IBM’s Big Bet on Artificial Intelligence

International Business Machines, one of the most venerable names in tech, is going through dramatic transformations under the leadership of its president, chairman and chief executive, Virginia Rometty.Among them: a big bet that the Watson artificial-intelligence technology will be adopted as a platform for all kinds of uses.

To learn more about these big changes, The Wall Street Journal’s editor in chief, Gerard Baker, spoke with Ms. Rometty. Here are edited excerpts of their conversation.

MS. ROMETTY: I expect that to be happening through lots of clients. Watson is available as a platform. Anybody could build on it. And there are dozens of things available.

It touches consumers. It’s Medtronic with diabetes products that will be rolling out now, predicting hypoglycemia. That kind of thing.

There was maybe an interesting one just today. We had done some work with a record producer, Alex Da Kid. He does Rihanna, Imagine Dragons, some names that you would know. He just produced a new record with Watson helping him. Watson analyzed, I guess you could call it the world’s diary. It was the last five years of everything, tweets, what was said, to get a feeling of how people felt. Then did something called Watson Beat [that finds] what is it that makes people react emotionally to different music tones. And then another whole thing around, look at the lyrics of all the top songs in the Billboard 100 for as long as we could go, and what makes them hits?

So he did this collaboration, which is a big point of cognitive, it’s man and machine together. This song has popped. And so he’s going to do a couple more. It’s this idea, augmented intelligence. Not artificial intelligence.

http://www.wsj.com/

Morgan Stanley has helped for Uber for funds

Uber is taking this journey to the next level, via something as simple as an app that connects riders with drivers, that leverages the infrastructure of the old economy (roads and cars), while tapping the power of the new economy (GPS, the internet, smartphones and mobile pay). It’s both as simple as an app and as complex as mapping people to machines to networks, connected all around the world. “We’re offering a real alternative to a world that looks like a parking lot and moves like a traffic jam—a new mode of transportation that complements and improves the system we have today,” says CEO Travis Kalanick, who with Garrett Camp conceived the idea to “push a button and get a ride” one snowy evening stranded on the streets of Paris.2

Since 2008, Uber has expanded from a handful of cars and drivers in one city (San Francisco) to over 450 cities,3 enabling more than a million drivers4 to make more than 3 million trips each day.5 “This is our ultimate vision for the future: smarter transportation with fewer cars and greater access; transportation that’s safer, cheaper and more reliable; transportation that creates more economic opportunities for drivers,” Kalanick says.6 That’s a lot of ground to cover, and it’s made possible by vision and imagination—and millions of lines of code in perpetual motion.

It also requires capital. In the past few years, Morgan Stanley has helped Uber raise significant funds, by tapping multiple pools of capital, from equity to debt financings, and accessing many varieties of markets and investors across the world, including private equity and sovereign institutions, as well as mutual funds and individual investors. In capital markets, too, mobility is an invaluable asset, and a good navigator is the best kind of partner.

That kind of funding can help Uber continue to add to its already substantial scale, expand into new markets and shift into the next technological gear. Mobility is not just about getting from point A to point B. It’s also about the people you move along the way.

http://partners.wsj.com/morgan-stanley/

The Big Winners and Losers in America’s Social Security System

Low earners often get more from Social Security benefits than they pay in, while high earners get less. One-income couples also fare better

By

LAURA SAUNDERS

Oct. 28, 2016 5:30 a.m. ET

What will you receive in Social Security benefits compared with the taxes you pay in?

The short answer: Low earners often get more than they put in, while high earners get less. By one estimate, the turning point is currently around $65,000 for a single worker and double that for couples earning similar pay.

This question has come up since the Social Security Administration last week announced a payroll-tax increase affecting...

http://www.wsj.com/articles

General Election: Trump vs. Clinton www.realpolitics.com

Polling Data

Poll	Date	Sample	MoE	Clinton (D)	Trump (R)	Spread
RCP Average	10/20 - 10/29	--	--	47.6	43.3	Clinton +4.3
ABC/Wash Post Tracking	10/25 - 10/28	1160 LV	3.0	49	46	Clinton +3
LA Times/USC Tracking	10/23 - 10/29	3220 LV	4.5	44	46	Trump +2
IBD/TIPP Tracking	10/24 - 10/29	1013 LV	3.3	45	41	Clinton +4
Economist/YouGov	10/22 - 10/26	1209 LV	3.3	49	46	Clinton +3
FOX News	10/22 - 10/25	1221 LV	2.5	49	44	Clinton +5
Pew Research	10/20 - 10/25	2120 RV	2.4	50	43	Clinton +7
CNBC	10/21 - 10/24	LV	--	47	37	Clinton +10

All General Election: Trump vs. Clinton Polling Data

8 Reasons You Should Be Drinking Pickle Juice

By Rheanna O'Neil Bellomo

Oct 30, 2016

While pickles are incredibly polarizing, those who like them really love them. And whether your favorite is a deli-counter dill or a few slices of bread and butter, it’s hard to deny that pickled cukes are surging in popularity right now. And for good reason—they’re a healthy snack that even celebs like Chrissy Teigen love.

But what about their juice? Here’s everything you need to know about the brine and all the reasons you should be drinking it. (Yes, you read that right.)

Pickle juice has been proven to ease muscle aches and pains. Drinking the stuff after workouts became so popular at one time that Gatorade nearly launched its own version of the briny stuff.

Sipping plain H20 is great, but a drink that contains both sodium and potassium is ideal because it will help you get hydrated faster and remain that way. They’re both electrolytes that you lose when you sweat and pickle juice contains them both.

Sipping plain H20 is great, but a drink that contains both sodium and potassium is ideal because it will help you get hydrated faster and remain that way. They’re both electrolytes that you lose when you sweat and pickle juice contains them both.

Pickle juice contains a decent amount of antioxidants and vitamins C and E, which help boost your immune system function, among other health-boosting roles in your body.

According to a study from Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, consuming vinegar—the main ingredient in pickle juice—every day can promote healthy weight loss.

Research published in the Journal of Diabetes Research showed that drinking a small serving of vinegar before a meal can help regulate a person’s blood sugar levels after the meal, especially for those with type 2 diabetes.

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/

3 Islands You Probably Haven’t Heard Of (But Should Visit Now)

1. Vieques, Puerto Rico
Surrounded by the emerald sea just a few miles southeast of mainland Puerto Rico is this tiny island (three to six miles wide by 21 miles long) known for stretches of beautiful empty beaches, sketchy cell service, and a laid-back vibe that’s reminiscent of St Barth’s or Tulum 20 years ago. There’s not much to do in Vieques, and that’s exactly the point. You go here not to ogle celebrity yachts and party on the beach but to really unwind.
2. Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
Located between Vancouver and Vancouver Island, Salt Spring is a Gulf Island favorite with locals who make the Georgia Strait crossing to spend weekends kayaking, drinking at breweries, shopping at the farmers’ market, and visiting vineyards. There’s a hippie vibe about the island thanks to residents who have turned canvases, dried herbs, homemade pies, and crocheted hats into a way of life.
3. Lummi Island, Washington
Located in the same archipelago as Canada’s Gulf Islands, this 10-mile long San Juan island got on the map thanks to a young chef from Olympia, Washington who brought a bit of Noma to the Pacific Northwest. There’s much to do on Lummi Island, including hiking and mushroom foraging in the forest, whale watching, and kayaking. Check in at Willows Inn, originally built in 1910 and refurbished by a local fisherman in 2001.
http://www.vogue.com/

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Queen Elizabeth

Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning British monarch, is the subject of an upcoming American-British television drama series, The Crown, set to premiere on Netflix November 4. The first season looks at Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II during the early years of their marriage, but we’re just as attuned to the rest of her extraordinary life story. In honor of the occasion, here are five things you may not have known about her royal majesty.

1. When Princess Elizabeth married Philip Mountbatten, the former Prince of Greece and Denmark, in 1947, she paid for her wedding dress with clothing ration coupons. Given that the wedding took place during postwar recovery, the nuptials were more understated than the extravagant royal weddings affairs we now know today. Elizabeth saved up to purchase the material for her bridal gown, an ivory satin creation designed by Norman Hartnell and encrusted with more than 10,000 pearls, but not enough to cover all of it. Engaged girls from around the country donated their rations in order to make the moment happen.

2. Queen Elizabeth is said to use the precise position of her purse to signal cryptic messages to staff. For example, placing it on the table is an indicator that she is ready to leave and would like to exit the event within the next five minutes.

3. Queen Elizabeth understands the importance of a beauty touchup, particularly when it comes to lipstick.

4. Queen Elizabeth learned to drive in 1945 when she joined the women’s branch of the British Army and served as a mechanic and ambulance driver towards the close of the Second World War.

5. Queen Elizabeth is a famously modern monarch, and in 1976 she became the first British royal to send an email, during a demonstration at an army research center in England. In addition to maintaining her own YouTube channel, Facebook page, and Twitter handle, the Queen is said to send text messages to her grandchildren on the regular.

http://www.vogue.com/13498012/queen-elizabeth-5-things-you-didnt-know

Nato prepare overnight Russian invasion Poland

The Russians could invade Poland 'overnight' and the US needs to do more to beef up Nato defences in the area and send more missiles to the region to deter Moscow.

A 25-page document by the US-based Atlantic Council think thank says Nato needs to do more to 'counter a resurgent Russia'.

The report says: 'Even if Moscow currently has no immediate intent to challenge Nato directly, this may unexpectedly change overnight and can be implemented with great speed, following already prepared plans. The capability to do so is, to a large extent, in place.'

It says the timing of a Russian invasion could not be predicted but it could come as a result of Nato being 'distracted by another crisis' or as a reaction to a 'misperception of Nato's activities'.

The Atlantic Council claims Nato would be slow to respond to an invasion and Russia would use its nuclear weapons as a deterrent to prevent it turning into a full-scale war. 

Poland joined Nato in 1999, much to the chagrin of Russia, and has become increasingly keen to bolster its defences.

Nato defence ministers recently agreed to a new multi-national force of 4,000 troops which would bolster the defence of Poland and the Baltic states.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3705545/Nato-prepare-overnight-Russian-invasion-Poland-ship-missiles-region-say-experts.html#ixzz4Ob2l1ip8 

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Italy antitrust agency probes WhatsApp messaging service

Fri Oct 28, 2016 | 12:01pm EDT

Italy's antitrust watchdog said on Friday it had opened a probe into whether messaging service WhatsApp obliged users to agree to sharing personal data with its parent company Facebook (FB.O) and imposed "unfair" conditions on users.

WhatsApp said in August it would start sharing phone numbers with the social network, prompting European regulators to declare they would put the matter under close scrutiny.

The Italian agency said it was investigating whether the WhatsApp application had led users to believe they would have not been able to continue using it unless they agreed to terms and conditions including the sharing of personal data.

It is also looking into WhatsApp's terms of use including only the provider having the right to terminate the agreement, and "unjustified" interruptions to service.

The maximum fine that could be levied at the end of the investigation is 5 million euros ($5.47 million).

A spokeswoman for WhatsApp said the company was working with data protection authorities to address their questions.

($1 = 0.9147 euros)

(Reporting by Alberto Sisto and Isla Binnie; Editing by Mark Potter)

http://www.reuters.com/article

Samsung offers upgrade program for South Korea Note 7 customers

Samsung Electronics is offering an upgrade program option to Galaxy Note 7 customers in South Korea who trade in their recalled device for a Galaxy S7 phone, marking its latest attempt to retain customers.

In a statement on Monday, Samsung said customers who trade in their Note 7 phone for either a flat-screen or curved-screen version of the Galaxy S7 can trade up for a Galaxy S8 or Note 8 smartphone launching next year through an upgrade program.

The world's top smartphone maker permanently ended Note 7 sales due to continued reports of fire from the flagship device. In addition to offering refunds or exchanges for a Galaxy S7 smartphone, Samsung has already offered financial incentives amounting to 100,000 won ($88.39) to affected customers in South Korea.

Users in the upgrade program will need to pay only half the price of a Galaxy S7 device, rather than the full amount, before exchanging to the S8 or the Note 8, Samsung said.

In offering the Note 8 upgrade option, Samsung indirectly reinforced previous statements that the Note series will not be discontinued. The company said the availability of such a program in other markets will be dependent on the situation in each country. It did not elaborate.

Samsung has stepped up marketing and promotion for its Galaxy S smartphones to try to make up for some of the lost sales. The Note 7's collapse is already costing Samsung $5.4 billion won in operating profit between the third quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2017.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-smartphones

Miami baseball star Fernandez was drunk, had cocaine in system at fatal crash

Miami Marlins star Jose Fernandez, a dominant pro baseball pitcher and hero in Miami's Cuban community, was legally drunk and had cocaine in his system when he was killed in a boat crash in late September, an autopsy and toxicology report released on Saturday found.

The toxicology report showed Fernandez had a blood-alcohol content level of 0.147, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08 for driving in Florida, and also had cocaine in his blood.

Fernandez, 24, and two other men were killed before dawn on Sept. 25 when their 32-foot boat struck a rock jetty off Miami Beach, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. It was unclear who was driving the boat.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-fernandez

What is CETA?

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is a recently signed free-trade agreement between Canada and the Europea Union When implemented, the agreement will eliminate 98% of the tariffs between Canada and the EU.

The negotiations were concluded in August 2014. All 28 European Union nations have approved CETA with Belgium being the final country to approve. Currently CETA is awaiting signing. The European Council has confirmed it has adopted the decision to sign.Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada traveled to Brussels on 30 October 2016 to sign on behalf of Canada.

The EU claims the treaty will lead to savings of just over half a billion euros in taxes for EU exporters every year, mutual recognition in regulated professions such as architects, accountants and engineers, and easier transfers of company staff and other professionals between the EU and Canada. The European Commission claims CETA will create a more level playing field between Canada and the EU on intellectual property rights.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

'A great day': Trudeau signs European Union trade deal in Brussels

The European Union and Canada signed Sunday a landmark trade pact, ending days of drama after a small Belgian region refused to endorse the agreement and deeply embarrassed the EU.

The long-delayed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement was bedeviled by yet another hold up overnight when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's plane had to return to Ottawa because of mechanical issues.

"What patience," exclaimed European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker as he embraced the arriving Trudeau at EU headquarters in Brussels.

• "The fact that throughout people were asking tough questions of a deal that will have a significant impact on our economies, and giving us the opportunity to demonstrate that that impact will be positive, is a good thing," Trudeau told a news conference following the signing.

The signing is a step that should enable a provisional implementation of the pact early in 2017 with the removal of most import duties.

Trudeau said provisional application would unlock 98 per cent of CETA's key measures and that consumers and businesses would immediately feel its benefits.

"We are confident that demonstrating that trade is good for the middle classes (...) will make sure that everybody gets that this is a good thing for our economies and that it is also a good thing for the world," Trudeau said.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-europe-trade-signing-sunday

The economic impact of devaluations Brexit means…higher prices

The economic arguments for and against Brexit in the course of the referendum campaign were quite esoteric and confusing to the average voter. Similarly, sterling’s decline in the currency markets might seem like the kind of thing that only concerns City traders.

So the row that has broken out between Tesco, Britain’s biggest supermarket chain, and Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch multinational, has made the story concrete in ways that were not apparent before. Unilever wants to raise prices across a range of goods to reflect the fall in the pound, which has dropped from around $1.50 on the day of the referendum to less than $1.22 at the time of writing. Similar falls have been seen against the euro; indeed travellers who change their money at the airport are getting less than a euro per pound.

But as Mr Krugman says, Britons are still poorer. Brexit means not just Brexit but higher prices.

Some will cite the 1992 example, when Britain left the Exchange Rate Mechanism, as showing that a weaker currency can be a good thing. But the great boon of 1992 was that it allowed the Bank of England to cut interest rates from their sky-high 12% levels. There is not such scope now (indeed, Brexiteers complained about the quarter point cut the Bank did make). Nor did the pound seem to be overvalued before the referendum vote either on our Big Mac index or, more scientifically, on the OECD’s measure of purchasing power parity, which suggested $1.43.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood/2016/10/economic-impact-devaluations

FBI has announced it is investigating new emails sent by Hillary Clinton on a private server during her time as Secretary of State.

The FBI has announced it is investigating new emails sent by Hillary Clinton on a private server during her time as Secretary of State, sending her campaign into panic mode just 11 days before the presidential election.

The emails were found during an investigation into illicit text messages between Anthony Weiner, a former congressman, and a 15-year-old girl, according to The New York Times. Huma Abedin, Mr Weiner's wife, is one of Mrs Clinton's closest aides and was pictured with her on Friday as the news broke.

Moments after James Comey, director of the FBI, announced the effective reopening of the Clinton email investigation, Donald Trump seized the moment to go for the jugular at a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, calling the announcement "bigger than Watergate".

Meanwhile, Mrs Clinton appeared blindsided by the news, she and her inner circle were all on board a plane and without internet access when Mr Comey's letter emerged. Reporters on board said her staff was unaware of the news before landing in Iowa for a rally - where she declined to mention the furore during her speech. 

It wasn't until later in the evening that Clinton made an official announcement, calling on the FBI to release immediately all information it has on the newly discovered emails.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/28/

Why you should always order the cheapest bottle of wine on the menu?

Diners should always order the cheapest bottle of wine on the list because restaurants make it too complex and overpriced.

Wine connoisseurs can be too snobbish, according to restaurant critic Jay Rayner, who says he refuses to be intimidated by lists.

Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, according to The Daily Telegraph, he said: “Wine lists are fraught with problems but mostly because of the b——- spouted by wine connoisseurs. They irritate me profoundly.”

He then recalled an incident that took place at a Michelin starred restaurant in central London, where diners pay up to £2,990 ($3,646.31) for a bottle of premium red wine.

He asked the waiter if he could find a bottle of Pinot Noir for £50 ($60.98), he described how the waiter looked at him like he was “some kind of scum on his heel.”

By Tara Evans, The Sun October 14, 2016 |

http://nypost.com/

Reasons why Alaskan Bush People is totally fake

Alaskan Bush People is a popular reality TV show that started airing on the Discovery Channel in 2014. The series follows the seemingly treacherous lives of the Brown family, but members of the public have repeatedly called it out as fake. Is Alaskan Bush People one big reality TV show lie? There are a few a reasons why viewers may want to maintain a strong sense of skepticism.

http://www.nickiswift.com/

Sorkin: Too Big To Fail

Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System—and Themselves, also known as Too Big to Fail: Inside the Battle to Save Wall Street, is a non-fiction book by Andrew Ross Sorkin chronicling the events of the 2008 financial crisis and the collapse of Lehman Brothers from the point of view of Wall Street CEOs and US government regulators. The book was released on October 20, 2009 by Viking Press.

It won the 2010 Gerald Loeb Award for Best Business Book, and was shortlisted for the 2010 Samuel Johnson Prize and the 2010 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award.

The book was adapted in 2011 for the HBO television movie Too Big to Fail.The book provides an overview of the financial crisis of 2007–08 from the beginning of 2008 to the decision to create the Troubled Asset Relief Program(TARP). The book tells the story from the perspectives of the leaders of the major financial institutions and the main regulatory authorities.

Source:(www.en.wikipedia.org)

Millennials Finally Find Something to Love in Harder-Edged Hillary Clinton

Much of Clinton’s newfound popularity among millennials is redirected antipathy for Donald Trump, who is widely despised among young people as a cultural throwback.






http://time.com/4543898/hillary-clinton-millennial-voter-support

Thailand tourism

Thailand, also known as the Land of Smiles, is a jewel of Southeast Asia. Developed enough to provide most comforts yet still wild enough to offer off-the-beaten path adventure, Thailand is a country ripe with opportunity for once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences. Whether you start with the world-class beaches in the south or the mountain villages in the north, Thailand will not disappoint.

Cities like Bangkok and Chiang Mai are bustling hives of activity and commerce, but you haven't really seen the country until you've trekked in the mountains or enjoyed some face-time with elephants or the bold monkeys (who will steal your lunch as soon as look at you). Thailand's attractions are diverse and each provides a rewarding and memorable experience in its own way.

http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions/thailand-tha.htm

https://www.tourismthailand.org/home