In the last few years there have been major hacks of some of the most popular web sites, including LinkedIn, Yahoo, and Gmail. All that information is saved by the hackers and sold or given away on what's known as the "dark web." And even though you may have changed your password when Yahoo alerted you that your old email account was breached, did you happen to use that same password for your Amazon account? Hackers are pouring over the bones of old hacks, using the information there to target high value accounts you may have forgotten about, like Amazon Seller accounts. The Wall … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2017
Andy Kessler Explains a Powerful Warning Sign to Investors
I like this common (sense) barometer from Andy Kessler writing at The Wall Street Journal: Wall Street’s most successful players get ahead of the news, understand a CEO’s mind, and figure out where the company is going. To do this, I often use what I call the “HQ Indicator.” It’s for those playing long ball, not day traders, but it is simple. When a company announces it is moving its executives into a lavish palace, it’s often time to get out. Consider the Frank Gehry-designed IAC Building in Manhattan, completed in 2007. It’s the deconstructivist-style headquarters for InterActiveCorp , … [Read more...]
Americans are Screaming for Light Trucks as Gas Prices Remain Low
Before the Great Recession, Americans were buying cars and light trucks at about the same rate. But as gasoline prices have fallen below $3 per gallon and remained there, Americans have cranked up their purchases of light trucks into record territory. … [Read more...]
Is Your Apple Computer Safe from Hackers?
Malware attacks on Apple computers are soaring. Fortune reports there was a 700% increase in malware instances affecting Mac OS in the fourth quarter of last year. If you’re a Mac user, you might want to look out for an increase of unwanted advertisements popping out from your web browsers. Security firm McAfee released a report this week that showed a big jump in 2016 regarding malware hitting the Mac operating system. The McAfee report said there were 460,000 malware instances affecting the Mac OS in the fourth quarter of 2016, an over 700% jump from the previous year during the same … [Read more...]
RAGE Gauge: How will you feel if the market drops by 40%?
My April RAGE Gauge is in, and it tells me folks are feeling OK. But it’s a tense OK. In a “what have you done for me lately world,” it’s a tough existence for the “steady as we go” crowd for whom I work with on a daily basis. For those of you who, like me, have saved your money, there continues to be an enormous drag on us from the Fed’s reckless low interest rate experiment. And I’ve heard enough about the Index investors. You know those who own the “market,” collect a pittance in dividends, and are in stocks because they “go up.” That’s not investing, it’s speculation. Where’s the value … [Read more...]
Is Amazon Readying a Fuel Cell Revolution?
In an Amazon fulfillment center, every second counts toward beating the competition. Amazon wants clean energy vehicles in the warehouses, but electric take too long to charge up. That's where fuel cell technology could be the perfect solution. Amazon is working with fuel cell maker Plug Power to put fuel cell powered-industrial trucks in its fulfillment centers. The Wall Street Journal has more: Amazon plans to spend $70 million with Plug Power this year. Plug Power, which generated $85.9 million of revenue in 2016, has granted Amazon warrants, which will vest when certain spending goals are … [Read more...]
Are You Safe from Computerized Extortion and Hacking?
Cyber Security and Cyber Crime are booming right now. The internet of things offers profound promise for productivity enhancement, but the more computerized commerce becomes, the more vulnerable it is to hacking. Here The Economist reports on the realities of computer security. COMPUTER security is a contradiction in terms. Consider the past year alone: cyberthieves stole $81m from the central bank of Bangladesh; the $4.8bn takeover of Yahoo, an internet firm, by Verizon, a telecoms firm, was nearly derailed by two enormous data breaches; and Russian hackers interfered in the American … [Read more...]
GE: The Company of Thomas Edison to Sell its Lightbulb Business
In a push to "get deeper not broader," GE CEO Jeff Immelt wants to follow the sales of the company's media, plastics and insurance businesses with the sale of its lightbulb business. The GE business has certainly moved in a new direction over the last 16 years, but tearing out one of the roots of the company is jolting reminder of how the business has changed. On GE's web site there is a section dedicated to Thomas Edison and the founding of the company. The story reads: 1876 was also the year that Thomas Alva Edison opened a laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, where he could explore the … [Read more...]
As Pension Debt Crests $1.5 Trillion, States are Headed Toward Crisis
The Tax Foundation has created a map of each state's pension funding situation. It's not pretty. If you live in South Dakota, Oregon or Wisconsin, your state is in great shape. All three have funded their pensions over 100%. But if you rely on a state pension in Illinois or Kentucky, it could get rocky. Both states' pensions are funded at only 41%. That's the worst in the country. The answer could be transitioning state employees into defined contribution plans rather than relying on the defined benefit plans that have been the norm for public pensions through history. … [Read more...]
FPL Replacing Coal Power with Some of the Cheapest American Solar Ever
Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) announced Monday that it will build another 2100MW of solar capacity in Florida by 2023. Some of that solar power will be used to replace older coal plants. FPL's CEO says the solar being installed is some of the least expensive ever in America. Ivan Shumkov writes at Renewables Now: The utility is currently developing plans and evaluating potential locations for the roughly 1,500 MW of solar projects it intends to realise in 2019-2023. It believes that an undeveloped, company-owned property in western Miami-Dade County could be used for the … [Read more...]
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