Toyota Motor Corp. plans to spend years designing cars in which humans retain a large measure of control, since the goal of turning all driving decisions over to computers seems too dangerous for now. The problem, Toyota said Wednesday, is that society has come to accept 39,000 traffic fatalities a year in the U.S., mostly due to human error, but would never tolerate similar carnage involving cars controlled by computers.
Day: January 4, 2017
Singapore Charges Ex-Falcon Bank Manager in 1MDB-Linked Case
Singapore prosecutors charged a former branch manager of Falcon Private Bank Ltd., the fifth person to be indicted in the city-state’s probe linked to a scandal-hit Malaysian state investment fund. Jens Sturzenegger, a Swiss, faces 16 charges including failing to report to the authorities that $1.27 billion of inflows into two bank accounts were suspicious, according to papers filed Thursday in a state court.
American Drivers Seen Paying $52 Billion More to Fill Up in 2017
Americans may spend $52 billion more to fill their cars this year as OPEC output cuts boost oil prices and state tax hikes take a bigger bite, according to GasBuddy Organization Inc. The national yearly average will rise to $2.49 a gallon from $2.13 in 2016, analysts at GasBuddy, which tracks retail prices and availability,said in a 2017 outlook. The jump more than reverses the $39 billion decline last year.
Crown Jewel of U.S. Shale Behind the Endless Pursuit of Williams
Some 67 years after the Transco pipeline was laid from the Gulf Coast of Texas to New York City, it remains the crown jewel of the natural gas industry, fed by America’s richest shale patch. In the past year, the allure of this 10,500-mile system has helped trigger two failed takeover bids for Williams, a clash between Armstrong and billionaire pipeline magnate Kelcy Warren and a mass exodus from the company’s board.
JPMorgan Lashing by Indonesia Signals Global Threat to Analysts
The world is getting more hazardous for skeptical analysts, the banks that employ them and investors who rely on their published research. Even by the rough-and-tumble standards of emerging markets, Indonesia’s punishment of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Russell Westbrook hit a ref in the head with the basketball…
This comes less than one week after Westbrook was ejected from a game and he complained about not getting the same treatment other players receive. The latest incident came late in the first quarter against the Charlotte Hornets when the Oklahoma City Thunder called timeout.
Intel handed out barf bags for its event at CES
Attendees at tech trade shows are accustomed to getting plied with all sorts of shwag, but those who attended Intel’s event on Wednesday got something different: barf bags. to attendees at its press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada – a precaution in case audience members got sick during the virtual reality experience.
Amazon’s voice-assistant Alexa is coming to its first phone ever
That’s according to a billboard, first spotted by Digital Trends’ Andy Boxall , at the Consumer Electronics Show currently being held in Las Vegas. The billboard says the Chinese smartphone maker Huawei’s Mate 9 will be the “first smartphone with Amazon Alexa,” adding it’ll be available on January 6 through Amazon, Best Buy, Newegg, and B&H.
Futures Lower, but Dow 20k Is in View; Asia Mixed
Futures for U.S. markets were lower late Wednesday, but investors on Thursday may take a run at bumping the Dow Jones Industrials over the record 20,000 mark amid a handful of economic indicators. The Dow and the S&P 500 slid 0.04% at 9:14 p.m. EST while Nasdaq lost 0.09%.
Credit Suisse Moves to Block Jefferies Bid to Hire Bankers
Credit Suisse Group AG is seeking to thwart an attempt by Jefferies Group LLC to lure away a group of senior bankers. Five of eight Credit Suisse bankers who had been in talks to join Jefferies have instead agreed to stay on, according to a spokeswoman for the Swiss lender.
Ono Pharma’s Wild 2016 Ride Cuts Stock Valuation by $16 Billion
Having surged as much as 34 percent as of mid-April, the stock finished the year down more than 41 percent, marking its worst performance in more than 50 years. The swing reduced its market capitalization by about 1.87 trillion yen from a record high in April.
Sports Direct faces revolt over vote to keep Hellawell
Independent investors are being urged to vote against his re-election because of a “catalogue of governance and operational failures” under his watch.
ETF Trends Publisher Tom Lydon: Catalysts Needed to Reach Dow 20K
ETF Trends publisher Tom Lydon and Jefferies Chief Financial Economist Ward McCarthy appeared on Fox Business on Wednesday to discuss what could be the catalyst that propels the Dow to 20,000. Lydon attributed overseas inflation to part of the pick-up in the markets.
Obama renominates FCC Democrat in his final two weeks
President Obama has renominated Federal Communications Commission Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel to be reappointed to the five-member panel after his initial nomination effort failed last year. The president made the announcement Wednesday as part of a slew of last-minute nominations sent to the Senate with just over two weeks left in office.
Apple to Invest $1 Billion in SoftBank Fund to Support Tech
Apple Inc. is planning to invest $1 billion in SoftBank Group Corp.’s giant new technology fund, adding its name to a growing list of interested parties and giving the iPhone maker a new avenue to tap up-and-coming technologies. Qualcomm Inc. also said it will participate in the fund, but the terms and the amount of its investment are still under discussion.
Automakers’ December Deals Push 2016 to a Record Seventh Gain
Automakers bought themselves a holiday present in 2016 to achieve a record seventh straight annual sales gain — at a steep cost. Aggressive dealmaking in December ultimately pushed the year’s total sales to a record 17.55 million cars and light trucks — a feat considered unlikely just six months earlier.
China’s Used-Phone King Pushes Old Stuff to a Nation Craving New
Millions of toxic smartphones end up in landfills around the world each year. Kerry Chen thinks he can change that, starting with China — one of the worst offenders.
Alibaba cracks down on counterfeiters on their platform
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has sued two vendors for selling counterfeit goods, weeks after being blacklisted by a US industry watchdog. The move comes just two weeks after the company was put back onto the US’s “notorious markets” list over failing to curb the sale of counterfeit goods.
How Net Neutrality Affects You
What do you do if the gift you’re planning on giving is under recall? We have answers. Randy Mac reports for the NBC4 News on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2016.
Why Valero Energy, Ensign Group, and The Bancorp Slumped Today
Wednesday was another good day for the stock market, as major market benchmarks posted gains of between 0.25% and 1% to climb back within reach of new record levels. Many market participants focused on the release of the Federal Open Market Committee’s most recent meeting minutes, which didn’t have any major surprises that threatened the positive mood among investors.
Why Nike CEO Says “Less Is More”
For the year, Nike stock dropped 19%, making it the worst-performing stock of the Dow. The lackluster year has left investors wondering how the company will fix the issues that have worried Wall Street — namely slower-than-expected-sales growth as well as higher input costs and inventory issues that have decreased gross margin and earnings potential.
Why Encana, Acadia Pharmaceuticals, and Tenet Healthcare Jumped Today
The stock market continued to perform well on Wednesday, sending the S&P 500 to within a point of a new all-time record closing high. The Dow remained stubbornly below 20,000, but major market benchmarks posted gains of around half a percent as the latest release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee meeting didn’t raise any alarms or reveal any big surprises from monetary policymakers.
Trump Seeks To Restructure U.S. Intelligence Agencies: Report
President-elect Donald Trump is working on plans to revamp and streamline U.S. intelligence agencies, according to a report Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal . Trump will reportedly aim to reduce staffing at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Virginia and put more people into the field.
The Simple Reason I Won’t Buy Tesla Motors Stock
Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Image source: OnInnovation via Flickr. Copyright 2010 The Henry Ford.
Macy’s to close stores, cut jobs amid weak sales
Macy’s says it is eliminating more than 10,000 jobs and plans to move forward with 68 store closures after a disappointing holiday shopping season. The department store chain also lowered its full-year earnings forecast.
7 Signs Amazon’s Best Days Are Ahead of It
The company has come to dominate the retail industry and is rapidly disrupting many other areas of the global economy. Yet with its stock up several hundred times in value since its 1997 IPO, you’d be excused for thinking Amazon’s days of turbocharged growth are long gone.
Hackers breached Podesta’s email with a simple scam
Jan. 04, 2017 – 3:16 – Cybersecurity Expert Morgan Wright on how easy it was to hack into John Podesta’s emails.
Venezuelan Jews have started migrating to Israel, but not all…
In the years since Hugo Chavez took office in 1999, well-off Venezuelans left the country, followed by educated professionals, and, most recently, the youth and middle class. Now another marginalized group has begun to head for the exits: Venezuelan Jews, who have in the past moved to the US or Panama but have struggled to do so as Venezuela’s economic drains more of the country’s wealth.
Is It the Magic of Trump or Just Investors Blinded by a Happy New Year? -ICYMI
Macy’s said Wednesday it will close 68 stores by early spring. Macy’s flagship store in Herald Square in New York City is pictured above circa 1895.
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh shares what he would have changed about his $350M downtown Las Vegas project
Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, attends a groundbreaking ceremony for Fremont9, a new apartment complex at East Fremont and Ninth streets, on Monday, May 16, 2016, in downtown Las Vegas. It was an ambitious gamble – even by Vegas standards.
Revolution will soon release the Vin Diesel franchise film ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’.
Under its new ownership, the finance-acquisition-distribution company will continue operations under CEO Vince Totino and COO Scott Hemming, the latter of which will now also serves as the company’s president. Founded in 2000, Revolution has produced films that include Black Hawk Down , Maid in Manhattan , Hellboy and xXx , and will soon release the Vin Diesel franchise film xXx: Return of Xander Cage .
Ad Industry Petitions FCC To Jettison Its Privacy Rules
Advertising trade groups are seizing the political moment in a bid to dismantle the Federal Communications Commission’s recently passed broadband consumer privacy laws . With the commission on the cusp of a Republican majority – Chairman Tom Wheeler has said he’ll step down on inauguration day – the writing could be on the wall for the FCC’s controversial regulations.
Fed Officials Endorse Gradual Rate Hikes as Upside Risks Debated
Federal Reserve officials focused on the impact of potential fiscal stimulus during their December policy meeting, with many starting to worry that the central bank might eventually be forced to quicken the pace of interest-rate increases to head off higher inflation. Almost all the participants “indicated that the upside risks to their forecasts for economic growth had increased as a result of prospects for more expansionary fiscal policies in coming years,” read the minutes of the Dec. 13-14 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, released Wednesday in Washington.
Bitcoin Hits All-Time High as Currency Controls Drive Fear
Bitcoin hit an all-time high Wednesday, according to Bloomberg data, thanks to continued adoption in China and other parts of the world where traditional currencies are tightly controlled. The digital currency, which just turned eight years old, reached $1,140.64, which was higher than the $1,137 it hit in November of 2013.
Automakers’ December Deals Push 2016 Toward Record Seventh Gain
Automakers bought themselves a holiday present and pushed 2016 toward a record seventh straight annual sales gain — at a steep cost. Aggressive dealmaking over the past two months probably helped the year end with a higher vehicle sales tally, something many analysts considered elusive just six months earlier.
Broadband Carriers Urge FCC To Roll Back New Privacy Rules
Broadband carriers are urging the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its stringent new privacy rules, which require carriers to obtain consumers’ opt-in consent before drawing on their Web-surfing data for ad targeting. In a petition filed Monday, the trade group US Telecom Association argues that carriers shouldn’t be subject to tougher rules than other Web companies — like search engines and social networking services.
How Donald Trump Could Make Rupert Murdoch Even More Powerful
President-elect Donald Trump may be preparing to give Rupert Murdoch a big reward for the positive coverage Murdoch’s outlets provided during the election. Trump has asked Murdoch to submit the names of possible nominees for Federal Communications Commission chairman, according to a report from New York magazine’s Gabriel Sherman.
Univision wins FCC waiver to allow its Mexican partner, Televisa, to increase ownership stake
The Federal Communications Commission has approved a measure that relaxes foreign ownership rules to enable Grupo Televisa of Mexico to claim a larger stake of the U.S. Spanish-language broadcasting giant Univision Communications. Univision’s chairman, Haim Saban, has been lobbying the FCC for the waiver for more than three years.
Scuttled Ford plant has Mexico fearing more under Trump
A man walks past a nearly deserted construction site, as workers shut down operations and remove equipment on Wednesday, a day after Ford announced the cancellation of plans to build a $1.6 billion auto manufacturing plant on the site in Villa de Reyes, outside San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Ford Motor Company’s cancellation of plans to build a $1.6 billion US auto manufacturing plant in San Luis Potosi has sounded alarms throughout Mexico.
TradeKing vs. TradeStation: A Complete Brokerage Comparison
When you want to start investing, you’ll find a number of brokerages that would be happy to have you as a customer. But selecting the best brokerage out of the pile isn’t easy to do, especially given the many ways in which they can differ from one another.