"Rather than the snowman-like two spheres stuck together, the new images show what looks like a pancake-shaped object (called 'Ultima') stuck to a walnut-shaped object (called 'Thule')."
"What happens when Walmart leaves town." Walmart is not your friend. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
Burning Chrome. "Email provider VFEmail said it has suffered a catastrophic destruction of all of its servers by an unknown assailant who wiped out almost two decades' worth of data and backups in a matter of hours." Malicious hacks have been around since the early days, but this has a different texture to it. (Grokked from John)
"Look out, beef. Plant-based patties are vying to win over meat lovers." But here's the real kicker, "It’s okay to have a plant-based burger if you think it’s helping to save the world, says plant-based dietitian Julieanna Hever — just don’t expect it to keep you healthy. She said she sees more and more non-meat eaters who are starting to have the same health issues as meat eaters because they’re consuming plant-based products that are engineered to mimic meat."
"The IRS faces a number of challenges as a result of the recent 35-day government shutdown, including a backlog of correspondences and a decline in the level of service on its telephone lines, the agency’s in-house watchdog said in a report released Tuesday." The IRS is the department everyone loves to hate, until they need help. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzmán is heading to prison after his conviction Tuesday on 10 charges, including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise and multiple counts of distributing tons of narcotics into the U.S."
"The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Apple, which is preparing to introduce a subscription news service, is asking publishers to give the company 50 percent of any revenues that they generate." Let the garment rending and naysaying begin! Since Amazon introduce Kindle Unlimited, these payment schemes are growing in (if not popularity) regular occurrence.
How goes Brexit? "ITV News said chief UK negotiator Olly Robbins was overheard in a Brussels bar saying the EU was likely to allow an extension to the Brexit process… The PM suggested MPs should not rely on 'what someone said to someone else as overheard by someone else, in a bar'." Tick tock, says the clock.
"U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday, with market participants hopeful that Chinese and U.S. trade authorities will reach an agreement." Sure.
"The New York Fed released the numbers on Tuesday, which included data until the end of 2018. The 7 million Americans with serious delinquencies ― when vehicle loan payments are at least 90 days late ― is more than 1 million higher than in 2010, when Americans were still recovering from the financial crisis of 2008." Insert dramatic music here. You may remember that repossession was a good business to be in during 2006-2009.
And here, I guess, is a good time to mea culpa. It appears increasingly likely that the US economy didn't enter a recession by 4CYQTR 2018. SO my prediction has not come true. And while I feel it's sorta cheating to just continue to say, "It's coming" (because eventually we will have one), I'm seeing stronger signs for this year. This economic situation feels very similar to early 2007 with the various news (confidence high, stock market roaring, but debt rising and business investment slowing). The few months of stimulus the tax cuts created are now behind us. We are still engaged in trade wars, and despite what the President says, we're still operating under NAFTA which is increasingly showing it's age. And in case you haven't been watching, the national debt reached a new milestone this week. At economic times like these, the government should be retiring debt and building, but none of that is happening and we're increasing our deficit spending (note, not all deficit spending is bad, and some is often necessary).
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israeli forces had carried out another strike in Iran-aligned Syria, a day after the Syrian army said an Israeli drone fired missiles near a demolished hospital and an army observation post." Sometimes proxy wars don't remain proxy. And sometimes people die because politicians want to appear tough and/or save face.
"Mr. Trump pronounced himself unsatisfied with the agreement brokered by House and Senate negotiators, and he refused to publicly commit to signing it. But he all but ruled out another government shutdown and emphasized that he would find “other methods” to finance a border barrier, leading aides and allies to predict he would grudgingly go along with the deal." The key to knowing what Trump will do is to find the option that creates the most chaos and then bet that way.
"Declaring a national emergency to build a wall would not be a simple matter, however. It would stretch the definition of a national emergency beyond any previous point and trigger challenges in Congress and the courts."
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