The tax law professor who helped turn carried interest from a technical tax term into a populist cause is coming to Washington. Victor Fleischer, whose 2006 academic paper started the debate on how private equity managers are taxed, will become co-chief tax counsel for Senate Finance Committee Democrats. His partner will be Tiffany Smith, already a member of the Finance Democrats’ staff. “Victor is a true outside thought leader in this space and Tiffany has been invaluable over the past years executing our agenda,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) said in a statement. Carried interest is the profits share that some investment managers typically get, and it’s taxed at preferential long-term capital gains rates, now 23.8%, compared to the top ordinary income rate of 39.6%. Mr. Fleischer made the case that their work was more like labor income and that the tax law was allowing some of the wealthiest people to pay low tax rates.

He Made ‘Carried Interest’ Famous. Now He’s Going to Help Write The Law - Real Time Economics - WSJ

Many sector stocks have broken out to new highs, but plenty of low-risk opportunities wait to be discovered, especially at middle and lower capitalization levels. Relative strength analysis uncovers these gems efficiently, identifying strong stocks that haven’t broken major resistance levels, allowing market players to get on board before buy signals draw in the trading crowd.

Chip Stocks Flying High (XLNX, FLEX) | Investopedia

When it comes to height, Dutch men and Latvian women tower over all other nationalities, a study reveals. The average Dutchman is now 183cm (6ft) tall, while the average Latvian woman reaches 170cm (5ft 7in). The research, published in the journal eLife, has tracked growth trends in 187 countries since 1914. It finds Iranian men and South Korean women have had the biggest spurts, increasing their height by an average of more than 16cm (6in) and 20cm (8in). In the UK, the sexes have gone up virtually in parallel by about 11cm (4in). "Mr Average" in Britain is now 178cm (5ft 10in) tall; Ms Average stands at 164cm (5ft 5in).

Dutch men revealed as world's tallest - BBC News

Should we be surprised that friendship isn’t always mutual? That is one of the findings of a team of researchers at Tel Aviv University who’ve just published a paper in an academic journal. They asked several hundred students to identify which members of their peer group they considered to be ‘friends’. On average, half the people included in this category by each respondent did not feel the same way about them. According to the researchers, this news would come as a shock to most people. The students in the survey thought that 95 per cent of the people they regarded as ‘friends’ would identify them as ‘friends’ too. But I can’t say I’m surprised. In fact, a 50 per cent reciprocity score strikes me as suspiciously high. The researchers cite another friendship survey in which the score was only 34 per cent. That seems about right to me.

The day I stopped believing in the friendship myth

Based on a meta-analysis of medical research literature, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society jointly released a consensus statement last year recommending that adults receive at least seven hours a night to maintain optimal health. This recommendation was based on a systematic review of former studies. It also said that getting fewer than six hours of sleep a night on a regular basis “is inadequate to sustain health”.

BBC - Future - How do politicians get by on so little sleep?

Tesla's Gigafactory is perhaps the best example of the literal scale of Elon Musk's ambitions. When the factory is complete, it will be the largest building in the world by footprint and, if all goes according to plan, will eventually churn out enough batteries to supply 150 gigawatt hours of batteries per year. That's enough for 1.5 million Model 3s. Tesla hopes to build 35GWh of batteries per year by 2018, equivalent to 500,000 Model 3s.

Tesla's entire future depends on the Gigafactory

The past 50 years of the industrial economy have been ruled production management philosophy called "lean" production. "Lean" production was a system so perfected by Toyota that the rest of the auto industry copied it. In fact, Tesla's factory used to be a collaboration between Toyota and General Motors, called NUMMI, to perfect these systems in the US. Tesla's approach is different — a throwback to the pre-war era of "vertical integration," symbolized by Henry Ford's legendary River Rouge plant, where trains loaded with iron ore rolled up to one side of the factory and finished cars rolled out the other.

Tesla has to overcome a major problem for its massive new Gigafactory to succeed - Business Insider

Jeffrey Gundlach, the chief executive of DoubleLine Capital, said on Friday that many asset classes look frothy and his firm continues to hold gold, a traditional safe-haven, along with gold miner stocks. Noting the recent run-up in the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index while economic growth remains weak and corporate earnings are stagnant, Gundlach said stock investors have entered a world of uber complacency.

'Sell everything,' DoubleLine's Gundlach says

These contrasting South African voices are united by shared conviction. They all believe Semenya is about to unleash the full force of her supreme ability and smash a world record that has stood for 33 years. But they also agree Semenya will be confronted by an invasive scrutiny on her alone – even when there are “open secrets” that three of the Olympic 800m finalists might be intersex athletes.

The return of Caster Semenya: Olympic favourite and ticking timebomb | Sport | The Guardian

Cannondale-Drapac mechanic James Griffin rubbed vinegar on all the riders' tires before the start of rainy stages. He told Business Insider that the vinegar makes the rubber suppler, which means better traction on rain-slicked roads. The vinegar also helps prevent flats because a suppler tire absorbs bits of road debris better, debris that might otherwise puncture the tire. For what it's worth, at the Giro d'Italia this May, the team told Business Insider that its riders had zero flats during the three-week stage race.

Vinegar on bike tires at Tour de France - Business Insider

The enduring popularity of the related term “meritocracy” is a bit harder to figure. British sociologist and Labour politician Michael Young coined it in 1958 in his dystopian satire, “The Rise of the Meritocracy,” the whole point of which was that a true meritocracy would be a nightmare.  Yet the word has gone into everyday use in the U.K. and U.S. stripped almost entirely of that irony and menace. Given all the seeming resentment in both countries lately of elites and experts -- meritocrats, basically -- it seemed like a good time to finally read Young’s book. So last night and this morning, I did (the edition I read was only 144 pages, not counting endnotes and such). I recommend it! “The Rise of the Meritocracy” is told from the perspective of a pro-meritocracy sociologist, writing in 2033 in an attempt to explain the social unrest that had recently broken out. Hard scientists and engineers are at the apex of the U.K. meritocracy of the 2030s, but sociologists and psychologists seem to have done pretty well for themselves too. The psychologists design the ever-more-accurate intelligence tests used to separate the elite from the rest; the sociologists help design the strange society that results.

'Meritocracy' Is Just Another Way to Put You Down - Bloomberg View

Since the job market bottomed out in January 2010, in the depths of the Great Recession, the U.S. economy has produced more than 14 million jobs. That's pushed the total level of payrolls some 5.7 million higher than when the recession hit in late 2007.

Obama's record on jobs versus five other presidents

The higher income brackets saw drastic growth in their income while the bottom 90% of us actually saw our real income decline from 1980 until 2013. The average income of the bottom 90% of us fell 5% from $33,478 to $31,652. The average household income of every other bracket rose. The average income of the next 9% rose from 42% from $126k to $178k. The average income of the bottom nine tents of the top 1% rose 94%, up to $657k. The bottom nine tenths of the top 0.1% saw its average income rise 183% to just over $3 million/year, and the average income of the top 0.01% rose a stunning 325% to nearly $25 million per year. This data is drawn from an update that Professor Emmanuel Saez released to data accompanying a paper published by himself and Thomas Piketty entitled Income Inequality in the United States, 1913-2002 (2004).

Income Growth in the United States by Bracket Between 1980 and 2013

The company wants to build battery-powered bubble-shaped ships that hover a few inches above water and transport as many as five people at a time. The founders intend to be operating by the summer of 2017. As it seeks more cash to turn its bubbles into cabs, the startup says it’s reached out to car-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc. as well as construction company Vinci SA and luxury-goods maker LVMH. There are discussions but no commitments have been made.

SeaBubbles Flying River Taxi Along the Seine in Paris Raises 500,000 Euros - Bloomberg

Over the past several years, there has been emerging evidence illustrating the importance of sleep in diminishing age-related memory loss and progression to mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Animal studies have shown that sleep allows clearance from the brain of waste products such as amyloid.

BBC - Future - How do politicians get by on so little sleep?

We're finally far enough along in earnings season to start rendering some conclusions, Jim Cramer told his Mad Money viewers Wednesday, as he laid out four themes that are winning and four that are losing big time. Among the themes that are working, Cramer said the humanization of pets is among the strongest, with both Idexx Laboratories  (IDXX) and Zoetis (ZTS) seeing strong results. Semiconductors also continue to see strength, and Cramer remains bullish on NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) , among others.

Jim Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Four Winning Themes, Four to Avoid - TheStreet

For anyone who’s been stuck in a traffic jam wishing they could just sail right over everyone in their way, we proudly present this: The Straddling Bus. It seems like just a few months ago we were looking at nothing more than computer-rendered concept videos and miniature models of this crazy thing – and that’s because it was just mere months ago. We originally reported on this mass transit masterpiece in May of this year, and it’s already an actual thing. Those folks in China are not messing around. And who can blame them? Traffic in the world’s largest cities is growing at an untenable level, and this 1400-passenger bus, which looks like a moving tunnel, really, is a pretty clever solution.

Straddle up! China's new megabus plows over traffic, not through it | Digital Trends

To Elon Musk, Tesla Motors Inc. isn’t really a “money-losing business,” despite losing lots of money. After announcing a quarterly loss of $293.2 million — or $149.5 million without pesky things like stock paid out to employees and interest paid on the electric-car maker’s massive pile of debt — the Tesla TSLA, -0.62%  chief executive said that his company’s growth negates its lack of profitability.

Elon Musk: Tesla is not really a ‘money-losing business’ - MarketWatch

TheStreet's Jim Cramer, co-manager of the Action Alerts PLUS portfolio, posed an interesting question on CNBC's "Mad Dash" segment: "Why is the market so strong? What is the bid underneath?" That bid, he said, is Japan. "It's just crazy," Cramer said, citing a Real Money research report by James Gentile. The Government Investment Pension Fund of Japan has taken in some cases enormous stakes in individual U.S. companies. The list includes $2 billion worth of General Electric (GE)  stock, $1.5 billion in Alphabet (GOOGL) , $100 million in Whirlpool (WHR) , $180 million in Eaton (ETN) and $150 million in Roper Technologies (ROP) .

Jim Cramer -- Current Market Strength Reportedly Made in Japan - TheStreet

Efforts to combat Aids in Africa are seriously faltering, with drugs beginning to lose their power, the number of infections rising and funding declining, raising the prospect of the epidemic once more spiralling out of control, experts have warned. The UN has set a target of 2030 for “the end of Aids”, which has been endorsed by donor governments including the US, where the president, Barack Obama, said the end was in sight last month.

Hope for 'end of Aids' is disappearing, experts warn | Global development | The Guardian

That's where the Toyota Mirai comes in. It's an ambitious project for Toyota because the fueling infrastructure for this car is minimal. There are only 29 public hydrogen-filling stations in the US, according to the US Department of Energy. Twenty-six of those stations are in California, and there's one each in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and South Carolina. If you include public and private hydrogen stations, then the total climbs to 54 — nationwide. Compare that to the nearly 14,000 electric-charging stations and the 168,000 retail gas stations in the US, and you can see the obvious drawback of hydrogen-powered cars. Despite this, the Mirai is an interesting project, if for no other reason than the fact that it's different.

2016 Toyota Mirai review - Business InsiderThe Party That Lost Its Soul | RealClearPolitics

Dorer said that what makes Clorox unique is it has growth where others don't. They have become experts at taking out costs, then reinvesting those savings back into the business. That's how the company has been able to increased volume growth by 7% this quarter. Clorox is also a leader in innovation, Dorer added, having just introduced products including Fresh Step cat litter with Febreeze odor control built right in. Clorox has also grown its Kingsford charcoal business to half a billion dollars a year, adding over $100 million in sales in just the past three years.

Jim Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Four Winning Themes, Four to Avoid - Pg.2 - TheStreet

If (or when) China sneezes -- ranging from a sharp devaluation of its currency or protectionist measures to defend local industries -- Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea and Malaysia would be first to feel the chill, according to analysis from Natixis SA.

Who is Most Dependent on China? - Bloomberg

Beethoven’s thrilling, electrifying Eroica, a piece of music originally dedicated to Napoleon and celebrating the revolutionary spirit sweeping Europe, has been named the greatest symphony of all time by the world’s greatest conductors. BBC Music Magazine surveyed 151 conductors working across the world to come up with a top 20 great symphonies. The Eroica, Beethoven’s Third Symphony, came in at No 1, followed by his Ninth, the “Choral”, in second place. Mozart’s last symphony, No 41, the “Jupiter”, was in third place while Mahler occupied the next two places with his Ninth and Second symphonies respectively.

Beethoven's Eroica voted greatest symphony of all time | Music | The Guardian

Want to know more about the air you’re breathing? Awair wants to help. When this smart home product first launched earlier this year, it simply collected information on the quality of the air around you. But now, Awair is growing up and learning how to play with the other products on the playground. Bitfinder, the company behind the air-monitoring device, has recently partnered with Nest, the Amazon Echo, and IFTTT to help users of those services and products interact with Awair’s data — temperature, humidity ,CO2, VOCs, and dust — and actually make actionable changes, when necessary, based on that information.

Awair Partners with Nest, Echo, and IFTTT | Digital Trends

What we believe about a place can often be more powerful than the hard facts. A country's reputation can influence everything from foreign policy to foreign investment ­– to whether or not people want to visit or live there. One recent study by the Reputation Institute, a consultant and advisory firm specializing in reputation, sought to quantify the idea of the most well-thought-of countries. They measured 16 different factors ­– including being a beautiful and safe place to visit, and having friendly and welcoming residents, progressive policies and an effective government – via an online survey with more than 48,000 residents in the G8 countries, representing the world’s eight leading industrialized nations. The 55 countries rated as part of the survey include those with the largest GDPs, largest populations, and countries with relevant events. To find out if the reputation matched up to the facts, we talked to residents and expats living in the top five reputable countries.

BBC - Travel - Living in… the world's most reputable countries

Job creation crushed estimates in July as the economy added 255,000 positions, according to the Labor Department. The headline unemployment rate held steady at 4.9 percent, though a more encompassing measure that includes those not actively looking for work and those working part-time for economic reasons moved up a notch to 9.7 percent. Though still mired near generational lows, the labor force participation rate ticked up one-tenth to 62.8 percent as those counted as not in the labor force decreased 184,000 to 94.3 million. Hourly wages also moved higher, increasing by 8 cents or an annualized pace of 2.6 percent, while the average work week edged up to 34.5 hours.

US created 255,000 jobs in July vs. 180,000 jobs expected

Fake news stories from Kremlin propagandists regularly become social media trends. Here’s how Moscow does it… and what it means for America’s election 2016. “Ladies and Gentlemen, We have a situation in #Turkey #Incirlik” the cry went out on Twitter last Saturday night, as news spread of the Turkish forces surrounding the U.S. airbase in Incirlik.

How Russia Dominates Your Twitter Feed to Promote Lies (And, Trump, Too) - The Daily Beast

The Bank of England has fired the starting shot of a massive policy pivot as Britain disentangles itself from the EU system after 43 years. The quarter point rate cut today and a further £10bn of Gilt purchases each month for the next six months will help to shore up confidence, and may ‘bend down’ the yield curve a fraction more. Yet borrowing costs are not the problem. The UK has been stuck in an investment slump ever since the Lehman crisis, even though it has never been cheaper to borrow in the known history of the human race. British companies are sitting on £500bn of idle cash already because they cannot see how to make a profit amid secular stagnation.

We are all Keynesians now, so let's get fiscal

In the chart below, the solid red line plots the probability of finding a job by unemployment duration relative to the job-finding rate for the newly unemployed. The job-finding rate declines by roughly 50 percent within eight months. This negative relationship continues to hold even when we control for various observable characteristics such as age, race, education, and gender to prevent composition bias.

The Reluctance of Firms to Interview the Long-Term Unemployed   Liberty Street Economics