Harley Goes Electric in the Race for New Motorcycle Riders

The name Harley-Davidson (HOG) doesn’t necessarily call to mind quiet efficiency, but a planned rollout of an electric motorcycle is generating a lot of buzz for the Milwaukee-based company. Bloomberg News highlighted the introductory plugin hogs in an article on Thursday morning, and interest in them quickly swamped the Harley-Davidson website for the electric endeavor known as Project LiveWire. Harley’s plan, in short, is to take 22 of the new bikes on an impromptu tour of the country, to see ...
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Google and Microsoft will include a kill switch in the their smartphone.

The technology allows for a stolen Google (GOOG) Android and Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) Windows Phone-powered Nokia (NOK) device to be disabled, making it useless to the thief  With Google and Microsoft on board, kill switches will be available for 97% of the smartphone market, said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who made the announcement. Newer versions of Apple's iOS currently include a kill switch called Activation Lock and tracking software that requires a password before the iPh...
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Cybersecurity: How safe are you?

P.F. Chang's acknowledged that a "security compromise" of customers' credit and debit card data occurred at some of its restaurants. "We have concluded that data has been compromised," said CEO Rick Federico, in a prepared statement. The admission comes just days after cybersecurity journalist Brian Krebs claimed that thousands of credit card and debit card numbers that appeared to have been stolen from P.F. Chang's restaurants earlier this year had gone up for sale. Federico said that P.F. Chan...
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Rich investors worry about stock market

A comprehensive study of wealthy families by private bank U.S. Trust found that only 40% of high net worth investors feel "bullishly optimistic" about the market. At the same time, 10% said they felt downright pessimistic and 12% described themselves as fearful of losing money Jim Quinlan, Chief Market Strategist for U.S. Trust, says a lot of rich people continue to worry about regulation, Washington gridlock, and the lingering effects of the Federal Reserve's unprecedented stimulus program, whi...
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East Anglia One wind farm approved off Suffolk coast

An offshore wind farm which could become the largest in the world has been given development consent by the government. Up to 325 turbines will be installed as part of the East Anglia One wind farm, which will be 27 miles (43km) off the Suffolk coast. Energy Secretary Ed Davey said it could "inject millions of pounds into the local and national economies". About 2,900 jobs are expected to be created as part of the scheme. Mr Davey said: "East Anglia and the rest of the UK have a lot to gain f...
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What You Need to Know About Amazon’s New Fire Phone

It’s official: Amazon.com (AMZN) is in the phone business. Chief Executive Jeff Bezos showed off a black glass rectangle with a rubber frame called the Fire Phone. The device will be sold, starting July 25, through AT&T (T) for $199 with a two-year contract, the same price as other high-end smartphones. The screen on Amazon’s phone is larger than Apple’s (AAPL) iPhones but smaller than phones made by Samsung Electronics (005930:KS). The processors and chips are on a par with more powerful An...
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U.K. Warns Scottish Nationalists Not to Threaten Business

Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said nationalists shouldn’t try to stop businesses publicly opposing independence ahead of the Sept. 18 referendum on whether to stay in the U.K. Speaking to reporters in London yesterday, Carmichael cited comments by Gavin Hewitt, the former chief executive officer of the Scotch Whisky Association, who told the Herald newspaper June 13 he had received “intimidating calls” from senior members of the pro-independence Scottish National Party. “If that’s t...
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Argentina’s Debt Appeal Dies at U.S. Supreme Court

You don’t have to be an Argentina fan to worry about the precedent set on June 16, when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the nation’s appeal in a case brought by hedge funds that hold Argentine government debt. The high court let stand a lower court ruling that blew a hole in the country’s attempt to shrink its debt burden following a 2001 default on $95 billion in bonds. Although the U.S. courts’ actions apply only to this case, they send a message about the empowerment of creditors that ...
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