U.S. home resales have been unable to match expected projections in June as prices reach record highs, keeping first-time buyers hesitant on the peripheral. The record high housing prices are a result of a small property supply being pursued by a large customer demand, meaning that the value of each property increases as the supply dwindles. The housing market has been facing a severe shortage of homes available for sale for about two years, all the while new individuals are entering the housing market searching for accommodation. As the labor market releases more jobs while builders simultaneously struggle to secure…
Author: Cedric Brenninkmeijer
Last Friday the euro strengthened to a two-year high against the dollar, raising 1.8 percent over the week and has gained 11 percent year to date. The euro was valued at $1.1680 on Friday as the highest settlement since Jan. 15, 2105. This raise comes a day after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi to press down comments in late June. During a news conference on Thursday Draghi said that the central bank would continue its $60 billion a month asset-buying program until December as planned. Draghi also reported that policy makers would the discuss quantitative-easing program this autumn. This…
Customers of Verizon have noticed a decrease in their mobile data speeds especially being limited whenever they streamed or accessed videos on Netflix and YouTube. This has sparked a response in Verizon to optimize video applications on its mobile network in order to satisfy Verizon Wireless subscribers. The speed cap by Verizon was noticed by both users of Reddit and the mobile-focused Howard Forums. Verizon users in both threads reported slower speeds than what they had been left to believe by Verizon advertisements and services whenever streaming Netflix and YouTube. A majority reported the speed maximums around 10 megabytes per…
Bank of America has decided to pick Dublin as its new base for its European Union operations amidst Britain’s Brexit preparations to leave the union. This is the first Wall street lender to pick Dublin, which is a prime location for a smaller location shift while still remaining within an E.U. sphere. International banks are all planning to set up new subsidiaries in the E.U. to ensure a continuation of their operations to provide client services. These plans come at the behest of the possibility that their operations would stop should London lose its ability to operate across the E.U.…
Chinese courier ZTO Express and those involved in its New York stock market listings have been sued by a U.S. pension fund. The fund alleges that ZTO exaggerated its profit margins to lure investors into its $1.4 billion initial public offering. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which was responsible for ZTO’s IPO, are also named in the class-action lawsuit. The lawsuit has been filed in an Alabama state court by the city of Birmingham’s pension fund, and claims that both firms failed to do adequate due diligence. ZTO’s listing was the largest U.S. listing in 2016 and has…
The two largest online black markets, AlphaBay and Hansa Market, have been shut down and their operators have been arrested, according to reports by the U.S. and European authorities on Thursday. AlphaBay, what is considered to be the largest dark net market, was taken down in early July while its founder, Alexandre Cazes, a 25 years old Canadian man living in Bangkok was simultaneously arrested. However, Mr Cazes has been reported to have committed suicide in his jail cell soon after being arrested. As soon as AlphaBay went down, a majority of its users and streamers transitioned to one of…
Facebook is planning a new tool that would establish a means of adding subscriptions to news organizations that publish directly on the social media outlet. The intention behind this new tool is to help pacify the tension the social media giant and publishers, who find their audiences shifting more to what becomes available on Facebook. The potential newly innovated tool will be included by Facebook’s Instant Article product, which allows new media companies to publish their articles directly onto Facebook, granting immediate access to the article, instead of transporting readers to the news website. While the details are still in…
Amazon is proceeding with its expansion plan to diversify into surrounding markets and innovate in order to establish a dominant position. In recent news, Amazon expressed its intent to redesign and push the boundaries in the prepared meal kit world that is currently dominated by Blue Apron Holdings Inc. Amazon is throwing itself in the deep end by competing with an already established IPO by challenging to compete with its major project. However, Amazon’s research team is well-experienced and confident that they can in fact provide a competitive edge in the food industry. This announcement comes after Amazon filed a…
Chinese users have reported trouble regarding the use of WhatsApp instant messaging tool on Tuesday. Many suspect that Beijing is responsible for the issues that are arising as part of its latest regulations on internet use. The issues included involved being unable to send or receive photos using the chat app, which is owned by Facebook, without the use of a VPN. Beijing has had previous issues regarding VPNs, and they have made multiple attempts to encourage telecoms to prevent individual access to VPNs. VPNs are used to bypass Beijing’s censorship program by rerouting internet traffic elsewhere, usually to a…
The Walt Disney Co. revealed renovation plans for Epcot in order to honor the park’s 35th anniversary at Walk Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The planned renovations include featuring several film-inspired attractions that will update the park for previous visitors, while drawing in new crowds to populate the famous park. The media and entertainment company’s goal is evolving itself and adapting to younger audiences by including “more timeless, more relevant, more family and more Disney” while maintaining its belief in celebrating human excellence. The idea is to add to its repertoire through several newly revealed offerings to counter being outdated…
Netflix Inc. has surpassed the expectations of Wall Street for its second quarter by adding 5.2 million new streaming customers. Netflix predicts further continued growth due to the momentum generated by foreign subscriptions, which overcame U.S. subscribers. As a result of its customer base growth, Netflix shares have increased by 10.4 percent on Monday. Regarding shares more specifically, the streaming television innovator’s stocks rose $16.82 to $178.55 per share in after-hours trading. This is a new record for intraday trading that beats the previous record of $166.87 which was reached on June 8. Netflix is anticipating that due to the…
Amazon Inc. has recently agreed to buy Whole Foods Market Inc. for $13.7 billion as part of their expansion plans. Amazon’s sustained major growth is raising concerns with Wall Street and Washington regarding antitrust policy. Lawmakers are cautious but wish to investigate the potential ramifications this business deal will have on customers. One U.S. lawmaker, in particular, has called for a hearing on the proposed hearing on the subjects of monopolies and their effects on the consumer base. Amazon’s shares have increased by 34 percent this year, rising to $1,003.21 per share on Friday. Despite the huge growth, market analysts…
J.C. Penney has plans to introduce toy stores within its department stores in an attempt to draw in more customers along with their families. The efforts are intended to recapture part of J.C. Penney’s past spirit when their stores drew in both children and their parents through their holiday catalogs. In order to reestablish a firmer foundation considering the tenuous times retailers are currently facing, the chain is hoping to capitalize on the opportunity that toy stores offer. The desired end result is to mimic the successful results after the retailer decided to revive toy sales during the 2016 holiday…
Uber and Yandex have agreed to a merger of their ride-sharing businesses in Russia and five eastern European markets with Yandex. This is the second withdrawal on Uber’s global presence since their exit from China a year ago. Yandex, which is essentially the “Google of Russia,” will be the leading partner in this newly established company. Yandex and Uber both stated that they will join together in Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, and Kazakhstan through a new company operating in 123 cities. Uber will invest $225 million into the company, owning 36.6 percent of the company. Yandex on the other…
Verizon’s partner Nice Systems suffered a data breach that exposed the records of 6 million customers. The data was accessed through an unprotected Amazon S3 storage server, leaving records compromised by customer service calls facilitator. Verizon claims that despite the data breach no loss or theft of customer information occurred. The records in question are logs from residential customers who had called Verizon customer service within the past 6 months. The cause of the breach was a misconfigured security setting on the server that would enable anyone who knew the website address to access and download the files. This is…
Fed Chair Janet Yellen has reported that the U.S. economy is healthy enough for the Fed to raise rates and to begin tackling its massive bond portfolio. However, Yellen also cautions that a low inflation and a low neutral rate may leave the central bank with diminished leeway. Yellen appeared before Congress to depict an economy that is still continuing to grow despite its slow pace. These incremental growths have continued to add jobs while simultaneously benefiting from a steady household consumption and a recent jump in business investment. The economy is even now continuing to be supported by stronger…
Snap Inc. and Blue Apron Holdings Inc. have faced difficult discrepancies in stock valuation during their transition from private to public valuations. What were the two most anticipated IPOs have now become case examples of inconsistencies between private and public funding? They now serve as a reminder that stock value is not the only important aspect of running a successful business, indicating a bleak short-term future and possibly a poor long-term future as well if the operations remain the same. The source of the overpricing these two companies face is twofold. Investors ever urgent drive to have a part in…
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed withdrawing its 2014 determination barring any large-scale mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay. The Trump administration has been working hard and taken several key steps towards paving the way for this controversial mine. A successful implementation allowing the mine would be a distinct reversal from former President Barack Obama’s opposition to the project. The initial reasoning for why there was a barring of a mine in the area was due to the potential damage that would imperil the region’s sockeye salmon fishery. Taryn Kiekow Heimer, a senior policy analyst at the National Resources Defense Council,…
This week marks the fifth season of the “New York Fashion Week: Men’s” fashioned by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. More than 50 brands will be showcasing their spring 2018 collections in the hopes of drawing attention from editors and retail executives. Lower Manhattan has become a playground buzzing with models, designers and the photographers that follow the latest trends. The New York Fashion Week draws a distinct crowd compared to those of Milan and Paris which house the majority of the big brands and luxury houses. Instead, New York emphasizes an attraction for feisty brands gathering from…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has planned to adopt a rule that would prohibit financial firms from forcing Americans into arbitration in disputes over their bank and credit card accounts. This rule will affect millions of Americans, as they are no longer subject to the whims of financial firms and their exploitative measures the isolate individuals in order to make a profit. Consumers are now able to band together in class-action lawsuits that could cost banks and other financial firms billions of dollars. The new rule, which is predicted to take effect next year should no major obstacles arise, is…
During the seventh Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ) Speedrunning marathon event, the charity was able to raise nearly $1.78 million from just over 30,000 people. This year’s charity donation reaches a new record high from last year, continuing an ever-growing annual trend. The money raised will be donated to ‘Doctors Without Borders’ charity. Two speedrunning marathon events are held every year, with the event being the Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) occurring in January. Both events are one week long, and see 100,000 concurrent viewers watching the event online and donating millions of dollars to charity. Games Done Quick is…
Teen clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch have said on Monday that it is no longer up for sale. Despite being in poor health and having fielded takeover offers, A&F have instead decided to fix itself. This update resulted in Abercrombie shares dropping 10 percent in premarket trading, and a decrease in market value down to about $740 million. Abercrombie & Fitch first considered preliminary discussions with several parties after reporting another quarter of disappointing sales in May. In recent news, Abercrombie has needed to close another 60 U.S. stores despite attempts to rebrand its merchandise in a new yet ineffective…
Qualcomm has requested the U.S. International Trade Commission to ban the import of certain iPhones that do not use Qualcomm chips, as well as ban Apple from selling any devices that have already been imported. The complaint accuses Apple’s iPhone of infringing six of Qualcomm’s mobile patents. If successful, the ban would affect the importing and selling of the iPhone 7, 7 Plus and possibly even future iPhones. These include the models running on both AT&T and T-Mobile, as well as including certain iPads. Instead of Qualcomm chips, the devices utilize Intel’s 4G chips, while phones from other carriers including…
In order to expand its consumer base while also shifting to adapt to the needs of its customer base, Campbell Soup announced today that it would acquire Pacific Food for $700 million. While this acquisition does expand its market, this move still plays to the strengths of Campbell as Pacific Food makes organic broth, soup, and other products like plant-based beverages including almond milk. Pacific Foods has an income of more than $200 million in annual income sales, and should the business maintain its quality, Campbell may be seeing an increase in its consumer base and projected revenue stream. Pacific…
Emirates and Turkish Airlines have both reported that the U.S. ban on carry-on laptops has been lifted, and will no longer apply to passengers traveling to the U.S. using either of the two airlines. The ban has been in practice since March, forbidding passengers from bringing on laptops or any other electronic carry-on luggage larger than a standard sized smartphone to and from eight mostly Muslim nations. The ban was introduced out of fear of bombs being concealed within the devices. Emirates, whose main flight path flies from to the U.S. from its Dubai hub, has been working with U.S.…
Hobby Lobby has agreed to forfeit 5,500 artifacts that the company illegally imported in the U.S. from Iraq. Labeling the packages that made their way from Israel and the United Arab Emirates to retail outlets owned by Hobby Lobby as tile samples, Hobby Lobby was hoping to avoid the artifacts from being revealed. Thanks to a civil complaint, federal prosecutors were able to identify the packages for what they really were: ancient clay cuneiform tablets. Hobby Lobby is a retail outlet that sells arts and crafts supplies run by Christian evangelical owners who have long maintained an interest in the…
Tencent Holdings’ lost $17.5 billion of its market cap after a newspaper review described one of its products and harmful to teenagers. Tencent Holdings is the operator of China’s dominant social network, and is also known for being the publisher behind “King of Glory,” one of the world’s most popular role-playing mobile game. The newspaper in question was the People’s Daily newspaper, often described as the Chinese communist mouthpiece, which reviewed the game and concluded that the game was a “poison” and a “drug” that had harmful effects on teenagers. This response was based on reports that the smartphone game…
Wisconsin couple Keith and Audra Tubin will need to pay almost $900 for an Uber fare on Monday. The Tubins used Uber to ride to a music festival last week and found out afterward that they would be needing to pay a tremendous bill. The Tubins believe themselves to have been overcharged, while Uber has responded by saying that the bill matches the expected price per mile, and therefore the Tubins must pay the fare. Summerfest is a popular event that attracts thousands of people, and considering the nature of the event and how busy it is, many participants travel…
Microsoft recently reorganized its global sales force to highlight its focus on selling cloud services instead of standalone software. This reorganization is not the first the company has faced since former CEO Steve Ballmer resigned and Satya Nadella took over in 2014. While the series of structural changes the company has undergone have not immediately resulted in layoffs, the Wall Street Journal reports that thousands of jobs have the potential of being made redundant. The reshuffle does not appear to have a huge impact on how Microsoft conducts its daily business. The company has already been placing a priority on…
Social media companies have seen an increase in the need for moderating of user content, from both internal and external forces, in an attempt to reduce the spreading of harmful information. Instagram’s means of moderating has been to use an artificial intelligence to automatically block offensive comments, going beyond simply keyword filters. The use of this technology is also acting as a field test for potential future use on Facebook as it looks to improve its own moderation and filtering. Instagram CEO and co-founder Kevin Systrom wrote in a blog post that the official launch of a new comment filter…
Twitter users may be given the ability to flag tweets containing misleading, false or harmful information often considered fake news, according to this report. Twitter has not provided a release date for their prototype feature, and neither has it confirmed that such a feature will ever be added. However, Twitter is slowly exploring this tool in order to counter rampant abuse on its platform. Twitter has been facing many issues regarding content being posted that are in some way interconnected. One such issue is the frequent fake accounts that are easily purchasable due to the sheer quantity of stock and…
Facebook is planning on expanding the accessibility of “Find Wi-Fi,” one of their newer features. “Find Wi-Fi” allows users to search for highlighted hotspots for free, public Wi-Fi networks nearby. Up until now this feature has only been available within a limited selection of countries, and further restricted to only iOS users. After an assumingly successful test, Facebook will now roll out the feature so that both iOS and Android users worldwide will gain access to “Find Wi-Fi.” This feature is certainly useful for travelers, providing an intuitive way of finding network hotspots while traveling for business, research, or fun.…
India introduced its largest tax reform in 70 years since its independence from British colonial rule. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) unifies India’s economy into one of the world’s largest common markets. This tax will help reduce a plethora of federal and state levies, making it easier to do business with and within India by simplifying its tax structure. While the GST will significantly reduce numerous levies, India will still have a more relatively complex tax structure. In contrast to similar sales taxes in other countries, India’s GST has four rates and numerous exemptions. However, it is certainly a…
Google has been ordered by Canada’s Supreme Court in a British Columbia court ruling to delist entire domains and websites from its global search index. The 7-2 ruling addresses the actions required in the Google v. Equustek, which was Google being requested to take down search engine results in Canada leading to domains and websites belonging to Datalink Technology Gateways. Google has now been ordered to add the same restrictions, but applicable to their worldwide search engines results, and not just those in Canada. In Google v. Equustek, British Columbia-based technology company Equustek Solutions accused Datalink of relabeling one of…
Alphabet have accused Uber of covering up the theft of trade secrets from Alphabet. Uber drew Alphabets attention after it acquired the self-driving startup Otto, a business founded by Anthony Levandowski, who previously led Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle business. Alphabet claims that Levandowski stole 14,000 proprietary files before leaving to start Otto, and are now suing Uber over allegations the ride-hailing startup misappropriated that technology. Uber has responded by laying out their case to prove Alphabet’s allegations of the theft of trade secrets are false. Uber claims that Levandowski neither told anyone at Uber that he had downloaded any proprietary information…
With most graphics cards designed to cater to PC gamers and artificial intelligence programmers, graphics card designer ASUS is innovating a new use for graphics cards: mining cryptocurrency. Mining digital currencies including Bitcoin requires a lot of computing power, meaning that powerful graphics cards are beneficial for miners. Seeing an opportunity in a niche market, ASUS hopes to capitalize on providing currency miners with the highest powered and affordable costing graphics card. ASUS is planning to sell a version of its AMD- and Nvidia- based cards designed to cater specifically to the needs of cryptocurrency miners. While no pricing or…
The European Commission has given Google a record-breaking fine of 2.4 billion euros for abusing its market-dominating search engine. Google was able to use its search engine to its advantage in the fiercely competitive and rapidly expanding market of online shopping. Google have been given 90 days by the European Commission to end the misconduct. If Google fails to comply with the allotted time period, Google’s parent company Alphabet will face penalty payments of up to 5 percent of its average daily worldwide turnover. Google’s comparison shopping service was not just attracting customers by making its products better than those…
Amazon’s recent innovations to further develop their delivery system and overall business model have resulted in beehive-shaped drone centers. Amazon envisions cities around the U.S. having vertical drone centers that enable the online retailer to coordinate quick and efficient deliveries through the use of unmanned drones. By establishing distribution centers that act as relay points for aerial deliveries, Amazon is continually progressing itself forward while still maintain a lean supply chain. Amazon has filed for a patent for “multi-level fulfillment centers” that accommodate the landing and takeoff of drones in dense urban settings. Initial designs of the centers display tall…
California is becoming the first state to require popular weed killer Roundup to come up with a label warning that it is known to cause cancer. Roundup’s main ingredient is glyphosate, a chemical that will appear on California’s list of potentially cancerous chemicals. With the new addition, Roundup may be required to add a warning label on their product. Glyphosate is a chemical that Monsanto introduced it in 1974 as an effective way of killing weeds while leaving plants and crops intact. Dues to efficiency, glyphosate has been successful due it being sold in 160 countries worldwide. In California, U.S.’…
The Nintendo Switch has aided Nintendo’ s market capitalization surpass Sony’s company worth on the stock market. Nikkei reports Nintendo’s market cap reached 5.44 trillion yen on Friday, which is $48.9 billion, while Sony’s market cap as of Friday was $48.5 billion. While this is not the first time that Nintendo has managed to pass Sony, the most recent pass occurring 11 months ago, prior to this the last time Nintendo passed Sony was a decade ago, fueled by the popularity of the Wii. When it comes to gaming consoles, sales are determined by personal preference based on popularity and innovation.…
The European Union Commission approved plans to support the struggles of two Italian banks through financial aid in order to maintain confidence in Italy’s banking system. The plans provide 4.8 billion euros in cash and 12 billion euros in guarantees to protect those that utilize the service provided by Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca. These events occurred as a reaction to the European Central Bank predicting that the two banks had failed or were likely to fail. The two banks account for a sum total of 2 percent of Italian deposits, which on its own does not explain…
Qatar Airways has made an offer to buy a 10 percent stake in American Airlines despite the current Middle East dispute. American Airlines reported that the bid was unsolicited, however, the CEOs of both companies have spoken. Qatar submitted a filing under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, which will be reviewed by the Department of Justice’s antitrust division. There has been much speculation in response to the bid concerning the motivations and whether Qatar’s intentions are political or “just business.” Industry experts suggest that the proposed investment is an attempt to ease the political dispute between Qatar and its surrounding neighbors, or…
The Federal Communications Commission have identified the perpetrator behind one of the largest illegal robocalling campaigns they have ever investigated. Telemarketers are prohibited from making prerecorded phone calls to people without prior consent. In response to the campaign, the FCC has proposed a $120 million fine for the Miami resident responsible for almost 97 million robocalls over the last three months of 2016. The man in question, Adrian Abramovich, is credited with auto-dialing hundreds of millions of calls to both cellphones and landlines in the U.S. and Canada, having at one point overwhelmed an emergency medical paging service. Abramovich would…
The University of Michigan will be introducing two fully autonomous vehicles to its campus to shuttle students and faculty this fall. University officials announced the pilot program at the MCity test facility for autonomous and connected cars. The goal is to field test the vehicles while also observing both passenger and driver public perception. This endeavor joins the recent increased attention autonomous vehicles has received lately as tangible steps to hopefully implement in the future on a grander scale. Two 15 passenger self-driving shuttles will travel along a two-mile loop through Michigan’s North Campus during normal business hours. This ensures that…
Facebook is looking to introduce new forms of protection in India for user’s profile pictures. The goal is to stop copying, sharing, and other image misuse. More specifically these protections prevent others from being able to send, share, download or tag themselves in the image. These protections are not compulsory, but they do allow users to choose whether or not they want their profile picture’s protected. Protected pictures display a blue shield border around their image, with additional capacities currently only available on Android to prevent users from taking screenshots of profile pictures where possible. The design overlay aims to reduce…
Apple goes to great lengths to prevent leaks and ensure any information regarding their products remain concealed. Their methods include hiring NSA, FBI and secret service experts on a global scale to ensure that only Apple is privy to its product information. But considering the value of future products and how they are made leads to continuous efforts to discover what Apple’s next big hit is. Doing so results in a lucrative exchange given the right buyer. While Apple is safe at home in the U.S. its interests are at larger risk internationally, with a large source of leaks originating…
In light of recent events concerning Uber, most significant of which is Uber’s CEO, Travis Kalanick, taking a leave of absence in order to quell corporate behavior news reports, Uber has reported a series of changes that it has named the 180 days of change in order to help re-brand and help redesign Uber’s business model. Among the intended changes is the introduction of tipping Uber drivers, a practice that has not for the first time been met with controversy. Uber’s stance on tipping has for the longest time rejected including tipping based on the consequences affecting both drivers and…
