Financial Markets and Economy
10 key themes for the world economy in 2017 (Business Insider)
We have seen insane political upheaval with the vote for Brexit, the election of Donald Trump as president and the resignation of Italy's prime minister.
Interest rates are rising in the US, but in other places they're still below zero — here's what that means (Business Insider)
It's only the second time in a decade. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve hiked its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percent to the range of 0.5% to 0.75%.
Investing In Retirement Accounts May Be Smartest Tax Move To Max (The Motley Fool)
There are literally thousands of moves you can make to lower your taxes and make your tax season easier. However, maximizing your tax-advantaged retirement accounts is perhaps the best tax move of all.
Here’s how Americans spent their money in the last 75 years (Market Watch)
Housing expenses have almost always been the largest drain on American budgets, unchanged in over 70 years.
Venezuela postpones currency move after chaos, protests (Reuters)
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro suspended on Saturday the elimination of the country's largest denomination bill, which had sparked cash shortages and nationwide unrest, saying the measure would be postponed until early January.
How Telecom Companies Get Away With Overcharging Customers (The Motley Fool)
Four huge companies that control 70 percent of the digital communications sector have been using their market power to overcharge the typical household about $45 a month ($540 per year), according to a new report from the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America (CFA).
Economy pays tab for Japan Inc's free lunch on overtime (Reuters)
Japanese workers put up with long hours and unpaid overtime under pressure from cost-saving companies, and figures from government, which wants more money in workers' pockets to boost consumer spending, appear to underestimate the problem.
Technology
Apple has set up a secret office in Berlin to 'cherrypick' mapping engineers from Here (Business Insider)
Earlier this week, Business Insider reported that Apple has been quietly hiring a number of engineers from Here, which is a mapping company owned by German automotive giants Audi, BMW, and Daimler.
Uber’s Mideast Rival Valued at $1 Billion on Saudi STC Deal (Bloomberg)
Government controlled Saudi Telecom Co. will invest $100 million in Middle East-based ride-hailing app Careem Networks FZ, giving the four-year-old company a valuation of about $1 billion.
I tried floatation therapy, a crazy womb-like sensory deprivation technique that can be hallucinatory (Business Insider)
As I lay in the inky blackness, a strange noise began to rise. Scratching, rubbing, alien and unplaceable — the only sound in a cocoon of total silence. Where was it coming from? I darted my eyes around the darkness, trying to identify it, and it only intensified.
Watch Amazon make its first drone delivery (Business Insider)
Prime Air is Amazon's latest beta test for package delivery via drones. The company is hosting a trial in Cambridge, England with two customers, with plans to broaden reach in the UK and beyond.
As illness shrinks my dad's world, tech expands it (CNet)
Dad has probably watched the video seven times, but even on the eighth viewing, it's like he's seeing something brand new.
In Kansas City, a New Nissan Leaf is Only $11,510 (Fortune)
Until January 3rd of next year, a $10,000 rebate on several models of the Nissan Leaf is available through Kansas City Power and Light. Stacked with Federal tax credits of up to $7,500 (and minus sales taxes and financing), that means buyers would pay just $11,510 for the entry-level 2016 Leaf S 24kWh.
This MIT robot shape-shifts into various gadgets in seconds (Mashable Asia)
MIT's 'LineFORM' is a prototype robot snake, designed to rearrange itself into various objects, like a phone, lamp and data cable.
Facebook is testing group voice calls on desktop (Engadget)
It looks like Facebook is considering the possibility of making group voice calling available on desktop. According to TechCrunch, the social network has given a small number of users access to the feature to test it out — if you want to know if you've been chosen, open one of your group chats and look for a phone icon near the top right of the messaging box.
Chrome OS alone will not perfect Lenovo’s Yoga Book (Venture Beat)
The strangest device I’ve used this year is Lenovo’s Yoga Book, specifically the Android variant, which costs $499. Without question, the two-in-one tablet is worthy of praise for being distinctive. But what makes it different also makes it impractical.
Politics
UN Security Council to Vote on Humanitarian Aid to Aleppo (Associated Press)
Beirut — The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote on a resolution demanding immediate and unconditional access for the United Nations and its partners to besieged parts of Aleppo and throughout Syria to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Ivory Coast Chooses Parliament as Opposition Ends Boycott (Bloomberg)
Ivorians are going to the polls on Sunday in a vote that will see the losing side of an armed conflict in 2011 return to parliament as President Alassane Ouattara seeks to consolidate his ruling coalition.
White House faces exodus of foreign policy experts ahead of Trump's arrival (The Guardian)
The White House is struggling to prevent a crippling exodus of foreign policy staffers eager to leave before the arrival of the Trump administration, according to current and former officials.
What Trumpcare Might Actually Look Like (Fortune)
As President-elect Trump waits to take over the helm at the White House, repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—commonly referred to as Obamacare—will be a top priority for his administration.
Denmark Is Open to Selling Stakes in State Assets, Minister Says (Bloomberg)
Denmark’s government, which owns stakes in 27 companies including Dong Energy A/S and SAS AB, is prepared to sell off everything that doesn’t affect its ability to protect critical infrastructure.
John McCain Says Obama Has ‘No Strategy And No Policy’ On Russian Hacks (The Huffington Post)
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) blasted the White House on Sunday for how it handled Russian hacks in the runup to the election, saying the U.S response to the meddling has been “paralyzed” so far.
Romney: Trump open to alternative views and critics (Politico)
Mitt Romney offered a "personal perspective" Saturday of being in the running to be President-elect Donald Trump's secretary of state — saying it's a sign Trump is open to "alternative views and even to critics."
Health and Biotech
Hospitals Alter Routines to Control Drug Spending (The Wall Street Journal)
For many years, University of Utah Health Care kept the blood-pressure medication vasopressin on hospital crash carts for use in emergencies. But, after watching the drug’s price surge, the nonprofit company is removing the drug from all 100 carts.
Life on the Home Planet
Blast Kills At Least 48 Outside Yemen Military Camp (Associated Press)
Sanaa, Yemen — A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a military camp in the southern Yemeni city of Aden on Sunday morning, killing at least 48 soldiers, a Health Ministry official said. The Islamic State group's Yemen-based affiliate claimed responsibility.
Canadian tourist killed and others feared to be held hostage in Jordan (The Guardian)
Unidentified gunmen have fled to a castle after reportedly killing five people, including a Canadian citizen, and injuring nine more in attacks on several police patrols in the southern Jordanian city of Karak.
A controversial new gravity hypothesis has passed its first test (Science Alert)
First proposed back in 2010, the new hypothesis states that gravity might behave and arise very differently than Einstein predicted, and an independent study of more than 30,000 galaxies has now found the first evidence to back this up.
Dozens of vehicles crash on icy Baltimore road, killing two (Reuters)
A fuel tanker skidded off a Baltimore highway and exploded on Saturday morning, sending sheets of fire in the path of the approaching traffic and triggering a deadly 55-vehicle pileup on the ice-coated roadway, Maryland officials said.
Buses attacked en route to evacuation of Syrian villages (The Guardian)
Several buses en route to evacuate ill and injured people from the besieged Syrian villages of Fua and Kefraya have been attacked and burned, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syrian state television says.
