Remarkable stories from the web in a new, easier format.
As the US Federal Reserve starts to drain dollar liquidity from the global system at long last, let us celebrate success. Quantitative easing has worked marvellously well. Monetary policy has been vindicated.
Farewell QE, you have been a magnificent success – Telegraph
US scientists have performed a dramatic reversal of the ageing process in animal studies. They used a chemical to rejuvenate muscle in mice and said it was the equivalent of transforming a 60-year-old’s muscle to that of a 20-year-old – but muscle strength did not improve.
BBC News – Youth-drug can ‘reverse’ ageing in animal studies
The container is curved at the bottom to create a vortex that pulls food through the blades, which are surprisingly dull. That’s because a Vitamix doesn’t chop or slice, as we imagine blenders do. Instead, the angled blades, which travel at speeds up to 240 miles per hour, simply obliterate whatever is inside. The process creates enough friction to boil soup. “They are essentially bashing the materials to death,”
How Vitamix Sells Pricey Blenders to Affluent, Health-Conscious Foodies – Businessweek
How long would it take to hack into an average Web-based server—the kind a company might rent from the likes of Amazon Web Services? To find out, the security company CloudPassage set up six servers, two running Microsoft operating systems and four running Linux-based operating systems, loaded them with various combinations of widely used programs, and invited hackers to take their best shot. Top prize: $5,000.
How Long Can Cloud Servers Hold Off Hackers? Not as Long as You Think – Businessweek
Particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter that are more dangerous than other particulate matter were 219.4 micrograms per cubic meter, the site said. WHO recommends 25 micrograms for 24-hour exposure.
Heavy Pollution Returns in Shanghai After Week of Improved Skies – Bloomberg
The International Monetary Fund issued on Thursday a scathing report on Ukraine’s financial situation, saying that the government of President Viktor F. Yanukovich had largely abandoned much-needed economic reforms that it had agreed to undertake as part of a deal in 2010 that provided more than $15 billion in loans.
IMF scolds Ukraine plan for economy
The bailout from Russia, which Putin described at a news conference on Thursday as a gesture toward a “brotherly” country, comes without the requirements demanded by the I.M.F. That, however, could come back to haunt the Kremlin. The I.M.F.has said that without comprehensive reforms, including some tough austerity measures, any money provided to the Ukrainian government would essentially be thrown into a black hole.
IMF scolds Ukraine plan for economy
The first weapon Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke deployed against the worst recession since World War II owes a singular debt to Paul M. Warburg, a banker in the 1900s who understood money markets more than any contributor to the Federal Reserve Act.
Bernanke’s Recession-Fighting Weapon Developed by 1900s Banker – Bloomberg
The locksmith is a cog in a machine assembled by Blackstone to build a rental-home empire across the U.S. In less than two years, the New York-based firm has bought 41,000 properties, most out of foreclosure, in 14 metro areas to become the largest single-family landlord in the country. It’s hired more than 10,000 plumbers, leasing agents and lawyers to transform a mom-and-pop business into one of Wall Street’s hottest investments.
Wall Street Unlocks Profits From Distress With Rental Revolution – Bloomberg
With the end of the year two weeks away, 10 stocks have already had gains of more than 400%. Investors in these stocks have been, if they held them for the year, wildly successful.
The 10 Stocks With the Biggest Gains This Year – Yahoo Finance
How can governments stop financial panics wrecking their economies? A paper published by the Bank of England on Friday proposes a radical solution: a new breed of central bank-like institutions that buy and sell assets to prevent destabilizing swings in prices.
How to Stop Financial Panics? Say Hello to Qualitative Easing – Real Time Economics – WSJ
“The Motorola Moto G was a bolt from the blue,” TrustedReviews Editor Evan Kypreos said of the phone. “An almost flagship spec phone for £135. It is almost inconceivable.” He added: “Aside from the iPad Air it’s the only mobile product that scored 10/10 this year and you can’t really argue with that.
Motorola Moto G named 2013 TrustedReviews Product of the Year – News – Trusted Reviews
In public, Apple’s rivals in the smartphone market have tried to downplay the technological advances Apple introduced in the iPhone 5s. But it turns out that one breakthrough — Apple’s speedy, 64-bit A7 microprocessor — has set off a panic inside its competitors. At chipmaker Qualcomm, which provides microprocessors for many of the Android phones that compete against the iPhone, executives have been trying to put on a brave face to the world, but internally people are freaking out, according to an insider at the company.
The One Hidden iPhone Feature That’s Freaking Out The Competition | Dan Lyons
The UK escaped a liquidity trap in the 1930s and enjoyed a strong economic recovery. This column argues that what drove this recovery was ‘unconventional’ monetary policy implemented not by the Bank of England but by the Treasury. Thus, Neville Chamberlain was an early proponent of ‘Abenomics’. This raises the question: is inflation targeting by an independent central bank appropriate at a time of very low nominal-interest rates?
Escaping liquidity traps: Lessons from the UK’s 1930s escape | vox
According to a patent entitled “quantum dot-enhanced display having dichroic filter” filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Apple is experimenting with next-generation screen technology.
Apple experimenting with enhanced quantum dot iPhone displays – News – Trusted Reviews
