Free Republic

Worker unrest is on the rise at the Shanghai factory of a major supplier for Apple gadgets, with protests at times turning violent in response to draconian “COVID zero” lockdowns. Workers at the Quanta Computer plant — which makes Apple’s MacBook laptops — have been under strict lockdown for nearly two months with limited supplies as the Chinese government takes drastic measures to keep production online despite a recent COVID-19 case surge. But the fed-up employees – most of whom are low-wage earners – have reportedly started to revolt against the measures. The unrest has included violent confrontations involving hundreds...

Garbage In, Money Out Warren Meyer, 07.23.10, 02:03 PM EDT How much money are taxpayers willing to bet on computer models? Wall Street firms, which have made substantial investments based on complex computer models, are rethinking the limits of these models as they have watched a number of their peers sink into bankruptcy. Most experienced CEOs of non-financial firms would not invest $2 based solely on computer models prepared by one of their divisions seeking funding. The seasoned executive has seen too many hockey-stick market forecasts that oversimplify complex market dynamics to be anything but skeptical of such models. Unfortunately,...

You Don't Know The Math Michael Maiello, 09.29.09, 06:00 AM EDT The complexities of the financial markets are beyond your broker's abilities. Four years retired from Yale, Benoit Mandelbrot, the inventor of fractal geometry, is still trying to teach the essential lesson of his life's work--nature and markets defy easy description. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either trying to sell you something, doesn't know the math or both. Last week, Mandelbrot, 84, spoke to a gathering of diplomats, business leaders and philanthropists at the Louise Blouin Foundation's Creative Leadership Summit. Mandelbrot has also served as mentor to economist Nassim...