Ford's new car will force you to obey the speed limit … Much as we'd like to emulate our NASCAR heroes, breaking the speed limit often comes at a price. Ford is hoping to prevent accidents and speeding tickets by introducing cars that can see what the speed limit is and preventing heavy-footed motorists from driving any faster. Ford's Intelligent Speed Limiter tech will first app...Read More
The world's next credit crunch could make 2008 look like a hiccup. Is this why central bankers are so scared of raising interest rates? – TelegraphDominant Social Theme: Markets go up and down. Not to worry.Free-Market Analysis: This is a good analysis of what could go wrong with world markets (especially Western and US ones) and why … It touches on a number of memes: Sort through...Read More
Yemen could become 'protracted conflict' envoy warns … The conflict in Yemen could become "protracted in the vein of an Iraq, Syria, Libya combined scenario'' the UN's special envoy has warned. Jamal Benomar was speaking as the Security Council met in New York to express support for ousted President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. Mr Hadi fled the capital Sanaa in February a...Read More
The world's next credit crunch could make 2008 look like a hiccup. Is this why central bankers are so scared of raising interest rates? – TelegraphDominant Social Theme: Markets go up and down. Not to worry.Free-Market Analysis: This is a good analysis of what could go wrong with world markets (especially Western and US ones) and why … It touches on a number of memes: Sort through...Read More
Yemen could become 'protracted conflict' envoy warns … The conflict in Yemen could become "protracted in the vein of an Iraq, Syria, Libya combined scenario'' the UN's special envoy has warned. Jamal Benomar was speaking as the Security Council met in New York to express support for ousted President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. Mr Hadi fled the capital Sanaa in February a...Read More
How to Build Economies … Brian Pinto worked as an economist in the World Bank for almost 30 years and saw many grand development initiatives – some successful, others botched – up close. In "How Does My Country Grow?: Economic Advice Through Story-Telling" he distills the lessons of this experience. Don't be misled by the whimsical title. It's a serious, and ser...Read More
The U.S. Military Just Plunged Philippine Politics into Crisis … American fingerprints are all over a botched commando raid in the southern Philippines that left dozens dead and shocked the country. – Foreign Policy In Focus and TheNation.comDominant Social Theme: The US must defend itself and other countries from terrorism.Free-Market Analysis: This is one of those articles that deser...Read More
How to Build Economies … Brian Pinto worked as an economist in the World Bank for almost 30 years and saw many grand development initiatives – some successful, others botched – up close. In "How Does My Country Grow?: Economic Advice Through Story-Telling" he distills the lessons of this experience. Don't be misled by the whimsical title. It's a serious, and ser...Read More
The U.S. Military Just Plunged Philippine Politics into Crisis … American fingerprints are all over a botched commando raid in the southern Philippines that left dozens dead and shocked the country. – Foreign Policy In Focus and TheNation.comDominant Social Theme: The US must defend itself and other countries from terrorism.Free-Market Analysis: This is one of those articles that deser...Read More
The Man Who Can Save Brazil … A million-plus protesters in the streets and a 13 percent approval rating tend to concentrate a politician's mind … Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff [should] get out of the way of Brazil's finance minister, Joaquim Levy. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: What is needed in Brazil is authority and austerity.Free-Market Analysis: This article...Read More
A software update scheduled for release in about three months would give Model S Tesla sedans the ability to start driving themselves, which the company refers to as autopilot mode … For many drivers who commute long distances, the prospect of owning a self-driving car – where a driver takes his hands off the wheel and feet off the gas – has been an elusive dream. – New Yor...Read More
The Man Who Can Save Brazil … A million-plus protesters in the streets and a 13 percent approval rating tend to concentrate a politician's mind … Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff [should] get out of the way of Brazil's finance minister, Joaquim Levy. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: What is needed in Brazil is authority and austerity.Free-Market Analysis: This article...Read More
A software update scheduled for release in about three months would give Model S Tesla sedans the ability to start driving themselves, which the company refers to as autopilot mode … For many drivers who commute long distances, the prospect of owning a self-driving car – where a driver takes his hands off the wheel and feet off the gas – has been an elusive dream. – New Yor...Read More
Justice, capitalism and progress: Paul Tudor Jones II at TED2015 … Can capital be just? As a firm believer in capitalism and the free market, Paul Tudor Jones II believes that it can be. Jones is the founder of the Tudor Investment Corporation and the Tudor Group, which trade in the fixed-income, equity, currency and commodity markets. He thinks it is time to expand the "narrow definiti...Read More
China's Place in the New World Economic Order … Competition between the world's two greatest economic powers is both inevitable and (for the most part) beneficial. This is the case even when China and the U.S. are arguing over control of increasingly obsolescent international financial institutions. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: The New World Order is coming to town?Free-Ma...Read More
Justice, capitalism and progress: Paul Tudor Jones II at TED2015 … Can capital be just? As a firm believer in capitalism and the free market, Paul Tudor Jones II believes that it can be. Jones is the founder of the Tudor Investment Corporation and the Tudor Group, which trade in the fixed-income, equity, currency and commodity markets. He thinks it is time to expand the "narrow definiti...Read More
China's Place in the New World Economic Order … Competition between the world's two greatest economic powers is both inevitable and (for the most part) beneficial. This is the case even when China and the U.S. are arguing over control of increasingly obsolescent international financial institutions. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: The New World Order is coming to town?Free-Ma...Read More
Central Bank Autonomy Is Under Attack … Current events in Cyprus and Turkey hammer home a point that former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan made in the memoirs he published in September 2007. Central bank independence, Greenspan said, is "not set in stone." Left unsaid was the fact that it should be. Against an ever-shifting political backdrop, monetary policy can provide a...Read More
Global population growth threatens to outstrip fresh water supply: study … Global demand for fresh water is set to outstrip supply as a result of population growth by the middle of this century if current levels of consumption continue, a study said. – ReutersDominant Social Theme: The world is running out of everything. Soon we will freeze in the dark … or maybe die of thirst.Fr...Read More
Central Bank Autonomy Is Under Attack … Current events in Cyprus and Turkey hammer home a point that former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan made in the memoirs he published in September 2007. Central bank independence, Greenspan said, is "not set in stone." Left unsaid was the fact that it should be. Against an ever-shifting political backdrop, monetary policy can provide a...Read More