America, Your Credit Rating Stinks | Bloomberg Business

January 8, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

They are home to the nation’s credit elite, and they have another thing in common: the tech industry. Certain neighborhoods on the West Coast boast residents with some of the best credit, according to a new report by free credit score site Credit Sesame. Those zip codes include the main stomping grounds of Microsoft, Yahoo!, and Google.

Between the coasts, and certainly away from the tech plutocracy, the story is different. The average score for all U.S. states combined is a lowly 604, considered subprime by many lenders, said Stew Langille, Credit Sesame’s chief strategy officer.

Volkswagen branded sales drop for first time in 11 years | BBC News

January 8, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

German car maker Volkswagen has posted its first drop in VW brand sales in 11 years as the company continues to cope with its emissions scandal.

Sales of VW brand cars fell 4.8% in 2015 to 5.82 million cars from 6.12 million a year earlier.

Falling demand in China and US added to the losses as orders fell in December.

VW has promised it will have a fix in the coming weeks for the millions of US cars with defeat devices that disguised emission levels in diesel cars.

Netflix Launches In 130 New Countries, Including India But Not China | TechCrunch

January 6, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

U.S. movie streaming giant Netflix just dropped the hammer and opened its service in 130 new countries, including India and Russia — but crucially not China. These new markets take Netflix, which claims 70 million customers, to more than 190 countries worldwide.

The surprise reveal came at CES 2016, where the company had expected to announce its long-awaited entry into India. Well, it did that, and then some. The move was unexpected since Netflix had slowly been building its coverage up over recent years, foraying into Asia Pacific for the first time in 2015.

Don’t Blame All These Rains and Floods on El Niño | WIRED

January 5, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

HEY, 2016: PACE yourself, huh? It’s raining in Los Angeles, freezing in Florida, tornado-ing in Texas. And then there’s the floods: houses in Illinois and Missouri up to their roofs in muddy Missouri River water. El Niño is finally here.

Or is it? Or wasn’t it already? No and yes, and yes and no. Scientists have had a pretty good idea since September that El Niño was going to be a monster (they even nicknamed it “Godzilla”). They knew what that meant in general—wet Southwest, warm Northeast. But picking out El Niño’s effect on any particular event is tricky.

New York’s Old Payphones Are About To Pump Out Free Public Wi-Fi | Co.Exist

January 5, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

New Yorkers, say goodbye to dirty unused pay phones and hello to super-fast, free Wi-Fi.

Today is the long-awaited unveiling of the city’s first Link stations, the kiosks that will replace the old phones with not only free one gigabit Wi-Fi, but also free domestic calling, Internet browsing, and USB charging. The first two will be located on Manhattan’s Third Avenue in the East Village.

6 Silicon Valley Fads That Will Fade in 2016 | Inc.com

January 5, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Silicon Valley has its own unique culture that could be described as whimsical and nerdy, but also prone to excess. It’s that last feature we may see dialing back in 2016 as tech startups begin to feel the reality of shifting investing habits among venture capitalists, and more people start to accept the word “bubble” as a household term. Here are six trends that could be on their way out in the new year.

FAA Requires Drone Regulation — Whether Used for Commercial Purposes or Not | Small Biz Trends

December 30, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Whether you are using your new drone for business or any other purpose, all drones within a certain weight range must now be registered with the federal government.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced its strategic drone registration site that’s now up and running. The initiative has put into place to protect the rights of the owners as well as those of the public, the FAA claims.

Weekly Economic Update | LAEDC

December 30, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

v.19 n. 52 – Released December 29, 2015

This Week’s Headlines:

November State and Local Employment Report
California Home Sales and Median Prices in November
Personal Income Growth Strengthens in November
Headline Inflation Unchanged in November
Industrial Production
California State Tax Revenues Rise by 4.1% in 3Q15
U.S. Travel and Tourism Continues to Grow
Events of Interest
- February 17, 2016: LAEDC February Economic Outlook

Business Scan | LAEDC

December 28, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Kyser Center for Economic Research is pleased to provide the December 2015 issue of Business Scan, a compilation of Los Angeles County economic indicators and business trends, including employment, trade, housing, tourism and entertainment.

Business Scan December 2015

Please Don’t Shut Down the Internet, Donald Trump | The New Yorker

December 18, 2015 ~ CBPS ~ Leave a comment

So shutting down the Internet, or slowing it, is possible. But it’s also a terrible strategy. One of the ideas that has been central to American foreign policy for the past seventy years is that totalitarianism and oppression are best foiled by giving people more information, not less.