Category Archives: Technology

Business/Economics, Technology, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Netflix says 2012 will be so bad they will not make any profits. Looking to investors to float them. Blame competition & inflation

Netflix announced on November 21, that they do not expect to make a profit in 2012.  The on demand movie service went from having $366 million in cash, to almost nothing predicted for 2012.

Netflix officials blame it on several things; a huge subscriber loss, increased competition and a huge jump in licensing fees (inflation).

Like most of Corporate America, Netflix thought it could trick its customers into paying more for less. It backfired, company officials now estimate they will lose one million subscribers as a result.

Netflix says it’s seeing a jump in competition, not just from Hulu and Redbox, but from Amazon and Google.

Now comes the licensing fees.  In 2010 Netflix paid $180 million, now that’s jumped to $2 billion for 2012!!!  Company officials say they can not pay the fee upfront and will have to spread payments out over several years.

Under text book economic rules Netflix should pass on the increased licensing fees to its customers, but they already tried that and lost a huge amount of customers.  Netflix will try to ride out 2012 by issuing a crap load of stocks and bonds.  They hope they can get investors to buy at least $400 million worth of stocks and bonds, even though they admit they’re not going to make any profit for 2012.

 

Business/Economics, Technology, U.S.

It’s official, the people of the United States are Crazy! 1 in 5 on mental health drugs!!!

Medco Health Solutions Inc., says the use of drugs, in the U.S., for psychiatric and behavioral disorders rose 22% from 2001 to 2010!

But that’s an overall percentage, the numbers get worse, and more revealing, when you look at specific drugs, conditions, gender and age groups.

1 out of 4 U.S. women are using mental health drugs, the majority are women older than 45.  But there is a alarming trend of increased use among men and and young adults.

More than 20% of U.S. adults used drugs for conditions like anxiety and depression, in 2010.  The study saw a big increase in the use of drugs to control ADHD, especially in adults!

There was a 150% increase in the use of ADHD drugs among people aged 20 to 44 between 2001 and 2010, and a doubling among women in the 45-to-65 group!  I wounder if this has anything to do with the fact that many ADHD drugs are related to ‘speed’?

ADHD drug use in the over 65 age group increased about 30% for men and women between 2001 and 2010!  Are ADHD meds being used to treat memory problems typically associated with old people?  Can you say incompetent doctors grasping at straws?

The Medco study was based on the number of prescriptions issued between 2001 and 2010.





Technology

Cancer cells highly efficient at recycling

A report published by the Science Translational Medicine says at least 30 types of cancer cells are highly efficient protein recyclers.

The reason why cancerous tumors actually grow fast (contrary to outdated medical theories) is that they have an accelerated rate of recycling, also known as chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA).

Scientists hope to develop an anticancer drug by finding a chemical that would interfere with the recycling process.

 

International, Technology, U.S.

World War 3: IAEA approves resolution against Iran, Russia & China resist the resoluton

“But this is the magic of diplomacy. If you want to get everyone on board you have to sacrifice something. I hope it will lay the ground for future (UN Security Council) resolutions … I really hope so.”-Ehud Azoulay, Israeli envoy

November 18, the International Atomic Energy Agency has passed a resolution against Iran.  However, no details were included in the resolution, as to exactly what action is to be taken, this was the only way the IAEA could get Russia and China to vote for it.

Out of the 35 countries voting on the resolution, 32 voted for it. Cuba and Ecuador voted against.  Indonesia abstained.

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Corporate Incompetence: Olympus scandal deepens as company officials destroy documents, investigators say lost money went to organized crime, U.S. investor sues

“Olympus was exploited over its cover up totaling losses of 50 billion yen, and since 2000, over 200 billion yen has disappeared into the underground economy.”-leaked Japanese government memo

The New York Times claims to have seen an official memo, from Japanese investigators, which says it is highly likely that the fraudulent investment schemes that Olympus optical company was part of, were done for organized crime.

Investigators say U.S.$4.9 billion of the money Olympus invested, are unaccounted for! This is far more than initially reported.

This info comes as NHK reported that Olympus officials held a press conference in which they swore they were reforming their policies, and that they really are going to make money this year.

But that doesn’t help the fact that a new unnamed source says what we’re hearing is just the tip of the iceberg, because for years Olympus officials destroyed data, to cover up losses involving foreign investments.

Here in the United States a major holder of Olympus securities is so fed up that he’s filed a lawsuit.  Lloyd Graham says Olympus violated the U.S. securities and exchange laws.  Graham holds Olympus securities specifically issued to the U.S. market, called American Depository Receipts (ADRs) of Olympus.

Graham says Olympus officials intentionally hid investment losses, and released false reports on the firm’s finances and earnings for at least five years.

 

International, Technology, U.S.

World War 3: Pentagon to kill computer hackers, pushing for cyber weapons

A 12 page U.S. Department of Defense report, given to Congress, says all options are on the table for dealing with computer hackers: “When warranted, we will respond to hostile attacks in cyberspace as we would to any other threat to our country. We reserve the right to use all necessary means; diplomatic, informational, military and economic, to defend our nation, our allies, our partners and our interests.”

The President of the United States would make the ultimate call. But analysts say the policy could open a can of worms, after all, if China was able to trace a hack back to the U.S. who’s to say they wouldn’t be legally justified in attacking the U.S. hacker?

Back at the beginning of November, Pentagon officials revealed they are pushing for offensive cyber weapon systems: “We are shifting our investments to activities that promise more convergence with the threat and that recognize the needs of the Department of Defense. Malicious cyber attacks are not merely an existential threat to our bits and bytes. They are a real threat to our physical systems, including our military systems.”-Regina Dugan, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

The irony is that most of the destructive computer hacks, and/or virus attacks, seem to be coming from the United States!  Does that mean our own military is going to start bombing our own computer geeks?

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

End of Lawsuit may re-invigorate Idaho’s Micron, gets big boost from George Soros, rumors of insider trading

Finally, after more than a year (the last 8 weeks in deliberations), a California jury has decided in Micron’s favor, ending the possibility of Micron having to pay $11.9 billion in restitution.

A California company was suing Idaho’s Micron, along with a South Korean company, claiming they worked together (colluded) to fix computer chip prices, and to interfere with the California company’s ties with Intel.

Since 2009 Micron has fallen from being Idaho’s top employer, after laying off thousands of employees. If they had lost the lawsuit it would have been their death blow.

Even before the verdict the value of Micron stock started going up (possibly due to George Soros).  Bloomberg News reported that Micron stocks are making “unusual moves” upward.

A big reason Micron stock is going up is that billionaire investor, George Soros, recently bought up 484.5 million senior convertible Micron Technology securities, valued at $$477.6 million!  Maybe a positive turnaround for Idaho’s Micron is finally in the works?

Here’s the problem: George Soros started buying up Micron stock days before the California jury made their decision.  This is now starting rumors of insider trading.  But it’ll be tough to prove, after all, how could anyone know what a jury is going to decide, right?  Oh well, it’s happened before.

International, Technology

Double Edged Sword: Cancer Gene actually fights Cancer

A team at the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine has been conducting research on a gene called TTF-1.  It’s associated with lung cancer, adenocarcinoma, which is the hardest to treat among all lung cancers.

Now researchers say it also fights cancer.  In healthy adults, where the TTF-1 gene has not gone renegade, researchers found that it produced a protein that prevents cancer metastasis (the spread of cancer from one part of the body to the rest of the body).

More research needs to be done to see how this double edged sword TTF-1 cancer gene can be used to stop cancer.

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Corporate Incompetence: Singapore sells off Olympus stocks, dumb U.S. investors holding on

The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation announced that it has disposed of almost all of its investments in Olympus.

Singapore held 2% of Olympus stocks.  They are the first major stock holder to announce they were dumping their shares in Olympus.  U.S. Olympus stockholders seem to be waiting for Olympus officials to provide an explanation as to where all their money went.

Business/Economics, Idaho, International, Technology, U.S.

U.S. increases embassy staffing in Brazil & China. Officially it’s to help foreign students come to the U.S. Unofficially it’s to bring in cheaper labor to the U.S., and help U.S. citizens leave the U.S.

“Idaho’s the last state that should say we don’t want to do business with Asia. Asia’s where the money is.”-Brad Little, Lieutenant Governor of Idaho

Recently the U.S. Department of State announced they were increasing staffing in China and Brazil.

Most U.S. and Chinese media reports suggested this was due to the increasing number of foreign students wanting to go to school in the United States.  The Chinese media even said it was a money making scheme for U.S. colleges: “A number of state governments in the U.S. are tightening their grip on education spending, which means smaller subsidies for public colleges to pay teachers and fund research. International students on average pay far more for tuition expenses than U.S. residents.”-ChinaDaily

According to U.S. Department of Commerce (yes it’s a “department”, not an “agency” as Rick Perry said), it’s also about the money Chinese tourists bring to the U.S.  In 2010 those visitors contributed more than $5 billion to the U.S. economy.

What about Brazil? In 2008 there were reports that Brazilians working in the U.S. wanted to go back to Brazil.  Now the U.S. State Department claims they can’t keep up with demands from Brazilians wanting to come to the U.S.

In September a report showed that the U.S. government has been wooing new Brazilian companies to move to the U.S.

EverWrite and DeskMetrics were two companies mentioned.  Young Brazilian entrepreneurs say it’s much too hard to start a new company in their home country, so they move to the United States (that’s funny ’cause just this past week Idaho business leaders told our U.S. Congress that it’s too hard to maintain a business in the United States).

Chinese businesses are being wooed here as well.  This brings me to one of two points; that increasing U.S. Embassy staffing in China and Brazil is really about bringing foreign workers into the U.S.  You see, many of those Chinese and Brazilian companies are bringing their own employees.

In fact, here in Idaho our state leaders have made a deal with the Chinese.  They will have their own 10,000 to 30,000 acre industrial and housing zone south of the Boise Airport, with their own Chinese employees, and even some level of national sovereignty.

“I think China’s coming over here shows they are willing to collaborate on the re-invigoration of the American industrial base.”-Jeff Don, Idaho representative for the Chinese company, called Sinomach

Here in southeast Idaho the Chinese have already moved in.

Sinomach is China’s third-largest contractor, and pressured Southeast Idaho Energy for a contract to build SIE’s $2 billion goal gasification fertilizer plant in Power County.  In May, 2011, SIE closed its American Falls, Idaho, office claiming they were trying to reduce operating expenses.

A polysilicon factory is just about to start up in Pocatello.  It’s run by Hoku International, which is now a subsidiary of a Chinese company.  The few local employees hired went to China to learn about their job duties.  So far no more word on anymore local hires, which makes you wonder if the main Hoku labor force will be coming from China?

Officials in Boise, Idaho, admit they’re working with more Asian corporations: “We’re getting calls from investors from all across Asia who are interested in Idaho.”-Cece Gassner, assistant to the mayor of Boise, for economic development.

The other point (regarding increased U.S. Embassy staffing) is that U.S. citizens are flocking to China and Brazil.

Japanese, and even PBS, media reports show that many U.S. citizens aren’t waiting until they’ve been hired to move to China; there’s a growing number of U.S. citizens who’ve moved to China, and are still looking for employment.  In fact many U.S. job seekers in China, are finding that they’re competing not only against Chinese job seekers, but their fellow U.S. citizens.

In Brazil, the current population, according to the World Bank, is more than 194 million people. That’s an increase of almost 3 million since 2008!  Most of those people moved to Brazil, many from the United States.