The 10 Most Important Things In The World This Morning | ||
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Good morning! It's Cyber Monday! Here is everything you need to know before your first meeting of the day. 1. Police and pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong have clashed again. Police used pepper spray on the crowd. Thousands of activists forced the temporary closure of Hong Kong's government building. 40 arrested, Reuters reports. 2. Black Friday shopping appears to have declined 11% in the US. The Washington Post says: "The National Retail Federation reported that 55.1 percent of consumers shopped between Thursday and Sunday, according to a survey it conducted over the weekend. That is down from 58.7 percent the previous year. The NRF said total spending was $50.9 billion, an 11 percent decline from an estimated $57.4 billion in 2013." One theory: Shoppers no longer believe that deals will only be available on the Friday and are instead spreading their buying across the weeks leading up to Christmas. 3. UK manufacturers are moderating their growth expectations. A survey of manufacturers by EEF and BDO says companies predict growth of 3.5 per cent this year for the sector but that will slow to 2 per cent in 2015, the Financial Times says. 4. Chinese manufacturing looks weak. Business Insider's Linette Lopez reported: "Chinese manufacturing disappointed again in November. The country's manufacturing PMI missed expectations coming in at 50.3, analysts expected 50.5." It's the second straight month where PMI has been near 50. Any measure under 50 indicates the sector is contracting. 5. The Swiss have rejected the gold standard. In a national referendum on Sunday that was closely watched by gold bugs — people who believe that currency should be tied to the actual value of gold — Switzerland rejected a proposal to link the Swiss franc to gold reserves held by the country's central bank. 6. An American couple cleared of killing their daughter has nonetheless been barred from leaving Qatar. It's an unusual case: Prosecutors in the Muslim country accused the pair of starving to death their adopted daughter. The 8-year-old girl alternately starved and binged on food, a behaviour the couple was trying to correct. The Huangs are Asian and their adopted daughter was black — a situation prosecutors appeared not to understand. The couple spent a year in a Qatari jail before they were cleared by a court. Their passports were taken at the airport even though they were being escorted by the US ambassador. 7. Samsung is planning another new metal phone. The next iteration of its A series will have a screen bigger than 5 inches, Business Insider noted. 8. Samsung's mobile division chief kept his job! The company had been expected to axe Shin Jong-kyun because the company's phone sales have declined. But they left him in place in the annual reshuffle. 9. Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, has been told to tone it down. O'Leary is known for his media-friendly statements about charging passengers to use the toilet and turning up to press conferences in bizarre costumes. Now the company wants him to become a bit more "presidential" in his behaviour. 10. United Nations diplomats will gather in Lima to again attempt to persuade governments to restrict their emission of greenhouse gases. The problem is that we may have already passed the point of no return, and that the planet faces a future of "drought, food and water shortages, melting ice sheets, shrinking glaciers, rising sea levels and widespread flooding," according to The New York Times. And finally ... The organisers of an art project during which actor Shia Labeouf claims he was raped have spoken out against the woman who allegedly assaulted him. “Nowhere did we state that people could do whatever they wanted to Shia during #IAMSORRY", one of them tweeted. The Guardian reports: "#IAMSORRY involved LaBeouf sitting silently behind a desk in a room in LA’s Cohen gallery with a paper bag bearing the legend 'I am not famous anymore' over his head. For five days, members of the public queued to be able to sit alone with him in the room with a prop of their choice." One woman whipped him and took his clothes off, The Guardian says. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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THE FUTURE OF MOBILE: 2014 [SLIDE DECK] | ||
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The future of mobile is being redefined. The smartphone and tablet markets are nearing saturation. The days of heady hardware growth are long gone.
Mobile growth is moving into media, advertising, software, and services. Meanwhile, new devices are expanding the meaning of "mobile." BI Intelligence has created a slideshow that highlights the new markets growing up around the multiscreen consumer. 1. Mobile Commerce 2. Mobile Advertising 3. Mobile Apps 4. Emerging Devices And Platforms 5. Mobile Payments And Banking 6. Mobile Health Only BI Intelligence subscribers can download the individual charts and datasets in Excel, along with the PowerPoint and PDF versions of this deck. Please sign up for a membership here. BI Intelligence is a research and analysis service focused on mobile computing, digital media, payments, e-commerce, and the Internet of Things.    See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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11 Tricks Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, And Other Famous Execs Use To Run Meetings | ||
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Americans sit through some 11 million meetings every day — with the unproductive ones costing companies $37 billion a year. We've already learned that meetings fall apart thanks to sloppy agendas, un-articulated ground rules, and other structural mistakes. So we decided to look at how some of the most effective executives in history — from GM czar Alfred Sloan to Apple prince Steve Jobs to Facebook queen Sheryl Sandberg — run the meetings that invariably fill their calendars. Here's what we found. Legendary GM CEO Alfred Sloan said little — then made follow-ups. Alfred Sloan ran GM from the 1920s to the '50s. During that time he led GM to become the world's largest corporation — in the '50s, GM held 46% of the US auto market and employed over 600,000 Americans. Sloan is also credited with inventing modern corporate structure. According to leadership guru Peter Drucker, the follow-up memo was one of Sloan's go-to tools. After any formal meeting — in which he simply announced the purpose, listened to what people had to say, and then left — Sloan would send a follow-up memo with a plan of action. Drucker's take: [Sloan] immediately wrote a short memo addressed to one attendee of the meeting. In that note, he summarized the discussion and its conclusions and spelled out any work assignment decided upon in the meeting (including a decision to hold another meeting on the subject or to study an issue). He specified the deadline and the executive who was to be accountable for the assignment. He sent a copy of the memo to everyone who'd been present at the meeting. These memos made Sloan an "outstandingly effective executive," Drucker argues, and you might say they were a key to GM's dominance of the 20th century. Opsware CEO and Andreessen Horowitz cofounder Ben Horowitz likes to have one-to-one meetings. Back when he was a CEO, Ben Horowitz led Opsware to a $1.6 billion sale to HP in 2007. Two years later, he cofounded Andreessen Horowitz, probably the most sought-after firm in venture capital. Horowitz, who spends much of his time mentoring young leaders, says that most important job for a CEO is to architect the way people communicate in a company. The one-to-one meeting is essential to that process, he says, as it's the best place for ideas and critiques to flow up from employees to management. Here's his take on how to run one: If you like structured agendas, then the employee should set the agenda. A good practice is to have the employee send you the agenda in advance. Tesla CEO Elon Musk demands that people be super prepared. Musk has incredibly high standards. He has a reputation for firing people if they miss a deadline. So if you're meeting with him at Tesla or SpaceX, you have to be ready. As one anonymous Musk employee shares on Quora: When we met with Elon, we were prepared. Because if you weren't, he'd let you know it. If he asked a reasonable follow-up question and you weren't prepared with an answer, well, good luck. What else would you expect from the most badass CEO in America? See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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The Best Gadgets You Can Buy This Holiday Season | ||
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It's time to get serious about holiday shopping. Trying to decide on the perfect laptop, tablet, or tech accessory can be overwhelming. Manufacturers release tons of gadgets all year, so sifting through all of your options to find the best fit can be overwhelming. Our holiday gift guide is full of excellent ideas — whether you're trying to find a new laptop for your son or daughter going away to college, some new cases and accessories to use as stocking stuffers, or the best entertainment devices to spice up your living room.  iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are the two best phones you can buy. For most people, the iPhone 6 is the best smartphone. The iPhone 6 Plus, with a larger 5.5-inch screen, is the best phone if you want a phablet. Why? Both phones are the perfect blend of design, app selection, ease of use, and powerful hardware. Click here for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus review >> Price: Starts at $649 for the iPhone 6 and $749 for the iPhone 6 Plus. The HTC One M8 is the most beautiful Android phone. HTC's flagship phone, the HTC One (M8), is the best Android phone you can buy. Like the original, the new HTC One, which is also called the M8, has a gorgeous design and high-quality metal construction. It also has an extra rear camera that acts as a depth sensor so you can edit photos later and change the focus. Click here for the HTC One (M8) review>> Price: Around $540 See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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This Intel-Owned Company Just Made One Of The Best Fitness Trackers You Can Buy | ||
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Fitness trackers have evolved a lot over the past several years. The sensors are getting better, the apps are becoming more polished and functional, and the devices themselves look more attractive. Basis' new Peak fitness tracker meets all of this criteria. The Basis Peak is a $199 fitness device that comes with a screen so that it can serve as a smartwatch, too. Basis has kept the functionality simple though, and the Peak's focus remains on health and fitness just like the company's previous offerings. Still, there are a few key factors that make the Peak different from Basis' other models: the design of the watchface itself is slimmer, the heart rate monitor is much improved, the screen is now touch-friendly and will soon be able to display notifications from your smartphone. After spending some time with the Peak, I found it to be one of the more accurate and comfortable fitness trackers I've tested. Here are my impressions. How It LooksThe Basis Peak is super slim and light compared to smartwatches you'll find on the market today, but since it has a full screen its certainly bulkier than your average Fitbit or Jawbone band. Still, the overall design is attractive and sleek, and it looks like something you'd wear on a jog or during your day at work. It doesn't look like a clunky sports watch. The Peak is currently available in matte black with red accents on its strap and brushed metal silver with a white strap. Next month, Peak will offer more straps in various colors to choose from in its Sports Vent line. The white and metal review unit we played with has a soft, silicon strap with a subtle argyle-like pattern. The size of the watch face itself is large enough to easily see your stats, but it's discreet enough to wear comfortably. Using It
The Basis Peak is among the more comfortable fitness trackers I've worn. The silicon strap is soft and malleable, making it pleasant to wear for long periods of time. When you look down at the device, the first thing you'll see is the time — just like you would if you were looking at a watch. From the home screen, you can swipe to see more information about your health. A quick swipe to the left will show your heart rate, and swiping up will display how many steps you've taken and how many calories you've burned. Basis claims there are two main features that make the Peak stand out — its accurate heart rate monitor and sleep tracking. The heart rate monitor seemed to be especially responsive: as soon as I took a deep breath and relaxed, I noticed the sensor would detect a change in my heart rate almost instantly. As far as offering more accurate results than other fitness trackers, I'm not too sure there's much of a difference. Other fitness trackers and smartwatches such as the Moto 360 detected similar results. Basis' Peak app is slick, clean, and easy-to-use. The sleep tracking feedback is particularly interesting, as it breaks down your sleep into various categories such as REM sleep, deep sleep, and light sleep. It also shows you how many times you woke up, tossed and turned, and how long you slept. It's excellent if you're trying to work on your habits and track your sleeping patterns over a long period of time.
Basis also allows you to unlock different "habits" the more you use the device, adding a gamification element to its fitness tracker. Although the Basis Peak is very comfortable to wear throughout the day, I found it to feel a little intrusive during workouts. The band made my arm itch a bit when I started to sweat a lot, which was slightly uncomfortable. I don't find it to be a deal breaker though — I was satisfied enough with the Peak's results to continue wearing it during subsequent workouts. In terms of battery life, the Peak lasts about three to four days on a single charge, depending on how much you sync it and turn the backlight on or off. Other fitness trackers without screens such as the Jawbone UP 24, or ones with smaller screens like the Fitbit Flex and Charge bands, will naturally last a bit longer. But, several days of battery life is fairly standard for a monochrome watch like the Peak. Right now the Peak exists as a fitness tracker, but in the future the company plans to push out an update that will allow you to see texts and incoming phone calls directly on the watch. Should You Buy It?If you're trying to decide whether or not you should buy the Basis Peak or a Jawbone or Fitbit band, there are a few things to consider. If you want a fitness tracker with a large screen that you can also use as a watch (and eventually a smartwatch), go for the Peak. If you care a lot about keeping track of your heart rate and sleeping patterns, the Peak is probably your best bet. Jawbone and Fitbit's bands are sleeker, more subtle, and cheaper, but you get less functionality. They're all good choices, but it depends on what you want out of your fitness tracker. Overall, the Basis Peak is worth the $199. SEE ALSO: FORGET THE APPLE WATCH: Here's The Wearable You Should Really Buy If You Care About Fitness Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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There's no need to put it in sleep mode either — the watch can automatically tell when you're sleeping, walking, or running. Look How Much San Francisco Has Changed In 3 Years | ||
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Three years ago, Twitter announced that it was moving into a deserted building in one of the worst parts of San Francisco. Twitter made the move because the city had created a new tax-free zone in that neighborhood, known as Mid-Market. We took a walk around the neighborhood in July 2011 to see exactly what Twitter was getting itself into. It didn't look pretty. But Twitter made the move, and a bunch of other tech companies followed. Then came the residential developers. Then the other businesses. Three years later, the change is startling. See for yourself ... First, a reminder. This is what the building looked like before Twitter moved in. Here's what it looks like today. The most obvious change is the number of people in the street. In this picture from three years ago, this neighborhood didn't have much foot traffic at all. It was kind of grim. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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REVEALED: The Top Demographic Trends For Every Major Social Network | ||
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The demographics of who's on what social network are shifting — older social networks are reaching maturity, while newer social messaging apps are gaining younger users fast. In a new report from BI Intelligence, we unpack data from over a dozen sources to understand how social media demographics are still shifting. Access The Full Report By Signing Up For A Trial >> Here are a few of the key takeaways from the BI Intelligence report:
The report is full of charts (over 20 charts) and data that can be downloaded and put to use. In full, the report:
For full access to all BI Intelligence reports, briefs, and downloadable charts on the digital media industry, sign up for a two week trial. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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A Former Uber Driver Reveals The Worst Things About The Job | ||
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Working for a multi-billion dollar company isn't always as glamorous as it may seem. Claire Callahan Goodman, a San Francisco-based mother who worked part time for Uber to earn some extra cash, just revealed why she decided to quit her job as a driver in a new post on Salon. Goodman said her background growing up in the city and speaking English as her first language should have made this an easy, stress-free part time job for her. After all, she already knew her way around the city and could easily communicate with passengers. But, in her post on Salon, she outlines a few key factors that drove her to leave the company.
It's important to keep in mind that this is just one Uber driver's account, and not all drivers may feel this way. It does, however, raise a point that Uber drivers have been complaining about for months. In September, drivers gathered outside of Uber's main offices in Long Island City in Queens, New York to protest some of the company's policies. In particular, Uber drivers seemed to be angry about the no tipping policy and the fact that drivers are expected to pay for maintenance expenses. The company says these are suggestions — not policies —but one driver told Business Insider during the protest that it's not possible to make a living as a driver on Uber's pay alone. SEE ALSO: Why Uber's Master Plan To Steal Lyft's Drivers Might Be Perfectly Legal Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Here's A Simple Reality Check For Any Tech Founder Who Thinks They're 'Changing The World' | ||
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Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and investors often say they're building world-changing companies. And companies like Facebook, Google, Apple and Uber are actually doing that. But, would any of those companies stand a chance, if say, a massive solar flare struck the earth and hundreds of millions of people suddenly found themselves without electricity? (That could happen, by the way. The White House released a report in 2013 which discussed the ramifications of a large flare from the sun: A worst-case solar storm could result in months without electricity for 130 million Americans — or millions of people wherever it strikes in the world.) There's an image going around Twitter that's meant to be funny, but there's some truth to it. Tech companies that are "changing the world" are nothing without serious inventions like Internet and electricity.
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Kim Dotcom Says He Is Officially Broke | ||
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German entrepreneur Kim Dotcom has acknowledged that he has run out of money after spending over $10 million on legal costs. Speaking through a Skype call at the unBound Digital conference in London, Dotcom said his three-year legal fight could be coming to an end. "My legal team resigned after I ran out of money," Dotcom said. "I spent $10 million to defend myself. They have drained all my resources." Dotcom was arrested in 2012 after a dramatic police raid on his $24 million mansion in New Zealand. The New Zealand government had worked together with copyright enforcement agencies in the US to bring down the serial entrepreneur, accusing him of aiding copyright pirates through his Megaupload file-sharing site. Dotcom said the appearance could be his last public interview, because he suspected that the New Zealand government could use his lack of funds to revoke his bail Thursday during his next bail hearing. "I'm an easy target because of my flamboyant lifestyle," he said. "It's hard to keep a low profile when you have number plates with 'GOD' and 'STONED' on them. Also, I’m German, and Hollywood loves German Bond villains."
At its peak, Mega was one of the biggest sites on the internet. Accounting for over 4% of global internet traffic, the file-sharing site had 50 million unique visitors every day. It even launched high-profile ad campaigns with big names in the entertainment industry. But the police accuse Dotcom of enabling online piracy, charging him with racketeering, conspiring to commit copyright infringement, and conspiring to commit money laundering. Dotcom has always denied the charges against him, saying Tuesday that "Megaupload had 100% takedown for clients and gave Hollywood studios direct access. It was the same story with Iraq and weapons of destruction. The US government abused its power. It has no ethics anymore. I’ve lost my faith in the law. It’s just 'who pays, wins.'” Exactly one year after police shut down Megaupload, Dotcom launched a new file-sharing site: Mega. This new site features strong encryption, advertising itself as a safe place to store files away from government spying. Dotcom says that Mega has merged with a company listed on the New Zealand stock exchange and is valued at $210 million. But Dotcom made it clear to the audience at unBound Digital that he had no ownership stake in Mega. Instead, the company is owned by his wife, from whom he recently separated.
A recent report in the New Zealand Herald said that Dotcom was living alone in his giant mansion, prevented from venturing outside. But Dotcom denied those claims Tuesday: "They said I’m a lonely man alone in my mansion, but my kids are living with me. I’m playing with them every day. I’m a happy man because of my kids. If they were not around, it would be much darker." Facing a return to jail after running out of money, Dotcom had a single plea for the audience in what may be his last interview: "If I go back to jail, send me cards ... cards with photos of cats on." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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5 Features That Would Make Facebook So Much Better (FB) | ||
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Barring some visual changes, Facebook has barely changed over the last decade. Sure, we’ve seen our profiles turn into timelines, and the company’s changed its privacy settings umpteen different times, but since the addition of the ‘Like’ button in 2009, Facebook has done very little to improve the user experience. (Advertisers and shareholders, on the other hand, have been very pleased with the last few years’ improvements, especially with the heavy emphasis on mobile.) Other social networks and startups are coming after Facebook — Snapchat, in particular, has a death grip on teens and preteens. But with over a billion people, Facebook could still save itself from getting eaten by other social networks. Here’s how Facebook can improve for its users:
Allow default settings for one’s News Feed. I don’t want to see Facebook’s curated News Feed it thinks I should see; I want to be in control of that aspect. For years, I’d always see my posts in chronological order, but the company recently changed it so any time you reopen Facebook, you must choose “Most Recent” instead of “Top Stories” over and over and over again. It’s obnoxious, and it can be easily fixed. Let me format comments and posts. One of the first things you see on Facebook is the big “Update Status” box, which asks you, “What’s on your mind?” And unlike Twitter, which limits your characters, you can basically write a small book in Facebook posts and comments. So if Facebook really wants people to share their thoughts, why don’t they allow formatting? Facebook may not care about bolds and italics, but I do — sometimes it’s useful to get your point across instead of writing in all caps. (Until Facebook gets its act together, there's a browser extension that can help.)
Make better mobile apps. Facebook is all about helping people connect, so you’d think the company would have some unique ideas on how to do that. But with the exception of Paper by Facebook, which felt like a legitimate attempt to present news on Facebook (and elsewhere) in a more beautiful way, Slingshot, Camera, Poke, and Rooms don’t feel very imaginative or intuitive, and they offer nothing to keep me coming back. The iOS ratings on those apps: 3 stars for Rooms, 3 stars for Slingshot, 4 stars for Paper, and 1.5 stars for the main Facebook app. (Facebook pulled Poke and Camera from the App Store in May.) Paper is the only app that feels like a worthy Facebook application; the others feel forced. Let people create things IN Facebook. Facebook keeps creating apps, but they’re all standalone apps. Presumably, this is so Zuckerberg can tell his shareholders, “See? People download X number of our apps and they take up X amount of real estate on those devices — people clearly love us!” But honestly, I’d prefer to see fewer standalone apps and more features in Facebook that allow me to create. For example, I can write text posts and drop in links, but what about drawing? Why can’t I draw something right in Facebook and share it immediately? Wasn't "Draw Something" one of the most popular apps for awhile? I’d like to see Facebook explore ideas like this, which are centered on creating content that can be shared, rather than finding gimmicky ways to make supplementary experiences better done by competing apps like Snapchat. SEE ALSO: If You Think Virtual Reality Is Just For Gamers, Then You Should Look Again Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Fix phantom notifications. There’s science behind the idea that 
Netflix Is Creating One Of The Most Expensive TV Shows In The World — Here's Why It's So Important | ||
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Netflix is preparing to launch its newest original series this month, "Marco Polo," which focuses on the life of the famous explorer, including his interactions with Kublai Kahn. It's one of the most expensive TV series ever made, according to The New York Times, since it costs $90 million to produce 10 episodes. The only show with a higher budget is HBO's "Game Of Thrones." But there's another reason "Marco Polo" is so important for Netflix. The company is hoping the series will appeal to international audiences as it expands, especially since Netflix holds the international rights to "Marco Polo." Netflix didn't hold any international rights to other popular shows such as "House Of Cards," which is why the series was able to appear on rival platforms in Germany and France, according to The New York Times. But offering a blockbuster show that subscribers — including those overseas — can only get through Netflix could help the company reach its goal of becoming a global company. Netflix is already hard at work with its international rollout, but subscriber growth hasn't been booming as much as many had hoped. In October, following its European launch in September, the company reported that it had added 2 million international subscribers, which is below the 2.36 million estimate many were expecting. Domestic growth has slowed too, as Netflix reported 975,000 subscribers in the US versus the 1.33 million many were expecting. This sluggish growth in the US makes international expansion that much more important for Netflix. Executives and producers working on the show told The New York Times they think the show will resonate with audiences overseas, especially since the plot focuses on a heroic journey all cultures can relate to. Netflix is also relying on the show to promote its streaming service in general as in enters new markets. "Marco Polo" will debut on all of its global properties on Dec. 12. Check out the trailer below to get an idea of what to expect. SEE ALSO: The Best Gadgets You Can Buy This Holiday Season Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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It Looks Like Samsung Might Have Another Metal Galaxy Phone Coming Soon | ||
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Samsung may be preparing to release another Galaxy phone with a metal design similar to its Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy A3, and Galaxy A5 phones. An application for a new Samsung phone with a model number that may belong to an unreleased device called the Galaxy A7 has just appeared on the Federal Communications Commission website (via Phone Arena). The application itself doesn't tell us much about the device, but it does provide some evidence that Samsung is likely to launch a new phone in its A-series line. We saw similar applications appear just days before Samsung officially unveiled both the Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 in October. What we can tell, however, is how large the phone will be. The FCC's listing says it will measure 150 mm x 75 mm, which hints the phone's screen will probably be larger than five inches diagonally. If Samsung does release a new phone in its Galaxy A line, it'll be the company's fourth phone to come with its new metal design. We first saw this new design element appear in August on the Galaxy Alpha, which has smooth metal edges similar to those of the iPhone 5 and 5s. Then, a few months later, Samsung announced the metal-rimmed Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5. The Galaxy Note 4 comes with metal edges too, and it's Samsung's first real flagship product to do so. Rumors also suggest that Samsung is working on a complete design overhaul for its next major phone, presumably the Galaxy S6, so there's a chance we'll see more metal accents there too. SEE ALSO: RANKED: The Best Tablets In The World Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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11 Ways You Didn't Know You Could Use Pinterest | ||
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Pinterest's grand vision is to fill the gap between an idea and a specific search, and to help people find things they didn't know they were looking for. There are 30 billion Pins in the social network's system and that number grows by 25% every quarter. Although some people still assume the site's just for cupcakes and wedding inspiration, there are a bunch of ways that people are using Pinterest that you may never have thought of.
Because it's possible to play videos directly from Pinterest, you can create playlists. A bunch of Pinterest users post workout inspiration, which means you can build a fitness plan through the site. When you pin recipes, Pinterest will often list the ingredients, making an automatic grocery list if you find something you can't wait to make! See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Elon Musk Just Unveiled A Game-Changing Ocean Landing Pad For His Reusable Rockets | ||
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Elon Musk's latest twitter announcements are the stuff of SciFi: He's just tweeted out images of the company's latest achievement— a drone ship that will be a self-stabilizing landing pad for rockets — even in rocky seas. SpaceX is about to start using these ocean-based landing pads to catch their Falcon9 rockets. The first landing attempt is scheduled for December 16. Before SpaceX, rockets used to deliver cargo and people into space would re-enter Earth's atmosphere, and either burn up or crash land in the ocean. But there's a big problem with that crash landing: these incredibly expensive rockets are destroyed in the process. And for space travel to really take off, it needs to be more like air travel. We couldn't transport people and cargo as quickly and easily as we do if airplanes were destroyed at the end of each trip, so why should the future of space travel depend on spaceships that are only used once? Musk, eager to create a reusable rocket revolution, is making big strides toward his goal. A reusable rocketA Falcon 9 rocket is the tall cylindrical section of the spaceship that carries the fuel. It towers 14 stories high and generates tremendous thrust to transport the Dragon spacecraft, located on top of the rocket, into space. Once the rocket exhausts most of its fuel, it detaches from Dragon and falls back to Earth. To save and reuse these rockets, which cost $300 million to build and $61.2 million to launch, SpaceX equipped their Falcon 9 rockets with thrusters that fire as the rocket falls toward Earth. The thrusters reduce the rocket's speed and keep it vertical, so that when it reaches the ocean's surface, it's positioned upright and moving at a slow enough speed to safely touch down without damage. This is called a soft landing. The first successful "soft landing" of a Falcon 9 rocket happened in April of this year, though the SpaceX team was unable to recover the rocket due to rough ocean conditions. And, as the team eventually learned in further tests, following landing, the rocket tipped on its side and the force from that tip damaged the hull. Therefore, the rockets were never recovered or reused. In addition to the thrusters, the rockets that completed soft landings in April, July, and September of this year also deployed a set of landing legs before touch down. Although the legs were not necessary for a water landing, it was important for SpaceX to make sure the legs would deploy for the next stage in rocket landing — on a floating, solid platform. A safe place to landTo save the rocket, it needs a safe place to land where it won't fall sideways into the ocean. For this, SpaceX has built an autonomous drone-ship that can keep itself stable even in heavy seas. During next two resupply SpaceX flights, scheduled for this December 16 and January 23, 2015, the Falcon 9 rockets will attempt to land on the floating platform. And SpaceX suspects that they have about a 50 percent probability of being successful on the first try. The company has succeeded in the past with bleaker chances than that. The "X" in the image above marks the spot where the reusable SpaceX rockets will land. Staying on target is crucial: The main base is slightly smaller than the size of a football field, but that's plenty of room for the rocket's landing legs, which take up 18 feet of space. And if it doesn't work out, at least the spacecraft will be far from populated areas, so no one is in danger if something goes wrong. Getting there safely
As the rocket nears the landing pad, the wings rotate clockwise and counterclockwise to steer the rocket toward its target for a successful landing. Mini-X-wings were deployed during a test flight on a rocket earlier this year at SpaceX's facility in McGregor, Texas, you can see how the rocket — after reaching a maximum height of about 0.6 miles above ground — deploys the fins in preparation for landing.
CHECK OUT: Mindblowing Images Of Earth From Space Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The rocket's recently-added hypersonic grid fins (called X-wings and shown above) are another major improvement added to Falcon 9 for the December 16 launch.
If the landings in December and January are successful, the landing pad will refuel the rockets at which point SpaceX will transport the rocket back to the mainland for another launch. This Is What It Looks Like When Computers Write Novels | ||
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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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A Former Google Employee Talks About What It Was Like Working With The Genius Who Created Android (GOOG) | ||
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If you walked into Building 44 on Google's Mountain View campus in the mid-2000s, there's a chance you'd find electric skateboards, outlandish machines, and all sorts of gizmos floating around the office. That's because Andy Rubin, the former Google executive responsible for creating Android, loved playing with gadgets so much he'd constantly bring his own projects into the office. These gizmos ranged from gigantic, expensive robots that would show you how to make the perfect espresso to tiny motorized figurines that could cartwheel around the office, Sumit Agarwal, a former product manager at Google and co-founder of startup Shape Security, told Business Insider. One of Rubin's more memorable contraptions, according to Agarwal, was a giant remote-controlled helicopter. "[It's] this huge $5,000 helicopter, he's trying to pilot it, and it takes off and flips over upside down," Agarwal said. "And it doesn't explode, but you've got this helicopter that's literally ripped itself apart out on the lawn in front of Building 44." Rubin recently left Google to pursue a new startup after working at the company for about nine years. Agarwal worked at Google for about seven years between 2003 and 2010, where he primarily worked on Google's mobile products. Other than his massive collection of eccentric gadgets, Agarwal said there's one particular reason he'll always remember working with Rubin. "The thing that I will remember the most clearly, forever, is how perfectly formed his vision for Android was," Agarwal said. "That fully formed vision existed in 2003, and it was a reality by 2011 or 2012, but it didn't change. He saw it 10 years in advance." SEE ALSO: Google Lost The Guy Who Created Android, But It Sounds Like The Perfect Move For Him Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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You Can Now Use Your iPhone's Fingerprint Sensor To Unlock Your Mac (AAPL) | ||
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The iPhone's Touch ID fingerprint sensor already makes it easy to unlock your phone without having to type in a passcode, but now a new app allows you to do the same with your Mac. FingerKey, a Mac app that was released earlier this month, lets you use the fingerprint sensor in your phone to unlock your Mac (via 9to5Mac). This means you'll be able to log in to your Mac by simply resting your finger on your iPhone's home button rather than typing in a password. The app uses Bluetooth 4.0 to connect your iPhone with your Mac, and its official product page in the Mac App Store says it can be used to unlock multiple Mac computers at once. In the near future, an update will let you unlock Windows and Linux computers with the iPhone's Touch ID sensor too. The app is also encrypted, which means it'll disguise any information that's sent between your iPhone and laptop to keep it secure. FingerKey is one of the many ways developers are already incorporating Touch ID into apps now that Apple has opened up the code for its fingerprint sensor to developers. You can get it from the Mac App Store for $1.99. SEE ALSO: New Details On Apple's Giant-Sized iPad Might Have Just Leaked Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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This Is The Incredibly Complicated Way They Made The Simple Music In 1980s Video Games | ||
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The 1980s were an amazing time for video games. But it's not just the games themselves that were notable. Red Bull Academy's documentary series "Diggin' in the Carts" digs deep into the history of Japanese video game music. The first episode, called "The Rise of Video Game Music," takes a look at some of the industry's early pioneers. Among the interesting tidbits is how the music was actually made. Before this era, music in games was used pretty sparingly. Players would just hear some beeps and boops or looped tracks in between levels. In 1980, Namco released "Rally-X," which became the first game to feature continuous melodic music in the background, according to GamesRadar. But when the Nintendo came out, background music became standard. As the technology improved, the music improved. So game companies turned to composers to help create music for these games. Composers played music on keyboards and then wrote the score. But instead of writing the score for instruments, they wrote sound wave data. A sound driver read the data, and then played it back as music. "First, they'd play the music as they composed, and then write the score," says Hiroshi Okubo, who heads the sound team at Bandai Namco Studios. "And then turn that into numbers and program them in." The wave forms look like shapes. So the sound for one kind of tone could look like a square, and a different-sounding tone could look like a staircase. One of Namco's composers, Junko Ozawa, kept the sound waves she made in a little graphing notebook. Her music can be heard in various games, such as "Tower of Druaga" and "R.B.I Baseball 2."
"Tower of Druaga," for example, had eight different patterns. Composers found inspiration for their 8-bit and later 16-bit tunes everywhere, ranging from night clubs, to Hirokazu Tanaka's love of Reggae music. He's one of Nintendo's most famous composers who created the music for "Metroid." And now, music-makers find their inspiration from the sounds that came out of some of those early video games. See more about how video game music was made in the 1980s in the video below:
SEE ALSO: There's A Really Good Reason Why The Xbox One Is Such An Enormous Device Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The Best Cyber Monday Deals In Tech | ||
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If you decided to stay in and avoid the crazy crowds on Black Friday, the good news is there are plenty of deals to choose from on Cyber Monday, too. A bunch of retailers including Wal-Mart and Amazon will be offering discounts that you can take advantage of without having to leave your home. Most stores like Best Buy and Target aren't announcing deals until Dec. 1, but we've rounded up the best discounts we've come across so far. From giant HD TVs to gaming console bundles, here are some of the best Cyber Monday deals in tech. Motorola's Moto X will be super cheap on Monday. Motorola announced that the Moto X, which we've called one of the best Android phones of the year, will be on sale for just $0.01 when you sign up for a two year contract with Verizon. If you opt for the contract-free unlocked version, you'll get a $140 discount which brings the price down to $359 from $500. Wal-Mart is offering an excellent deal on the PlayStation 4. If you've been eyeballing a PlayStation 4, you should seriously consider buying one on Cyber Monday. Wal-Mart is offering a super cheap bundle deal that includes the console itself, "Lego Batman 3," "Little Big Planet 3," a game of your choice, and an extra controller for just $450. That's an incredible deal, considering the console on its own usually costs $400. You can also get a 4K TV for $500 cheaper at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is also selling a 55-inch 4K Ultra HD TV made by Samsung for $998, which is a $500 drop from its normal price. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Samsung 's mobile chief keeps his job | ||
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Seoul (AFP) - Samsung said Monday the head of its faltering mobile business would keep his job despite an alarming decline in profits, as the electronics giant announced a year-end personnel reshuffle. A number of leading executives were moved or promoted, but the three co-CEOs of Samsung Electronics all retained their posts, including J.K. Shin, components unit chief Kwon Oh-Hyun and the head of the consumer electronics division B.K. Yoon. Shin's position had been seen as particularly vulnerable, as the mobile unit that was responsible for Samsung's extraordinary run of record profits in recent years was also behind the slump in the past two quarters. Shin "made many contributions in making Samsung Electronics the world's top mobile handset maker", Samsung Group spokesman Lee June told reporters. "We believe he would have a chance to help (Samsung) make another jump in this changing environment in the future," Lee said. Shin, 58, has led Samsung Electronics' mobile unit since 2012 and played a key role in the South Korean giant's rise to become the world's top smartphone maker. But the firm recently saw profits squeezed by escalating competition with Apple's iPhones in the high-end market and cheap handsets of Chinese rivals like Xiaomi in the low-end segment. Samsung posted a 50-percent drop in third-quarter net profit, following a 20 percent drop in the previous quarter. The net profit for the July-September period was the lowest for nearly three years. Samsung produces a range of products from handsets to memory chips and TVs but the mobile business comprises the lion's share of its overall sales. The family-run company is currently embarking on a major restructuring programme ahead of a generational ownership succession. Last week it announced the $1.7 billion sale of stakes in four affiliates and a $2.0 billion share buyback. Samsung's share price has tumbled more than 10 percent this year as growth in the key smartphone business begins to lose steam. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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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 before markets open in London and Paris. Switzerland's Referendum Sent The Gold Price Tumbling. On Sunday night, gold was down more than 4% to as low as $1,143 an ounce after voters in Switzerland on Sunday rejected a measure that would have required the Swiss National Bank to increase its gold reserves from 8% to 20% of its holdings. Chinese Manufacturing Is Teetering. Chinese manufacturing disappointed again in November. The country's manufacturing PMI missed expectations coming in at 50.3, analysts expected 50.5. Any number under 50 indicates a contraction in the country's manufacturing sector. Manufacturing PMIs Are Coming. At 9 a.m. GMT, we'll get the manufacturing purchasing managers' index figures for November from the eurozone, an early indicator of how economies are performing. Japanese Capital Spending Jumped. Business investment rose 5.5 per cent in the third quarter, compared with the same period last year, despite the country officially falling into a recession during the three months to October. Strikes Just Pushed Germany's Biggest Airline To Cancel Half Its Flights. German flagship carrier Lufthansa said it had cancelled 1,350 flights, or 48 percent of scheduled services, for Monday and Tuesday as its pilots prepared to go on strike. Hong Kong's Protests Are Back. Hundreds of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists scuffled with police on Sunday as they tried to encircle government headquarters, defying orders for protesters to retreat after more than two months of demonstrations. Chinese House Prices Slumped For The Seventh Month Running. China's housing prices fell on a monthly basis for the seventh straight month in November, a survey showed Sunday, with the market yet to feel the full impact of an interest rate cut. George Osborne Is Pledging A Pre-Election Health Funding Splurge. UK chancellor George Osborne announced a £2 billion increase in healthcare spending on Sunday, seeking to counter political attacks on his Conservative party's handling of the health service six months before an election. Asian Markets Were Mixed. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.75%, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng is down 2.13% currently, after protests erupted again. Germany's Finance Minister Says More Greek Assistance Discussions Are Coming. Eurozone finance ministers will discuss in early December conditions for providing Greece with credit when its current aid program expires, German Finance Minster Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Sunday. 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! It's Cyber Monday! Here is everything you need to know before your first meeting of the day. 1. Police and pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong have clashed again. Police used pepper spray on the crowd. Thousands of activists forced the temporary closure of Hong Kong's government building. 40 arrested, Reuters reports. 2. Black Friday shopping appears to have declined 11% in the US. The Washington Post says: "The National Retail Federation reported that 55.1 percent of consumers shopped between Thursday and Sunday, according to a survey it conducted over the weekend. That is down from 58.7 percent the previous year. The NRF said total spending was $50.9 billion, an 11 percent decline from an estimated $57.4 billion in 2013." One theory: Shoppers no longer believe that deals will only be available on the Friday and are instead spreading their buying across the weeks leading up to Christmas. 3. UK manufacturers are moderating their growth expectations. A survey of manufacturers by EEF and BDO says companies predict growth of 3.5 per cent this year for the sector but that will slow to 2 per cent in 2015, the Financial Times says. 4. Chinese manufacturing looks weak. Business Insider's Linette Lopez reported: "Chinese manufacturing disappointed again in November. The country's manufacturing PMI missed expectations coming in at 50.3, analysts expected 50.5." It's the second straight month where PMI has been near 50. Any measure under 50 indicates the sector is contracting. 5. The Swiss have rejected the gold standard. In a national referendum on Sunday that was closely watched by gold bugs — people who believe that currency should be tied to the actual value of gold — Switzerland rejected a proposal to link the Swiss franc to gold reserves held by the country's central bank. 6. An American couple cleared of killing their daughter has nonetheless been barred from leaving Qatar. It's an unusual case: Prosecutors in the Muslim country accused the pair of starving to death their adopted daughter. The 8-year-old girl alternately starved and binged on food, a behaviour the couple was trying to correct. The Huangs are Asian and their adopted daughter was black — a situation prosecutors appeared not to understand. The couple spent a year in a Qatari jail before they were cleared by a court. Their passports were taken at the airport even though they were being escorted by the US ambassador. 7. Samsung is planning another new metal phone. The next iteration of its A series will have a screen bigger than 5 inches, Business Insider noted. 8. Samsung's mobile division chief kept his job! The company had been expected to axe Shin Jong-kyun because the company's phone sales have declined. But they left him in place in the annual reshuffle. 9. Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, has been told to tone it down. O'Leary is known for his media-friendly statements about charging passengers to use the toilet and turning up to press conferences in bizarre costumes. Now the company wants him to become a bit more "presidential" in his behaviour. 10. United Nations diplomats will gather in Lima to again attempt to persuade governments to restrict their emission of greenhouse gases. The problem is that we may have already passed the point of no return, and that the planet faces a future of "drought, food and water shortages, melting ice sheets, shrinking glaciers, rising sea levels and widespread flooding," according to The New York Times. And finally ... The organisers of an art project during which actor Shia Labeouf claims he was raped have spoken out against the woman who allegedly assaulted him. “Nowhere did we state that people could do whatever they wanted to Shia during #IAMSORRY", one of them tweeted. The Guardian reports: "#IAMSORRY involved LaBeouf sitting silently behind a desk in a room in LA’s Cohen gallery with a paper bag bearing the legend 'I am not famous anymore' over his head. For five days, members of the public queued to be able to sit alone with him in the room with a prop of their choice." One woman whipped him and took his clothes off, The Guardian says. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Explosions, gunfire in Nigeria's Damaturu city | ||
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Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - Explosions and gunfire rocked the north Nigerian city of Damaturu on Monday, in a suspected Boko Haram attack that targeted police, residents told AFP. The sound of blasts and heavy weapons being fired woke locals in the Gujba Road area of the Yobe state capital at about 4:45 am (0345 GMT), said Umar Sada, who lives in the area. "We have left our homes. We are now in the bush. We don't know what's going to happen," said local man Umar Sada, who said a police barracks had been destroyed. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Climate talks to seek way to historic Paris pact | ||
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Lima (AFP) - The world's nations gather in the Peruvian capital Lima on Monday in a renewed push for a historic deal to roll back carbon emissions threatening future generations. The 12-day talks under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) take place amid grim scientific warnings but also revived political interest in sealing a pact in Paris in December 2015. "Never before have the risks of climate change been so obvious and the impacts so visible. Never before have we seen such a desire at all levels of society to take climate action," UNFCCC chief Christiana Figueres said. "Never before has society had all the smart policy and technology resources to curb greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience." Since September, top-level interest has taken the climate issue out of the back room where it was consigned after a near-fiasco at a summit in Copenhagen in 2009. In September, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon coaxed world leaders into renewing their vows to fight the scourge. Since then, the three biggest emitters -- China, the United States and Europe -- have sketched their own plans for contributing to the carbon cleanup
- Woefully short -
But the Lima talks must clear several hurdles. They must agree on a clear and transparent way by which countries next year will report national pledges to reduce climate-damaging greenhouse gases. Without this cornerstone of trust, the voluntary approach that became the UNFCCC's strategy after Copenhagen could founder. The UNFCCC's 196 parties must also hammer out a workable negotiating text for next year -- a draft that is still likely to have big gaps, such as the accord's legal status and how pledges should be policed. The envisioned 2015 accord would take effect from 2020, placing all nations for the first time into the same arena for tackling carbon emissions. Right now, measures fall woefully short of keeping warming to within two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial times, according to the Climate Action Tracker (CAT), an unofficial monitor. In fact, Earth is on track for around 4 C warming, it says. This is a scenario that many experts say will be a recipe for drought, flood, storm and rising seas, and the risk of conflict as nations fight over resources. Scientists caution that 2 C is safer, but still no guarantee. The world's most climate-vulnerable countries -- small island states and impoverished African countries -- are lobbying for the UNFCCC to uphold a tougher target of 1.5 C, which comes up for review in 2015.
- Pressure on funding -
Hand in hand with the emissions question is that of finance for poor countries, which will be hit worst by climate change but are least to blame for causing it. To unlock a deal in Paris, developing countries want rich economies in Lima to show specifics on how they will honor promises to muster up to $100 billion annually by 2020. Nearly $10 billion has been promised in startup capital for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the main vehicle for channeling the money. Much more is needed, but also work on specific mechanisms for providing the money, say campaign groups. "We need clear commitments of climate finance, focused on what developing countries actually need," said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of the poverty campaign group Oxfam. With help to switch out of fossil fuels, Ethiopia, for instance, could hoist millions out of poverty and avoid the equivalent carbon-dioxide emissions of 65 coal-fired plants, she said. What happens in Lima "will set the stage for success or failure in Paris," Byanyima said. "Vague promises won't help people to adapt to the harmful effects of climate change or help countries to purse cleaner paths to growth and development."
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WHO warning as China says nearly 500,000 living with HIV | ||
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Beijing (AFP) - The World Health Organization issued a call to action to China Monday over HIV/AIDS as government figures said nearly half a million people are living with the disease or its precursor, with hundreds of thousands more thought to be undiagnosed. Bernhard Schwartlaender, the World Health Organization's representative in China, wrote in an op-ed in the state-run China Daily newspaper that "there is much more China needs to do" to prevent infection and better help those living with HIV. "Perhaps most importantly, we must eliminate stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV, and at-risk populations such as men who have sex with men, sex workers, and injecting drug users," Schwartlaender wrote. "I've seen some of my own colleagues in the medical profession turn patients away because they disapproved of the person's sexual orientation. That is simply unacceptable, and it has to stop," he added. The op-ed was published on World AIDS Day, a day after the National Health and Family Planning Commission said that by the end of October, a total of 497,000 people in China had been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS since the country's first case in 1985. The figure represents an increase from September 2013, when 434,000 people in China were known to be living with HIV/AIDS. But it was not clear whether the rise was due to an increase in infection, or more cases being diagnosed. Another 154,000 have died from AIDS over the past three decades, the commission said. China's National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention last year estimated that as many as 810,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in the country, including those who have not yet been diagnosed, out of a total population of 1.36 billion. That is a far lower proportion than India, where UNAIDS says there are more two million people living with HIV, in a slighter smaller total population -- although UNAIDS does not give figures for China. More than a quarter of a million HIV-positive people are currently on antiretroviral treatment in China, UNAIDS China director Catherine Sozi wrote in a China Daily op-ed on Saturday. China "needs to increasingly go beyond its initial success in the roll-out of large-scale HIV programmes and focus on how to reach people who are currently falling through the cracks," she wrote. - Discrimination lawsuit - Sexual contact is the most common means of transmission in China, followed by mother-to-baby transmission and drug needle sharing, the Family Planning Commission said. In the 1990s, rural parts of China -- particularly the central province of Henan -- were hit by the country's most debilitating AIDS epidemic. It stemmed from a tainted government-backed blood donation programme and infected tens of thousands of people, including entire villages. But now, sexual transmission accounts for more than 90 percent of infections, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDCP). Gay men accounted for 25 percent of new HIV cases in the first eight months of this year, according to the CCDCP, up from 19 percent in 2012. Discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS remains an issue at hospitals, workplaces and other establishments across the country, a factor that experts say hampers efforts to diagnose and treat the virus. In August, two HIV-positive passengers sued a Chinese airline after staff refused to let them on board, in the country's first such lawsuit. The two, along with an HIV-negative travelling companion, were told by Spring Airlines that their tickets had been cancelled. Last month, the airline compensated the two HIV-positive passengers 36,000 yuan ($5,900) and the third plaintiff 15,000 yuan ($2,440), the Legal Daily newspaper reported. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Erdogan hosts Putin to tighten Turkey-Russia alliance | ||
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Ankara (AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday holds talks in Ankara with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to tighten links which have survived potentially grave disputes over the Syria and Ukraine crises. The talks are expected to focus on energy cooperation -- with Ankara seeking not only a reduction in gas prices from Russia but also greater import volumes ahead of the winter -- as well as key diplomatic issues. It will be the first time the pair have met face-to-face since Erdogan moved from the post of prime minister to president in August, the same job change that Putin himself made in 2012. Commentators often note the similarities between Erdogan, 60, and Putin, 62, charismatic strongmen who are both accused abroad of authoritarianism but retain significant support bases at home. Russia and Turkey appear so far to have successfully shielded their strong relations from potentially damaging disputes over the crises in Syria and Ukraine. Ankara -- a strong supporter of the territorial integrity of states due to its own battle with Kurdish separatists -- opposed Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine this year. It is also worried about the situation on the Black Sea peninsula of the Turkic Crimean Tatar minority who, according to activists, are the victims of persecution by the new pro-Kremlin authorities. Meanwhile, the two countries are at odds over the Syria conflict, with Putin the last remaining major ally of President Bashar al-Assad but Erdogan pressing for the Syrian leader to be ousted without delay. But these disputes appear not to have harmed other aspects of cooperation, with more than four million Russian tourists visiting Turkey annually and Russia building Turkey's first nuclear power plant in a $20 billion project. "Turkey-Russia relations remain stable, maintaining continuity and not depending on the current situation," Putin said in an interview with Turkey's Anatolia news agency ahead of his visit. He acknowledged: "Naturally our positions on some issues may not be exactly the same or even differ. This is natural for states carrying out an independent foreign policy." Turkey -- the second largest European importer of Russian gas after Germany -- wants cheaper but more gas from Russia especially in the current winter season. Energy Minister Taner Yildiz noted on a visit to Moscow last week that in some Turkish regions 22 times more gas is needed in winter than in summer. Gazprom had promised to increase deliveries this year to Turkey to 30 billion cubic metres of gas, up from 26.7 billion last year. However to the alarm of Ankara, the projected figure has now fallen due to the crisis in Ukraine, a key transit country. In a sign of the seriousness of the issue, Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller on Saturday held unannounced talks in Istanbul with Yildiz and Erdogan, the Russian company said in a statement. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Qatar slams new World Cup corruption claims | ||
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Manila (AFP) - Qatar dismissed new allegations of corruption in the bidding process for the 2022 World Cup as they basked in strong support from FIFA chief Sepp Blatter and Asian football officials. Qatar 2022 communications chief Nasser Al Khater said "reader fatigue" was setting in after a British newspaper printed fresh claims of vote-buying by 2018 hosts Russia and the wealthy Gulf state. He said it was telling that the Sunday Times sought parliamentary privilege, a defence against libel, before publishing unproven claims it says were secretly compiled by Britain's bid team for the 2018 event. "What I understand is that they went to parliament before publishing, to get parliamentary privilege," Al Khater said at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) awards in Manila late on Sunday. "I guess that tells you the story... there's a story that came up but they went to the select committee in parliament, so already that tells me that they're looking for some protection." Asia's second World Cup enjoys staunch backing from regional officials, with Blatter earning loud applause when he told the gala dinner: "The World Cup 2022 will be played in Qatar." Controversy again engulfed Asia's second World Cup when investigator Michael Garcia disowned the findings of his report into the bidding process, as presented by FIFA. Widespread calls to make the report public have fallen on deaf ears. Al Khater said: "At this point our opinion is that this report isn't in relation to Qatar, as a lot of people make it sound." He added: "I'm pretty sure people are already feeling tired of this story. I think there's already reader fatigue in terms of this story. For us we're just focused on our work, we don't really pay attention to it." Al Khater said worker welfare was a top priority, after Amnesty International published claims of forced labour and Germany's football boss said Qatar should be stripped of the World Cup if it cannot improve its human rights record. Qatar will publish an interim workers' welfare report this week, looking at issues like the sourcing of labour and accommodation. Hundreds of migrant workers have died in the wealthy Gulf state. "We recognise that there's been some problems, but we also recognise that there's been tremendous progress on this issue as well," Al Khater said. Work has started on five stadiums and engineers are developing air-cooled training venues and fan zones. A 1,500-capacity fan site was successfully cooled during the Brazil World Cup and can be scaled up, Al Khater said. He added that several dates were in play for 2022, which faces being moved to winter months to avoid the harsh desert summer. But a spring and autumn tournament are also possible, according to Al Khater. "We've heard something as early as September or October, we've heard November-December, we've heard January-February, we've heard May and then we've heard the traditional date of June-July," he said. "So you have several dates on the table right now." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Here's What A Sustained $20 Drop In Oil Prices Does To The World's Major Economies | ||
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Oil prices have been tumbling in recent weeks. The price of brent crude fell below $80 per barrel today for the first time in since September 2010. That's down from around $115 earlier this summer. A research note from Societe Generale's Michala Marcussen takes a look at the possible effects of a drop in oil prices on the world economy. She plugged a sustained $20/barrel drop in oil prices into Britain's National Institute of Economic and Social Research's NiGEM software, a sophisticated global macroeconomic model, and saw what would happen to global GDP in the following years. For oil exporting countries, there would be an immediate negative shock to GDP growth as a result of the oil price drop. Meanwhile, there might be a strong bump in GDP growth for oil-importing countries, most notably the US, Canada, and some countries in Asia. The researchers also include a number of caveats, given that economic simulations and predictions of this nature are always filled with assumptions and uncertainties. Societe Generale's results are summarized in the chart. The blue part of the bars show the effect of the price drop after one year, brown after two years, and grey after three years. "As seen from the chart, a $20/b decline in the oil price adds 0.26pp to World GDP after the first year of the shock," Marcussen wrote. Russia stands out as the big loser in the first year.
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Leftist Vazquez wins Uruguay presidential runoff | ||
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Montevideo (AFP) - Uruguay's ex-president Tabare Vazquez won a new term in a runoff election Sunday, extending the left's decade in power, though not necessarily his predecessor Jose Mujica's groundbreaking marijuana law. Vazquez, a 74-year-old cancer doctor who previously served as president from 2005 to 2010, had won 55.5 percent of the vote with almost 72 percent of the ballots counted. His center-right opponent, 41-year-old lawmaker Luis Lacalle Pou, conceded defeat after three exit polls showed him losing by a margin of more than 10 percentage points. Lacalle Pou, a former president's son and a passionate surfer, had 44.5 percent of the vote in the official count, according to results released by the national electoral court. In a victory speech before cheering supporters undaunted by a rain-soaked election day, Vazquez called for a new approach to face the country's "new challenges." "It won't be just more of the same, because Uruguay today isn't the same as in 2005 or 2010," he told the crowd. He vowed "more freedoms and more rights," as well as "more economic, social and cultural development." The win consolidates the leftist Broad Front (FA) coalition's hold on power and returns Vazquez, who swept them to office 10 years ago, to the helm in a game of political leapfrog for this country that bars presidents from serving consecutive terms. The FA retained its legislative majority in the first-round vote on October 26, including a senate seat for Mujica. The small South American country will now watch to see how Vazquez, a straight-laced politician with a formal style, handles the take-over from Mujica, a former guerrilla fighter famous for living in a run-down farmhouse and donating most of his salary to charity. - Marijuana law in doubt - Vazquez, who starts his new term on March 1, has at times clashed with Mujica within the FA. The president-elect cuts a much more sober figure than his popular predecessor, who still drives around in his beat-up Volkswagen Beetle and is known as "the world's poorest president." Mujica legalized abortion, gay marriage and marijuana sales during his administration. But the marijuana law, his landmark initiative, may face an uncertain future in Vazquez's hands. Under the law, the first of its kind in the world, marijuana users were supposed to be able to choose a supply source -- pharmacies, cannabis clubs or home-grown plants -- and buy or grow the drug in a regulated, fully legal market. Vazquez, who made strict anti-tobacco legislation one of his top priorities in his first term, has spoken out forcefully against smoking pot, called the idea of pharmacy sales "incredible" and said that if elected he would make "any corrections necessary" to the law. Though the legislation officially came on the books in April, implementation is still in the very early stages. One of the law's key components is a national registry of marijuana users to ensure that buyers have fulfilled the licensing procedures and do not exceed the monthly maximum purchase of 40 grams (1.4 ounces). But users have been reluctant to sign up, fearing the anonymity promised in the legislation may not protect them if the government changes policy someday. - Five more years - Vazquez will also face the challenge of governing in an increasingly difficult regional economic climate. When he first won election in 2004, he cruised to victory in a single round as voters punished Uruguay's two traditional parties for the region's 2002 economic crisis. That victory was a historic first for Uruguay after 174 years of dominance by two parties: the "Colorados" (Reds) and Lacalle Pou's "Blancos" (Whites, now officially called the National Party). Vazquez presided over five years of economic growth, boosted by a favorable global climate that unleashed Latin America's so-called "golden decade." The economy has continued growing under Mujica -- registering 4.4-percent growth last year -- and poverty has fallen by two-thirds during the FA's decade in power. But Vazquez will likely have to make tougher decisions on economic policy this time around. Uruguay's two giant neighbors, Brazil and Argentina, are suffering severe slowdowns. And Latin America as a whole is struggling with the end of its commodities-fueled boom. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Pope urges Muslim leaders to condemn Islamist terror | ||
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Istanbul (AFP) - Pope Francis urged Muslim leaders worldwide to "clearly" condemn terrorism carried out in the name of Islam, and called for an end to the persecution of Christians in the Middle East. Francis said he had told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that "it would be wonderful if all the Muslim leaders of the world -- political, religious and academic, spoke up clearly and condemned" violence which damages Islam. "That would help the majority of Muslims if that came from the mouths of these political, religious and academic leaders. We all have need of a global condemnation," Francis told reporters aboard the plane taking him back to Rome after a three-day visit to Turkey. The pope acknowledged that current global crises had generated a danger of all Muslims being tarred with the same brush. Francis attacked those who say "all Muslims are terrorists", adding: "As we cannot say that all Christians are fundamentalists." In a rare joint plea, the pope and Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I spoke out against anti-Christian violence, saying the world could not stand by and allow "a Middle East without Christians." "We cannot resign ourselves to a Middle East without Christians, who have professed the name of Jesus there for two thousand years," the Church leaders said. They said the "terrible situation" of Christians calls "for an appropriate response on the part of the international community". The Argentine leader of the world's Catholics denounced what he termed the current wave of "Christianophobia" in the Middle East, accusing Islamist radicals of "hunting" Christians while certain officials acted as if "they did not want any left in these countries". The pontiff did not specify which countries he was referring to. - Overtures to Muslims - The pope's trip to Istanbul -- once the capital of the Christian Byzantine world and formerly known as Constantinople -- was marked by his overtures to Muslims and other Christian confessions. On the final day of his first visit to Turkey, Francis urged an end to the millennium-old schism between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches and said this was all the more urgent due to the violence against Christians by Islamic State (IS) extremists. Early Sunday he attended a divine liturgy led by Bartholomew, the "first among equals" of an estimated 300 million Orthodox believers. "How can we credibly proclaim the message of peace which comes from Christ if there continues to be rivalry and disagreement between us?" he said in an address at the Orthodox Patriarchate. Bartholomew for his part said that while the road to full communion would be "perhaps lengthy and sometimes even rugged" it was irreversible. He echoed the pope's comments that the violence against Christians had made this more pressing. "We no longer have the luxury of isolated action." The two Church leaders also called on the parties involved in the Ukraine conflict "to pursue the path of dialogue and of respect for international law". - Visit to Blue Mosque - The pope and Bartholomew have in the last months worked hard for a rapprochement between the eastern and western Churches which have been split since the schism of 1054. The reconciliation began in 1964 with the famous embrace in Jerusalem between Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, the first such meeting since the 15th century. Bartholomew, who commands considerable respect beyond the Orthodox Church, holds an office that dates back to the early days of the Byzantine Empire, over a millennium before the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. During a prayer service Saturday, the pope bowed his head and asked Bartholomew to kiss him on his brow, in a remarkable sign of humility towards the patriarch. In another hugely symbolic moment, the pope during a visit Saturday to Istanbul's Ottoman Sultan Ahmet mosque -- better known abroad as the Blue Mosque -- turned towards Mecca and stood in two minutes of reflection next to a top Islamic cleric. "I prayed for peace, for Turkey, for everyone, for myself. It was a moment of sincere prayer," the pontiff later said about the gesture. His trip was marked by crowds far thinner than during previous visits abroad but also by the heaviest security, which extended to positioning snipers on the balconies of mosque minarets. Turkey's Christian community is tiny -- just 80,000 in a country of some 75 million Muslims -- and only a small proportion of these are Catholics. Francis's trip was less controversial than the last by a pontiff -- the visit by his predecessor Benedict XVI in 2006 was overshadowed by remarks he had previously made deemed to be anti-Islamic. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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US air base in S. Korea in lockdown over suspected shooter: air force | ||
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Seoul (AFP) - The US Osan Air Force base in South Korea was under lockdown Monday after reports of an active shooter on the site, the 51st Fighter Wing based there said. "We have received reports of a possible active shooter incident. A perimeter has been established and security forces are sweeping the area," the fighter wing said in a statement posted on its official Facebook page. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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China manufacturing growth at eight-month low: govt | ||
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Beijing (AFP) - China's manufacturing growth skidded to an eight-month low in November, an official survey showed Monday, signalling further downward pressure on the world's second-largest economy. China's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) released by the National Bureau of Statistics came in at 50.3 last month, lower than the 50.8 recorded in October and the weakest since a similar 50.3 reading in March. The index, which tracks activity in factories and workshops, is considered a key indicator of the health of China's economy, a major driver of global growth. A figure above 50 signals expansion, while anything below indicates contraction. The results came after a closely watched private survey fell to a six-month low and showed manufacturing stagnating. British bank HSBC's preliminary PMI for November came in at the 50.0 breakeven point dividing expansion and contraction, the bank said last month. It was lower than October's 50.4 and the weakest reading since May's 49.4. HSBC is scheduled to release its final reading for November on Monday. China's central bank last month unexpectedly cut benchmark interest rates for the first time in more than two years, as authorities seek to prop up flagging growth. The cut came after a string of disappointing data showed the Chinese economy is struggling with not just stalling factory growth, but other problems including soft exports and a weakening property market. China's economy expanded 7.3 percent in the July-September quarter, down from 7.5 percent in the previous three months and the slowest since 2009 at the height of the global financial crisis. The People's Bank of China on November 21 lowered its one-year rate for deposits by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent and its one-year lending rate by 40 basis points to 5.6 percent, a statement said. China's housing prices fell on a monthly basis for the seventh straight month in November, a survey showed Sunday, as the country's property market weighs on growth. The average price of a new home in China's 100 major cities was 10,589 yuan ($1,720) per square metre in November, down 0.38 percent from October, the independent China Index Academy said in a statement. The fall was a slight improvement from the 0.40 percent month-on-month drop in October, previous figures showed.
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Here's When The Next Big Villain Is Coming To 'The Walking Dead' | ||
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"The Walking Dead" fans may have been surprised this season when the new big villains this season, a group of cannibals, were quickly and brutally killed off in episode three. It seemed like we were in for the long haul (or at least a little while) with this storyline. The leader of the cannibals, Andrew J. West's Gareth, seemed like the successor to the show's previous popular villain, The Governor (David Morrissey). The Governor was on the series for two seasons. The cannibal crew lasted about a total of five episodes after heavily being teased over the course of season 4.
Now that they're gone, the group doesn't have any main antagonist. Sure, Beth (Emily Kinney) was taken by a group of mysterious survivors, but they don't seem like any real threat Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his group of survivors can't handle by the close of season 5.
What's next? Any one who reads the comic knows there's a huge fan favorite villain coming eventually to the series named Negan. Who's Negan?
If you thought the one-eyed, prison slaughtering Governor was awful, Negan's at least 10 times worse. The character is the leader of a large group of survivors coined "The Saviors" made up of mostly violent men. Negan delivers his own brand of justice with the swing of a bat wrapped in barbed wire he calls Lucille. "The Walking Dead" creator Robert Kirkman confirmed to MTV News in April he's coming eventually. There's just one problem. The character isn't the easiest to bring to life on screen. Negan is known for throwing around the "f-bomb" in nearly every panel of the comic. While at New York Comic Con last month, we caught up with "The Walking Dead" creator Robert Kirkman and asked him when we could expect to see Negan on the series and how the character would be adapted to screen. It doesn't sound like we should be gearing up to see Negan in the rest of season 5. "Negan says a word that you can't say on television. I understand that. I think that there are ways around that," Kirkman tells Business Insider. "Luckily, we're not going to have to work that out for some time. I'm not going to say when Negan will possibly show up on the show, but it's not any time soon." How do you adapt a character who appears virtually unadaptable? It's not even clear Kirkman's sure yet. "We'll figure that out along the way," Kirkman added. "Maybe AMC can change the rules on TV." NOW WATCH: There's A Good Reason 'The Walking Dead' Creator Doesn't Use The Word ZombieSEE ALSO: Why "The Walking Dead" casts so many actors from HBO's hit show "The Wire" AND: "The Walking Dead" actress tells us the hardest part about season 4 Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Warning: There are some spoilers ahead for season 5 and from the comic book.
A whole lot of love in Rio: nearly 4,000 tie the knot | ||
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Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - It was Rio's biggest mass wedding: a total of 1,960 couples who exchanged vows Sunday in a hall next to the famous Maracana stadium. The big event brought out a whopping 12,000 people, between brides and grooms, friends and family and authorities -- including a pack of judges, a Catholic priest and an evangelical Christian pastor. Dubbed "I Do Day," the event was sponsored by authorities to encourage many people who might not be able to afford to marry if they had to pay for licenses and banquet halls. The megacrowd gathered in the venue which is often used for major concerts, couples tied the knot and friends took in a concert by samba star Dudu Nobre. Guests also got a free ride on local trains -- nicknamed the "I Do Day Train" just for the occasion.
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Barca not lucky to snatch win, insists Enrique | ||
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Madrid (AFP) - Barcelona boss Luis Enrique rejected suggestions his side had been fortunate to come away with all three points from Valencia after Sergio Busquets volleyed home the only goal of the game deep into stoppage time. The Spanish international pounced after Diego Alves had made a great save from Neymar's header to ensure Barca close to within two points of leaders Real Madrid. "I don't feel like lady luck fell on our side because we scored a good goal and created it from a set-piece. It wasn't luck, we had to dominate them and control their transitions, so I am very thankful to the players," said Enrique. "We had faith until the end at a very difficult place to come to and where no one had won before today. "It's true the goal came from a corner, but we had three efforts on goal in the same move to be able to win the game. "The result will boost the team. Of course I am happy, but even more than the three points I am happy with how we played against a difficult opponent that pressurises you like very few others." The action on the field in La Liga was overshadowed on Sunday by the death of a Deportivo la Coruna fan who was pulled from a freezing river following violent clashes between rival supporters. The 43-year-old man was rescued by firefighters from the Manzanares river near the Vicente Calderon stadium, where Deportivo went on to lose 2-0 to Atletico Madrid, but died of cardiac arrest shortly afterwards. He also suffered head injuries and hypothermia. And there were more unsavoury scenes at Mestalla as Lionel Messi received treatment after being hit on the head by a plastic bottle thrown from the crowd as Barca celebrated their winner. Enrique insisted more can be done to prevent the actions of unruly fans inside the ground, but agreed with his Atletico counterpart Diego Simeone that the incidents like those in Madrid earlier in the day are a wider societal problem. "What happens in the stadium can be controlled, although you can always have one undesirable," he added. "What happened around the Calderon doesn't represent football. We need to eradicate violence from football and from society." Valencia boss Nuno Espiritu Santo, meanwhile, was left to lament the chances his side failed to convert in the second-half. "We had good moments in the match and very clear opportunities to score. Barca also had chances to give them their due," he said. "But we had such clear chances and could easily have won." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Chinese Manufacturing Is Teetering | ||
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Chinese manufacturing disappointed again in November. The country's manufacturing PMI missed expectations coming in at 50.3, analysts expected 50.5. Any number under 50 indicates a contraction in the country's manufacturing sector. HSBC's Chinese manufacturing PMI held steady at October's number — 50.0, right at the break even point. This continues a worrisome trend for the country. In October manufacturing PMI came in at 50.8 — analysts expected 51.1. Up until a few weeks ago it seemed like President Xi's administration was ready to watch the economy slow down — they even seemed okay with watching 2014 GDP miss its 7.5% target rate. State media reported that anyone in support of a PBOC rate cut was not a patriot. Then the PBOC "cut" rates earlier this month. It wasn't a real cut — basically, it dropped the floor for key interest rates, but maintained the ceiling, so banks can still charge the same rate if they want to. The "cut" was less a cut, and more an indication that more action may be coming more than anything else, and the markets loved it. Numbers like this PMI miss, however, could upset markets again. A head fake is not enough to cure what ails the Chinese economy — a corporate sector laden with debt that it passes on to Chinese banks. "China’s debt problem lies with the corporate sector," Societe Generale analyst Wei Yao wrote in a note. "The cure should be capacity consolidation and debt restructuring, rather than another stimulus package targeted to boost investment demand." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Tokyo stocks open slightly up | ||
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Tokyo (AFP) - Tokyo stocks opened slightly higher on Monday after the dollar rose against the yen on oil-producing cartel OPEC's decision not to cut production. The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 0.09 percent, or 15.25 points, to 17,475.10 at the start. The dollar was at 118.87 yen early Monday, up from 118.65 yen in New York Friday afternoon. The euro also rose to 147.87 yen from 147.64 yen in US trade, while buying $1.2438 against $1.2443. A weaker yen is a positive for Japanese exporters as it makes them more competitive abroad and increases profits when they are repatriated. On Wall Street the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.49 points on Friday, creeping to a new record high at 17,828.24, while energy-related stocks were hammered after the OPEC decision. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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GOLD IS GETTING SMOKED (GLD) | ||
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Gold is getting smoked. On Sunday night, gold was down more than 4% to as low as $1,143 an ounce after voters in Switzerland on Sunday rejected a measure that would have required the Swiss National Bank to increase its gold reserves from 8% to 20% of its holdings. The vote failed by a margin of 78%-22%. In addition the drop in gold, crude oil prices are resuming their tumble, and the price of other precious metals — silver and platinum — were also down sharply. Silver futures were down 12% early Sunday night and platinum futures were down more than 3%. Copper prices were also lower by 4% in what is a rough night for the metals markets. Here are the ugly gold and silver charts.
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The Weekend Is Over And Oil Is Getting Crushed (USO) | ||
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The weekend is over and West Texas Intermediate crude futures are below $65 for the first time since May 2010. In early Sunday night trading, WTI futures were resuming their tumble that sent crude to $66 for the first time in more than four years. Oil futures were down more than 2%, or $1.40 a barrel, to as low as $64.72. Brent crude prices were also sliding, falling to their lowest level since May 2010. The decline in oil prices accelerated aggressively on Thursday after the latest OPEC meeting saw the oil cartel decline to curb production in an effort to combat the recent tumble in oil prices. Here's the chart of Sunday night's drop.
SEE ALSO: GRANTHAM: 'US Fracking Is A Very Large Red Herring' Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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