Soon after Ukraine’s protestors overthrew the ruling pro-Russian government, Russian forces essentially annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. Tensions remain high but Rajiv J. Chaudhri believes he has a solution to the crisis:

• The United States should have just convinced Ukraine to sell Crimea to Russia for, say, $100 billion.
• Russia would likely have accepted – $100 billion isn’t much for them – and they’ve already lost about $50 billion through capital flight anyway as a result of the current crisis.
• Putin would also likely have gone for this as it would remove the threat of international sanctions, and the initiative would probably have paid for itself through gas exports to Ukraine.
• Ukraine would have accepted too – its economy is in crisis and it needs at least $15 billion a year in aid just to function.
• The international community would also support it, and would probably be relieved that it wouldn’t have to put up the cash to tide Ukraine through its difficult times.

Read more about the idea, how it would work, why all parties would agree to it, and how it can still be operationalized over here.

Source: Quartz

Later this year Scots will vote on whether or not to secede from the United Kingdom. The Brits are doing everything in their power to avoid that writes Steven Erlanger:

• Haggis, a traditional Scottish delicacy, is banned in the US as America doesn’t allow the consumption of sheep’s lungs – vital to a proper haggis.
• Britain’s environment secretary visited Washington and lobbying for the legalization of haggis was a centerpiece of his mission to the States.
• The export of haggis and other specialty foods could be worth up to $85 billion a year.
• The Brits no doubt hope that by opening up the American market, the Scots will have further reason to stay within the Kingdom.

Read more here.

Source: The New York Times

Via: Marginal Revolution

Douglas Main writes that helium isn’t just used for filling balloons. It’s used in heavy industry and we’re running out:

• Helium-3, a useful isotope of helium cost about $100 a liter for decades.
• After 9/11 the US government used the same isotope to detect bomb making materials, causing demand to spike.
• Prices have increased by a factor for 2.5 each year since 2008, and not only will science take a hit, helium balloons may start to cost up to $100 a pop.
• In 2021 the US will cutoff access to its strategic helium reserves causing prices to further spike.
• On the plus side, helium is fairly abundant on the moon so if the earth ever gets its moon programs together again, we could mine some there.

Read more over here.

Source: Popular Science

Today is World UFO day. The Economist plotted the frequency of UFO sightings in the United States against the time of day, and the geographic location of sightings and found:

• Sightings peek between the period when work ends and sleep begins, especially on Fridays. Also known as the “drinking hours”.
• States in the north are more likely to see UFOs – the very same states that may glimpse the northern lights every now and then.
• UFOs typically avoid big cities where there are many witnesses.

Read more about the effect that the legalization of pot may have had, details about the data, and more over here.

Source: The Economist

Uber is a service that lets almost anybody operate their own taxi, to be hailed through a mobile app. Megan Rose Dickey took a look at what aspiring Uber drivers can hope to earn:

• Uber released data showing that half its New York City drivers earn more than $90,000 a year.
• However the sample only included those drivers who work over 40 hours a week and didn’t include costs such as gas, insurance, or Uber’s 20% cut.
• One Uber driver grossed $15 an hour. But after taking into account costs that goes down to about $4.54 an hour – well below minimum wage.
• To make $75,000 a year in San Francisco a driver would have to work a 58 hour work week.
• Those not looking to make it a full time gig can work 16 hours on Friday and Saturday nights to make about $400 per week.

Read more about the costs and benefits of being an Uber driver, some driver requirements, and more over here.

Source: Business Insider

Ariana Giorgi and Eric Chemi reported on a study by the European Central Bank on the impact the World Cup has on stock market trading:

• When a game is on during market hours, trading volumes fall as financial professionals choose to watch the game instead.
• This effect is especially pronounced in the country where traders have a team on the field.
• Chile’s traders seem to be the most football obsessed. During the 2010 World Cup trading dropped 99% when the Chilean team was playing a match.

See how the other countries compare and read more details about the study over here.

Source: Businessweek

The BBC looked at some statistics which indicate that this is the best Football World Cup ever:

• In the group stages of the game there have, on average, been 2.83 goals per game – more than any other World Cup in over 50 years.
• Nail biting finishes are a crowd pleaser and in the group stages there were seven that were decided in the last five minutes.
• The games have been close – 44% of the games were won with a one-goal margin, the most in World Cup history.
• A record 83% of games have ended in a win instead of a draw.

Read some of the other stats here.

Source: BBC

Stephanie Clifford and Jessica Silver-Greenbergjune wrote that prisons are allowed to operate monopolies that charge prisoners unreasonable amounts:

• In one prison a telephone call starts at $3.15, each email costs 33 cents, and money transfers require a fee of $4.95.
• Companies that offer products to prisoners are able to charge such high amounts because they are often granted a monopoly to operate the service.
• Local governments have little incentive to change the system since they get a cut of the profits. In one county the sheriff’s office gets 84% of the revenue.
• The prison businesses are expanding their services. One is offering a $50 tablet which will allow prisoners to listen to MP3s and read books. Those who get their family to pay money for the device will, of course, be charged additional fees.
• Even once prisoners are released the government may continue to charge fees. Any saved up prison earnings, for example, are put on a pre-paid debit card which imposes fees.
• The companies note that the fees are used to offset the cost of monitoring prison communications.

Read more about the various fees that are charged, the companies that charge them, and the burden they impose on the families of prisoners over here.

Source: The New York Times

Bars across the United States are celebrating that America made it to the next round of the football World Cup writes Matt Vasilogambros:

• Bars in the US have seen sales double during world cup matches.
• One bar that typically opens after 5pm has taken to opening at 11am during matches.
• The most pressing concern is that the USA will soon be eliminated. If that happens then bars will lose thousands in revenue.
• After England was knocked out bars, supermarket and sports shop all reported a fall in sales.

Read more about the cities that are most into the world cup and why bars are a popular venue to watch the matches over here.

Source: Citylab

Elena Holodny writes that you might not always get what you pay for:

• According to a study CEO pay is negatively correlated with stock market performance – so the more you pay a CEO the less well its share price does.
• The effect holds true for up to three years after the CEO is paid.
• This correlation is even stronger for CEOs given incentive pay – typically meant to tie compensation to long term company performance.
• This relationship may be because those who are paid a lot get over confident and then make poor decisions.

Read more over here.

Source: Business Insider