Testimonial Reviews and Videos: May 2016

Friday, May 27, 2016

Alternative thinking on hedge fund assets, climate change and why Trump will win

“A world in which banks don't lend, young people cannot find jobs, overcapacity is not the cause for prices to fall, is not a world which can long survive.”

HTC Vive review - high maintenance, but worth the hassle

HTC Vive promises the best option for virtual reality - but with a high price, power-hungry processing needs, and confusing set-up needs, can it live up to its own hype?

By: Matt Kamen,

Netflix is testing a virtual reality 'rental store'

Netflix's latest virtual reality experiment recreates the video rental store experience of the 1980s inside an HTC Vive.

By: Matt Kamen,

Alternative thinking on Chinese banks, and their debt and accounting challenges

“Given that the economy is still relatively closed, it should be within the power of policymakers to maintain a monopolistic environment for the banks to earn their way out.”

Alternative thinking on chinese banks… chinese debt… and chinese accounting challenges

“Given that the economy is still relatively closed, it should be within the power of policymakers to maintain a monopolistic environment for the banks to earn their way out.”

That's Red Cliff Asset Management.

William Lee's hedge fund is taking the other side of the standard bearish stance on Chinese banks shared by the likes of Kyle Bass and George Soros…

Why the contrarian stance?

Monday, May 23, 2016

Fruit Ninja is being turned into a live-action movie

Hot on the heels of The Angry Birds Movie, another app is going to be made into a movie: Fruit Ninja

By: Matt Burgess,

Alternative thinking on “leftist progress,” Clinton's cash, and the community chest

“I believe there will be a culling of hedge funds like we've never seen before. I'd estimate the number of funds gets cut in half over the next couple of years.”

I'll take the other side of this prediction in a heart beat.

If you know K.C. Nelson, get this column to him.

I'll bet him a steak at Delmonico's with all the trimmings. We'll agree on whose data we will use, and we will start with June 1, 2016.

We'll end on January 1, 2020.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Alternative Thinking on Lending Club's Crash, Mickelson's Slice and Hedge Fund Lobbying

“The SEC said that Walters called and then sent text messages to Mickelson, who ultimately bought a $2.4 million position in three accounts he controlled.”

First, it was Martha Stewart. Now, it's looking like Phil Mickelson is in hot water for alleged insider trading. Whose next? Frank Stallone? No, don't take Frank Stallone away from me.

Gaza Strip iOS game isn't a game, says Apple

Apple has rejected a game influenced by the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from the App Store, saying its political themes mean it is not a game.

By: Matt Kamen,

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Star Wars: Battlefront didn't have single-player because of Force Awakens

When Star Wars Battlefront launched at the end of 2015, one of the biggest criticisms it faced was the absence of a single player campaign. Now, we know why - it's all The Force Awakens' fault.

By: Matt Kamen,

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

War, politics and the Space Pope: inside EVE Online's fan culture

Thirteen years after it launched, EVE Online is still played by tens of thousands of people. But what keeps them coming back?

By: Matt Kamen,

Magic mushrooms could help treat severe depression

Psilocybin, the psychedelic component of magic mushrooms, has been found in a small-scale trial to improve symptoms of severe depression.

The trial, which was conducted on 12 people and has been published in The Lancet, found that the compound even worked on so called "treatment-resistant" depression.

By: Emily Reynolds,

Monday, May 16, 2016

Alternative Thinking on the Financial Media, Goldman's Gamble and the SALT Conference

“Goldman Sachs' planned exchange traded fund tracking the 50 most popular hedge fund stocks might be better shorted than purchased.”

This morning in the Financial Times, Stephen Foley dissects the mood at the recent SALT Conference in Las Vegas and the fleeting hopes that hedge funds will be able to receive longer lockup periods for capital.

The Simpsons just aired a live-animated episode

Add another entry to the list of times The Simpsons appears to have predicted the future, because a live-animated episode aired on American television last night.

By: Matt Kamen,

Friday, May 13, 2016

Google's superbrain: WIRED Stories Episode 2

Are we really on the verge of making machines that think for themselves? And if we are what does that mean for humanity?

By: WIRED.co.uk,

Monday, May 9, 2016

Paypal will no longer protect your crowdfunding payments

PayPal will be removing protection for purchases made on crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, effective from next month.

By: Matt Kamen,

Friday, May 6, 2016

Bitcoin's creator, VR therapy: Podcast 266

We explain how VR can help people become less paranoid, ask why Google wants to see your medical records and try to unravel the mystery of shadowy Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

By: WIRED.co.uk,

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Dishonored 2 will be released in November, Bethesda announces

Bethesda has revealed the release date for its upcoming stealth-action title, Dishonored 2. The game will launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on 11 November 2016.

By: Matt Kamen,

WIRED Awake: 10 must-read articles for 2 May

Your WIRED.co.uk daily briefing. Today, scientists have reported that Zika virus is more likely to cause birth defects than previously thought, Google's DeepMind AI has been given access to the data of 1.6 million NHS patients, astronomers have for the first time discovered a rocky comet without a tail and more.

By: WIRED.co.uk,