Nikola, a highly touted start-up that made hydrogen-fueled semi trucks powered by fuel cells, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, listing $98 million in debt and other financial obligations.
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ECONOMIC UPDATE—MARKET OVERVIEW
After being a bit upbeat prior to and following the U.S. presidential elections, consumer confidence in February hit its lowest level since the peak of the COVID War back in August 2021... when the nation was shut down and the population was freaking out.
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THE U.S. ECONOMY IS SHUTTING DOWN RAPIDLY—EXPECT WIDESPREAD JOB LOSSES WITH MUCH HIGHER INFLATION
Business activity here in the U.S. and around the world has not just stalled, it is contracting.
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LEADING U.S. ECONOMIC INDICATORS WEAKENED AS THE YEAR BEGAN
A group of key measures gauging the economy’s performance in the months ahead weakened as this year began, according to The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI).
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HUMAN REPLACISM LATEST: ROBOTS PUTTING AWAY GROCERIES AND TAKING OUT TRASH
“Physical AI” and related automation is coming faster than most realize, and it adds another dimension to the threat of AI-fueled human job Replacism that we have long forecast.
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TURNING OFF MOBILE PHONE’S INTERNET FOR TWO WEEKS CAN IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH
Sometimes it pays to unplug, even if it’s just for a little while.
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NETANYAHU FLOUTS INTERNATIONAL LAW, EVICTS 40,000 PALESTINIAN FAMILIES FROM THEIR WEST BANK HOMES
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was photographed last week holding a military meeting inside a West Bank home of a Palestinian family that had just been evicted—showing how he can freely flout international law as his military continued its major offensive in the region.
Global Economy
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HONG KONG REAL ESTATE SLUMP THREATENS ITS LOW TAX STRUCTURE
Hong Kong has built a reputation as a tax haven. The highest income tax rate is 17 percent. It charges no sales or capital gains taxes.
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INDONESIAN ECONOMY LOSES ITS “BACKBONE” AS MIDDLE CLASS DISAPPEARS
Indonesia’s middle class, long considered the backbone of the aspirational country’s economy, has shrunk by about 20 percent since 2018, threatening growth and frightening away foreign investors, the Financial Times reported.
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AUSTRALIA’S CENTRAL BANK CUTS INTEREST RATE TO FOUR-YEAR LOW
The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut its key interest rate by a quarter point to 4.10 percent, the first reduction in four years.
The Israel War
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NETANYAHU FLOUTS INTERNATIONAL LAW, EVICTS 40,000 PALESTINIAN FAMILIES FROM THEIR WEST BANK HOMES
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was photographed last week holding a military meeting inside a West Bank home of a Palestinian family that had just been evicted—showing how he can freely flout international law as his military continued its major offensive in the region.
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TOP ISRAELI TELLS EVICTED RESIDENTS IN WEST BANK THEY CANNOT RETURN HOME
Israel Katz, the head of the IDF, said Sunday that Israel will not allow those who were evicted during its so-called “Iron Wall” military operation inside three refugee camps in the West Bank to return to their homes before warning his forces that they should prepare to remain inside the territory for a long time.
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HAMAS BLAMES NETANYAHU FOR HOSTAGE DELAY…SAY NO DEAL IF HE DOESN’T RELEASE HOSTAGES
Israel needs to release the 620 Palestinian prisoners from captivity before negotiations begin about Phase 2 of the ceasefire, Hamas officials said Monday.
AI
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ALLEN INSTITUTE CLAIMS AN AI MODEL THAT BEATS DEEPSEEK
The nonprofit Allen Institute for AI has announced its new open-source AI competes with or bests DeepSeek’s V3 model and OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4-o in several standard benchmark tests.
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THIS AI CAN READ YOUR MIND WITH A BRAIN SCAN AND MINIMAL TRAINING
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have smartened up an AI “brain decoder” so now it can work faster and with more versatility.
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MUSK’S xAI WILL HIRE “THOUSANDS OF TUTORS” THIS YEAR TO TRAIN GROK AI
Elon Musk’s xAI will bring on thousands more "AI tutors" this year, three unnamed employees told Business Insider.
Hi-Tech Science
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RESEARCHERS MAP A BRAIN CIRCUIT ASSOCIATED WITH CREATIVITY
A team of scientists in the U.S., Britain, and Germany have identified a brain circuit that operates when people are engaged in creative pursuits such as drawing, writing poetry, or making music.
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DO GUT BACTERIA MAKE A “YOUTH MOLECULE?”
Researchers in China were trying to find a way to make it palatable to severely restrict calories.
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NEW OPTICAL FIBER CARRIES 10,000 TIMES MORE DATA
A team of scientists from Australia, China, and Singapore say they’ve invented an ultra-thin optical fiber that can carry 10,000 times as much data in the same amount of time as today’s conventional fibers.