Daily Archives: October 23, 2012

Obama on attack in foreign policy debate, but Romney steady


By Steve Holland and Matt Spetalnick – With two weeks left until Election Day, the high-stakes debate strayed frequently into domestic policy, with Romney seeking to bolster his argument that Obama had bungled the U.S. economic recovery.

Running neck and neck in polls, neither man threw a knockout punch or made a noticeable gaffe as they clashed over Israel, Iran, Russia and the size of the U.S. Navy in the encounter at Lynn University in Boca Raton.

While tamer than the second debate last week in New York state, the matchup had its share of zingers and putdowns, most of them doled out by an aggressive president eager to stop a surge in polls by the former Massachusetts governor. more> http://tinyurl.com/9fcdl78

Catching A Frisbee Is Difficult: The Bank Of England Tells It Like It Is


By Ralph Benko – Andy Haldane’s speech, as analyzed by my colleague Charles Kadlec, comes down to this:  “The essence of Haldane’s point is the shift from simple, easily understood broad based rules under Basel I to more complex rules is very dubious. This approach made the assessment of risk more opaque.  These attempt to manage the risk of the banking system through the superior guidance of complex rules based on black box mathematical algorithms.  In addition, these formulae, by their nature, ignore uncertainty by assuming the future can be captured by the past.  This combination made the financial panic of 2008 more likely, and the ability of regulators to spot the risk less likely.  His major insight is that simple approaches are more effective at managing complex systems than complex approaches in a world of uncertainty.” more> http://tinyurl.com/949kwet

Fuel-Stingy Technologies Set Sights on 54.5 MPG


SLIDE SHOW (19)

By Charles Murray – By 2025, every automaker will need to boost its corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) to 54.5mpg. That’s not an easy task, so most manufacturers are already working with suppliers on products to help squeeze the most out of every gallon of gas. The obvious way to do that is to use electrified powertrains. But not all vehicles can do that, so automakers are building new engines, and vendors are dreaming up fuel-stingy components.

From fuel injectors and air conditioning compressors to tires and power steering systems, we offer a potpourri of technologies aimed at boosting CAFE to 54.5mpg. more> http://tinyurl.com/8hgn8uf

Isis finally launches mobile payments service in two cities


Salt Lake City - Salt Lake Temple

Salt Lake City – Salt Lake Temple
(Photo credit: Kwong Yee Cheng)

Reuters – Isis, formed by Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc and T-Mobile USA, is a mobile wallet service that allows consumers to make payments by waving their phone at a check-out terminal, instead of using a plastic card.

Starting on Monday (Oct 22) the company said the service was available in Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah, with support for the service on nine different handset models.

The service will work on payment cards from American Express, Capital One as well as an Isis cash card. more> http://tinyurl.com/8pgbk32

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