Global Trade Collapsed In January: Bellwether South Korea Exports Crash "Most Since Lehman"

Again, I have pointed out many times that Korea's export-dependent economy is in trouble.  Policy makers have known it, yet ignoring or covering up.  The mercantilist export-dependent model by the East Asian countries was flawed from the start.  Financialization can't do much at all. 

From Zero Hedge:

As the first major exporting nation to report each month, all eyes and hopeful speculative capital was glued to tonight's South Korean trade data. After a brief respite in November, December's drop was worrisome, but January's just reported 18.5% crash - the most since the financial crisis - has only been seen during a US economic recession. Worse still, South Korean imports plunged over 20% in January as it appears crashing crude and cliff-diving freight indices are less about supply and more about demand (there is none) after all.



Furthermore, with China accounting for around one quarter of South Korean exports - and following a 16.5% YoY plunge in December - tonight's headline data suggests January was a total disaster for the Chinese economy also... though later we will get the PMI data to explain everything.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-31/global-trade-collapsed-january-bellwether-south-korea-exports-crash-most-lehman

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills its prophets and stones those who are sent to save her. How often I would like to have gathered your children in safety, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings. but you were not willing. And so Your house will become abandoned, deserted."

 Matthew 23:37-38

The Bank Of Japan - Ringing In The Keynesian Endgame

From Zero Hedge:

The time for more insanity has come... It is the Keynesian mantra: the fact that the policies recommended by Keynesians and monetarists, i.e., deficit spending and money printing, routinely fail to bring about the desired results is not seen as proof that they simply don’t work. It is regarded as evidence that there hasn’t been enough spending and printing yet.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-30/pandoras-box-open-db-warns-japan-may-have-started-silent-bank-run

국가채무 2월5일 600조원 돌파한다..연말 645조원 예상

I've pointed out many times that Korea is in the danger zone.  External forces are no excuse for policy failure as the case of Japan has demonstrated.

연합뉴스로부터:

국가채무가 2월 첫째 주에 600조원을 넘어설 것으로 전망됐다.

31일 국회예산정책처의 국가채무시계에 따르면 국가채무는 2월5일 오후 9시56분께 600조원을 돌파한다.

국회예산정책처는 2015년 말 국가채무(전망)가 595조1천억원이고 2016년 확정예산 기준 연말 국가채무는 644조9천억원으로 올 한 해 동안 49조8천억원 증가할 것으로 예상했다.

http://media.daum.net/economic/others/newsview?newsid=20160131060605341

The Chinese Economy Is Sinking, Not Transitioning

From Zero Hedge:

 China’s stock market is a small, relative matter; the more troubling imbalances lie and remain elsewhere. This change in production profitability is concerning on three fronts:China’s industry persists at only getting worse even though it has already reverted to a state not seen in a decade or more; consumer appearances may seem generally optimistic despite all that but only because industrial activity has yet to fully make adjustments through resources and labor; andfinancial trends are likely already at the stage of self-reinforcement within and without.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-30/chinese-economy-sinking-not-transitioning

"Pandora's Box Is Open": Why Japan May Have Started A 'Silent Bank Run'

From Zero Hedge:
if the negative interest rate continues for longer or goes deeper, commercial banks may have to set negative interest rates on deposits, which would expand not only the tax on commercial banks, but also on depositors (households and companies). This could lead to a ‘silent bank run’ via a shift of deposits to cash (banknotes), which in turn damages the sound banking system by enlarging the leakage of funds from the credit creation mechanism in the banking system."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-30/pandoras-box-open-db-warns-japan-may-have-started-silent-bank-run

200 Swedes Storm Occupied Stockholm Train Station, Beat Migrant Children

I don't like to do this sort of posting.  Yet, it is what it is.

From Zero Hedge:

Sweden is losing its patience with refugees.

In the wake of the sexual assaults allegedly perpetrated by men of “Arab origin” in Cologne, Germany on New Year’s Eve, the Swedish press revealed what certainly appeared to be a coverup related to a wave of similar incidents that apparently occurred at a youth festival and concert in central Stockholm’s Kungsträdgården last August.

That ruffled the feathers of quite a few Swedes and then, earlier this week, we learned that a 22-year-old asylum center worker was murdered in a knife attack carried out by a 15-year-old Somali migrant named Youssaf Khalif Nuur, shown below.
 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-30/200-swedes-storm-occupied-stockholm-train-station-beat-migrant-children

Negative Rates In The U.S. Are Next: Here's Why In One Chart

From Zero Hedge:

Here is the one chart which in our opinion virtually assures that the Fed will follow in the footsteps of Sweden, Denmark, Europe, Switzerland and now Japan.

Since the middle of 2015, US investors have bought a big fat net zero of either bonds or equities (in fact, they have been net sellers of risk) and have parked all incremental cash in money-market funds instead, precisely the inert non-investment that is almost as hated by central banks as gold.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-29/negative-rates-us-are-next-heres-why-one-chart

The Disturbing Reasons Why The Bank Of Japan Stunned Everyone With Negative Rates

From Zero Hedge:

"... When stocks are falling this much, it's hard to justify not acting"

"... Davos - where he mingled with central bankers such as ECB President Mario Draghi and leading company executives - likely prompted him to pull the trigger"

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-29/disturbing-reasons-why-bank-japan-stunned-everyone-negative-rates

The world's first robot-run farm will harvest 30,000 heads of lettuce daily

From Tech Insider:

The Japanese lettuce production company Spread believes the farmers of the future will be robots.

So much so that Spread is creating the world's first farm manned entirely by robots. Instead of relying on human farmers, the indoor Vegetable Factory will employ robots that can harvest 30,000 heads of lettuce every day.

Don't expect a bunch of humanoid robots to roam the halls, however; the robots look more like conveyor belts with arms. They'll plant seeds, water plants, and trim lettuce heads after harvest in the Kyoto, Japan farm.

The Vegetable Factory follows the growing agricultural trend of vertical farming, where farmers grow crops indoors without natural sunlight. Instead, they rely on LED light and grow crops on racks that stack on top of each other.

In addition to increasing production and reducing waste, indoor vertical farming also eliminates runoff from pesticides and herbicides — chemicals used in traditional outdoor farming that can be harmful to the environment.

The new farm, set to open in 2017, will be an upgrade to Spread's existing indoor farm, the Kameoka Plant. That farm currently produces about 21,000 heads of lettuce per day with help from a small staff of humans. Spread's new automation technology will not only produce more lettuce, it will also reduce labor costs by 50%, cut energy use by 30%, and recycle 98% of water needed to grow the crops.

http://www.techinsider.io/spreads-robot-farm-will-open-soon-2016-1

Deep State: Inside Washington's Shadowy Power Elite

From Jesse's Cafe:

“Our plutocracy, whether the hedge fund managers in Greenwich, Connecticut, or the Internet moguls in Palo Alto, now lives like the British did in colonial India: ruling the place but not of it. If one can afford private security, public safety is of no concern; to the person fortunate enough to own a Gulfstream jet, crumbling bridges cause less apprehension, and viable public transportation doesn’t even compute. With private doctors on call and a chartered plane to get to the Mayo Clinic, why worry about Medicare?”

― Mike Lofgren, The Deep State: The Fall of the Constitution and the Rise of a Shadow Government


"Our analyses suggest that majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government adopts. Americans do enjoy many features central to democratic governance, such as regular elections, freedom of speech and association, and a widespread (if still contested) franchise.

But we believe that if policymaking is dominated by powerful business organizations and a small number of affluent Americans, then America’s claims to being a democratic society are seriously threatened."

Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page, Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens, Princeton 2014

"As a congressional staff member for 28 years specializing in national security and possessing a top secret security clearance, I was at least on the fringes of the world I am describing, if neither totally in it by virtue of full membership nor of it by psychological disposition.

But, like virtually every employed person, I became, to some extent, assimilated into the culture of the institution I worked for, and only by slow degrees, starting before the invasion of Iraq, did I begin fundamentally to question the reasons of state that motivate the people who are, to quote George W. Bush, 'the deciders.'

Cultural assimilation is partly a matter of what psychologist Irving L. Janis called groupthink, the chameleon-like ability of people to adopt the views of their superiors and peers. This syndrome is endemic to Washington: The town is characterized by sudden fads, be it negotiating biennial budgeting, making grand bargains or invading countries. Then, after a while, all the town's cool kids drop those ideas as if they were radioactive.

As in the military, everybody has to get on board with the mission, and questioning it is not a career-enhancing move. The universe of people who will critically examine the goings-on at the institutions they work for is always going to be a small one. As Upton Sinclair said, 'It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.'"

Mike Lofgren

http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.kr/2016/01/deep-state-inside-washingtons-shadow.html

Cultivating Curiosity in a Professor’s Heavenly Home Library

From Makezine:

The library in question is owned by retired Johns Hopkins University Humanities professor Richard A. Macksey and is found in his home in Maryland. His entire house is this crammed with books, an estimated 70,000 volumes, along with a collection of manuscripts and fine art. The library is estimated to be worth some $4 million, and Macksey has bequeathed the collection to the Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries.

Makers are by nature a curious lot. We feel compelled to look under the hood of the objects and ideas in our lives, to discover how everything works, and to try and improve upon what we can. We’re lifelong learners. And many of us also have the teaching bug where the other side of learning something is the desire to share the process and products of discovery with others.

http://makezine.com/2016/01/27/cultivating-curiosity-in-a-professors-heavenly-home-library/

Germany Has Repatriated Over 366 Tonnes Of Gold From New York And Paris

From Zero Hedge:

During the calendar year to December 2015, the Bundesbank claims to have transported 210 tonnes of gold back to Frankfurt, moving circa 110 tonnes from Paris to Frankfurt, and just under 100 tonnes from New York to Frankfurt.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-27/germany-has-repatriated-over-366-tonnes-gold-new-york-and-paris

How Startups Are Solving A Decades-Old Problem In Education

From TechCrunch:

In 1984, educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom published research on a new method of teaching, commonly called Bloom’s 2 Sigma Problem. Wikipedia summarizes it: “The average student tutored one-to-one using mastery learning techniques performed two standard deviations better than students who learn via conventional instructional methods — that is, “the average tutored student was above 98% of the students in the control class.”

http://techcrunch.com/2016/01/09/how-startups-are-solving-a-decades-old-problem-in-education/#.zdwa6kz:amHa

Cupertino, We Have A Problem: China's JD.Com Just Cut Prices On Apple Products By 17%

From Zero Hedge:

JD.com cut prices of Apple products on the internet marketplace by as much as 17%, according to information on the JD website. Customers can also purchase Apple products in 12 monthly installments with no interest charges and no downpayment." Among the discounts, iPad Air tablet with 16GB memory is priced at CNY 2,399 (USD 365), compared with CNY 2,888 on the Apple online store in China. The iPhone 6s Plus handset with 64GB memory is priced at CNY 6,288, compared with the official price of CNY 6,888.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-27/cupertino-we-have-problem-chinas-jdcom-just-cut-prices-apple-products-17

A Whole New Level Of Moral Hazard: China Will Use Public Funds To Cover Venture Capital Losses

From Zero Hedge:

Even the staunchest cynics will be stunned by the latest development out of the Shanghai government where starting next month, venture capital firms which invested in high-tech startups since the beginning of 2015 can apply for government compensation if their investment loses money.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-27/whole-new-level-moral-hazard-china-will-use-public-funds-cover-any-venture-capital-f

Manufacturing Depression Enters Uncharted Territory: Caterpillar Retail Sales Have Never Been Worse

From Zero Hedge:

Moments ago Caterpillar reported its latest monthly retail sales statistics and the numbers have never been worse.



http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-27/manufacturing-depression-enters-uncharted-territory-caterpillar-retail-sales-have-ne

4 inspiring women shaping the future of the STEM workforce

From Mashable:

Within the tech world, it’s a known fact that women are outrageously underrepresented. Silicon Valley is notoriously full of white men, and even many of the giants of the tech corporate world reveal disappointing numbers regarding diversity in annual reports. In 2013, only 26% of computing professionals were female.
But there’s a shift occurring. As pushes for increased diversity — and more women — in STEM fields become stronger, more and more female students are enrolling in engineering programs and graduate studies.
George Washington University’s School of Engineering & Applied Science is one such institution making an impact. Its engineering graduate programs are consistently ranked as including some of the highest percentages of women in the nation. And the school’s efforts extend beyond the student body; in 2013, half of all faculty hires were women.
Below are profiles of several graduate students and faculty members on their efforts, STEM-focused projects and thoughts on the future of women in scientific fields.

http://mashable.com/2016/01/11/stem-women-brandspeak/#gAhGKfy2AGqQ

China Warns Soros Against Starting A Currency War: "You Cannot Possibly Succeed, Ha, Ha"

From Zero Hedge:

“Soros’s war on the renminbi and the Hong Kong dollar cannot possibly succeed — about this there can be no doubt. Reckless speculations and vicious shorting will face higher trading costs and possibly severe legal consequences. And just as proved in the yuan exchange rate case, the Chinese government has sufficient resources and policy tools to keep the overall economic situation under control and cope with any external challenges.”

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-26/china-warns-soros-against-starting-fx-war-ha-ha-you-cannot-possibly-succeed

For Emerging Markets, It Is Now Worse Than The Asian Financial Crisis

From Zero Hedge:

"It’s Black Wednesday for emerging markets," one strategist warned and Thursday is not looking any better, as SocGen's Berg warns "The rout in emerging markets could continue for some time, especially as the major global central banks have exhausted their ammunition in recent years, making it unlikely that they will rescue global markets this time around." In fact, as Bloomberg reports, this year's EM turmoil is already worse than in the same period in 1998's Asian financial crisis (and EM FX is even worse).

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-20/emerging-markets-it-now-worse-asian-financial-crisis

How a traditional Korean Inlaid Lacquer Box is Made

This is beautiful and sophisticated.

From Adafruit blog:



The Victoria and Albert Museum has shared this incredible video on Youtube.

Watch as lacquer craftsman Lee Kwang-Woong uses traditional Korean techniques to create a beautiful box inlaid with delicate shell decoration

https://blog.adafruit.com/2016/01/19/how-a-traditional-korean-inlaid-lacquer-box-is-made-art-tuesday/

Hedge Fund Which Predicted The Subprime Crisis Expects Massive Yuan Devaluation In 2016

From Zero Hedge:

Today, another Texas-based hedge fund manager who just like Kyle Bass correctly predicted, and profited from, the subprime crisis, Corriente Advisors' Mark Hart, has not only reiterated Kyle Bass CNY devaluation call, but has gone as far as quantifying by how much the Chinese currency will have to fall. Cited by Bloomberg, Hart has said that "China should weaken its currency by more than 50 percent this year."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-19/hedge-fund-which-predicted-subprime-crisis-expects-massive-yuan-devaluation-2016

Sony putting the guts of smartphone into lightbulb

From The Verge:



If 2016 is the year of connected gadgets doing all the things smartphones can’t, Sony is taking the idea to the extreme. The company’s newest appliance, the Multifunction Light, performs an absurd amount of functions you’d never expect — and maybe don’t even want — out of an overhead fixture. (But don’t expect whoever named it to win any creativity awards.)
It can communicate with other appliances like air conditioning units and thermostats with data from its humidity sensors, talk to your TV using infrared to turn it on when its motion sensors detect you’re in the room, and act as a household intercom system equipped with speakers and a microphone. It even has a microSD card slot for some completely inexplicable reason. All of these functions can be controlled via a smartphone app when you’re inside or away from your home.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/13/10763298/sony-smart-lightbulb-multifunctional-light-why

When Art Meets Transport: Stylish Bikes Inspired by Works of Art

From DesignMilk:

To celebrate their 100th birthday, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) teamed up with Handsome Cycles to create three different bicycles customized to look like famous paintings from the MIA.

http://design-milk.com/art-meets-transport-stylish-bikes-inspired-works-art/

A peek inside a Chinese factory that makes smartphones

From Adafruit blog:


Neat video showing a smartphone assembly line in China. Found via the Hacked Gadgets Forum.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2016/01/18/a-peek-inside-a-chinese-factory-that-makes-smartphones-manufacturing-monday/

Economics for dummies

From Mish's blog:

Here's some reading material that will help.

Recommended Reading List

1. Economics for Real People by Gene Callahan
2. Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt
3. What Has Government Done With Our Money? by Murray N. Rothbard
4. Case Against the Fed: Murray N. Rothbard
5. Tomorrow's Gold Marc Faber
6. Capitalism For Kids: Growing Up To Be Your Own Boss by Carl Hess

The first three above are free downloads. Tomorrow's Gold is an investment book by Marc Faber, one of the best ever.

Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?

I have read all of the above. Here's one that I have not read but appears to be worth a read as well: Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard Maybury.


Penny Candy came up in a search I did while posting the above books. I like the title, but more importantly I like this part of the description: "All explanations and interpretations are according to the Austrian and Monetarist schools of economic theory."

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.kr/2016/01/economics-for-dummies-reader-asks-where.html

The Heavy Price of Economic Policy Failures

From Naked Capitalism:

Why economic failures argue for the need for more democratic control over policy, or at least the ability to cut the power of institutions that get it wrong.

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/01/the-heavy-price-of-economic-policy-failures.html

Foreign Central Banks Furiously Dump US Treasuries: Record $47 Billion Sold In First Two Weeks Of 2016

From Zero Hedge:

According to the latest Fed data, after a drop of $12 billion in the first week of the year, another $34.5 billion in Treasurys held in custody was sold in the week ended January 13, bringing the total to just $2.962 trillion, below the previous recent low recorded in early November, and at levels not seen since April 2015. Adding up the flows from the first two weeks of the year reveals the worst and most custody holdings "outflowing" start to the year in history.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-17/foreign-central-banks-furiously-dump-us-treasuries-record-47-billion-sold-first-two-

Martin Luther King Jr’s Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech

From Adafruit blog:


Read the speech here or listen and watch below

---

https://blog.adafruit.com/2016/01/17/martin-luther-king-jrs-nobel-peace-prize-acceptance-speech-mlkday-mlkday/

The Deflation Monster Has Arrived

From Zero Hedge:

world’s grand experiment with debt has come to an end. And it’s now unraveling.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-16/deflation-monster-has-arrived

Sunday Afternoon Reading for the New Year

From Jesse's cafe:

“We are slow to master the great truth that even now Christ is, as it were, walking among us, and by His hand, or eye, or voice, bidding us to follow Him. We do not understand that His call is a thing that takes place now. We think it took place in the Apostles' days, but we do not believe in it; we do not look for it in our own case.

God's presence is not discerned at the time when it is upon us, but afterwards, when we look back upon what is gone and over. The world seems to go on as usual. There is nothing of heaven in the face of society, in the news of the day.

And yet the ever-blessed Spirit of God is there, ten times more glorious, more powerful than when He trod the earth in our flesh.

God beholds you. He calls you by your name. He sees you and understands you as He made you. He knows what is in you, all your peculiar feelings and thoughts, your dispositions and likings, your strengths and your weaknesses. He views you in your day of rejoicing and in your day of sorrow. He sympathizes in your hopes and your temptations. He interests Himself in all your anxieties and remembrances, all the risings and fallings of your spirit.

He encompasses you round and bears you in His arms. He notes your very countenance, whether smiling or in tears. He looks tenderly upon you. He hears your voice, the beating of your heart, and your very breathing. You do not love yourself better than He loves you. You cannot shrink from pain more than He dislikes your bearing it; and if He puts it on you, it is as you would put it on yourself, if you would be wise, for a greater good afterwards.

There is an inward world, which none see but those who belong to it. There is an inward world into which they enter who come to Christ, though to men in general they seem as before. If they drank of Christ's cup it is not with them as in time past. They came for a blessing, and they have found a work.

To their surprise, as time goes on, they find that their lot is changed. They find that in one shape or another adversity happens to them. If they refuse to afflict themselves, God afflicts them.

Why did you taste of His heavenly feast, but that it might work in you—why did you kneel beneath His hand, but that He might leave on you the print of His wounds?

God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission -- I may never know it in this life but I shall be told it in the next.

I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught.

I shall do good, I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments.

Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him.

He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about.

He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me -- still He knows what He is about.

Let us feel what we really are--sinners attempting great things. Let us simply obey God's will, whatever may come. He can turn all things to our eternal good.

Easter day is preceded by the forty days of Lent, to show us that they only who sow in tears shall reap in joy.

Contemplate then yourself, not as yourself, but as you are in the Eternal God. Fall down in astonishment at the glories which are around you and in you, poured to and fro in such a wonderful way that you are dissolved into the Kingdom of God.

The more we do, the more shall we trust in Christ; and that surely is no morose doctrine, that leads us to soothe our selfish restlessness, and forget our fears, in the vision of the Incarnate Son of God.

May the Lord support us all the day long, till the shades lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done.

Then in His mercy may He give us safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at last.”

John Henry Newman

 http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.kr/2016/01/sunday-afternoon-reading-for-new-year.html

 

이태석 신부님 선종 6주기를 맞아

아직도 많은 이들이 신부님을 기억하고 사랑하고 있는 것을 알고 계시지요.

수단 아이들도 어려운 본과 과정을 잘 해내고 있고 아프리카에 근무하셨던 젊은 의사 한 분도 사제의 길을 걸으면서 의술을 펼치시려 준비하고 있습니다.

저도 의료기기로 사업을 시작했고 첫 제품으로 의료기기의 혜택을 받지 못하는 아프리카의 많은 이들을 염두에 두고 개발 한 것을 지켜보고 계시지요.

저희들과 함께 해 주셔서 감사하고 든든합니다.

작년 청년실업율 9.2% 기록…역대 최고 수준

Again, Korea's high youth unemployment is troubling.

더팩트로부터:

통계청이 13일 발표한 '2015년 12월 및 연간 고용동향'에 따르면 청년층(15~29세)의 실업률은 9.2%로 전년보다 0.2%포인트 올랐다. 이는 지난 1999년 통계 기준이 변경된 이후 가장 높은 수치다.
성별로 살펴보면 남자(10.6%)와 여자(7.8%) 모두 청년실업률이 역대 최고치였다.

http://news.tf.co.kr/read/economy/1619654.htm

China Is The New Japan After All: Here's How To Trade It

From Zero Hedge:

China = Japan: China, like Japan in the early-1990s, has entered a secular period of significantly slower economic growth, compounded greatly by debt deflation; like Japan in the 1990s, Chinese asset prices, currency, banks (Chart 5) and capital flows will periodically cause severe disruptions to global financial markets, even if China does not itself cause a global recession.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-12/china-new-japan-after-all-heres-how-trade-it

Girl Scouts Expands Presence At 2016 International Consumer Electronics Show To Help Girls Imagine A Future In STEM

From PR Newswire:

Girl Scouts is back at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this year with Digital Cookie 2.0, the newly enhanced online addition to the iconic Girl Scout Cookie Program, and a brand new Girls’ STEM Summit. Building on last year’s successful debut, Girl Scouts is expanding its presence to give girls a unique opportunity to learn from top influencers and present our latest technology at a world renowned tradeshow, as well as showcase all the organization is doing to address girls’ involvement in STEM.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/girl-scouts-expands-presence-at-2016-international-consumer-electronics-show-to-help-girls-imagine-a-future-in-stem-300198448.html

Take a Video Crash Course in Beginner Electronics

From Makezine:

In 2008 and 2009, Make: produced a wonderful series of videos, called MAKE Presents, done by the inimitable Collin Cunningham. The idea was to create a series of highly entertaining, user-friendly, and informative videos that would explain the rudiments of electronics — the basic components, tools, and processes used. Collin delivered all of that and more, making the series an early YouTube “hit” for Make:. These videos are too good to forget, and so thought we’d resurface them.

Here are ten of our favorites. You can see all of the series and some related content on this link. I also put links below to the original posts. There’s not much additional content on those links, but some of the posts have lengthy reader discussion that’s worth checking out if you want to delve deeper.

http://makezine.com/2016/01/11/take-a-video-crash-course-in-beginner-electronics/

Lego Combines Coding and Robotics with New Educational Program for Kids

From Makezine:

At CES 2016, Lego Education announced Wedo 2.0, which combines Legos, software, and real world projects to teach 2nd to 4th grade students about science and technology. Among other new features, updates include compatibility with more platforms, a move from USB to BLE connected robots, and tools for documentation and sharing.


http://makezine.com/2016/01/11/lego-combines-coding-robotics-new-educational-program-kids/

This Is The $3.5 Trillion "Neutron Bomb" That Keeps Kyle Bass Up At Night

From Zero Hedge:

"... what we are going to see next is a credit cycle, and in a credit cycle you see some losses, but if China's banking system loses 10%, you are going to see them lose $3.5 trillion."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-08/35-trillion-neutron-bomb-keeps-kyle-bass-night
 

Chanel Sends Light-Up Shoes Down Aviation-Themed Runway

From Forbes:



Wearable tech may be nascent when it comes to full integration in the fashion industry, but every now and again there’s a little nod to it in some of the big seasonal shows.
That was the case today at Chanel , where Karl Lagerfeld sent light-up sandals down the Paris Fashion Week runway as though to illuminate the emergency exit path for his Aviation-themed collection.
As models walked a set designed to look like an airport terminal – complete with check-ins, departure boards and baggage carousels – numerous versions of the velcro-fastening shoes, which featured LEDs placed around a thick flatform sole, were sent out paired with different looks.

http://www.forbes.com/sites#/sites/rachelarthur/2015/10/06/chanel-sends-light-up-shoes-down-aviation-themed-runway/

Bernie Sanders On Wall St Reform and Financial Policy

From Jesse's cafe:

Sanders is greatly undercovered by the major print and visual media.

And when they do cover him it is usually shallow and dismissive, even with so called 'progressive' outlets like MSNBC and the New York Times. This is not something new. Hillary is 'the machine candidate' of the new Wall Street wing of the Democratic establishment that has thrown its traditional constituency of the working middle class under the bus for corporate money and power.

You may not have heard it, but Sanders has matched and perhaps even exceed Hillary Clinton in campaign contributions. The difference is that Hillary is getting hers in big chunks from Big Money, while Bernie is getting his money from many, many smaller donations from the public.

Sanders is the only candidate from both parties who is serious about genuine reform of the financial system and reining in the Fed, Big Money, and the Banks. Rand Paul would take on the Fed, but falls far short on everything else.

Hillary's record on this subject, and her service to Big Money, and the role that she and Bill played in gutting the progressive wing of the Democratic Party while making themselves rich on their speeches to the Big Money crowd, speaks for itself. To expect anything different from her if she gets in office will be like deja vu the hope and change from Obama which didn't make it past his third week in office when he brought back Clinton's financial policy team.

Related: Key Segments of Sander's Wall Street Reform Speech Disappear





http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.kr/2016/01/bernie-sanders-on-wall-st-reform-and.html

Paul Craig Roberts: The Rule Of Law No Longer Exists In Western Civilization

From Zero Hedge:

American justice is a joke. It does not exist. The USA is a lawless country. By that we do not mean what conservative Republicans mean, which is, if we understand them, that racial minorities violate law with something close to impunity. What we mean is that only the mega-banks and the One Percent have legal protection, and that is because these people control the government. For everyone else law is a weapon in the hands of the government to be used against the American people.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-06/paul-craig-roberts-rule-law-no-longer-exists-western-civilization

무역흑자 사상최대'의 그늘..'불황형 흑자' 우려

뉴시스로부터:

지난해 무역수지가 사상 최대 흑자인 904억달러를 기록했지만, 수출보다 수입이 더 줄어 흑자규모가 커지는 '불황형 흑자'라는 점에서 우려가 커지고 있다.

작년 수입이 줄어든 것은 유가 하락으로 원자재 수입액 감소가 가장 큰 원인이지만, 내수 침체로 자본재와 소비재 수입 성장세도 둔화되면서 위기감을 커지고 있다.

과도한 무역수지 흑자는 환율 절상 압박으로 이어져 수출환경이 나빠지는 악순환이 생긴다는 점도 우려되는 지점이다.

http://media.daum.net/economic/others/newsview?newsid=20160107060041700

 

For Kyle Bass This Is "The Greatest Investment Opportunity Right Now"

From Zero Hedge:

"Given our views on credit contraction in Asia, and in China in particular, let's say they are going to go through a banking loss cycle like we went through during the Great Financial Crisis, there's one thing that is going to happen: China is going to have to dramatically devalue its currency."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-04/kyle-bass-greatest-investment-opportunity-right-now

Nomi Prins' Financial Road Map For 2016: "The Potential For Chaotic Fluctuations Is Greater Than Ever"

From Zero Hedge:

We are currently in a transitional phase of geo-political-monetary power struggles, capital flow decisions, and fundamental economic choices. This remains a period of artisanal (central bank fabricated) money, high volatility, low growth, excessive wealth inequality, extreme speculation, and policies that preserve the appearance of big bank liquidity and concentration at the expense of long-term stability. The potential for chaotic fluctuations in any element of the capital markets is greater than ever. The butterfly effect - the flutter of a wing in one part of the planet altering the course of seemingly unrelated events in another part - is on center stage.
 
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-05/nomi-prins-financial-road-map-2016-potential-chaotic-fluctuations-greater-ever

Happy New Year

Have a bright and serene new year.