Monthly Archives: April 2015

Amazon’s next move: From books to builders

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“On March 30th it announced its latest move: an expansion into the booming “on-demand” economy, in the form of Amazon Home Services, a marketplace that connects customers with nearby builders, plumbers, mechanics, music teachers and even goat grazers in several American cities.  Amazon has been testing a version of the service, under the name Amazon Local Services, in a handful of cities since late 2014. But it has now expanded coverage to 41 states. Just as Amazon tries to take the hassle out of buying goods, it now hopes to do the same for services, by closely vetting providers and standardising offerings so that prices can be agreed in advance.”

http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21647529-americas-biggest-online-retailer-attempts-take-another-slice-demand-economy-books

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Venezuela Runs Out of Toilet Paper, Achieves True Socialism

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“Venezuela’s product shortages have become so severe that some hotels in that country are asking guests to bring their own toilet paper and soap, a local tourism industry spokesman said on Wednesday.  Says Xinia Camacho, owner of a 20-room boutique hotel in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada national park, ‘For over a year we haven’t had toilet paper, soap, any kind of milk, coffee or sugar. So we have to tell our guests to come prepared.’  Recently, Venezuelan officials have been stopping people from transporting essential goods across the country in an effort to stem the flow of contraband. So now Camacho’s guests could potentially have their toilet paper confiscated.”

http://fee.org/blog/detail/venezuela-runs-out-of-toilet-paper-achieves-true-socialism

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Government, Stop Trying to “Help” Uber

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“Driven by their desire for more satisfied customers — and hence more business and more revenue — Uber and Lyft have established additional rules about insurance requirements, drivers’ customer-satisfaction ratings, vehicle age, vehicle cleanliness, the responsibility to pick up all qualified riders, and response times. They are constantly evolving their rules, pricing, and services in response to public demand and desire.  Where is evidence that ridesharing requires any additional legislated rules?”

http://fee.org/blog/detail/government-stop-trying-to-help-uber

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Google could be fined £4.4bn as Brussels signals legal challenge

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“Google could face a fine of up to $6.6bn (£4.4bn) after the European Commission began to update its evidence against the search engine – signalling that Brussels has decided to launch a full-blown legal challenge into its dominance.  The newly installed competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, whose political career inspired the blockbuster television series Borgen in her native Denmark, has begun updating evidence against Google and weighing whether to ramp up Europe’s five-year probe into Google’s search practices by releasing a new statement of objections.  Google could be fined up to 10% of its worldwide revenues, which were $66bn in 2014.”

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/apr/02/google-could-be-fined-4bn-ec-signals-legal-challenge-margrethe-vestager

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Europe takes on Apple, Facebook, Google and Amazon

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“The EU is preparing to launch an antitrust investigation into Apple’s new online music streaming service, according to reports. In particular, officials are probing Apple’s agreements with record labels to see if it was trying to illegally sideline its rivals. European watchdogs have been looking into Facebook’s privacy policy because they are concerned about the way the social network collects data from users in Europe for target advertisements. The European Parliament recommended breaking up Google to weaken its dominance across the region. Just last week, the European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager launched a probe into Amazon and other e-commerce companies.”

http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/03/news/companies/europe-google-apple-facebook-amazon/

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The anti-pizzeria mob loses its mind

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“A virtual mob, acting at least partly on bogus information, gleefully trashed a business that hasn’t (to my knowledge) discriminated against a flea. After which a local pol stood up and yelled ‘Encore!’ The good news is that a crowdfunding effort has raised/pledged nearly $50,000 to the O’Connors.  The bad news is that too many people are acting like sore winners, not merely content with the revolutionary step of removing state discrimination against same-sex couples in the legal recognition of marriage, but seeking to use state power to punish anyone who refuses to lend their business services to wedding ceremonies they find objectionable.”

http://reason.com/blog/2015/04/02/burn-her-she-would-act-like-a-witch-in-a

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Australia To Start Taxing Bank Deposits

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“The Federal Opposition has accused the Government of breaking an election promise by planning to introduce a tax on bank deposits.  The former Labor Government put forward the policy in 2013 to raise revenue for a fund to protect customers in the event of a banking collapse.  Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh said Treasurer Joe Hockey criticised the proposal at the time. ‘When we put it on the table Joe Hockey said that it was a smash and grab on Australian households just aimed at repairing the budget,’ he said.  The banking industry has raised concerns about a deposit tax, saying it will have to pass the cost back onto customers.”

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-29/australia-start-taxing-bank-deposits

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Exploding Sunni-Shia Conflict: Impact on Oil, Stocks, and More

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“Even if there were such a thing as a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ side in this 14-century-old blood feud, the fact remains that, under President Obama’s leadership, the United States and its allies are fighting on both sides.  In Syria, the U.S. has inadvertently wound up on the Shia side, bombing Sunnis. And, although that was not the intent, the U.S. is giving every strategic advantage to Shia President Bashar al-Assad. In Iraq, the United States is also on the Shia side. But in this case it is deliberate.  On the all-important Arabian Peninsula (including Yemen), the United States is on the Sunni side. The U.S. has forever been a major supplier of arms to the Sunni-dominated armed forces on the peninsula.”

http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/sunni-shia-conflict-impact-oil-stocks-70598

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Ron Paul: The IRS and Congress Both Hold Our Liberty in Contempt

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“This week the Justice Department announced it would not charge former Internal Revenue Service (IRS) official Lois Lerner with contempt of Congress. Some members of Congress requested that Lerner be charged with contempt after she refused to testify at a congressional hearing investigating her role in denying or delaying the applications for tax-exempt status of ‘tea party’ and pro-limited government organizations. In contrast, private citizens called before Congress are harangued and even bullied. Congress should stop using the hearing process to intimidate private citizens and start using it to intimidate those government officials who are threatening our liberty.”

http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2015/april/05/the-irs-and-congress-both-hold-our-liberty-in-contempt/

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IRS apologizes after seizures hammer small businesses

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“Top IRS officials, under intense pressure from Congress, apologized on Wednesday to small business owners for seizing their bank accounts after they structured bank deposits that just barely avoided federal reporting requirements.  The seizures, actions that are usually aimed at stopping drug dealers from moving large amounts of cash out of the country, cost the business owners tens of thousands of dollars to undo.  The tax agency said it is changing its policy so that businesses that obtain their money legally would not have their accounts seized. By law, bank deposits and withdrawals over $10,000 must be reported to the IRS. It’s a felony to ‘structure’ transactions to avoid that law.”

http://nypost.com/2015/02/11/irs-apologizes-after-seizures-hammer-small-businesses/

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