China cuts economic growth forecasts
China has lowered its economic growth forecast to 7.5 percent for 2012, after keeping targets at 8 percent for the past seven years. The cut suggests Beijing is willing to accept slightly slower growth in exchange for more sustainable development.
The Wall Street Journal
Production of Volt halted temporarily
GM is shutting down production of the Chevrolet Volt for five weeks to clear existing inventory of the gas-electric plug-in vehicle, which hasn’t sold as well as expected. The Volt was recently investigated over battery fires by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has determined that it poses no greater fire risk than gasoline-powered cars do.
CNNMoney.com
A credit card for the 1 percent’s 1 percent
JPMorgan Chase’s Palladium credit card is for the 1 percent’s top 1 percent. Made of real palladium and 23-karat gold, the card itself is worth about $1,000. For a $595 annual fee, card members never have to pay late fees, foreign-exchange charges, or cash-advance fees, and get access to a raft of major perks, including concierge services and privileged access to private aviation.
Bloomberg.com
Wading through websites' privacy policies
Two researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have calculated that if every American were to actually read the privacy policies governing every website he or she visits in a year (best estimate: about 1,460 sites), it would take 76 full-time working days. The median privacy policy, they found, is 2,500 words long.
TheAtlantic.com
Fortune 500 company founders
More than 40 percent of current Fortune 500 companies were founded by an immigrant or a child of an immigrant.
Detroit Free Press