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2011-06-22 10:56:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [0, 967, 1184, 1227]}

{"Bitcoin": [37]}

Compromised account leads to massive Bitcoin sell off, EFF reconsiders use of currency

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/2011-06-22-compromised-account-leads-to-massive-bitcoin-sell-off-eff-recon.html

Engadget

https://www.engadget.com/

Bitcoin, for those not aware, is a completely digital currency -- one where exchanges between individuals are largely anonymous and secured through cryptography, and one that has seen its hype-meter go off the charts in recent months. That, inevitably, has had some people waiting for a fall, and it took a big one this week. While things have since bounced back, the value of the currency on the so-called Mt. Gox exchange dropped from around $17.50 to just one cent in a matter of moments during the early hours of June 20th -- a drop that's since been attributed to a compromised account. Thanks to a daily withdrawal limit, however, that apparently only resulted in $1,000 actually being stolen, and a claims process has now been set up for those affected. While not directly related to the sell off, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (or EFF ) also dealt a bit of a blow to the upstart currency this week, when it announced that it would no longer be accepting Bitcoin donations. According to the organization, that's both because it doesn't "fully understand the complex legal issues involved with creating a new currency system," and because it doesn't want its acceptance of Bitcoins misconstrued as an endorsement of Bitcoin. Head on past the break for an account of the aforementioned plunge as it happened. [Thanks, Zigmar; image: Wikipedia ]

2012-02-01 18:02:32+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [18, 195, 1871, 2827, 3683]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin May Be The Currency Of The Future

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-may-currency-future-180232983.html

Investopedia

http://www.investopedia.com/

Have you heard of Bitcoin? If you're a fan of the NBC legal drama The Good Wife , then you may have learned of it for the first time there. But if you're like most, you probably didn't know that Bitcoin existed or even what it is. You know of the dollar, the euro and the peso as ways to buy items and get paid for your service, but these fiat currencies as they are called may someday be replaced by a virtual currency that is only in digital form. So, how does it work? History The mechanics behind digital currency appear complicated, but the major problem facing it is easy to understand. What would keep you from using it more than once? Assuming your digital currency was placed in your digital wallet, why couldn't you send it out to multiple people at the same time? With traditional currency, there is a physical exchange and unless you have exceptional resources that allow you to counterfeit, you can only use it once until you earn it back. Because of that, digital currency has to be encrypted and just like with a credit card, there has to be some kind of clearing facility that keeps track of when a currency is used and who owns it. The early digital currencies were based around this idea, but having one central place seemed like a recipe for corruption to the creators. So they made the clearing house a process that happened on computers all over the world instead of just one place. They also didn't want the value of the currency to be controlled by a central bank, the way traditional currencies are controlled. The bitcoin system releases a set amount on a certain schedule. In order to earn bitcoins, they have to be mined, much like gold but in a digital format. A complicated cryptographic puzzle has to be solved in order to activate the bitcoin, and the first person to solve it was the successful miner of the bitcoin block and now owns it. Bitcoins started with pennies in value in April of 2010, but quickly rose thereafter. As the value rose, more bitcoin miners set up powerful systems to unlock the new bitcoin codes. As bitcoins gained popularity in 2011 the price rose beyond parity, and after Forbes ran a piece describing bitcoins, the exchange rate hit a peak of $29.57 to purchase one bitcoin. People who had held bitcoins from the beginning were millionaires in less than one year. The Problems As bitcoins rose in popularity, problems developed. This was not a mainstream currency with mainstream businesses adopting it. Who would want to accept payment in a currency without a guaranteed value? Next, people without advanced computer skills weren't interested in the hassle of mining or digital wallets, so the system has never reached beyond a relatively small amount of technologically savvy group of people. Then, a series of online attacks sent the currency plummeting in value. Bitcoins were stolen from exchanges and in one instance, hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of bitcoins were mistakenly deleted. The current value sits around $6, but with demand faltering and less merchants excited about this 21st century currency, some believe that bitcoins may have a shorter life than previously thought. One of the ideas behind digital currency is to remove the market effects of traditional currency, but quite the opposite happened. As the popularity rose, currency speculators were able to manipulate the price making this currency even more volatile than commodities like gold and silver, and much more volatile than the dollar. There's also the problem of trustworthiness. Although traditional or fiat currencies may not be based on an underlying asset like gold, they have an implied value due to their universal adoption. Bitcoins aren't backed by a hard asset or a large government, so there is no guarantee that bitcoins will hold any value in the future. The Bottom Line Those who try to develop digital currency will face many of the same problems that have plagued paper currencies for generations. Because currency is not only a means to buy and sell but also an investment product, the currency may have to be regulated in some form. Although popular venture capitalist Fred Wilson believes that a digital currency not controlled by governments will make a large scale emergence in his lifetime, he still isn't sure if that's a good thing or not. More From Investopedia Are $1 Coins A Better Option Than $1 Bills? 6 Currencies With A Bright Future How The Triffin Dilemma Affects Currencies

2012-03-22 19:23:56+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [562, 705, 981, 1064, 2068, 2221, 2340, 2399]}

{"Bitcoin": [56]}

Should Africa Adopt a Shared Currency? And Should It Be Bitcoin?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/africa-adopt-shared-currency-bitcoin-192356678.html

The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/

Dekstop /Flickr I wrote on Monday about Sweden's move toward an ever-more-cashless society: The country is pointing the way -- with other European and North American countries following its lead -- toward ever-more-digital financial transactions. Rüdiger Koch, a German software developer, wants to expand the cash-reduction trend to Africa. But he wants to take things a step further, too: Koch -- who is also a consultant to the bitcoin exchange Intersango -- argues that Africa should adopt a euro -style shared currency. And that that currency should be the Bitcoin . An article in Technology Review explores the validity of Kock's arguments. "In the United States and Europe," Tom Simonite reports, "Bitcoin's meteoric rise was mostly driven by speculators; hardly anyone used the currency to actually pay for goods and services." The currency's exchange value has plummeted -- from $30 last summer to around $5 right now. In February, Tradehill -- the largest exchange where Bitcoins could be traded for dollars -- closed , citing "increasing regulation." A Bitcoin economy might have better luck in Africa, though, Koch argues. The countries of Africa, after all, tend to differ from the U.S. and those of Europe in two significant ways: First, their centralized banking systems are (generally) weak. Despite quick growth in nations like Kenya and Nigeria, cash transactions are still standard -- "particularly," Simonite notes, "in rural areas where there are no ATMs and few people have bank accounts." Second, mobile phones are on the rise in Africa. The number of mobile subscribers has grown almost 20 percent year-over-year for the past five years, the GSM Association reports, leading to expectations that there will be more than 735 million subscribers on the African continent by the end of 2012. "It may seem unlikely, given its track record in technological development," The Guardian's Killian Fox wrote last year , "but Africa is at the center of a mobile revolution." Story continues So people are already carrying the tools that could facilitate Bitcoin-based exchanges, Koch notes. From there -- and particularly as prices for the phones that use Google's Android software continue to drop -- "the Bitcoin community," Koch argues, could create open-source technology that builds on mobile operating systems to create Bitcoin-based apps. Koch imagines "a design similar to the Bitcoin for Android app, which allows one person to transfer bitcoins to another by using a phone to snap a photo of a 2D bar code or QR code on the screen of another phone" -- creating a society and an economy in which "people could exchange money when they meet on the street." Or, well, "money." More From The Atlantic Who Loves Inflation? Wall Street Loves Inflation! Chart of the Day: A Short History of 200 Years of Global Energy Use Goldman: This Awful Decade Could Be the Century's Best for Global Growth

2012-08-22 23:58:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [450]}

{}

MasterCard denies BitCoin card rumors, BitInstant says it's still on track

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/2012-08-22-mastercard-denies-bitcoin-card-rumors.html

Engadget

https://www.engadget.com/

MasterCard shoots down BitCoin debit card rumors Well, BitInstant is insistent that it will launch a BitCoin debit card , but MasterCard is claiming it will not be part of the plans. After a mock up of the plastic made the rounds featuring the company's logo, the financial powerhouse felt it necessary to reach out to us, clarifying its non-involvement. "MasterCard has no relationship with BitInstant. There are issuers who allow the conversion of Bitcoins to US dollars and other currencies, delivered on prepaid cards. However, we're not aware of this particular programme from BitInstant." Of course, if you read the transcript of Charlie Shrem's chat announcing the plans, he never actually names MasterCard. The logo was likely meant as a placeholder -- one that some outlets took a little too literally. Interestingly, this doesn't actually mean that MasterCard won't be involved... just that the company isn't at this point in the process. BitInstant released its own statement, just hours after the card house contacted us, saying that it has been working with MasterCard affiliates, but had yet to submit to the financial firm directly. "The card program is moving forward and the arrangement with MasterCard will be handled in due time at the proper stage of the process by the partners who work directly with that company." So, what have we learned today? Not a whole heck of a lot actually, other than the fact that putting out a debit card is a complicated business. You'll just have to stay tuned to see how this shakes out.

2012-09-07 13:38:01+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1231, 5352]}

{}

Claim of Romney taxes theft a puzzling whodunit

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/claim-romney-taxes-theft-puzzling-whodunit-223541746.html

Associated Press

https://apnews.com/

WASHINGTON (AP) — Assuming it's not a hoax, the purported theft of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's tax returns has all the trappings of a high-tech whodunit: a politically themed burglary, a $1 million demand in hard-to-trace Internet currency, password-protected data and a threat to reveal everything in three more weeks. But can it be believed? The Secret Service and FBI were investigating the case Thursday after someone claimed to have burglarized a PricewaterhouseCoopers accounting office in Franklin, Tenn., and stolen two decades' worth of Romney's tax returns. The claimed theft, made in an anonymous letter sent to the accounting firm and political offices in Tennessee, has surfaced a critical moment during the 2012 presidential campaign amid the Republican and Democratic conventions. The ransom target in the case — Romney's tax returns — was carefully selected: Romney, worth an estimated $250 million, has steadfastly declined to make public more than one year's tax returns so far, and Democrats have sought to portray him as so wealthy he is out of touch with middle class voters. Authorities are studying computer thumb drives that were delivered with an unusual demand: a $1 million payment in "Bitcoin" Internet currency. The letter said the tax returns delivered on the thumb drives were encrypted, and more copies would be sent to "all major news media outlets." It promised to reveal the password to unlock the tax returns on Sept. 28 if payment is not made. PricewaterhouseCoopers has said there was no evidence that anything was stolen. The alleged culprit suggested an insider helped in the burglary and theft from the firm's network file servers, knowingly or unwittingly: "We are sure that once you figure out where the security breach was, some people will probably get fired, but that is not our concern," the letter said. The plot in this mystery has enough holes that it could be an elaborate hoax. But it comes at a critical moment during the 2012 presidential campaign. In its broadest outlines, the case might be compared to Watergate, the 1972 political break-in that led to President Richard Nixon's resignation. But unlike Watergate, which started with the arrest of bungling burglars traced to Republicans, the Tennessee case is a baffling mystery so far, without any clear suspects. There is no evidence Democrats were involved. Story continues "I looked at the letter and thought, 'Who on earth thinks we're gullible enough to fall for this?'" said Peter Burr, chairman of the Williamson County Democratic Party, which received one of the thumb drives and a copy of the extortion letter last week. He kept the letter and data device, growing curious about them as days passed. He rightly feared the thumb drive might be infected with a computer virus. "I had reached the point of seriously considering putting it in an old computer we have here in the office where we weren't worried if the hard drive got trashed or not," Burr said. "But by then we had received recommendations from our attorneys and word from the Secret Service. So we didn't look at it." It was unclear even among experts whether the purported theft might be a hoax. The alleged culprit so far has provided no evidence that Romney's tax returns actually were stolen, such as a scan of a partial page from one of the documents. But for seasoned and committed hackers such a theft was described as entirely plausible, especially for someone who could gain physical access to a company's keyboards. "So far, there's just zero proof. It's like every bad Hollywood plot, which makes me think this is fishy," said Marc Maiffret, chief technology officer for BeyondTrust Software Inc. of Carlsbad, Calif. "But any competent hacker, any good penetration-tester, if they wanted to get Mitt Romney's tax returns, it wouldn't be that hard to do. These breaches are absolutely possible. If you can sit at the computer it would take two minutes to bypass the log-in information." "The only time you're going to hold something over someone's head is if they're trying to keep stuff secret," Maiffret said. A former FBI cyber-crime expert, Michael J. Gibbons, said the unusual ransom demand sounded similar to popular email fraud scams. "This sounds more like a Nigerian letter scam than an organized hacking attempt," said Gibbons, former chief of FBI computer crimes investigations and now a managing director at Alvarez & Marsal in Washington. "It doesn't pass the smell test." There was no sign a thumb drive had been delivered to The Associated Press. A spokeswoman for the New York Times, Eileen Murphy, said the newspaper had not received one, either. The Wall Street Journal declined to comment. Politicians previously have found themselves targets in burglaries, thefts and hacking. Candidates and political parties have reported dozens of break-ins across the U.S. In 2007, for example, Barack Obama's Iowa field office reported a burglary that netted two laptop computers and campaign literature. The next year, a University of Tennessee student was arrested for hacking into Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's personal email account. He was later convicted of obstruction of justice and unauthorized access to a computer. He served an 11-month prison sentence. The demand in the latest case for $1 million in Bitcoin currency would complicate efforts to trace any payments over the Internet, but U.S. authorities have successfully uncovered such trails in other cases. "It's definitely harder than normal to uncover someone's financial identity," Maiffret said. "But our government, we find a lot of bad guys in the world in cyber-crime and terrorism cases by following the money trails." Gibbons agreed: "It's an ineffective cloak of anonymity," he said. Even if the latest case were a hoax, hackers have been alerted to intense public interest in Romney's personal finances. "You've got every hacker in the world thinking, 'Wouldn't that be awesome to do?'" Maiffret said. "I have a feeling this is going to be a hoax, but you're going to have copycats who are going to try to do this." While the extortionist's demand for $1 million appears to preclude political motivations, a prosecutor in the original Watergate burglary said motives aren't always apparent. "In the Watergate case, it wasn't clear at the outset what the motivation was," said Earl J. Silbert, a former U.S attorney in the case. "Even today there are differences of opinion over what was behind it." ___ Associated Press writers Erik Schelzig in Nashville, Tenn., and Ted Bridis in Washington contributed to this report.

2012-09-07 13:38:01+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1232, 5353]}

{}

Claim of Romney taxes theft a puzzling whodunit

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/claim-romney-taxes-theft-puzzling-133801037.html

Associated Press

https://apnews.com/

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Assuming it's not a hoax, the purported theft of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's tax returns has all the trappings of a high-tech whodunit: a politically themed burglary, a $1 million demand in hard-to-trace Internet currency, password-protected data and a threat to reveal everything in three more weeks. But can it be believed? The Secret Service and FBI were investigating the case Thursday after someone claimed to have burglarized a PricewaterhouseCoopers accounting office in Franklin, Tenn., and stolen two decades' worth of Romney's tax returns. The claimed theft, made in an anonymous letter sent to the accounting firm and political offices in Tennessee, has surfaced a critical moment during the 2012 presidential campaign amid the Republican and Democratic conventions. The ransom target in the case — Romney's tax returns — was carefully selected: Romney, worth an estimated $250 million, has steadfastly declined to make public more than one year's tax returns so far, and Democrats have sought to portray him as so wealthy he is out of touch with middle class voters. Authorities are studying computer thumb drives that were delivered with an unusual demand: a $1 million payment in "Bitcoin" Internet currency. The letter said the tax returns delivered on the thumb drives were encrypted, and more copies would be sent to "all major news media outlets." It promised to reveal the password to unlock the tax returns on Sept. 28 if payment is not made. PricewaterhouseCoopers has said there was no evidence that anything was stolen. The alleged culprit suggested an insider helped in the burglary and theft from the firm's network file servers, knowingly or unwittingly: "We are sure that once you figure out where the security breach was, some people will probably get fired, but that is not our concern," the letter said. The plot in this mystery has enough holes that it could be an elaborate hoax. But it comes at a critical moment during the 2012 presidential campaign. In its broadest outlines, the case might be compared to Watergate, the 1972 political break-in that led to President Richard Nixon's resignation. But unlike Watergate, which started with the arrest of bungling burglars traced to Republicans, the Tennessee case is a baffling mystery so far, without any clear suspects. There is no evidence Democrats were involved. Story continues "I looked at the letter and thought, 'Who on earth thinks we're gullible enough to fall for this?'" said Peter Burr, chairman of the Williamson County Democratic Party, which received one of the thumb drives and a copy of the extortion letter last week. He kept the letter and data device, growing curious about them as days passed. He rightly feared the thumb drive might be infected with a computer virus. "I had reached the point of seriously considering putting it in an old computer we have here in the office where we weren't worried if the hard drive got trashed or not," Burr said. "But by then we had received recommendations from our attorneys and word from the Secret Service. So we didn't look at it." It was unclear even among experts whether the purported theft might be a hoax. The alleged culprit so far has provided no evidence that Romney's tax returns actually were stolen, such as a scan of a partial page from one of the documents. But for seasoned and committed hackers such a theft was described as entirely plausible, especially for someone who could gain physical access to a company's keyboards. "So far, there's just zero proof. It's like every bad Hollywood plot, which makes me think this is fishy," said Marc Maiffret, chief technology officer for BeyondTrust Software Inc. of Carlsbad, Calif. "But any competent hacker, any good penetration-tester, if they wanted to get Mitt Romney's tax returns, it wouldn't be that hard to do. These breaches are absolutely possible. If you can sit at the computer it would take two minutes to bypass the log-in information." "The only time you're going to hold something over someone's head is if they're trying to keep stuff secret," Maiffret said. A former FBI cyber-crime expert, Michael J. Gibbons, said the unusual ransom demand sounded similar to popular email fraud scams. "This sounds more like a Nigerian letter scam than an organized hacking attempt," said Gibbons, former chief of FBI computer crimes investigations and now a managing director at Alvarez & Marsal in Washington. "It doesn't pass the smell test." There was no sign a thumb drive had been delivered to The Associated Press. A spokeswoman for the New York Times, Eileen Murphy, said the newspaper had not received one, either. The Wall Street Journal declined to comment. Politicians previously have found themselves targets in burglaries, thefts and hacking. Candidates and political parties have reported dozens of break-ins across the U.S. In 2007, for example, Barack Obama's Iowa field office reported a burglary that netted two laptop computers and campaign literature. The next year, a University of Tennessee student was arrested for hacking into Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's personal email account. He was later convicted of obstruction of justice and unauthorized access to a computer. He served an 11-month prison sentence. The demand in the latest case for $1 million in Bitcoin currency would complicate efforts to trace any payments over the Internet, but U.S. authorities have successfully uncovered such trails in other cases. "It's definitely harder than normal to uncover someone's financial identity," Maiffret said. "But our government, we find a lot of bad guys in the world in cyber-crime and terrorism cases by following the money trails." Gibbons agreed: "It's an ineffective cloak of anonymity," he said. Even if the latest case were a hoax, hackers have been alerted to intense public interest in Romney's personal finances. "You've got every hacker in the world thinking, 'Wouldn't that be awesome to do?'" Maiffret said. "I have a feeling this is going to be a hoax, but you're going to have copycats who are going to try to do this." While the extortionist's demand for $1 million appears to preclude political motivations, a prosecutor in the original Watergate burglary said motives aren't always apparent. "In the Watergate case, it wasn't clear at the outset what the motivation was," said Earl J. Silbert, a former U.S attorney in the case. "Even today there are differences of opinion over what was behind it." ___ Associated Press writers Erik Schelzig in Nashville, Tenn., and Ted Bridis in Washington contributed to this report.

2012-10-29 12:06:12+00:00

{"BTC": [1540]}

{}

The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Hess, Royal Dutch Shell, Apache, Visa and MasterCard

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/zacks-analyst-blog-highlights-hess-120612596.html

Zacks

http://www.zacks.com/

For Immediate Release Chicago, IL – October 29, 2012 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Hess Corporation ( HES ), Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS.A), Apache Corporation ( APA ), Visa Inc. ( V ) and MasterCard Incorporated ( MA ). Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513 Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog: Hess to Divest North Sea Fields U.S. energy company Hess Corporation ( HES ) entered into an agreement with Europe’s largest oil company Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS.A) to sell its interest in the Beryl area fields and the Scottish Area Gas Evacuation System. Shell will pay $525 million for this deal. The fields, which are located in the North Sea near Aberdeen, Scotland, are jointly operated by Hess Corp. with Apache Corporation ( APA ). During the first nine months of 2012, the Beryl field produced 14,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Shell’s current interest in the Beryl field yields 9,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Following the acquisition, the company plans to increase production to up to 24,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Shell’s interest in the fields will increase in a range of 9–65%. Last month, Hess Corp. sold its interest in Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli fields ( ACG ) in Azerbaijan and the BTC pipeline to ONGC Videsh Ltd. for $1 billion. Earlier this year, the company offloaded $2.4 billion worth of assets, including this transaction. The sale is anticipated to complete in the first quarter of 2013, subject to regulatory approval. New York City, New York-based Hess Corporation, previously known as Amerada Hess Corporation, is an integrated energy company engaged in oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) and refining as well as marketing. Hess’ new strategy of concentrating on high-impact exploration areas compared to low risk areas; its exposure to areas with high resource potential (such as Brazil, Ghana, Libya and offshore Australia), strong growth throughout the Bakken oil shale play, along with robust holdings in the Eagle Ford Shale and the Utica Shale are expected to raise its earnings, cash flow and valuation. However, we believe that future asset sales will likely hamper the company's production and bring down its profitability levels. Considering the situation, we expect the stock to perform in line with other industry players and the broader market and maintain our long-term Neutral recommendation on Hess. The company retains a Zacks #3 Rank (equivalent to a short-term Hold rating). Story continues Visa Hikes Dividend 50% Earlier this week, Visa Inc. ( V ) announced a 50% hike in its quarterly dividend to the holders of its class A, B and C equity shares. Consequently, the company will pay a quarterly dividend of 33 cents per share, up from 22 cents paid in the prior quarter. This takes the annual cash dividend of Visa to $1.32 per share, compared with 88 cents paid earlier. Considering the closing share price of $136.49 on October 24, 2012, the increased dividend translates into a dividend yield of 97%, substantially higher than 64% paid earlier. The increased dividend will be paid on December 4, 2012 to shareholders of record as of November 16, 2012. Visa’s strong balance sheet and ample free cash balance allowed it to increase the quarterly dividend amount. The company believes in sharing its returns with shareholders to enhance shareholder value. Consequently, it has been increasing its dividend annually over the past four years. In October 2011, Visa hiked its annual dividend by 47% to 88 cents per share from the prior dividend payout of 60 cents per share. Before that, in October 2010, the company increased its annual dividend by about 20% from the 2009 level, when it had raised the dividend by 19% over 2008. Earnings Precap Visa is scheduled to release its fourth quarter and fiscal 2012 on October 31 after the closing bell. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Visa’s fiscal fourth-quarter 2012 (ended September 30, 2012) earnings is currently pegged at $1.50 per share, up about 18% year over year. Of the 26 firms covering the stock, one revised the estimate upward while no downward revisions were witnessed in the past 30 days. For fiscal 2012 (ended September 30, 2012), Visa’s earnings are expected to be $6.16 per share, which surged about 23% over 2011 level. Visa’s fiscal third-quarter 2012 (ended June 30, 2012) operating earnings of $1.56 per Class A common share outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.45. Additionally, the earnings substantially exceeded prior-year quarter’s earnings of $1.26 per share, primarily based on lower share count. Visa, which competes with MasterCard Incorporated ( MA ), currently carries a Zacks #2 Rank, implying a Buy rating for the short term. We maintain a long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock. Want more from Zacks Equity Research? Subscribe to the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5515 . About Zacks Equity Research Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term. Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons. Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517 About Zacks Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leon Zacks. As a PhD from MIT Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5518 . Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/zacksresearch Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 support@zacks.com http://www.zacks.com Read the analyst report on HES Read the analyst report on RDS.A Read the analyst report on APA Read the analyst report on V Read the analyst report on MA Zacks Investment Research More From Zacks.com Read the analyst report on HES,RDS.A,APA,V,MA

2012-11-30 22:31:55+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [4, 789, 1345, 1732, 1896, 1969, 2220]}

{"Bitcoin": [21]}

Why virtual currency Bitcoin can’t save the Iranian economy

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-virtual-currency-bitcoin-t-223155414.html

Quartz

http://www.qz.com

Got Bitcoin? Probably not. AP Photo / Vahid Salemi After decades of sanctions on Iranian trade , sanctions restricting the flow of money in and out of Iran have inflicted significant damage on the Iranian economy. That owes much to the Belgium-based Society for Worldwide International Financial Transfers (SWIFT), which in March agreed to block any Iranian banks blacklisted by the European Union from using its international payment systems. Not long after the SWIFT cutoff, things started going rapidly downhill for the Iranian rial, suggesting that it has become much tougher for Iran to get hold of the hard currency it has used to prop up the rial. Now Bloomberg Businessweek has an interesting take on how a few Iranians are looking at using the anonymous electronic payment system Bitcoin to poke holes in the curtain of sanctions that separates the Iranian economy from most of the world. Iranian-American bitcoin consultant Farzhad Hashemi recently traveled to Tehran and talked up bitcoin to his friends. “They are instantly fascinated by it,” he says. “It’s a flash for them when they realize how it can solve their problems.” Iranians working or living abroad can send bitcoins to their families, who can use one of the online currency matchmaking services to find someone willing to exchange bitcoins for euros, rials, or dollars. Bitcoins are useful to Iranians wishing to move their money abroad, either to children studying in Europe or America or simply to stash cash in a safe place. Very useful—if you can use it. But that’s easier said than done for Iranians. As this report from Forbes outlines, software downloaded from US sites is subject to US export controls, and software that uses the kind of encryption Bitcoin does is banned from export to countries covered by sanctions. There are ways to get around the blockage, but you have to be pretty technically savvy: Other Bitcoin “experts” have alluded to alternative methods of downloading the Bitcoin client such as using non-U.S. independent mirrored sites, Virtual Private Network (VPN) for IP address masking, Tor if your country has an exit node, or BitTorrent file sharing. And more in the same vein. The short version: for most Iranians, Bitcoin isn’t a way out.

2012-12-09 08:09:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [0, 30, 110, 160, 252, 457, 911, 1133]}

{"Bitcoin": [0, 30]}

Bitcoin-Central becomes first Bitcoin exchange licensed to operate like a bank

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/2012-12-09-bitcoin-exchange-bitcoin-central-licensed-bank.html

Engadget

https://www.engadget.com/

Bitcoin-Central becomes first Bitcoin exchange licensed to operate like a bank BitInstant may be aiming for a Bitcoin debit card , but it looks like a European Bitcoin exchange will beat it to the punch. After working with French financial regulators, Bitcoin-Central has hammered out a deal with French payment processor Acoba and France's Credit Mutuel bank to become a payment service provider, which allows it to function much like a bank. According to Bitcoin-Central, it's the first exchange of the digital currency to be licensed to operate as a bank and function within the framework of European regulations. Customers will now have funds held under their name -- rather than that of the exchange -- at Credit Mutuel and insured by the Garantie des dépôts , the French analog of the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). Soon, users of the service will be able to order debit cards that can use Bitcoins and Euros for purchases and cash withdrawals. Yearning for some direct deposit action? In a few months, the organization will be able to accept direct deposits and even automatically convert hard-earned cash into Bitcoins. The virtual bullion has taken its lumps , but this is a development that fans of the currency can be proud of. For more details, tap the bordering source link. [Image credit: Zach Copley, Flickr ]

2013-01-29 00:47:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3072]}

{}

SMART INVESTOR: Women-Owned Hedge Funds Are Blowing Away The Competition

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/women-owned-investment-firms-blowing-163500354.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

No matter how you slice and dice the numbers, there's little that hedge funds have going for them these days. Last year was particularly brutal for the industry, which performed just 1.3 percent better than the S&P 500 and saw hundreds of offices shuttered as a result of poor returns. But there were at least a small fraction of firms that had something to smile about –– those owned by women. A new report by financial services firm Rothstein Kass shows female hedge fund managers netted an average 8.95 percent return in the third quarter of 2012, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index (released by Hedge Fund Research) showed a 2.69 percent net return through September. “Our report certainly displays the dichotomy facing women in the alternative investment industry,” said Kelly Easterling, principal-in-charge of Rothstein Kass’ Walnut Creek office. “We definitely see increased demand for women-owned and -managed funds from institutional investors, although the pace of investments is not as fast as many of the women we polled would hope." As investors, women have time and again proven they have one weapon in particular that sets them apart from the opposite sex: patience. “The fact that women-owned or managed hedge funds have been able to handily outperform their male counterparts is not particularly surprising,” said Meredith Jones, director at Rothstein Kass and author of the study. “There have been a number of studies that show women investors to be more risk adverse, and therefore potentially better able to escape market downturns and volatility. ” And yet, there's still a glaring imbalance between female and male leadership roles in the investment business –– with fewer than 20 percent of C-level positions at hedge funds filled by women. Women are even scarcer at venture capital and private equity firms, where they make up 13 percent and 12 percent of C-level desks, according to the index. The reason? Rothstein asked 366 senior-level women in the alternative investment industry for their points of view, and nearly half admitted their gender made it "more difficult to succeed" in the business. More specifically, in an industry where reputation and track record weigh so heavily on moving up, there aren't enough open positions for women to get their feet in the door. And it doesn't help that not many women grow up dreaming about working in finance. "While there are signs of increased interest in women-owned and -managed alternative investment funds, the pace of asset flows, combined with the historical lack of supply of women in the industry, has not yet kicked off a revolution," said Jones. Still, there has arguably never been a better time for women to take the reins. Story continues "It seems as if the right ingredients are in place," she added. "Strong performance, generally positive investment outlook and emerging manager mandates ... there can be little doubt that women should become more commonplace in finance." SEE ALSO: These are the 10 worst mistakes individual investors can make > More From Business Insider Bitcoin Is Crashing HTML5 vs. Apps: Where The Debate Stands Now, And Why It Matters Here's Why I Have No Problem Traveling To 'Dangerous' Places For Women View comments

2013-02-21 20:36:59+00:00

{"BTC": [72, 441, 510, 822, 949, 1874]}

{"BTC": [0]}

BTC Marketing Group Is Recreating the Marketing Game in 2013

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/btc-marketing-group-recreating-marketing-203659818.html

Marketwired

http://www.marketwired.com/

HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwire - Feb 21, 2013) - In the last year and a half, BTC Marketing Group has done a great deal of expansion. They have opened up to new locations on the East Coast as well as added 58 new clients to their portfolio in Houston, TX. Even more impressive is that all this is happening when Groupon and LivingSocial just announced the firing of over 1200 employees, which is about 8.9% of their total workforce. We spoke with BTC Marketing Director of Operations, Doug Ascher, about the keys to BTC Marketing Group's success over the last year. "In all honesty, it's as simple as work ethic. Our team is the hardest working team in the business in my opinion," explains Doug Ascher. When we took an inside look at the company's day-to-day operations, we got a firsthand look at what Doug was talking about. BTC Marketing Group puts together packages for professional sports teams, high end spas, national restaurant chains, and more. BTC Marketing Group takes unused inventory and repackages it. Then takes those packages, and markets and sells them to the clients target market by going out and dealing with small and medium sized businesses that their clients are trying to attract. Essentially, it is what Doug Ascher calls a "win, win, win" strategy. "For example, a sports team knows it won't fill all of its seats at the stadium, so rather than let them sit empty, they give us access to an allotted amount of tickets for certain games throughout the year. We take those tickets and develop a mini-season ticket package that we can market to the right target market. By giving the target market a huge discount for a great product, we help our client win by filling their seats, the customer wins because they get unbeatable deals that they can't get anywhere else, and we as a company win because we reap the profit," explains Doug Ascher. When seeing BTC Marketing Group operate in person, it is easy to see how they have had so much growth over the last year. We asked Doug why he thinks they are having so much success when places like Groupon are starting to struggle. "Person to person marketing is, always was, and always will be the most effective marketing strategy. The positive is it is what we do best. The negative is that if a person is going to be successful with us, they have to have an unbelievable work ethic. And in today's world, work ethic is a characteristic that is slowly disappearing." Oh, and if you want to see a perfect example of the 'work ethic' that Doug is talking about, you don't need to look any further than Doug Ascher himself. A little over a year ago, Doug was hit by a car and suffered a traumatic brain injury. After months of hospital stays and rehab sessions, he is now back to leading his company from the front lines. When we asked him how he has been able to make such an amazing and quick comeback, he simply says, "If I am going to ask my office team to give me 100% work ethic, then I have to be the first one out there leading from the front and doing it myself."

2013-02-27 17:59:54+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2211]}

{}

31% of Kenya’s GDP is spent through mobile phones

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/31-kenya-gdp-spent-mobile-175954101.html

Quartz

http://www.qz.com

Pundits like to talk about how developing countries can “leapfrog” rich countries by skipping certain stages of development—for example, by going straight to an economy based on renewable energy without first passing through a phase of messy fossil-fuel based industrialization—but it rarely happens. M-Pesa, the system of mobile payments first launched in Kenya, is an exception . Begun in 2007 as a way to send people their microloans, M-Pesa has since become the country’s dominant method of sending remittances from workers in the city to relatives in Kenya’s rural areas. Safaricom, the mobile telecommunications company that launched M-Pesa, has 19 million customers, which is nearly every adult in Kenya. Of those, 15 million use M-Pesa, which processes 80 transactions a second and handles transactions responsible for 31% of the $33.62 billion GDP of Kenya, reports the Financial Times (paywall). There are more than 700 million cell phones in Africa, and 70% of the population has one. Coincidentally, 70% of the population also has no access to a bank. The runaway success of M-Pesa can be attributed to the collision of these forces, though it hasn’t been equally successful in every country in which it’s been introduced, notes Vanessa Clark at TechCrunch . For example, M-Pesa never took off in South Africa, possibly because banks there learned a lesson from what happened in Kenya and began offering similar mobile payment services before it even arrived. In South Africa, mobile payments are dominated by Fundamo, which was acquired by Visa in 2011 for $110 million and is now the basis of mobile payment systems being rolled out in India (where M-Pesa is also establishing a foothold ) and Rwanda. In the US and other rich countries, payments via cell phone are still languishing behind a tangle of standards—Near Field Communication, countless apps and various failed efforts at mobile wallets . In Africa, though, the lack of existing banking and other types of infrastructure have propelled many countries into the payments future that smartphones were supposed to enable—despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of phones in Africa remain low-end “feature phones.” More from Quartz Bitcoin is trading at a record high Filipinos like overseas relatives to deliver cash to their doors, and Mexicans prefer it in-store This heat map from Square shows how local commerce exploded around the Super Bowl

2013-03-11 16:44:25+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1877, 2205]}

{}

Winning the future: Alternatives to InTrade

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/winning-future-alternatives-intrade-164425747.html

Quartz

http://www.qz.com

Who could have seen this coming? The Dublin-based online prediction market InTrade announced late Sunday that it was closing down immediately, citing possible financial irregularities . It was an unexpected event—ironically just the kind of thing that sites like InTrade are supposed to foresee. There is little consensus about whether prediction markets (or futures markets, or bookmakers, which provide much the same function) actually do a good job of predicting the future. And the various markets can vary widely in their predictions, giving rise to lucrative arbitrage opportunities for those who know how to exploit the spreads . InTrade is down, possibly for good. But alternatives for those interested in placing a wager on the future—or tapping into the collective wisdom of those bets—are proliferating in friendly legal jurisdictions: Betfair Based in Gilbraltar, it is the new favorite of prediction market expert Justin Wolfers of the University of Michigan. He said on Twitter that Betfair has “even deeper markets (though no US traders).” Sample wager: Front-runners for the 2016 US presidential election . Paddy Power Based in Ireland, naturally, the company is known for its controversial advertising and politically incorrect predictions, like the possible assassination of President Obama and the date of extinction of the polar bear. Sample wager: First country to leave the euro Pinnacle Based in Curaçao, a Dutch island off the coast of Venezuela, Pinnacle is a traditional bookmaker, rather than an exchange that aggregates the opinions of many bettors. Sample prediction: Frontrunners to be the next pope iPredict Based in New Zealand and co-owned by Victoria University, iPredict was established in 2008 and offers wagers on domestic politics and world affairs. Sample prediction: Will North Korea violate the border with South Korea in 2013? Bets of Bitcoin This new site takes bets in the electronic currency of bitcoins, which could make it more feasible for users in the United States to participate. InTrade closed its site to US bettors in November after it was sued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for allegedly violating trading rules. Many wagers on Bets of Bitcoin are centered around the price of bitcoins themselves. Story continues Sample prediction: The movie Oz the Great and Powerful will gross at least $125 million in the US by April 8th, 2013. More from Quartz Introducing our new obsession: Congress only has 16 working days to prevent the fiscal cliff I grew up Gangnam Style—but the South Korea of my youth had none of Psy's irony Even if China reverses its one-child policy it's too late to make a difference

2013-03-22 18:07:08+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2073, 2172]}

{}

We’re heading for a world with more smartphones than bank accounts

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/heading-world-more-smartphones-bank-180708611.html

Quartz

http://www.qz.com

Bank accounts are out, smartphones are in. In 2011, some 2.5 billion people in the world were “unbanked ” (pdf), as the lingo goes, according to the World Bank. By 2016, more people will have bank accounts, but in regions like the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, even more will have smartphones, research and consulting firm Analysys Mason predicts in a report today. As we’ve written before, the increasing availability of cheap smartphones in emerging markets is one of the most important consumer trends today. Smartphone penetration should reach 46% in Asia by 2017 from 23% in 2012, and 29% in the Middle East and North Africa from 7% last year. The International Data Corporation forecasts that 70% of all smartphones shipped will be destined for emerging markets by 2017. That quick growth means that smartphone owners should surpass bank-account holders by 2016 in most emerging Asian countries (Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) as well as in the Middle East and North Africa, Analysys Mason estimates. In 2011, more residents had smartphones than credit cards in China, Indonesia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt—an indication, Satvik Singhania, an author of the report says, of how many people lack access to financial institutions. Smartphone and credit card ownership in China, Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Thailand in 2011. Analysys Mason Yet these new smartphone users don’t all use their phones the same way as their counterparts in more developed economies. Many don’t go on the internet because of expensive data plans and poor service. But given the lack of access to formal banking, there’s more opportunity for the mobile money industry in these markets than there has been in the US and other wealthy countries. In Kenya, considered a leader in the mobile money world, the value of transactions done via phones reached over $16 billion last year. It would be a huge boost for the industry if the same happens in countries with massive populations like China, Indonesia or Egypt. More from Quartz Bitcoin is out of control, soaring 57% this week 31% of Kenya's GDP is spent through mobile phones Bitcoin is trading at a record high

2013-03-28 14:54:55+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1837]}

{}

Kenyans and poor Americans have this in common: mobile banking

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/kenyans-poor-americans-common-mobile-145455177.html

Quartz

http://www.qz.com

We’ve reported on how people in emerging markets residents are opening bank accounts and paying for things with their mobile phones, transforming business in those countries. But the US Federal Reserve would like you to know (pdf) that the changes aren’t all in other parts of the world. Poor people in the US are some of the most avid users of mobile banking and mobile payment systems. In fact, they’re likely to be the first adopters. And when you look at why, it turns out to be for similar reasons to why people in emerging markets have embraced mobile banking and payments: a lack of access to traditional banking. Around 9.5% of Americans said they were completely “unbanked,” meaning they didn’t have a savings, checking, or money market account. (In Kenya, for comparison, the proportion is 70%.) Meanwhile, 10% are ”underbanked”—which the Fed defines as “people with bank accounts but who use check cashers, payday lenders, or payroll cards.” But despite being among the poorest, most of these people—59% of the unbanked, and 90% of the underbanked—have mobile phones, and around half of them are smartphones. And this makes them pretty different from the rest of the US: Of underbanked consumers with phones, 49% use mobile banking, versus just 28% of all people in the US with mobile phones. 30% of underbanked residents have used mobile payments in the last 12 months, compared to 15% of the total population of mobile phone users. Also intriguing is that the percentage of the population without a bank account is slowly declining, from 10.8% in 2011 to 9.5% in 2012. Whether that’s because prosperity is returning, banks are reaching more people, or mobile banking is encouraging more people to sign up for accounts, the Fed doesn’t say. More from Quartz We're heading for a world with more smartphones than bank accounts Bitcoin is out of control, soaring 57% this week 31% of Kenya's GDP is spent through mobile phones

2013-03-28 19:23:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [0, 434, 832, 1390]}

{"Bitcoin": [36]}

As Cyprus' Woes Deepen, Interest in Bitcoin Soars

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/on-cyprus-bank-crisis-bitcoin-soars.html

AOL.com

https://www.aol.com/

Bitcoin and Cyprus Getty Images Steve Jurvetson, Flickr.com The recent decision by the government of Cyprus to shut down the island's banks and limit the amount depositors can withdraw from their accounts reveals just how real the country's financial woes are. Yet even as Cypriots are most keen to get their hands on cold, hard cash, some investors are placing their bets on the virtual currency known as bitcoin. %VIRTUAL-pullquote-Bitcoin in some senses is a financial island, operating at a safe distance from the traditional banking system.%Used primarily to buy goods and services online, bitcoin is a recent invention, created just four years ago by an Internet hacker (or group of hackers) known as Satoshi Nakamoto. As Bloomberg BusinessWeek notes , even by Web standards, bitcoin "is a strange and supergeeky phenomenon." Bitcoins operate on a network that somewhat resembles a typical exchange on the capital markets. As CNBC reports , buyers can exchange national currencies for bitcoins and use them wherever they are accepted, and sellers can exchange bitcoins for traditional national currencies. As the financial crisis has deepened in Cyprus, and holders of euros and Russian rubles become increasingly anxious, the value of the bitcoin has surged. As ABC News reports , the exchange rate for 1 bitcoin has soared to nearly $80 from $40 just two weeks ago. Sponsored Links Bitcoin is "clearly having a breakthrough moment here, and a deeply surprising one given its novelty and nascent infrastructure," Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at ConvergEx Group, told the network. As DailyFinance reported last year , bitcoin in some senses is a financial island, operating at a safe distance from the traditional banking system. It's neither controlled by central banks nor governments, and thus not vulnerable to larger-scale shifts like changing interest rates, nor the rampant inflation of countries in decline. It's that isolation from geopolitical turmoil that has been its true selling point for people in Europe. How does it work? As Motley Fool reports , instead of relying on a central bank or other regulatory body, bitcoin transactions are verified through peer-to-peer interactions. If a user sends bitcoins to another user's "wallet" file, that transaction is verified through other users, and is written into a collective transaction log. Transactions are easy, and fees for transfers are minimal. As with any currency, however, there are risks, including volatile swings in the value of bitcoin, which makes it difficult for businesses to accept them with any degree of confidence. Currency analysts, however, are at least willing to give bitcoin the benefit of the doubt as a legitimate trading vehicle as situations like Cyprus continue to crop up. As Christopher Vecchio, currency analyst at DailyFX, told CNBC. "Right now, it seems safe, [though] it wouldn't be my preferred vehicle to trade money because it's unregulated."

2013-03-29 04:56:11+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2872]}

{}

Quartz Daily Brief—Europe Edition—North Korea armed and ready, an S&P 500 record, looming doom for OPEC

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/quartz-daily-brief-europe-edition-045611612.html

Quartz

http://www.qz.com

What to watch for today North Korea’s rockets are on standby. The US flew two stealth bombers from Missouri to South Korea and back in a show of force against Kim Jong-un’s sabre-rattling, prompting North Korea to raise its military readiness . US consumer checkup. Updates on personal income and consumer confidence are due. Good Friday. Pope Francis will lead services at the Vatican. Financial markets are closed in Hong Kong, Europe and the US. Thai economy numbers. Current account, trade balance, and foreign reserves are due for one of southeast Asia’s hotter economies. While you were sleeping Abenomic indicators. Household spending in Japan was up 0.8%, performing better than the expected 0.2%. Unemployment also fell. On the flip side, industrial output unexpectedly fell 0.1% , suggesting a bumpy start to Shinzo Abe’s stimulus plans. More gloom for South Korea. Industrial output in South Korea also dipped unexpectedly last month, down 0.8% from January . The government announced yesterday that it was preparing a package of stimulus measures. India broke a new record. Its current-account deficit hit an eye-watering $32.6 billion , or 6.7% of GDP, in the last quarter of 2012, up from $20.2 billion the previous year and from $22.3 billion in the third quarter. Nothing happened in Italy. More specifically, the center-left coalition couldn’t form a government. Now it’s up to president Giorgio Napolitano to figure out another option , which could include naming an outsider to run a technocratic government similar to that of previous prime minister Mario Monti. Cypriot bank runs didn’t happen. There were long lines, but relatively few overt signs of panic . The country’s foreign minister said, somewhat optimistically, that capital controls would probably last a month . The S&P 500 hit a new record. It beat the closing high set in 2007, even though its most important stock, Apple, has been a real slacker lately . BackBerry? The troubled smartphone maker posted a profit in its fourth quarter . Story continues Quartz obsession interlude Steve LeVine on why Russia and OPEC could be looking at a tough next decade if oil demand craters as much as some expect. “The result of this for the countries would be intensified Arab Spring-style political volatility, as governments cut back on social spending and other sweeteners to the population. As for industry, some smaller oil companies currently living off the fat of the land would vanish, and Big Oil at best would seriously shrink. Countries like gas-rich Qatar would be winners; Saudi Arabia, reliant on oil, would be in trouble.” Read more here . Matters of debate Seriously Cyprus, get out of there. Why the island nation should leave the euro zone immediately . And let’s face it: The Cyprus “crisis” was phony . Somebody should make a video game out of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice . Bitcoin bugs. The 21st-century cousins of goldbugs are proliferating, as some argue that the electronic currency is the world’s last safe haven , and its total value tops $1 billion . The short view . Looking for a market to bet against? May we direct your attention to France . What happens to Chinese tycoons who fall out of favor? They go missing . Surprising discoveries Wei up. The number of Chinese government Weibo accounts was up 250% in 2012 . Synergies. Wal-Mart apparently wants its customers to deliver packages to other customers . The Nazis had absurd rules for jazz musicians . For instance , “Plucking of the strings is prohibited, since it is damaging to the instrument and detrimental to Aryan musicality.” Why helium is like mortgages. The helium market doesn’t work without the active involvement of the US government. North Korea isn’t the least-visited country in the world. It’s number 16 . Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, bitcoins, and North Korean travel plans to hi@qz.com . You can follow us on Twitter here for updates during the day. Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief here , tailored for morning delivery in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. More from Quartz Quartz Daily Brief—Asia Edition—Abenomic indicators, Italy's non-government, bitcoin bugs, Nazi jazz rules Quartz Daily Brief—Americas Edition—Cyprus banks open, cybersecurity theater, black swan omens Quartz Daily Brief—Europe Edition—Cyprus banks reopen, Chinese bank stocks fall, and UK banks could use a few billion quid

2013-04-01 15:01:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [132, 354, 423, 644, 695, 872, 1314, 1351]}

{"Bitcoin": [4]}

The Bitcoin Economy Is Going Through A Massive Bout Of Hyperdeflation That Could Be Devastating

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-now-seeing-massive-hyperdeflation-150137370.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

The price of a bitcoin -- the uber-buzzy digital currency -- is surging. A few weeks ago it was at $40. This morning the price of a Bitcoin hit $100. It's now over $104, as this pretty chart from Clarkmoody.com shows . All of this is stoking an incredible amount of interest in the currency. The media is obsessed. Businessweek recently wondered whether Bitcoin was the last safehaven . But there's a downside to this. The Bitcoin economy is now in a terrible state of hyperdeflation. You know what Hyperinflation is, it's when prices surge. Hyperdeflation is when prices violently collapse. So a few weeks ago, a pizza might have cost you one Bitcoin. Today it might only cost you a fifth of a Bitcoin, which sounds great, but then if you're looking at the above chart, why would you spend anything? Why would you buy a pizza (or pot or anything else) when tomorrow your Bitcoin will be worth more? With this kind of chart, you'd be insane to do anything but horde your coins. So yes, all the hype is great for some folks in the ecosystem, but ultimately there's a reason that over time, government prefer to see their currency slowly depreciate. A surging currency leads to hoarding which kills real transactions. More From Business Insider Programmer Robert McNally Put Together An Awesome Presentation On What Bitcoin Really Is This Story About A Bitcoin ATM Coming To Cyprus Is Almost Certainly Nonsense Folks Who Used To Be Fanatical About Silver And Gold Have Now Got A New Obsession...

2013-04-01 20:55:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [22, 230, 612]}

{"Bitcoin": [47]}

CHART OF THE DAY: The Insane Parabolic Rise Of Bitcoin

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chart-day-insane-parabolic-rise-205522683.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

The parabolic rise of Bitcoin has caught a lot of people off guard this year and is generating a ton of investor interest. Nick Colas at ConvergEx Group, the only Wall Street strategist we know of so far who has written about the Bitcoin market, says all of his clients think the virtual currency is in a bubble . When one looks at a chart, going all the way back to 2010, it's easy to see why the word "bubble" is being tossed around among investors. Whether it continues to go up is anyone's guess, but Colas thinks there are five broad themes converging to create a "perfect storm" behind the current rise of Bitcoin. Click here to read his take > More From Business Insider CHART OF THE DAY: How People Use Facebook On Smartphones CHART OF THE DAY: Game Makers Are Picking Mobile Devices Over Consoles CHART OF THE DAY: Yahoo Shares Are Quietly Soaring Under Marissa Mayer

2013-04-02 06:00:11+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2875]}

{}

How to short bitcoins (if you really must)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/short-bitcoins-really-must-060011082.html

Quartz

http://www.qz.com

The rise of bitcoin, an electronic currency traded on an online exchange, has generated a media frenzy. Once scoffed at, its value has risen by 631% (denominated in dollars) since the start of 2013. Lots of people think that means we’re in a bitcoin bubble and it will eventually pop. But if you’re one of these bitcoin bears, the company doesn’t make it easy for you to “short” it—i.e., bet that its value will go down. The usual way to short a currency is to use a currency pair—something like EUR/USD, the value of a euro denominated in dollars—which trades as a single unit. For example, if the euro was trading at $1.3000, you would “borrow” a currency pair from your broker, which you have to return within a certain period of time, and sell it on the open market, pocketing $1.30. If after an hour EUR/USD is trading at $1.2950, you can buy the currency pair at that price and return it to your broker, making a profit of $0.0050. (If you’re wrong, you lose out.) Most of the exchanges which allow you to trade bitcoins, however, don’t currently offer anything like currency pairs, nor any other futures or derivatives. Which means you would have to amass a stock of actual bitcoins to bet on them. That gets expensive. One day, if bitcoin becomes well established, institutional foreign exchange dealers could make markets in bitcoins. (Among the current obstacles: There are only 11 million bitcoins in existence, and there can never be more than 21 million, so it’s not a very liquid market. If a way ever emerges to break bitcoins up into small fractions, that might solve the problem.) But for those looking to short bitcoins right now, there are two notable ways to do it: Bitfinex : A Hong Kong-based bitcoin exchange based in Hong Kong, Bitfinex allows ordinary bitcoin holders to act like brokers and lend bitcoins to people who want to trade them. The exchange does a lot of this automatically. ICBIT : ICBIT allows traders to make bets using futures—financial contracts in which a buyer agrees to buy a security, in this case a bitcoin, at a future date at a predetermined price. Futures contracts can be bought and sold, so you can make money without buying the actual bitcoins themselves. This platform will also let you trade commodities, such as oil, in bitcoins. Story continues Still, do you really want to short bitcoins? The market is still pretty volatile, and because it’s an unfamiliar mix of currency and equity, it’s likely to stay that way for a while. Remarks Cullen Roche, the founder of Orcam Financial Group, “You’d probably be better off just going to Vegas though. You’ll have more fun, about the same odds, and the drinks in the casino will be free.” If you’d like to make us aware of any other means of shorting bitcoin, please email sf@qz.com. More from Quartz The psychology of bitcoin captured in one bizarre, catchy Cypriot anthem Bitcoin, up 152% this month, tops $1 billion in total value Poor Americans are the ones dragging the country into 21st-century banking

2013-04-02 11:38:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [91, 436, 508]}

{"Bitcoin": [76]}

WALL STREET CURRENCY ANALYST: One Hour Ago, I Had My First Client Ask About Bitcoin

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wall-street-currency-analyst-one-113800724.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

SocGen currency analyst Sebastien Galy has just received his first request for analysis on Bitcoin, the red-hot digital currency that's become the obsession of the media and parts of the internet. In an email to Business Insider , Galy says he's been besieged with questions from journalists in recent weeks, but that his first actual client inquired about an hour ago. So anyway, Galy felt obliged to email some comments about valuing Bitcoins, and where they could be going. Here are some of his comments: Bitcoins have a money supply that is theoretically increasing following an algorithm approximating the effort of mining. With far more rapid advances in the technology of processing than mining, the rules have already been changed to stop some form of mining. This is effectively a form of revaluation of the currency. “Monetary Approach” - One way to value bitcoins would be to compare the money supply of the US vs bitcoins. That simplistic approach would make bitcoins very valuable if they end up being able to buy the same USD asset. This is a supply approach and easily insolvable. ... Techinicals - From a trading point of view, we broke out of the upward trending channel in an exponential upswing typical of aggressive bubbles. As all bubbles there is a good story behind it, the trick would be to measure both the supply side and more importantly demand side value of bitcoins. More From Business Insider Arianna Huffington Accused Of Trashing The Chelsea Loft She Rented For 2 Years HTML5 vs. Apps: Where The Debate Stands Now, And Why It Matters Climate Change Will Turn The Arctic From White To Green

2013-04-02 14:19:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [813, 1999, 2086, 2446]}

{"Bitcoin": [34]}

Why The Feds Aren't Shutting Down Bitcoin — At Least Not Yet

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-bitcoin-doesnt-worry-fed-140949477.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

It's illegal to make your own money in the United States, but that doesn't mean the feds will shut down the digital currency bitcoin anytime soon, financial services lawyer Dan Friedberg tells us. That's because the feds don't consider bitcoin — a virtual currency that's being used around the globe — to be "tender," or official bills or coins that look like they've been issued by the U.S. government. Instead, it's considered "virtual currency." The federal government made that distinction clear in a recent announcement that it was applying money-laundering rules to bitcoin and other virtual currencies. The Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) didn't mention bitcoin by name, but the new rules applied to "convertible decentralized virtual currency" exactly like bitcoin, Friedberg says. Bitcoin enthusiasts were a little on edge before FinCEN issued its notice. "This is a a very new area, and you really never know how the Treasury Department is going to react ," Friedberg says. Here's what Friedberg had to say in an email message: "Prior to the FinCEN release, a significant concern was that the US government might assert that bitcoin constitutes illegal tender . Indeed, the United States Constitution delegates to Congress the exclusive power to mint coin within the United States to insure a singular monetary system for purchases and debits. The Department of Treasury therefore could have taken the position that bitcoin constitutes an illegal competing currency that violates this fundamental constitutional power, but chose not to do so. Instead, FinCEN distinguished a 'virtual currency' from a 'real currency,' and noted that a 'virtual currency lacks all the real attributes of real currency .'" It's possible that the federal government is letting bitcoin stick around because it's not much of a threat to U.S. currency. Right now, bitcoin's only worth about $1 billion compared to the $1.18 trillion in U.S. currency that's in circulation. Story continues Bitcoin is also relatively unstable, Internet law attorney Mike Young points out. " If Bitcoin exchange rates stabilize, and the digital currency becomes preferred over the U.S. Dollar at some point, that would be the probable tipping point for banning it within the United States ," Young tells us. For now, bitcoin is able to exist in part because it's in the "gray area" of international currency that's based overseas, according to Young. "If Bitcoin were purely a U.S. domestic currency," Young says, "it would have been shut down a long time ago." More From Business Insider The Assassination Of Two Texas Prosecutors Is Unprecedented And Terrifying Supreme Court's Right Wing May Be Behind Push To Hear Gay Marriage EX-LAWYER: I Was Tainted Forever After Getting Laid Off From A Big New York Firm

2013-04-02 18:22:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [13, 311, 588, 801, 1601, 2374, 2855, 3562, 3722, 3753, 3802]}

{"Bitcoin": [31]}

Still Nobody Knows Who Created Bitcoin — But There Are A Few Big Theories

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/still-nobody-knows-created-bitcoin-182200171.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Who invented Bitcoin? Given that the crypto-currency's value has skyrocketed in recent weeks thanks to the crisis in Europe and a spate of good publicity, you'd think we'd know the answer. But the identity of its creator — or creators — remains one of the Internet's great mysteries. Recap: Introduced in 2009, Bitcoin is really just a series of decrypted code that's been cracked by super-industrial computers (the "brute force" required to process the code can take weeks to achieve). Today, Maria Bustillos writes on the New Yorkers' new tech page, "Elements," that it's widely agreed Bitcoin emanated from an individual calling himself Satoshi Nakamoto. Until his disappearance from the Web, around the spring of 2012, Nakamoto was a visible participant on cryptography forums, where he discussed Bitcoin freely, and published a nine-page paper outlining the details of the project. These posts reveal that even in 2008, Nakamoto was able to respond to concerns regarding the scalability of bitcoin with remarkable prescience; he clearly understood the ramp-up of computing power that would be required for producing bitcoins as the system grew. But there's near universal consensus that "Satoshi Nakamoto" doesn't exist. Instead, a worldwide guessing game has sprung up over who's behind the Nakamoto handle. In 2009, the New Yorker's Joshua Davis set out to answer the question, and may have come close. He narrowed it down to a man named Michael Clear, a grad student at Trinity College, Dublin who'd been named the school's top computer science student as an undergrad. Davis noted Nakamoto's Bitcoin treatises included numerous Britishisms. Among Clear's achievements, Davis says: He was hired by Allied Irish Banks to improve its currency-trading software, and he co-authored an academic paper on peer-to-peer technology. The paper employed British spelling. Clear was well versed in economics, cryptography and peer-to-peer networks. Davis eventually forces Clear to say, "I'm not [Nakamoto], but even if I was I wouldn't tell you." Story continues Clear later denied on his personal website — since taken down — that he was Nakamoto. And there is now no real trace of him on the Internet. Meanwhile, other theories have sprung up. Fast Company 's Adam Penenberg wrote about the question in 2011 and came up with the names of three men who'd filed a patent for a Bitcoin-related technology: The three inventors listed on patent #20100042841 are Neal King, Vladimir Oksman, Charles Bry, and all three have filed numerous patent applications over the years. Neal King (he also goes by Neal J. King from Munich, Germany) is listed on a number of patent applications, notably "UPDATING AND DISTRIBUTING ENCRYPTION KEYS" (#20100042841) and "CONTENTION ACCESS TO A COMMUNICATION MEDIUM IN A COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK" (#20090196306), both of which seem Bitcoin-y to me. Earlier this morning on CNBC , Rick Santelli said many believe it to be Grigory Perelman, a Russian mathematician. Perelman is perhaps most famous for having solved a centuries-old mathematical dilemma. That was the first time we'd heard that name, and the only places we could find it were on message boards and Russia Today. We've performed our own cursory search. Via email, security researcher Dan Kaminsky said the consensus among his colleagues is that Nakamoto is... a small group of quants from New York or London, who are deeply experienced software developers. As of deadline, he had not provided further information. It's possible we'll never know who Nakamoto really is. But if Bitcoin's value keeps going up, it may be hard for its inventor to stay low for long. More From Business Insider CHART OF THE DAY: The Insane Parabolic Rise Of Bitcoin Major VC Declares That Bitcoin Represents The 3rd Great Era Of Currency Bitcoin Prices Have Gone Utterly Nuclear In The Last Two Days

2013-04-02 19:18:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [11, 394, 494, 682, 902, 935, 1127, 1176, 1221, 1380, 1504, 1721, 1765, 1805, 2069, 2163, 2308, 2451, 2888, 3005, 3335, 3397, 3594, 3806, 4004]}

{"Bitcoin": [35]}

Yes, You Have To Pay Taxes On Your Bitcoin Profits

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/yes-pay-taxes-bitcoin-profits-191857023.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Demand for Bitcoins, a completely anonymous digital currency that can be used like real cash, has never been higher. The so-called "crypto currency" is now valued at $115 USD –– triple what it was at the beginning of March. Analysts have likened its rise in value to the ebb and flow of finite commodities like gold. At this point, there hasn't been any real enforcement of federal tax laws on Bitcoin users for one simple reason: Until recently, they weren't worth much. Now that a "Block" of Bitcoins is valued at more than $2,500 today (with its value only rising), there's a good chance Uncle Sam could finally start to take notice. Opponents of that conclusion will argue that Bitcoins aren't recognized anywhere as legal currency but online. No federal government backs them and anyone who owns them isn't protected if the coins are "lost" or stolen. And if the U.S. government doesn't recognize Bitcoins as legal tender, should Bitcoin miners have to report their stash on their taxes? The short answer is yes. We reached out to David D. Stewart, an international tax reporter for Tax Analyst who has widely reported on Bitcoin use, to give us the low down. For casual Bitcoin miners looking to cash in: Plenty of Bitcoin miners have likely been tempted to sell their coins for cash as the value soared in recent weeks. There are a few online currency exchange sites where Bitcoin holders can trade their coins for a number of different currencies, including U.S. dollars. Per Stewart, exchanging Bitcoins for cash is a source of income like any other and should be reported on your taxes. "As soon as you go to exchange them for dollars, you definitely have a tax obligation on that," he said. "There is value in Bitcoins, whether or not people outside the Bitcoin community believe it." Think of Bitcoins like stock. You wouldn't use your Facebook shares to pay for a new car or your monthly groceries, but you still have to report your investment gains on your taxes. The same goes for a home you've sold at a profit. Story continues For businesses accepting Bitcoins as tender: While they are few and far between, there are some businesses that accept Bitcoins like any other legal tender. For example, BitBrew.net is a San Antonio, Texas-based business that sells locally sourced coffee beans to Bitcoin holders exclusively. The owner, who goes by the pseudonym Edd, previously owned a dry cleaning business and told Stewart he treats his Bitcoin cash flow on his taxes the same as he would any other profit. "It would be the same if you had a business that did transactions in gold or Euros," Stewart explained. "You are receiving something of value in exchange for the goods. In the simplest terms, the value of what you receive less the cost of what you sell is reportable as the profit of the business and is taxable as income to the business owner." After converting the Bitcoins into U.S. dollars, you would just write it in as part of your revenue. The bottom line: Folks hoping to use Bitcoins to skirt tax laws have a couple of things going for them. First, there isn't a simple way to track down individual miners. The system tracks each and every transaction but doesn't divulge miner identities. Second, like a little kid with a lemonade stand, the IRS isn't going to go after someone who's earning a few extra Bitcoins on the side. Most of the legal attention surrounding Bitcoins has been on the system's propensity to attract money launderers and drug traffickers. "The system of tracking money is based on banking," Stewart said. "I could transfer $100,000 worth of Bitcoins to someone and no one would know about it really." Still, that's a gamble we wouldn't recommend taking. Say the IRS drops by for a traditional audit of your taxes. If they dig around and find a stash of Bitcoin revenue you failed to report, you'll only cause more trouble for yourself. When in doubt, it's wise to consult a tax professional. More From Business Insider Don't Bank On Digital Currency 'Bitcoin' Replacing The Dollar These Are The Worst States To Make A Living Take A Tour Of Graham Hill's Remarkably Tiny SoHo Apartment

2013-04-02 20:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1283, 1396]}

{}

STOCKS RALLY, GOLD TUMBLES, BITCOIN GOES BONKERS: Here's What You Need To Know

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stocks-rally-gold-tumbles-bitcoin-200009244.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Stock market sell-offs continue to be short-lived. First the scoreboard: Dow: 14,662, +89.1 pts, +0.6 percent S&P 500: 1,570, +8.0 pts, +0.5 percent NASDAQ: 3,254, +15.8 pts, +0.4 percent And now the top stories: It was a relatively quiet day for U.S. economic data. The stock market recovered most of yesterday's losses, which shows that this bull market still seems to have legs. U.S. factory orders rose by 3.0 percent in February, which was a tad higher than the 2.9 percent gain expected by economists. Nevertheless, the report reinforced the idea that the U.S. economy is in better shape then most think. U.S. auto sales data continues to roll out. Ford, GM , and Chrysler all reported mid-single digit growth in their March sales. Economists expect that the final tally will show that automakers sold 15.4 million vehicles on a seasonally-adjusted annual rate. Gold , on the other hand, took a nasty tumble falling over 1.5 percent. In a new note to clients, the analysts at Societe Generale declared " The End Of The Gold Era ." From the note: "Professional sentiment, as evidenced by heavy redemptions in ETFs and the increasing willingness of managed money investors to trade from the short side, confirms our view that gold may have had its “last hurrah”." In other news, Bitcoin prices exploded higher. The bizarre digital currency has been getting a ton of press lately . Currently, Bitcoin is trading at around $115, up from around $40 just two months ago . Don't Miss: The 25 Stocks Investors Are Shorting Like Crazy > More From Business Insider STOCKS FALL, APPLE DIVES, CORN GETS DESTROYED: Here's What You Need To Know FINALLY, S&P 500 CLOSES AT NEW ALL-TIME HIGH: Here's What You Need To Know STOCKS MAKE BIG COMEBACK: Here's What You Need To Know

2013-04-03 08:34:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [77, 512, 997, 1089, 1158, 1290, 1693, 1788, 1825]}

{"Bitcoin": [4]}

Why Bitcoin Is Like No Other Bubble We've Seen Before

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-bitcoin-no-other-bubble-083417339.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

It's hard for any rational human to look at this chart and not conclude that Bitcoin is on an utterly parabolic rise, fueled by greed, speculation, and fascination, while being completely divorced from any "fundamentals." We have no idea when the music will stop (it could go to $500 or $1000!) but at some point there will be a moment when it ends in tears, and people will wonder why they paid 40% more for something than it was selling at the day before. Here's what's really fascinating and unique about the Bitcoin boom. This isn't the first time we've seen a bubble in something in a privately created thing that's off the traditional financial markets. For example, in the early 2000s, there was a legitimate bubble in the stuffed animals called Beanie Babies . It's not clear why suddenly people started paying through the nose through them, and why whole industries were created around them, but it happened, and then they died. In the 90s there was something of a baseball card bubble . Bitcoin is somewhere in the middle: A privately created financial instrument. But what sets Bitcoin apart is the real-time data on it. You can go here and watch Bitcoin trade tick-by-tick , which is not something you could ever do with these other unconventional micro-bubbles. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin advocates (like all bubble apologists) have great stories (this is a response to Cyprus and wild central banks!), but in reality that's just an excuse. This is a fascination that people have, and the market is incredibly tiny, so it doesn't take too many new people wanting to dabble to make the price go nuts. That's all. And it's enjoyable watching it in real time. More From Business Insider Bitcoin Just Broke $100 Programmer Robert McNally Put Together An Awesome Presentation On What Bitcoin Really Is This Story About A Bitcoin ATM Coming To Cyprus Is Almost Certainly Nonsense

2013-04-03 11:27:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [321, 587, 634]}

{}

10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-things-know-opening-bell-112714723.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Good morning. Here's what you need to know. Markets in Asia were mixed in overnight trading. The Japanese Nikkei surged 3 percent, but the Shanghai Composite fell 0.1 percent. European markets are in the red across the board, with Italy currently down 1.2 percent. In the United States, futures point to a positive open. Bitcoin, the digital currency that has gone parabolic this year, extended its wild surge overnight . It moved to $145 from yesterday's levels around $115 before dropping back down to $126. Wall Street analysts are now beginning to field questions from clients about Bitcoin. Click here for a presentation on what Bitcoin is > China's official services PMI index, which measures economic activity in the country's services sector, rose to 55.6 from 54.5 last month. The HSBC measure of China services PMI also posted strong gains, rising to 54.3 from 52.1. Any reading over 50 on the index indicates increasing activity, so these numbers suggest that the pace of expansion in China's services sector accelerated in March. Australia said its trade deficit shrank to $178 million in February from $1.22 billion in January, marking the smallest deficit in 14 months. The numbers were boosted by a rise in the value of exports, which were in turn boosted by rising commodity prices. Economists had only expected the deficit to narrow to $1.0 billion. North Korea blocked entry for South Korean workers to a shared industrial complex on the border between the two countries for the first time since 2009. Strategists are beginning to warn that the escalation in rhetoric between the two countries is having an effect on the market . " Demand for South Korean assets has taken a backseat ever since North Korea’s ‘state of declaration’ over the weekend and its decision to restart the Yongbyon nuclear site, which was shut down by the February 2007 disarmament accord," writes Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid this morning. "Korea’s 5-year sovereign CDS has come off its recent wides but still about 5bp wider on the week." Global auto makers reported total vehicle sales (at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate) in March of 15.22 million, below the 15.33 million-unit pace observed in February and the 15.3 million figure predicted by economists. Domestic vehicle sales ticked up slightly to 12 million from 11.99 million, but missed estimates for a slightly larger rise to 12.04 million. Click here to see the 19 best selling vehicles in America > Luxury electric-car maker Tesla yesterday unveiled a new financing scheme designed to allow people to lease a Tesla for just $500 a month. However, the hybrid leasing/ownership plan seems fraught with assumptions unworkable for most people , which means the $500-per-month figure is a bit of a stretch. The Obama administration is pressuring U.S. banks to relax lending standards that have become more restrictive in the wake of the financial crisis and recession of 2008. The idea is to allow more people to participate in the housing recovery, but the fear is that it could lead to the same risky lending behavior that contributed to the crisis in the first place. ADP's monthly employment report is due out at 8:15 AM ET. Economists expect the report to show that 200,000 private jobs were created last month, up slightly from the 198,000 reported last month. The ADP number gives us a preview of the official jobs data out on Friday. A March update to the ISM non-manufacturing index, which measures activity in the American services sector, is released at 10 AM ET. Economists expect the index to moderate slightly to 55.6 from 56.0 the month before. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion. Follow the data LIVE on Business Insider > BONUS: Former Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover girl Brooklyn Decker says she was "awestruck" with Jennifer Aniston's body and was thus too "intimidated" to do yoga with her on the set of their movie together, Just Go With It, so she "chickened out." More From Business Insider 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

2013-04-03 12:50:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [0, 170, 431, 869, 4034, 4359, 4454, 4491], "BTC": [1125, 1173, 1637, 1861]}

{"Bitcoin": [44]}

Wall Street Analyst Explains How To Value A Bitcoin, And Why It's Better To Buy Them Than To Mine Them

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wall-street-analyst-explains-value-125000271.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Bitcoins are getting more and more attention in mainstream financial circles. Sebastien Galy, a currency analyst at SocGen has put out a note to clients on the nature of Bitcoins and how one might go about valuing them. The analysis is pretty rough, but for the financially minded this is a good introduction to thinking about the economics of the currency. The middle part offers to ways one might go about thinking about valuing Bitcoins. Galy has kindly let us run his whole note, which is below the dotted line. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This proved an interesting subject from a central bank/regulatory point of view. Please find below a more comprehensive view on bitcoins. I thank the many who gave me some info, in particular Steve, my super-quant (ex)colleague from MIT. Bitcoins have a money supply that is theoretically increasing, following an algorithm approximating the effort of mining. As more hashing/solving power from miners appears on the network, the difficulty of solving the next problem increases. Right now the BTC/USD is tightly following the mining cost of BTC. It tracks how many people are getting involved into it (the more people mining it, the higher cost to get it because of fixed weekly supply). Some smart investors started to realize that under this situation, you really should buy and hold rather than mining it (obviously). As more buyers come in=>higher prices=>more miners=>more buyers creating a positive feedback loop, whose nature is quite questionable. I was told that However, with confidence in this BTC potentially increasing, the market actually starts building up its intrinsic value as a means of exchange, which might eventually make it potentially more stable in the long-term. Some professional investors believe the BTC thing is going to rise, though through a very bumpy road in the next few months. How can we value bitcoins intrinsic value? Story continues -- Monetary Approach. One way to value bitcoins would be to compare the money supply of the US vs bitcoins (1bn USD or so). That simplistic approach would make bitcoins very valuable if they end up being able to buy the same USD asset. This is a supply approach and easily solvable. -- Law of one price approach. On the demand side, a dollar is used to purchase, say, a piece of software, or game tokens within a game, or to pay someone for watching a video. There the reality meets the rubber. As far as I can see within a game, the value [of] the bitcoin is devalued as games introduce their own tokens (e.g. Metal storm has now three different levels of tokens depending on whether it is externally tradable, internally). If the bitcoin becomes too expensive it loses its usefulness as a numeraire used for exchange. Structure of the currency: -- Monetary Policy. With far more rapid advances in the technology of processing than mining, the rules have already been changed to stop some forms of mining which were too effective. This was effectively a form of revaluation of the currency. -- Legal framework. From a technical point of view, the bitcoin is not yet a currency in the sense that the currency is not anonymous. Volume is low and hence it is easy to influence the price. There is no certainty that the supply of bitcoins will follow the original rules, these rules have already been changed and presume a trust in the ones able to issue the currency. In many countries, printing money is a state privilege that will come to bite in the future as this, like gambling, is regulated for good reasons. In the U.S., the government introduced rules to cover electronic moneys. -- Technicals. From a trading point of view, we broke out of the upward-trending channel in an exponential upswing typical of aggressive bubbles. As [with] all bubbles, there is a good story behind it, the trick would be to measure both the supply side and more importantly demand side value of bitcoins. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/video/2013/mar/22/bitcoin-currency-video http://goo.gl/xcVc5 article on bitcoin in the Australian press http://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf Satoshi's whitepaper Quips from the market: “perhaps we should all move to second life...no bonus caps I am aware of” More From Business Insider Bitcoin Just Broke $100 Programmer Robert McNally Put Together An Awesome Presentation On What Bitcoin Really Is This Story About A Bitcoin ATM Coming To Cyprus Is Almost Certainly Nonsense

2013-04-03 13:01:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1171, 1231]}

{}

simplehoney Acquired by Ripple Developer OpenCoin

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/simplehoney-acquired-ripple-developer-opencoin-130100629.html

Marketwired

http://www.marketwired.com/

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 3, 2013) - Simple Honey Inc. today announced its acquisition by OpenCoin, the company building the Ripple protocol for a new virtual currency and distributed open source payment network. The simplehoney team will form the core of OpenCoin's consumer engagement team, and will focus on usability -- making all virtual currency and the Ripple network easy for people to understand and use. "Our team shares a vision for creating simple, accessible tools that breakdown big consumer problems," said Joyce Kim, co-founder of simplehoney. "We believe that the world economy is on the cusp of a major evolution, and we want to make it easy for anyone, anywhere to be a part of that change through Ripple." The simplehoney team has successfully launched targeted vertical applications for the travel and shopping categories. At OpenCoin, they will help build a new open source, distributed payments network and virtual currency called Ripples. Founders Joyce Kim and Eric Nakagawa and their team will join a talented OpenCoin team that includes Chris Larsen, the founder of E-LOAN and Prosper.com ; Jed McCaleb, the founder of eDonkey and Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox; and Stefan Thomas, the creator of BitcoinJS. More information can be found at http://blog.simplehoney.com/usability-for-all-we-are-joining-the-wave-of-change .

2013-04-03 15:29:15+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1653]}

{}

Retail Employees Who Are Accused Of Stealing Could Be Blacklisted Forever

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/retail-employees-accused-stealing-could-152915226.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Retailers are keeping track of employees suspected of stealing in databases that could keep them from ever working in the industry again. These databases are used my major retailers including Family Dollar , Target, and CVS , report Stephanie Clifford and Jessica Silver-Greenberg at The New York Times . The databases usually don't involve criminal charges, and most employees aren't aware that they've been put on the list until it's too late, according to the Times . "But the databases, which are legal, are facing scrutiny from labor lawyers and federal regulators, who worry they are so sweeping that innocent employees can be harmed," the Times reported. "The lawyers say workers are often coerced into confessing, sometimes when they have done nothing wrong, without understanding that they will be branded as thieves." Employee thefts cost retailers about $15 billion a year, according to the National Retail Federation. The Times spoke to several people who are suing the database companies after being turned down for jobs. Some had not even admitted guilt for the alleged thefts. Proponents of the databases say that it's important for companies to weed out potential thieves in the struggling economy. But consumer attorneys say the system is full of abuses, since the database entries generally stem from statements obtained by a store's security force, which are not subject to due process, and employees may not even know such records exist. More From Business Insider Waffle House Employee Gets Arrested For Allegedly Pulling A Stupid April Fool's Prank 8 Reasons It's Great To Work At The Apple Store Why The Feds Aren't Shutting Down Bitcoin — At Least Not Yet

2013-04-03 19:19:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2569, 2917, 2951, 3063]}

{}

5 Smart Insights For Financial Advisors

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/5-smart-insights-financial-advisors-191951405.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

FA Insights is a daily newsletter from Business Insider that delivers the top news and commentary for financial advisors. Cheap Stocks Outperform The Stock Market Over Time (Smead Capital) Buying cheap stocks at the start of the year is a good investment strategy, according to Smead Capital. "To those investors who agree that valuation matters dearly, we believe there are two choices. The first choice is to buy all 100 of the lowest quintile stocks. The other choice is to have some qualitative screens to find individual securities off of this undistinguished list. Almost every company on the list has warts and/or some newsworthy problem either from exterior circumstances or through self-affliction." Successful Investors Need To Possess Six Key Traits (Advisor Perspectives) Kendall Anderson of Anderson Griggs Investments, drawing on former NYU professor Doug Bellemore writes that for investors to be successful, they need to possess six key traits. 1. Patience - Investors need to identify and purchase cheap stocks and wait for five to eight years. 2. Courage - The investor should have the courage to ignore those who disagree with him/her. 3. Intelligence and common sense. 4. Emotional stability - To not be overwhelmed by emotions on Wall Street and to be able to carve out the facts. 5. Hard work - Do meticulous research. 6."Willingness to sacrifice the investment protection of diversification." Two Advisors Leave Morgan Stanley For Prospera ( Reuters ) Stephen Shipley and John Rubottom have left Morgan Stanley Wealth Management to join independent Prospera Financial Services. The duo managed $121 million in assets. Morgan Stanley "has lost at least 68 veteran advisers who managed more than $10 billion at the firm," according to Reuters. We Are Seeing Cracks In The Stock Market (Business Insider) Stock markets ended the first quarter on a high. But some experts say if you look below the surface, you're already beginning to see cracks. Here are some key signs from Doug Kass : 1. "The Russell 2000 underperformed on Monday (-1.3%) and was down (-0.5%) on an up day on Tuesday." 2. "The advance/decline line is eroding as the market's rise narrows." 3. "The number of new 52-week highs is narrowing." 4. "Transports trailed, down 1.5% and 1.2% on the first two days of the week, respectively -- check out the chart of FedEx (FDX)." Story continues Kass goes on to point out that it is unusual when defensive stocks lead the market during new highs. We Are Witnessing The Tulip Bubble In Real-Time ( Art Cashin ) UBS ' Art Cashin thinks the Bitcoin craze is like the Dutch tulip bubble of the 17th century. "It is rare that we get to see a bubble-like phenomenon trade tick for tick in real time. Usually it's kind of regional aggregate pricing like real estate reports. But, all that may be changing – before our very eyes – quite literally. The bubble du jour may be something called a 'Bitcoin'." Aggressive bidding for Bitcoins has caused prices to double to over $100 in two weeks. "Last night trading turned a bit whacky and the Bitcoin spiked above 145 before plunging in a few trades back to $126," wrote Cashin. "Just what the world needs – a "safe" currency." More From Business Insider 5 Smart Insights For Financial Advisors 5 Smart Insights For Financial Advisors 5 Smart Insights For Financial Advisors

2013-04-03 20:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1749]}

{}

STOCKS FALL, OIL AND GOLD TANK, BITCOIN GOES CRAZY: Here's What You Need To Know

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stocks-fall-oil-gold-tank-200007746.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Two disappointing economic reports seemed to rattle markets. Meanwhile, tensions are rising in North Korea. First the scoreboard: Dow: 14,550, -111.6 pts, -0.7 percent S&P 500: 1,553, -16.5 pts, -1.0 percent NASDAQ: 3,218, -36.2 pts, -1.1 percent And now the top stories: North Korea, the isolated rogue nation, continues to threaten South Korea and the U.S. " North Korea rhetoric presents real, clear danger, threat to US, allies," said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel earlier today. The Pentagon said that it would be deploying anti-missile systems to Guam in response to the threats. In today's sell-off, defense contractors managed to rally. The rationale for the sector's outperformance is pretty intuitive. Stocks like Lockheed Martin , General Dynamics , and Northrop Grumman all surged today. However, Stifel Nicolaus ' Dave Lutz pointed out an interesting discrepancy. The South Korea ETF (EWY) and the country's credit-default swaps didn't break down today. Lutz argued that this means the sell-off was about more than North Korea. Perhaps the sell-off was due to the disappointing ADP jobs report, which showed U.S. companies only created 158k jobs instead of the 200k expected. Or perhaps it was the disappointing ISM services report. After all, the U.S. is a services-based economy. Gold prices fell for no obvious reason. In his commentary today, Lutz pointed to the massive outflows from gold ETFs. This was a point that the analysts at Societe Generale made when they declared " The End Of The Gold Era ." Oil prices also tumbled. According to a new supply report from the Department of Energy, inventories jumped by 2.7 million barrels, which was way above analysts' estimates. Meanwhile, the price of controversial digital currency Bitcoin ripped higher . And then it plunged . Don't Miss: This San Jose House Got Multiple Bids And Sold For More Than Its Asking Price Within 24 Hours Of Going On Sale > More From Business Insider STOCKS RALLY, GOLD TUMBLES, BITCOIN GOES BONKERS: Here's What You Need To Know STOCKS FALL, APPLE DIVES, CORN GETS DESTROYED: Here's What You Need To Know FINALLY, S&P 500 CLOSES AT NEW ALL-TIME HIGH: Here's What You Need To Know

2013-04-03 20:41:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [39, 316, 615, 772, 1056, 1158, 1227, 1319], "BTC": [659]}

{"Bitcoin": [20]}

The World's Largest Bitcoin Exchange Just Went Out For A Lot Of People

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/largest-bitcoin-exchange-just-went-204119029.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Mt. Gox, the world's first and largest Bitcoin exchange, appears to be down . Below is a screenshot of what it looks like for us when we try to access the site. We are seeing a lot of others tweeting about the same problem. aaand Mt Gox goes down mtgox.com — felix salmon (@felixsalmon) April 3, 2013 Earlier today, Bitcoin service Instawallet said it had been hacked and was shutting down until further notice. These outages highlight the fundamental problem with the virtual currency that has seen its price surge in 2013 – confidence. ConvergEx Group strategist Nick Colas touched on this in a recent note about Bitcoin : What’s interesting to note is why BTC prices plummet, which they did in the back half of 2011. The cause was a very short-lived hack attack on one Bitcoin “Wallet” company out of Japan, which caused the price to drop from $27 down to $2 in a few months. Confidence in money as a store of value is the ultimate driver of its value, both in the cyber and real worlds. These are definitely key issues that will need to be overcome if Bitcoin wants to go mainstream. More From Business Insider ANALYST: All Of My Clients Think There's A Bitcoin Bubble, But A 'Perfect Storm' Is Causing Prices To Surge The Bitcoin Economy Is Going Through A Massive Bout Of Hyperdeflation That Could Be Devastating Bitcoin Just Broke $100

2013-04-04 10:00:32+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2336]}

{}

Quartz Daily Brief—Americas Edition—Japan kicks off central bank day, a Facebook phone, China gets better at bird flu

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/quartz-daily-brief-americas-edition-100032294.html

Quartz

http://www.qz.com

What to watch for today It’s central bank day, as the world’s setters of monetary policy struggle to keep ahead of a soft global economy: - The Abenomics train charged out of the station. Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda announced an aggressive monetary easing program , doubling the current rate of government bond purchases. Japanese stocks rose almost 1% and the yen fell on the news, which will boost profits for the country’s exporters. - Next to London, where observers expect a newly-empowered Bank of England to make no big moves before new governor Mark Carney takes over in July. - Then comes Frankfurt, where European Central Bank president Mario Draghi is expected not to cut rates despite the mess in Cyprus, since they can’t go much lower than their current 0.75%. - Finally, US Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke speaks at an investors conference. Perhaps more importantly, so will his potential successor Janet Yellen. Investors will be watching for clues on how long the Fed will keep up quantitative easing. - Relevant digression: Read an excerpt from Neil Irwin’s new book on how central bankers saved the world during the financial crisis. North Korea tiptoes toward doomsday . North Korea is moving a mid-range missile to its east coast, as the US deploys an anti-missile battery in Guam. The US military wants to dial back its shows of force . Facebook unveils something, probably a phone. If you don’t understand why anyone would buy a Facebook phone, you probably don’t live in India . China is getting better at bird flu. But it has a long way to go as H7N9 cases mount. While you were sleeping The UK dodged a recession. The services PMI climbed to 52.4 in March from 51.8 in February, giving the government a sigh of relief amid fears of a triple dip. China’s exports surged. Unfortunately, the data are probably fraudulent . Egypt and the IMF want to make a deal . The Egyptian government says a $4.8 billion loan should be secured within two weeks. Story continues Quartz obsession interlude Lily Kuo on Chinese firms doing well on bird flu fears: ”Even though there is no vaccine for the virus (part of the reason authorities are so worried) investors appear to be anticipating a run on medicines and rice wine, which is believed to prevent or even cure bird flu.” Read more here . Matters of debate Bitcoin isn’t the future. But just because the trendy digital cash won’t work for long doesn’t mean we can’t learn from it. Business books are useless. Why would you want to emulate Circuit City, Fannie Mae and Atari ? Born at the right time. PIMCO’s Bill Gross admits that he and fellow investing legends like Buffett and Soros might just be lucky . Surprising discoveries Are you old enough to read the news? If you’re 12 or under, you’re probably breaking the law . Studying abroad. Chinese students make up a quarter of the population at some US boarding schools— but there are pitfalls . Yelp! reviews for prisons. Two stars for the ambience, minus one star for the inflexible check-out policy . Fat is a life-saver. At least if you get hit by a car . A lucrative show about nothing. Seinfeld has generated $3.1 billion in re-run fees (paywall)—not that there’s anything wrong with that. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, non-useless business books and favorite Seinfeld quotes to hi@qz.com . You can follow us on Twitter here for updates during the day. Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief here , tailored for morning delivery in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. More from Quartz Quartz Daily Brief—Europe Edition—Central bank day, a Facebook phone, bird flu profiteering Quartz Daily Brief—Asia Edition—Global central bank rodeo, Facebook's phone, Dangerous tourism Quartz Daily Brief—Americas Edition—Korea gets scarier, Indian brotherly love, America's most productive export

2013-04-04 11:23:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2541]}

{}

10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-things-know-opening-bell-112332939.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Good morning. Here's what you need to know. Markets in Asia were mixed in overnight trading. The Japanese Nikkei jumped 2.2 percent, but the Shanghai Composite fell 0.1 percent. European markets are mostly higher, with Spain and Italy leading the way, both up 1.6 percent. In the U.S., futures point to a positive open. The yen has resumed its downward trajectory after the Bank of Japan gave markets a big positive surprise overnight at new Governor Haruhiko Kuroda's first meeting. The BoJ said it would double its holdings of government bonds and ETFs in order to reach its 2 percent inflation target within two years. Euro zone services PMIs painted a bleak picture of the state of the services sector in March. The euro zone composite index fell to 46.5 from 47.9 in February, indicating an accelerating pace of contraction (any number below 50 on the index signals contraction mode). France's services PMI fell to 41.3, a 49-month low, and Germany, the outperformer in Europe, saw its services PMI fall sharply to 50.9 from 54.7 in February. Italy's services PMI actually rose to 45.5 from 43.6, but still indicates a moderate contraction. The French government issued 10-year debt at a record low yield of 1.94 percent this morning. Despite the bleak economic data out of France in recent months, government bonds have staged a big rally since late February, sending yields plummeting. The Bank of England elected to leave the benchmark interest rate on hold at 0.5 percent and the target size of the asset purchase program unchanged at £ 375 billion at its monthly policy meeting today. Not much more is expected of the central bank until incoming Governor Mark Carney takes over this summer, which is likely to usher in significant changes to BoE monetary policy. The ECB left the benchmark refinancing rate unchanged at 0.75 percent and the deposit rate unchanged at 0 percent at today's monetary policy meeting. ECB President Mario Draghi will hold a press conference at 8:30. Observers will be listening for his thoughts on the crisis in Cyprus, a potential bailout of Slovenia in the future, and the recent deterioration in economic data around the euro zone. Follow the presser LIVE > Australia reported strong retail sales for the month of February, up 1.3 percent. Economists had predicted sales would rise only 0.3 percent after a 1.2 percent advance in January. Building approvals also surprised to the upside, rising 3.1 percent in February versus the 2.5 percent gain expected by economists. Mt. Gox, the world's largest Bitcoin exchange, has come under a massive distributed denial of service attack on its servers , causing an outage for users. The episode highlights one of the biggest problems with the anonymous, virtual currency: confidence . According to the monthly Challenger, Gray & Christmas job cuts report, layoffs in the United States were 49,255 in March, down from 55,356 in February. Year over year, however, job cut announcements were up 30 percent. Initial jobless claims unexpectedly jumped to 385,000 last week . Economists predicted initial claims would fall to 353,000 in the week ended March 30, down from 357,000 new claims the week before. Continuing claims rose to 3.063 million from 3.05 million in the previous week. BONUS: Game of Thrones actress Lena Headey says she has less than $5 in her bank account, according to TMZ . Story continues BI Intelligence, a new subscription research service from Business Insider , provides in-depth insight, data, and analysis of the mobile industry. Access all reports, research updates, presentations, data and chart libraries plus much more with your free trial. Click here to start your subscription>> More From Business Insider 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning View comments

2013-04-04 11:57:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [41, 1077, 1119, 2044, 2105, 2251, 2336, 2441, 3660, 3815, 6456, 6675, 6781, 6850], "BTC": [1169]}

{}

WORLD'S LARGEST BITCOIN EXCHANGE: We Are Suffering A Massive Attack On Our Servers

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/worlds-largest-bitcoin-exchange-suffering-115751202.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Yesterday, the world's first and largest Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, had an outage, and users couldn't access the trading platform . Today, Mt. Gox issued a press release on what happened. Apparently, the exchange has been subjected to a massive "distributed denial of service" attack. " Since yesterday, we are continuing to experience a DDoS attack like we have never seen," the company said on its website. "While we are being protected by companies like Prolexic, the sheer volume of this DDoS left us scrambling to fine-tune the system every few hours to make sure that things don’t go beyond a few 502 error pages and trading lag." A distributed denial of service attack occurs when a large network of computers, usually controlled by a single operator, floods a website with traffic to the point where the website can't make new connections with other users trying to access the site. Below is the full press release from the Mt. Gox website. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOKYO - JAPAN - April 04, 2013 Dear Mt.Gox users and Bitcoiners, It’s been an epic few days on Bitcoin, with prices going up as high as $142 per BTC. We all hope that this is just the beginning! However, there are many who will try to take advantage of the system. The past few days were a reminder of this sad truth. Mt.Gox has been suffering from its worst trading lag ever, 502 errors, and at one point some users were not able to log in their account. The culprit is a major DDoS attack against Mt.Gox. Since yesterday, we are continuing to experience a DDoS attack like we have never seen. While we are being protected by companies like Prolexic, the sheer volume of this DDoS left us scrambling to fine-tune the system every few hours to make sure that things don’t go beyond a few 502 error pages and trading lag. Why has Mt.Gox become the target of a DDoS attack? It is not yet clear who is behind this DDoS and we may never know, but these actions seem to have two major purposes: Story continues • Destabilize Bitcoin in general. It is not a secret Mt.Gox is the largest Bitcoin exchange with more than 80% of all USD trades and more than 70% of all currencies. Mt.Gox is an easy target for anyone that wants to hurt Bitcoin in general. • Abuse the system for profit. Attackers wait until the price of Bitcoins reaches a certain value, sell, destabilize the exchange, wait for everybody to panic-sell their Bitcoins, wait for the price to drop to a certain amount, then stop the attack and start buying as much as they can. Repeat this two or three times like we saw over the past few days and they profit. What can be done? Believe it or not, there is pretty much nothing that can be done. Large companies are frequently victims of these kinds of attacks. Even though we are using one of the best companies to help us fight against these DDoS attacks, we are still being affected. There are a few things that we can implement to help fight the attacks, such as disconnecting the trade engine backend from the Internet. By separating the data center from the Mt.Gox website, we will continue to be able to trade. What can you do? Like our favorite author here at Tibanne says… Don’t Panic! “Panic-selling is a wide-scale selling of an investment which causes a sharp decline in prices. Specifically, an investor wants to get out of an investment with little regard of the price obtained. The selling activity is problematic because the investor is selling in reaction to emotion and fear, rather than evaluating the fundamentals.” (Source: Wikipedia ) I understand that many of you have a lot at stake here, but remember that Bitcoin, despite being designed to have its value increase over time, will always be the victim of people trying to abuse the system, or even the value of Bitcoin decreasing occasionally. These are not new phenomena and have been present since the beginning of time when humans first started trading. Trade Engine Lags Lag affects everyone, not only us, but also major, world-renowned exchanges like the NASDAQ and NYSE. We can fix lag, but we cannot eradicate lag. Only small exchanges with low volume and liquidity are immune to lag. Does this mean that we are giving up fighting lag? Hell, no. We are working on it by creating a new trade engine that will solve many problems, but it’s not a magic bullet. We can always try to scale our servers, but we cannot predict what happens from external sources: DDoS, panic selling, immediate increase of buyers, etc. Lag will always be there, but our mission is to make lag as small as possible. Account Verification As if a major DDoS attack was not enough, we at Mt.Gox are victim of our own success! Last year, Mt.Gox saw an average of 9,000 to 10,000 new accounts created every month. This number doubled in January, tripled in February, and sextupled in March. In this month alone (March), over 57,000 new accounts were created! Our support and account verification team went from four people in January 2012 to twenty-two people working every day of the week. We are now hiring even more people to solve this problem by finalizing some deals with external companies. Remember that even if you are waiting for your account to be verified, you can still deposit or withdraw funds via our Japanese account and make your trades! (Only accounts that we pro-actively required to be verified are limited to deposits and trade only.) Finally We have seen a significant amount of comments on the web (various forums, Reddit, etc.) that portray Mt.Gox as a company held by “idiots” and other rather rude words, complaining about inability to deal with lag and other system issues, without understanding the magnitude of work and attacks we are facing every day. I understand the frustration many of you feel. We hate this situation as well. Since we took over Mt.Gox, we have been through Hell and back and we are still here. We are still the largest exchange with over 420,000 trades per month and USD $121 million monthly trade volume. We have worked our way through all the requirements needed to run our exchange legally. Now, there are some things we can improve, but so far we are doing an incredible job that no other exchange has been able to do so far. While I understand a certain amount of frustration, realize what we have accomplished. I appreciate all the work you are doing everyday to push things forward and to help secure the future of Bitcoin. And to all of you who are supporting us on a daily basis, thank you! We could not have done any of this without your help! Regards Mt.Gox Co. Ltd Team. Mt.Gox Contact press@mtgox.com More From Business Insider Bitcoin ATM Founder: We Already Have Orders From 30+ Countries ANALYST: All Of My Clients Think There's A Bitcoin Bubble, But A 'Perfect Storm' Is Causing Prices To Surge The Bitcoin Economy Is Going Through A Massive Bout Of Hyperdeflation That Could Be Devastating

2013-04-08 09:00:34+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [21, 345, 741, 1307, 1611, 1775, 2364, 2637]}

{}

Malware turns hacked computers into slaves that “mine” new digital currency

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/malware-turns-hacked-computers-slaves-090034575.html

Quartz

http://www.qz.com

The digital currency Bitcoin is having a bit of a moment , which is drawing the attention of cybercriminals. They don’t want to steal your money (though there is some of that too ). Instead they want to hijack the processing power of your computer to create more bitcoins out of thin air. There is no company, central bank, or government behind Bitcoin—there is only math. The currency, created by a pseudonymous researcher and governed by computer code, is slowly adding more coins to circulation. New bitcoins are distributed to users with access to hugely powerful computers, which compete to process fiendishly complicated math problems. The system gives new coins to the winner as a reward; the process is known as “mining.” The newest Bitcoin scam was discovered last week by security firm Kaspersky Lab, which found a type of computer malware that hijacks computers and uses them to mine new bitcoins. The computers are infected through links within Skype—users click on an link that installs software on their machine, and they become unwitting slaves in the bitcoin mines. Kaspersky’s Dmitry Bestuzhev found infected computers in Italy, Russia, Poland, Costa Rica, Spain, Germany and Ukraine that have been brought to a crawl as nearly all of their processing power is stolen. This isn’t the first Bitcoin botnet, as massive networks of hacked computers that are controlled by cybercriminals are known. A botnet called ZeroAccess was estimated to be earning $2.7 million a year by using infected computers to mine new coins, even offering bounties for new infected computers. And as the media hype and Bitcoin’s valuation rises, there will undoubtedly be further exploits. As Felix Salmon explained in his deep-dive last week, botnets are the logical outcome of the Bitcoin system: The way that the money supply grows, in the bitcoin system, is by people harnessing the power of hundreds or thousands of computers to solve very complicated mathematical tasks, earning bitcoins for doing so along the way. And the easiest and cheapest way of doing that is to do so illegally, by stealth: set up a “botnet” of hacked computers to do your bidding for you. The incentives, here, are very bad indeed. Story continues An FBI report last year detailed several incidents in which cybercriminals bought and sold botnets, with bitcoin as the medium of exchange. So Bitcoin may have inadvertently given birth to an insidious new business model: Pay bounties to build a botnet, use the botnet to mint bitcoins, sell botnet for more bitcoins, and repeat. More from Quartz Forget bitcoin, this virtual currency doubles your money every month Bitcoin's largest market crashes after wild price swing How to short bitcoins (if you really must)

2013-04-08 11:03:34+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [589]}

{}

10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-things-know-morning-110300598.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Facebook The Facebook commercial Good morning! News: A version of Facebook's new homescreen skin for Android phones, "Facebook Home," is available early in beta after leaking. Michael Arrington responded to accusations of rape and physical abuse from his former girlfriend , saying: "All of the allegations are completely untrue." Microsoft will reveal details about its next Xbox at an event in May. Jim Cramer thinks Microsoft should buy Netflix for $13 billion. HTC posted terrible, record-low profits. More than a dozen of Stanford students quit school to go work on the same startup. Bitcoin went up to $170. Facebook made an ad for "Home." It takes place in an airplane, and it is strange. There's a new Samsung Galaxy phone out with a 4.7 inch screen. A cool feature from Facebook Home is that you can use it to chat while still using another app. More From Business Insider 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning View comments

2013-04-08 14:55:51+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3010]}

{}

Forget bitcoin, this virtual currency doubles your money every month

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/forget-bitcoin-virtual-currency-doubles-145551328.html

Quartz

http://www.qz.com

To produce bitcoins, processors must hum away solving mathematical problems . But mavros, another virtual currency, are simpler. They exist because Sergey Mavrodi, their creator, says they do. And while the recent spike in bitcoin value is the result of speculation on the open market, the rate for mavros is “ established personally by Mr. Sergey Mavrodi…. twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.” Their value doubles every month , in fact. That’s because mavros are actually a pyramid scheme by design, existing only within their own world of what its founders call a “mutual aid fund.” The idea goes something like this : Put your money into the pool so that when somebody needs help, he can draw on the fund. After a gestation period, you can ask for your own money back and whatever else you need. The company that runs mavros is called Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox , or MMM. It flies under the regulatory radar by claiming to be neither an investment fund nor a business. Instead, MMM calls itself “a voluntary informal network of millions of people across the earth, who rose up against the financial slavery” and “decided to declare war against the Federal Reserve and the bankers.” MMM’s slogans are “We are changing the world!” and “Together we can do a lot!” The company’s disclaimer is particularly colourful: Participating in the MMM, you are extremely at risk and can lose at any time, all your money. Do not forget this! There are no investments! No business activity! There is no company! In short. We urge you, convince, beg and plead with everyone: YES YOU DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THIS MMM! Yet MMM is spreading. According to the Business Standard, Mavros are winning over India’s small towns . Some 75,000 people have already put their money into the virtual currency, and its website lists a hectic schedule of “seminars” and “workshops” across India almost every day for the next few weeks. Its existing members are almost cult-like in their support. They organise blood-donation drives and rant against detractors on MMM’s Facebook page . Story continues Mavrodi has a colourful history. In the early 1990s, he established a financial pyramid scheme in Russia under the MMM name. In 1994, he was arrested for tax evasion, and MMM found itself unable to repay depositors. The following year, Mavrodi was elected to Russia’s parliament on the promise that he would repay investors with government funds. His parliamentary immunity was soon revoked, and he was eventually arrested again in 2003, serving a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence. Mavrodi reappeared in 2011 with schemes in India, Indonesia, and Thailand, this time using every loophole in the book, including the use of a virtual currency. Despite that, Mavrodi may be in trouble again. MMM is now the subject of an investigation by the economic offences wing of the Mumbai police. Read this next : How to short bitcoins (if you really must ) More from Quartz Yes, people are hoarding bitcoins Paul Volcker is "too old" for bitcoin Bitcoin's largest market crashes after wild price swing

2013-04-08 16:38:56+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [506, 699, 1014]}

{}

Paul Volcker is “too old” for bitcoin

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/paul-volcker-apparently-nonplussed-bitcoin-163856016.html

Quartz

http://www.qz.com

For all you bitcoin nerds predicting the surge of the online currency: Paul Volcker doesn’t care. In fact, it would seem that the eminent former chairman of the Federal Reserve—known for bringing US inflation under control in the early 1980s—doesn’t even know what bitcoin is. We asked him today at a conference put on by NYU’s Stern School of Business what his thoughts were about the electronic currency—a currency which (some believe) challenges the modern system of central banking . Volcker replied, “Bitcoin? What’s that?” (Paul, if you’re reading this, Cullen Roche of Pragmatic Capitalism has a good explanation .) He added, seeing my incredulity, “I’m too old to know anything about that.” Bitcoin traders, take note. A prominent figure of central banking really doesn’t care about what you’re trading. At least, not yet. (If you change your mind, Mr Chairman, do shoot me an email .) More from Quartz Yes, people are hoarding bitcoins Forget bitcoin, this virtual currency doubles your money every month Bitcoin's largest market crashes after wild price swing

2013-04-08 20:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [21, 554, 581, 2043, 2158, 2290, 2449, 2486, 4633, 5306, 5806]}

{"Bitcoin": [31]}

A Short Guide to Understanding Bitcoin

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/2013-04-08-short-guide-understanding-bitcoin-virtual-currency.html

AOL.com

https://www.aol.com/

Zcopley, Flickr.com "Bitcoins" either sound like a futuristic, implantable, laser-guided and rocket-pack equipped form of money, or the latest coin-shaped chocolate snack. In reality, it's probably a bit of both. The bitcoin, a digital currency, started the year worth about $15. Less than four months later, one bitcoin now trades above $70. While this past performance may be enticing and a sign of its legitimacy as a future currency, the bitcoin market is full of risks -- risks that may make bitcoins worth as much as a foil-wrapped piece of sugar. Bitcoin: A Crypto-Currency Bitcoin is based around the idea of a currency created and transacted through cryptography instead of issued and tracked through a central bank. And to add to its mystique, the creator of bitcoin only goes by a pseudonym and has never been positively identified. Instead of any legal authority, bitcoin transactions are verified through peer-to-peer interactions. If a user sends bitcoins to another user's "wallet" file, that transaction is verified through other users, and is written into the collective transaction log. And given the ease of transactions, any fees for transfers are minimal. Instead of a mint, bitcoins are created through a process called "mining," where computers attempt to solve for a certain number, and once found, are rewarded with new bitcoins. The rewards decrease with time, however, and there will only ever be about 21 million bitcoins created, three-quarters of which by 2016, and all by 2140. Even if you don't understand any of the above, the recent jump in valuation probably still has your interest. But there are plenty of reasons to continue to educate yourself before attempting to trade in bitcoins. bitcoincharts.com Glitches Not having any legal regulation, bitcoin has attracted plenty of thieves through the websites that create trading markets: In 2011, the third-largest trading site, Bitomat, lost its wallet file, which held 17,000 bitcoins worth more than $200,000 at the time. In the same year, the exchange MyBitcoin lost 51% of its users' deposits, amounting to 78,000 bitcoins worth over $1 million at the time . In 2012, Bitcoinica was hacked and lost $220,000 worth of customer funds. Two months later, it was hacked again and lost another $90,000. As Bitcoinica attempted to repay claims, the company was hacked a final time for another loss of $320,000. In the fall of 2012, in what might have been the first Bitcoin Ponzi scheme, the creator of Bitcoin Savings and Trust promised returns to investors. The founder has since disappeared with 500,000 bitcoins. Story continues Price Instability The market forces behind the bitcoin are far from solid and predictable. There is a large demand from speculators while actual use of bitcoins for trading goods and services is small. Just last week, a young Canadian became the first to list his home in exchange for bitcoins, and most other places that accept bitcoins remain small online businesses. And as bitcoin's value continues to swing wildly, it makes it hard for businesses to accept bitcoins with confidence. Meanwhile, established companies have taken notice of bitcoin. The popular blogging platform WordPress announced last November that it would accept bitcoins, while deriding eBay Inc.'s ( EBAY ) PayPal platform for blocking access from over 60 countries: "Some are blocked for political reasons, some because of higher fraud rates, and some for financial reasons. Whatever the reason, we don;t think an individual blogger from Haiti, Ethiopia, or Kenya should have diminished access to the blogosphere because of payment issues they can't control." If bitcoin ends up taking the role of PayPal in those blocked countries, future growth for eBay could be limited. Other companies have been fighting to become the consumer's digital wallet. Visa Inc. ( V ) launched its V.me platform last November, which allows users to pay online without repeatedly entering in credit card and shipping information. Google Wallet breaks away from purely digital shopping, and allows users to use their phone, if it has near-field communication technology, to pay for goods in-store. Unfortunately, many phones -- like the iPhone -- have yet to come equipped with NFC, and less than 10% of retailers are estimated to use NFC. Legality As bitcoin has gained popularity, the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network recently issued a statement clarifying that even virtual currencies like bitcoin are subject to regulation. As bitcoin can be exchanged between anonymous parties, it could be used for illicit activities with little trace. Bitcoin is already a popular currency on what's called Silk Road, a website accessible only through anonymous Internet connections that acts as a marketplace for many illegal substances. In addition, bitcoin is the first major digital currency with no backing from a state nor physical presence. Unlike gold, which exists in physical form and has some actual applications, bitcoin is made up of data, and all value is solely what we perceive. If world governments decide to fight the currency, it could severely hurt any value bitcoin holds. If humans begin to change their mind on what these bits of data are worth, then it could also hurt bitcoin's value. Worth Watching Bitcoins are fascinating, for mathematicians, economists, traders, investors, politicians, regulators, and anarchists. And while watching the currency develop is entertaining, the experimental currency is no place for serious investing given the risk versus reward. Attempting to trade in established currencies is difficult enough. --- Fool contributor Dan Newman owns shares of eBay. The Motley Fool recommends eBay, Google and Visa. The Motley Fool owns shares of eBay and Google . Cyber-Currency Bitcoin Continues Massive Growth

2013-04-08 21:20:15+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [754, 1243, 4109]}

{}

Yes, people are hoarding bitcoins

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/yes-people-hoarding-bitcoins-212015039.html

Quartz

http://www.qz.com

​ The total value of outstanding bitcoins surpassed $2 billion today, another milestone for the experiment in decentralized currency that was worth $1 billion just 11 days ago . It’s up about 1,300% since the beginning of the year. So how high can this go? Well, first we have to know what’s driving the current surge, and my best explanation, as I’ve detailed before , is that bitcoin is going through a “demand crisis” or “ deflationary spiral .” To put it simply, demand for bitcoins on the open market is going up, but the supply is also falling, which leads to wild deflation. That’s great if you’re investing in bitcoin as though it were a commodity, but not so great if you want to use it like an actual currency, that is, to buy and sell things. Bitcoin is, in fact, deflationary by design: Only 21 million bitcoins can ever be minted, and the rate at which they are created slows over time. In December, for instance, the number of bitcoins created every 10 minutes dropped to 25 , from 50, though the recent rise in value has more than made up for it . All that is well known, and the fixed supply should be priced into bitcoin’s value. The question is what else would affect the currency’s supply and demand. Demand is easy to see: Bitcoin is unusually sensitive to attention, and journalists like myself have been giving it plenty of that. ( So have bitcoin believers .) Here’s a chart of Google searches for “bitcoin” over the past year: ​ Supply is a trickier question, however. We know exactly how many bitcoins are in circulation: 11,008,300 as of this writing. All transaction are also carried out more or less in public, so we should be able to tell whether people are actively using the currency or hoarding their bitcoins. When researchers examined the bitcoin universe last year, they found that between 55% and 73% of bitcoins, depending on how you count, were being held in dormant accounts (pdf) rather than being traded or used to buy things. Story continues For normal currencies, there is a concept known as “ velocity of money ,” or the rate at which it is used to purchase goods, which is seen as a measure of the currency’s health. But that can’t be calculated for bitcoin , so the community developed an alternative metric meant to get at the same notion: “bitcoin days destroyed.” Say I have 10 bitcoins, and I do nothing with them for 100 days, then use them to buy myself a car . That would count as 1,000 bitcoin days destroyed at the moment the transaction occurs, making it a measure of both hoarding and selling. For instance, if I had bought 100 bitcoins a year ago—lucky me—and decided today to cash out of the entire investment, that would show up today as 36,500 bitcoin days destroyed. OK, got it? Here’s a chart of bitcoin days destroyed, per day, over the past year: ​ Again, it’s not only showing people hoarding bitcoins, though that’s definitely part of it. The chart also shows people who were hoarding bitcoins and are now cashing out, like the “ bitcoin millionaire ” who posted on Reddit this weekend that he’s moving his investment into metals, a house, and some mutual funds. Either way, what you’re looking at is the result of bitcoin hoarding, which is not great for its future as a currency, and affects the supply of available bitcoins on the open market. Lower supply makes the price go up, which should make people even less inclined to part with their bitcoins, reducing supply even further, and on and on. That’s happening at the same time demand just keeps going up and up. It’s a spiral or a crisis or whatever you want to call it. A bubble, perhaps? To review: As bitcoin receives attention, demand for it goes up, which pushes the value higher, drawing still more attention, which should lead people who already own bitcoins to expect the price to rise even further, causing them to hold onto those bitcoins, reducing the available supply, sending the price up, and so on. Which should work just fine until it doesn’t. More from Quartz Paul Volcker is "too old" for bitcoin Forget bitcoin, this virtual currency doubles your money every month Bitcoin's largest market crashes after wild price swing

2013-04-09 13:45:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [678]}

{}

JCPenney Is Getting Destroyed

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jcpenney-getting-destroyed-134515160.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Flickr/Dov Harrington JCPenney is the biggest loser of the S&P. The retailer opened down more than 6.5 percent on Tuesday. News broke last night that CEO Ron Johnson , who joined the retailer from Apple, had stepped down. The stock initially rose on the news, but tumbled after the retailer said that form CEO Mike Ullman would step in during the interim period. Johnson, who came one as JCPenney's CEO 16 months ago, was trying to turn around the retailer, but was unsuccessful. More From Business Insider Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Actually Had A Solid First Quarter REPORT: Soros Has Asked To Pull Hundreds Of Millions From Bill Ackman How A Hedge Fund Could Get Into The Bitcoin Game

2013-04-09 14:26:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [40, 294, 861, 930, 1189, 1302, 1361, 1625, 1770, 1999, 2203]}

{"Bitcoin": [29]}

The Secret Weapon That Makes Bitcoin Impervious To Super-Powerful Quantum Computers

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/not-even-super-powerful-quantum-142646598.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Flickr / zcopley If you don't know what Bitcoin is, you should. This digital currency has captured lots of attention as the value of a single unit recently surged to over $200. Venture capitalist Chris Dixon points out in a tweet that the emerging field of quantum computing might totally ruin Bitcoins, but this doesn't seem to actually be the case. To simplify the idea dramatically, a quantum computer effortlessly outperforms a conventional computer by operating in a totally different way. Your personal computer interacts with data by representing it as "bits" – ones and zeroes. But a quantum computer deals in "qubits," which represent data as ones, zeroes, or the quantum state between the two. With the ability address more data at a time, quantum computers become tremendously powerful tools for a number of fields. This might sound troubling to the Bitcoin world, as it's built upon cryptography to function properly. Bitcoins are generated only as computers break codes to unlock them, and the time required to break these codes is figured in to controlling inflation and stability. But it seems that if these super-powered quantum computers started crunching numbers to earn Bitcoins, they could throw the currency out of balance. Furthermore, there's the idea that they could even break Bitcoin security entirely. But this isn't so, according to Bitcoin . True quantum computers are so tremendously specialized that consumer access just isn't feasible yet. The D-Wave quantum computer that's often written about ( and that Lockheed Martin just paid $10 million for ) is usually touted as proof of concept, but Bitcoin says it's "not a quantum computer of a kind that could be used for cryptography." And when there are quantum computers for cryptography, Bitcoin will still be okay . Its security "was designed to be upgraded in a forward compatible way and could be upgraded if this were considered an imminent threat." Even if or when quantum computing should somehow catch up with Bitcoin security, there's already a field called post-quantum cryptography , which exists solely to encrypt data such that quantum computers can't crack it. Story continues So mine away. The value of the Bitcoin may fluctuate greatly, but it won't have anything to do with security threats. More From Business Insider 8 Sleeper Hits From The Apple App Store Here's What A Curved Glass iPhone Would Look Like In Real Life Apple Just Kicked A Popular App Out Of The App Store

2013-04-09 14:51:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [53, 159, 264, 320, 395]}

{"Bitcoin": [4]}

Get Bitcoin Value Every Hour By Following This Twitter Account

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/want-stay-top-bitcoin-value-145151506.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

flickr / Zach Copley The rising and falling value of Bitcoin has done a lot of rising lately. If you want to stay up to date on the current price for a single Bitcoin, be sure to follow @bitcoinprice on Twitter. The account automatically tweets out the value of a Bitcoin once an hour, using data pulled from the Mt.Gox Bitcoin exchange . More From Business Insider The Secret Weapon That Makes Bitcoin Impervious To Super-Powerful Quantum Computers 8 Sleeper Hits From The Apple App Store Here's What A Curved Glass iPhone Would Look Like In Real Life

2013-04-09 16:52:32+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [44, 310, 515, 808]}

{"Bitcoin": [27]}

This Trippy Video Explains Bitcoin in Under 4 Minutes

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trippy-video-explains-bitcoin-under-165232729.html

The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/

Launched in 2009 by an anonymous developer, Bitcoin is an intriguing technological and financial experiment. Now it's making headlines, as Quartz reports, with a recent spike in value (approximately 1,300% since the beginning of the 2013). The Atlantic 's Derek Thompson looked at the existential weirdness of Bitcoin , noting that starting your own currency is "not as complicated as it sounds. All you need is a system other people can understand and, most importantly, trust." That may be easier said than done: Bitcoin is baffling but this video, above, tries its best to shed some light on the concept. Created by Duncan Elms , an animator, and Marc Fennell , a radio host and self-proclaimed tech geek, the short video describes the currency in a nutshell, from "mining" to currency exchanges, and how Bitcoin is poised to change the way we think about money. "This is a personal project done between other jobs," Elms writes on Vimeo , explaining that as a result, not all of the data is up to date. Still, it's a handy overview of how the system works. Via Vimeo Staff Picks. More From The Atlantic The 37 Percent Mystery: Where Did All the Workers Go? The Jobs Crisis at Our Best Law Schools Is Much, Much Worse Than You Think Watch Margaret Thatcher Explain Why the Euro Is a Terrible Idea in 1990

2013-04-09 18:45:53+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3552], "BTC": [2799, 3421]}

{}

I moved all my Second Life Linden dollars into bitcoin

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/moved-second-life-linden-dollars-184553341.html

Quartz

http://www.qz.com

With all the chatter lately about bitcoin’s surge in value , I figured it was time to try it out for myself. But rather than setting up a “mining” operation to create new bitcoins or investing US dollars, I realized I could transfer some money from one virtual currency into another. As an early user of the virtual world Second Life , I had amassed a few thousand Linden dollars , which is the currency used for transactions within the game. Second Life used to pay basic users a stipend of L$50 a week simply for logging in. Not having used it in years, I was pleasantly surprised to find over L$5,000 Linden dollars sitting in my account, just waiting to be converted into bitcoins. I started the day with L$5,203 in my Second Life account, which is worth about US$20. To move my money, I created an account at VirWoX , a virtual currency exchange originally created to exchange Linden dollars for real-word, government-issued money. You can trade US dollars, euros, pounds, and Swiss francs into and out of Linden dollars, Avination (used in a virtual world of the same name), and Open Metaverse Currency (used in several virtual worlds). You can also now exchange between Linden dollars and bitcoin. In order to initiate the transfer, I had to visit one of VirWoX’s terminals inside Second Life, where I deposited L$5,195. That’s me in the image above, with what appears to be some sort of cat behind me. The terminal works kind of like an ATM, except that instead of punching in a PIN, the terminal showed me a PIN I created in VirWoX, to prove that it was legitimate and not some rogue ATM trying to rip me off. Having transferred the funds into my VirWoX account, I needed to convert them into bitcoins, which means dealing with exchange rates. Even though I work in an office filled with financial journalists, not everything sinks in, and I managed to commit a rookie mistake of buying in with the market price of bitcoins at an all-time high. I executed a trade at an exchange rate of about 49,000 Linden dollars for 1 bitcoin. VirWoX took a commission of L$50 plus 2.9% of the transaction. After a nearly instantaneous trade, I was the proud owner of one-tenth of a bitcoin, worth about US$18 at the time of trade. Story continues The final step was simply to get the money out of my VirWoX account and into a bitcoin “wallet,” a secure address that acts as my public identity on the bitcoin network. This turned out to be, by far, the most time-consuming step. After downloading the recommended bitcoin client , I needed to wait about five hours for it sync with the network. Once that was done, I initiated a transfer from my VirWoX account to my newly created bitcoin wallet. VirWoX charged a fee of one-hundredth of a bitcoin to make the transfer. That left me with a grand total of BTC 0.09, worth about US$18.20 at the time of this writing. Or at least that’s what I hope. After clicking to transfer the funds, I got a somewhat cryptic response saying my withdrawal now requires a “manual step” by VirWoX that can take up to 48 hours to complete. As I wait for my bitcoin client to synchronize with the network, this is the perfect time to see how much my time is actually worth. And what better way then by running an ever-so-slightly absurd Tesla cost-of-ownership calculator in reverse? Assuming my final transfer eventually completes, my time is apparently worth around US$3.44 per hour, or roughly BTC 0.018 an hour. I think I’ll stick with software development and leave the investing to the professionals. More from Quartz Why Bitcoin “millionaires” could accidentally become tax felons Yes, people are hoarding bitcoins Paul Volcker is “too old” for bitcoin

2013-04-09 20:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1392]}

{}

STOCKS RALLY, BITCOIN GOES BONKERS: Here's What You Need To Know

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stocks-rally-bitcoin-goes-bonkers-200020388.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Flickr / libraryman Stocks staged a nice rally today. First the scoreboard: Dow: 14,673, +59.5 pts, +0.4 percent S&P 500: 1,568, +5.5 pts, +0.3 percent NASDAQ: 3,237, +15.6 pts, +0.4 percent And now the top stories: Aluminum giant Alcoa kicked off earnings season yesterday afternoon. The company reported Q1 revenue that was a bit light, but earnings beat expectations. The implication is that profit margins held up, which is a very important and bullish signal for the markets. One of the biggest debates on Wall Street right now is whether record high profit margins are sustainable . "Company managers are lowering estimates at a frantic pace," said UBS 's Art Cashin in a note this morning. "Wall Street skeptics, thinking the managers are playing possum, are holding to higher estimates." If profit margins were to revert to a historic mean, then profits would quickly crumble and ultimately take the legs out from under the stock market. Read More About Profit Margins Here > The National Federation of Independent Business reported that small business optimism fell 1.3 points to 89.5. "Job creation in the small-business sector was perhaps the only bright spot in the March report," said the NFIB. "The fourth consecutive month of positive job growth, owners reported increasing employment an average of 0.19 workers per firm in the month of March." Meanwhile, the digital currency Bitcoin continues to surge in value. This morning it jumped to $200 and then rocketed to $230 by the afternoon. Shares of JC Penney tanked today. Yesterday afternoon, the company announced that Ron Johnson would be stepping down as CEO . JCP had hired Johnson from Apple to revamp its stores. However, Johnson's plans quickly turned into a flop. Former CEO Myron Ullman will be taking over until they can find a permanent replacement. Don't Miss: The American Manufacturing Renaissance Is A Flop > More From Business Insider STOCKS MAKE STUNNING COMEBACK AFTER UGLY JOBS REPORT: Here's What You Need To Know STOCKS RALLY, EURO SURGES, YEN TANKS: Here's What You Need To Know STOCKS FALL, OIL AND GOLD TANK, BITCOIN GOES CRAZY: Here's What You Need To Know

2013-04-09 20:05:07+00:00

{}

{"Bitcoin": [4]}

Why Bitcoin “millionaires” could accidentally become tax felons

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-bitcoin-millionaires-could-accidentally-200507219.html

Quartz

http://www.qz.com

If you’re an American who bought bitcoins at around $80 less than a month ago and sold them today for around $237 , congratulations! You may be on your way to accidentally committing tax fraud. That’s because you’ll run afoul of authorities if you don’t report what you made on bitcoin as capital gains , the same way you report gains made on most assets sold at a profit, argues Karl Denninger , who is sometimes credited as one of the founders of the Tea Party movement . Since there isn’t a field in TurboTax for “bitcoin earnings,” many fans of the cryptocurrency are likely ignorant of this wrinkle in the tax code of the United States and many other countries . Meanwhile, newly minted bitcoin millionaires are revealing themselves—or at least their Reddit handles— left and right . Even those who are staying quiet about their newfound riches are liable, basically forever, for whatever capital gains they fail to declare and pay taxes on come tax season. That’s because bitcoin, far from being an “untraceable” currency, relies for its very existence on a global record of every transaction ever conducted with a bitcoin. Using the right forensic tools, tax authorities could plausibly figure out exactly where every one of your bitcoins came from and where it went. And, as Denninger notes, because there’s no statute of limitations on tax avoidance, people who are cashing out now could be prosecuted for not paying capital gains taxes at any point in the future . Well, I’ll just use a throw-away wallet, some bitcoin users might be saying. Except, gotcha, doing so for the purposes of hiding capital gains or criminal transactions is itself a felony! Denninger: In all jurisdictions “structuring” transactions to evade money laundering or reporting constraints is a separate and unique crime and usually is a felony. Therefore, the very act of trying to split up transactions or use of “throw-away” wallets in and of itself is likely to be ruled a crime, leaving any party doing that exposed to separate and distinct criminal charges (along with whatever else they can bust you for.) Story continues All of which means that tax lawyers and accountants might be about to score a bitcoin windfall of their own. More from Quartz I moved all my Second Life Linden dollars into bitcoin Yes, people are hoarding bitcoins Paul Volcker is “too old” for bitcoin

2013-04-09 21:31:52+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1768]}

{}

Classified Report Shows America's Drones Aren't Just Killing Al-Qaeda Members

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/classified-report-shows-americas-drones-213152415.html

The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/

pakistandrone.jpg An anti-drone protest in Pakistan (Reuters). The Obama administration's drone attacks have not just targeted Al Qaeda leaders, but a wide variety of groups and individuals in Pakistan, according to classified intelligence documents obtained by McClatchy's Jonathan Landay. "At least 265 of up to 482 people who the U.S. intelligence reports estimated the CIA killed during a 12-month period ending in September 2011 were not senior al Qaida leaders but instead were "assessed" as Afghan, Pakistani and unknown extremists," Landay writes in the story, published today. This is despite the administration's rhetoric about how the CIA is using its drones solely to go after high-ranking Al Qaeda officials. Landay notes that when John Brennan gave the longest defense of the program on record, he "referred to al Qaida 73 times, the Afghan Taliban three times and mentioned no other group by name." While my colleague Conor Friedersdorf has repeatedly questioned the moral and legal logic of the drone war, Micah Zenko of the Council of Foreign Relations ponders another dark possibility in the McClatchy article. The United States is leading the creation and adoption of drone technology and forming the norms for their deployment in ad hoc, hypocritical way. So what's going to happen when other countries get their own large drone fleets ? Other governments "won't just emulate U.S. practice but (will adopt) America's justification for targeted killings," said Zenko of the Council on Foreign Relations. "When there is such a disconnect between who the administration says it kills and who it (actually) kills, that hypocrisy itself is a very dangerous precedent that other countries will emulate." More From The Atlantic This Trippy Video Explains Bitcoin in Under 4 Minutes The 37 Percent Mystery: Where Did All the Workers Go? The Jobs Crisis at Our Best Law Schools Is Much, Much Worse Than You Think

2013-04-10 11:10:03+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [0, 200, 279, 427, 763, 796, 863, 1267, 1292, 1459, 1843, 1913, 2062, 2100, 2248, 2411, 2470, 2552]}

{"Bitcoin": [5]}

Is a Bitcoin ETF Next?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-etf-next-111003758.html

ETF Trends

http://www.etftrends.com/

Bitcoins, a type of highly encrypted digital currency, are surging on a wave of speculation and demand for alternative currencies as central banks continue to print. Could we soon see the launch of a Bitcoin ETF? It’s an interesting idea, but experts say don’t hold your breath. Bitcoins, which trade hands online, have surged over 14% in the past week, reports Jeff Cox for CNBC . The digital currency has jumped to $250. The Bitcoin is a type of decentralized digital currency based on a peer-to-peer network and can be exchanged through computers internationally without a financial intermediary. The system was first introduced by developer Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. Complex computers act as “miners” that would confirm transactions between two parties using Bitcoins, and they would receive Bitcoins as compensation. This helps serve to expand the supply of Bitcoins, which can not exceed 21 million, Minyanville reports. “It got traction because it’s decentralized, it’s not subject to government meddling, it’s considered safe and there’s limited supply,” Alan Safahi, CEO of Zip Zap, said in the CNBC article. “So that drives value in kind of a commodity-type perception.” As the digital currency gains momentum, some have floated the idea of a ETF backed by Bitcoins. Alternatively, Bitcoins could be a candidate for the exchange traded note structure, but the sponsoring bank would have to be willing to back the appreciation or depreciation of the Bitcoin currency. What started off as a joke, may not seem like a joke at all. “With global BitCoin exposure north of $2 billion and global currencies on the verge of a valuation war one has to wonder how this new asset is going to make its way into our lives,” said Chris Hempstead, director of ETF execution services at WallachBeth Capital. Nevertheless, Hempstead does not believe Bitcoins can be structured to fit the ETF vehicle. For instance, if a Bitcoin ETF were to act like another currency offering, it would require futures contracts. Story continues “You’d need securities that are based in Bitcoins,” Hempstead said. “Since the Bitcoin is unregulated and no futures exist, an ETF is not possible today.” Nevertheless, there are some fervent supporters who are trying to bring Bitcoins to Wall Street. For instance, Peter Vessenes, CEO of Coinlab, is trying to develop a safe way for U.S. and Canadian investors to do large block trades of Bitcoins and protect them from loss, reports Teri Buhl for Bitcoin Magazine . Vessenes has argued that whoever can figure out a way to store Bitcoins in large trading blocks can help clients feel safe and entice large money investors into the digital currency. For more information on ETFs, visit our ETF 101 category . Max Chen contributed to this article. The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.

2013-04-10 13:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [286, 1094, 1308, 1452, 1536, 1979]}

{"Bitcoin": [69]}

Fortinet(R)'s FortiGuard Threat Landscape Research Team Reports That Bitcoin Botnet, ZeroAccess, Was the Number One Threat This Quarter

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fortinet-r-fortiguard-threat-landscape-130000990.html

Marketwired

http://www.marketwired.com/

SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 10, 2013) - Fortinet® ( NASDAQ : FTNT ) -- a world leader in high-performance network security -- today announced the findings of its FortiGuard threat landscape research for the period of January 1 - March 31, 2013. FortiGuard® Labs observed that the Bitcoin mining botnet, ZeroAccess, was the number one threat this quarter as reported by FortiGate devices worldwide. The report also reveals analysis of the South Korea cyberattacks and two new Android adware variants that have climbed the watch list in the last 90 days. ZeroAccess Shows No Signs of Slowing "In the first quarter of 2013, we have seen owners of the ZeroAccess botnet maintain and expand the number of bots under its control," said Richard Henderson, security strategist and threat researcher for Fortinet's FortiGuard Labs. "In the last 90 days, the owners of ZeroAccess have sent their infected hosts 20 software updates." Based on reporting from FortiGate devices worldwide, ZeroAccess is the number one botnet threat the team is seeing. ZeroAccess is used primarily for click fraud and Bitcoin mining. The value of the decentralized, open source-based digital currency continues to skyrocket, which likely means the amount of money being made by ZeroAccess is in the millions of dollars or more. "As Bitcoin's popularity and value increases, we may see other botnet owners attempt to utilize their botnets in similar fashions or to disrupt the Bitcoin market," Henderson continued. In March and into April, Mt. Gox, the largest Bitcoin Exchange in the world, battled a continued Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack in an attempt to destabilize the currency and/or profit from it. FortiGuard Labs' analysis of ZeroAccess, which has the capability to load DDoS modules onto infected machines, revealed that the botnet does not currently have a DDoS module attached to its arsenal. This suggests other botnet owners are attempting to profit from fluctuations in the Bitcoin currency. Story continues The growth of new ZeroAccess infections has remained constant in the last 90 days. Since FortiGuard Labs began actively monitoring ZeroAccess in August 2012, the team has seen a virtually linear amount of growth in new infections. Most recently, the team is seeing a staggering 100,000 new infections per week and almost 3 million unique IP addresses reporting infections. It's estimated that ZeroAccess may be generating its owners up to $100,000 per day in fraudulent advertising revenue alone. Wiper Attack Hits South Korea Companies A massive malware attack on South Korean television networks and financial institutions in March caused wide-scale damage, wiping thousands of hard drives. FortiGuard Labs, leveraging its partnerships with both the public and private sector in South Korea, has uncovered information relating to the nature of the attack and how the malware was spread. The team's research shows the attackers were able to seize control of patch management systems and use the trusted nature of those systems to distribute malware within their targets' networks. "During out investigation of the attacks, we discovered that a version of the wiper malware was able to infect internal security management servers and use the trusted nature of that internal server to spread infections inside the victim's network," said Kyle Yang, Senior Manager of Antivirus at FortiGuard Labs. Cleanup and restoration continues, and the perpetrators responsible remain unidentified. Two New Adware Variants Propagating on Android Two new Android adware variants, Android.NewyearL.B and Android.Plankton.B have seen a large number of global infections in the past 90 days. "The new advertising kits we are monitoring suggest that the authors behind this are working very hard to remain undetected," said David Maciejak, senior researcher for Fortinet's FortiGuard Labs. "It's also possible that Newyear and Plankton are being written by the same author, but being maintained separately in order to generate more infections." Both pieces of malware are embedded into various applications and have the ability to display advertisements, track users through the phone's unique IMEI number, and modify the phone's desktop. "The surge in Android adware can most likely be attributed to users installing what they believe are legitimate applications that contain the embedded adware code," said Guillaume Lovet, Senior Manager at FortiGuard Labs. "It suggests that someone or some group has been able to monetize these infections, most likely through illicit advertising affiliate programs." Users can protect themselves by paying close attention to the rights asked by an application at the point of installation. It is also recommended to download mobile applications that have been highly rated and reviewed. Q1 Threat Recap: NBC.com In February, using a popular cybercrime toolkit available in the cyber underground, attackers were able to leverage recently patched exploits in Oracle's Java and Adobe's PDF platforms to install the Citadel banking Trojan and ZeroAccess botnet onto systems that visited a number of NBC's digital properties. At the time of the attack, only three out of 46 popular antivirus applications were able to detect and mitigate this threat, and Fortinet's FortiClient was one of them. "The reports of signature-based antivirus' death have been greatly exaggerated," said Derek Manky, global security strategist for Fortinet's FortiGuard Labs. "A signature is often used loosely to refer to a simple pattern to match a virus. But, as we've seen recently, that's not always the case. Fortinet signatures, for example, are highly intelligent, as they work with our antivirus engine to identify the intent of a virus. In a case like the NBC.com attack, advanced signatures are proven to be proactive and can help in the fight against advanced persistent threats (APTs) and zero-day attacks." Today's APTs are able to defeat many technologies, including next generation firewalls. Building a network defense strategy that includes multiple layers of security is the best way to protect an infrastructure from attack. In the case of NBC, layers of security beyond traditional NGFW apply here -- Webfiltering, antivirus, intrusion prevision and application control all were involved. Spamhaus In March, global spam fighter The Spamhaus Project placed CyberBunker on their spam blacklist, which caused some groups sympathetic to the Dutch Web hosting provider to launch a sustained DDoS attack on Spamhaus. Content delivery provider CloudFlare was recruited to assist Spamhaus to help keep their blacklisting services available, but they, too, came under attack. At its peak, the attack on Spamhaus, CloudFlare and other groups reached a whopping 300 billion bits per second (Gbps), the largest online attack ever recorded. In what is referred to as a DNS Amplification attack, an attacking bot sends a spoofed request to an open DNS server and asks it to send back a large DNS file. "As long as misconfigured or intentionally left open DNS servers exist, these types of attacks will continue and be difficult to protect against," Henderson maintained. "As botnet owners grow the size of their armies and diversify the ways in which they launch attacks, we're likely to see even larger attacks like this in the future," Henderson said. About FortiGuard Labs FortiGuard Labs compiled threat statistics and trends for this threat period based on data collected from FortiGate® network security appliances and intelligence systems in production worldwide. Customers who use Fortinet's FortiGuard Services should be protected against the vulnerabilities outlined in this report as long as the appropriate configuration parameters are in place. FortiGuard Services offer broad security solutions including antivirus, intrusion prevention, Web content filtering and anti-spam capabilities. These services help protect against threats on both application and network layers. FortiGuard Services are updated by FortiGuard Labs, which enables Fortinet to deliver a combination of multi-layered security intelligence and zero-day protection from new and emerging threats. For customers with a subscription to FortiGuard, these updates are delivered to all FortiGate, FortiMail ™ and FortiClient ™ products. Ongoing research can be found in the FortiGuard Center or via FortiGuard Labs ' RSS feed . Additional discussion on security technologies and threat analysis can be found at the FortiGuard Blog . Follow Fortinet Online: Twitter at: www.twitter.com/fortinet ; Facebook at: www.facebook.com/fortinet ; YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/user/SecureNetworks . About Fortinet ( www.fortinet.com ) Fortinet ( NASDAQ : FTNT ) is a worldwide provider of network security appliances and a market leader in unified threat management (UTM). Our products and subscription services provide broad, integrated and high-performance protection against dynamic security threats while simplifying the IT security infrastructure. Our customers include enterprises, service providers and government entities worldwide, including the majority of the 2012 Fortune Global 100. Fortinet's flagship FortiGate product delivers ASIC-accelerated performance and integrates multiple layers of security designed to help protect against application and network threats. Fortinet's broad product line goes beyond UTM to help secure the extended enterprise -- from endpoints, to the perimeter and the core, including databases and applications. Fortinet is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., with offices around the world. Copyright © 2013 Fortinet, Inc. All rights reserved. The symbols ® and ™ denote respectively federally registered trademarks and unregistered trademarks of Fortinet, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates. Fortinet's trademarks include, but are not limited to, the following: Fortinet, FortiGate, FortiGuard, FortiManager, FortiMail, FortiClient, FortiCare, FortiAnalyzer, FortiReporter, FortiOS, FortiASIC, FortiWiFi, FortiSwitch, FortiVoIP, FortiBIOS, FortiLog, FortiResponse, FortiCarrier, FortiScan, FortiAP, FortiDB, FortiVoice and FortiWeb. 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2013-04-10 14:39:45+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [30893]}

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Enter a Monster : How a Hollywood Effects Studio Builds Movie Creatures

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/enter-monster-hollywood-effects-studio-143945976.html

The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/

Image1-MikeElizalde.jpg Mike Elizalde of Spectral Motion applies make-up to actor Ron Perlman , as Hellboy . Many of today's most original and bizarre visions of alternative worlds and landscapes come from the workshops of Hollywood effects studios. Behind the scenes of nondescript San Fernando Valley offices and warehouse spaces (if not outside California altogether, in some of the many other nodes in the ever-expanding global network of cinematic effects production, from suburban London to Wellington, New Zealand), lurk the multidisciplinary teams whose job it is to create tomorrow's monsters. Spectral Motion , the effects house responsible for some of the most technically intricate and physically stunning animatronic creatures seen in feature film today, is no exception. Based in a small strip of anonymous one-story warehouse spaces squeezed in between a freeway and rail tracks, and overshadowed by a gargantuan Home Depot, Spectral Motion has developed monsters, effects, and other mechanical grotesqueries that have since become household nightmares, if not names. Since its founding, by Mike & Mary Elizalde in 1994, the firm has worked on such films as Hellboy & Hellboy II: The Golden Army , Looper , Attack the Block , Blade 2 & Blade: Trinity , X-Men: First Class , The Watch , and this summer's (from the perspective of at least half of Venue ) highly anticipated Pacific Rim . Venue caught up with Mike Elizalde, CEO of Spectral Motion , on a cloudy day in Glendale to talk all things monstrous and disturbing. Our conversation ranged from the fine line that separates the grotesque and the alien to the possibility of planetary-scale creatures made using tweaked geotextiles, via the price of yak hair and John Carpenter's now-legendary Antarctic thriller, The Thing . Image2-MikeElizalde.jpg Elizalde, a good-humored conversationalist, not only patiently answered our many questions--with a head cold, no less--but then took us on a tour through Spectral Motion 's surprisingly large workshop. We saw miniature zombie heads emerging from latex molds (destined for a film project by Elizalde's own son), costumes being sewn by a technician named Claire Flewin for an upcoming attraction at Disneyland, and a bewildering variety of body parts--heads, torsos, claw, and even a very hairy rubber chest once worn by Vinnie Jones in X-Men: The Last Stand --that were either awaiting, or had already performed, their celluloid magic. Story continues Image3_MikeElizalde.jpg The visit ended with a screening of Spectral Motion 's greatest hits, so to speak, with in-house photographer and archivist Kevin McTurk--a chance to see the company's creations in their natural habitat. We walked back out into the flat light and beige parking lots of the Valley, a landscape enlivened by our heightened sense of the combination of close observation and inspired distortion required to transform the everyday into the grotesque. • • • Image4_MikeElizalde.jpg Geoff Manaugh : I'd love to start with the most basic question of all: how would you describe Spectral Motion and what the company does? Mike Elizalde : We are principally a prosthetics, animatronics, and special effects creature studio, but we are also a multifaceted design studio. We do a lot of different kinds of work. Most recently, for example, in partnership with one of my long-time colleagues, Mark Setrakian, we built anthropomorphic bipedal hydraulic robots that engage in battle, for a reality show for Syfy . It's called RCL -- Robot Combat League . It's pretty astounding what these machines can do, including what they can do to each other. Image5_MikeElizalde.jpg Image6_MikeElizalde.jpg Battling it out in Robot Combat League with two robots--"eight-feet tall, state-of-the-art humanoid robots controlled by human 'robo-jockeys,'" in the words of Syfy --designed by Mark Setrakian of Spectral Motion . Nicola Twilley : Are the robot battles choreographed, or do you genuinely not know which robot will win? Elizalde : Oh, no, absolutely--it's a contest. It really is about which robot will emerge as the victorious contender. RCL is not only one of our most recent projects, but it also shows that, here at the studio, we can do everything from a very delicate prosthetic application on an actor, to an animatronic character in a film, to something that's completely out of our comfort zone--like building battling robots. I always tell people that, if they come in here with a drawing of a car, we could build that car. It is a very diverse group that we work with: artists, technicians, and, of course, we use all the available or cutting-edge technologies out there in the world to realize whatever it is that we are required to make. Image7_MikeElizalde.jpg Manaugh : What kind of design briefs come to you? Also, when a client comes to you, typically how detailed or amorphous is their request? Elizalde : Sometimes it is very vague. But, typically, what happens is we're approached with a script for a project. Our job is to go through the script and create a breakdown and, ultimately, a budget based on those breakdowns. We take whatever we think we should build for that script and we make suggestions as to how each thing should look--what should move, what the design should be, and so on. Other times, we'll be working with a director who's very involved and who maybe even has some technical knowledge of what we do--especially someone like Guillermo del Toro . He's completely savvy about what we do because he used to own a creature shop of his own, so working with someone like him is much more collaborative; he comes to us with a much more clear idea of what he wants to see in his films. Lots of times, he'll even show us an illustration he's done. He's the first one to say, "I'm not an artist!" But he really is. He's quite gifted. Image8_MikeElizalde.jpg Image9_MikeElizalde.jpg The creature known as Wink from Hellboy II: The Golden Army , designed by Spectral Motion , including a shot of the mechanical understructure used inside Wink's left hand. So he'll bring us his illustrations and say, you know, "You tell me if it's going to be a puppet, an animatronic puppet, or a creature suit that an actor can wear." And that's where our knowhow comes in. That's how it evolves. There are also times--with the robot show, for example--where they know exactly what they need but they don't know how to achieve it. In those cases, they come to us to do that for them. Twilley : Can you talk us through one of the projects you've worked on where you had to create your vision based solely on what's in the script, rather than more collaborative work with the director? What's that process like? Elizalde : Well, I'd actually say that ninety percent of our work is that way. For most of the projects we work on, we do, in fact, just get a script and the director says, "Show me what this looks like." But we love that challenge. It's really fun for us to get into the artistic side of developing what the appearance of something will end up looking like. We had a lot of fun working with a director named Tommy Wirkola, for example, who directed Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters . He was the director of Dead Snow , a really strange Norwegian film that involved this group of young kids who go off to a cabin where they're hunted down by a hoard of horrifying zombie Nazi monsters. It's really grisly. Anyway, although Tommy did have really good ideas about what he wanted his characters to look like for Hansel & Gretel , there were certain characters whose descriptions were much more vague--also because there was such a broad scope of characters in the film. So they did rely on us to come up with a lot of different looks based on loose descriptions. In the end, the principal characters in the film were total collaborations between Tommy, myself, and Kevin Messick, the producer, and the rest of my team here at Spectral Motion , of course. I'd say that's a good example of both worlds, where you have some clear ideas about a few characters, but, for another group of characters, there really isn't a whole lot of information or a detailed description. You have to fill in a lot of blanks. Image10_MikeElizalde.jpg Mark Setrakian, Thom Floutz , and Mike Elizalde of Spectral Motion pose with Sammael from Hellboy . Twilley : What kinds of things do you look for in a script to give you a clue about how a character might work--or is that something that simply comes out when you're sketching or modeling? Elizalde : In a script, we basically know what we're looking for: "Enter a monster." We know that's what we're going be doing, so we look for those moments in the script. Sometimes there's a brief description--something like, "the monster's leathery hide covered in tentacles." That kind of stuff gives us an immediate visual as to what we want to create. Then we explore it with both two-dimensional artwork and three-dimensional artwork, and both digital and physical. In fact [ gestures at desk ], these are some examples of two-dimensional artwork that we've created to show what a character will look like. This [ points to statuette above desk ] is a maquette for one of the characters in Hellboy II --the Angel of Death. This was realized at this scale so that del Toro could see it and say, "That's it. That's what I want. Build that." This actually began as an illustration that Guillermo did in his sketchbook, a very meticulous and beautiful illustration that he came to us with. Image11_MikeElizalde.jpg Image12_MikeElizalde.jpg The Angel of Death from Hellboy II: The Golden Army . But that's the process: illustration and then maquette. Sometimes, though, we'll do a 3D illustration in the computer before we go to the next stage, just to be able to look at something virtually, in three dimensions, and to examine it a little bit more before we invest the energy into creating a full-blown maquette. The maquette, as a tool, can be very essential for us, because it allows us to work out any bugs that might be happening on a larger scale, design-wise. Practically speaking, it doesn't give us a lot of information as to how the wings are going to work, or how it's going to function; but it does tell us that a human being could actually be inside of it and that it could actually work as a full-scale creature. It's essential for those reasons. Image13_MikeElizalde.jpg Simon, the mechanical bird from Your Highness , before paint has been applied, revealing the internal workings. Because you can show a director a drawing, and it might look really terrific--but, when it comes to actually making it, in a practical application at scale, sometimes the drawing just doesn't translate. Sometimes you need the maquette to help describe what the finished piece will look like. Manaugh : You mentioned animatronics and puppeteering. We were just up at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena yesterday afternoon, talking to them about how they program certain amounts of autonomy into their instruments, especially if it's something that they're putting on Mars. It has to be able to act on its own, at times, because it doesn't have enough time to wait for the command signal from us back on Earth. I'm curious, especially with something like the robot combat show, how much autonomy you can build into a piece. Can you create something that you just switch on and let go, so that it functions as a kind of autonomous or even artificially intelligent film prop? Elizalde : It really depends on the application. For example, when we're filming something, a lot of times there's a spontaneity that's required. Sometimes actors like to ad lib a little bit. If we need to react to something that an actor is saying via a puppet--an animatronic puppet--then that live performance really is required. But we always have the option of going to a programmable setup, one where we can have a specific set of parameters, performance-wise, to create a specific scene. For live performances on a stage, we'd probably want to program that with the ability to switch over to manual, if required. But, if it's scripted--if it's a beat-by-beat performance--then we know that can be programmable. We can turn on the switch and let it go. In the middle of that, you can then stop it, and have a live show, with puppeteers in the background filling in the blanks of whatever that performance is, and then you can continue with the recorded or programmed performance. It really goes back and forth, depending on what it is the people who are putting on the production need. Image14_MikeElizalde.jpg The mechanical skull under structure of the Ivan the Corpse from Hellboy . Twilley : That's an interesting point--the idea of how a live actor responds to your creatures. Have there been any surprises in how an actor has responded, or do they all tend to know what they're getting into by the time you're filming? Elizalde : They do know what they're getting into, but it's always rewarding to have an actor go over to the thing that you built, and stare at it, and say, "Oh, my God! Look at that thing!" They can feed off of that. I think they are able to create a more layered performance, with a lot more depth in their reactions to something if it's actually there--if it's present, if it has life to it, and it's tactile. A lot of times people turn to digital solutions. That's also good, if the application is correct. But, you know, a lot of directors that we talk to are of the mind that a practical effect is far better for exactly that reason--because the actor does have a co-actor to work with, to play off of, and to have feelings about. That's one of the things that keeps us going. And, the fact is, with this business, no matter what walks through that door we know that it's going to be a completely different set of challenges from the last thing that we did. Image15_MikeElizalde.jpg Mechanical puppet of Drake from a Sprite commercial. Scott Millenbaugh and Jurgen Heimann of Spectral Motion are seen here making mechanical adjustments. Manaugh : About six years ago , I interviewed a guy who did concept art for the Star Wars prequels, and he had a kind of pet obsession with building upside-down skyscrapers--that is, skyscrapers that grew downwards like stalactites. He kept trying to get them into a movie. He would build all of these amazing 3D models and show them to the director, and the director was always excited--but then he'd turn the model upside-down and say, "Let's do it like this!" So all the upside-down skyscrapers would just be right-side up again. In any case, this artist was then working on the recent Star Trek reboot, and there's a brief moment where you see upside-down skyscrapers on the planet Vulcan. It's only on screen for about a second and a half, but he finally did it--he got his upside-down skyscrapers into a film. Elizalde : [ laughs ] But, ohhh! For half-a-second! [ laughter ] Manaugh : Exactly. Anyway, in the context of what you do here at Spectral Motion , I'm curious if there is something like that, that you've have been trying to get into a movie for the last few years but that just never quite makes it. A specific monster, or a new material, or even a particular way of moving, that keeps getting rejected. Elizalde : That's an interesting question. [ pauses ] You know, I'd have to say no. I'd say it seems like the more freely we think, the better the result is. So it's quite the contrary: most of the stuff we suggest actually does make it into the film, because it's something that someone else didn't think about. Or perhaps we've added some movement to a character, or we've brought something that will elicit a more visceral reaction from the audience--bubbly skin, for instance, or cilia that wiggle around. I don't think I've really encountered a situation where I thought something would look great, but, when I brought it to a director, they said, "Nah--I don't think that's going to go. Let's not try that." They always seem to say, "Let's try it! It sounds cool!" Image16_MikeElizalde.jpg Mike Elizalde applies some last-minute touch-ups to actor Ron Perlman on the set of Hellboy . We really haven't had a whole lot of frustration--maybe only when it turns into a very large committee making a decision on the film. Then, I suppose, a certain degree of frustration is more typical. But that happens in every industry, not just ours: the more people are involved in deciding something, the more difficult it is to get a clear image of what it is we're supposed to do. Manaugh : When we first spoke to set-up this interview, I mentioned that we'd be touring the landfill over at Puente Hills this morning, on our way here to meet you--it's the biggest active landfill in the United States. What's interesting is that it's not only absolutely massive, it's also semi-robotic, in the sense that the entire facility--the entire landscape--is a kind of mechanical device made from methane vents and sensors and geotextiles, and it grows everyday by what they call a "cell." A "cell" is one square-acre, compacted twenty feet deep with trash. Everyday! But I mention this because, during our visit there, I almost had the feeling of standing on top of a mountain-sized creature designed by Spectral Motion --a strange, half-living, half-mechanical monstrosity in the heart of the city, growing new "cells" every day of its existence. It's like something out of Hellboy II . So I'm curious about the possibilities of a kind of landscape-scale creature--how big these things can get before you need to rely on CGI. Is it possible to go up to that scale, or what are the technical or budgetary limitations? Image17_MikeElizalde.jpg Elizalde : We can't build mountains yet but, absolutely, we can go way up in scale! Many times, of course, we have to rely, at least to some degree, on digital effects--but that just makes our job easier, by extending what is possible, practically, and completing it cinematically, on screen, at a much larger scale. For example, on Pacific Rim , Guillermo del Toro's new film that comes out this summer , we designed what are called Jaegers . They're basically just giant robots. And we also designed the Kaiju , the monsters in the film. First, we created maquettes, just like the ones here, and we made several versions of each to reflect the final designs you'll see in the film. Those were taken and re-created digitally so they could be realized at a much larger scale. To that degree, we can create something enormous. There's a maquette around here somewhere of a character we designed for the first Hellboy movie--actually, there are two of them. One of those characters is massive--about the size of a ten-story building--and the other one is much, much bigger. It's the size of... I don't know, a small asteroid. There really is no limit to the scale, provided we can rely on a visual effects company to help us realize our ultimate goal. Image18_MikeElizalde.jpg Image19_MikeElizalde.jpg The animatronic jaws and bioluminescent teeth (top) of the alien creature (bottom) designed by Spectral Motion for Attack the Block . But going the opposite direction, scale-wise, is also something that interests us. We can make something incredibly tiny, depending on what the film requires. There is no limit in one direction or the other as to what can be achieved, especially with the power of extension through digital effects. Manaugh : Just to continue, briefly, with the Puente Hills reference, something that we've been interested in for the past few years is the design of geotextiles, where companies like TenCate in the Netherlands are producing what are, effectively, landscape-scale blankets made from high-quality mesh, used to stabilize levees or to add support to the sides of landfills. But some of these geotextiles are even now getting electromagnetic sensors embedded in them , and there's even the possibility of a geotextile someday being given mechanical motion--so it's just fascinating, I think, to imagine what you guys could do with a kind of monstrous or demonic geotextile, as if the surface of the earth could rise up as a monster in Hellboy III . Elizalde : [ laughs ] Well, now that I know about it, I'll start looking into it! Image20_MikeElizalde.jpg Image21_MikeElizalde.jpg Twilley : Aside from scale, we're also curious about the nature of monsters in general. This is a pretty huge question, but what is a monster? What makes something monstrous or grotesque? There seems to be such a fine line between something that is alien--and thus frightening--and something that is so alienating it's basically unrecognizable, and thus not threatening at all. Elizalde : Exactly. Right, right. Twilley : So how do you find that sweet spot--and, also, how has that sweet spot changed over time, at least since you've been in the business? Are new things becoming monstrous? Elizalde : Well, I think my definition of a monster is simply a distortion : something that maybe looks close to a human being, for example, but there's something wrong . It can be something slight, something subtle--like an eye that's just slightly out of place--that makes a monster. Even a little, disturbing thing like that can frighten you. So it doesn't take a lot to push things to the limit of what I would consider the grotesque or the monstrous . At that point, it runs the gamut from the most bizarre and unimaginable things that you might read in an H. P. Lovecraft story to something simple, like a tarantula with a human head. Now there's something to make me scream! I think there's a very broad range. But you're right: it's a huge question. Image22_MikeElizalde.jpg Mark Setrakian of Spectral Motion working on the animatronic head of Edward the Troll from Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters . And sometimes the monstrous defies definition. I guess it's more of a primal reaction--something you can't quite put your finger on or describe, but something that makes you feel uneasy. It makes you feel uncomfortable or frightened. A distortion of what is natural, or what you perceive as natural, something outside what you think is the order of things--or outside what you think is acceptable within what we've come to recognize as natural things--then that's a monster. That's a monstrous thing . Do you recall seeing John Carpenter's The Thing ? Manaugh : It's one of my favorite movies. Elizalde : My goodness, the stuff in that film is the stuff of nightmares. It really is brilliantly executed, and it's a great inspiration to all of the people in our industry who love monsters, and to all the fans all over the world who love monstrous things. Image23_MikeElizalde.jpg Actor Ron Perlman gets make-up applied for his role as Hellboy , as director Guillermo del Toro and Mike Elizalde from Spectral Motion stop in for a visit. Twilley : Have there been trends over time? In other words, do you find directors look for a particular kind of monster at a particular moment in time? Elizalde : I do think there are trends--although I think it's mainly that there's a tendency here in Hollywood where somebody hears a rumor that someone down the street is building a film around this particular creature, so that guy's now got to write a similar script to compete. But sometimes the trends are set by something groundbreaking, like The Thing . Once that movie was released, everybody paid attention and a whole new area of exploration became available to create amazing moments in cinema. Those are the real trends, you know. It's a symbiosis that happens between the artistic community and the technological community, and it's how it keeps advancing. It's how it keeps growing. And it keeps us excited about what we do. We feed off of each other. Image24_MikeElizalde.jpg Technician Claire Flewin uses her hand to demonstrate how yak hair looks stretched over a mold. Manaugh : Speaking of that symbiosis, every once in a while, you'll see articles in a magazine like New Scientist or you'll read a press release coming out of a school like Harvard, saying that they've developed, for instance, little soft robots or other transformable, remote-control creatures for post-disaster reconnaissance--things like that. I mention this because I could imagine that you might have multiple reactions to something like that: one reaction might be excitement--excitement to discover a new material or a new technique that you could bring into a film someday--but the other reaction might be something almost more like, "Huh. We did that ten years ago." I'm curious as to whether you feel, because of the nature of the movies that you work on, that the technical innovations you come up with don't get the attention or professional recognition that they deserve. Elizalde : I think your assessment is accurate on both counts. There are times when we see an innovation, or a scientific development, that we think could be beneficial to our industry; in fact, that happens all the time. There's cross-pollination like that going on constantly, where we borrow from other industries. We borrow from the medical industry. We borrow from the aerospace industry. We borrow, really, from whatever scientific developments there are out there. We seek them out and we do employ some of those methods in our own routines and systems. In fact, one of our main designers, and a very dear friend of mine whom I've worked side by side with for years now, is Mark Setrakian. When he's not working here with us, he is a designer at one of the labs you just described. So there is a lot of crossover there. Image25_MikeElizalde.jpg The mechanical skull of the scrunt from Lady in the Water . Manaugh : That's interesting--do the people who work for you tend to come from scientific or engineering backgrounds, like Mark, or are they more often from arts schools? What kinds of backgrounds do they tend to have? Elizalde : Generally speaking, I think they're people like myself who just have a love for monsters. That's honestly where a lot of people in our industry come from. There are people who started their careers as dental technicians and people who started out as mold-makers in a foundry. In all of those cases, people from those sorts of technical fields gravitate toward this work because of, first of all, a love for monsters and creatures, and, secondly, a technical ability that isn't necessarily described as an art form per se. Electronics people love to work for us. People who design algorithms love to work for us. Even people with a background in dentistry, like I say, love to work for us. There's really no limit to the fields that bring people to this industry--they come from everywhere. The common thread is that we all love movies and we all love creatures. We love making rubber monsters for a living. Image26_MikeElizalde.jpg The shelves at Spectral Motion gives a good sense of the workshop's range of reference. Highlights include the Third Edition of the Atlas of Clinical Dermatology (in color), The National Audubon Society: Speaking for Nature , Marvel's Fantastic Four , The Graphic Works of Odilon Redon , and a Treasury of Fantastic and Mythological Creatures . To go back to your previous question, there are definitely times when I think we don't get a lot of exposure for what we do, but there is also, at some level, a kind of "don't pay attention to the man behind the curtain" thing going on, where we don't really want people to look backstage at what makes a movie work. We are creating a living creature for film, and that's what we want to put across to the audience. In some ways, it's actually better if there isn't too much exposure as to how something was created; it's like exposing a magic trick. Once you know the secret, it's not that big a deal. So we do live in a little bit of a shroud of secrecy--but that's okay. After a film is released, it's not unusual for more of what we did on that film to be exposed. Then, we do like to have our technicians, our artists, and what we've developed internally here to be recognized and shown to the public, just so that people can see how cool it all is. I think, though, that my response to those kinds of news stories is really more of a happiness to see new technologies being developed elsewhere, and an eagerness to get my hands on it so I can see what we could do with it in a movie. And, of course, sometimes we develop our very own things here that maybe someone hadn't thought of, and that could be of use in other fields, like robotics. And that's kind of cool, too. Image27_MikeElizalde.jpg Mike Elizalde sculpting an old age Nosferatu as a personal project. Manaugh : Finally, to bring things full circle, we're just curious as to how Spectral Motion got started. Elizalde : Well, I became involved in the effects industry back in 1987. It sort of just dawned on me one day that I wanted to do this for a living. I had been in the Navy for eight years when it really started getting to me--when I realized I wasn't doing what I wanted to do with my life. I decided that I'd come back to my home, which is Los Angeles, California, and look into becoming a creature effects guy. I was totally enamored of Frankenstein's Monster when I was a kid. I grew up watching all the horror movies that I could see--a steady diet of Godzilla , Frankenstein , you name it. All the Universal monsters, and even more modern things like An American Werewolf in London . They just really fascinated me. That was a real catalyst for me to start exploring how to do this myself. I also learned from books. I collected books and started using my friends as guinea pigs, creating very rudimentary makeup effects on them. And, eventually, I landed my first job in Hollywood. Cut to fifteen years later, and I had my first experience on set with Guillermo del Toro . I was working with him on Blade II . I had done an animatronic device for the characters he was using in his film, and I was also on set puppeteering. We became very good friends. That's when he offered me the script for Hellboy and that's how we started Spectral Motion . I became independent. Prior to that I had worked for Rick Baker , and Stan Winston , and all the other big names in town. But this was our opportunity to make our own names--and here we are, today. You know, this is one of those industries where you can come in with a desire and some ability, and people around you will instruct you and nurture you. That's how it happened for me. I was taught by my peers. And it really is a great way to learn. There are schools where you can learn this stuff, as well, but my experience proved to me that the self-taught/mentored method is a very good way to go. venuelogo.jpg This post was originally published at V-e-n-u-e.com . More From The Atlantic Welcome to the Micro-Gig: No Job is Too Small This Trippy Video Explains Bitcoin in Under 4 Minutes The 37 Percent Mystery: Where Did All the Workers Go?

2013-04-10 14:40:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [107, 241, 282, 455, 537, 622, 660, 927, 1048, 1204, 1535, 1592, 1958, 2117, 2126, 2232, 2294, 2552]}

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There's Someone Called 'The Bitcoin Billionaire' Who's Randomly Giving Out Thousands Of Dollars On Reddit

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/theres-someone-calling-himself-bitcoin-144015013.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Hasbro, Business Insider Today, something pretty strange happened. Someone gave away over $13,000 worth of Bitcoins to complete strangers on Reddit. Some context: For the last few months, Reddit users have been able to "tip" each other with Bitcoins. Basically, the user sets up a "Bitcointip" account. They are then able to tip other users using simple commands within Reddit. For example, typing "+bitcointip @Username $1usd" will tip that username the Bitcoin equivalent of $1. The recipient of the tip can then export their tip to a Bitcoin wallet (in this case, BlockWallet.info ). (For more information, try reading Bitcointip's help page here) . As the Bitcointip account writes a message whenever a tip is verified, you can see how people are using it. It appears most people use this feature for comical effect — of the most recent tips, most are below $5: Reddit However, earlier today a user who called themselves " Bitcoinbillionaire " began giving out much larger tips: Reddit That first tip was apparently worth $4,680. Over the day, Bitcoinbillionaire gave out 11 tips, some of which were thousands of dollars. By Business Insider 's calculation, he or she gave away $13627.69896 worth of Bitcoins . Most of the time, the tip seemed almost arbitrary. Redditors observing the transactions were left stunned: Reddit We messaged some recipients of the tips, who confirmed that they had received the tips (you can also see the tips on BlockChain ). The Reddit users who talked to us told us they had had no contact with the Bitcoinbillionaire before receiving the tips. Who is the Bitcoinbillionaire? We messaged the account to ask for more details, and have not received an answer at the time of writing (we're not sure we expect one either, the account is clearly a throwaway and they undoubtedly got a lot of messages). There are snippets of information: he or she claims that they were an "early adopter" , and had forgotten they even had any Bitcoins . "I am bitcoin," he or she wrote in a moment of megalomania . Story continues Nothing this good can last forever, however. After one user begged for Bitcoin, Bitcoinbillionaire said they had "ruined it": "You've made me change my mind about this whole thing," the Bitcoinbillionaire wrote . "I'm done." As of 4 hours ago, the Bitcoinbillionaire has apparently stopped giving out tips. They ended this experiment with a quote from Ron Paul : Reddit More From Business Insider YAHOO SOURCE: Here's The Real Reason Marissa Mayer Bought A 17-Year-Old's Startup For $30 Million Here's Why Bitcoin Speculators Are Just Laughing At Anyone Who Calls It A Bubble Outraged Liberals Say Obama Is About To Screw Over The Very People Who Got Him Elected

2013-04-10 14:45:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1452, 1469, 1659, 1752, 2015, 2175, 2234, 2305, 2398, 2510, 2530, 2661, 2733, 3274, 3323, 3427, 3683, 3815, 3997, 4106, 4496, 4769, 4851], "BTC": [2224]}

{"Bitcoin": [24]}

Euro-zone Crisis Spawns Bitcoin Craze, But Trading EUR/USD Still Safer Bet

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/euro-zone-crisis-spawns-bitcoin-144500685.html

DailyFX

http://www.dailyfx.com/

The Euro-zone sovereign debt crisis has ravaged European equity markets, ultimately forcing the European Central Bank to pledge the unlimited expansion of its balance sheet to prevent bond market turmoil. This has sent the Euro on wild swings against its major counterparts, the British Pound, the Japanese Yen, and the US Dollar. The most recent chapter of the Euro-zone crisis, the “Ill-Constructed Bailout of Cyprus” (as I like to call it), has seen new measures taken in order to ensure bailout funds: capital controls. To prevent a full-on bank run resulting from the uninsured depositor tax levied on the country’s banks, the Cypriot government has implemented sweeping capital controls that effects transactions on an individual and international level: a €300/day cash withdrawal limit; a €1,000 limit on the amount travelers can take outside of the country; the use of checks worth up to €9,000/month; and a ceiling on transactions which do not require official central bank approval at €25,000. With the Cypriot capital controls in place – a measure could very well be the beginning of a massive capital flight from the region, which would raise into question the viability of the Euro over the long-run – there has been a noted desire for an alternative investment vehicle to move money around the developed world. Usually, this role is filled by the precious metals, especially Gold and Silver; however, a new player has entered the ring – Bitcoin. What is Bitcoin? It is a decentralized, electronic currency (known as a “digital currency” or a “crypto-currency”) created in January 2009. Unlike fiat currencies such as the Euro or the US Dollar, Bitcoins are not backed by a governing central bank and accompanying sovereign; there is no ‘Bitcoin Central Bank,’ so to speak. This raises an interesting concern about the money supply – if there is no central bank, who prints the money? That job goes to “bitcoin miners,” or individuals who use computers to decrypt strings of code in order to “unlock” Bitcoins, which are stored in “virtual wallets.” (While the actual process is more complex than what I’ve described, this basic outline is enough to understand Bitcoins on a conceptual level.) Story continues BTC/USD – Bitcoins in US Dollars – April 10, 2013 041013_Euro-zone_Crisis_Spawns_Bitcoin_Craze_But_Trading_EURUSD_Still_Safer_Bet_body_Picture_1.png, Euro-zone Crisis Spawns Bitcoin Craze, But Trading EUR/USD Still Safer Bet Chart created by Christopher Vecchio, Currency Analyst using Bitcoinch a rts.com Bitcoins have been on a bit of a ride recently, swinging from the low-$30s in early-March to near $150 on Wednesday, April 3. When Bitcoin first started in January 2009, it was trading under one penny ( Bitcoins have gained fame in recent weeks for its meteoric rise, and the connection to the Euro-zone crisis is apparent – it’s no coincidence that an unregulated, anonymous mechanism to transfer wealth has gained popularity in the wake of capital controls in the Euro-zone, which essentially limit means of transacting domestically or internationally if the individual or business is located in Cyprus. Another logical connection then exists: if the Euro-zone is about to endure further turmoil; and more capital controls are possible; then Bitcoin should increase in value. Does that mean Bitcoin is a savy investment to play the Euro-zone crisis? The long and short of it is a resounding no. Bitcoins are unregulated and uninsured, so that means at any point in time, you could lose your investment on a whim without an insurance policy (i.e, if someone steals your credit card and purchases goods, you are not liable for said transactions; in the Bitcoin world, if your virtual wallet is hacked, there is no way to recover the lost funds). On regulation, the anonymous aspect of Bitcoin is an attractive selling point, but those who invest are willingly putting themselves at risk to see their activity blocked on the premise of anti-money laundering grounds – Bitcoin has become a popular medium of exchange in black markets across the globe. Due to low volumes in the Bitcoin market – just over 10 million are in existence – volatility is extremely high. Just this week, we’ve seen prices swing around +/-20% on an intraday basis; comparatively, 1 week historical volatility for the EURUSD as of April 4 is +2.84%. A stable exchange rate is essential for a widely accepted and used currency. It’s also important for traders: the amount of volatility seen in Bitcoins over the past several weeks would cause massive swings in any number of currencies, including the EURUSD, and would likely result in a margin call for those on the wrong side of the trade. While short-term traders want volatility, the amount of volatility seen in Bitcoins is undesirable for risk neutral and risk averse investors. In summation: Bitcoins are a very, very risky investment. If you’re trying to take advantage of the calamity in the Euro-zone, a simpler, safer, and easier method is to sell short the Euro, against the British Pound, the Japanese Yen, or the US Dollar, for example (short EURGBP, short EURJPY, short EURUSD). --- Written by Christopher Vecchio, Currency Analyst To cont act Christopher Vecchio, e-mail cvecchio@dailyfx.com Follow him on Twitter at @CVecchioFX To be added to Christopher’s e-mail distribution list, please fill out this form DailyFX provides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets. Learn forex trading with a free practice account and trading charts from FXCM .

2013-04-10 15:32:03+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1784]}

{}

Gold is the worst investment of 2013, and Goldman thinks you should short it

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gold-worst-investment-2013-goldman-143203284.html

Quartz

http://www.qz.com

We’ve told you several times that gold has been the dog of global markets this year . Here’s a look through the end of last week, with Japan’s Topix stock index leading the pack and gold bringing up the rear: Despite some wild swings, gold prices have gone largely nowhere since peaking back in August of 2011, amid the US debt ceiling debacle. Now Goldman Sachs commodities analysts suggest the selloff in the yellow metal could be about to gain momentum. In a research note Wednesday they write not even the stress over Cyprus could generate much of a rally in gold prices. And they come to the conclusion that “long” enthusiasm over gold prices is ebbing fast: Despite resurgence in Euro area risk aversion and disappointing US economic data, gold prices are unchanged over the past month, highlighting how conviction in holding gold is quickly waning. With our economists expecting few ramifications from Cyprus and that the recent US slowdown will not derail the faster recovery they forecast in 2H13, we believe a sharp rebound in gold prices is unlikely. Goldman analysts say gold could fall to $1,450 per troy ounce, which is about 9% lower than where gold was trading yesterday. But they also suggest that gold prices could drop even faster than they expect, due to the fact that many investors have been betting big on higher prices for a while. As these investors become increasingly dismayed by falling prices, they may decide to cut their losses and abandon their positions, adding momentum to the sell-off. Here’s Goldman’s chart on the topic: And that’s why Goldman is now recommending that investors take a “short” position on the metal—in other words, bet on declining prices. More from Quartz The psychology of bitcoin captured in one bizarre, catchy Cypriot anthem Bitcoin is out of control, soaring 57% this week Sorry goldbugs, the Chinese central bank won’t save you

2013-04-10 16:24:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1387]}

{}

The Ever-Shrinking Role of Tenured College Professors (In 1 Chart)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ever-shrinking-role-tenured-college-162400988.html

The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/

615_Harvard_Geneticist_Professor_Reuters.jpg (Reuters) Once, being a college professor was a career. Today, it's a gig. That, broadly speaking, is the transformation captured in the graph below from a new report by the American Association of University Professors . Since 1975, tenure and tenure-track professors have gone from roughly 45 percent of all teaching staff to less than a quarter. Meanwhile, part-time faculty are now more than 40 percent of college instructors, as shown by the line soaring towards the top of the graph. AAUP_Trends_In_Professor_Employment.JPG This doesn't actually mean that there are fewer full-time professors today than four-decades ago. College faculties have grown considerably over the years, and as the AAUP notes, the ranks of the tenured and tenure-track professoriate are up 26 percent since 1975. Part-time appointments, however, have exploded by 300 percent. The proportions vary depending on the kind of school you're talking about. At public four-year colleges, about 64 percent of teaching staff were full-time as of 2009. At private four-year schools, about 49 percent were, and at community colleges, only about 30 percent were. But the big story across academia is broadly the same: if it were a move, it'd be called "Rise of the Adjuncts." More From The Atlantic Welcome to the Micro-Gig: No Job is Too Small This Trippy Video Explains Bitcoin in Under 4 Minutes The 37 Percent Mystery: Where Did All the Workers Go?

2013-04-10 16:45:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [34, 75, 166, 233, 300, 341, 505, 713, 1124, 1422, 1552, 1585, 1707, 1819, 1951, 2003, 2092]}

{"Bitcoin": [30]}

People Who Got Money From The Bitcoin Billionaire Are Already Giving It Away

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/people-got-money-bitcoin-billionaire-164554894.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Cybrbeast This image prompted the Bitcoinbillionaire to give $400 worth of Bitcoins to Cybrbeast. Earlier today, a kind-hearted, mysterious stranger began giving out Bitcoins to random Reddit users. This person called themselves the Bitcoinbillionaire , and eventually gave out over $13,000 worth of Bitcoins to 12 complete strangers using "Bitcointip." One lucky person received almost $5,000 worth. We messaged a few of the recipients of the gifts. All who responded said that they did not know who the Bitcoinbillionaire was, and that they had not interacted with the account until today (the account is a throwaway, so doing so would have been impossible, or would require knowing another account operated by Bitcoinbillionaire). Some also told us how they were spending their bitcoins. Surprisingly, many were giving away significant portions of their tips. Karelb , the user who received almost $5,000, told us that they had received the money, and already used a portion to buy a new mobile phone on bitmit.com. According to their Reddit history, Karelb has tipped at least 12 people since receiving their money from Bitcoinbillionaire (small sums — around $5 usually). Cybrbeast told us that the surprise tip had "made [their] day." They had received $400 worth and planned to "pay forward" at least $100 worth of it. Their Reddit history also shows that they have already begun this plan . The final recipient of Bitcoinbillionaire's bitcoins was NerdFighterSean , who received $1,304.65. Interestingly, NerdFighterSean is the creator of the "Bitcointip," the service used by Bitcoinbillionaire to tip strangers via Reddit. NerdFighterSean told us that he would be using the money to upgrading the Bitcointip system, and tipping people who help out on it. In fact, within minutes of receiving his tip from the Bitcoinbillionaire, NerdFighterSean had already passed some of it on: Reddit More From Business Insider Six Things That Could Cause Bitcoin Prices To Crash There's Someone Called 'The Bitcoin Billionaire' Who's Randomly Giving Out Thousands Of Dollars On Reddit Here's Why Bitcoin Speculators Are Just Laughing At Anyone Who Calls It A Bubble

2013-04-10 16:53:24+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [651]}

{}

Gold Is Getting Slammed After Goldman Tells Clients To Short It

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gold-getting-slammed-goldman-tells-165324233.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Gold is having another rough day today. The metal has been under constant selling pressure all morning, but it's really taken a significant leg lower in the last hour or so, as the chart below shows. Right now, it's down 1.8 percent to $1557 per ounce, just off its lowest level of the day. This morning, Goldman Sachs commodity strategists – who have been bearish on gold in the medium term – recommended clients go ahead and short gold outright , targeting $1450 per ounce by the end of 2013. Thinkorswim More From Business Insider SOROS: Gold Has Been Destroyed As A Safe Haven Gold Is Really Looking Bad Nouriel Roubini Is Going Off On Gold Bugs, Bitcoin, And James Rickards On Twitter

2013-04-10 17:50:36+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [59, 1596, 4467]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin is just the poster currency for a growing movement of alternative tender

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-just-poster-currency-growing-175036873.html

Quartz

http://www.qz.com

Like the trillion-dollar platinum coin several months ago, Bitcoin has jumped from a technical curiosity to “ mainstream” financial news . It has become an object of economic escapism—but the kind you can’t escape from. Whether it continues to grow as a phenomenon has yet to be seen, but the underlying curiosity tells us that there is growing skepticism about global financial systems’ long-term viability, and a correlated grassroots interest in returning to smaller scale, offline, more locally-focused systems of exchange. Economic anthropologist Keith Hart, who gave us the phrase “informal sector,” maintains that the previously bold dividing line between “legitimate” formal economies (with their megabanks, registered brokers, middlemen, and recognized currencies) is blurring quickly due to worldwide economic stresses. In a talk last year in Barcelona , Hart pointed out that in ailing countries, such as Spain and Greece, the informal practices that have been in place all along have re-emerged as a new kind of “formal informal” market, recognized by many citizens as a valid option for work, earning and exchange. This formal-informal connection is being accelerated by simple uses of technology says Ken Banks, founder of a global initiative to promote economic self-sufficiency Means of Exchange . A much broader potential user base, with web and mobile access , can coordinate simple economic activities, such as time banking , bartering, and local economic action that brings buyers and sellers, or workers and employers, together simply—more like Craigslist, less like Amazon. Bitcoin may be the digital canary in the coal mine at the moment, seen as a test case for “new money” by both economists and tech enthusiasts, but its not the only game in town. At the moment, these simpler systems of payment and exchange get far less press and attention from money bloggers, but if we’re lucky, they will succeed without this attention—perhaps precisely because no one is looking. Story continues Physical alternative currencies While we fret about block chains , and coin mining , new analog currencies are taking root in the world. There have been various alternative currencies kicking around developed countries like Britain and the US for years, but the global recession has spurred increased interest in setting up small local systems of payment using money designed around local needs. These range from the gray hairs of local currency such as the Brixton Pound , set up five years ago in the South London neighborhood that gave it its name, to more recent entrants like Bavaria’s Chiemgauer , a currency that started in a school and has spread to wider use, and the Credito , used by the Damanhur eco-community in Northern Italy. Most of these currencies utilize very little technology, other than for simple accounting, putting them in reach of even the unwired, which is critical to making these currencies accessible. None promise to become the euro, nor even replace its various national antecedents. They are designed for and serve local structural interests, mapped closely to the economic patterns of its users, rather than a distant abstraction. Most authorities, who don’t see these local currency “startups,” as a threat, have stayed back, which encouraged others to try as well. The latest to come onto the scene is being created by the BilboDiru project , a group in Spain’s Basque country, to serve that region. According to a recent interview with the group (Spanish), the currency is so new it doesn’t have a name, though a poll has put hazi , “seed” in Basque, and bertoko , “local,”in the running. A better means of exchange Why is all of this happening now? According to Banks, a growing number of people worldwide have grown tired of being burned by globalization and just want to get back to functioning within sustainable local systems. “Because of the way our globalised world works (great when it does, rubbish when it doesn’t), hard-working people, and communities, are being destroyed by financial meltdown in distant places,” Banks wrote me in an email. “Globalisation has eroded our incentives, and ability, to play well together as local communities, meaning we’re now less resilient to shocks of all kinds than we used to be.” Banks, who knows technology from his experience designing FrontlineSMS , a platform that uses mobile short-message service to enable community engagement, believes that while projects like Bitcoin are interesting, they set too high a bar for the average person. “Most of the action I see is around software development—people getting excited by local currency platforms, or virtual currencies,” Banks wrote. “The problem here is that these are generally being run by techies, and we need to lead with the problem we’re trying to solve, not a cool technology. Most of the software being developed is unusable unless you have a degree in computing, or a server that costs about the same as a small car, and is hard to understand.” This doesn’t mean technology should be thrown out completely though, but rather used where appropriate to the task. For Banks, and a growing cadre of others looking at the issue, this means using technology as a simple underlying platform to bring various systems together. “In terms of software and tools development, I’m fascinated by what we might be able to do if we can build a brand around local economic empowerment that resonates with a wide range of people, including younger people,” Banks said. “What we need is a platform—yes, I’d go that far – which can capture the whole range of behaviours and activities which make up a better locally-engaged citizen. Right now we don’t have that, and it’s problematic, and confusing.” You can follow Scott on Twitter at @changeist . We welcome your comments at ideas@qz.com . More from Quartz The wild, minute-by-minute chart of bitcoin trading today and what it means I moved all my Second Life Linden dollars into bitcoin Yes, people are hoarding bitcoins

2013-04-10 20:25:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1303]}

{}

REPORT: Goldman, Citi, And Other Wall Street Banks Got The Leaked FOMC Minutes Yesterday

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/report-goldman-citi-other-wall-202528571.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

www.amazon.com This morning, around 8:55 AM ET, the Federal Reserve said it would be releasing the minutes from its March 19-20 FOMC meeting at 9 AM (the normal release is scheduled for 2 PM). The reason: due to some sort of error, the minutes were sent out early to a handful of individuals YESTERDAY at 2 PM. The Federal Reserve said the minutes "were inadvertently sent early to a list of individuals who normally receive the minutes by email shortly after their usual release time. The individuals on the distribution list – primarily congressional employees and employees of trade organizations – received the minutes shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday." According to Steve Goldstein at MarketWatch , it wasn't just Congress and some lobbying firms that got the minutes a day ahead of schedule. Some of Wall Street's biggest banks did too, according to a list of email addresses the Fed sent to reporters. "Most the people on the email list have addresses indicating they work at the House or Senate, but some are from financial services firms including Barclays , BNP Paribas , Carlyle , Citi , Goldman Sachs , J.P. Morgan Chase , Nomura , U.S. Bancorp , Wells Fargo ," writes Goldstein. ( Bloomberg confirms.) It's unclear whether anyone traded on the release ahead of time. More From Business Insider Bitcoin Is Crashing JAMIE DIMON: Surging Interest Rates Is Bad News, But JPMorgan Would Make Billions YAHOO SOURCE: Here's The Real Reason Marissa Mayer Bought A 17-Year-Old's Startup For $30 Million

2013-04-10 21:07:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [786, 834]}

{}

Bird Flu Has Been Bad News For KFC China's Chicken Sales

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/yum-bird-flu-bad-news-210756913.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Flickr / dcmaster KFC is huge in China. But lately, KFC's China sales have struggled due to concerns over the avian flu. In a new regulatory filing , parent company YUM! Brands reports that KFC March same-store sales fell 16 percent in China. "Within the past week, publicity associated with Avian flu in China has had a significant, negative impact on KFC sales," said management. "Historically in these situations, we have educated consumers that properly cooked chicken is perfectly safe to eat, and we will continue to do so. We do not anticipate providing any further updates regarding China Division same-store sales until our scheduled first-quarter earnings release on April 23, 2013." The company expects to release April same-store sales on May 10. More From Business Insider Bitcoin Is Crashing There's Someone Called 'The Bitcoin Billionaire' Who's Randomly Giving Out Thousands Of Dollars On Reddit YAHOO SOURCE: Here's The Real Reason Marissa Mayer Bought A 17-Year-Old's Startup For $30 Million

2013-04-10 21:13:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [13, 556, 969, 1180, 1229, 1284, 1333]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin Is Already Making A Big Comeback

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-already-making-big-comeback-211300307.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

At midnight, Bitcoin was trading around $234. By 8:30 AM ET, the virtual currency had surged to an intraday high of $266 – before subsequently crashing 60 percent to a low around $105. That was earlier this afternoon. Amazingly, it's already staged a big comeback, erasing more than half of its intraday losses. Now, it's trading just below $200. The chart below shows the big move upward in just the last hour or so. bitcoin.clarkmoody.com (Note: There is no x-axis on this chart, but it goes back to April 9.) The biggest question everyone has had about Bitcoin in recent weeks – aside from how it works – is whether or not it's in a bubble . After all, the virtual currency has seen a remarkable rise since January, when it was trading below $15. When the plunge started this afternoon, we saw some interesting defenses of the virtual currency popping up on the Internet. A Reddit user posted a graphic showing the Spartans' shields from the movie 300 redesigned as Bitcoins with the word HOLD! across the top. Another Reddit user sought to use technical analysis to explain away today's move. However, episodes like today's highlight what is arguably the biggest problem with Bitcoin: confidence . More From Business Insider Bitcoin Goes On Another Big Tear, And Surges Past $190 Bitcoin Going Nuts Again, As It Surges Past $185 Bitcoin Goes On Another Huge Move — Now Surging Past $170

2013-04-10 22:08:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1725, 1773]}

{}

The Senior Women Of Yale Feel 'Washed Up' At 21

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/swug-nation-senior-women-yale-220800147.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Wikimedia Commons/ Sage Ross Yale 's senior women have a nickname to describe themselves: SWUG. A Senior Washed-Up Girl. The term isn't exactly new, and it's not exclusive to New Haven. But it gained major media attention today after New York Magazine picked up a story about SWUGs by Yale Daily News writer Raisa Bruner. SWUGs, in short, are senior girls who are jaded, especially when it comes to senior boys. They have a "'don’t-give-a-f***' or 'DGAF' attitude," writes Bruner , a self-identified SWUG , adding, "Welcome to the world of the ladies who have given up on boys because they don’t so much empower as frustrate, satisfy as agitate." The definition of SWUG has been debated at Yale since last September, when a series of articles were published in the Yale Daily News. The feature to start it all was written by senior Chloe Drimal. Titled Profile of a SWUG , Drimal described a girl who is an insider in the college frat and bar scene, the last one at every party ("because hey—who is she going home with?"), and who hooks up with younger men. Another Yale senior, Michelle Taylor, followed up , writing that the SWUG was a "Dionysian response to the cruel brevity of our bright college years" for all seniors, and not just the women. But the largely-pejorative term is by definition about senior girls, and SWUB, senior washed-up boys, has not caught on. Yale is not the only Ivy to make the news recently concerning the romantic lives of its female students. Back in March, Princeton alumna Susan A. Patton controversially advised women at the school to find a husband while they were still attending the prestigious college . You can read #SWUGNATION over at the Yale Daily News > More From Business Insider Bitcoin Is Crashing There's Someone Called 'The Bitcoin Billionaire' Who's Randomly Giving Out Thousands Of Dollars On Reddit HARVARD VS. YALE: Which Is REALLY The Best Ivy League School?

2013-04-10 23:50:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1104, 1124, 1243]}

{}

The East Coast Is Getting Pummeled By Lightning And Thunderstorms

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/east-coast-getting-pummeled-lightening-233800070.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Severe storms are pummeling the New England region right now, with lightning, thunder, hail, and strong wing gusts. So far, there have been no reports of tornado activity in hard hit areas in Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey, but AccuWeather Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski says most of the danger lies down South. "The greatest risk for tornadoes will be from the lower Ohio Valley to parts of Arkansas and northwest Mississippi," he said. Pennsylvania and northern areas in Texas and Lousiana are all at risk of flash floods, hail and wind damage. There were reports of tornados in Arkansas, where a house was "completely destroyed and a tractor-trailer flipped over," Accuweather reports. Residents are apparently trapped in their home due to wires down in Emlenton, Pa. and h alf-dollar-sized hail was reported near Kell, Ill. at around 6 p.m. EST. Here's a map of the storm system as it makes its way Northeast. NOAA Twitter users are uploading photos of the rainy weather: Here's an eerie shot of the storm approaching Manhattan. Twitter.com/AudreyPuente More From Business Insider Bitcoin Is Crashing Bitcoin Fanboy Makes Awesome Graphic Telling Others To Stay Strong In The Face Of Collapse There's Someone Called 'The Bitcoin Billionaire' Who's Randomly Giving Out Thousands Of Dollars On Reddit

2013-04-11 00:01:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2999, 3019, 3138]}

{}

Americans Are Quitting Their Jobs At The Highest Rate In 5 Years

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/americans-quitting-jobs-highest-rate-000151163.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

People are voluntarily quitting their jobs at the highest rate since the pre-recession era, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey — known as JOLTS — published by The Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report says that 2.16 million people quit their jobs in the latest data, which represents 53 percent of all job separations — this includes quits, layoffs and discharges — when accounting for retirees. The graph below, published by Gluskin Sheff Research, illustrates the trend in the quitting rate and the number of people who have quit as a percentage compared to the total number of people employed in the past decade: Gluskin Sheff Research So what does this mean about our labor market? In short, it's an indication that people are confident that they can find other opportunities elsewhere and is "a sign of any sustained improvement in the labor markets ," Fed vice chair Janet Yellen said in a speech last month. Peter Cappelli, a management professor at the University of Pennsylvania 's Wharton School of Business, tells Christopher Rugaber at The Associated Press that this confidence happens when "the economy grows fast enough." Ultimately, people have faith in their own skills to make a living some other way rather than stay in a job they're not satisfied with. So who are these workers? T here's a good possibility that people are leaving their jobs to pursue freelancing, consulting or the entrepreneur route. This need to work for yourself is predicted to reach 40 percent of the American workforce by 2020 , and is most common in sectors of the economy that are growing. Economist Robert Reich tells us that "at least [for] now, a few employees feel t hey can do better as consultants or freelancers," because " they've been required to take on so much extra work they need more control over their time. Although the labor participation rate is extremely low — the lowest it's been since 1979 — employers are demanding longer work hours from those who are employed. Story continues "This has put a particularly heavy burden on working mothers and others who have primary responsibility for child care or elder care." Aside from those with an entrepreneurial mindset, another group of people who are quitting tend to be " young, black, Hispanic, female [and] working class," says Pat Buchanan at Free Republic . In this group, workers may be leaving to go back to school for a chance of finding better jobs. Although the demand for labor is on the rise, there has been a mismatch in the skills employers need and what's currently available. According to the BLS, job openings have risen by 11.3 percent in the past year, yet hiring has declined by 1.6 percent, meaning that jobs are available but there aren't enough people with the needed skills to fill them. Although workers quitting may be tiresome for companies and HR, the bigger picture indicates that those in the workforce are confident about what's ahead for the labor market. More From Business Insider Bitcoin Is Crashing Bitcoin Fanboy Makes Awesome Graphic Telling Others To Stay Strong In The Face Of Collapse There's Someone Called 'The Bitcoin Billionaire' Who's Randomly Giving Out Thousands Of Dollars On Reddit

2013-04-11 00:01:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [44, 148, 308, 519, 944, 1138, 1187, 1268, 1317]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin Is Crashing

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-tanking-172128831.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

It's shaping up to be a pretty ugly day for Bitcoin. After soaring past $250 earlier , it's tumbled all the way down to current levels around $150. Bitcoin is now 44 percent off its intraday high of $266. At its low of the day ($105), it had lost 61 percent of its value from the peak. The chart below shows Bitcoin prices from April 9 through today. bitcoin.clarkmoody.com The virtual currency briefly staged a sizeable comeback this afternoon before getting slammed again. The biggest question everyone has had about Bitcoin in recent weeks – aside from how it works – is whether or not it's in a bubble . After all, the virtual currency has seen a remarkable rise since January, when it was trading below $15. Already this afternoon, since the plunge began, we've seen some interesting defenses of the virtual currency popping up on the Internet. A Reddit user posted a graphic showing the Spartans' shields from the movie 300 redesigned as Bitcoins with the word HOLD! across the top. Another Reddit user sought to use technical analysis to explain away today's move. However, episodes like today's highlight the biggest problem with Bitcoin: confidence . More From Business Insider Bitcoin Prices Are Surging Again This Morning, And Just Hit $155 BITPAY FOUNDER: Bitcoin Has Proven It Can Take A Hit The Rise Of Bitcoin [INFOGRAPHIC]

2013-04-11 00:03:52+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1474, 1799, 2467, 3644, 4741, 5093, 5844, 6256, 7142, 7416, 7570, 8045, 8127, 9545]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin hacker currency bursts into mainstream

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-hacker-currency-bursts-mainstream-221542527.html

Associated Press

https://apnews.com/

LONDON (AP) -- With $600 stuffed in one pocket and a smartphone tucked in the other, Patricio Fink struck a deal that's joining thousands like it in a virtual revolution. The Argentine software developer was dealing in bitcoins — getting an injection of the cybercurrency in exchange for a wad of real greenbacks he handed to a pair of Australian tourists in a Buenos Aires Starbucks. Fink wanted to add to his electronic wallet. The visitors wanted spending money at black market rates without the risk of getting roughed up in one of the Argentine capital's black market exchanges. In the safety of the coffee shop, the tourists transferred Fink their bitcoins through an app on their smartphone and walked away with the cash. "It's something that is new," said Fink, 24, who described the deal to The Associated Press over Skype. "And it's working." It's transactions like these — up to 70,000 of them each day over the past month — that have propelled bitcoins from the world of Internet oddities to the cusp of mainstream use, a remarkable breakthrough for a currency which made its online debut only four years ago. When they first began pinging across the Internet, bitcoins could buy you almost nothing. Now, there's almost nothing bitcoins can't buy. From hard drugs to hard currency, songs to survival gear, cars to consumer goods, retailers are rushing to welcome the virtual currency whose unofficial symbol is a dollar-like, double-barred B. Advocates describe Bitcoin as the foundation stone of a Utopian economy: no borders, no change fees, no closing hours, and no one to tell you what you can and can't do with your money. The total value of bitcoins now topping $2 billion from a tiny fraction of that just last year, critics say it's a bubble waiting to burst. Amid all the hype, Bitcoin's origins are a question mark. The mechanics of the virtual currency were first outlined in a research paper signed Satoshi Nakamoto — likely a pseudonym — and the coins made their online debut in 2009. How coins are created, how transactions are authenticated and how the whole system manages to power forward with no central bank, no financial regulator and a user base of wily hackers all comes down computing power and savoir faire. Or, as Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist for the ConvergEx Group, describes it: "genius on so many levels." Story continues The lynchpin of the system is a network of "miners" — high-end computer users who supply the Bitcoin network with processing power needed to maintain a transparent, running tally of all transactions. The tally is one of the most important ways in which the system prevents fraud, and the miners are rewarded for supporting the system with an occasional helping of brand-new bitcoins. Those bitcoins have become a white hot commodity in the past few days. Rising from roughly $13 at the beginning of the year, the price of a single bitcoin blasted through the $100 barrier last week, according to Mt. Gox, a site where users can swap bitcoins for more traditional currencies. On Tuesday, the price of a single bitcoin had topped $200. On Wednesday, it hit $266 before a "flash crash" took it down to half that. The value then climbed back to just below $200. Some say the banking crisis in Cyprus helped spur interest in the cybercurrency as depositors looked for creative ways to move money. Fink, the Argentine, favors bitcoins because he believes they will insulate him from his country's high inflation. Others — from Iranian musicians to American auto dealers — use the currency to dodge international sanctions or reach new markets. But the anything-goes nature of Bitcoin has also made it attractive to denizens of the Internet's dark side. One of the most prominent destinations for bitcoins remains Silk Road, a black market website where drug dealers advertise their wares in a consumer-friendly atmosphere redolent of Amazon or eBay — complete with a shopping cart icon, a five-point rating system and voluminous user reviews. The site uses Tor, an online anonymity network, to mask the location of its servers, while bitcoin payments ensure there's no paper trail. One British user told AP he first got interested in Silk Road while he was working in China, where he used the site to order banned books. After moving to Japan, he turned to the site for the occasional high. "Buying recreational drugs in Japan is difficult, especially if you don't know people from growing up there," said the user, who asked for anonymity because he did not his connection to Silk Road to be publicly known. He warned that one of the site's drawbacks was that the drugs can take weeks to arrive "so there's no spontaneity." Drug dealers aren't the only ones cashing in on Bitcoin. The hackers behind Lulz Security, whose campaign of online havoc drew worldwide attention back in 2011, received thousands of dollars' worth of bitcoins after promising followers that the money would go towards launching attacks against the FBI. A report apparently drawn up by the bureau and leaked to the Internet last year said that "since Bitcoin does not have a centralized authority, detecting suspicious activity, identifying users and obtaining transaction records is problematic for law enforcement." It went on to warn that bitcoins might become "an increasingly useful tool for various illegal activities beyond the cyber realm" — including child pornography, trafficking, and terrorism. The FBI did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Late last month the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCen, announced it was extending its money laundering rules to U.S. bitcoin dealers and transfer services, meaning that companies that trade in the cybercurrency would have to keep more detailed records and report high-value transactions. Many in the Bitcoin community are frustrated at the attention paid to the shadier side of the virtual economy. Atlanta-based entrepreneur Anthony Gallippi said the focus on drugs and hacking misses the "much bigger e-commerce use for this that's growing and that's growing rapidly." Very few businesses set their prices in bitcoins, but an increasing number are accepting it for payment. Gallippi's company, BitPay, handles Bitcoin transactions for some 4,500 companies, taking payments in bitcoins and forwarding the cash equivalent to the vendor involved, which means that his clients are insulated from the cybercurrency's volatility. He said many of the businesses are e-commerce websites, but he said an increasing number of traditional retailers were looking to get into the game as well. "We just had an auto dealership in Kansas city apply," he said. In March BitPay said its vendors had done a record $5.2 million in bitcoin sales — well ahead of the $1.2 million's worth of monthly revenue estimated to have coursed through Silk Road last year. Even artists accept bitcoins. Tehran-based music producer Mohammad Rafigh said the currency had allowed him to sell his albums "all over the world and not only in Iran." Gallippi said the cybercurrency's ease of access was its biggest selling point. With Bitcoin, "I can access my money from any computing device at any time and do whatever the heck I want with it," he said. "Once you move your money into the cloud why would you ever go back to putting your money in the bank?" Many Wall Street veterans are skeptical — seeing Bitcoin as just the latest overvalued asset overdue for an ugly fall. "Trading tulips in real time," is how longtime UBS stockbroker Art Cashin described Bitcoin's vertiginous rise, comparing it to the now-unfathomable craze that saw 18th century Dutch speculators trade spectacular sums of money for a single flower bulb. "It is rare that we get to see a bubble-like phenomenon trade tick for tick in real time," he said in a note to clients last week. But bitcoins are still generating buzz. Colas, the ConvergEx strategist, said he'd been overwhelmed by calls from venture capitalists and private equity managers asking about Bitcoin. "Some very smart people feel there's some real value here," he said. One Bitcoin supporter with a unique perspective on the boom might be Mike Caldwell, a 35-year-old software engineer based in suburban Utah. Caldwell is unusual insofar as he mints physical versions of bitcoins at his residence, cranking out thousands of homemade tokens with codes protected by tamper-proof holographic seals — a retro-futuristic kind of prepaid cash. Caldwell acknowledges that the physical coins were intended as novelty items, minted for the benefit of people "who had a hard time grasping a virtual coin." But that hasn't held back business. Caldwell said he'd minted between 16,000 and 17,000 coins in the year and a half that he's been in business. Demand is so intense he recently announced he was accepting clients by invitation only. Some may wonder whether Caldwell's coins will one day be among the few physical reminders of an expensive fad that evaporated into the electronic ether — perhaps the result of a breakdown in its electronic architecture, or maybe after a crackdown by government regulators. When asked, Caldwell acknowledged that bitcoin might be in for a bumpy ride. But he drew the analogy between the peer-to-peer currency enthusiasts who hope to shake the finance world in the 2010s with the generation of peer-to-peer movie swappers who challenged the entertainment industry's business model in the 2000s. "Movie pirates always win the long game against Hollywood," he said. "Bitcoin works the same way."

2013-04-11 02:56:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [24, 526, 1052, 1169, 1782, 2018, 2196, 2285, 2340, 2389]}

{"Bitcoin": [21]}

WALL STREET ANALYST: Bitcoin Is A 'Key New Idea' For Investors Who Want To Make Money

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wall-street-analyst-bitcoin-key-025653324.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Bloomberg TV Nick Colas Bitcoin hasn't really hit Wall Street yet. We can count the number of strategists we've heard talking about the virtual currency on one hand (Sebastien Galy at Société Générale explained how to think about valuing them , and Deutsche Bank 's Jim Reid mentioned it briefly once ). There's also ConvergEx Group chief market strategist Nick Colas, who was really the first to address it several weeks ago . He was on Bloomberg Surveillance this morning , and he told anchors Tom Keene and Sara Eisen that Bitcoin "absolutely is" something valid to consider for a diversified portfolio. "If you want to make money, you have to be open to new ideas. This is a key new idea," said Colas. That's a pretty ringing endorsement for an unregulated, digital currency market that seems prone to massive swings – like the ten-fold rise in value since January, or the 60 percent wipeout that happened just today (though, to be clear, this interview aired this morning, before that big drop). And Colas has written about that before. Arguably, Bitcoin's biggest problem is a confidence one . During the interview, Keene questioned whether investors could trust Bitcoin. "I know where the gold is: the gold is in Fort Knox, the gold is at the IMF, etc.," said Keene. "I've got a fiat currency structure off the budget of the United States." Colas replied, "Do you know how many times your gold has been re-hypothecated if you don't have it physically in your vault? The same lack of transparency exists in gold." While acknowledging that there have been hacking incidents, Colas asserted that "the core of it, from a security standpoint, is quite sound." Returning to the confidence issue, Colas told the Bloomberg anchors, "What I think is most ironic and interesting about Bitcoin is that real people put real money into this system, having the same faith in it that they do in a sovereign government. Would you rather trust an unelected federal official or a decentralized computer system?" Story continues "Bitcoin is gold for nerds, if you will," said Colas. "It is something that a whole new generation of people believe in – the online nature of their lives, their economy – and so Bitcoin resonates with them." Watch the full interview below. More From Business Insider Bitcoin Goes On Another Big Tear, And Surges Past $190 Bitcoin Going Nuts Again, As It Surges Past $185 Bitcoin Goes On Another Huge Move — Now Surging Past $170

2013-04-11 04:05:17+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [17, 332, 2264, 2796, 2893, 3284, 3492]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin economics: A primer on a volatile currency

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-economics-primer-volatile-currency-223224910.html

Associated Press

https://apnews.com/

NEW YORK (AP) -- Bitcoin, the virtual currency composed of digital bits, is based on cutting-edge mathematical schemes that guard against counterfeiting. But it's also based on an old idea, now dismissed by mainstream economists, about how a currency should operate — an idea that could be setting bitcoins up for an abrupt plunge. Bitcoin was started in 2009 as a currency free from government controls, an entirely digital means of exchange for a digital age. It's a rapidly growing phenomenon that has taken root as a payment method on some websites for both legal and illegal goods. Each "coin" has been worth less than $10 for most of the currency's history, but this week the value surged past $200 — with the recent bailout crisis in Cyprus seen by many as one of the triggers of the surge. Wednesday saw a "flash crash," as the value dipped close to $100 before recovering. The meteoric rise in value is also linked to what some economists say is the biggest problem with the currency: that the supply of bitcoins increases only slowly, at a rate that's coded into the system. That's a contrast to a regular paper currency like the dollar, whose supply is managed by a central bank like the Federal Reserve. The Fed engineers the dollar supply to increase slightly faster than the growth of the economy, which means that the value of the dollar falls slightly every year, in the phenomenon known as inflation. New bitcoins are "mined" or generated by computers. They get harder to generate all the time, which means the inflow of fresh bitcoins keeps falling. There are about 8 million bitcoins in circulation today, and the maximum that can be generated is 21 million. By 2032, 99 percent of those will have been created. Since the supply of bitcoins grows so slowly, any increase in demand leads to higher prices. That's known as deflation, and it's widely seen as a disaster when it happens to a real-world currency. As money becomes more valuable, our incentive is to hold onto the money instead of spending it — slowing down the economy. Story continues "What we want from a monetary system isn't to make people holding money rich; we want it to facilitate transactions and make the economy as a whole rich. And that's not at all what is happening in Bitcoin," Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman wrote in 2011. When the supply of money is fixed or increasing only slowly, deflation can feed on itself. Investors will look at the rising price of the coins, and conclude that they're set to rise further. So they buy more, sending the price even higher. This goes on until the market is sated. In the ideal outcome, the value of the currency then stabilizes at the new high level. In the worst case, the value plunges. This boom-bust cycle has already happened once before for Bitcoin. It hit nearly $31 in June 2011, then crashed, hitting $2 five months later. In essence, Bitcoin is similar to the "gold standard," the monetary system in force before modern central banking started to take root in the 1930s. Under the gold standard, each unit of currency was worth a certain amount of gold, leaving governments few means to increase the amount of currency in circulation. No country uses the gold standard today, but some libertarians want to revive it, and see Bitcoin as a modern-day alternative or complement. "If you wipe away the misguided economics courses that we have, deflation doesn't have to be a negative," says Jon Matonis, a board member of the non-profit Bitcoin Foundation, created last year to foster and protect the system. "It's not a bad thing when a citizen's purchasing power increases."

2013-04-11 10:49:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [931, 1015]}

{}

Properties Entering The Foreclosure Process Spiked 200% In New York

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/properties-entering-foreclosure-process-spiked-104943763.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

New York City's comeback has been one of the hottest housing stories. Ex-distressed properties, home prices were up 21 percent in the last three months. And overall, home prices were up an annualized 18 percent. But today we got a worrisome detail from RealtyTrac . New York saw a 200 percent year-over-year increase in foreclosure starts last month. A rise in foreclosure starts – the pace at which mortgages enter the foreclosure process – is cause for concern since declining inventory is one of the main factors that had helped revive home prices. New York is a judicial foreclosure state, and at 1,049 days, it has the longest foreclosure timeline in the country. This suggests that foreclosed properties will continue to trickle onto the market. Analysts and investors will be watching to see the pace at which foreclosures come through the pipeline, to gauge the impact on home prices. RealtyTrac More From Business Insider Bitcoin Is Crashing HTML5 vs. Apps: Where The Debate Stands Now, And Why It Matters Bitcoin Fanboy Makes Awesome Graphic Telling Others To Stay Strong In The Face Of Collapse

2013-04-11 11:30:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [201, 253, 266, 910, 1130, 2601]}

{}

OpenCoin, Developer of Ripple Protocol, Closes Funding From Andreessen Horowitz, FF Angel IV, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Angel Investors

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/opencoin-developer-ripple-protocol-closes-113000086.html

Marketwired

http://www.marketwired.com/

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 11, 2013) - OpenCoin announced that it has closed an angel round of funding from Andreessen Horowitz, FF Angel IV, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Vast Ventures, and Bitcoin Opportunity Fund, an investment vehicle for Bitcoins and Bitcoin-related companies. The investment will be used to expand the Ripple protocol, a virtual currency and payments system that makes it fast, easy and essentially free for anyone in the world to trade any amount of money in any currency. OpenCoin is the company developing the Ripple protocol. Ripple is a distributed open source payments system and its native math-based virtual currency is called ripples (XRP). Ripple enables free payments to merchants, consumers and developers; the ability to pay in any currency; no chargebacks; and instant global payments. Ripple can accommodate any currency, including dollars, yen, euros, and even Bitcoin, making it the world's first distributed currency exchange. Ripple is currently in beta. OpenCoin is led by financial technology pioneer Chris Larsen (E-LOAN, Prosper) and veteran developer Jed McCaleb (eDonkey, Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox) along with a team of well-known developers, advisors and investors behind some of the world's leading technology companies. "We believe that Ripple will change the way the world thinks about and uses currency through universal access to a trusted, transparent and easy to understand multi-currency financial tool," said OpenCoin CEO Chris Larsen. "We are excited to welcome these visionary investors and will use the funds to grow our team and accelerate the launch of Ripple." "Our world has moved into a digital era, and it is time that we embrace a digital currency that can accommodate today's global commerce needs while laying the groundwork for future evolution," added OpenCoin CTO Jed McCaleb. "Now, wherever there is internet, there is Ripple. The future is here." For more information about Ripple, please visit http://www.ripple.com . About OpenCoin OpenCoin, Inc. is a privately funded company based in San Francisco. The OpenCoin team includes fourteen employees and is led by veteran industry founders and developers. OpenCoin developed the Ripple protocol, a virtual currency and distributed open source payments system. About Ripple The Ripple network is a distributed open source global payment network. It enables free payments to merchants, consumers and developers; the ability to pay in any currency; no chargebacks; and instant global payments. Ripple can accommodate any currency, including dollars, yen, euros, and even Bitcoin, making it the world's first distributed currency exchange. Ripple's goal is to make it the best way for people to send money to anyone, anywhere. Ripple is currently in beta. For more information about Ripple, please visit http://www.ripple.com .

2013-04-11 11:30:22+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [226, 650, 1553, 2823]}

{}

Real money starts to pour into math-based currencies like bitcoin

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/real-money-starts-pour-math-113022499.html

Quartz

http://www.qz.com

Chris Dixon , a partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, posted this brief observation on Tumblr the other day: Three eras of currency Commodity based, e.g. Gold Politically based, e.g. Dollar Math based, e.g. Bitcoin Now Dixon’s firm and several other well known investors are putting some money—in this case, politically based US dollars—behind their conviction that the future of money is in “math-based” currencies like bitcoin. OpenCoin , a San Francisco startup that runs its own math-based currency, just announced a round of funding from Andreessen Horowitz , Founders Fund , Lightspeed Venture Partners , Vast Ventures , and Bitcoin Opportunity Fund . News of the round was embargoed until this morning, and its size wasn’t disclosed. The currency operated by OpenCoin is called “ripple.” Like bitcoin, it’s both a currency and a network for facilitating payments that relies on cryptography to run smoothly. Thus, math-based currencies: They are backed by one’s faith that the math works rather than trust in government or a metal’s inherent value. But Ripple uses a different method of verifying that the network is sound and takes a novel approach to payments , allowing for transfers between other currencies, as well—from euros to bitcoins to heretofore fictional currencies that you might invent among friends. (Chris Larsen, CEO of OpenCoin, demonstrated to me a currency he created based in bicycle wheels that he trades with a coworker over the Ripple network, a sort-of absurd but logical extreme of what’s possible.) Bitcoin is also a payment system but only for transfers of bitcoins; exchanges with other currencies are done elsewhere. There are 100 billion ripples—yes, that’s completely arbitrary— currently trading at about 1,000 ripples per US dollar among 3,349 accounts, as of this writing. That makes it much smaller than bitcoin, in terms of participants and transaction volume, but on the bright side, trading in ripples is less volatile than bitcoin. Story continues OpenCoin intends to hold onto 25% of all outstanding ripples, Larsen said, with its business model staked on the hope that the value of the currency, or future currencies it may create, will rise. So in a sense, the venture capital firms investing in OpenCoin are investing in virtual money. But another way of thinking about this round of investment is that Andreessen Horowitz and others foresee a day when math-based currency won’t just make your head hurt. They’re betting that it will be a mainstream way of thinking about money. As Dixon wrote in another recent blog post , which mentioned bitcoin, “What the smartest people do on the weekends is what everyone else will do during the week in ten years.” More from Quartz The wild, minute-by-minute chart of bitcoin trading today and what it means Why Bitcoin “millionaires” could accidentally become tax felons I moved all my Second Life Linden dollars into bitcoin

2013-04-11 11:57:17+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1604, 1906, 2108, 2181, 2847, 3742, 4141, 5245, 5596, 6347, 6803, 7696, 7998, 8107, 8401, 9808]}

{}

Wild, unregulated hacker currency gains following

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wild-unregulated-hacker-currency-gains-014949988.html

Associated Press

https://apnews.com/

LONDON (AP) -- With $600 stuffed in one pocket and a smartphone tucked in the other, Patricio Fink recently struck the kind of deal that's feeding the rise of a new kind of money — a virtual currency whose oscillations have pulled geeks and speculators alike through stomach-churning highs and lows. The Argentine software developer was dealing in bitcoins — getting an injection of the cybercurrency in exchange for a wad of real greenbacks he handed to a pair of Australian tourists in a Buenos Aires Starbucks. The visitors wanted spending money at black market rates without the risk of getting roughed up in one of the Argentine capital's black market exchanges. Fink wanted to pad his electronic wallet. In the safety of the coffee shop, the tourists transferred Fink their bitcoins through an app on their smartphone and walked away with the cash. "It's something that is new," said Fink, 24, who described the deal to The Associated Press over Skype. "And it's working." It's transactions like these — up to 70,000 of them each day over the past month — that have propelled bitcoins from the world of Internet oddities to the cusp of mainstream use, a remarkable breakthrough for a currency that made its online debut only four years ago. When they first began pinging across the Internet, bitcoins could buy you almost nothing. Now, there's almost nothing that bitcoins can't buy. From hard drugs to hard currency, songs to survival gear, cars to consumer goods, retailers are rushing to welcome the virtual currency whose unofficial symbol is a dollar-like, double-barred B. Advocates describe Bitcoin as the foundation stone of a Utopian economy: no borders, no change fees, no closing hours, and no one to tell you what you can and can't do with your money. Just days ago the total value of bitcoins in circulation hit $2 billion, up from a tiny fraction of that last year. But late Wednesday, Bitcoin crashed, shedding more than 60 percent of its value in the space of a few hours before recouping some of its losses. Critics say the roller coaster currency movements are just another sign that Bitcoin is a bubble waiting to burst. Story continues Amid all the hype, Bitcoin's origins are a question mark. The mechanics of the virtual currency were first outlined in a research paper signed by Satoshi Nakamoto — likely a pseudonym — and the coins made their online debut in 2009. How the coins are created, how the transactions are authenticated and how the whole system manages to power forward with no central bank, no financial regulator and a user base of wily hackers all comes down to computing power and savoir faire. Or, as Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist for the ConvergEx Group, describes it: "genius on so many levels." The linchpin of the system is a network of "miners" — high-end computer users who supply the Bitcoin network with the processing power needed to maintain a transparent, running tally of all transactions. The tally is one of the most important ways in which the system prevents fraud, and the miners are rewarded for supporting the system with an occasional helping of brand-new bitcoins. Those bitcoins have become a dangerously hot commodity in the past few days. Rising from roughly $13 at the beginning of the year, the price of a single bitcoin blasted through the $100 barrier last week, according to Mt. Gox, a site where users can swap bitcoins for more traditional currencies. On Tuesday, the price of a single bitcoin had topped $200. On Wednesday, it hit $266 before a flash crash dragged it back down to just over $100. By Thursday, bitcoins were trading for around $150. The rebel currency may seem unstable, but then so do some of its more traditional counterparts. Some say Bitcoin got new momentum after the banking crisis in Cyprus pushed depositors there to find creative ways to move money. Fink, the Argentine, favors bitcoins because he believes they will insulate him from his country's high inflation. Others — from Iranian musicians to American auto dealers — use the currency to dodge international sanctions or reach new markets. But the anything-goes nature of Bitcoin has also made it attractive to denizens of the Internet's dark side. One of the most prominent destinations for bitcoins remains Silk Road, a black market website where drug dealers advertise their wares in a consumer-friendly atmosphere redolent of Amazon or eBay — complete with a shopping cart icon, a five-point rating system and voluminous user reviews. The site uses Tor, an online anonymity network, to mask the location of its servers, while bitcoin payments ensure there's no paper trail. One British user told the AP he first got interested in Silk Road while he was working in China, where he used the site to order banned books. After moving to Japan, he turned to the site for an occasional high. "Buying recreational drugs in Japan is difficult, especially if you don't know people from growing up there," said the user, who asked for anonymity because he did not want his connection to Silk Road to be publicly known. He warned that one of the site's drawbacks is that the drugs can take weeks to arrive "so there's no spontaneity." Drug dealers aren't the only ones cashing in on Bitcoin. The hackers behind Lulz Security, whose campaign of online havoc drew worldwide attention back in 2011, received thousands of dollars' worth of bitcoins after promising followers that the money would go toward launching attacks against the FBI. A report apparently drawn up by the bureau and leaked to the Internet last year said that "since Bitcoin does not have a centralized authority, detecting suspicious activity, identifying users and obtaining transaction records is problematic for law enforcement." It went on to warn that bitcoins might become "an increasingly useful tool for various illegal activities beyond the cyber realm" — including child pornography, trafficking and terrorism. The FBI did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Late last month, the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCen, announced it was extending its money-laundering rules to U.S. bitcoin dealers and transfer services, meaning that companies that trade in the cybercurrency would have to keep more detailed records and report high-value transactions. Many in the Bitcoin community are frustrated at the attention paid to the shadier side of the virtual economy. Atlanta-based entrepreneur Anthony Gallippi said the focus on drugs and hacking misses the "much bigger e-commerce use for this that's growing and that's growing rapidly." Very few businesses set their prices in bitcoins — the currency swings would be too jarring — but an increasing number are accepting it for payment. Gallippi's company, BitPay, handles Bitcoin transactions for some 4,500 companies, taking payments in bitcoins and forwarding the cash equivalent to the vendor involved, which means that his clients are insulated from the cybercurrency's volatility. Gallippi said many of the businesses are e-commerce websites, but he said an increasing number of traditional retailers were looking to get into the game as well. "We just had an auto dealership in Kansas City apply," he said. In March, BitPay said its vendors had done a record $5.2 million in bitcoin sales — well ahead of the $1.2 million's worth of monthly revenue estimated to have coursed through Silk Road last year. Even artists accept bitcoins. Tehran-based music producer Mohammad Rafigh said the currency had allowed him to sell his albums "all over the world and not only in Iran." Gallippi said the cybercurrency's ease of access was its biggest selling point. With Bitcoin, "I can access my money from any computing device at any time and do whatever the heck I want with it," he said. "Once you move your money into the cloud why would you ever go back to putting your money in the bank?" Many Wall Street veterans are skeptical — and they may feel vindicated after Bitcoin's latest tumble. "Trading tulips in real time," is how longtime UBS stockbroker Art Cashin described Bitcoin's vertiginous rise, comparing it to the now-unfathomable craze that saw 17th-century Dutch speculators trade spectacular sums of money for a single flower bulb. "It is rare that we get to see a bubble-like phenomenon trade tick for tick in real time," he said in a note to clients. One Bitcoin supporter with a unique perspective on the boom might be Mike Caldwell, a 35-year-old software engineer based in suburban Utah. Caldwell is unusual insofar as he mints physical versions of bitcoins at his residence, cranking out thousands of homemade tokens with codes protected by tamper-proof holographic seals — a retro-futuristic kind of prepaid cash. Caldwell acknowledges that the physical coins were intended as novelty items, minted for the benefit of people "who had a hard time grasping a virtual coin." But that hasn't held back business. Caldwell said he'd minted between 16,000 and 17,000 coins in the year and a half that he's been in business. Demand is so intense he recently announced he was accepting clients by invitation only. Some may wonder whether Caldwell's coins will one day be among the few physical reminders of an expensive fad that evaporated into the ether — perhaps the result of a breakdown in its electronic architecture, or maybe after a crackdown by government regulators. When asked, Caldwell acknowledged that bitcoin might be in for a bumpy ride. But he drew the analogy between the peer-to-peer currency enthusiasts who hope to shake the finance world in the 2010s with the generation of peer-to-peer movie swappers who challenged the entertainment industry's business model in the 2000s. "Movie pirates always win the long game against Hollywood," he said. "Bitcoin works the same way." ___ Online: Raphael Satter can be reached at: http://raphae.li/twitter

2013-04-11 12:20:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1306, 1390]}

{}

Foursquare Borrows A Massive Amount Of Money To Survive

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/foursquare-borrows-massive-amount-money-122017957.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Tantek via Flickr Foursquare is borrowing $41 million from private equity firm Silver Lake and venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz , Union Square Ventures , O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, and Spark Capital . Silver Lake is leading the debt round. The money from the VC firms is convertible debt. Bloomberg BusinessWeek's Sarah Frier broke the news this morning. It reports that Foursquare generated just $2 million in revenues last year. "This allows us to get closer to being able to prove that there’s a real business here,” CEO Dennis Crowley told Bloomberg BusinessWeek . Foursquare makes a mobile app for users that want to tell their friends where they are at the moment. Sources close to Foursquare investors tell us that the company has begun to realize that use case isn't going to scale much more. So lately, Foursquare has pivoted to also become an app that people can use to find where they would like to go. That's smart. Yelp has become a nice business doing the same thing. (There is lots of animus between those two companies, by the way. Yelp board member Keith Rabois , got into a Twitter fight with Crowley a few weeks back. ) Crowley has also taken to calling Foursquare's data the future "location layer" of the Internet. We're not sure what that means! More From Business Insider Bitcoin Is Crashing HTML5 vs. Apps: Where The Debate Stands Now, And Why It Matters Bitcoin Fanboy Makes Awesome Graphic Telling Others To Stay Strong In The Face Of Collapse

2013-04-11 12:59:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [938]}

{}

Who's Laughing Now? Fired Foursquare Cofounder Naveen Selvadurai Is Who

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/whos-laughing-now-fired-foursquare-125921800.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Instagram Today, there are reports that Foursquare raised $41 million in debt in order to keep the operation going. Debt rounds like that can be tough for common shareholders. The news reminds us that sometimes it's great to be the guy who gets canned. Back in March 2012, Foursquare parted ways with cofounder Naveen Selvadurai . But Selvadurai didn't leave empty-handed. Earlier that month , reports surfaced that Foursquare investor Spark Capital bought $50 million worth of stock from Foursquare employees. The rumor is that a huge portion of that cash went to Selvadurai in exchange for his equity on the way out the door. Back then, Foursquare was a hot startup with a $600 million valuation. Today, Foursquare is taking on debt to survive. So Selvadurai may have cashed out at the top. More From Business Insider Foursquare Borrows A Massive Amount Of Money To Survive Fred Wilson Explains Why Foursquare Just Took On So Much Debt Bitcoin Is Crashing

2013-04-11 13:45:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [19, 273, 338, 557, 569, 657]}

{"Bitcoin": [60]}

There's A New York City Bar That Lets You Pay Your Tab With Bitcoins

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/theres-york-city-bar-lets-134537338.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Michael Yarish/AMC Bitcoins are all the rage this week. The digital currency has gained so much attention that normal retailers are starting to accept it. One particular New York City bar called EVR just opened a few months ago and is reportedly the first in NYC to accept Bitcoins. The bar's owner Charlie Shrem told CNNMoney he accepts Bitcoins because the transactions are cheaper than regular credit cards. The bar uses an iPad app called BitPay to accept the payments. Read more on CNNMoney > More From Business Insider 10 Real Things You Can Buy With Bitcoin Get Bitcoin Value Every Hour By Following This Twitter Account The Secret Weapon That Makes Bitcoin Impervious To Super-Powerful Quantum Computers

2013-04-11 14:16:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [11, 260, 603, 862, 922]}

{"Bitcoin": [4]}

The Bitcoin Crash Continues

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-crash-continues-141640607.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Yesterday, Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $266. Then, it crashed as much as 61 percent before rebounding back to levels around $150 late last night. The low of the day yesterday was $105. This morning already, the market is getting close to those lows again. Bitcoin is now trading at $120. As the volume panel at the bottom of the chart shows, there was a large spike in selling activity this morning, sending the the virtual currencty on its latest leg lower. bitcoin.clarkmoody.com Note: There is no x-axis on this chart, but it shows prices from April 9 through today. Mt. Gox, the world's biggest Bitcoin exchange, blamed yesterday's sell-off on a trading lag that was caused by the rush of new users to the system in recent days. It will be interesting to see if prices continue to head lower today. More From Business Insider BITCOIN $200 HUGE Plunge In Bitcoin — Virtual Currency Tanks 10% In A Matter Of Minutes Bitcoin Goes On Another Big Tear, And Surges Past $190

2013-04-11 14:19:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2118]}

{}

Profits Just Hit Another All-Time High, Wages Just Hit Another All-Time Low

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/profits-just-hit-another-time-141914694.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

In case you need more confirmation that the US economy is out of balance, here are three charts for you. 1) Corporate profit margins just hit another all-time high. Companies are making more per dollar of sales than they ever have before. (And some people are still saying that companies are suffering from "too much regulation" and "too many taxes." Maybe little companies are, but big ones certainly aren't. What they're suffering from is a myopic obsession with short-term profits at the expense of long-term value creation). Business Insider, St. Louis Fed 2 ) Wages as a percent of the economy just hit another all-time low. Why are corporate profits so high? One reason is that companies are paying employees less than they ever have as a share of GDP. And that, in turn, is one reason the economy is so weak: Those "wages" are represent spending power for consumers. And consumer spending is "revenue" for other companies. So the profit obsession is actually starving the rest of the economy of revenue growth. Business Insider, St. Louis Fed 3) Fewer Americans are working than at any time in the past three decades. The other reason corporations are so profitable is that they don't employ as many Americans as they used to. As a result, the employment-to-population ratio has collapsed. We're back at 1980s levels now. Business Insider, St. Louis Fed In short, our current obsessed-with-profits philosophy is creating a country of a few million overlords and 300+ million serfs. That's not what has made America a great country. It's also not what most people think America is supposed to be about. So we might want to rethink that. Specifically, we might want to have the goal of our corporations be to create long-term value for all of their constituencies (customers, employees, and shareholders), not just short-term profit for their shareholders. Meanwhile, if you want to know more about what's wrong with the economy, and why our current obsession with short-term-profit is hurting all of us, flip through these charts: AMERICA TODAY: 3 Million Overlords, 300 Million Serfs More From Business Insider Bitcoin Is Crashing The Average CEO Earns More In An Hour Than The Average Employee Earns In A Month AMERICA TODAY: 3 Million Overlords And 300 Million Serfs

2013-04-11 14:40:06+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [28, 554, 715, 1709, 3564, 4481, 4576]}

{"Bitcoin": [43]}

WALL STREET ANALYST: Hackers Are Attacking Bitcoin So They Can Scoop It Up For Lower Prices

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wall-street-analyst-hackers-attacking-144000823.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Bloomberg TV Yesterday, the Bitcoin market crashed. During the worst of it, the virtual currency had lost 61 percent of its value from its intraday peak price of $266. What happened? The trading platform was suffering some serious lag, sending the market into a panic that resulted in a big sell-off. The big slowdown was initially pegged as a "distributed denial of service" (DDoS) attack , in which hackers use large groups of computers to flood a website with connections, such that no one else can connect to it. This happened to the world's biggest Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, just last week. ConvergEx Group Chief Market Strategist Nick Colas, one of the only Wall Street analysts who has taken an interest in Bitcoin, writes in a note this morning that the reason for these DDoS attacks is that hackers are trying to knock the virtual currency down in order to scoop it up at cheaper prices. In a note to clients this morning, he writes: Now here’s the weird bit: hackers attack the infrastructure (exchanges and wallets) around the core open source software because they want to BUY bitcoins at reduced prices. Their idea is to sew some confusion in the market, shake out owners who have large gains and don’t want to lose them, buy in the resulting melee, and sell when things return to normal. It usually takes barely more than a day, seems pretty easy to do, and yields a big payoff. Mt. Gox released a notification on its Facebook page overnight to the effect that yesterday's slowdown was not, in fact, due to a DDoS attack, but instead was a result of the rapid amount of new users that have flocked to the trading platform in recent days and weeks. Whatever the cause, t he key here is that the Bitcoin market has to transition to a state of lower volatility before it can really gain widespread acceptance. Days like yesterday don't do much to inspire confidence in the virtual currency from a wider group of consumers and investors. According to Colas, "This is where bitcoin stops being a science project and starts helping anyone interested in capital markets or macro policy understand our world just a little bit better." Story continues In his note, he brings up three points related to the volatility issue: Trust is the keystone of any currency as well as the macroeconomic policies and support structures which surround it. Even if bitcoin fully recovers from today’s problems, it is still a black eye for the support structures around the core “Mining” process. The Fed has a lot more leeway for error – the dollar is still the legal tender of the U.S., for better or worse. Volatility matters more than level. Recall our two trader’s aphorisms at the top of this note. Wild price swings are tough on humans; they encourage fear-based decisions which often prove ill-informed and expensive. Watching the churning volatility of the bitcoin market today, I had a new appreciation for the Fed’s controversial bond buying programs. The Fed knows that price volatility in capital markets is the true enemy of economic recovery after the storms of 2007-2008. By flooding the financial system with liquidity, they reduced the fears of another crisis. It just so happens that lower equity market volatility is tied to higher prices. But the real goal for the Fed – and one that it has accomplished in spades – is to dampen volatility so businesses, consumes, and investors don’t thrash about making fear-driven choices. This approach hasn’t been cheap, to say the least. But there’s no doubting that it has had its intended outcome. Before today, Bitcoin had been an almost unalloyed marketing and investment success. Its central value proposition – anonymous, decentralized, open source code-based "Money" – appeals to a wide swath of the developed and emerging world. And there is still a lot of interest in leveraging the core infrastructure to provide a unique, secure, low cost payment system which works as well in Delhi as Dallas, Boston as Beijing. But every investor or entrepreneur who wants to take that journey needs to understand that the path will be far shorter and easier if bitcoin price volatility is much lower than what we saw today. In short, whatever the cause of yesterday's sell-off – whether it was hackers trying to manipulate the market down or just a massive influx of new users – exchanges like Mt. Gox will have to figure out ways to mitigate volatility like that in order to attract a wider user base. More From Business Insider The Bitcoin Crash Continues Programmer Robert McNally Put Together An Awesome Presentation On What Bitcoin Really Is ART CASHIN: We Are Witnessing The Tulip Bubble In Real-Time

2013-04-11 15:18:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [7337, 7357]}

{}

The New Yorker Is Wrong About Stanford And Silicon Valley

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/yorker-wrong-stanford-silicon-valley-151809962.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Flickr/Josiah Mackenzie The famous Stanford arches. Stanford students and alumni joined in a collective sigh upon reading a recent New Yorker blog post which essentially claimed that since the school's students routinely dominate in Silicon Valley, and very occasionally drop out with the financial backing of their professors, Stanford is no longer a university. Yes, the first line of the ominously titled, "The End of Stanford?" literally reads, "Is Stanford still a university?" As a 2010 alumna with a few friends tearing up the startup scene, but who personally took approximately 30 minutes of a computer science class during my own college tenure (only to learn that, no, I don't secretly speak Python or HTML and was better off sticking with Shakespeare), I'm going to take it upon myself to provide an answer to that alarmist question with a "yes." Yes, Stanford is still a university. A pretty good one, in fact, with arts, sciences, engineering, and an irreverent "marching" band that is known for getting banned from various stadiums and the state of Oregon. cantoni Stanford students at a football game. Get Rich And Drop Out Trying The New Yorker 's Nicholas Thompson, who graduated from Stanford in the nineties and went on to work for a startup himself, pegs his article on recent news that a dozen graduate and undergrad students reportedly left school to work on a start-up called Clinkle. He writes, "what’s the point of having a great university among the palm trees if students feel like they have to treat their professors as potential investors, found companies before they can legally drink, and drop out in an effort to get rich fast?" Another student subset that can drop out of college before turning 21 to rake in boatloads of cash? Athletes. And yet Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck — who will forever be the quintessential poster boy for student athletes — eschewed his shot at being the number one pick for the NFL draft his junior year to finish his degree in architectural design . Don't worry, he was number one the next year, too . Story continues A disgruntled student on The Unofficial Stanford Blog rebuts that with " 6,999 undergraduates and 8,871 graduate students , 12 students dropping out to form a company is hardly statistically significant." Stanford's retention rate is at a whopping 98 percent. Sometimes students do choose to leave, or perhaps defer, but it isn't only start-up folks. Tiger Woods and Reese Witherspoon left Stanford for careers that had nothing to do with the tech industry. A handful of students, most notably Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates , dropped out of Harvard to start a couple of little known tech companies, but the school is still going strong. And I suspect Stanford will live on as a university, too. Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin. While Stanford students have recently made headlines for their work in tech, the university has dominated Silicon Valley for decades. Hewlett-Packard, Netflix , Firefox , Yahoo , Cisco Systems, Sun, Electronic Arts , and LinkedIn were all founded by Stanford alumni, to name a few. And while professors investing in students' start-ups might complicate their relationship, that isn't a seismic shift either. Professor David Cheriton cut Larry Page and Sergey Brin a check for $100K to found Google in 1998, an investment that has grown to be worth more than $1 billion over the past 15 years. During that time, Stanford has continued to produce scholars in the arts, social sciences, and humanities. Stanford is a tech powerhouse, but that's not all it is. Techies And Fuzzies Unite Thompson writes that Stanford has merely become "a giant tech incubator with a football team." On the bright side, at least people finally recognize we're good at football. The problem with the statement, however, is its blanket assumption that the experiences of Stanford's startup-bound population are those of the student population as a whole. In fact, during Fall recruitment my senior year, I'd say that the number of students I saw in suits on their way to McKinsey or Bain interviews almost rivaled those I saw programming in hoodies. Only 14 percent of undergraduates are engineering majors . Certainly non-engineers pursue startups, particularly if they want to stay in the Bay Area, and many engineering majors pursue completely different careers. But it's unfair to say that all, or even most, Stanford students are on the path to Silicon Valley. While I have many friends and friendly acquaintances who work at companies including Twitter, Facebook , Foursquare, Stripe, Google, Uber , Box, etc., my randomly assigned quad sophomore year was composed of women who went on to pursue journalism, medicine, and visual arts. Stanford students identify themselves as "fuzzies," meaning they study humanities, and "techies." There's also the grey zone of econ majors who probably wouldn't like the "fuzzy" title but aren't quite in the sciences. Fox Sports Members of the irreverent Stanford band. Still, fuzzy or techie paths are not mutually exclusive. Programmers are forced to take humanities requirements; English majors must fulfill an engineering credit. Since I was interested in political science and nuclear nonproliferation, I filled my "techie" requirement with a small seminar taught by Siegfried Hecker, the renowned scientist who was invited to North Korea to inspect its plutonium supply, which was kept in a glass jar. But many techies explore other subjects because they're multifaceted people with many interests. My roommate senior year is a successful programmer who regularly took creative writing classes. That's no anomaly. PayPal CEO Peter Thiel studied philosophy at Stanford ; ex-HP CEO Carly Fiorina was a medieval history major at the university. Still A Community Thompson wonders, "Shouldn't Stanford be a place to drift, to think, to read, to meet new people, and to work at whatever inspires you?" He notes that "the center of gravity at the university appears to have shifted." Maybe it's just me, but I missed this shift, and it's hard to believe anything so drastic has happened in the two and a half years since I graduated. Sure, there has been a slew of recent headlines about young alumni helming successful startups including recent darlings Instagram and Snapchat, but that's no doubt sexier to write about and share than the founders' classmates' Classics PhD progress, teaching endeavors, and NGO work. I didn't pursue start-ups and felt no pressure to do so, although after Instagram was bought for a billion dollars, I did have a pang of regret for not having had the foresight to seek out its founders and get involved early so I could have bought (or at least rented) a small island by now. Laura Stampler Costumed Stanford students doing the "wacky walk" for graduation. Still, I feel proud of my Silicon Valley tycoon classmates' successes, just as I feel proud whenever Stanford students excel in any field. Because Stanford is a community. And that is why there is no question in my mind that not only has Stanford succeeded as a university — enabling academic, extracurricular, and interpersonal enrichment — but there is no chance whatsoever that it will cease to do so any time soon. More From Business Insider HTML5 vs. Apps: Where The Debate Stands Now, And Why It Matters Bitcoin Is Crashing Bitcoin Fanboy Makes Awesome Graphic Telling Others To Stay Strong In The Face Of Collapse

2013-04-11 15:31:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [53, 134, 464, 1052, 1097, 1562, 1662]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin Trading Halted For Next 10 Hours After Massive Sell-Off

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-trading-halted-next-10-153109564.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

We won't be bringing you any updates on the price of Bitcoin for the next 10 hours or so. That's because Mt. Gox, the world's largest Bitcoin exchange, has halted trading in the virtual currency until 10 PM ET "to allow the market to cooldown following the drop in price" that happened yesterday . Below is a screenshot of the trading log-in page on the Mt. Gox website: Mt. Gox Click to enlarge Mt. Gox said in a Facebook post overnight that a serious lag in the Bitcoin trading platform – due to a rapid influx of new users in recent days – caused a panic that resulted in yesterday's big sell-off. Lags like that can also be caused by "distributed denial of service" attacks, wherein hackers use large groups of computers to flood a website with connections, such that no one else can connect to it. Last week, Mt. Gox said it had been subjected to a " a DDoS attack like we have never seen." This morning, in a note to clients, ConvergEx Group Chief Market Strategist Nick Colas – one of the only Wall Street analysts who has paid any attention to Bitcoin – wrote that ongoing DDoS attacks on Bitcoin exchanges and services were hackers trying to send the virtual currency plunging in order to scoop it up for lower prices. Whatever the cause of yesterday's sell-off – whether it was hackers trying to manipulate the market down or just a massive influx of new users – exchanges like Mt. Gox will have to figure out ways to mitigate the conditions that lead to massive price swings like that in order to attract a wider user base. More From Business Insider Bitcoin Has Surged Another 15% Just Since The Last Time We Mentioned It BITCOIN $200 HUGE Plunge In Bitcoin — Virtual Currency Tanks 10% In A Matter Of Minutes

2013-04-11 17:35:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [4251, 4271]}

{}

GUNDLACH: SHORT CHIPOTLE

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gundlach-short-chipotle-173515128.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

"Bond God" Jeff Gundlach is hosting a luncheon at the New York Yacht Club today. As part of the luncheon, Gundlach presents his market views. Josh Brown, author of the popular financial blog The Reformed Broker , is tweeting Gundlach's presentation live . Gundlach has a lot of interesting things to say today. One thing he recommended was shorting Chipotle. According to Brown, he was saving this idea to be unveiled at the Ira Sohn investment conference, but he couldn't resist mentioning it today. Below are Brown's tweets re-capping the presentation. Gundlach: Those predicting a collapse for the bond market are "dead wrong" — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 Gundlach: Forget Fed Minutes, QE is not stopping anytime soon, talk is just talk. Yellen's down to do this til 2025. — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 "There's a better chance Bernanke buys every Treasury bond in existence before he ever sells a single one" -ohhh sh*t. — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 The message is that ZIRP and QE are a way of life now, find ways to cope and profit. — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 "Japan is important to watch, it's a pace car for stock market peaks, weird policy responses and currency debasement." Lololol — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 "The annual $1 trillion budget deficit is propping up the economy, the only thing abetting this is QE" - hence, it is indispensable. — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 Gundlach: Bond indexing has spoiled investors but now it's over. Treasurys make up the largest index weight and yield the least now. — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 Gundlach: "Emerging market corporate debt is THE best area of investment grade fixed income right now" — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 "I think the Yen will go to 200 vs the dollar over time." Ohmygod — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 Gundlach agrees with John Hussman that profit margins will be mean reverting shortly. This won't hurt corporate bonds necessarily. — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 On housing: NY is not America. "Paying a hundred million for a New York apartment is kind of like a jerk tax" - big laugh line — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 On dividend stocks - you cannot compare them to bonds without risk-adjustment, volatility is night and day. — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 'Private equity and hedge funds are NOT "alternative asset classes" - they are equities in drag.' Story continues — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 Question on preferred stocks - first time I've ever heard Jeff admits he knows nothing about something. He punts. — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 Gundlach on his short AAPL / long nay gas trade: "It was better than you thought it was - never went negative a single day" — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 NEW GUNDLACH SHORT IDEA: CHIPOTLE. "Gourmet Burito is an oxymoron". Was saving it for Ira Sohn but couldn't resist mentioning. $CMG — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 Gundlach on when does he have too much AUM in Total Return: In 2009 we could have managed a trillion, right now probably not even $75 bil. — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 Takes a dig at PIMCO but not by name re: shadow financial markets, cant be "total return" and so big that you have counterparty risk. — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 Gundlach mentions John Paulson and Bill Miller specifically as examples of managers getting too big to succeed. — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 Jeff is worried about muni market - believes that tax benefit for ultra high net worth will be stripped away someday. — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 "Please don't tell me the Fed can't create inflation if it tried. I think a check for $1 million to every American would get it done." LOL — Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 11, 2013 More From Business Insider HTML5 vs. Apps: Where The Debate Stands Now, And Why It Matters Bitcoin Is Crashing Bitcoin Fanboy Makes Awesome Graphic Telling Others To Stay Strong In The Face Of Collapse View comments

2013-04-11 17:51:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1687, 1707]}

{}

Herbalife Shares Are Surging

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/herbalife-shares-surging-175147013.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

NOTE: We wrote earlier per a CNBC report that former KPMG partner Scott London, who faces a civil complaint from the SEC over his role in an insider trading scheme involving Herbalife, passed along rumors to the effect that Herbalife could go private. We have since been notified that this was taken out of context. The allegations regarding the "going private" rumors are found in a criminal complaint filed by the FBI today. This is how that section of the criminal complaint reads: London then referenced rumors that had been spread recently about HLF going private, which had been discussed in various news reports. London stated, "That is going to be where you make a ton of money...because, you know, we'll know that." London then advised that if that were to take place, "what we oughta do is, when I know that it's gonna start happening, what you do is you start just buying in small blocks, right so it doesn't draw attention and then, you know, then it doesn't look unusual at all. Find the whole criminal complaint here > -------------- EARLIER: Herbalife shares are surging on the announcement that the SEC has charged former KPMG partner Scott London , who oversaw Herbalife audits, with insider trading. According to CNBC's Josh Lipton, London passed along tips about rumors that Herbalife could go private to investors, saying that was where they would really make money on the stock. The stock initially jumped to an intraday high of $39.80 from levels around $37.50 prior to the announcement, but has since backed off a bit. Now, it's up around 5 percent on the day. Thinkorswim More From Business Insider HTML5 vs. Apps: Where The Debate Stands Now, And Why It Matters Bitcoin Is Crashing Bitcoin Fanboy Makes Awesome Graphic Telling Others To Stay Strong In The Face Of Collapse

2013-04-11 18:31:45+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [896]}

{}

Apple Is Reportedly Facing Manufacturing Problems For The Next iPhone And iPad

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-reportedly-facing-manufacturing-problems-183145087.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Nickolay Lamm and Matteo Gianni Production challenges are slowing the release of the iPhone "5S," the reduced-price iPhone, and the next generation of iPad Mini, according to a report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. We first heard the news from MacRumors . Simply put, each device faces an issue in production. The iPhone 5S's supposed fingerprint sensor supposedly requires a special color coating to prevent interference. The reduced-price iPhone's extra-thin plastic shell will likely lead to issues surrounding color coating. And the hypothetical Retina display for the iPad Mini is expected to slow down the timing on the device's release. The original target for the new iPhones was June or July, but the report does not provide a new target. More From Business Insider Here's The Latest Piece Of Legislation That Has The Tech Community Up In Arms 10 Real Things You Can Buy With Bitcoin This Job Listing Confirms That Apple's Experimenting With Flexible Displays

2013-04-11 19:22:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [11, 1017, 1125, 1178]}

{"Bitcoin": [8]}

How The Bitcoin Collapse Stacks Up Against History's Ugliest Market Crashes

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-collapse-stacks-against-historys-192200101.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Yesterday, Bitcoin plummeted from a morning high of $266 all the way to $105 in the afternoon before stabilizing around $150. From $266 to $105 is a 61 percent decline. So, how does that stack up against some of the worst stock market crashes in American history? There were "Black Monday" and "Black Tuesday" in October 1929, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 12.8 percent and 11.7 percent, respectively, directly preceding the Great Depression. There was another "Black Monday" in October 1987, when the Dow plummeted 22.6 percent. The 1987 "Black Monday" still holds the record for the biggest single-day percentage decline on the Dow ever. On October 15, 2008, amid a heightened period of economic and market uncertainty in the wake of the failure of Lehman Brothers a month before, the Dow reacted extremely negatively to news that the Treasury would invest $250 billion in the country's nine largest banks, falling 7.9 percent. The chart below shows these market crashes compared with what happened to Bitcoin. DJIA, Mt. Gox More From Business Insider 6 Things That Are Massively Overpriced If You Buy Them In Bitcoin This Is What A $2.3 Million Pizza Looks Like Bitcoin Has Surged Another 15% Just Since The Last Time We Mentioned It

2013-04-11 19:24:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [15, 80, 226, 559, 861, 921, 1022, 1255, 1306, 1359]}

{"Bitcoin": [44]}

The Winklevoss Twins Say They Own 1% Of All Bitcoins

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/winklevoss-twins-own-1-bitcoins-192400322.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

It's all about Bitcoins lately, and the Winklevoss twins claim to own 1% of all Bitcoins in existence, Nathaniel Popper and Peter Lattman of the New York Times report. "An array of speculators have now bid up the price of the Bitcoin to the point where the outstanding supply of the digital money was worth $1.3 billion at last count. The Winklevii — as they are popularly known — say they own nearly 1 percent of that, or some $11 million." There are 10.8 million bitcoins out there, so that means the Winklevii own about 108,000 of them . With the value of Bitcoins crashing since yesterday, it seems like a tough time to own that much of the popular digital currency. (On Wednesday morning it surged to $265, and then crashed to $105 before stabilizing at around $150.) On the other hand, the Times notes that the 31-year old identical twins began buying up Bitcoins last summer. As of August 2012 , the highest value Bitcoin reached was $15.40, so they are still sitting pretty. Right now Mt. Gox, the world's largest Bitcoin exchange, has halted trading in the virtual currency until 10 PM ET "to allow the market to cooldown following the drop in price." More From Business Insider ALLEGED BITCOIN INVENTOR: Please Stop Emailing Me, I Didn't Invent Bitcoin WALL STREET ANALYST: Hackers Are Attacking Bitcoin So They Can Scoop It Up For Lower Prices The Bitcoin Crash Continues

2013-04-11 19:38:25+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [111, 752, 1512, 1648, 1678, 2119, 2565, 2804, 4749, 5100, 5489, 5754, 6055, 6951]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin bursts: Hacker currency gets wild ride

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-bursts-hacker-currency-gets-174705285.html

Associated Press

https://apnews.com/

LONDON (AP) -- It's a promising form of electronic cash free from central bankers and beloved by hackers. It — Bitcoin — may also be in trouble, registering catastrophic losses that have sent speculators scrambling. Although the cybercurrency has existed for years as a kind of Internet oddity, a perfect storm of developments have brought it to the cusp of mainstream use. As currency crises in Europe piqued investors' interest, a growing number of businesses announced they were accepting bitcoins for an ever-wider range of goods and services. The value of a single bitcoin began racing upward amid growing media attention, smashing past the $100 mark last week before more than doubling again in just a few days. Then came the crash. The price of Bitcoin has imploded, falling from around $266 on Wednesday to just above $40 on Thursday, according to bitcoincharts.com, which tracks trades across the Internet. The best-known exchange, Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, has suspended trading for what it described as a 12-hour "market cooldown." By late Thursday, the currency was back up to just more than $100. Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist for the ConvergEx Group, said it was a "great question" whether the currency could survive the wrenching ups and downs. "At this point I would say yes, since it has before," Colas wrote in an email. But he noted that, unlike previous oscillations, Thursday's collapse was taking place in the full glare of international media attention. "A lot more people know about Bitcoin than during the prior problems," he said. To its supporters — tech-savvy libertarians, currency geeks, and online speculators — Bitcoin has enormous promise. Bitcoins are created, distributed, and authenticated independently of any bank or government. The currency's cryptographic features make it virtually immune from counterfeiting, and its relative anonymity holds out the promise of being able to spend money across the Internet without fear of censors, regulators or nosey officials. Story continues The linchpin of the system is a network of "miners" — high-end computer users who supply the Bitcoin network with the processing power needed to maintain a transparent, running tally of all transactions. The tally is one of the most important ways in which the system prevents fraud, and the miners are rewarded for supporting the system with an occasional helping of brand-new bitcoins. Cryptographers argue over whether bitcoin is well-designed, but the true test of any currency is whether it can be used to buy anything. Increasingly, Bitcoin is passing the test. From hard drugs to hard currency, songs to survival gear, cars to consumer goods, many retailers have welcomed the money, whose unofficial symbol is a dollar-like, double-barred B. Atlanta-based BitPay handles Bitcoin transactions for more than 4,500 companies, taking payments in bitcoins and forwarding the cash equivalent to the vendor involved, which means that its clients are insulated from the cybercurrency's volatility. BitPay Chief Executive Anthony Gallippi said many of the businesses he served were e-commerce websites, but he said an increasing number of traditional retailers were looking to get into the game as well. "We just had an auto dealership in Kansas City apply," he said. Artists are into bitcoins too. Tehran-based music producer Mohammad Rafigh said the currency allows him to sell his albums "all over the world and not only in Iran." There's long been a black market use for bitcoins as well. Argentine software developer Patricio Fink described how he recently swapped bitcoins for a wad of American currency with a couple of Australian tourists at a Starbucks in Buenos Aires. The visitors wanted spending money at black market rates without the risk of getting roughed up in one of the Argentine capital's black market exchanges. Fink wanted more bitcoins to insulate his savings from Argentina's high inflation. "It's something that is new," said Fink, 24, who described the deal to The Associated Press over Skype. "And it's working." One of the most prominent destinations for bitcoins remains Silk Road, a black market website where drug dealers advertise their wares in a consumer-friendly atmosphere redolent of Amazon or eBay — complete with a shopping cart icon, a five-point rating system and voluminous user reviews. The site uses Tor, an online anonymity network, to mask the location of its servers, while bitcoin payments ensure there's no paper trail. One British user told AP he first got interested in Silk Road while he was working in China, where he used the site to order banned books. After moving to Japan, he turned to the site for an occasional high. Drug dealers aren't the only ones cashing in on Bitcoin. The hackers behind Lulz Security, whose campaign of online havoc drew worldwide attention back in 2011, received thousands of dollars' worth of bitcoins after promising followers that the money would go toward launching attacks against the FBI. A report apparently drawn up by the bureau and leaked to the Internet last year said that "since Bitcoin does not have a centralized authority, detecting suspicious activity, identifying users and obtaining transaction records is problematic for law enforcement." It went on to warn that bitcoins might become "an increasingly useful tool for various illegal activities beyond the cyber realm"— including child pornography, trafficking and terrorism. That is, if the currency survives. Bitcoin's dramatic collapse — from peak to trough, the currency shed more than 80 percent of its value — has left many enthusiasts anxious and many skeptics saying "I told you so." "Trading tulips in real time," is how longtime UBS stockbroker Art Cashin described Bitcoin's vertiginous rise, comparing it to the now-unfathomable craze that saw 17th-century Dutch speculators trade spectacular sums of money for a single flower bulb. "It is rare that we get to see a bubble-like phenomenon trade tick for tick in real time," he said in a recent note to clients. One Bitcoin supporter with a unique perspective on the boom-turned-to-bust might be Mike Caldwell, a 35-year-old software engineer based in suburban Utah. Caldwell mints physical versions of bitcoins at his residence, cranking out thousands of homemade tokens with codes protected by tamper-proof holographic seals — a retro-futuristic kind of prepaid cash. His coins are stamped with the words "Vires in Numeris" — Latin for "Strength in Numbers." Some may wonder whether Caldwell's coins will one day be among the few physical reminders of an expensive fad that evaporated into the ether. When asked, Caldwell acknowledged that bitcoin might be in for a bumpy ride. "The way I look at it is that there will be bugs and there will be minor issues from time to time," he said. But barring a complete unraveling of the currency's electronic architecture, he predicted that it would continue to grow. "Bitcoins will either be worth nothing or worth a whole lot more than its current value," he said. For Colas, the market strategist, the most important thing to keep in mind was that bitcoins suffer from the same weakness as any other form of money. If people increasingly believe they're not worth anything, then they're not worth anything — no matter how clever the currency's design. "The future of bitcoin is, like all currencies, going to come down to trust," he said. ___ Online: Raphael Satter can be reached at: http://raphae.li/twitter

2013-04-11 20:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1027, 1164]}

{}

STOCKS RALLY AND BITCOIN COLLAPSES AGAIN: Here's What You Need To Know

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stocks-rally-bitcoin-collapses-again-200006849.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

toffehoff/Flickr It was another nice up-day for the stock market. First the scoreboard: Dow: 14,865, +62.9 pts, +0.4 percent S&P 500: 1,593, +5.6 pts, +0.3 percent NASDAQ: 3,300, +2.9 pts, +0.0 percent And now the top stories: Economists breathed a sigh of relief when the initial jobless claims report came out. Claims fell to 346,000 from 388,000 a week ago. This was a much better improvement than the decline to 360,000 economists were expecting. Today's claims number was watched particularly closely because the March nonfarm payrolls and last week's claims reports were both worse than expected. The drop in claims confirmed economists suspicion that last week's spike was largely due to seasonal factors. Stock market guru Ed Yardeni wrote that the current rally looked very similar to the rally that preceded the financial crisis. "This time, central banks have flooded the global capital markets with liquidity, which is one of the main reasons I expect that 2013 will part ways with 2007," he wrote reassuringly. In Bitcoin news, the controversial digital currency continued to collapse . In fact, things got so ugly that Mt. Gox — a major exchange for Bitcoin — stopped trading and said it would reopen trading at 10:00 PM ET. Bond god Jeff Gundlach gave a presentation , in which he explained to investors why a bond market crash wasn't imminent. Among other things, he unveiled his hot new trade: short Chipotle. "Gourmet burrito is an oxymoron," said Gundlach according to Reformed Broker Josh Brown . Chipotle fell by over 3 percent today. Don't Miss: Gundlach Warns Bond Bears They're Dead Wrong In This Awesome Presentation > More From Business Insider STOCKS RALLY, BITCOIN GOES BONKERS: Here's What You Need To Know STOCKS MAKE COMEBACK AND RALLY: Here's What You Need To Know STOCKS MAKE STUNNING COMEBACK AFTER UGLY JOBS REPORT: Here's What You Need To Know

2013-04-11 20:59:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [271, 380, 903, 1071, 1218, 2928, 3392, 3468, 3556, 3881, 4091, 4325, 4484, 4651, 4701, 4792, 5009, 5113, 5253, 5426, 5656, 7100, 7295, 7763, 7819, 9174, 9399, 9686]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin Has No Intrinsic Value, And Will Never Be A Threat To Fiat Currency

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-no-intrinsic-value-never-205940087.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

REUTERS / Philimon Bulawayo A crisp 100 billion Zimbabwean dollar The best sentence I read today was this one: “It has been four years and it has yet to be discredited as a viable alternative to fiat currency.” That's from Tyler Winklevoss (yes, that one ), referring to Bitcoin (naturally), in a NYT story which reveals that the famous Winkelvoss twins own about 1% of the total Bitcoins that are out there. The crazy price swings of the digital "currency" — which has an ultimately finite supply and is distributed via cryptology, with no Central Bank-like issuer — has prompted numerous discussions about whether the currency could become an important economic entity that's actually a "viable alternative" to, say, the U.S. dollar. There's also a lot of discussion about whether the currency is in a bubble, though in a way that's a less interesting debate. The real interesting question is whether Bitcoin could become a real thing with an important economic function. It's not just the Winkelvosses who think it can. Last month, well-known VC Chris Dixon said that Bitcoin represented the 3rd great era of currency (first gold, then fiat, then math-based). Here's the problem: Fiat currency has intrinsic value. Bitcoin doesn't . There's a popular meme going around that fiat currencies (like the dollar, the British pound, the euro, and the yen) have no intrinsic value, and that they're only accepted because they're accepted, and that at some point, people will see through the "illusion" of the value of paper money, and realize that wealth lies somewhere else. Usually this argument is made by gold bugs. But fiat currencies have tremendous intrinsic value because governments say they do. That's why they're called fiat currencies. They have value by government fiat. This truth might be annoying, but the fact of the matter is that we live in a world of laws, where governments have armies, and can imprison you if you don't pay taxes. And every transaction that you do is taxed in some way, meaning that to operate in any practical matter in this world means transacting in U.S. dollars. Story continues So the U.S. dollar isn't just important because other people think it is. The U.S. dollar is important, because the world's strongest entity, with the full force of the U.S. army, the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and various local authorities with guns demands that you pay them in U.S. dollars. That's not faith. That's the law. Sorry. Even outside of the requirement to pay taxes in U.S. dollars, the Federal Reserve system has established the dollar as the unit of currency for banking in the United States. So if you want to be plugged into the banking system at all — which is a requirement for virtually all individuals — you have to use U.S. dollars. So instantly, anyone who says the U.S. dollar is backed by "faith" or an "illusion" has no concept of the sheer force behind the currency. This isn't true of Bitcoins at all. It's true that there's a scarcity to them — there's only a finite amount and there's a limit to how many there will ever be — but scarcity alone does not give something lasting value. After all, I could create JoeCoins, and say that I will only issue 100. But it's unlikely that anybody would give me even a penny for one. And I can't force anyone to use them, because I don't have my own army or police force or my own set of laws. Nobody in the Bitcoin world has the power to compel usage and unlike, say, a commodity, a Bitcoin provides no beauty or functional use outside of that of a trading vehicle. This Bitcoin, unlike fiat currency (which is backed by the force of law) or commodity-based monies (which have some intrinsic value via use or beauty) is only of value because someone else will accept it, or pay more for it than what you bought it for. Meanwhile, any hope that merchants would be willing to regularly transact in Bitcoin is blown apart by the recent volatility, which makes it tremendously risky to engage in anything other than ultra-short-term transactions. You'd certainly never have someone perform a service priced in Bitcoin lasting any length of time, since you'd have no idea whether you were paying the person $20,000, $100,000 or $1 million. In light of these obvious problems, a strain of counter argument has emerged that the intrinsic value of Bitcoin lies in its role as a technology that's disruptive to the payments space. Timothy Lee writes in Forbes : As I write this, the value of all outstanding Bitcoins is a bit less than $3 billion. Is that a big number or a small number? It’s a difficult question because the answer depends on what happens to the underlying Bitcoin economy in the coming years. The value of Bitcoin-denominated transactions has been rising steadily. If that process continues, the “Bitcoin economy” could be much larger in five or ten years than it is today. To give just one example, Western Union has a market capitalization of $8.5 billion and earned $1.3 billion in profit in 2010. If you think Bitcoin will eventually become a popular way to transmit money internationally, it’s not crazy to think Bitcoin’s “market cap” will be in the same ballpark as Western Union’s. Obviously, that’s just a rough back-of-the-envelope estimate. Maybe Bitcoins won’t pose a competitive threat to Western Union. But the point is that at the scale of global financial networks, $3 billion is a pretty small amount of money. If Bitcoin proves superior to conventional financial networks for at least one significant application, it’s easy to imagine enough demand for the currency to justify the current valuation. Felix Salmon , in his widely-read piece on Bitcoin kind of said the same thing: ... bitcoin is in many ways the best and cleanest payments mechanism the world has ever seen. So if we’re ever going to create something better, we’re going to have to learn from what bitcoin does right – as well as what it does wrong. Jerry Britto says something similar : The answer is that bitcoin doesn’t need to be a good unit of account or a good store of value to be a good medium of exchange. Indeed, the prices of products and services being sold for bitcoin online today are denominated in dollars and are converted at the market rate for bitcoin when the transaction happens. This is how WordPress , one of the most prominent companies accepting bitcoin, does it. In fact, WordPress never even handles bitcoin . They employ the services of a very interesting company called Bitpay that manages bitcoin payment processing for them. When you check out at WordPress using bitcoin, Bitpay quotes you the total of your dollar-denominated shopping cart in bitcoin at the current exchange rate, takes your bitcoin payment, and then deposits dollars in WordPress’s account. This allows WordPress to sell to persons in Iran or Haiti or anyone of the dozens of other countries where PayPal , Visa and MasterCard are not available. It also highlights bitcoin’s true disruptive quality as a payments system—one that is unstoppable, largely anonymous, and incredibly cheap to boot. It's possible that in fact Bitcoin has created the most efficient, disruptive payment system ever. But here's the thing, and this addresses Tim Lee's point above: If this is the only value, then all the world needs is one Bitcoin, since a digital currency should be divisible into an infinite number of "Bitcents" or whatever you want to call them. If we're just talking about a technological idea to transport money and communicate, then why do you need to create new ones? You don't. And if for some reason, people really want to make payment with this level of secrecy and cryptology (and admittedly, there's obviously a demand for private, untraceable money) then you can just create a Bitcoin clone or competitor ( which already exist ). So Bitcoin has no intrinsic worth from a currency perspective (no army, no functional use, no law backing it) and its role as a disruptive medium of payment is something that needn't involve scarcity, and is susceptible to cloning. We should also take a moment to praise what an amazing invention fiat currency as we know it is. People love to talk about how the Fed is debasing the dollar, but that's total nonsense. We've lived through extraordinary economic times in recent years, with monetary policy acrobatics that are virtually unprecedented. And a dollar will more or less buy you the same amount of "real stuff" (beer, rent, gas, etc.) that it did before all this. Yes, there's slow inflation over time, but that's mostly matched by increases in salaries, so it doesn't make a big deal. Even Europe, which is currently an economic and monetary disaster of historic proportions, has a currency that's stunningly stable and liquid. Think about that. Despite the horrible policy in the Eurozone, the Euro is still a fine currency to do business in. Heck, you know those pictures of Weimar Germany? Dialog International As awful as the hyperinflation was, people were still using the currency (at least to some extent) because they had to. So paper currency backed by government is amazingly stable, useful, and even in terrible times, still gets used. Bitcoin, sadly, has none of that going for it. It's a fascinating real-time economics lesson. The bubble mentality is just mesmerizing. If you remember the Yahoo Finance Message Boards back during the dotcom bubble, then the Bitcoin page on Reddit will seem very familiar . But little digital tokens backed by nothing but a hope that you can sell them to a greater fool tomorrow are not the future of currency, and have no intrinsic value. More From Business Insider This Is What A $2.3 Million Pizza Looks Like Bitcoin Has Surged Another 15% Just Since The Last Time We Mentioned It BITCOIN $200

2013-04-11 21:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [58]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin Is No Longer a Currency

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-no-longer-currency-210000132.html

The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/

That leaves one final question. What kind of commodity is Bitcoin if it's not a currency? Well, it's a technologically-impressive product out to revolutionize the world with absolutely no fundamentals to justify its billion-dollar valuation. It's the ultimate dotcom stock, minus the sock puppet. More From The Atlantic Meet the New Middle Class: Who They Are, What They Want, and What They Fear Why Apple Is the Next Microsoft The Past and Future of Taxing the 1%

2013-04-11 21:05:43+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [24, 261, 492, 659, 1090, 1475, 1998, 2231]}

{"Bitcoin": [9]}

What Are Bitcoins, And Why Are They Suddenly Losing Value?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoins-why-suddenly-losing-value-210543219.html

Money Talks News

http://www.moneytalksnews.com

If you haven’t heard of Bitcoins yet, you probably will soon. On Wednesday, their value dropped from a record-high $260 to $130 in just a few hours, according to The Guardian. But that’s not bad if you bought them two months ago, when they were worth only $20. Bitcoin is a digital currency that appeared in 2009, developed by an anonymous computer programmer as an open-source (free, nonproprietary) project. Now a lot of people are working to make the virtual money more secure through the Bitcoin Foundation. There have been hacking attempts on both the exchanges where bitcoins are traded, and on the virtual wallets where they are kept. According to the Bitcoin website, more than 40,000 transactions were made per day in February, worth a total of more than $1 million. The total value of bitcoins in circulation at that point was above $300 million. It’s harder to say what they’re really worth right now, because the past few days have been a wild ride. After falling to $130, their price went back up to $200, and back down to $160. After panicking users started selling off their Bitcoins, one of the largest exchanges, Mt. Gox, halted trading until Friday . The last price was $123.40. Mt. Gox says it was ”a victim of our own success” and unprepared for a sudden surge in interest. The site says it’s been getting 20,000 new users per day in the past couple weeks and that’s been slowing down its system performance, so it has to make upgrades. The allure of the Bitcoin currency – aside from its (sometimes) skyrocketing value and novelty – is that it exists outside any central banking system . Transactions can be made instantly worldwide from a smartphone without additional fees or regulation. But there are drawbacks. Aside from the price volatility and the risk of drawing hacker interest, there are no standard consumer protections. Transactions are irreversible , and it’s relatively difficult to stay anonymous or keep your balance a secret compared with traditional banking. Bitcoins also have a somewhat shady reputation because they’re used for illegal activities including drug deals and online gambling, according to The Guardian. This article was originally published on MoneyTalksNews.com as 'What Are Bitcoins, And Why Are They Suddenly Losing Value?' . More from Money Talks News 13 Dumb Moves Investors Make Heading for Financial Trouble? Take This Quick Quiz and Find Out 6 Tips to Reduce Your 2013 Inflation Rate View comments

2013-04-12 02:55:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [29, 277, 345, 448, 917, 1116, 1169]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin Instantly Plunges 35% As Exchange Reopens

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live-worlds-largest-bitcoin-exchange-015700589.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Mt. Gox, the world's largest Bitcoin exchange, reopened at 10 PM ET following a 12-hour trading halt. The virtual currency plunged to $78, instantly losing 35% of its value from where it was when trading was halted earlier today ($120). From yesterday's intraday peak of $266, Bitcoin had lost 70% of its value. After a few wild swings tonight, Bitcoin is now trading around $97. bitcoin.clarkmoody.com Note: This chart has no x-axis, but it shows Bitcoin prices from April 9 through today. Earlier today, Mt. Gox halted trading, saying the market needed to "cool down" after a massive sell-off yesterday that at one point resulted in a 61% decline from the virtual currency's peak intraday price of $266. The problem, according to the exchange, was a massive influx of new users in recent days, causing the trading platform to lag, which sparked a sell-off among skittish traders. Trading tonight has been volatile. Bitcoin has been trading below $100 on smaller, less liquid exchanges while the Mt. Gox exchange has been closed. More From Business Insider 6 Things That Are Massively Overpriced If You Buy Them In Bitcoin This Is What A $2.3 Million Pizza Looks Like Bitcoin Has Surged Another 15% Just Since The Last Time We Mentioned It

2013-04-12 04:08:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [29, 291, 359, 545, 1014, 1213, 1266]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin Instantly Plunges 35% As Exchange Reopens

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-instantly-plunges-35-exchange-040835305.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Mt. Gox, the world's largest Bitcoin exchange, reopened at 10 PM ET Thursday following a 12-hour trading halt. The virtual currency plunged to $78, instantly losing 35% of its value from where it was when trading was halted earlier in the day ($120). From Wednesday's intraday peak of $266, Bitcoin had lost 70% of its value. After a few wild swings tonight, Bitcoin is now trading around $97 (down 19 percent from before the trading halt and 64 percent off Wednesday's high). bitcoin.clarkmoody.com Note: This chart has no x-axis, but it shows Bitcoin prices from April 9 through today. Earlier today, Mt. Gox halted trading, saying the market needed to "cool down" after a massive sell-off yesterday that at one point resulted in a 61% decline from the virtual currency's peak intraday price of $266. The problem, according to the exchange, was a massive influx of new users in recent days, causing the trading platform to lag, which sparked a sell-off among skittish traders. Trading tonight has been volatile. Bitcoin has been trading below $100 on smaller, less liquid exchanges while the Mt. Gox exchange has been closed. More From Business Insider 6 Things That Are Massively Overpriced If You Buy Them In Bitcoin This Is What A $2.3 Million Pizza Looks Like Bitcoin Has Surged Another 15% Just Since The Last Time We Mentioned It View comments

2013-04-12 12:24:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [0, 238, 360, 419, 929, 1007, 1284]}

{"Bitcoin": [4]}

The Bitcoin Crash Continues — Now Down 77% From Two Days Ago

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-crash-continues-now-down-122433930.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Bitcoin, the controversial virtual currency, is watching its market value crumble. It has fallen to $60 this morning. Just Wednesday, it topped $266 before a dramatic plunge sent it to $120 . Then, Thursday, Mt. Gox – the world's largest Bitcoin exchange – halted trading for 12 hours in an attempt to "cool down" the market. When trading reopened last night, Bitcoin instantly plunged another 35% to $78. Now, at $60, Bitcoin has lost 77% of its value from Wednesday's high. bitcoin chart bitcoin.clarkmoody.com Mt. Gox has been dealing with trading lag issues in recent weeks as popularity of the virtual currency has soared. Some of these trading lags have been caused by "distributed denial of service" attacks, wherein hackers use large groups of computers to flood a website with bogus connections, preventing legitimate users from connecting and causing the site to crash. One analyst says hackers are doing this to force Bitcoin prices down so they can scoop them up on the cheap. The lag that sent Bitcoin traders into a selling panic on Wednesday, according to Mt. Gox, was not the result of a DDoS attack, but was instead due to the rapid influx of new users in recent days. More From Business Insider BITCOIN $250 6 Things That Are Massively Overpriced If You Buy Them In Bitcoin This Is What A $2.3 Million Pizza Looks Like

2013-04-12 14:40:06+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [7868]}

{}

How Kaggle Is Changing How We Work

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/kaggle-changing-144006758.html

The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/

jobfairofthfuture.jpg The job fair of the future (Facebook). The technology industry loves its laws. There's Moore's Law of processing power, Metcalfe's Law of networks, and Gilder's Law about bandwidth. And then there's Joy's Law, a more obscure truism named after Sun Microsystems co-founder Bill Joy. "No matter who you are," Joy is said to have said, "most of the smartest people work for somebody else." For decades this koan about the scarcity of labor and expertise has held true, because of both economics and geography. The problem isn't merely the cost of hiring the smartest people, but the other frictions in the labor market that prevent companies from finding the right people, knowledge- and skills-wise. But Joy's Law may not be sacred for much longer. A new wave of startups are bringing innovation to several labor markets, making the smartest people in the world available and employable by anybody (for a price). There's no better example of this than Kaggle . Founded in 2010, Kaggle is an online platform for data-mining and predictive-modeling competitions. A company arranges with Kaggle to post a dump of data with a proposed problem, and the site's community of computer scientists and mathematicians -- known these days as data scientists -- take on the task, posting proposed solutions. Importantly, competitors don't just get one crack at the problem; they can revise their submissions until a deadline, driving themselves and the community towards better solutions. "The level of accuracy increases, and they all tend to converge on the same solution," explains Anthony Goldbloom, Kaggle's co-founder and CEO. Companies as varied as MasterCard, Pfizer, Allstate, and Facebook (not to mention NASA) have all created competitions. GE sponsored a contest to give airline pilots tools to make more efficient flight plans en route. Health technology company Practice Fusion funded a nother challenge to identify patients with Type 2 diabetes based on de-identified medical records. Prizes for the winning solution have ranged from $3,000 to $250,000. A $3 million prize , offered by the Heritage Provider Network for the best prediction of which patients will be admitted to a hospital within the next year, based on historical claims data, closed last week, and the winner will be announced in June at the Health Datapalooza . The key to Kaggle is the community: 85,000 data scientists (who knew there were that many data scientists in the world!) have entered competitions, and each is ranked according to their skill and results in competitions. Xavier Conort, a French actuary living in Singapore, holds the Number One spot (he's won 6 prizes and come in the top 10 percent a dozen times). As I'm writing this, Joshua Moskowitz, an American who joined 9 minutes ago, is at the other end of the pecking order. Just wait till Joshua starts competing, though; he could be a challenge Xavier in a matter of months. Story continues That everyone-has-a-chance ethos means that any competitor, no matter how isolated they may be, can judge their talents against the top rank of their field. What's more, in the company's forums competitors can swap techniques and hone their skills. Goldbloom says that a good programmer can work their way up the ladder fairly quickly, by scoring well in two or three competitions. The really disruptive thing about Kaggle, though, comes through the company's new service, Kaggle Connect. Here, Kaggle acts as a match-maker, where customers with a specific problem can hire a specific data scientist well-suited to their problem; candidates are drawn the top tier of Kaggle participants: the top 1/2 of 1 percent, or about 500 data scientists. Which means that now you can hire Xavier, or one of the other best data scientists in the world -- if you can afford them. Or, if you'd rather pay less, you can go down the tail to people less highly ranked, but still with the Kaggle seal of approval. On one level, of course, Kaggle is just another spin on crowdsourcing, tapping the global brain to solve a big problem. That stuff has been around for a decade or more, at least back to Wikipedia (or farther back, Linux, etc). And companies like TaskRabbit and oDesk have thrown jobs to the crowd for several years. But I think Kaggle, and other online labor markets, represent more than that, and I'll offer two arguments. First, Kaggle doesn't incorporate work from all levels of proficiency, professionals to amateurs. Participants are experts, and they aren't working for benevolent reasons alone: they want to win, and they want to get better to improve their chances of winning next time. Second, Kaggle doesn't just create the incidental work product, it creates a new marketplace for work, a deeper disruption in a professional field. Unlike traditional temp labor, these aren't bottom of the totem pole jobs. Kagglers are on top. And that disruption is what will kill Joy's Law. Because here's the thing: the Kaggle ranking has become an essential metric in the world of data science. Employers like American Express and the New York Times have begun listing a Kaggle rank as an essential qualification in their help wanted ads for data scientists. It's not just a merit badge for the coders; it's a more significant, more valuable, indicator of capability than our traditional benchmarks for proficiency or expertise. In other words, your Ivy League diploma and IBM resume don't matter so much as my Kaggle score. It's flipping the resume, where your work is measurable and metricized and your value in the marketplace is more valuable than the place you work. "We're solving a market failure," says Goldbloom. "People were using really poor proxies" for skills and credentials. That's the big shift here. Kaggle represents a new sort of labor market, one where skills have been bifurcated from credentials. (Tom Friedman, among others, has been beating on this drum of late). Obviously, data science and computer code is particularly well suited to such a market. It's digital, and the product is easily measured in both quality and efficiency. But this doesn't mean that other fields won't follow. It was the same way with open source software and other easily digitized fields -- at first seems like only work with code. But then the model starts to get adopted and adapted by other industries that figure out how to inject the same magic into their fields. You don't have to look hard to find other new companies that are building similarly disruptive labor marketplaces: 99Designs has created a contest-based community of designers, and has paid nearly $2 million to designers for their winning contributions. And HealthTap has for created a community of 30,000 doctors who are using their spare cycles to answer patients' healthcare questions, and are scored on the quality of their contributions. Founder Ron Gutman calls HealthTap an "arbitrage market for physicians," that's connecting a market need for expert healthcare advice with the suddenly available commodity of doctors with a few minutes on their hands. The company has even started a ClubMD for top-ranked doctors that comes with special posting privileges. Though he was skeptical at first, Goldbloom conceded that even professions that don't seem particularly quantitative might be similarly arbitraged. Take lawyers, for example - how would you rate them? But after a moments thought, Goldbloom had cracked it: you could pretty easily rank trial lawyers by their courtroom victories, or personal injury attorneys by their settlement amounts. And soon, it became clear that nearly every profession have some sort of metric for success, not just in terms of outcomes (which can measure success) but also in terms of process (which can measure efficiency). And suddenly, Joy's Law doesn't seem so sacred any more. More From The Atlantic Bitcoin Is No Longer a Currency Reality Check: Obama Cuts Social Security and Medicare by Much More Than the GOP How Much Money Does the Government Really Make From Student Loans? View comments

2013-04-12 14:51:18+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3137]}

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Google Death: A Tool to Take Care of Your Gmail When You're Gone

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/google-death-tool-care-gmail-145118150.html

The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/

8608557117_7f00b16151_c-650.jpg Casey Hugelfink/Flickr Perhaps you, like me, have had the pleasure of finding some old family letters or calendars squirreled away in a box somewhere, and sitting there for hours, reading about the daily life of your family before you existed. But for future generations, those quotidian texts won't exist in a physical form but in digital files -- emails, electronic calendars, even maybe some grocery or party-lists filed away in Google Drive. The question isn't so much whether we are creating these records but whether anyone in the future will have access to them, locked away behind our passwords (and perhaps our 2-step notification process too). For years now, lawyers, scholars, and even the government have been urging us to prepare for this eventuality . Write a social-media will, they plead, some sort of spelled-out plan for how your online life should be handled post-mortem. And while doing so is definitely a good idea, there are also some complications: If you leave your social-media information as part of a will, it becomes public information, and you might want to keep the stuff your password private, even after your death. Additionally, people have many passwords and change them frequently; it's a pain to keep a social-media will current. Google has now rolled out a technological solution, a euphemistically titled "Inactive Account Manager" tool ("Control what happens to your account when you stop using Google," the company says , i.e. die). With the tool, you set an amount of time you want Google to wait before taking action (3, 6, 9 months, or a year). One month before that deadline, if Google hasn't heard from you, it will send you an alert by either email or text message. If that month closes out and you still have not re-entered your account, Google will notify your "trusted contacts" -- you can list up to 10 -- and share your data with them if you have so chosen. The email they would get would look something like this: Story continues Screen Shot 2013-04-11 at 6.13.27 PM.jpg Alternatively, you can set up the manager to outright delete your account without sharing it at that time. This includes all data associated with the account -- Blogger posts, uploaded YouTube videos, Picasa albums, Google Voice messages, etc. (This goes without saying, but the tool will only help with your Google accounts. If you've got, say, a Facebook account, you'll still haven't to plan for that separately.) It's always seemed to be the case that the difficulty of planning for one's "digital afterlife" isn't so much the logistics of it but the psychological effort it requires to deal with one's own mortality in a utilitarian, businesslike way. Perhaps the greater service Google has provided here isn't so much the functionality of the tool -- that it will execute your plans without you once you're gone -- but that they've made making those plans simple, requiring few decisions on your part. So now you can fill out that quick form, and redirect your mortal anxiety away from your email account, and back toward your mortality itself. Cheers. More From The Atlantic Bitcoin Is No Longer a Currency Reality Check: Obama Cuts Social Security and Medicare by Much More Than the GOP How Much Money Does the Government Really Make From Student Loans?

2013-04-12 15:02:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [692]}

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GOLD SINKS BELOW $1500

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gold-getting-smashed-123616654.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Gold has taken three sharp declines this morning: once around 5 AM ET, again around 8:15, and then again around 10:30. Despite weaker than expected retail sales figures and plummeting consumer confidence in the United States, it's down 4.5%, trading near $1494 per ounce. ( Silver is also getting slammed – it's fallen 5.4 percent this morning.) The shiny yellow metal hasn't traded below $1500 since July 2011. Meanwhile, oil is getting whacked for the second straight day. It's off 3 percent. The chart below show's this morning's action in the gold market. Gold Thinkorswim Click to enlarge More From Business Insider Gold And Silver Are Surging Nouriel Roubini Is Going Off On Gold Bugs, Bitcoin, And James Rickards On Twitter SOROS: Gold Has Been Destroyed As A Safe Haven

2013-04-12 15:30:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1471]}

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The Gold Collapse Is Great News

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gold-collapse-great-news-153049209.html

Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/

professor chalkboard lesson AP The big story today (and actually for awhile) is the collapse in gold, which has just fallen below $1500/oz. If you look on Twitter, or anywhere else econ types chat, there's a lot of glee over this news. Why should the decline of a relatively irrelevant commodity creating such a reaction? There's two reasons for this: Gold bugs are frequently jerks. This vindicates the economic ideas of the economic elites. The latter point is the most significant. To respond to the economic crisis, economists and mainstream policy makers have favored highly unusual policy measures (massive Fed balance sheet expansion, massive stimulus, etc.). These ideas are usually based on years of traditional economic research (Keynesianism, monetarism, etc.). All of these ideas have been slammed by heterodox types like Austrian economists, who have warned of hyperinflation, and gold going to $10,000. So the collapse in gold is not about gold, but about vindication for a large corpus of belief and economic research, which has largely panned out. It's great that our economic elites know what they're talking about, and have the tools at their disposal to address crises without creating some new catastrophe. Things aren't great in the economy, but the collapse/hyperinflation fears haven't panned out, and the decline in gold is a manifestation of that. More From Business Insider Gold And Silver Are Surging Nouriel Roubini Is Going Off On Gold Bugs, Bitcoin, And James Rickards On Twitter SOROS: Gold Has Been Destroyed As A Safe Haven

2013-04-12 16:16:30+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2301]}

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The Best Academic Blogs

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/best-academic-blogs-161630231.html

The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/

bookkids.jpg I love Twitter, but it's a fast medium. If you follow a couple thousand people, like I do, there's no easy way to keep an eye on everything that people tweet. The same seems to be true more broadly: I'd reckon that 70 percent of the clicks on a story come in the 10 minutes after it gets tweeted. After that, it's off down the stream somewhere. This is a terrible way to keep track of thinkers who are working at slower time scales. And yet, I think a key value that our technology coverage can provide is connecting the kinds of thinking about technology I see in the academic literature with popular culture. We need a good way to keep track of historians, philosophers, and others who think about science and technology (in the broadest possible sense). And Twitter is not it. So, I'm trying to reassemble an RSS feed filled with a very specific type of blog. I'm looking for researchers, scholars, and academics who don't post more than once per day. I don't care how specific or niche they are, as long as they're interesting on their own terms. Here are my exemplary blogs: Edible Geography : Nicola Twilley's spatial investigations of food. We Make Money Not Art : Regine DeBatty's explorations of aesthetics (and science and technology). Yoni Appelbaum : Brilliant, evocative historical investigations. Mind Hacks : Vaughan Bell on the (mis)understanding of brains and psychology. Wynken De Worde : Sarah Werner on books and early modern culture. Robert Hooke's London : Felicity Henderson's catalog of Hooke's experience of the city. Infranet Lab Blog : Thoughts at the edge of infrastructure by a fascinating research collective. 99 Percent Invisible : Not a blog and not created by an academic, Roman Mars' radio show is nonetheless exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. So, please, feed my Feedly ! Put your own blog in the comments, if it fits the criteria and feel. Or send it to me in an email. Or @alexismadrigal. As always, I'll collate and share what you send in. Story continues P.S. There are all these science blog networks (like a half dozen of them!). Why doesn't a similar thing exist for science and technology studies blogs (or humanities more broadly)? More From The Atlantic Why Apple Wants (and Needs) a Music Streaming Service How Teenagers Spend Money Bitcoin Is No Longer a Currency