make sure you're sharing with the people you want. Helping you get more out of Facebook
Giving you more control over ads That's why Facebook respects the choices you make about the ads you see, across every device. You can opt out of seeing ads on Facebook based on the apps and sites you use through the Digital Advertising Alliance. You can also opt out using controls on iOS and Android. When you tell us you don't want to see these types of ads, your decision automatically applies to every device you use to access Facebook. Also, we're now making ad preferences available in additional countries, beginning with Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland and the UK. These updates take effect on January 1, 2015. As always, we welcome your feedback about our policies. SEE ALSO: Facebook hired the "father of statistical learning theory" Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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This Map Shows What People Are Most Thankful For In Every State | ||
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Over the last few months, you may have seen your friends on Facebook posting lists of things for which they are thankful or grateful. You may have even participated. The analytics team at Facebook recently looked at those posts to see what people around the US are most thankful for. They came up with some pretty interesting trends and fascinating maps showing the most distinctive topics by state. One note: Facebook found that over 90% of the people who participated in this challenge were women. Overall, "friends" were the thing for which people around the US were most thankful, followed by family, health, "family and friends," and their jobs. Broken down by the most distinctive things for which people are thankful by state, things get a little more interesting. Weather was popular in the southwest and midwest. People from both Maine and Florida were thankful they lived in close proximity to the beach. Google, YouTube, Netflix, and Pinterest all popped up on the coasts. Facebook itself doesn't appear on the map, though the data analysts note, "Facebook was mentioned more often than any other form of social media and uniformly enough to not show up on the map for any particular state." The analysts also looked at the things people are most thankful for by age: The analysts note, "Wee see some trends that you would expect: friends are always one of the most important things people are thankful for, 'husband' doesn't enter the charts until the early twenties, opportunities start decreasing after early thirties, and health is more important later." You can see more about the trends and read about the methodology here. SEE ALSO: The Best Food You Can Eat In Every State Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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RANKED: The Best Tablets In The World | ||
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If you're shopping for a new tablet, there are tons of options to choose from. Whether your preference is iOS, Android, or Windows, today's tablets come in all sizes and cater to specific interests. Some tablets with large screens, for instance, can act as a temporary laptop replacement when paired with a keyboard, while others are small enough to toss in your purse. There are also tablets out there that fall in between these two sizes so that they're large enough to watch movies comfortably, but small enough to carry around. Here's a look at the best tablets you can buy today. #10 Nvidia Shield Tablet Nvidia's Shield Tablet is relatively cheap and great for gaming. It runs on Nvidia's new K1 chip, which is designed to run graphics-intensive games. There's also a stylus tucked neatly inside that lets you doodle and take notes on the tablet's screen. If you're a gamer and you already own a desktop computer with Nvidia's hardware, you can stream games back and forth between the tablet and your TV. Price: $300 #9 Microsoft Surface Pro 3 With its Surface Pro 3, Microsoft claims it's crammed all the computing power of a laptop into a super slim tablet. It runs Windows 8.1 and comes with a gorgeous 12-inch screen, and also includes its own stylus. The Surface Pro 3 is an excellent choice if you primarily use Windows for work, use Office a lot, and want something that's super-portable. Bear in mind, however, that it's still far from being a full laptop replacement. You need to pay an extra $130 to buy Microsoft's accompanying keyboard cover, and even then you can't comfortably use it in your lap. Check out our review of the Surface Pro 3>> Price: Starts at $799 #8 Google Nexus 7 (2013) Google's Nexus 7 may be over a year old, but it's still an excellent choice if you want a cheap, slim Android tablet with a great screen. The battery life is decent too, as we found it lasted for about seven hours during our testing. That's not quite as long as Google initially promised, but it's long enough to satisfy most. Check out our review of the Nexus 7>> Price: $200 See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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The Impossible Choice That Had Elon Musk On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown | ||
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Elon Musk almost suffered a major meltdown when both of his adventurous companies — Tesla and SpaceX — were about to fail at the same time in late 2008. Watch an excerpt from our interview with Musk at IGNITION 2013 about the impossible choice he was faced with. Produced by Kamelia Angelova, Alana Kakoyiannis, and Justin Gmoser. Originally published in November 2013 Follow BI Video: On Facebook Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Computers Are Writing Novels: Read A Few Samples Here | ||
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Computers are writing novels — and getting better at it. It probably won't help your "robots are stealing our jobs" fear. And it casts doubt on the idea that creative professions are safer than the administrative or processing professions. (Don't tell Elon Musk.) Right now, in a play on a human literary contest, around a hundred people are writing computer programs that will write texts for them, the Verge says. It's a response to November's National Novel Writing Month, an annual challenge that gets people to finish a 50,000-word book on a deadline. The Verge explains the futuristic version was started by developer and artist Darius Kazemi, who encouraged creations made entirely by code. These computerised novels are becoming more sophisticated. A computer writes "True Love".One of the first computer-generated works of fiction was printed in 2008. The St. Petersburg Times reported at the time that "True Love", published by the Russia's SPb publishing company, was the work of a computer program and a team of IT specialists. The paper says the 320-page novel is a variation of Leo Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina", but worded in the style of a Japanese author called Haruki Murakami. It hit Russian bookstores in the same year. Here is an extract: “Kitty couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. Her nerves were strained as two tight strings, and even a glass of hot wine, that Vronsky made her drink, did not help her. Lying in bed she kept going over and over that monstrous scene at the meadow.” Two years ago the BBC noted that Professor Philip Parker at the Insead Business School created software capable of generating more than 200,000 books. They cover topics like the amount of fat in fromage frais; there's even a Romanian crossword guide. But the research, ultimately, was designed to help the publishing process and looks at the likes of corrections and composition. The books simply compile existing information and create new predictions using formulas. Still, they led to Professor Parker experimenting with software that might one day actually automate fiction. The question is: will these AI books fool humans?Alan Turing, currently a hot topic due to the new Benedict Cumberbatch film of his life, asked in 1950, "can machines think?" It's his test that is the real basis for determining whether AI has reached new bounds — the point where computers might actually take over. He looked at literature specifically. Turing's literary test for computer generated fiction is this:
In a study into the process, the BBC pitched a computerised poem against one penned by poet Luke Write:
It's likely you can tell which was constructed by a machine (the top one). But it's not completely obvious, which is a bit scary. As Future Perfect Publishing remarks though, neither of Turing's have yet been wholly passed. It points out that, while AI is evolving, it's not quite ready to perform "linguistic processing capability"; definitely not without human coding and drawing on established text to mash text together into new algorithms or sequences. The other and the clay sighed for something of red."However, when you read something like "Irritant" by Darby Larson, it highlights the fact that things are moving forward. Larson's project, reports Vice, "takes the utilisation of computer-generated speech to the next level." It consists of a 624-page paragraph and is made of sentences that "morph and mangle" together. While it's not yet a fully-formed piece of fiction, it edges closer to the necessary creative aspect of producing an interesting work of literary art. Here's an extract: “The man in front of the truck trampled from front to back safe from the blue. And all this while the man scooped shovels of dirt and trampled from front to back front to back. The other and the clay sighed for something of red. The irritant lay in something of red and laughed.” The "breakout" computer novel of 2013.Indeed, 2013 was a big year for AI novels. The Verge reports Nick Montfort's "World Clock" was "the breakout hit of last year". He's a professor of digital media at MIT, and used lines of a code to arrange characters, locations, and actions to construct his work. It was printed by Havard Books. Here's the opening from Montfort's website preview:
It's not bad, but it's unlikely anyone would go out and buy the book for literary appreciation over curiosity. We'll check out 2014's AI novels when they're released. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Google Only Has Itself To Blame If Europe Succeeds In Breaking Up The Company (GOOG) | ||
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If Google gets broken up because it's a monopoly, it will be mostly Google's fault. Today, the European Union took the first step in that extraordinary process: EU parliament members voted in favour of breaking up Google in order to end its monopoly in search. In Europe, 90% of search results come from Google. To be clear: We are a long, long way from actually seeing any part of Google hived off into a competing entity. It probably won't happen. But the fact that regulatory bodies here are even considering it tells you just how many enemies Google has made over the years, and how obvious its monopoly is. Google is more dominant in Europe than in the US, even though it is an American company with a towering stateside presence. Everyone admits that Google is a de facto monopoly. Peter Thiel, the libertarian tech investor, has said so. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer thinks Google is a monopoly. Yelp has lobbied the EU, arguing the same. The US FTC has investigated Google for monopoly practices, although it has concluded no significant antitrust action needs be taken. Even Google chairman Eric Schmidt has admitted "we're in that area." Schmidt and Page once declined to testify to Congress on the topic of their monopoly status. The fact that it monopolises search is not in itself a bad thing. Merely being a monopoly is not a transgression, even in Europe. (It's often a sign of natural success.) Rather, EU antitrust law applies when companies abuse their monopoly to manipulate markets around them unfairly. On that measure, Google has more than qualified for scrutiny over the way it distorts markets that have nothing to do with search.
Yelp's evidence was elegant and simple: It used Google's own search API to create a browser extension that displayed Google search results without results that include promo boxes generated from Google+, the unpopular identity/social network product that Google launched to counter Facebook. The extension shows you the "real" result generated by Google's algorithm, without the self-promotional fluff that Google layers on top of it.
You should take this argument with a punch of salt: Yelp is an avowed enemy of Google. Yet ... it's compelling. Yelp is not alone. Dozens of companies believe Google uses its search might to dictate terms in industries that Google itself does not compete in. Expedia, TripAdvisor, Microsoft and a bunch of smaller companies have complained that Google sets competition rules within their industries. Even adultery website AshleyMadison has a case: It cannot advertise on certain Google properties, but Match.com can. Google doesn't run dating sites, but it sets the rules through which they can advertise against each other. Over the years, all these complainers have piled up into a veritable tidal wave of discontent against Google. The company, because it is so successful and so dominant, has created an army of enemies that want to see it brought down. In Europe, they're making progress. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The best evidence for that came from Yelp and a coalition of companies it has formed who believe they are being screwed out of their natural, "organic" ranking in search results because Google simply dumps its own — often unhelpful — content on top of the "real" search ranking of which sites are best.
The difference is alarming. Hotel review sites like Tripadvisor — which have hundreds of reader reviews per hotel, and are thus good quality search results if you're looking for hotels — get buried under Google's own Google+ review boxes, in which only a handful of people have written reviews. It's difficult to argue that Google is serving the "best" hotel results if its own algorithm is being crammed down under auto-generated promo boxes for Google's own properties. South Korea Just Banned Unregulated Selfie Sticks | ||
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The South Korean government has launched a "crackdown" on selfie sticks, the telescopic poles that people have started using to take selfies. AFP reports that anybody found selling a selfie stick could face three years in prison or a $27,000 fine. The new punishments have come about because the government has declared selfie sticks "communication equipment," meaning that they have to be tested and certified. Selfie sticks usually work using bluetooth to trigger the shutter and take a photo, which means they fall under the more regulated category. A South Korean government official told AFP that "It's not going to affect anything in any meaningful way, but it is nonetheless a telecommunication device subject to regulation, and that means we are obligated to crack down on un-certified ones." Some selfie stick sellers, realising that the products they sell are not certified, have been dumping their stock. "Some of the bigger sellers had to get rid of some of their stock which hadn't been registered," a stick vendor said. "They're not that profitable really. There're so many around now that you have to sell them cheap." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The Surprising Facts About Who Shops Online And On Mobile | ||
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But who are these shoppers driving the trend of buying online and on mobile devices? It's important for retailers to know who their potential customers are online in order to market to them effectively. Here are some of the most important takeaways about who shops online:
Access The Full Report by Signing Up For A Free Trial Today >> In full, the report:
For full access to all BI Intelligence's reports, charts, and newsletters covering the e-commerce industry, sign up and get started. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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In the first quarter of 2014, 198 million U.S. consumers bought something online, according to Here Are All Of Apple's Black Friday Deals | ||
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Click here to read the story >> Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The Best Black Friday Deals In Tech | ||
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10 Things You Need To Know Before European Markets Open | ||
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Good morning! Here are the major stories you need to know about this morning, ahead of markets opening in London and Paris. Japanese Inflation Fell Below 1%. Excluding the effect of the sales tax hike, and volatile fresh food prices, Japanese inflation is now at its lowest level in more than a year, prompting concerns about the country's huge monetary stimulus. Oil Crumbled After OPEC Refused To Agree An Output Cut. Brent crude settled below $73 per barrel after the announcement, the lowest in nearly four and a half years. A Lawsuit Claims That Goldman Sachs, HSBC, And Others Rigged Metals Prices. Banks Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Standard Bank and a unit of chemical producer BASF conspired to manipulate platinum and palladium prices, according to a US lawsuit filed this week. China Wasted $6.8 Trillion (£4.3 Trillion) Of Investment. The explosive construction market and a host of other projects wasted trillions of dollars of investment in China detailed by a new report, according to the Financial Times. Russia Thinks Oil Could Drop Below $60 Per Barrel. Russia's most powerful oil official Igor Sechin said in an interview with an Austrian newspaper that oil prices could fall below $60 by mid-way through next year. Sechin is chief executive of Rosneft, Russia's largest oil producer. German Retail Sales Jumped In October. Retailers recorded a 1.9% increase in sales from September, to October, a better than expected start to a seasonal splurge. Analysts were looking for a 1.5% rise. European Inflation Figures Are Coming. At 10 a.m. GMT, European inflation figures are out. Analysts are expecting a 0.3% reading, but there's a chance the figure could drop to just 0.2%, a five-year low. Mexico's President Is Effectively Disbanding Local Police Forces. After the murder of 43 students by a drug gang, allegedly with the co-operation of local police, Enrique Pena Nieto is proposing a totally unified Mexican police force. Iraq Says Its Military Is Too Corrupt. Iraq's finance minister called for deep-rooted reforms to stamp out corruption in a military that collapsed in the face of an Islamic State advance, as he prepares to spend nearly a quarter of the 2015 budget on defence. Asian Markets Are Up. Despite the inflation data, Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.23%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng is currently up 0.15%. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The 10 Most Important Things In The World This Morning | ||
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Good morning! Here is what you need to know before your first meeting of the day. 1. The European Parliament voted to break up Google because it is too monopolistic. Don't worry, it will probably never happen. Google has, however, leveraged its dominance to distort non-search markets in the past, so you can see why this vote happened. 2. Inflation numbers for Europe are due out today. We're expecting a new low of less than 1%. The eurozone is flirting with deflation, the nightmare scenario we told you about recently. 3. Japan's bond yields went negative as the BoJ fights deflation. The central bank is purchasing assets in order to ease Japan out of recession. Reuters says: "The two-year JGBs traded at the yield of minus 0.005 percent JP2YTN=JBTC. Negative yield is an unusual, but not uncommon occurrence - record-low interest rates in Europe, for instance, have flipped bond investing on its head with Germany and Switzerland seeing negative yields." Japan's recovery is at risk as inflation came in at a new low. 4. OPEC declined to cut oil production and the price of oil remains in freefall, we told you yesterday. The Saudis are beggaring everyone in their war for share of the US oil market. Non-oil producing countries are jumping for joy, of course, as everything is getting cheaper. 5. Today is Black Friday. You will go shopping. The US phenom is going global. Here are all the UK's best Black Friday deals. Here are Apple's. But the big shocker is Sainsbury's, which is slashing prices on a range of electronics to new eye-popping lows. 6. Outbrain is filing for an IPO. The Israeli adtech startup automates content recommendation on web sites. The company is looking to raise $70-$100 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. 7. Romanians became Britain's biggest new group of immigrants and Prime Minister David Cameron wants to restrict their benefits. Immigrants are streaming into the UK because its economy is still growing, unlike those of Southern Europe. Cameron would prevent new immigrants from receiving benefits for four years after their arrival, the BBC reports. 8. Egypt is expecting a wave of Muslim unrest. Bloomberg reports: "With security forces in the midst of an offensive against Islamist militants in the Sinai peninsula, an ultraconservative group known as the Salafi Front has called for a “Muslim youth uprising” after dawn prayers tomorrow. The government today began deploying units in riot gear and backed by armored vehicles, according to photos and video clips released by the military spokesman and Interior Ministry." 9. The Bank of England will raise interest rates next summer, economists predict. BofE governor Mark Carney has been threatening this for a while. (We'll believe it when we see it — some parts of Europe are still in recession/deflation, dragging on the UK economy.) 10. Uber is driving down the cost of taxi medallions in New York. The evidence is anecdotal but it would appear that the taxi app is having its intended effect of devaluing local taxi monopoly/licensing cartels. Read more in The New York Times. And finally ... A trailer for the new Star Wars film will be shown in some cinemas this weekend. People are going to be lining up to see it. It's Disney's first chapter in the franchise. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Japan's Stimulus Looks Shaky As Inflation Drops Below 1% For The First Time In A Year | ||
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A big bundle of data on the Japanese economy came out Friday, with November's inflation figure putting the Bank of Japan (BoJ) further away from its new 2% target. Stripping out the most volatile parts of the index, like food prices and the effect of April's sales tax hike, inflation fell to 0.9%, as analysts expected. That's the first time it's been below 1% for more than a year, after BoJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda's gargantuan new QE programme. Without stripping out the effects, Japanese inflation is still at 2.9%, but the effect of the tax hike will drop off sharply in April, a year after it was brought in. Japanese two-year bonds traded with negative yields in the aftermath of the news, a first for the country. That indicates that investors are expecting very little inflation or growth, so they're willing to accept a small real-terms loss on their investment. A bundle of other economic news was slightly more positive for Japan: overall household spending dropped by 4% in the year to October, less than analysts expected. The unemployment rate also fell to 3.5%, a 16-year low. Industrial production rose 0.2% month-on-month in October, and retail sales are up 1.4% from the same month last year, both of which were better than economists expected. Overall it's bad news for prime minister Shinzo Abe, who called a snap election to justifying stalling the second round of a sales tax increase which is blamed for halting the economy. With oil prices still putting downward pressure on inflation, it also suggests we could see a second round of Kuroda's unexpected acceleration of QE if inflation falls any further. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Lacklustre Japan data paints gloomy picture for Abenomics | ||
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Tokyo (AFP) - Japan released a string of lacklustre economic data Friday with inflation hitting its lowest level for more than a year, dealing another blow to Tokyo's attempts to conquer years of falling prices and tepid growth. The figures come after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called a snap election and delayed a sales tax hike set for next year after a previous levy increase hammered spending and pushed the world's number three economy into recession. Japanese consumer inflation came in at 2.9 percent in October compared with a year earlier, official data showed, matching market forecasts but slowing from 3.0 percent in September. Prices mainly rose largely because Tokyo raised the sales tax from 5.0 percent to 8.0 percent on April 1. Adjusted for the hike, nationwide core inflation rate came in at 0.9 percent, against 1.0 percent in the previous month and its lowest level since October 2013. The weak reading makes the Bank of Japan's 2.0 percent inflation target -- which it initially aimed to hit in 2015 -- look increasingly out of reach. The BoJ shocked markets last month by saying it would expand its asset-buying stimulus programme to about 80 trillion yen ($676 billion) annually, in a bid to overcome deflation and kickstart the economy. "Even despite the BoJ's surprise move, we maintain our view that there is a very long way to go before achieving the +2.0 percent target," Credit Agricole said. Also Friday, figures showed factory production in October edged up a better-than-expected 0.2 percent on-month, the second straight increase, as exports improved. "It is a positive set of data that hints at hopes for future recovery in production," SMBC Nikko Securities said in a note.
- Mixed picture -
Separate figures showed the country's unemployment rate slipped to 3.5 percent from 3.6 percent, while retail sales rose 1.4 percent in October. However, household spending fell 4.0 percent on-year, the seventh successive decline. "Although real GDP growth continued to be negative into July-September and Japan was in technical recession, demand for labour among firms is still robust likely thanks to the waning impact of (the) consumption tax hike," said Marcel Thieliant from Capital Economics. But "despite the tight labour market, inflation continues to moderate... Price pressure should moderate further in the near-term, as the recent plunge in crude oil prices has yet to be reflected in the cost of energy imports," he added. April's tax rise -- designed to help pay down one of the world's largest public debt mountains -- delivered a body blow to Abe's efforts to rev up growth, just as the long-laggard economy appeared to be turning a corner. In response, Abe put off another hike due in late 2015 and called a snap election for next month that he described as a referendum on his policies, although observers said it was a strategic move to fend off party rivals ahead of a leadership vote next year. Abe's growth blitz -- dubbed Abenomics -- launched in 2012 calls for big government spending as well as massive monetary easing and an overhaul of the highly regulated economy. The cornerstone is the BoJ's inflation target, which aimed to reverse years of falling prices that gave consumers an incentive to hold off spending in the knowledge that goods would be cheaper in the future. That created a deflationary spiral that held back wage growth and new hiring as firms capped expansion plans. Preliminary GDP data this month showed Japan's economy shrank 0.4 percent, or at an annualised rate of 1.6 percent, in the July-September quarter. That was well below market expectations for a 0.5 percent expansion, and followed a 1.9 percent contraction in the April-June quarter -- or 7.3 percent at an annualised rate. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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China activists stand trial in dissent crackdown: lawyer | ||
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Beijing (AFP) - Two prominent Chinese political activists went on trial Friday for helping to organise small-scale protests against censorship, their lawyer said, the latest prosecution in a deepening government crackdown on dissent. Guo Feixong and Sun Desheng both face possible five year prison sentences for their attempts to raise awareness of human rights, their lawyer Li Jinxing told AFP. The pair are the latest in a wave of human rights activists, lawyers, academics and journalists to be jailed or detained in what has been seen as China's biggest campaign against government critics in years. Both are writers best known by their pseudonyms and at a court in the southern city of Guangzhou, Guo, whose real name is Yang Maodong, and Sun, whose real name is Sun Sihuo denied "gathering a crowd to disturb public order", a charge often used to jail protesters. China's courts are controlled by the Communist party and have a near-100 percent conviction rate, so that the two are almost certain to be found guilty. Prosecutors said that the activists' support for protests against censorship at a liberal southern Chinese newspaper last year make them eligible for the maximum sentence, Li said. "Guo wanted to push forward the progress of society peacefully and rationally, but despite that, the authorities could not accept this," Li said. "This is a problem for all Chinese people." Prosecution documents also mentioned an "advocacy tour" last year which saw activists travelling across China to promote awareness of human rights, the US-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) said. Four other activists involved in the tour have also been detained, CHRD said, in what it called a "major crackdown" under President Xi Jinping. The prosecution shows that "the government under Xi's leadership has no intention to loosen its control on the legal system as its weapon to silence and punish human rights and democracy advocates", CHRD researcher Renee Xia said in a statement. Guo, a legal consultant based in Guangzhou, is well known for helping residents of a southern Chinese village organise in 2006 against a local Communist party boss who they accused of illegally selling their land to enrich himself. He was involved in protests which saw around 100 people gather outside the offices of the Southern Weekly newspaper in January last year after one of its editorials was brazenly censored. China has this year used the same charge faced by Guo and Sun to jail around a dozen activists who held small-scale protests calling for officials to disclose their financial assets as a measure against corruption. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Youngster who bowled fatal Hughes ball 'broken' | ||
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Sydney (AFP) - A "broken" Sean Abbott faced rebuilding his life Friday after delivering the ball that killed Australian batsman Phillip Hughes, although Cricket Australia said the young bowler was holding up well given the circumstances. The 22-year-old was doing what he always does for his state New South Wales, bowling fast, when Hughes misjudged a pull shot at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday and collapsed to the ground unconscious after being hit on the base of the skull. He never recovered and died on Thursday after massive bleeding to the brain. Test veteran Jason Gillespie said Abbott's personal and professional life had been turned upside down by the unprecedented tragedy. "That lad is absolutely shaken and broken at the moment," he told Fox Sports, while former Australian captain Mark Taylor said he would be haunted by the incident. "He's got no questions to answer but I'm sure he'll be feeling some guilt today and probably will be for a long time," he said. "I really hope Sean can get over it and we one day see Sean back playing for NSW and maybe Australia." Up-and-coming bowler Abbott, who made his one-day and Twenty20 debut for Australia in October, was seen cradling the injured player immediately after the incident.
- 'In our thoughts and prayers' -
Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland spoke with him on Thursday evening and said he was impressed with the way he was handling the situation, adding "this is a grieving process that will affect people in different ways". "I think it's been fantastic the way in which people have shown concern for Sean," he said. "What we will do and the relevant experts will do will be to provide Sean with all of the support he needs to work through this. "But right now I can say that he is holding up very well and I'm incredibly impressed with him." Despite this, Pakistan great Waqar Younis questioned whether Abbott, who has made no comment, would be able to continue in cricket. "How will he continue?" Waqar, one of the outstanding fast bowlers of his generation and now Pakistan's coach, told AFP. "He needs counselling, which I am sure must have started, and needs to stay calm." Abbott visited Hughes in Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital and has been getting support from cricketing officials and his teammates. Reports said Australian captain Michael Clarke and Hughes' sister Megan went out of their way to spend a significant amount of time with him this week. While the outpouring of grief and sympathy on social media has been for Hughes, there have also been plenty of encouraging words for Abbott. "Spare a thought for Sean Abbott," tweeted England great Ian Botham, while West Indies legend Viv Richards also sent his best wishes: "Deepest sympathy for Phillip's family, friends and associates. Sean Abbott in our thoughts and prayers also." Former Australian Test fast bowler player Stuart Clark spent time with Abbott, who has a naturally quiet temperament, on Thursday night and said he appeared OK with at least three supporters always around him, but it was early days. "I think it will be the hardest for him when it's quiet and there's nothing happening," he told Sky Sports radio. "When he's sitting at home at night before he goes to bed -- that's, I think, when the thoughts will start recurring in his mind." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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US shoppers go in for the kill on 'Black Friday' | ||
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Leesburg (United States) (AFP) - The traditionalists don't like it, but the "Black Friday" shopping frenzy is as much a part of the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States as turkey and pumpkin pie. And it's only Thursday. Americans will spend tens of billions of dollars over the four-day holiday and there was certainly no messing about at Leesburg Corner, a Virginia outlet center only a short drive from the US capital Washington. There was hardly time for the roast turkey and stuffing to settle when most shops opened there on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, for a 28-hour bonanza of breathless consumerism that was to stretch overnight and drag on nonstop until 10:00 pm Friday. Henri Brown, 17, and brother Will, 15, were among the first through the doors on a chilly winter's evening. Henri forked over $130 in the first hour and proclaimed himself happy with his early purchases: two jackets -- a dark blue one he was already wearing -- sunglasses and trousers. "Most places have 50 percent or more off, it's pretty good. I come here most years to get clothes for the winter, but it's not as crazy busy as previous years," he said. - 'Maybe all night' - The four-day Thanksgiving weekend is the kickoff to the US holiday shopping season, and Black Friday has long been considered the critical day that turns retailers' books from red to black. But there has been criticism of those retailers that throw their doors open on Thanksgiving instead of actually waiting for Black Friday. Don't the store workers deserve a day off to spend with their families too? "They don't have to work. I guess they do it for the money. They are not being forced here," said Henri. "And they might enjoy the rush of people." Vera Luo, a 19-year-old from China studying in Washington, came armed with a suitcase she was ready to fill to bursting with new acquisitions that she said would be more expensive in China. She and two friends paid $60 for a taxi from the US capital and they were in it for the long haul. "I have no idea where my friends are or when I will find them," said the economics student, clasping a directory of the more than 100 stores in the complex. "So far I have only bought lens solution, but I have a budget of $500 and I want to buy a bag from Coach. "I don't know how long we will be here. Maybe all night." - Tactical approach - Mamadous Niass, 48, a cyber-security engineer originally from Senegal, declared himself something of an old hand in the art of the post-Thanksgiving splurge. "It's not the cheapest time in the year. After Christmas is cheaper, but I came today because there are more options -- nothing is left after Christmas," he said sagely. He too was through the doors early but was taking a more tactical approach, refusing to jump right into the spending bonanza. "I am well-prepared and have a list of four brands I want -- Columbia, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren -- and I will get," he said firmly. Jeanette, a local who gave her age as "104," was another refusing to get carried away by the discounts of more than 50 percent. She had scouted a Michael Kors purse online before moving in for the kill for just over $100. "I did not want to pay the high price before but it was on a pretty big discount," she said, rubbing her cheeks to stave off the cold. Taking a breather on a bench while her daughter and granddaughter did the running about, Jeanette too said it had been noticeably busier in previous years. "A few years ago it was not like this, but prices have gone up in the last few years," she said, adding with a grin: "But I am not done quite yet." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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North Korea's 'Princess' Moves Closer To Center Of Power | ||
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SEOUL (Reuters) - In her slim-fitting trouser suits and black-heeled shoes, Kim Yo Jong cuts a contrasting figure to her pudgy older brother, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. On Thursday, state media said the younger Kim, 27, had taken a senior position in the ruling Workers' Party, confirming speculation she had moved closer to the center of power in the secretive state.
It named her as a vice director alongside the head of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, which handles ideological messaging through the media, arts and culture. Kim Yo Jong's title supports earlier reports from a North Korean defector group which said she may have taken a high-level role when Kim Jong Un recently disappeared from public view for more than a month, prompting speculation about his grip on power. South Korea's intelligence agency later said Kim, 31, was likely to have had surgery on his left ankle. Kim has since reappeared, walking with a limp. Kim Yo Jong's power has been likened to that of a prime minister, an unnamed South Korean intelligence source told the Seoul-based JoongAng Ilbo newspaper in April, even before her brother's injury. "All roads lead to Comrade Yo Jong," the source said. Kim Yo Jong has featured in state propaganda since her brother took over the nuclear-capable country upon the death of their father, Kim Jong Il, in late 2011. In 2012, as state TV showed Kim Jong Un arriving at the opening of an amusement park in Pyongyang, Kim Yo Jong ran from one position to another between ranks of applauding party cadres and generals as if she was orchestrating the event for the new North Korean dictator. Since then, the smartly-dressed Kim, her hair usually pulled back in a ponytail, has made several appearances with her brother, giggling at state concerts, presenting awards to fighter pilots or riding a white horse. Women in patriarchal North Korea rarely become high-ranking officials or military commanders. They do, however, receive military training. They are also vital to North Korea's moribund economy. With many men engaged in state-appointed jobs in factories and bureaucratic departments, it is often women who turn to black market trading to earn the income most families need to survive. But for Kim Yo Jong, it is her family name and proximity to Kim Jong Un that supersedes any cultural norms. "People who are nominally her superiors most likely defer to her," said Michael Madden, an expert on the North Korean leadership.
A NORTH KOREAN PRINCESS When Kim Jong Il ruled North Korea, his sister Kim Kyong Hui took a powerful role as a personal assistant with high-ranking military and party jobs. She has not been seen since her husband, Jang Song Thaek, once regarded as the No.2 leader in Pyongyang, was purged and executed late last year. Writing in his 2003 memoir about his 13 years as Kim Jong Il's sushi chef, Kenji Fujimoto said the late dictator had a trusting relationship with Ko Yong Hui, his fourth partner, with whom he had three children: Kim Jong Un, Kim Yo Jong, and their elder brother Kim Jong Chol. "Ko said she had traveled to Disneyland in Europe and Tokyo with her kids," Fujimoto wrote. Not much is known about the elder Kim, who was once photographed at the Swiss boarding school all three children reportedly attended in a replica of Dennis Rodman's NBA basketball jersey. Even at dinner, Fujimoto said, Kim Jong Il kept his eldest son at arm's length, preferring to place future leader Kim Jong Un and his sister, beside himself and their mother whom he called 'madam'. "Kim Jong Il sits in the middle, and to his left, sits his madam," wrote Fujimoto. "Prince Jong Un sits to the left of the madam, and the princess sits to the right of Kim Jong Il."
(Editing by Dean Yates) Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Australian team grieves with India Test on ice | ||
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Sydney (AFP) - Shattered Australian players comforted each other Friday as they considered how to move forward after the death of Phillip Hughes, with a decision on next week's Test with India on ice. The cricket world was plunged into mourning when the talented left-hander died Thursday after being knocked unconscious by a ball in a domestic Sheffield Shield game in Sydney this week, sparking an outpouring of sympathy and support. The entire Test team was summoned to the Sydney Cricket Ground and emotions were raw. "I suppose the starting point is they are grieving, and they've lost someone that is incredibly close to them," Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland told a media conference. "I think there is enough that we understand about grieving processes to know that it's really important to give people time, and people will respond in different ways to what they're going through. "Six or seven days is not a long time, but right now with where we all are, it seems like a million miles away," he added, referring to the opening Test in Brisbane which is due to start next Thursday. There are growing fears that the game will be called off with the players in no fit state. It remains unclear when Hughes' funeral will take place. Four of those named in the Test squad -- David Warner, Brad Haddin, Shane Watson and Nathan Lyon -- were on the field when Hughes collapsed after being hit at the base of the skull by a Sean Abbott delivery. Captain Michael Clarke was a close friend of the stylish left-hander and was at his bedside almost continuously, supporting the player's family. "I know everyone wants to know about cricket and when it goes on and what's happening," said Sutherland. "We all love cricket and no one loved cricket more than Phillip. Cricket will go on and it will go on when we're ready."
- Extraordinary circumstances -
India's tour game against a Cricket Australia XI due to start in Adelaide on Friday has already been cancelled. Sutherland said the Board of Control for Cricket in India's "understanding and empathy has been absolutely outstanding". "They understand that these are unique and extraordinary circumstances and I guess both teams will have, if a Test match goes ahead, both teams will have a very different preparation," he said. This compares to their reaction when the West Indies last month abandoned a tour of India over an internal pay dispute. India retaliated by cancelling a tour scheduled for February and March 2016 to play three Tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 international. The BCCI, one of the richest bodies in world cricket, also said it would "initiate legal proceedings". Some estimates put the BCCI's losses on that tour at US$65 million. Australian high performance manager Pat Howard said health professionals including team doctor Peter Brukner and John Orchard, who kept Hughes alive before ambulances arrived on Tuesday, were with the players to help them cope. "What we're focused on is today, we've brought the whole team in, the Australian Test team are here, and today is about grieving, about dealing with the questions," he said. "I think in regards to anything that we do, we need to make sure the players are in a position where they can make strong choices and that's not now, it's not this time." Doctors said Hughes died after his vertebral artery split when hit by the ball, leading to massive bleeding in his brain. It was a freak injury with only 100 cases ever reported and only one known incident as a result of a cricket ball. Abbott, 22, was also being supported with the bowler said to be "broken" but holding up well given the circumstances. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Scott bounces back with Australian Open course record | ||
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Sydney (AFP) - Adam Scott bounced back with a course record five-under-par 66 to surge into contention midway through the second round of the Australian Open in Sydney on Friday. The world number three recovered from a shaky three-over 74 in the opening round to be just one shot behind clubhouse leaders American Jordan Spieth and fellow Australian Aron Price. US Masters runner-up Spieth, the overnight leader, fought back with a birdie at the last for a one-over 72 to be three-under overall for the tournament, while Price has an afternoon hit-off. World number one Rory McIlroy, who also had an afternoon tee-off, was well in the mix at his overnight two-under in ideal sunny playing conditions. McIlroy is the defending champion after he overhauled Scott with a birdie at the final hole to win last year's tournament at Royal Sydney in what was his only 2013 tournament success. Scott's round was credited as a course record at the reconfigured par-71 The Australian course, but he didn't expect it to last long. "We'll see how long that lasts," Scott said. "We had a good morning for it so I had to take advantage just for the sake of getting myself back into the tournament. "I guess it's fun to shoot a course record, I'm pretty sure it won't hold up for the rest of the week." Scott, who teed off at the 10th hole, had a much better time than on Thursday with an eagle and three birdies in an unblemished round after three bogeys and a double-bogey in his opening 18 holes. "Yesterday I got off to a bad start and in the wind it was tricky and I didn't scramble when I had to early in the round and it was slipping away from me," Scott said. "Today it didn't start much better, I was scrambling, but I scrambled well, and then all of sudden I made eagle at 14 and momentum is on your side then." Scott's round was highlighted by an eagle putt of three metres off a splendid five-iron approach at the par-five 14th followed by birdies at the 16th and 18th holes. The Australian only had one birdie on his homeward nine, putting off the green at the sixth hole. "It's an incredible different feeling of being two under to two over and about how you feel about the state of your game," Scott said. Veteran Australian Robert Allenby also relished the calm morning conditions with a two-under 69 to be two-under for the tournament. Rod Pampling fired five birdies in his four-under 67 to also be two-under. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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On Turkey trip, Pope to reach out to Islamic world | ||
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Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis heads to Turkey on Friday with a brief to use his populist touch to rebuild bridges with the Islamic world that were damaged by his predecessor Benedict XVI. It will be the first papal visit to Turkey since the now-retired Benedict went there in 2006 against a backrop of anger in much of the Muslim world over comments which appeared to link the Prophet Mohamed to violence. The frenzied atmosphere which dominated the run-up to that trip was followed by Benedict appearing to pray silently alongside the Grand Mufti of Istanbul in the city's celebrated Blue Mosque in what was seen as a gesure of reconciliation. The pope's spokesman, Federico Lombardi, said Francis may make a similar gesture of respect. "Obviously one can't speak of a formal prayer on the part of a Christian in the Mosque," Lombardi said. "The holy father will show his respect and spiritual contemplation but it will be without expressing outwardly with words or anything else that he is of another religion. That seems to be to be only normal good sense." The three-day trip to the 99 percent Muslim but officially secular state is also intended to bolster relations between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, whose spiritual leader is Bartholomew, the Patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul), at a time when the conflict between Ukraine and Russia has created the potential for tensions between the branches of Christianity. - No meeting with refugees - The pontiff will meet with members of Turkey's tiny Catholic community but no time has been specifically allocated for him to meet Christian refugees who have fled Islamic militancy in Iraq and Syria. Given the pope's well-established interest in the fate of refugees around the world, this state of affairs has raised eyebrows and suspicions that Turkey did not want any events which might highlight the persecution of Christians in the region, an issue of growing concern for the Church. Such concerns have been played down by the Vatican with the papal spokesman arguing that any Catholics wishing to meet the pope were likely to be at a reception he is due to hold on Sunday at the residence of his representative in Istanbul. On the religious front, the pope will attend services marking St Andrew's day on Sunday. Andrew, an apostle of Jesus Christ, is regarded as the founder of the Eastern church. - Ultra-tight security - As for Benedict's visit exactly eight years ago, security is expected to be extremely tight. There has been no suggestion of the 77-year-old Argentian pope doing any walkabouts and his pope-mobile has been left behind in Rome. The first leg of the trip is to be in the Turkish capital, Ankara. He arrives there on Friday lunchtime and heads straight for a courtesy visit to the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Kemal Ataturk before being received by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his controversially extravagant new palace. The main business of the trip will take place in Istanbul from Saturday, when Francis will visit Hagia Sofia, an architectural wonder that was once the jewel in the crown of the Orthodox church, later became a mosque and is now a museum. He will then visit the Blue Mosque and conclude his day with a mass at Istanbul's small Catholic cathedral and an ecumenical prayer with the Patriarch Bartholomew. On Sunday, he will attend but not take part in a Divine Liturgy in the Patriarchal church of St George. The two spiritual leaders are to release a joint declaration before the pope retires to his representative's residence for the meeting with local Catholics prior to flying back to Rome. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Most of world's poorest nations stuck in a structural rut: UN | ||
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Geneva (AFP) - The planet's poorest nations like Ethiopia, Malawi and Angola have failed to cash in on strong economic growth due to a lack of structural reforms and left them wallowing in poverty, the UN warned. In its annual report on the world's least developed countries, or LDCs, the UN Conference on Trade and Development said that booming economic growth in the 48 nations on its list was having only minor impacts on living standards and the fight against widespread poverty. "The LDC paradox arises from the failure of LDC economies to achieve structural changes despite having grown vigorously as a result of strong export prices and rising aid flows", UNCTAD said. The 48 countries, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa, had jointly seen their economies grow 5.6 percent in 2013 -- far above the 1.2-percent growth seen in developed countries. Yet nearly half of the population in LDCs continue to live in extreme poverty, almost 30 percent of people are undernourished and few are in secure employment, the UNCTAD report said. Nearly one third of people in these countries have no access to a clean water source and almost two thirds have no access to sanitation facilities, it said, also pointing out that one in 12 children there die before they turn five. One problem, the report said, was that many LDCs, especially the ones in Africa, are not investing enough in areas that generate secure employment, like manufacturing, technology and modernising the agriculture sector. In fact, the value produced annually by the average worker in the LDCs corresponds to just two percent of the value generated by their equivalent in developed countries, the report found. All LDCs are not equal though. Asian LDCs like Bangladesh and Cambodia, whose economies are dominated by manufacturing, had seen labour productivity swell 3.2 percent annually since the early 1990s, the report found. That is double the pace of African LDCs, whose economies are more dominated by oil, gas and metal mining, it said. Of the 48 countries on the LDC list, only one, Laos, appeared to be on track to achieve all seven Millenium Development Goals, which among other things called for halving poverty and extreme hunger by 2015. On average, the LDCs had reduced the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day from 65 percent of their populations in 1990 to 45 percent in 2010. Asian LDCs did a better job, cutting the rate from 64 to 34 percent over the 20-year-period, compared to African LDCs and Haiti, which only saw a drop from 65 to 51 percent. While it is positive that some progress is being made, UNCTAD warned the slow advances seen so far in most LDC countries made the achievement of the likely and far more ambitious post-2015 goal of eradicating poverty by 2030 difficult to envision. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Argentina charges HSBC with aiding tax evasion | ||
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Buenos Aires (AFP) - Argentina's tax agency has charged British bank HSBC with helping more than 4,000 Argentines to commit tax evasion by stashing money in secret Swiss accounts, officials said. The Argentine tax authority (AFIP) said on Thursday it had searched HSBC offices in Buenos Aires before moving ahead with the charges. "We have filed a charge for tax evasion and illicit association relating to bank accounts in Switzerland," said AFIP director Ricardo Echegaray. He said three agencies associated with HSBC in Argentina were suspected of aiding the tax evasion scheme. AFIP said it had identified 4,040 people who allegedly sent money to overseas accounts, and almost all of the transactions were supervised by HSBC representatives in Argentina, the United States and Switzerland. HSBC said in a statement that it "emphatically rejects (the charges) of participation in any illicit association, including any organization allowing the transfer of capital in order to evade taxes." The charges are the latest woes for the banking giant, after former employee Herve Falciani leaked to French authorities data on thousands of HSBC customers, saying he wanted to expose tax fraud. The leak sent shockwaves through the world of Swiss banking, long valued by wealthy individuals for its stability and traditions of banking secrecy, and led to a French probe into HSBC to determine whether it had also helped French customers avoid taxes. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Obama's Middle East Dilemma Is Now Clear | ||
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The Obama administration's current strategy for defeating the Islamic State (aka ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh) is doomed to fail, International Crisis Group Syria analyst Noah Bonsey writes in Foreign Policy. Bonsey argues that America's Iraq-first outlook is emboldening Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and marginalizing mainstream Syrian rebel factions fighting both ISIS and the regime. Obama recently said that the US is not actively discussing ways to remove Assad from power. The main US-backed rebel group was recently routed by al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate. Meanwhile, ISIS is consolidating power in Sunni Arab areas in Iraq and increasingly trying to capture areas in Syria from the mainstream rebels. The US continues to bomb ISIS positions near the Turkish border. "The crux of the American dilemma in Syria is thus clear: Degrading jihadi groups requires empowering mainstream Sunni alternatives, but doing so may prove impossible unless Damascus (or its backers in Tehran) can be convinced or compelled to dramatically shift strategy," Bonsey writes, noting that Assad facilitated the rise of ISIS. "For now, the regime treats the Western-, Arab-, and Turkish-backed opposition as the main threat to its dominance in Syria and treats the Islamic State as a secondary concern that the United States is already helping to deal with. Iran has done nothing to suggest that it objects to the regime's strategy; instead, it is enabling it."
Anne Barnard of The New York Times reports there is a broad sense that "President Obama’s policies on Syria and the Islamic State remain contradictory, and the longer the fight goes on without the policies being resolved, the more damage is being done to America’s standing in the region." The Obama administration has said that empowering Sunni tribes in Iraq and the mostly-Sunni opposition in Syria is crucial to their strategy to degrade and destroy ISIS. At the same time, as US extended nuclear talks with Iran for another seven months, Tehran continues to back Assad with men, money, and weapons against a Sunni uprising. Iran also directs brutal government-backed Shia militias in Iraq while pushing Baghdad to refrain from arming Sunni tribes. "Damascus and Tehran appear to believe that achieving regime victory is simply a matter of maintaining the conflict's current trajectory. This view, however, is shortsighted and would yield an unprecedented recruiting bonanza for jihadi groups," Bonsey concludes, adding that the Obama administration must "find ways to change calculations in Damascus and Tehran." Check out Bonsey's full argument >SEE ALSO: Obama's Policy On Assad, In One Word Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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This Is 'The Most Hated Man In The World' | ||
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A man named Julien Blanc is "possibly the first man ever denied a visa on grounds of sexism," reports The New York Times. Blanc, 25 and from California, considers himself to be a pick-up artist. He runs international dating boot camps in which he teaches men how to get women into bed using manipulative head games and physical violence. The camps cost $2,000 to attend. "Amid a public outcry over his abusive techniques, which some say verge on rape promotion, and an online petition with over 150,000 signatures, the British government on Wednesday barred Mr. Blanc from entering the country for a series of events scheduled here," The Times reports. "Officials said people could be denied entry on the grounds that their presence was 'not conducive to the public good,' a rare power usually reserved for far-right activists and terrorism suspects." Most recently, Blanc began the hashtag #ChokingGirlsAroundTheWorld on Twitter and shared photos of him with his hands around the necks of various women. After that, the Australian government withdrew Mr. Blanc’s visa, which prompted by the British Home Office to do the same. His website, Pimping My Game, boasts tips like this:
And this:
In a CNN interview on Monday, Blanc described himself as "the most-hated man in the world," and he apologized "for everything," saying the choking hashtag was "a horrible, horrible attempt at humor" that had been "taken out of context in a way." | ||
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The ‘Freemium’ Model Is Brilliant, But It’s Ruining My Life | ||
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Three years ago, I downloaded "The Simpsons: Tapped Out." One of my favorite shows of all time is “The Simpsons,” and as a proud owner of a new iPhone 4S at the time, I wanted to own this game. In the end, it ended up owning me. The gist of the game is that Homer Simpson caused the town of Springfield to blow up, and now you, the "Sky Finger," must recreate the town and bring back all its residents. You make money by collecting rent from buildings and making characters do various jobs, which all take time to complete. I have witnessed how this game has grown through the years, with the load times and overall quality improving with each new iPhone release. I’ve been there for every new character, new building, holiday and special promotion. My Springfield is immaculate. It's gorgeous. You wish you lived there.
I want to quit. I do. I'm maxed out at Level 47, as high as Electronic Arts will allow me to go, and have all the current characters and buildings you can own through normal gameplay. But I don't have it all. And I'll never have it all. That's what makes this a "freemium" game and not a "free" game. (Also why Apple needed to subtly change the App Store recently.)
Getting the premium items requires a special kind of currency, which can only be attained through either time or money. In the case of “The Simpsons: Tapped Out,” donuts are your “premium” currency, which you can collect by leveling up, or simply when the Electronic Arts developers feel charitable. I've saved — no, hoarded — donuts for years, but my 458 donuts will only get me two or three quality items. I’m not kidding: I can’t even afford all four of these characters.
And there’s the rub: Even after spending three years collecting donuts, I would still have to spend money to achieve “100% completion.” But in mobile games like “The Simpsons: Tapped Out,” 100% completion doesn’t even exist; EA regularly adds new characters and premium items each month. If you truly want to own everything, you’ll need to shell out money regularly. The idea that you can get all the items through time and patience is just a red herring. The freemium model has gained momentum on mobile, thanks to early popular games like “Angry Birds,” but now it’s spreading elsewhere. While watching a review of “LittleBigPlanet 3,” a new game for the PlayStation 4, I learned that in order to collect some really fun costumes for your characters, you need to spend money in addition to the $60-plus you’ve already spent on the game.
These gaming companies are smart to implement freemium into their titles: The game teases you with its best rewards, which can only be attained by a spending an inordinate amount of time in the game — each day, and consistently over time — or by spending money. And there are plenty of people who will spend thousands of dollars to progress through their favorite games, just ask the lead singer of the Sex Pistols. So freemium works out great for these gaming companies. But for the consumer, it’s downright cruel. And yet, I can’t stop playing. SEE ALSO: How Flip Phones Could Return In A Big Way Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Sears' Former World Headquarters Is Now In Ruins (SHLD) | ||
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These buildings were the headquarters of Sears, Roebuck and Co., America's greatest retailer for seven decades. Sears tested its products and printed the famous catalog in the complex just outside Chicago. But in 1974, the company moved to the Sears Tower and these buildings were left deserted for 30 years. In that time, Sears went from being on top of the world to being one of the most distressed American brands. While developers used some of the site to build the Homan Square area in Chicago, some buildings still remained empty and are considered historical landmarks. Local photographer Martin Gonzalez took eerie photographs from inside the old headquarters. Despite the decay, many signs of the office life remain. The old Sears towers are just outside Chicago. Source: Martin Gonzalez The grounds are unkempt and deserted. Source: Martin Gonzalez The complex is located on Homan Avenue just outside Chicago. Source: Martin Gonzalez See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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How The Navy's Latest Anti-Submarine Aircraft Sees Under The Waves | ||
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Boeing's P-8A Poseidon has been a part of the US Navy for a year this month. The converted airliner brings the latest in anti-submarine capabilities, reaching greater altitude and speed than its predecessor (without the nausea factor for its crew). At the front of the plane, the P-8A sports an exclusive radar system supplied by Raytheon. In certain detection modes, the 408-pound radar system has a range of 200 nautical miles and provides ultra-high resolution images. A shorter-ranged setting offers enough precision to pick up on "small targets with limited exposure time in high sea states," according to Raytheon's fact sheet on the product. The P8-A also has a refueling receptacle for missions that go beyond the 20 hours it can fly on a full tank. The back half is dedicated to the storing and launching of sonar buoys from on high, which allow members of the nine-person crew to measure the sound propagation around these underwater units — just as a submarine or warship typically would. The P-8A can send out more than 100 of these yard-long "sonobuoys" in a single flight. And in the middle, "any operator can control and monitor any sensor from their station," a Boeing representative wrote in an email to Business Insider. Each of five operator stations is equipped with two 24-inch high resolution displays, which were designed to work seamlessly with Raytheon's radar system.
The US Navy currently owns 13 units of the P-8A, with plans to eventually expand its stable to 117. Already the plane has played a role in the South Asian theater, where China's confidence in laying claim to disputed islands and waters meets a US presence meant to strengthen ties with nervous allies. In August a Chinese fighter jet performed several passes — and even a barrel roll — near and above an American P-8A flying some 135 miles east of Hainan, home to a Chinese submarine base. At the time, China said the pilot had kept a safe distance, while the US described the event as dangerous. In talks that raised the incident earlier this month, China and the US agreed to new guidelines aimed at avoiding further friction, including notification requirements and rules of behavior for future encounters. The P-8A doesn't just make spy flights; in addition to its primary function as an intelligence-gathering asset, it can carry various payloads: cruise missiles, naval mines, and even torpedoes. Boeing has also created the P-8I, a variant on the Poseidon designed for foreign markets. The Indian Navy has purchased eight of these, the last two of which will be delivered next year, to replace their Russian Tu-142 aircraft.
According to Boeing, the company is fielding interest from other countries as well; Australia has moved to acquire eight of its own. India's P-8I, per their contract request, is equipped with a Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD) eschewed by the plane's parent version. The tailpiece picks up on variances in the Earth's magnetic field created by large metal objects (like submarines). India's own group of planes may go towards monitoring the same rival its American cousin does. "Indian strategists speak in alarmist, geopolitical terms about a Chinese footprint in India’s sphere of influence and a possible encirclement," the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute wrote in March. "They call for a speedy and forceful investment in a blue water navy." For that, Boeing's latest surveillance aircraft could make a strong complement. This post has been updated from an earlier article on the P-8 series, which drew inaccurate information from the Reuters graphic. SEE ALSO: China doesn't like being buzzed by US spy planes, but we're going to keep doing it anyway SEE ALSO: Another look at the military base china is building on a disputed reef SEE ALSO: This massive Navy plane is the most advanced search aircraft in the world Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Unlike some vehicles contracted from private manufacturers, the P-8A's 
These Numbers Might Be The Most Shocking Thing About The University Of Virginia Rape Scandal | ||
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Last year, 38 University of Virginia students reached out to Dean Nicole Eramo, head of UVA's Sexual Misconduct Board, about an alleged sexual assault, according to a recent Rolling Stone article on rape allegations at the school. But only nine of these incidents led to official complaints — the rest "evaporated" — and only four resulted in Sexual Misconduct Board hearings, according to Rolling Stone. UVA did not disclose the outcomes of these hearings, citing student privacy concerns. One UVA student — identified as "Jackie" — went to Dean Eramo about her alleged gang rape at Phi Kappa Psi, a prominent campus fraternity. Jackie told Rolling Stone that when she asked the administrator why the university doesn't publish all of its sexual assault data, Eramo reportedly responded, "Because nobody wants to send their daughter to the rape school." Several UVA students were allegedly the victims of gang rapes at the Phi Psi house, Rolling Stone reports. Brothers received light punishments from the university, if any at all, according to the Rolling Stone article. UVA president Teresa Sullivan has asked the local Charlottesville police department to investigate a reported gang rape of a student that took place at the Phi Psi house in September 2012, according to a statement released Wednesday. The fraternity announced Thursday that they were voluntarily suspending all operations after its building was vandalized. The Cavalier Daily tweeted this image of that vandalism: In a statement Thursday, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said he was "deeply disturbed" by the sexual assault allegations in the Rolling Stone article and has "asked university officials to conduct a full review of all of their policies and procedures." Rolling Stone writer Sabrina Rubin Erdely notes that she had a difficult time getting even these limited statistics on sexual assaults at the school. UVA President Teresa Sullivan insisted, however, that the administration is not "[sweeping] sexual assault under the rug," adding, "If we're trying to hide the issue, we're not doing a very good job of it." Sullivan highlighted a sexual-assault summit for college administrators held at UVA in February, the first of its kind. To be fair, many other schools have been accused of secrecy when it comes to sexual assault. While colleges are legally required to report campus crime statistics under the Clery Act, there is no mechanism for tracking sexual assault reports that stay within the school. Various Title IX lawsuits from students have revealed some of the major problems with how colleges handle sexual assault complaints outside of the legal system. A lawsuit filed against Columbia University earlier this year alleged that "the University treats survivors and alleged perpetrators unequally, perpetrators are allowed to remain on campus, [and] students are discouraged from reporting sexual assault," according to student newspaper The Daily Spectator. Columbia now releases data on student sexual assault complaints over the course of an academic year, a rare example of a college publicizing these numbers. We reached out to UVA for comment and will update this post if we hear back. SEE ALSO: UVA Melting Down After Explosive Rape Article Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Russia's Most Powerful Oil Official Says Oil Could Fall Below $60 In The Next Few Months | ||
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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's most powerful oil official Igor Sechin said in an interview with an Austrian newspaper that oil prices could fall below $60 by mid-way through next year. Sechin, chief executive of Rosneft, Russia's largest oil producer, also said U.S. oil production would fall after 2025 and that an oil market council should be created to monitor prices, the same day the OPEC cartel met in Vienna and left its output targets unchanged. "We expect that a fall in the price to $60 and below is possible, but only during the first half, or rather by the end of the first half (of next year)," Sechin told the Die Presse newspaper. On Thursday, OPEC decided against production cuts to halt a slide in global oil prices, sending benchmark Brent crude plunging to a fresh four-year low below $73 a barrel. Russia is not a member of OPEC. Sechin, who met representatives from world oil powers in Vienna earlier in the week, said he believed Russia had the potential to cut between 200,000 and 300,000 barrels a day of production if prices remained low. On U.S. oil production, Sechin said: "After 2025, the production volumes will decrease, namely because of the resource base, to the extent that we know it today." Earlier on Thursday, Rosneft said in a statement that OPEC's decision to leave its output unchanged would not affect the work of the company. (Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by David Evans and Keiron Henderson) Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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