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Either malware writers are becoming more clever and sneaky or Google's online security team is becoming lax in their duties. Maybe both.
Google just found 13 malware apps hiding in the Play store that were downloaded more than 500,000 times
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/techn...4JXj?ocid=AMZN
GM says it wants to cut costs and focus on autonomous vehicles and electric vehicles. One big reason GM's "costs" have gone up: Trump's huge tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.
General Motors to lay off 14,700 workers, close five plants
https://koaa.com/news/2018/11/26/gen...e-five-plants/
A big reason farmers are totally tanking today is Trump's terrible tariffs.
Family farm bankruptcies on the rise in Upper Midwest states
CBS News, Nov 26 2018 4:21 PM
The number of farms filing for bankruptcy is increasing across the Upper Midwest, according to a new analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. In the 12 months that ended in June, 84 farms filed for bankruptcy in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. That's more than double the number over the same period in 2013 and 2014.
The increase in Chapter 12 filings reflect low prices for corn, soybeans, milk and beef. The situation has gotten worse for farmers since June because of the retaliatory tariffs that have closed the Chinese market for soybeans and held back exports of milk and beef. Chapter 12 bankruptcy is designed for family farmers and fishermen and allows for repayment of debt over three years.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/family-...akota-montana/
Remember when people shopped in real stores where they could see the merchandise and buy what they liked? Now they go online, look at a picture of the merchandise and click "Buy." It's easier, yes, but does it give the same degree of satisfaction?
Amazon says Cyber Monday, Black Friday broke sales records
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-...sales-records/
I doubt we will ever see GM's new definition of "unallocated" in the Oxford English Dictionary -- but who knows?
Worst corporate euphemism ever? GM's 'unallocated' factories a contender
CBS News, Nov 27 2018 5:26 PM
General Motors has come up with a new way to describe being fired: You're unallocated. The automaker announced yesterday it would cease production at five plants in the US and Canada and sack up to 14,000 employees. But instead of giving it to them straight, GM said in a news release that the factories and facilities "will be unallocated in 2019."
CEO Mary Barra tripled down on the ambiguous -- and ice-cold -- term, repeating it three times on Monday's analyst call, including this statement: "Market conditions require that five North American assembly and propulsion plants will be unallocated product by the end of 2019." Many of the workers at the targeted GM plants didn't understand what "unallocated" meant, according to reports. New York Times finance editor David Enrich tweeted, "Today's entry in the hall of fame for awful corporate PR euphemisms goes to GM for 'unallocated.'"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/worst-c...s-a-contender/
Amazon has gotten way too big -- and now Amazon is starting to get way too scary.
Amazon starts selling software to mine patients' health data
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...abDE?ocid=AMZN
A class-action suit alleging false and deceptive advertising has been filed against Pinnacle Foods because their Hawaiian Kettle Style potato chips are made in Washington, not Hawaii. Just wait till these people find out AriZona tea and AriZona energy drinks aren't made in Arizona!
Consumers sue potato chip maker over use of 'Hawaiian' brand
https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/...222290385.html
Payless came up with a clever way to boost its image. Maybe Dollar Tree and Dollar General could see if they can con these same "trendsetters" into paying $20 each for the items they sell for a dollar.
Payless sold discount shoes at luxury prices -- and it worked
CBS News, Nov 29 2018 4:03 PM
Payless Shoesource pranked VIP shoppers into paying markups of up to 1,800% for the bargain retailer's shoes as part of a viral advertising campaign designed to shift consumers' perceptions of the brand. So-called fashion influencers -- essentially trendsetters that regular consumers look to for style cues -- paid up to $640 for footwear that usually retails for between $19.99 and $39.99. The fashion insiders were captured remarking on the quality of the shoes' design and fabrication -- before being told who had made them.
Payless enlisted advertising agency DCX Growth Accelerator to build a fake luxury store called "Palessi" -- replete with a statue and gold mannequins -- at an upscale mall in Santa Monica. Shoppers were told they'd receive between $100 and $250 in compensation for market research to attend the event. Influencers were stunned upon learning the shoes were from Payless. "Shut up! Are you serious?!" a shopper exclaims in one of three spots that will air on cable networks through the holiday season. Shoppers got their money back but were allowed to keep the shoes. Sarah Couch, Payless' chief marketing officer, said the campaign aims to remind shoppers that Payless strikes the right balance of stylistic relevance and affordability.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/payless...and-it-worked/
No more watching Naked Cheerleaders In Bondage while you sip your Iced Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte.
Starbucks to ban access to porn from free wi-fi in US
BBC News, Nov 29 2018 20
Starbucks has announced it will block access to pornography on its free wi-fi in all its US outlets. While watching explicit content in store was always banned, the coffee giant will now actively block such content. The company has been under pressure from a Virginia-based non-profit, Enough Is Enough, to filter pornography in its stores. McDonald's changed its wi-fi policies in 2016 after pressure from the group.
"While it rarely occurs, the use of Starbucks public Wi-Fi to view illegal or egregious content is not, nor has it ever been, permitted," Starbucks said in a statement. The coffee company said it had "identified a solution" to stop access to pornography in all its US locations by 2019 but did not specify what this solution was.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-46393506
In quarter 3 of 2018, Netflix had 137,100,000 subscribers. Guggenheim Partners analyst Michael Morris predicts the number of subscribers will more than double in the next five years, reaching 285,000,000. AT&T is hoping their own streaming service will be equally as successful -- but Netflix launched in 1997 and AT&T is arriving late to the party, you might say.
AT&T details plans for asset sales, three-tiered Netflix-style streaming service
The company's CFO said AT&T could sell its 10% stake in Hulu as part of its asset sales.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/all/t-d...eaming-n941941
Hackers may have stolen hundreds of thousands of passport numbers, credit card numbers, addresses, email addresses, birthdates, telephone numbers and other data. Maybe Marriott should have hung those "Privacy, please" signs on all their computers.
Marriott security breach exposed data of up to 500 million guests
https://www.ksl.com/article/46438111...to-500m-guests
Nexstar, which owns or operates 174 stations in the US, will become the nation's largest owner of local television stations after acquiring 42 more stations and the WGN America cable channel from Tribune Media. (Those call letters were taken from the Chicago Tribune's former slogan, "World's Greatest Newspaper.")
Nexstar clinches $4.1 billion dollar deal to buy Tribune Media
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-t...-idUSKBN1O10LS
"Dear Quora: I know you are a question-and-answer website. My question is how could you allow hackers to steal names, passwords and email addresses of a hundred million users? I shall await your answer. A hundred million others are also awaiting your answer."
Quora says 100 million users were hit by 'malicious' data breach
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/03/tech/...ach/index.html
Breaking news! (I always wanted to say that.)
Carlos Ghosn and Nissan have been indicted in Japan
CNN, Dec 10 2018 1:11 AM ET
Carlos Ghosn and Nissan, the Japanese automaker he saved from collapse, were indicted today on allegations of financial misconduct, according to Japanese media. The moves deepen a crisis that already brought down Ghosn, one of the global car industry's iconic figures. Tokyo prosecutors indicted him and Nissan for underreporting his income. Ghosn's sudden downfall began when he was arrested in Tokyo last month. He has since been ousted as chairman of Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors and temporarily replaced as head of France's Renault.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/10/busin...pan/index.html
This is a really nice idea but I'll have to pass. I'm waiting for Taco Bell to start selling logs that smell like chalupas.
Spice up the holidays! KFC is rolling out a fire log that smells like fried chicken
The 11 Herbs & Spices Firelog is available at kfc.com/fire-log
https://www.today.com/food/kfc-selli...lidays-t145123
Johnson & Johnson shares closed today at $133, a loss of $14.80 (10.01%). JNJ stock is really taking a beating -- or maybe it would be more appropriate to say it's taking a powder.
Johnson & Johnson shares plunge after report that says company knew for decades that asbestos was in its baby powder
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/14/busin...tos/index.html
The two wireless providers say they will lower their prices after the merger -- but isn't that the same claim we hear before every big merger? Color me skeptical.
T-Mobile and Sprint just cleared huge hurdles to their big merger
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/17/tech/...ger/index.html
LG's new TVs should prove to be very popular among all the millions of people who have always wished they could roll up their televisions. Oh, wait -- nobody ever wished that.
LG set to release 65-inch TV that can roll up like a poster
https://www.latimes.com/business/la-...218-story.html
Amazon leases 40 Boeing 767 cargo jets and will lease an additional ten in 2019-20. Through its "Air Amazon" fleet and 25,000 Amazon-owned delivery vans which have been ordered, the company will end its reliance on UPS, FedEx and the Postal Service to deliver its packages -- and when you order Debbie Macomber's latest novel and a Blu-ray of Crazy Rich Asians, you might get them within a half-hour!
Watch out, FedEx, UPS, USPS: Amazon is growing its cargo fleet again
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/21/tech/...ets/index.html
Mattel shares are at $9.26 today, an 18-year low, and are likely to get much lower. The company will no longer manufacture action figures of Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Green Lantern and other DC characters and I doubt they'll be able to sell enough Barbies, Polly Pockets and Matchbox cars to make up for the loss.
Mattel stock falls after it loses licensing rights for some DC Comics toys
https://www.latimes.com/business/la-...224-story.html