Meriton fined $3m for manipulating TripAdvisor hotel reviews

Australian property giant Meriton has been ordered to pay $3m for manipulating TripAdvisor reviews about its serviced apartments, in breach of consumer law. Meriton was found by the federal court to have withheld from the travel website the emails of guests who had complained or had a negative experience between November 2014 and October 2015.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/jul/31/meriton-fined-3m-for-manipulating-tripadvisor-hotel-reviews?source=Snapzu

Logitech is acquiring Blue Microphones for $117 million in cash

Logitech is making a big purchase to secure a foothold in high-end audio recording. Tonight, the company announced that it’s acquiring Blue Microphones for $117 million. The all-cash transaction will result in Blue, known for USB condenser microphones including the Snowball and Yeti, joining Logitech’s existing portfolio of brands. Aside from Logitech and Logitech G, the company also owns Astro Gaming, Jaybird, and Ultimate Ears. Yeah, it’s putting together quite the roster.
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/7/30/17633144/logitech-acquires-blue-microphones-announcement?source=Snapzu

Everything I've learned about failure

Samuel Beckett’s famous words have a nice ring to them. And for a long time, they’ve permeated the wider circles of entrepreneurship as a kind of Silicon Valley mantra. Failure is necessary. Failure is humbling. Failure is, almost — trendy? At least on the outside. Backstage, we scramble hysterically to avoid it at all costs. After all, businesses rely on consistency, predictability and success — the opposite of failure. And let’s be clear. Taking a glib, cavalier attitude toward failure is dangerous.
Read more: https://www.jotform.com/blog/everything-learned-about-failure/?source=Snapzu

Summer Camp for the Ultra-Wealthy Teaches Kids How to Stay Rich

Attendees at Next Gen functions hosted by the likes of UBS, Citi Private Bank, and Credit Suisse will one day rank among the world’s most sought-after clients.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-07-30/at-rich-kid-summer-camp-big-banks-try-to-hook-heirs-for-a-lifetime?source=Snapzu

T-Mobile signs $3.5 billion deal with Nokia for 5G technology

T-Mobile and Nokia have announced a $3.5 billion deal that will see Nokia provide T-Mobile with “complete end-to-end 5G technology, software, and services” as the carrier continues to build out its 5G infrastructure. “We are all in on 5G,” commented T-Mobile’s chief technology officer Neville Ray in the announcement. Nokia will help build T-Mobile’s 5G network on both the 600 MHz and 28 GHz millimeter wave portions of the spectrum, in accordance with the 3GPP’s 5G New Radio (NR) standards.
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/30/17630042/t-mobile-nokia-5g-deal-three-billion-dollars-hardware-software-networking?source=Snapzu

Almost 80% of US workers live from paycheck to paycheck. Here's why

America doesn’t have a jobs crisis. It has a ‘good jobs’ crisis – where too much employment is insecure, and poorly paid
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/29/us-economy-workers-paycheck-robert-reich?source=Snapzu

Can liberals please work out how to win back the working class?

I’m taking a pause from journalism – while I’m gone, can someone please work out how to win back the working class? By Thomas Frank.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/27/liberals-donald-trump-rightwing-populism?source=Snapzu

US economy growing at annual rate of 4.1%, fastest pace in four years

The US economy roared ahead in the second quarter of 2018, growing at an annual rate of 4.1%, its fastest pace in four years, the commerce department announced on Friday. The growth will be a major boon for the Trump administration, which pushed through $1.5tn in tax cuts at the start of the year with a promise that they would be paid for by economic growth.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jul/27/us-economy-report-second-quarter-commerce-department?source=Snapzu

Tech companies can bid on the Pentagon’s $10 billion cloud contract, starting today

On Thursday, the Pentagon opened bidding for a huge cloud computing contract that could be worth as much as $10 billion. Given its size, the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract, known as JEDI, is alluring for major cloud computing companies that might not normally do much business with the Department of Defense. Announced in March, JEDI is structured as a winner-take-all contract with a potential 10-year term, though the Pentagon clarified that the original award will span just the first two years, so all 10 years aren’t set in stone up front.
Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/26/jedi-10-billion-department-of-defense-bidding/?source=Snapzu

Apple wins a Design Patent for 'AirPower' prior to its Launch

Last month Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple Announcing AirPower too ahead of time was a Mistake." The report covered a Bloomberg report attempting to explain the delay in delivering Apple's new inductive charging pad called 'AirPower.' Hopefully Apple will officially launch AirPower next month when they introduce their next generation of iPhones or at least have it ready for the holiday season. Our report today covers Apple being granted a design patent for AirPower in Hong Kong, China in addition to covering their ClassKit trademark filing in both the U.S. and Hong Kong.
Read more: http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2018/07/apple-wins-a-design-patent-for-airpower-prior-to-its-launch.html?source=Snapzu

The Office-Messaging Wars Are Over. Slack Has Won.

As Atlassian transfers the intellectual property for Stride and HipChat to former rival Slack, Microsoft trails far behind as the last workplace messaging competitor.
Read more: https://www.wired.com/story/the-office-messaging-wars-are-over-slack-has-won/?source=Snapzu

California Officials Say No To Marijuana-Infused Alcohol And Bars With Cannabis Consumption

In case anyone didn’t already know it wasn’t allowed, California state regulators just put the kibosh on hopes for bars and pubs where people can consume both marijuana and alcohol. They also shot down the idea of producing beverages that blend the two substances together. For now—or at least until state law changes to specifically...
Read more: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/california-officials-say-no-to-marijuana-infused-alcohol-and-bars-with-cannabis-consumption/?source=Snapzu

Twitter shares drop 19 percent after reporting declining monthly active users

Though Twitter experienced 24 percent year-over-year revenue growth and exceeded projections this quarter, the company projected lower than expected monthly active users. Monthly active users were down 1 million compared to last quarter.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/27/twitter-earnings-q2-2018.html?source=Snapzu

Disneyland agrees to pay its workers $15 an hour

Unions representing nearly 10,000 Disneyland workers accepted Disney's three-year contract to raise starting hourly wages to $15 an hour beginning next year. The agreement ends a lengthy labor battle over pay at Disney's Anaheim resort. Minimum wage employees at Disneyland made $11 an hour. The deal immediately raises their pay 20% to $13.25 an hour. The $15 starting rate will go into effect on January 1, 2019. It will go up to $15.45 in June of 2020.
Read more: https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/27/news/companies/disneyland-workers-pay-15-an-hour/index.html?source=Snapzu

Kinds of Cleaning Businesses - Everyday Cleaning Melbourne

Our lives hardly allow us to have the time we need. With many things to do, cleaning a house is hardly on anyone’s list.
Read more: http://www.everydaycleaning.com.au/kinds-of-cleaning-businesses.html?source=Snapzu

Twitter Shares Plunge 16% After User Numbers Slip

Twitter said its number of monthly users fell in the second quarter, and will likely continue to drop as it shuts down fake accounts, sending the company’s stock tumbling 16% in early morning trading. The number of monthly active users dropped to 335 million in the quarter, a decrease of more than 3 million in the quarter. The company said its decision to remove spammy and suspicious accounts, while dragging down its metrics, were important to improving the quality of conversation on the social media platform.
Read more: https://deadline.com/2018/07/twitter-shares-plunge-16-percent-after-user-numbers-slip-1202434912/?source=Snapzu

New York Kicks Cable and Internet Provider Spectrum Out of the State

Spectrum will have to continue operating for 60 days until a replacement steps in.
Read more: https://slate.com/technology/2018/07/spectrum-forced-to-leave-new-york-after-failing-to-meet-the-terms-of-its-2016-merger-with-time-warner.html?source=Snapzu

EU fines Asus, Denon & Marantz, Philips and Pioneer $130M for online price fixing

The European Union’s antitrust authorities have issued a series of penalties, fining consumer electronics companies Asus, Denon & Marantz, Philips and Pioneer more than €110 million (~$130M) in four separate decisions for imposing fixed or minimum resale prices on their online retailers...
Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/24/eu-fines-asus-denon-marantz-philips-and-pioneer-130m-for-online-price-fixing/?source=Snapzu

The First Augur Assassination Markets Have Arrived

People are now placing bets on whether public figures will be assassinated on decentralized prediction market Augur. By David Floyd.
Read more: https://www.coindesk.com/the-first-augur-assassination-markets-have-arrived/?source=Snapzu

Why restaurants became so loud — and how to fight back

"I can’t hear you."
Read more: https://www.vox.com/2018/4/18/17168504/restaurants-noise-levels-loud-decibels?source=Snapzu

A Major Drug Company Now Has Access to 23andMe’s Genetic Data. Should You Be Concerned?

Should consumers be concerned? Consumer genetic testing company 23andMe announced on Wednesday that GlaxoSmithKline purchased a $300 million stake in the company, allowing the pharmaceutical giant to use 23andMe’s trove of genetic data to develop new drugs — and raising new privacy concerns for consumers.
Read more: http://time.com/5349896/23andme-glaxo-smith-kline/?source=Snapzu

Mark Zuckerberg Lost $15.1 Billion in 5 Minutes

For many of the world’s richest people, losing $15.1 billion in five minutes would be a wipeout. For Mark Zuckerberg, it’s just about a sixth of his net worth. His fortune tumbled 17 percent in the first five minutes of trading Thursday, as shares of the social media giant slid 18 percent on disappointing second-quarter results. If that holds through the close, he’ll slide to sixth place from third on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people. It would also wipe out his $13.7 billion of gains for the year, leaving him with about $71 billion.
Read more: http://time.com/5349862/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-stocks/?source=Snapzu

Court: Native American tribe can’t be a “sovereign” shield during patent review

Inter partes review of Allergan's patents on dry eye treatment will now proceed.
Read more: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/07/court-native-american-tribe-cant-be-a-sovereign-shield-during-patent-review/?source=Snapzu

Spotify hits 83M paying subscribers, more than double Apple Music’s 40M

Spotify has announced that its paid subscribers rose 10% during Q2 to hit 83M. This is 8M up from the 75M it had at the beginning of the year… Reuters notes that this was slightly higher than the 82M estimated by analysts. Free subscribers on the ad-funded tier mean that its total subscriber base has now reached 180M.
Read more: https://9to5mac.com/2018/07/26/spotify-paid-subscribers-q2-2018/?pushup=1?source=Snapzu

Ripple Effects of Facebook Slump Already Spreading

The ripple effects from Facebook's (FB) disappointing revenue results Wednesday are already being felt as the social media giant became the second of the big tech names to lay an egg this earnings season. The Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) , which tracks the performance of the Nasdaq, fell sharply in after-hours action Wednesday, sliding $3.97, or 2.17% to $182.82.
Read more: https://www.thestreet.com/technology/ripple-effects-of-facebook-slump-already-spreading-14662653?source=Snapzu

The Big Business of Being Gwyneth Paltrow

Inside the growth of Goop — the most controversial brand in the wellness industry.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/magazine/big-business-gwyneth-paltrow-wellness.html?source=Snapzu

This Is What Happened When I Asked My Friends to Rate Me

Don't like your Uber rating? Well, in a not-so-distant future, you just might have a score for everything else in your life.
Read more: https://www.gq.com/story/whats-my-rating-social-credit-score?mbid=synd_digg?source=Snapzu

Facebook loses $120 billion in market cap after awful Q2 earnings

Facebook’s share price fell over 20 percent in after-hours trading today after the company announced its slowest-ever user growth rate and a scary warning that its revenue growth would rapidly decelerate. Before today’s brutal Q2 earnings, Facebook’s share price closed today at $217.50 – a record high — but fell to around $172 after the earnings call. That’s a market cap drop of roughly $123 billion. In two hours, Facebook lost more value than most startups and even public companies are ever worth.
Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/25/fallbook/?source=Snapzu

Most Australians' wages have declined but CEO pay is better than ever

Despite chief executives having bumper pay increases last year, the majority of Australian workers have seen their wages decline. Figures released on Wednesday show the real value of wages has stagnated across the economy, with inflation and wages now growing at the same annual pace of 2.1%. Wages had been keeping slightly ahead of prices since late last year but a rise in fuel prices, private health insurance premiums and tobacco excises in the June quarter has lifted headline inflation to match wages.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jul/25/most-australians-wages-have-declined-but-ceo-pay-is-better-than-ever?source=Snapzu

No break for Kit Kat in trademark case

Even if it looks like a Kit Kat, it might not be. The European Court of Justice has thrown out an appeal by the chocolate bar's maker, Nestlé, which argued that it owns the shape of the teatime treat. Nestlé has spent more than a decade fighting to trademark the four-fingered wafer shape - something that rival Cadbury had fought hard against. But Wednesday's judgement found that a previous court had been right to annul the decision by Europe's trademark group.
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44939819?source=Snapzu

$15 billion vaping company is under investigation for targeting minors

The popular e-cigarette brand Juul Labs is under investigation by the Massachusetts attorney general, who is concerned the company is targeting minors. During a livestreamed press conference on Tuesday, Attorney General Maura Healey said Juul's products have become a hit among middle and high school students. The company offers its nicotine cartridges -- which contain as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes...
Read more: https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/24/technology/juul-underage-probe-massachusetts/index.html?source=Snapzu

Kodak distances itself from failed Bitcoin scheme

The Kodak-branded 'Kashminer' Bitcoin mining scheme announced at CES has apparently collapsed, with Eastman Kodak distancing itself from the company behind it.
Read more: https://www.dpreview.com/news/7009758753/kodak-distances-itself-from-failed-bitcoin-scheme?source=Snapzu

U.S. Breaks Up Fake I.R.S. Phone Scam Operation

With stiff sentences for 21 conspirators last week in the United States and a round of indictments in India, the Justice Department says it has broken up what appeared to be the nation’s first large-scale, multinational telephone fraud operation. Over four years, more than 15,000 victims in the United States lost “hundreds of millions” of dollars to the sophisticated scam, and more than 50,000 individuals had their personal information misused, the department said Friday.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/business/irs-phone-scams-jeff-sessions.html?source=Snapzu

Venezuela's Inflation to Reach 1 Million Percent, IMF Forecasts

Venezuela’s inflation will skyrocket to 1 million percent by the end of the year as the government continues to print money to cover a growing budget hole, the International Monetary Fund predicted on Monday.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-23/venezuela-s-inflation-to-reach-1-million-percent-imf-forecasts?source=Snapzu

Millions 'worse off' than 15 years ago

Millions of "just about managing" families are no better off today than those in 2003, new research from the Resolution Foundation indicates. The remarkable income stagnation for so many reveals that the economy has been failing to generate income for people over many years despite record levels of people in work. In 2003, households on the lower half of incomes typically earnt £14,900.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44926447?source=Snapzu

'Putin's War on America' Is Nothing Compared With America's War on Democracy

In the wake of Helsinki, missing from "Russiagate" media hysteria is the question of who will protect us from the influence of U.S. oligarchs. By Paul Street.
Read more: https://www.truthdig.com/articles/putins-war-on-america-is-nothing-compared-to-americas-war-on-democracy/?source=Snapzu

Ivanka Trump closes fashion brand

President Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, is closing down her fashion brand.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44944124?source=Snapzu

Declining cryptocurrency prices are making graphics cards affordable again

But bitcoin mining isn't economical with graphics cards because the bitcoin mining market has long been taken over by energy-efficient ASICs. So for the last year, the value of graphics cards has been largely driven by the value of ether.
Read more: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/07/declining-cryptocurrency-prices-are-making-graphics-cards-affordable-again/?source=Snapzu

The FCC Wants Your Comments on the T-Mobile–Sprint Deal, Not That They'll Read Them

In a move that was almost assuredly designed to garner less than normal attention, this week in the middle of summer the FCC quietly announced that it would now be taking comments from the public about the upcoming T-Mobile/Sprint merger. But not only that, in addition to comments, the FCC will even let folks file formal petitions if they are so inclined...
Read more: https://gizmodo.com/the-fcc-wants-your-comments-on-the-t-mobile-sprint-deal-1827762446?source=Snapzu

Is the future of farming inside this 40-foot shipping container?

A 3.6-metre shipping container that once sent goods overseas is now an urban farm on the Dartmouth waterfront that's feeding customers closer to home. Very Local Greens planted itself in a large parking lot across the street from the King's Wharf development. The industrial location is in stark contrast to what's inside — a tiny, high-tech farm teeming with life.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/very-local-greens-dartmouth-farm-hydroponics-urban-agriculture-1.4754350?source=Snapzu

It’s called vomit fraud. And it could make your Uber trip really expensive

The next time you use Uber, check your bill. The trip could turn out to be very expensive, not just for the distance but for a type of fraud that is on the increase.
Read more: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article215299675.html?source=Snapzu

The cashless society is a con – and big finance is behind it

Banks are closing ATMs and branches in an attempt to ‘nudge’ consumers towards digital services, says campaigner and former broker Brett Scott.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/19/cashless-society-con-big-finance-banks-closing-atms?source=Snapzu

Toblerone to revert to original shape

Makers of the Swiss chocolate bar, Toblerone, are to scrap its latest incarnation which saw wide gaps between its distinctive triangular chunks. That version was introduced in 2016 to reduce its weight but drew criticism, with some likening it to a bike rack. US-based Mondelez International said the new shape had not been a "perfect long-term answer" for its customers. Now it plans to increase the current size from 150g to 200g and revert to making it in its traditional shape.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-44910195?source=Snapzu

The Inside Story Of Papa John's Toxic Culture

Papa John's founder John Schnatter’s alleged behavior ranges from spying on his workers to sexually inappropriate conduct, which has resulted in at least two confidential settlements.
Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesdigitalcovers/2018/07/19/the-inside-story-of-papa-johns-toxic-culture/?source=Snapzu

There Ain’t No Such Thing as Free Lunch in Content Marketing

Free lunch essentially means that “an individual or group can be provided a good or service at no cost to the individual receiving the bene­fit or to anyone else.” Obviously, as the saying goes, “there ain’t no such thing as free lunch.” Someone always has to pay, it’s just that the cost can be externalized, indirect, or in the form of an opportunity cost.
Read more: http://www.alexbirkett.com/free-lunch-content-marketing/?source=Snapzu

Comcast drops pursuit of 21st Century Fox assets, ending bidding war with Disney

Comcast said Thursday it would not pursue its bid to buy assets of Twenty-First Century Fox, choosing to focus on its offer for Britain's Sky. Shares of Comcast jumped 2.9 percent in premarket trading, while Fox fell 1.2 percent. The announcement ends one of the biggest battles in the media industry this year, as Comcast fought with Disney to acquire Fox's movie studio and television assets. Disney had recently outbid Comcast's $65 billion all-cash offer with a $71 billion cash-and-stock offer.
Read more: http://cnbc.com/id/105336876?source=Snapzu

​J.D. Power declares Verizon to be the top carrier

Who's really the best mobile carrier? J.D. Power's survey shows Verizon on top.
Read more: https://www.zdnet.com/article/j-d-power-declares-verizon-to-be-the-top-carrier/?source=Snapzu

Nike Says Its $250 Running Shoes Will Make You Run Much Faster.

An analysis of nearly 500,000 running times estimates the effect of shoes on race performance.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/07/18/upshot/nike-vaporfly-shoe-strava.html?source=Snapzu

Best Buy Should Be Dead, But It’s Thriving in the Age of Amazon

The big-box retailer doesn’t just want to sell you electronics. It wants its in-home consultants to be “personal chief technology officers.”
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-07-19/best-buy-should-be-dead-but-it-s-thriving-in-the-age-of-amazon?source=Snapzu

Pittsburgh feels the Bern as Bernie Sanders addresses national teachers conference

Pittsburgh felt the Bern on Sunday, but it wasn’t anything close to the torching that flamboyant U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders gave to the wealthiest Americans, Wall Street and President Donald Trump. By Bob Bauder.
Read more: https://triblive.com/local/allegheny/13868972-74/pittsburgh-feels-the-bern-as-bernie-sanders-addresses-national-teachers-conference?source=Snapzu