Wired 6.11: What If Cold Fusion Is Real?

Wired 6.11: What If Cold Fusion Is Real?: "... in the basement of a fine new home in the hills overlooking Santa Fe, New Mexico, a retired scientist named Edmund Storms has built a different kind of fusion reactor. It consists of laboratory glassware, off-the-shelf chemical supplies, two aging Macintosh computers for data acquisition, and an insulated wooden box the size of a kitchen cabinet. While JET's 15 European sponsor-nations have paid about US$1 billion for their hardware, and the US government has spent $14.7 billion on fusion research since 1951 (all figures in 1997 dollars), Storms's apparatus and ancillary gear have cost less than $50,000. Moreover, he claims that his equipment works, generating surplus heat for days at a time. Storms is not an antiestablishment pseudoscientist pursuing a crackpot theory. For 34 years he was part of the establishment himself, employed at Los Alamos on projects such as a nuclear motor for space vehicles. Subsequently he testified before a congressional subcommittee considering the future of fusion. He believes you don't need millions of degrees or billions of dollars to fuse atomic nuclei and yield energy. 'You can stimulate nuclear reactions at room temperature,' he says, in his genial, matter-of-fact style. 'I am absolutely certain that the phenomenon is real. It is quite extraordinary, and if it can be developed, it will have profound effects on society.'"

Subprime crisis far from over: S&P | News | Bonds News | Reuters

Subprime crisis far from over: S&P | News | Bonds News | Reuters: "MUMBAI (Reuters) - The U.S. subprime housing crisis will not peak until 2009, rating agency Standard and Poor's said on Tuesday, adding it had underestimated the extent of fraud in the industry."

Bloomberg.com: Latin America

Bloomberg.com: Latin America: "Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela, the fourth-biggest supplier of crude oil to the United States, said its proven oil reserves have risen to 100 billion barrels."

The Associated Press: Washington Mutual 3Q Earnings to Tumble

The Associated Press: Washington Mutual 3Q Earnings to Tumble: "SEATTLE (AP) — Washington Mutual Inc. said Friday that the weak housing market and the recent mortgage crunch will lead to a 75 percent drop in its third-quarter net income, making it the latest financial institution to warn investors it took a major hit over the summer."

Dollar crunch puts gold centre stage - Telegraph

Dollar crunch puts gold centre stage - Telegraph: "The report's authors, John Hill and Graham Wark, say the avalanche of central bank bullion sales earlier this year was 'clearly timed to cap the gold price'."

Scientists Invent 30 Year Continuous Power Laptop Battery

Scientists Invent 30 Year Continuous Power Laptop Battery: "Your next laptop could have a continuous power battery that lasts for 30 years without a single recharge thanks to work being funded by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. The breakthrough betavoltaic power cells are constructed from semiconductors and use radioisotopes as the energy source. As the radioactive material decays it emits beta particles that transform into electric power capable of fueling an electrical device like a laptop for years"

AFP: China unleashes cautious giant onto world's financial markets

AFP: China unleashes cautious giant onto world's financial markets: "China Investment Corp. is tasked with diversifying and maximising returns on part of the country's huge forex reserves, topping 1.3 trillion dollars and growing by the second. It is estimated that about 70 percent of this enormous amount is placed in US dollar assets, including Treasury bonds that are as low-yield as they are safe."