Articles on the impact of on-line movie rentals on Hollywood, a global sovereign debt rating map, Japanese buying their own radiation detection devices, the slowing economy, some debt deal spin, now back to Europe, and a wonderful conversation with Paul Nurse.

The $35 DVD just went the way of the horse and buggy, and that’s bad news for Hollywood. (ed’s note – this fits nicely in the ‘disruptive technology’ category).

Financial Times – Entertainment Industry: A Cloud in the Air
Executives at Universal Pictures thought they had a hit on their hands.

The sovereign debt rating map.

Reuters – Country Sovereign Ratings Graph of the Day

Mom, pass the dosimeter will you? Thanks to Jeremy of Tokyo.

New York Times -- Doubting Assurances, Japanese Find Radioactivity on Their Own
Kiyoko Okoshi had a simple goal when she spent about $625 for a dosimeter: she missed her daughter and grandsons and wanted them to come home.

John Mauldin reminds us that there are bigger issues facing the United States. Thanks to David of Victoria.

Pdf below -- An Economy at Stall Speed

The debt deal spin.

Wall Street Journal – A Tea Party Triumph
If a good political compromise is one that has something for everyone to hate, then last night's bipartisan debt-ceiling deal is a triumph.

 

New York Times – The President Surrenders
A deal to raise the federal debt ceiling is in the works. If it goes through, many commentators will declare that disaster was avoided.

 

Guardian -- US debt crisis: Obama's sharp right turn
When Bill Clinton lurched rightwards to secure re-election in 1996, he had at least the benefit of a strong economy.

 

Now back to Europe.

Telegraph -- America is merely wounded, Europe risks death
Needless to say, these are not normal times.

 

 

Related.

Bloomberg – London Luxury Home Price Gains
Central London luxury-home prices jumped the most in six months in July as buyers from mainland Europe sought a haven from economic instability, driving values to record highs, Knight Frank LLP said.

Related.

Project Syndicate – Europe’s Sovereignty Crisis
Finally, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has accepted a new form of European Union.

And onto Spain.

Charlie Fell – Contagion to Spain
The euphoria that followed the special euro-zone summit in Brussels ten days ago proved decidedly short-lived, and much of the initial reversal in yields was given up by the close of business for the week. 

The case for regulating spas.

Globe and Mail -- Spas need regulation, doctor says after death of Quebec woman
The death of a 35-year-old Quebec woman should serve as a warning to Canadians that just because a spa service is offered “doesn’t mean its safe,” says a professor of emergency medicine.

A brilliant mind, scientist Paul Nurse speaks for an hour with Charlie Rose. (ed’s note – with the revolutions in communication, finance, manufacturing, information and transportation reshaping the world since 1985  the great disruptive technologies to come will be in medical sciences).

Charlie Rose – Paul Nurse
A rebroadcast of an hour with Paul Nurse.