Economy

Silicon Valley is so expensive that people who make $400,000 think they’re middle-class — here’s what the middle class actually is in the 25 largest US cities (Adam)

“Middle class” is a term used broadly — and often incorrectly — even though it can be quantified with US government data. And while the US middle class has been shrinking for decades, most Americans still consider themselves part of it. Many of the high-earning Palo Alto residents noted the high cost of living was one of the reasons they identified as being in the middle class.

But whether you’re in the “middle class” varies depending on where you live.

Tech companies should stop pretending AI won’t destroy jobs (blackeagle)

First, China has a huge army of young people coming into AI. Over the past decade, the number of AI publications by Chinese authors has doubled. Young AI engineers from Face++, a Chinese face-recognition startup, recently won first place in three computer-vision challenges—ahead of teams from Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Carnegie Mellon University.

Here’s What It’s Like At The Headquarters Of The Teens Working To Stop Mass Shootings (blackeagle)

In just days, the group of teenage survivors have made themselves impossible to ignore, headlining rallies, penning op-eds, and blanketing cable news coverage over the Presidents Day weekend with their calls for action.

But behind the scenes, they’re also just kids — sitting in a circle on the floor in the home of one of their parents, eating a batch of baked pasta, tweeting at each other, and comparing which celebrity just shared their post. There’s laughter and tears, and “Mr. Brightside” by the Killers plays briefly, but it’s also remarkably businesslike. There’s work to do and a seemingly endless number of phone calls to answer.

American small businesses are super bullish on the U.S. economy, JP Morgan study says (Adam)

“You learn so much about where we are [in the economic cycle] by listening to what people are complaining about,” Glassman said. “Complaints about not being able to find people, having to pay more to retain people, and working hard to find staff with the right skills is all music to my ears. It means we’re in the good years of an economic cycle.”

New Fed Chairman Will Trigger A Historic Stock Market Crash In 2018 (thc0655)

Powell’s first day as Chairman was greeted with the sharpest drop in U.S. equities in years. Yellen’s parting gift to investors in January was an $18 billion reduction in the Fed balance sheet, $6 billion more than the Fed originally claimed would occur. It is clear to me that just as stocks climbed in direct correlation to the Fed balance sheet, so too will they fall in direct correlation to the Fed balance sheet. Only a week after the balance sheet was cut more than expected, stocks fell by nearly 10%.

Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Be in Gold and Silver (Diane C.)

We’re not the only ones saying this. A new report from Bank Credit Analyst said that during periods of negative equity returns, gold has historically outperformed stocks 79% of the time. And in periods of rising volatility gold outperformed equities 64% of the time. Both of those risks are on the increase right now.

What is more likely going forward is a falling stock market and higher volatility. One reason to own gold is to insure against those events.

Punjab National Bank $1.8B Fraud Raises Questions About SWIFT Security (Uncletommy)

SWIFT rejected taking any responsibility for such incidents. In a letter to bank customers in 2016, the group said banks are solely responsible for the security of their systems. “Customers are responsible for all messages signed with their certificates and, of course, for protecting their certificates and ensuring only duly authorized operators can use them to sign messages,” a spokeswoman told Reuters at the time. “SWIFT is not, and cannot be, responsible for messages that are created fraudulently within customer firms.”

Buy Income and Growth With This “Dead” Industry (Tiffany D.)

Seritage was created by Sears’ owner Eddie Lampert as an entity to redevelop mall properties in which the struggling retailer was the main anchor tenant. Buffett bought his stake around $35 in 2015.

A Biohacker Regrets Publicly Injecting Himself With CRISPR (tmn)

Zayner holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and biophysics, and he now runs a company called The ODIN that sells DIY CRISPR kits, including the CRISPR construct he injected in himself for the muscle growth. He’s long had critics, and he certainly does not speak for the entire biohacking community. But given that even the most visible stuntman in biohacking is worried about the effects of his stunts, I asked him to reflect on recent events.

Why The Next Oil Boom Will Be Fueled By Blockchain (Michael K.)

Smaller players with big ambitions like Canada’s Petroteq are preparing to revolutionize the day to day operations of potentially every oil operation on the planet. Petroteq could utilize new technologies to tap massive new reserves of energy, such as the Utah oil sands, while radically reducing environmental risk.

With U.S. President Donald Trump planning a trillion dollar infrastructure program, the possibilities for upgrading American oil and gas systems throughout the country are immense.

Animals Are Losing Their Vagility, or Ability to Roam Freely (tmn)

A global study of 57 species of mammals, published in the journal Science, has found that wildlife move far less in landscapes that have been altered by humans, a finding that could have implications for a range of issues, from how well natural systems function to finding ways to protect migratory species.

Gold & Silver

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