As cocoa prices surge to near-record highs on demand for emerging markets, chocoholics brace for a hike in price – and maybe even a different taste, as chocolate makers hunt out cheaper ingredients. Cocoa futures are up 10 percent so far this year, hitting almost £1,900 on ($3,195) a ton in March. Last year prices rose 20 percent. This growth has been driven by demand from emerging markets, with consumption of the sweet treat in China tripling over the last 4 years.

Chocolate price hikes could make it 'like champagne'

China's stock market may have spiraled downward for years, but "new economy" shares have actually surged, creating opportunities in more traditional sectors, HSBC's chief investment officer for Asia-Pacific told CNBC.

China stocks: 'A tale of two markets'

The Atlético Madrid assistant coach German Burgos was pictured wearing Google Glass during their match against Getafe on Sunday night. The technology, which could provide managers with live statistics and replays during a game, might become popular on sidelines, so what would other coaches see if they wore the glasses?

What would football managers see if they wore Google Glass? - GuardianWitness

So my ears pricked up when I heard about a new Brazilian "chocolate" that didn't contain any cocoa at all. Far from being a cheap, artificial candy, this is a gourmet product, made using the beans of the tangy cupuaçu fruit, from the same plant family – Theobroma – to which cacao belongs. The company making it is Amma

Cupuaçu: Brazil's new alternative to chocolate | Life and style | The Guardian

In 1997, Toyota caught its competitors by surprise with the revolutionary Prius, the first commercially successful gasoline-electric hybrid car. Now, the Japanese firm is trying to do the same with a technology that seems straight out of science fiction.

Toyota Releasing Hydrogen-Powered Fuel Cell Car In 2015 - Business Insider

Two observations: growth (by decades) has been remarkably stable in the world, between 3.2%-3.6%. Second observation: during the last 13 years growth has increased relative to the previous two decades. No global stagnation, if any, acceleration of growth. But if we split the world into advanced and emerging markets we see a very different pattern.

Antonio Fatas on the Global Economy: Secular stagnation or secular boom?

What we might be seeing, therefore, is a shift in the way workers are benefiting from recovery. Until recently, we've seen employment grow rapidly but real wages fall. If real wages rise, this balance might shift.

Stumbling and Mumbling: The dark side of wage growth

Artists have structurally different brains compared with non-artists, a study has found. Participants' brain scans revealed that artists had increased neural matter in areas relating to fine motor movements and visual imagery.

BBC News - Artists 'have structurally different brains'

Daniel Carlat, director of the prescription project at the non-profit group Pew Trusts, says research to date shows that doctors who have dealings with drugs reps "tend to prescribe differently". "They prescribe more drugs, more expensive drugs, more brand-name drugs, and they're less likely to follow evidence-based practice guidelines in prescribing drugs.

BBC News - Should drug firms make payments to doctors?

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday wades into Argentina's multi-billion dollar legal fight with bond investors who turned down two debt restructuring offers after the country's 2002 default. The relatively narrow case that the nine justices are due to hear concerns whether the investors can force banks in New York with which Argentina does business to disclose information about the country's non-U.S. assets as the investors seek repayment. The case is in some ways the appetizer, with the main course in the no-holds-barred litigation yet to come. A bigger case, in which Argentina is challenging a court judgment ordering it to pay $1.33 billion to the so-called "holdout" bond investors or face a potential default if it refuses to do so, waits in the wings.

Argentina's Fight With Bondholders Reaches US Top Court

The Federal Reserve's easing program, which has pushed its balance sheet above $4 trillion and short-term interest rates to record lows, will also push gold to $5,000 an ounce, says Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital.

Schiff: Gold Headed to $5,000

There's only one bank that's come out publicly against high frequency trading, and that's Goldman Sachs. It's not an easy thing to do. Banks work with high frequency trading firms to execute orders, they also have their own dark pools — private, anonymous exchanges that have become a part of the new market ecosystem synonymous with HFT. Goldman's dark pool is called Sigma X. So why would a bank take on HFT? Because Goldman bank believes it's hurting their equities trading business, which has been on the decline for some time now.

Why Goldman Sachs - Business Insider

There are seven gold funds available to British investors, and on average they have lost 68pc over the past three years. An investor who ploughed £10,000 into one of these funds three years ago will today find that their investment has shrunk to just £3,200.

‘I invested in gold three years ago and lost 70pc – should I sell?’ - Telegraph

The United States has constructed a financial neutron bomb. For the past 12 years an elite cell at the US Treasury has been sharpening the tools of economic warfare, designing ways to bring almost any country to its knees without firing a shot. The strategy relies on hegemonic control over the global banking system, buttressed by a network of allies and the reluctant acquiescence of neutral states. Let us call this the Manhattan Project of the early 21st century.

US financial showdown with Russia is more dangerous than it looks, for both sides - Telegraph

Put simply, the government isn’t tightening fiscal policy enough to tame the out-of-control inflation that is the country’s primary problem. And the heavy public spending and subsidies fueling the rise in consumer prices will soon put Argentina right back where it started. By year-end, say the analysts, the country will likely have to go through a second, larger devaluation.

Argentina: Here We Go Again | The Financialist

In real terms, the U.S. economy expanded by a total of $290 billion dollars in 2013. With some minor adjustments, that's essentially the amount of extra income created by the nation as a whole. It also represents the increase in the purchasing power of its residents. By comparison, China's economy added over $800 billion dollars to its citizens spending power during 2013 alone.

Is America giving up?: Wharton professor - Yahoo Finance

Nexium is a bright, purple pill that treats heartburn. It's the second best-selling drug in the United States right now. Americans spent $6.2 billion buying millions of Nexium prescriptions in 2013 alone. But we probably didn't have to: while Americans pay an average of $215 for a Nexium prescription, the Dutch get the exact same purple pill for $23. In England, Nexium costs $42 and in Spain the price is $58.

Our health spending problem is all about prices - These 15 charts show our health care prices are totally insane - Vox

The overall age mix for the Affordable Care Act is virtually the same as the age mix was in Massachusetts. More important, it vindicates the predictions of experts like Gruber who said, all along, that young people would be among the last to sign up.

Obamacare Enrollment Hits 8 Million, Age Mix Looks Like Massachusetts | New Republic

The researchers found that brain damage could be significantly reduced if an antioxidant is applied immediately after the trauma. The study, which was of great interest to the NFL world, was based on the observation of mice immediately after brain trauma. In a remarkable happenstance, the study wouldn't have been possible if Roth hadn't been so bad at performing brain surgery on mice back in 2010.

Theo Roth, Stanford Grad Finds Concussion Breakthrough - Business Insider

He only wears shoes once. He leaves them in hotel rooms for the staff when he's done.

How Floyd Mayweather Spends His Money - Business Insider

In honor of CNBC's 25th anniversary on Thursday, the "Fast Money" traders offered up their top long-term picks to hold onto for the next 25 years.

Stocks to own for the next 25 years

Almost a fifth of China's soil is contaminated, an official study released by the government has shown. Conducted between 2005-2013, it found that 16.1% of China's soil and 19.4% of its arable land showed contamination. The report, by the Environmental Protection Ministry, named cadmium, nickel and arsenic as top pollutants.

BBC News - Report: One fifth of China's soil contaminated

Oldest English league footballer: Stanley Matthews, 50 (Stoke v Fulham, 1965) Oldest male winner of golf major: Julius Boros, 48 (US PGA, 1968) Oldest male winner of tennis major: Ken Rosewall, 37 (Australian Open, 1972) Oldest Test cricketer: Wilfred Rhodes, 52 (England v West Indies 1930) Oldest Olympic gold medallist: Oscar Swahn, 64 (shooting, 1912) Oldest snooker world champion: Ray Reardon, 45 (1978) Oldest F1 race winner: Luigi Fagioli, 53 (French Grand Prix, 1951) Oldest darts world champion: Phil Taylor (above), 52 (PDC, 2013)

BBC Sport - Bernard Hopkins: Boxing's oldest world champ still rumbling at 49

For instance, we get happier over time when we've bought experiences, like a vacation, but less happy when we've bought things, like a new watch. And here's a tidbit for you that flies in the face of the American Dream: Research shows that the value of your car has no effect on how much you enjoy driving it, and that homeowners aren't any happier than renters.

Money Can Buy Happiness - Business Insider

Oregon's website was supposed to be the crown jewel of state health insurance exchanges. It was to be the model by which other states could build their own. Now it's the poster child of the awful technical rollout of Obamacare. It has been called "the worst disaster zone" of state exchanges by the Washington Post's Ezra Klein. The site has cost $200 million so far, with more than $130 million going to Oracle. Oracle wants to charge still more reports Manning... Like all massive IT projects that spiral out of control (and research shows that 66% of them do), the truth is there's plenty of blame to go around.

Oracle Defends Its Obamacare Website - Business Insider

What we are dealing with here, then, is football folks whose actions on or around the pitch have been so infuriating or ignoble that they have inspired a loathing that is almost entertaining... These players would be far less unpopular in Britain if they just punched opponents. Because in these parts simulation is worse than honest violence. There is a blue-collar integrity to a fist in the face; but diving is white-collar devilment, the wicked deceit of a bureaucrat. It is not just breaking the rules, it is betraying the social contract that underpins the whole enterprise.

Joy of Six: football pantomime villains | Sport | theguardian.com

But here’s the true innovation: Gillette’s new razor will use P&G’s current blades, a total departure from the notorious razors-and-blades model that has characterized the segment since Civil War beards went out of style the first time.

Gillette's New Razor Could Overturn Its 100-Year-Old Business Model - Businessweek

The economist mined Labor Department data to show that the top 20% of earners accounted for more than 80% of the rise in household income from 2008-2012. Income fell for the bottom 20%.

Wealthiest Households Accounted for 80% of Postrecession Rise in Incomes - Real Time Economics - WSJ

A study published Thursday by Monetary Policy Committee member Martin Weale and BOE economist Tomasz Wieladek took a different methodological approach and estimated QE1 in the U.K. lifted GDP by 2.5% and raised the level of prices by 4.2%.

Bank of England Says Its QE Worked Better Than Thought - Real Time Economics - WSJ

Here’s a guide to the individual outlooks for central banks around the world, compiled by our global staff of reporters and editors. Follow the links for more. And if you’re still hungry, download our free e-book on new Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen at www.wsj.com/fed.

Global Central Banking in 2014, A First Quarter Update For 23 Economies - Real Time Economics - WSJ

At the median, an asset purchase shock that results in an announcement worth 1% of nominal GDP, leads a rise of about .36% (.18%) of real GDP and .38% (.3%) in CPI in the US (UK). These findings are encouraging, because they suggest that asset purchases can be effective in stabilising output and prices

What did QE ever do for us? | Money Supply

Two years ago I would have said that phones will never replace DSLRs. Now I’m not so sure," says Whitehorn. "I think there’ll always be a role for a dedicated camera, like for sports etc., but I think you’ll see the gap closing.

HTC to adopt optical zoom in 2015 - News - Trusted Reviews

Slide 12 suggests that Samsung views 4K and foldable displays as "the next big thing" in smartphones.  In semiconductor fabrication, it believes that new structures -- i.e. whatever comes after the FinFET -- could help solve the riddle of poor performance and high leakage at 7-14 nm nodes. Maybe we'll see that "Christmas tree" transistor after all? A particularly interesting side note is found on Samsung's IP slide, which hints at an upcoming holographic display.

DailyTech - Samsung: Roadmap: Folding 4K Display Smartphones, Custom 64-Bit Cores, and LPDDR4

Is that a 1TB flash drive in your pants or are you just happy to see me? Kingston today is going totally bonkers with a new 1TB flash drive that is in its DataTraveler HyperX Predator 3.0 product family. Yes, you heard that right -- one terabyte! The DataTraveler HyperX Predator 3.0 is already shipping in a 512GB configuration, and the 1TB model will be available to purchase later this quarter.

DailyTech - CES 2013: Kingston Drops Bombshell with 1TB USB 3.0 Flash Drive

Mini PCs are big business these days, whether you consider devices like Valve's Steambox initiative, ASUS' Chromebox, Zotac's ZBox line or Intel's own NUC (Next Unit of Computing) mini PC. In fact, Intel has gone on record, projecting mini PCs like this have shipped over a million units in 2013 and are projected for strong growth this year as well.  So what's the attraction?

Gigabyte BRIX Pro And Intel Iris Pro Graphics Review - HotHardware

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH), the biggest U.S. health insurer, said it may lose members in New York as the market becomes more crowded, driving down prices. “We believe several carriers there, including new entrants, are pricing well below cost and at what we would view as unsustainable pricing levels,” said Chief Executive Officer Stephen Hemsley in a conference call today. “If this climate continues, we could see some further pressure on risk-based membership beyond the ranges we anticipated this year.”

UnitedHealth CEO Sees ‘Unsustainable’ Pricing in New York - Bloomberg

Rain causes flooding and flooding causes damage. Which shall we blame: the rain, the river or an inadequate system of levees?... Yes, new global standards have been agreed in Basel. They tighten definitions of risk and place an overall cap on leverage. But as currently set, the rules permit bank balance sheets to balloon to 33 times their equity. At that level bank asset values need fall only 3 per cent to wipe out 100 per cent of capital. A mere 1 per cent drop leaves the institution geared 50 times; a 2 per cent fall, 100 times.

Regulators’ attempts to hold back the financial tide are futile - FT.com

Household deleveraging in the US has impeded consumption and market activity in recent years, holding back the recovery. Despite substantial progress in balance sheet repair, a key question is whether deleveraging has ended or whether further adjustment is needed. This column presents time-varying equilibrium estimates of the household debt-to-income ratio determined by economic fundamentals. Taking into account the latest available data, the estimates suggest that the household deleveraging process may have ended at the end of 2013.

Has US household deleveraging ended? | vox

what do you see in the above figure? What is the bigger message it is telling? In my view, the answer to these questions is unambiguously clear. It signals the Fed never intended to unload both barrels of the gun and fully offset the collapse in aggregate demand. In other words, the figure reveals why Fed policy failed to end the slump.

Macro and Other Market Musings: This One Figure Shows Why Fed Policy Failed

Something disquieting happened at SeaWorld marine parks this year. Numbers attending the group's popular US centres between January and March dropped, from 3.5 million in 2013 to 3.05 million this year, a decline of 13%.

SeaWorld Attendance Tumbling - Business Insider

An interactive graphic by buyagift.co reminds us that natural remedies to many human ailments like fatigue, the common cold, or constipation, can be found right in your kitchen cupboard or refrigerator. While changing your diet won't fix major diseases, it can help ease everyday distresses.

Foods To Treat Nearly Every Human Ailment - Business Insider

This is how the improbable Maradona used to warm up for a match.. Brilliant stuff!

Most famous warmup ever | Voetbal | Telegraaf.nl

“Wage theft” is an old problem. It can take many forms, including paying less than the minimum hourly wage, working employees off the clock, not paying required overtime rates and shifting hours into the next pay period so that overtime isn’t incurred.

Catherine Rampell: Punish wage theft as severely as robbery - The Washington Post

Lance Armstrong appears in a 'how-to video' for Outside Magazine, teaching viewers tips on how to fix a flat tyre on a bike.

Lance Armstrong stars in instructional bike-repair video | Sport | theguardian.com

“The idea was to deal a blow to Putin’s inner circle,” says Andrei Katkov, a former partner of billionaire oil trader Gennady Timchenko, referring to the U.S. decision to sanction the lender and more than two dozen Russians last month. Katkov, the bank’s chairman from 1998 to 2004, when he owned a 6.4 percent stake that he later sold, wasn’t on the U.S. list.

Putin Bank Trail Runs From Communist Cash to Billionaires - Bloomberg

Unfortunately, the new laws fall short. Consider the Single Resolution Fund, set up to help recapitalize banks if their losses exceed what their shareholders and creditors can absorb. It will contain 55 billion euros, with authority to borrow more in an emergency. The euro area's largest banks have assets exceeding 1 trillion euros, and borrowing from private investors would be difficult in a crisis. Rescuing a bank that big would require a lot more money.

Europe's Half-Baked Banking Union - Bloomberg View

To recap, at the end of 2013, the consensus earnings per share estimate for Q1 2014 was something like 4% growth year-over-year. As the quarter wore on (and the weather got worse), these estimates were gradually chopped down week after week until the consensus went to zero percent growth.

The first down-quarter for earnings since 2012? | The Reformed Broker

Buttock injections are one of many common cosmetic procedures Venezuelan women undergo to achieve what society deems to be beautiful. The injections were banned by the government in 2012, six years after Denny had them. Denny had buttock injections in 2006 and is now suffering from severe side-effects But the practice continues in spite of the ban. Up to 30% of women between 18 and 50 choose to have these injections, according to the Venezuelan Plastic Surgeons Association.

BBC News - Why big buttocks can be bad for your health

The above chart showing the relationship between a country's chocolate consumption and Nobel Prize victories is making the rounds on Twitter, perhaps because it's Easter.

Chocolate Consumption Vs. Nobel Prizes - Business Insider

Second, Sweden’s experience helps shed light on a historical controversy over US policy. There is a substantial contingent of Fed critics who insist that the whole bubble-bust cycle of the last decade was the Fed’s fault, that it kept interest rates too low for too long. If you think about it, however, the Fed circa 2003-2004 was facing a situation very similar to that of the Riksbank in 2010: unemployment still high but coming down, inflation low, and housing prices rising: So what those critics are saying is that the Fed — which was worried about inflation at the time — should have done what the Riksbank did. Looking at Sweden, are you still sure about that?

Further notes on Sweden

The cornerstone of Flash Boys, which sold a staggering 130,000 copies in the US in its first week of publication, is a discovery made by an obscure Canadian banker, Brad Katsuyama, who noticed that whenever he tried to execute a trade, the stock price moved before the order went through. A long and tortured investigation revealed that the variable speeds at which trading information travels down fibre-optic cables to the exchanges was being exploited by brokers and high-frequency traders – so-called for the volume of trades they make – to jump the queue, buy the stocks in question and sell them back at a higher price to the person who expressed the original interest.

Michael Lewis: 'Wall Street Has Gone Insane' - Business Insider

After using Cortana for a week and speaking with Microsoft's Marcus Ash, Partner Group program manager, it's clear that the company's got a lot riding on the success of its new virtual assistant. But there's still several obstacles in Microsoft's way. Besides the competition from Apple and Google, virtual assistants still haven't really become a mainstream part of a smartphone user's everyday routine.

Microsoft: Cortana Will Blow Siri Away - Business Insider

Ford, which has seen bumper sales growth in China, says the key to its success in the world's largest auto market has been its wide range of product offerings that allow it to effectively target first-time buyers.

The secret behind Ford's success in China

Here are 100 of the highest-paid chief executives in American business. The list comes from the Equilar 100 C.E.O. Pay Study for 2013, which ranks the compensation of chief executives of the 100 largest publicly traded United States companies, based on revenue, that filed proxies by April 4.

The Pay at the Top | The Big Picture

In fact, the yield on the benchmark 10-year note has remained in a range between 2.6 and 2.8 percent since late January after starting the year around 3 percent. Rates and bond prices move inversely to each other. So if stocks continue to rally, will bonds sell off?

Think rates are too low? Think again. | Talking Numbers - Yahoo Finance

In the “Age of Solar 2,” the industry is forecast to grow more than 1000 fold in this century, and in the process, generate over 200 million jobs.

The Battle For The Sun (Or Who Will Collect The Rental Income For Solar Energy In The 21st Century?) - Seeking Alpha

While the Motorola Moto E sounds every inch the budget smartphone so far, its super-slim body is a decidedly premium feature. It’s said to be just 6mm thick, which would make it even slimmer than last year’s super-skinny Huawei Ascend P6, and way thinner than the 7.6mm iPhone 5S.

Motorola Moto E tipped as super-slim entry level smartphone - News - Trusted Reviews

Windows that double as solar panels could soon be a reality following a breakthrough in quantum dot research that could have significant implications on the way the sun's energy is harvested in the future.

Solar-Panel Windows Made Possible by Quantum Dot Breakthrough

One of the most disturbing moments of the past 18 months of my life was hearing my wife’s killer form a coherent sentence in court.

My wife was murdered by a 'monster' – but most perpetrators of violence are normal men | Tom Meagher | Comment is free | theguardian.com

The oldest battery technology developed by Edison around 1900 is NiFe, needs a new look. Advantages of NiFe batteries are: i) there are no toxic or carcinogenic materials in the product, ii) the battery is deep discharge capable, iii) it is not damaged by overcharge or over discharge, iv) the battery has a very long life, virtually indestructible. The life cycle cost of NiFe batteries, the cost of storing 1kWh of electricity, is about 2.5 cents per kWh. With further optimization, NiFe battery can provide acceptable storage costs.

The Battle For The Sun (Or Who Will Collect The Rental Income For Solar Energy In The 21st Century?) - Seeking Alpha

But the always-dreamed-of OLED devices – giant screen TVs – may never come to pass in a meaningful way, new research shows.

Are OLED TVs Doomed?

Prostitutes will be displaced by sex robots, much as other human labourers (e.g. factory workers) have been displaced by technological analogues.

Will sex workers be replaced by robots? (A Precis)

Aereo's argument is that its technology is no different from putting a regular TV antenna on your roof and running a wire down to your TV. But in this case, the "wire" is the Internet.

Aereo Lawsuit - Business Insider

At home he has installed an L-shaped sofa in the sitting room, enabling him and his wife Beth to sit together in the evenings while watching separate televison sets.

Five contenders to replace David Moyes as Manchester United manager | Louise Taylor | Football | The Guardian

There are select hotels and bars in Doha where you're allowed to drink. But you can't have alcohol or be drunk in public. It will be the most sober World Cup ever.

Qatar World Cup Problems: Bribery, Worker Deaths, More - Business Insider

See instead… I Vitelloni (1953), Fellini’s wondrous early comedy-drama about five young men in a provincial Adriatic town. Fresh and precisely observed, blending bawdiness and melancholy.

10 most overrated films of all time - Telegraph

Sweden has become the first country in northern Europe to slide into serious deflation, prompting a blistering attack on the Riksbank’s monetary policies by the world’s leading deflation expert. Swedish consumer prices fell 0.4pc in March from a year earlier, catching the authorities by surprise and leading to calls for immediate action to avert a Japanese-style trap. Lars Svensson, the Riksbank’s former deputy governor, said the slide into deflation had been caused by a “very dramatic tightening of monetary policy” over the past four years. He called for rates to be slashed from 0.75pc to -0.25pc to drive down the krona, and advised the bank to prepare for quantitative easing on a “large scale”.

Eight EU states in deflation as calls grow for QE in Sweden - Telegraph

The reason Stockholm’s plight is attracting more attention than the rest of Europe, where eight countries are now in price deflation, is because Sweden came through the financial crisis relatively unscathed. Unlike others, it also still has its own currency and therefore retains control over monetary policy. Yet, despite these apparent advantages, Sweden now finds itself in much the same boat as the depressed periphery countries of the eurozone, at least in terms of price inflation.

Swedish lessons show even deflation cannot cure the house price bubble - Telegraph

Two key US senators have already called for sanctions on large Russian banks, mining companies and energy groups, including the state gas monopoly Gazprom. Any such move would freeze gas deliveries to the EU, since few European banks would risk defying US regulators by handling Gazprom transactions.

Europe braces for gas showdown with Russia, helped by Japan's nuclear restart - Telegraph