10 years after the recession began, have Americans recovered?

It's been ten years since the start of the Great Recession.

That's an arbitrary anniversary, sure. But downturns need beginnings, and the National Bureau of Economic Research decided this one happened in December 2007, when employment peaked and started to head south -- for two long years.

Read more... http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/01/news/economy/recession-anniversary/index.html

Marijuana industry booms in Arizona as suppliers seek to go mainstream

A worker in the back of a Mesa industrial building hunches over a table and meticulously twists marijuana into finger-size joints, but like many modern cannabis businesses, he doesn't use those words.

Read more... https://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/consumers/2017/12/01/going-mainstream-medical-marijuana-suppliers-seek-sophistication-business-booms/815340001/

FDA Approves First Digital Pill That You (And Others) Can Track

"Did you take that pill?'

Response: "Yes."

"Are you sure?"

Response: "Absolutely. I'm fairly certain. I think so. Maybe. What was your question again?"

"Let's ask the pill."

Read more... https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2017/11/13/fda-approved-first-digital-pill-that-you-and-others-can-track/

Top exec on ethereum versus bitcoin blockchain

Cryptocurrencies have been red-hot lately. The price of bitcoin and an ether token, for instance, have been on a tear and are up 121% and 490%, respectively, since April 6.

Read more https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-ethereum-price-2017-7#ampshare=http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-ethereum-price-2017-7

Crpyto Data Feed Platform Santiment Raises $12.215 Million in Token Crowdsale

Santiment, a data feed platform that provides information about crypto-markets, recently closed its two-stage token crowdsale, raising a total of $12,215,250 worth of ETH. Santiment also raised 32,000 ETH in a preliminary community sale, followed by a pre-sale facilitated by Cofound.it's Priority Pass community that raised 13,000 ETH in less than 60 seconds.

Read more... https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cryptocoinsnews.com/santiment-raises-12-215-million-in-two-stage-token-crowdsale/amp/#ampshare=https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/santiment-raises-12-215-million-in-two-stage-token-crowdsale/

Bees are dying -- what can we do about it?

(CNN)Maybe you could stand to live in a world without honey. But what about almonds, pears, avocados, grapes and -- dare we say -- wine?

Read more... https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/03/20/world/bees-eco-solutions/index.html#ampshare=http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/20/world/bees-eco-solutions/index.html

Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

While Bitcoin is currently trading at close to its all-time high, its dominance in terms of proportion of total cryptocurrency market cap is rapidly decreasing — ground largely given up to Ethereum.

Read more... https://venturebeat.com/2017/06/11/why-ethereum-is-outpacing-bitcoin/

How this 30-year-old book predicted todays’ politics

This 30-year-old book, written by a relatively unknown media critic who died in 2003, captures our cultural and political moment with terrifying precision, and helps explain how we ended up with a reality TV charlatan as president.

Read more... https://www.vox.com/conversations/2017/5/8/15440292/neil-postman-donald-trump-politics-culture-television-media

The Week in Weed: Sessions Reinstates Mandatory Minimums, Portland May Get Weed Lounges, and American Workers are Failing Drug Tests

As both cannabis and criminal justice advocates reel from a Sessions memo urging federal prosecutors to impose mandatory minimum sentences on low-level drug offenders, New Jersey pushes forward with cannabis reform. And damn, Americans really like to do drugs—all sorts of them—and have been failing their drug tests. 

Read more... http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/05/19/19023689/the-week-in-weed-sessions-reinstates-mandatory-minimums-portland-may-get-weed-lounges-and-american-workers-are-failing-drug-tests

Cannabis Two-Step: Raise Cash in Canada, Spend It in U.S.

When Hadley Ford created a company for investing in the fast-growing business of legal marijuana, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. investment banker left New York and headed north of the border.

Read more... https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-06/pot-companies-flock-to-canada-as-u-s-laws-stymie-share-listings

Adult-use marijuana spending will outpace medical sales in 2019

Legal weed in North America is expected to reach $22.6 billion in revenue in 2021. But many won't be spending their money on marijuana the way they do today.

Read more... http://www.businessinsider.com/recreational-vs-medical-marijuana-sales-forecast-2017-3

Nigeria’s Bitcoin Interest Unwavering Despite Government Crackdown

Last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a circular to banks and other financial institutions requiring them to take certain actions relating to digital currencies. 

Read more... http://bitcoin.xyz/nigerias-bitcoin-interest-unwavering-despite-government-crackdown/amp/

China Bitcoin Exchanges to Impose Trading Fee

Under heightened scrutiny from Chinese regulators, China's three largest bitcoin exchanges will seek to rein in speculation in the virtual currency by charging trading fees.

Read more... http://www.wsj.com/articles/china-bitcoin-exchanges-to-impose-trading-fee-1485155580?utm_campaign=Contact+Quiboat+For+More+Referrer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=quiboat

NRIs can exchange banned Indian currency notes until 30 June

India's central bank, the Reserve Bank has extended the deadline for exchanging the old Rs 500 and 1000 notes for Non-Resident Indians.

Read more... http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/punjabi/en/article/2017/01/02/nris-can-exchange-banned-indian-currency-notes-until-30-june

Trump and the dollar: what you need to know

President-elect Donald Trump got Wall Street's attention this week by saying the U.S. dollar is "too strong," warning that a soaring greenback has "disadvantages" for U.S. companies that do a lot of business abroad.

Read more... https://www.google.com/amp/amp.usatoday.com/story/96719578/

New $100 Coin Features First-Ever African-American Lady Liberty

Lady Liberty is among the most enigmatic symbols of American democracy. Her qualities are well-known and widely revered: She's benevolent and represents freedom and hope. But what does she look like, anyway? In popular culture, she's almost always depicted in one way: as a white woman. Now, reports Lakshmi Gandhi for NBC News, the U.S. Mint announced historic plans to depict Liberty as an African-American woman on a new gold coin. The $100 coin will be introduced as part of the kickoff of the mint's 225th anniversary year and will be the first in a series that will also depict Liberty as Asian-American, Hispanic-American, and Indian-American.

Read more... http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-100-coin-features-first-ever-african-american-lady-liberty-180961806/

Prankster alters iconic Hollywood sign to read ‘Hollyweed’

The new year got off to a blazing start in Los Angeles.

Someone in the first hours of 2017 altered the iconic Hollywood sign to make it read "Hollyweed" — a bit of high-minded hijinks that lit up social media.

Read more... https://www.google.com/amp/www.nydailynews.com/amp/news/national/prankster-alters-iconic-hollywood-sign-read-hollyweed-article-1.2930785