desire cretan: June 2013

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Facebook security bug exposed 6 million users' personal information

Today, Facebook announced a security bug that compromised the personal account information of six million users. In a post on the Facebook Security page, the site's White Hat team explained that some of the information the site uses to deliver friend recommendations was "inadvertently stored with people's contact information as part of their account on Facebook." When users downloaded an archive of their account via the DYI (download your information) tool, some were apparently given access to additional contact info for friends and even friends of friends. The post continues:

We've concluded that approximately 6 million Facebook users had email addresses or telephone numbers shared. There were other email addresses or telephone numbers included in the downloads, but they were not connected to any Facebook users or even names of individuals. For almost all of the email addresses or telephone numbers impacted, each individual email address or telephone number was only included in a download once or twice. This means, in almost all cases, an email address or telephone number was only exposed to one person. Additionally, no other types of personal or financial information were included and only people on Facebook - not developers or advertisers - have access to the DYI tool.

Facebook says it's temporarily disabled the DYI tool to fix the breach. We've reached out to the site for further comment; for now, read the official statement via the source link below.

Filed under: Internet, Facebook

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Facebook

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/F49LybNl9sU/

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'Independence Day 2' to Debut on July 3, 2015

By Todd Cunningham

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Independence Day 2" will hit theaters on July 3, 2015, Fox said Thursday.

It was one of several movie date moves by the studio, which also set a July 31, 2015, for the release of "Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children," its adaptation of author Ransom Riggs' childrens' bestseller.

"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" will now debut on July 18, 2014, rather than May 23 of that year.

"X-Men: Days of Future Past," which had been set for July 18, is shifting to May 23.

And "Assassin's Creed" is now to be released on June 19, 2015, rather than May 22 of that year.

The original "Independence Day," directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Will Smith and Bill Pullman, brought in $306 million domestically and $817 million worldwide in 1996.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/independence-day-2-debut-july-3-2015-222202346.html

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FOR KIDS: A new way to eavesdrop

Scientists film throat movements to decode the spoken word

By Stephen Ornes

Web edition: June 21, 2013

Enlarge

See what he's saying?

A high-speed camera offers a new way to eavesdrop ? without a microphone or lipreading.

Credit: Courtesy of Yasuhiro Oikawa

Eavesdroppers soon might have another way to monitor far-off conversations. All they will need is the right camera, pointed at a speaker?s throat.

When you talk, your voice box jiggles can reveal what you're saying to an eavesdropper, reports a new study. Its authors include engineer Yasuhiro Oikawa and other researchers from Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan.
?

Visit the new?Science News for Kids?website and read the full story:??A new way to eavesdrop

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/351176/title/FOR_KIDS_A_new_way_to_eavesdrop

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Senate immigration bill boosted by border deal

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Far-reaching immigration legislation offering the prize of U.S. citizenship to millions is swiftly gaining ground in the Senate following agreement between Republicans and Democrats on dramatic steps aimed at securing the border with Mexico.

The deal to double Border Patrol agents and fencing along the Southwest border won support Thursday from four undecided Republican senators for the immigration bill that's a top priority for President Barack Obama. More appeared likely to come on board, putting the legislation within reach of securing the bipartisan vote that its authors say is needed to ensure serious consideration by the GOP-controlled House.

"It is safe to say that this agreement has the power to change minds in the Senate," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a lead author of the bill. "With this agreement, we have now answered every criticism that has come forward about the immigration bill."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said the deal should satisfy those Republicans concerned that the border security provisions in the bill were too weak. "If they can't accept these provisions, then border security is not their problem," McCain said.

The deal was developed by Republican Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and John Hoeven of North Dakota, in consultation with Schumer, McCain and other members of the so-called Gang of Eight senators who wrote the immigration bill. It prevents immigrants now here illegally from attaining permanent resident status until a series of steps have been taken to secure the border.

These include doubling the Border Patrol with 20,000 new agents, 18 new unmanned surveillance drones, 350 miles of new fencing to add to the 350 miles already built, and an array of fixed and mobile devices to maintain vigilance, including high-tech tools such as infrared ground sensors and airborne radar.

The new provisions would be put in place over a decade, in line with the 10-year path to a permanent resident green card that the bill sets out for immigrants here illegally. During that time, the immigrants could live and work legally in a provisional status.

Vice President Joe Biden told a predominantly Latino crowd of 1,100 gathered in Las Vegas for the national conference for the League of United Latin American Citizens that now is the time for a "fair, and firm and unfettered path for 11 million people" to become U.S. citizens.

"The question you should ask is, 'What will immigration reform do for America?'" Biden said Thursday. "The answer is clear and resounding: It can and will do great things for America."

Hoeven said the 10-year cost included $25 billion for the additional Border Patrol agents, $3 billion for fencing and $3.2 billion for other measures.

It's "border security on steroids," said Corker, who along with Hoeven had been uncommitted on the immigration bill. Both are now prepared to support it, assuming their amendment is adopted, as is expected to happen early next week. Sens. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., also announced their support Thursday.

Corker and Hoeven had said they expected the legislation to be formally unveiled in the Senate late Thursday, but for unexplained reasons that did not happen. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., adjourned the Senate around 10:30 p.m., saying the amendment was nearly ready and the Senate could move forward with it Friday.

The deal on border security came together quickly earlier this week after talks had bogged down over Republicans' insistence that green cards be made conditional on catching or turning back 90 percent of would-be border crossers. Schumer, other Democrats and Obama himself rejected this trigger, which they feared could delay the path to citizenship for years.

The breakthrough came when the Congressional Budget Office released a report Tuesday finding that the bill would cut billions of dollars from the deficit.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., an author of the bill who helped run interference between Corker and Hoeven and Democrats in the group, said that with the CBO finding in hand, he sat down with Schumer and Corker and said, "OK, let's go big."

The idea immediately appealed to the left and the right.

For Republicans, it provided concrete assurances that the bill would achieve a secure border. For Democrats, it offered goals that, if dramatic, were achievable and measurable.

Still, not everyone was won over.

Shortly before Corker and Hoeven went to the Senate floor to announce their agreement Thursday afternoon, five leading Republican opponents of the bill held a news conference to denounce the deal as little more than an empty promise.

"In short I think this amendment is designed to pass the bill but not to fix the bill," Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said.

About 10 Republicans have indicated they will vote for the bill, far more than enough to ensure it will have the 60 votes required to overcome any attempted filibuster by last-ditch opponents. Democrats control 54 seats, and party aides have said they do not expect any defections.

In addition to the border security components and eventual citizenship for the 11 million people now here illegally, the immigration bill would create new work visa programs and expand existing ones to allow tens of thousands of workers into the country to work in high- and low-skilled jobs.

Employers would have to verify their workers' legal status.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-immigration-bill-boosted-border-deal-073020424.html

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Obama says FBI nominee Comey will balance privacy, security

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In nominating Jim Comey to be the next FBI director on Friday, President Barack Obama said the former Justice Department official will help strike a balance between the need for information on terrorist plots and respecting Americans' privacy.

The need for such balance has been brought to the fore recently with the disclosure that the U.S. government has conducted vast surveillance of Americans' phone and internet data in its search for foreign terrorism plots.

Obama used the example of a tumultuous episode from Comey's past to promote the Republican. Comey had famously refused to certify the legal aspects of National Security Agency domestic surveillance during a 2004 stint as acting attorney general while then-Attorney General John Ashcroft was hospitalized with pancreatitis.

The refusal prompted two senior White House officials - counsel Alberto Gonzales and chief of staff Andrew Card - to try to persuade Ashcroft to sign the certification. Comey, who was in the room, said Ashcroft refused.

"He was prepared to give up a job he loved rather than be part of something he felt was fundamentally wrong," Obama said in a Rose Garden ceremony to announce Comey's nomination to replace FBI Director Robert Mueller.

"Jim understands that in time of crisis, we aren't judged solely by how many plots we disrupt or how many criminals we bring to justice - we're also judged by our commitment to the Constitution that we've sworn to defend," he said.

The surveillance program resurfaced as a major bone of contention this month after disclosures about it by former government contractor Edward Snowden.

Obama said he was confident that Comey "will be a leader who understands how to keep America safe and stay true to our founding ideals, no matter what the future may bring."

Comey, 52, served as deputy U.S. attorney general for President George W. Bush. He had previously been the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

If confirmed by the Senate, he would replace FBI Director Robert Mueller, who has held the position for 12 years.

The Washington, D.C.-based Federal Bureau of Investigation serves as both a federal criminal investigative agency and a domestic intelligence body.

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-says-fbi-nominee-comey-balance-privacy-security-201830440.html

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Stocks extend slide as China heightens anxiety

NEW YORK (AP) ? For investors, there was no place to go on Thursday.

A day after the Federal Reserve roiled Wall Street when it said it could reduce its aggressive economic stimulus program later this year, financial markets around the world plunged. A slowdown in Chinese manufacturing and reports of a credit squeeze in the world's second-biggest economy heightened worries.

The global sell-off began in Asia and quickly spread to Europe and then the U.S., where the Dow Jones industrial average fell 353 points, wiping out six weeks of gains.

But the damage wasn't just in stocks. Bond prices fell, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.42 percent, its highest level since August 2011, although still low by historical standards. Oil and gold also slid.

"People are worried about higher interest rates," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners. "Higher rates have the ability to cut across all sectors of the economy."

The question now is whether the markets' moves on Thursday were an overreaction or a sign of more volatility to come. What is becoming clearer is that traders and investors are looking for a new equilibrium after a period of ultra-low rates, due to the Fed's bond-buying, which helped spawn one of the great bull markets of all time.

It doesn't mean the stock run-up is over. After all, the S&P 500 is still up 11.4 percent for the year and 135 percent since a recession low in March 2009. But it may suggest the start of a new phase in which the fortunes of the stock market are tied more closely to the fundamentals of the economy.

And that might not be a bad thing. The reason the Fed is pulling back on the bond-buying is because its forecast for the economy is getting brighter.

The job market is improving, corporations are making record profits and the housing market is recovering.

"People are overreacting a little bit," said Gene Goldman, head of research at Cetera Financial Group. "It goes back to the fundamentals, the economy is improving."

The Dow's drop Thursday ? which knocked the average down 2.3 percent to 14,758.32 ? was its biggest since November 2011. It comes just three weeks after the blue-chip index reached an all-time high of 15,409. The index has lost 560 points in the past two days, wiping out its gains from May and June

The Standard & Poor's 500 lost 40.74 points, or 2.5 percent, to 1,588.19. It also reached a record high last month, peaking at 1,669. The Nasdaq composite fell 78.57 points, or 2.3 percent, to 3,364.63.

Small-company stocks fell more than the rest of the market Thursday, a sign that investors are aggressively reducing risk. The Russell 2000 index, which includes such stocks, slumped 25.98 points, or 2.6 percent, to 960.52. The index closed at a record high of 999.99 points Tuesday.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.42 percent, from 2.35 percent Wednesday. The yield, which rises as the price of the note falls, surged 0.16 percentage point Wednesday after the Fed's comments. As recently as May 3, it was 1.63 percent.

A Fed policy statement and comments from Chairman Ben Bernanke started the selling in stocks and bonds Wednesday.

Bernanke said that the Fed expects to scale back its massive bond-buying program later this year and end it entirely by mid-2014 if the economy continues to improve.

The bank has been buying $85 billion a month in Treasury and mortgage bonds, a program that has made borrowing cheap for consumers and business. It has also helped boost the stock market.

Alec Young, a global equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ, said investors weren't expecting Bernanke to say the program could end so quickly, and are adjusting their portfolios in anticipation of higher U.S. interest rates.

"What we're seeing is a pretty significant sea-change in investor strategy," Young said

For much of the year, the stock market rose with barely an interruption. The S&P 500 climbed for seven months straight from November 2012 through May. Investors, fearful of missing out on the rally, pounced on any dips and pushed markets to record highs. On Thursday, those opportunistic buyers were absent. Nobody wanted to stand in the way of the market's slide.

As investors sold stocks, they likely put the proceeds in cash "for fear the deterioration will continue," said Quincy Krosby, a market strategist at Prudential Financial.

The sharp increase in bond yields prompted investors to sell homebuilders, whose business could be hurt if the pace of home buying slows down. Those stocks fell Thursday even though the National Association of Realtors said U.S. sales of previously occupied homes last month topped 5 million at an annual rate for the first time in 3 ? years.

PulteGroup plunged $1.89, or 9.1 percent, to $18.87. D.R. Horton fell $2.13, also 9.1 percent, to $21.31.

Markets were also unnerved after manufacturing in China slowed at a faster pace this month as demand weakened. That added to concerns about growth in the world's second-largest economy. A monthly purchasing managers index from HSBC fell to a nine-month low of 48.3 in June. Numbers below 50 indicate a contraction.

A big jump in the overnight lending rate in China also unsettled investors, said Brad Reynolds, a financial advisor at LJPR. The rate measures how much banks charge each other to borrow short-term money. The People's Bank of China was forced to pump about 50 billion yuan, about $8 billion, into the Chinese financial system to alleviate the squeeze, Bloomberg News reported.

Before trading began Thursday on Wall Street, Japan's Nikkei index lost 1.7 percent. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares fell 3 percent while Germany's DAX dropped 3.3 percent.

In currency trading, the dollar rose to 97.34 Japanese yen from 96.54 yen. The euro fell against the dollar, to $1.3197 from $1.3274.

Gold plunged, leading a rout in commodity prices. Gold dropped $87.80, or 6.4 percent, to $1,286.20 an ounce. Silver fell $1.80, or 8.3 percent, to $19.823 an ounce. Both are at their lowest since September 2010.

Traders dumped gold and silver as their appeal as insurance against inflation and a weak dollar faded. Both became less of an issue after the Fed said it was contemplating an end to its bond-buying program.

Oil was swept up in the sell-off. Crude oil had its biggest one-day price drop since November. U.S. benchmark oil for July delivery sank $2.84, or 2.9 percent, to finish at $95.40 a barrel in New York. Gasoline futures fell more than 3 percent.

Some investors said the sell-off in stocks may be overdone. The Fed is considering easing back on its stimulus because the economy is improving. The central bank has upgraded its outlook for unemployment and economic growth.

The S&P 500 is still up 11.3 percent, for the year, not far from its full-year increase of 13.4 percent last year.

Among other stocks making big moves:

? GameStop, a video game store chain that sells new and used games, rose $2.41, or 6.3 percent, to $40.94 after Microsoft backpedaled and said that there will be no limitations on sharing games on its upcoming Xbox One gaming console.

? Rite Aid fell 23 cents, or 7.4 percent, to $2.88 after the nation's third-largest drugstore chain lowered its forecast for 2014 earnings

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-extend-slide-china-heightens-anxiety-231733300.html

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Samsung ATIV One 5 Style AIO hands-on (video)

Welcome Samsung's new (but kind of familiar-looking) all-in-one PC. The ATIV One 5 Style is a white, metallic 21.5-inch desktop that, naturally, looks huge next to Samsung's more portable range. With some familiar curved corners and the glossy finish of a Galaxy device, Samsung has knowingly transferred the styling of its very successful smartphones to this new PC -- like it's also done with the new ATIV Tab 3. The 1080p display is suitably bright, and the viewing angles suggest it could double up as a respectable media hub. Storage options will go up to 1TB, and it'll ship with 4GB of RAM. There are also plenty of ports for connecting removable media or games consoles. Dotted around both the left and right edges and the stand are two USB 3.0 connections, two USB 2.0 sockets and HDMI in and out, as well as a 3-in-1 card reader.

The adjustable hinge was satisfyingly rigid as we tapped through Windows' Modern UI, while the wireless keyboard (included in the box) didn't distract us much as we typed away. It's a simple chiclet affair, but one we're used to. It's also one of the rare new ATIV products to arrive without a stylus, but it will come with a mouse when it ships later this year.

Gallery: Samsung ATIV 5 Style AIO hands-on

Filed under: Desktops, Samsung

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/AU2_NfmBeJI/

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The Red Queen was right: Life must continually evolve to avoid extinction

June 20, 2013 ? The death of individual species shouldn't be the only concern for biologists worried about animal groups, such as frogs or the "big cats," going extinct. A University of California, Berkeley, study has found that a lack of new, emerging species also contributes to extinction.

"Virtually no biologist thinks about the failure to originate as being a major factor in the long term causes of extinction," said Charles Marshall, director of the UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology and professor of integrative biology, and co-author of the report. "But we found that a decrease in the origin of new species is just as important as increased extinction rate in driving mammals to extinction."

The effects of such a decrease would play out over millions of years, Marshall said, not rapidly, like the global change Earth is experiencing from human activities. Yet, the findings should help biologists understand the pressures on today's flora and fauna and what drove evolution and extinction in the past, he added.

The results, published June 20 in the journal Science Express, come from a study of 19 groups of mammals that either are extinct or, in the case of horses, elephants, rhinos and others, are in decline from a past peak in diversity. All are richly represented in the fossil record and had their origins sometime in the last 66 million years, during the Cenozoic Era.

The study was designed to test a popular evolutionary theory called the Red Queen hypothesis, named after Lewis Carroll's character who, in the book "Through the Looking Glass," described her country as a place where "it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place."

In biology, this means that animals and plants don't just disappear because of bad luck in a static and unchanging environment, like a gambler losing it all to a run of bad luck at the slot machines. Instead, they face constant change -- a deteriorating environment and more successful competitors and predators -- that requires them to continually adapt and evolve new species just to survive.

Though the specific cause of declining originations and rising extinctions for these groups is unclear, the researchers concluded that the mammals' death was not just dumb luck.

"Each group has either lost, or is losing, to an increasingly difficult environment," Marshall said. "These groups' demise was at least in part due to loss to the Red Queen -- that is, a failure to keep pace with a deteriorating environment."

Marshall and former UC Berkeley post-doctoral fellow Tiago Quental found that the animal groups were initially driven to higher diversity until they reached the carrying capacity of their environment, or the maximum number of species their environment could hold. After that, their environment deteriorated to the point where there was too much diversity to be sustained, leading to their extinction.

"In fact, our data suggest that biological systems may never be in equilibrium at all, with groups expanding and contracting under persistent and rather, geologically speaking, rapid change," he said.

Marshall and Quental, who is now at the University of Sao Paolo, Brazil, will present their results in two talks this Saturday, June 22, at the Evolution 2013 meeting in Snowbird, Utah.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/ij2PGsuRi5I/130620142934.htm

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Friday, June 21, 2013

The Martini: This American Cocktail May Have An International Twist ...

The martini: international drink of mystery? Photo: iStockphoto.com

Post by April Fulton, The Salt at NPR Food (6/19/13)

There?s no cocktail more distinctly American than the martini. It?s strong, sophisticated and sexy. It?s everything we hope to project while ordering one.

Baltimore-born satirist H.L. Mencken is said to have called the martini ?the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet.? But is the martini perfectly American? Maybe not entirely.

So in honor of National Martini Day on Wednesday, we decided to dig into the drink?s muddled past.

The history of the martini is a murky one. As is the case with many alcoholic concoctions through time, things weren?t always written down, and memories got fuzzy from drinking a few of them.

Many historians follow the martini back to a miner who struck gold in California during the Gold Rush. The story goes that a miner walked into a bar and asked for a special drink to celebrate his new fortune. The bartender threw together what he had on hand ? fortified wine (vermouth) and gin, and a few other goodies ? and called it a Martinez, after the town in which the bar was located.

The Martinez was a hit, according to the city of Martinez?s official website, and word soon spread about the new drink. It was published in the Bartender?s Manual in the 1880s.

And yet, author Barnaby Conrad III, who wrote a book on the drink?s history, asserts that San Francisco is the martini?s true birthplace. Then there?s the claim that a New York bartender created it in 1911.

And wait, there?s more: An Italian vermouth maker started marketing its product under the brand name Martini in 1863.

?Personally ? I think the martini may have gotten its name because of Martini & Rossi vermouth,? says Robert Hess, secretary of the Museum of the American Cocktail in New York. ?A customer asks for a ?Martini? cocktail because it utilized that product, much as they might ask for a ?sherry? cocktail in those days if they wanted a cocktail which used sherry. During the 1800s, many drinks were named very simply (gin cocktail, fancy gin cocktail, gin cobbler, gin daisy, etc.),? Hess tells us via email.

Over the years, the drink?s fame has grown, as its ingredients (Butterscotch? Seriously?), the ratio of spirits to vermouth, and even its name changed (try saying Martinez three times fast). And there are people who prefer drier versions of a martini, vodka instead of gin, and shaken instead of stirred.

But where does that all-important olive garnish come in?

Nobody knows for sure, but our far-flung correspondent Deborah Amos may have a lead.

Last year, she tells The Salt, she was interviewing a Dr. Ammar Martini, a member of the Syrian Red Crescent, at a Syrian rehab hospital on the Turkish border.

?As we were chatting, I said, ?Hmmm, Martini, that?s an unusual Arab name, no?? And he said, ?There are a lot of Martinis in northern Syria. In fact, my grandfather gave the name to a famous drink in the West,? ? Amos recalls.

And how did that happen? she asked. Martini said that after the French left Syria (they occupied it from 1920-1946), his grandfather went to Paris and ran a bar and a caf?.

?His contribution to the famous drink, according to his grandson, was to put an olive in the glass ? and he did so because Idlib province in Syria [where he was from] is famous for olives ? and so the drink was called Martini after its Syrian inventor,? she tells us.

While it?s a great story, ?unfortunately, this particular one doesn?t hold up when you realize that the martini cocktail existed pre-1900,? Hess says.

It seems that everyone wants to take credit for this famous cocktail.

Extra Credit: In 1935, Mencken wrote an essay called How to Drink Like a Gentleman: The Things to Do and the Things Not To, as Learned in 30 Years? Extensive Research, which contains some surprisingly modern advice about how best to enjoy alcohol and some sharp passages on the state of American education.

?Drinking with skill and taste is no more a natural art than love; either it must be learned by the onerous process of trial and error, or it must be taught,? he writes. The essay was recently republished here by Gawker.

Copyright 2013 NPR.

Tags: cocktail, martini, National Martini day

Category: cocktails and spirits, holidays and traditions, NPR food

Source: http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2013/06/19/the-martini-this-american-cocktail-may-have-an-international-twist/

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Is the drop in financial markets an overreaction?

Specialist John Urbanowicz works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, June 20, 2013. Financial markets are sliding after the Federal Reserve said it could end its huge bond-buying program by the middle of next year. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Mario Picone works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, June 20, 2013. Financial markets are sliding after the Federal Reserve said it could end its huge bond-buying program by the middle of next year. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist John O'Hara works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, June 20, 2013. Financial markets are sliding after the Federal Reserve said it could end its huge bond-buying program by the middle of next year. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Justin Flinn works in a booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, June 20, 2013. Financial markets are sliding after the Federal Reserve said it could end its huge bond-buying program by the middle of next year. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Stunned investors are now wondering whether the markets' big sell-off was an overreaction or a sign of more volatility to come.

Global financial markets plunged Thursday after the Federal Reserve roiled Wall Street by saying it could reduce its aggressive economic stimulus program later this year. Concerns about China's economy heightened worries.

The global selling spree began in Asia and quickly spread to Europe and then the U.S., where the Dow Jones industrial average fell 353 points, wiping out six weeks of gains.

"People are worried about higher interest rates," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners. "Higher rates have the ability to cut across all sectors of the economy."

The losses extended into Asia early Friday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 1.5 percent, while South Korea's Kospi declined 2 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 index, the regional heavyweight, fell marginally.

So what next? Traders and investors are looking for a new equilibrium after a period of ultra-low rates, due to the Fed's bond-buying, which helped spawn one of the great bull markets of all time.