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10 May 2010 10:30

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Tech: Android outsells iPhone in the U.S., but BlackBerry outsells them both

  • 33% of smartphone sales are made by BlackBerry maker RIM
  • 28% of smartphone sales are various phones that run on Google’s Android OS
  • 21% of smartphone sales are made by Apple; note the lack of Microsoft source
  • » Red herring?: Before we go gaga over these sales numbers, one thing to keep in mind is that Apple only sells one phone, whereas Research in Motion has a whole lineup of phones and Android is used by numerous companies. Business Insider sees a different (and also probably accurate) conclusion: Apple needs to get their phone on Verizon, like yesterday.

10 May 2010 10:20

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Politics: Here’s the conservative spin on SCOTUS nominee Elena Kagan

  • Among Supreme Court nominees over the last 50 years or more, Kagan may well be the nominee with the least amount of relevant experience.
  • Ethics and Public Policy Center president Ed Whelan • Regarding Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Technically, he’s right – she hasn’t been a judge unlike any of the other justices. In fact, she’s an aberration because many presidents have been wary of nominating a Supreme Court justice without a history of judicial decisions under their belt. That said, her resume is pretty stacked otherwise. We’re guessing that someone who’s worked as the dean of Harvard’s law school and as the Solicitor General probably knows a thing or two about making astute legal decisions. source

10 May 2010 10:08

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Biz: As expected, the market loved Europe’s response to the debt crisis

  • 3% the worldwide stock increase after Europe put its full financial might behind the debt crisis
  • 2% the amount the Euro gained on the dollar; in recent days, it had been floundering source

10 May 2010 09:59

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Biz: How Thursday’s “flash crash” might have happened

  • one A bunch of sell
    requests went in
    all at once. These trades were made automatically using computers.
  • two The older New York
    Stock Exchange’s
    circuit breaker went
    off – an automated
    attempt to cool off
    the market.
  • three The computers
    didn’t understand
    this, and totally
    freaked out
    because of the
    lack of buyers.
  • four The stock market
    “flash crash” sped
    up. In other words,
    one system didn’t
    understand the
    other. source