Aedes mosquitoes are the bearer of Zika virus which is available across the US. WHO warns the US for a probable Zika virus induced epidemic. Brazil has appeared as the most Zika affected country. The US and other governments have issued a travel alert for the pregnant women forbidding to visit the Zika prone region. The travel alert has offbeat the organizers of the Rio de Janeiro olympic scheduled to be held in August.
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Microsoft Q2 profit beats analysts' view on Cloud Product Power
Microsoft Corp said its quarterly profit beat analysts' view, propelled by mounting demand for its cloud products. Quarterly net income, on an adjusted basis, amounted to $6.3 billion, up from $5.8 billion in the same period last year.
California sets new LED standards; promises huge long-term benefits
California becomes the pioneer state with new LED standards in place. The new regulation replaces the old traditional directional bulbs with the more expensive but energy-efficient LED ones. While more expensive, California Energy Commission promises huge benefits in terms of a bulb's longevity and, more importantly, electric bills.
Reddit Initiates Testing official Android App, Expects Further Developments Throughout 2016
Reddit has initiated testing the official Android app on Thursday after releasing the beta version on December. Volunteers taking part in the previous test also remain as the first opportunists to test the official version. The official version is expected to override the hiccups existed in the third party application. The CEO of Reddit has hinted for going through massive modernization processes throughout 2016.
Iowa Fast Foods Workers’ Strike On The Day of Republican Debate Possibly To Embarrass President Hopefuls
The Republican Debate is going to be held in Iowa State on Thursday. The fast food workers under the banner of ‘$15 per hour minimum wage movement’ have called strike on the very day apparently due to gain media attraction. The strike has been called demanding immediate implementation of the said minimum wage rate across the country and union rights. However, the demands have already been supported by many Democratic candidates and furnished in their election manifesto.
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Movidius, a chip maker, working on neural network technology has announced collaborations with Google on Thursday. Under the partnership agreement, Google will arrange license for some low power chips of Movidius. In return, the search engine provider will be able to use the machine learning and computer visioning technologies to its mobile devices. Computer visioning capabilities will enable users to experience low latency on their mobile devices.
The average gasoline price fell to seven year low and is hovering at $1.91 per gallon in the US. If crude oil price continues to move upwards, then the gas price fall may rebound in the near future. According to AAA, the average may not go above $3 a gallon in 2016. Gasoline price fell 14 cents during the past two weeks.
The MTA has banned hoverboards from the New York City transit system for safety reasons. According to the latest rules, riders will not be allowed to bring the two-wheeled motorized devices on buses, subway platforms and trains
U.S. stocks bounced back after being dragged down on Wednesday by volatility in China. Global market followed to regain, while oil price began to stabilize.
Speculation over production cut and held the oil price to around $30 a barrel, but uncertainty still lingers. Meanwhile, U.S inventories are reported to reach its highest level of crude stockpile.
The US housing market was boosted at the end of the year 2015 that marked the best year for existing and fresh home sales since 2007. Nearly 501,000 fresh homes were sold the previous year, an increase of 14.5% from 2014.
The Barack Obama administration announced more restriction lift on Cuba thus helping to improve the country's economy. The restriction lift will allow film shooting, travelling access and also a direct trade with the state run enterprise there.
President Obama has rolled out a new set of regulations that lifts the Cuban trade embargo to a certain extent. The relaxed rules allow easy facilitation of trade, travel and finance between the two governments, a move taken to end the age-old cold war between them. While the embargo cannot be lifted completely unless Congress gives their consent, the Obama administration is convinced that this is a step in the right direction for improving the condition of the island.
Freeport-McMoRan said that it has planned to trim up to $10 billion debt through earnings from joint venture transactions and asset sales. The mining group also reported a loss of $4.1 billion for the fourth quarter.
