Новости за 15.12.2015

AP Photo/George Brich

With “The Force Awakens” in theaters December 18, I’ve been catching up on all things “Star Wars” over the last few months.

The final item on my check list was hunting down the infamous “Star Wars Holiday Special,” a production so bad that it only aired once — November 17, 1978 on CBS — and was never formally released on video.

Just how terrible could it be? Well that’s what I wanted to find out. 

It’s actually not that difficult to find online. Читать дальше...

Getty Images

Kobe Bryant is one of the best basketball players of all-time. And this, his 20th season in the NBA, will also be his last.

In an interview with popular YouTube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee, Bryant looked back at his career and discussed how his relationship with technology has changed since he first entered the NBA in 1996, straight out of high school at the age of 17.

"I've tried to dabble into [tech] a little bit but I found myself not being extremely passionate about it," Bryant told Brownlee. Читать дальше...

Amazon Web Services turned out to be a profitable, fast-growing cloud computing juggernaut when it first revealed its financials earlier this year. 

Joe Raedle/Flickr

From overpriced Wi-Fi to hidden departure taxes, you don't want to be strapped for cash when it comes to these often-overlooked fees.

Make sure you include these 11 items when budgeting for your next trip.

Airport transportation

Whether it's a cab, Uber, water taxi, shuttle bus, shared van, or train, you're spending at least $15 each way to get to and from the airport. If you're driving (unless you're getting dropped off) you'll have to pay to park your car at the airport too. Читать дальше...

REUTERS/Mike Segar

This post by Facebook COO and LeanIn.org founder Sheryl Sandberg appeared originally on Quora.

At Facebook, we're looking for builders.

We believe our journey at Facebook is only 1% done so we want people who can help us build technology, products and our business into the future.

We don't look for a specific background or skill-set when we make hiring decisions.

As my friend and Instagram COO Marne Levine says, we hire athletes and cross train them. Читать дальше...

Chances are, you didn't even know that Subway served a pizza sub. 

But they do — on their secret menu, not their regular one.

However, if you do get a blank stare when you request the pizza sub, simply ask to build your own sandwich, then ask for tomato sauce, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, and any veggies you'd like.

You'll end up with a pizza and a sandwich all in one; what more could you want?

Story by Sarah Schmalbruch and editing by Jeremy Dreyfuss

Just when you thought you couldn't live a minute without your iPhone, Apple is developing a technology that might take that phone out of your hands forever. Apple analyst Gene Munster explains the tech that's going to be "a paradigm shift over the next couple decades." 

Marc to Market

This great graphic shows how different measures of US equities perform in December by day for the past 20 years. I got it as a tweet from Urban Carmel, who got it from the Stock Almanac.

Today is eleventh session of the month. Equities typically rallied starting now in December. Since 1994, the S&P 500 has fallen in the month of December five times (1996, 2002, 2005, 2007, and 2014). Since 1994, seasonally, December is one of the best months for S&P 500 in terms... Читать дальше...

Flickr/Andrew Malone

FA Insights is a daily newsletter from Business Insider that delivers the top news and commentary for financial advisors.

Few workers are expecting holiday bonuses and pay raises (Bankrate)

A Bankrate survey has found just 25% of employees are expecting a holiday bonus and/or holiday pay raise at work this year. Among those who are expecting something extra, only 17% plan on spending that money on gifts. Bankrate says the remainder want to save (35%), pay down debt (22%) and pay bills (19%). Читать дальше...

Laura Cavanaugh/Stringer/Getty Images

Sheryl Sandberg is the Chief Operating Officer for Facebook and founder of LeanIn.org, and is regarded as a successful both in and out of the tech world.

So whenever she starts dolling out career advice, people start paying attention.

On Tuesday, Sandberg was asked by Quora user Courtney Ross what advice she would give to her younger self.

Not only did Sandberg respond thoughtfully, but she gave Ross and other curious Quora users three things she would tell her younger self... Читать дальше...

AP

One of the signature provisions of the Affordable Care Act is on the chopping block. And it's largely due to President Barack Obama's fellow Democrats.

Congressional negotiators are close to agreement on a sweeping budget deal that would keep the government funded through next September. One of the provisions included in the deal is "likely" to be a two-year delay in the implementation of the "Cadillac tax," according to a senior Democratic aide.

A delay of the tax, which... Читать дальше...

In case you didn't already know, it's "Star Wars" week.

With the premiere of "The Force Awakens" this weekend, nearly everyone is trying to tap into the collective hype — tech companies included.

Spotify released a fun little tool on Tuesday that scans the music you listen to and determines the "Star Wars" character you're most like.

So if you listen to a lot of 80s hair metal, "then you will probably get Chewbacca," according to Spotify. Like Bruce Springsteen and classic rock? Читать дальше...

REUTERS/Jim Young

In the nine years since the Federal Reserve's last rate hike, the US has gone through a housing-bubble burst, a financial crisis that nearly destroyed the global banking system, the worst recession since the Great Depression, and a slow but steady recovery marked by moderate, consistent growth.

During the darkest days of the crisis, the Fed dropped its benchmark interest rate to near zero in its emergency effort to bring liquidity to the financial markets and stimulate growth. Читать дальше...

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

We're only three weeks away from the end of the regular season and the playoff picture is still wide open.

What is clear, at least today, is that the Panthers and Patriots are the definitive top dogs in their conferences.

After the Bengals and Broncos both lost on Sunday, the Patriots easily beat the Texans to regain the top-seed in the AFC. Over in the NFC, the Panthers are cruising past everyone that stands before them.

Both the AFC South and NFC East division races remain mysteries... Читать дальше...

Phil Sandlin/AP Images

While the debate rages on over the number of Syrian and Middle Eastern refugees to let into the US, or whether to let them in at all, a group of researchers took a look back at the economic impact the last time America opened its borders in a big way.

Spurned on by the current crisis, Giovanni Peri and Vasil Yasenov of the University of California-Davis, analyzed the economic impact of the Mariel Boatlift. From April to September 1980, 125,000 Cuban refugees... Читать дальше...

Reuters

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is getting a taste of sweet revenge this morning.

On Tuesday morning Brazilian police raided several properties belonging to the leader of the opposition, Eduardo Cunha, according to the BBC.

Cunha is the speaker of Brazil's lower house, and initiated impeachment proceedings against her, which started last week.

The raid on his properties was named "Catilinarias" — a nod to Catiline, a Roman Senator who attempted to overthrow the Republic back in the first century BC. Читать дальше...

Douglas Gorenstein/NBC

Many people no doubt shake their fists at Donald Trump when he shows up on TV and vow that they would give him a piece of their mind if they crossed paths with the presidential hopeful.

Tina Fey admits, she's the same. But then she got face-to-face with Trump. 

On Monday night, Fey told her old "Saturday Night Live" pal Jimmy Fallon on his "Tonight Show" what happened when she was seated near Trump at the Adele concert at Radio City Music Hall, which aired on NBC Monday. Читать дальше...

Steven Senne/AP

Tom Brady attempted to clarify his stance on Donald Trump during a radio interview on Tuesday morning, referring to the controversial presidential candidate as "a good friend," but refusing to answer if he was supporting him for president.

Brady caused a mini-firestorm in September when he said it "I hope so, [it] would be great," if Trump was elected president.

For those who did not hear the comment, they missed that Brady actually said it with a bit of a chuckle... Читать дальше...

epSos .de/Flickr

US stocks opened higher and were rallying in early trading on Tuesday morning on the first of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting. 

A sharp sell-off on Friday made last week the worst for the S&P  500 since the sell-off in August.

Near 11:28 a.m. ET, the Dow was up 214 points, the S&P 500 was up 25 points, and the Nasdaq was up 56 points — all up by more than 1%.

Global stock markets were also firmly higher on Tuesday, with major indexes... Читать дальше...

Wikimedia Commons

If you've ever borrowed money or collected interest on something, then the Federal Reserve matters to you.

The Fed regularly meets to discuss its plans for the Fed funds rate. And in one way or another, the Fed funds rate serves as the benchmark for basically every interest rate on the planet. Government borrowing rates, mortgage rates, credit card rates, savings account yields, etc.

The Fed funds rate target is currently in a range of 0 to 0.25%. This so-called... Читать дальше...

NBC

Adele was overcome with emotion following her first concert in years, breaking down in tears in response to the audience's enthusiastic reaction.

Last night, NBC aired "Adele: Live in New York City," the taped concert special of her November 17 performance at Radio City Music Hall.

Following her performance of "When We Were Young," off of her new album, "25," the audience gave her a standing ovation. 

"Oh, I'm so relieved," she said as she began to cry. 

NBC

Asaf Kliger, courtesy of the Ice Hotel

Jukkasjarvi, a tiny, unassuming village in northern Sweden, has a famous and strange tradition.

Each year, the Ice Hotel pops up within its borders. More than 4,000 tons of ice were mined from the Torne River to create this year's Ice Hotel, which took about two months to build.

Officially opened December 11, the hotel has 19 hand-carved "art suites," each with a unique theme crafted by a different sculptor. 

There's also an ice bar... Читать дальше...

Tech Insider/Skye Gould

The year 2016 has some pretty big boots to fill after such a strong 2015.

We saw so many gadgets, apps, and services raising the bar that anything less simply will not do.

Here's our list of the most innovative tech that launched this year:

The HTC Vive is the most impressive VR headset yet.

The HTC Vive virtual reality headset is the new standard for virtual reality and is the most amazing gadget we've tried in recent memory. Читать дальше...

A mistake on Microsoft's Amazon Germany page has changed the photo of two of its most expensive items to a cuddly bear and a tortoise. 

Getty

Tim Peake is about to become the first publicy-funded Briton in space. But it’s a long time since the first British citizen went there.

While much of the hype around Major Peake’s mission has revolved around his being the first Brit in space, he is in fact only the first publicly-funded British astronaut, and the first to visit the International Space Station.

The first Briton in space was former chemist Helen Sharman who visited the Mir space station in May 1991. Her... Читать дальше...