This week, the China Internet Network Information Center's (CNNIC) released its 35th annual "China Internet Development Statistics Report," in which it highlights online usage in China. What it found was an incredible amount of Chinese citizens accessing the Internet in a country that … [Read more...]
Baby Contracts Measles, California Daycare Center Shut Down
Are Canada and the United States in the midst of a measles outbreak? That's the question that some officials are mulling over after it was reported of another measles case. Again, the latest case is located in California. A daycare center inside of a Southern California high school … [Read more...]
Unemployment Rate Hits 5.7% with Addition of 257,000 Jobs
The latest employment figures coming out of the Department of Labor are a mixed bag of sorts. According to a new report from the federal department, the unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent from 5.6 percent as the United States economy added 257,000 in January, which has many … [Read more...]
WhatsApp Rolls Out VoIP Call Feature to Rival Skype
Last year, there were numerous hints and reports that WhatsApp, the popular instant messaging app for smartphones and mobile devices, would be introducing a service that would allow users to call each other for free. It was reported nearly every quarter throughout 2014 that such a … [Read more...]
IRS releases ‘Dirty Dozen’ Tax Scams List 2015
We're on the cusp of the very busy tax season, when millions of Americans either give the taxman more of their hard earned money or they receive a portion of their money back. At this time of the year, one of the biggest concerns that both the Internal Revenue Service and taxpayers … [Read more...]
U.S. Trade Gap Widens and Productivity Takes a Dive
The latest United States economic figures were released Thursday and they may very well place a barrier in front of the economic recovery. In summary: the U.S. trade deficit widened, productivity fell and weekly jobless claims were up. But markets are being distracted by the recent … [Read more...]
ECB Warns QE May End before Sept. 2016
Last month, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its own version of quantitative easing and confirmed that it is acquiring 60 billion euros ($69 billion) worth of government bonds over the next 18 months, and noted that the program is open-ended. The purpose of the move is to … [Read more...]
EPA Throws Another Wrench in Keystone XL Pipeline Plans
The longstanding Keystone XL pipeline could face delays and opposition once again. Late last month, the United States Senate voted in favor of approving the Keystone XL pipeline. The Republican-led Senate voted 62-36 to avoid the Obama administration's review Keystone, which was … [Read more...]
Staples Shares Tumble on Office Depot Merger
Investors woke up Wednesday to news that Staples has agreed to purchase Office Depot in a massive $6.3 billion deal, which would include cash and stock. If the merger is approved, it would unite the two largest office supply retailers in the United States. The proposal, one that … [Read more...]
Should You be a Gold Bull or Bear in 2015
Is gold a bear or a bull in the near-term? It all depends on who you ask. For the past two to three years, gold has been involved in a precarious situation. Last year, it started off the year strong, which may have been a hint that it would exponentially climb again. That did not … [Read more...]
Did Cutting Unemployment Benefits Create 1.8 Million Jobs?
It has long been argued by free market economists that unemployment benefits deter individuals from seeking out jobs. This line of reasoning is what has prompted governments to institute certain rules and regulations behind attaining jobless benefits and keeping them for as long as … [Read more...]
Comcast Change Customer’s Names to ‘Asshole’ and ‘Dummy’
When you decide to call your cable, telephone or Internet provider for customer service, don't be surprised the next time you open your bill and find that your name has been changed to something rather insulting. This is what happened to one Spokane, Washington couple, who canceled … [Read more...]
Consumer Spending Falls to Lowest Level Since 2009
We reported last week that not even lavish holiday spending could save fourth-quarter gross domestic product numbers. Well, it seems that the lure of Christmas shopping couldn't prompt consumers to whip out their wallets and rev up the United States economy. The Department of … [Read more...]
Q4 GDP Slow Down Temporary or Sign of Things to Come
Holiday sales, widespread travels and the Christmas spirit couldn't save the United States economy in the fourth quarter of last year as the gross domestic product took a dive, surprising many analysts who expected higher growth. According to the Department of Commerce, the U.S. … [Read more...]
Bill Gates is Another Tech Genius Terrified of AI
Are you terrified of artificial intelligence? Do you conjure up a dystopic future when everything is controlled by machines and humans are rebelling against their mighty robotic leaders? Well, so do other leading tech pioneers. Speaking in a Reddit "AskMeAnything" thread Wednesday, … [Read more...]
Online Streaming Steals More Time Warner Cable Subscribers
Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWX) has reported yet again that it has lost cable subscribers. This has been the trend for many cable companies as its younger customer base persists in cutting the cord and signing up for online streaming services like Netflix or Hulu. The New York-based … [Read more...]
Tim Hortons Corporate Inversion Brings Pink Slips
Just six weeks after the controversial deal between Burger King (3G Capital) and Tim Hortons was completed, it was announced by the iconic Canadian coffee chain that it would be laying off scores of employees from its corporate headquarters in Oakville, Ontario. In addition to its … [Read more...]
Bye Adobe, HTML5 Finds Its Way to Youtube
In 2010, YouTube first introduced HTML5 as an option for viewers. Fast forward five years later and the company announced Wednesday that it will be using the HTML5 Video Player as a default function in the latest editions of Google’s Chrome, Microsoft’s IE11, Apple’s Safari 8 and in … [Read more...]
Fed May Signal Mid-year Rate Hike Despite Growing Doubts
A struggling labor market, falling oil prices, low inflation and less-than-stellar labor market. These may be reasons as to why a central bank in today's economic environment may refrain from raising interest rates, but the Federal Reserve may continue to hint that it's boosting rates … [Read more...]
Panic Ensues as Facebook Goes Black
We've heard this story before: a social media outlet is experience an outage and users go to another social network and express their frustrations instead of perhaps doing something else. Shortly after midnight Tuesday, both Facebook and Instagram went down, which meant users could … [Read more...]
