High-frequency trading faster than the speed of reality

Machines for High Frequency Trading (HFT)

On April 23 at 1:07 pm, a hijacked AP Twitter account falsely reported an attack on the White House. Just seconds later, major US stock indexes started to fall. They were down 1 percent by the time the tweet was publicly identified as bogus three minutes later. And in another three minutes, the markets had recovered to pre-tweet levels.

 

 

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China is no longer the world’s most important source of growth

China’s economy is undergoing a structural slowdown.

China has been way out front as the world’s most important source of economic growth for years.  China has the world’s second largest economy and it continues to grow at a rapid clip but it is cooling as other enormous economies heat up.

 

 

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Why governments use broadcast TV and push dissidents to use Twitter

Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan during the Global Alcohol Policy Symposium.

A couple months ago, Philip Howard, a professor at the University of Washington and the Central European University, was walking past Gezi Park with a Turkish friend at dusk. He had just joined Philip from prayers and asked him what he thought about the brewing debate over the park’s future. Like most Turkish voters, he is a fan of the country’s prime minister, Erdogan. Like most of the country’s voters, his friend easily integrates his faith with his daily routines. But he said simply “Istanbul doesn’t need another Mosque.” He started pointing off in different directions. “There’s one there, there and there. And there and there and there. Istanbul needs a park.”

 

 

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How good fathers contribute to their kids’ lives

Men bring much more to the parenting enterprise than money, when many fathers are highly involved in childrearing.

Like many of her peers in Hollywood, Jennifer Aniston, not to mention scholars and writers opining on fatherhood these days, she has come to the conclusion that dads are dispensable: “Women are realizing it more and more knowing that they don’t have to settle with a man just to have that child,” she said at a press conference a few years ago.

 

 

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Hollywood on track for a ‘massive implosion’ by the tech industry: Lucas and Spielberg

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg aren’t so keen on the future of the film industry. Lucas and Spielberg agreed at a talk at USC that it’s on track to have a “massive implosion”. At the core of their argument: there just isn’t enough time in the day for consumers to support all the films released in theaters. Films are competing with all the content and options that the Internet provides.

 

 

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Tactics by the city of Chicago have put a major dent in the killing trend

So far in 2013, Chicago homicides outnumbered slayings in the larger cities of New York and Los Angeles last year.

Chicago has drawn a lot of attention for the soaring gun violence and gang bloodshed, creating a political test for Mayor Rahm Emanuel in President Obama’s hometown.  But a year later, Chicago has Chicago has witnessed a drop in shootings and crime. Killings this year have dipped to a level not seen since the early 1960s.

 

 

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Scientists discover new human body part

Dua’s layer, a new layer of the human cornea.

A new discovery to the human anatomy is just 15 microns thick, but it will make eye surgery safer and simpler. Harminder Dua, a professor at the University of Nottingham, recently found a new layer in the human cornea, and he’s calling it Dua’s layer.

 

 

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The astounding athletic power of quadcopters: Raffaello D’Andrea

Raffaello D’Andrea, in a robot lab at TEDGlobal, demos his flying quadcopters: robots that think like athletes, solving physical problems with algorithms that help them learn. In a series of nifty demos, D’Andrea show drones that play catch, balance and make decisions together — and watch out for an I-want-this-now demo of Kinect-controlled quads.

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95% of people don’t wash their hands correctly: Study

Handwashing is the most effective thing one can do to reduce the spread of infectious disease.

When consulting the CDC’s official guide to handwashing you might be surprised to learn that they don’t distinguish between using warm or cold water.They say what is important is that you use soap, that you scrub well (including the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails) for at least 20 seconds, and that you dry your hands afterwards. The CDC also officially recommends humming the “Happy Birthday” song twice through for an accurate measure of time.

 

 

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Why thinking about buying something makes us happier than buying it

Buying objects rather than experiences tends to disappoint.

Over and over again, the idea that you can’t buy happiness has been exposed as a myth. Richer countries are happier than poor countries. Richer people within richer countries are happier, too. The evidence is unequivocal: Money makes you happy. You just have to know what to do with it.

 

 

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Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
Unlock Your Potential, Ignite Your Success.

By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.