Predata uses such mass monitoring to discern online patterns that might be used to project real-world occurrences. Each Sunday, it sends out a “Week Ahead” mailer, breaking down the statistical likelihood of particular contingencies based on web monitoring. Billion-dollar Wall Street hedge funds are interested in any hints of unrest that might move markets. U.S. intelligence agencies are interested in signs of looming terror attacks or geopolitical shifts. For instance, North Korean missile and nuclear bomb tests have been predicted by analysts studying the correlation between past tests and
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