Tariffs on Chinese rare-earth minerals create a sticky problem for US competitors

Rare-earth minerals mined in the US need to be sent to China for processing.
Read more: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/11/us-tariffs-helping-then-hurting-domestic-rare-earth-mineral-production/?source=Snapzu

German authorities descended on Deutsche Bank AG, including its downtown Frankfurt headquarters, in a coordinated raid related to a money-laundering investigation

German authorities descended on Deutsche Bank AG, including its downtown Frankfurt headquarters, in a coordinated raid related to a money-laundering investigation. More than six police vehicles, their blue lights flashing, pulled up to Deutsche Bank’s main offices shortly before 9 a.m., in an operation involving about 170 officers.
Read more: https://stockmarketnews.today/2018/11/29/german-authorities-descended-on-deutsche-bank-ag-including-its-downtown-frankfurt-headquarters-in-a-coordinated-raid-related-to-a-money-laundering-investigation/?source=Snapzu

High score, low pay: why the gig economy loves gamification

Using ratings, competitions and bonuses to incentivise workers isn’t new – but as I found when I became a Lyft driver, the gig economy is taking it to another level. By Sarah Mason.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/nov/20/high-score-low-pay-gamification-lyft-uber-drivers-ride-hailing-gig-economy?source=Snapzu

How Restaurants Got So Loud

Fashionable minimalism replaced plush opulence. That’s a recipe for commotion.
Read more: https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/576715/?source=Snapzu

Microsoft Is Worth as Much as Apple. How Did That Happen?

Just a few years ago, Microsoft was seen as a lumbering has-been. Now it’s a contender for the title of the world’s most valuable company.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/29/technology/microsoft-apple-worth-how.html?source=Snapzu

The Miseducation of Sheryl Sandberg

Harvard Business School invented the “leadership” industry—and produced a generation of corporate monsters. No wonder Sandberg, one of the school’s most prominent graduates, lacks a functioning moral compass.
Read more: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/11/sheryl-sandberg-harvard-business-school-leadership?source=Snapzu

All the Incoming Foldable Phones for 2019

With Google betting on a foldable future for Android, it seems all phone manufacturers are getting these type of devices ready. Even Apple is looking into this form factor that offers the convenience of extreme portability when folded and a larger screen whenever you need it.
Read more: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/foldable-phones-release-date,news-28705.html?source=Snapzu

Economy grew 3.5% in third quarter, pushing corporate profits to 6-year high, GDP shows

A torrid U.S. economy blazed a 3.5% pace of growth during the summer and boosted corporate profits to the highest rate in six years, fresh government figures show. The increase in gross domestic product — the official measuring stick of the economy — was unchanged from the original finding. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast third-quarter GDP to be revised up to 3.6% annual rate.
Read more: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/economy-grew-35-in-third-quarter-pushes-corporate-profits-to-6-year-high-gdp-shows-2018-11-28?source=Snapzu

Farm bankruptcies are surging as Trump's trade war drags on

As President Donald Trump maintains protectionist policies with global trading partners, an increasing number of farms in the Midwest are struggling to stay afloat. At least 84 farm operations in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and parts of northwestern Wisconsin filed for bankruptcy in the 12 months that ended in June, according to a new analysis from the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, more than twice the level seen over the same period in 2014.
Read more: https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/news/trump-trade-war-causing-farm-bankruptcies-to-surge-in-upper-midwest-2018-11-1027762385?source=Snapzu

Analysis: Video game spending hits record $1.5B in October, up 73% as new games drive big sales

2018 has been a rocky year for the video game industry. We’ve seen the closure of several big studios; a growing grassroots effort toward unionization; high-profile companies accused of gender discrimination or poor labor practices; rogue elements in various games’ fanbases acting to weaponize social media against developers they don’t like; and a few truly bizarre controversies, like scam artists sneaking cryptojacking software onto Steam.
Read more: https://www.geekwire.com/2018/analysis-video-game-spending-hits-record-1-5b-october-73-new-games-drive-big-sales/?source=Snapzu

For the first time in 8 years, Apple is worth less than Microsoft

Microsoft has overtaken Apple as the world’s most valuable company. On a day when tech stocks are recovering from a bummer week last week, Microsoft reached a valuation of $814 billion Monday. As of 1 p.m. its market cap had settled back to $807 billion. Meanwhile, Apple’s market cap was slightly less at $805 billion.
Read more: https://www.fastcompany.com/90272352/for-the-first-time-in-8-years-apple-is-worth-less-than-microsoft?source=Snapzu

Paying for Popularity Can Be Fraud

Also ecosystems, frictions, fires and burgers.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-11-19/paying-for-popularity-can-be-fraud?source=Snapzu

How to balance full-time work with creative projects

A guide to finding the right day job, protecting your time, and building creative habits by Jeffrey Silverstein. Illustrated by Sunny Eckerle.
Read more: https://thecreativeindependent.com/guides/how-to-balance-full-time-work-with-creative-projects/?source=Snapzu

What If Amazon.com Actually…Is A Horrible Website?

How does a powerful, innovative behemoth megacorporation repeatedly fail at its most basic task: running a website?
Read more: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katienotopoulos/amazon-website-sucks?source=Snapzu

The Science Is Clear: Dirty Farm Water Is Making Us Sick

This story originally appeared on Reveal and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. William Whitt suffered violent diarrhea for days. But once he began vomiting blood, he knew it was time to rush to the hospital. His body swelled up so much that his wife thought he looked like the Michelin Man, and on the inside, his intestines were inflamed and bleeding.
Read more: https://www.wired.com/story/the-science-is-clear-dirty-farm-water-is-making-us-sick/?source=Snapzu

Company selling ‘dangerous junk science’ voice analysis claims Apple as client

AC Global Risk, a startup which has been described as selling ‘dangerous junk science,’ claims Apple is one of its clients … The Intercept reports that the firm claims that simply analysing yes/no answers to questions can, in ten minutes, determine someone’s level of risk – whether that’s as an employee or an asylum seeker.
Read more: https://9to5mac.com/2018/11/26/ac-global-risk/?source=Snapzu

GM is reinventing itself, closing plants and cutting 15% of its salaried workers

General Motors on Monday announced a major restructuring of its global business, saying it will shut production at five facilities in North America and slash its staff. GM will reduce its salaried workforce by 15%, including a quarter of the company's executives. The moves are the first big steps in the century-old GM's transformation. The company is reinvesting money away from cars that once dominated America's roadways and putting it into technology it believes will power its future.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/26/business/gm-oshawa-plant/index.html?source=Snapzu

General Motors to close Detroit, Ohio, Canada plants

General Motors will close three assembly plants by the end of 2019, it said Monday, including Detroit-Hamtramck, Lordstown in Ohio and Oshawa in Ontario. Approximately 5,600 jobs are at stake: roughly 1,500 in Hamtramck; 1,600 in Lordstown; and about 2,500 in Oshawa. The Hamtramck plant makes the Chevrolet Volt and Impala, the Cadillac CT6 and the Buick LaCrosse.
Read more: https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2018/11/26/ontario-plant-closure/2112539002/?source=Snapzu

One Million South African Bees 'Poisoned'

An ant-controlling insecticide used by wine farmers is suspected to have caused the deaths.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46345127?source=Snapzu

Bethesda Promised Refund On Fallout 76, Then Bailed Out The Next Day

One of many disappointed Fallout 76 players contacted Bethesda for a refund on the catastrophic game. Although Bethesda promised a refund, they bailed out the next day with an unconvincing excuse.
Read more: https://www.spieltimes.com/news/bethesda-promised-refund-on-fallout-76-then-bailed-out-the-next-day/?source=Snapzu

YouTube starting back-to-back ads for fewer interruptions

YouTube starting back-to-back two ads for fewer interruptions so, you will watch videos for longer. As if pre-roll advertisements on YouTube aren’t annoying enough, you have to tolerate ads in the middle of the videos! Well, not anymore! Now, you’ll be able to watch the whole video without any interference throughout. YouTube is considering this new idea where you will get two back-to-back ads you can skip when the video begins. These are called “Ad-pods” back-to-back ads.
Read more: http://mazainside.com/youtube-starting-back-to-back-ads/?source=Snapzu

Meetings Should Be Shorter

We tend to take up the time we’re given, so let’s start with less.
Read more: https://www.thecut.com/2018/11/most-meetings-are-an-hour-and-thats-too-long.html?source=Snapzu

After 20,000 workers walked out, Google said it got the message. The workers disagree.

On Nov. 1, 20,000 Google employees and contractors walked out of the company’s offices around the world, one week after the New York Times reported that Google had protected three executives accused of sexual misconduct, including Android founder Andy Rubin. But the protests were about more than just how Google handles harassment. On the latest episode of Recode Decode with Kara Swisher, six of the walkout organizers...
Read more: https://www.recode.net/2018/11/21/18105719/google-walkout-real-change-organizers-protest-discrimination-kara-swisher-recode-decode-podcast?source=Snapzu

Facebook is so afraid of this man it smeared him as both backed by George Soros and anti-Semitic

Facebook has apologized for hiring Washington D.C. hit firm Definers Public Relations as part of a smear campaign against its critics in the wake of the Russia scandal. In a statement published Wednesday — the day before Thanksgiving — Facebook admitted that it asked Definers to explore potential connections between its critics and billionaire philanthropist George Soros. One of those critics is a group called Freedom From Facebook, founded in March by David Magerman, a philanthropist and technologist who lives in a suburb of Philadelphia.
Read more: https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/yw7wxm/facebook-is-so-afraid-of-this-man-it-smeared-him-as-both-backed-by-george-soros-and-anti-semitic?source=Snapzu

Facebook policy VP Richard Allan to face the international ‘fake news’ grilling that Zuckerberg won’t

An unprecedented international grand committee comprising 22 representatives from seven parliaments will meet in London next week to put questions to Facebook about the online fake news crisis and the social network’s own string of data misuse scandals. But Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg won’t be providing any answers. The company has repeatedly refused requests for him to answer parliamentarians’ questions.
Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/23/facebook-policy-vp-richard-allan-to-face-the-international-fake-news-grilling-that-zuckerberg-wont/?source=Snapzu

Your Clothes Could Be Made in the USA Again

Apparel from Asia takes too long to reach Western markets and automation is making manufacturing at home cost-effective.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-10-19/clothing-manufacturing-may-be-moving-back-to-west-from-asia?source=Snapzu

'We are not robots': Thousands of Amazon workers across Europe are striking on Black Friday over warehouse working conditions

Thousands of Amazon staff members across Europe were protesting on Black Friday over the way the company treats its warehouse workers. A coalition of unions across Europe coordinated the action, and the British trade union GMB published a video of workers telling Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos "we are not robots" in five different languages.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-amazon-workers-protest-poor-working-conditions-2018-11?source=Snapzu

Content promotion is changing. My thoughts on where we go from here

Community content promotion, the term we coined back in 2016, is becoming harder. Here's why, and how we'll approach content promotion in the future.
Read more: https://growandconvert.com/content-marketing/content-promotion/?source=Snapzu

You Snooze, You Lose: Insurers Make The Old Adage Literally True

Millions of sleep apnea patients rely on CPAP breathing machines to get a good night’s rest. Health insurers use a variety of tactics, including surveillance, to make patients bear the costs. Experts say it’s part of the insurance industry playbook.
Read more: https://www.propublica.org/article/you-snooze-you-lose-insurers-make-the-old-adage-literally-true?source=Snapzu

The euro must be fixed or dropped

Here they go again. The leaders of the euro zone are once more inching forward in their quest to form a fiscal union that will, they hope, shore up the common currency. At a time when Italy seems hell-bent on causing Euro Crisis 2.0, that might sound like a good idea. Upon scrutiny, however, the proposals, even if they pass, are risible. They are too timid to integrate the euro zone economically. Simultaneously, they are large enough to embolden Eurosceptics and populists.
Read more: https://global.handelsblatt.com/opinion/euro-must-fixed-dropped-983201?source=Snapzu

UK lawmakers urge firms to boycott tech giants who fail to tackle terrorism

U.K. lawmakers urged advertisers to boycott internet firms that fail to remove or control the publication of extremist content. In a report published Thursday evening, the U.K. Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee concluded that security agencies needed help from the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Google to curb the "enormous growth" in online extremist material.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/23/uk-lawmakers-urge-firms-to-boycott-tech-giants-who-fail-to-tackle-terrorism.html?source=Snapzu

Netflix, Warner Bros settle with Satanic Temple over statue in Sabrina series

Netflix and Warner Bros settle with The Satanic Temple after the group tries to sue them for using images of their goat statue in the new Sabrina series.
Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-23/netflix-warner-bros-settle-satanic-temple-statue-sabrina-series/10548130?source=Snapzu

Not So Big in Japan: Apple Cuts Price of iPhone XR to Boost Sales

Less than a month after releasing the iPhone XR, Apple Inc. is moving to offer subsidies to mobile-network operators in Japan to shore up sales of its least-expensive new smartphone, people familiar with the matter said.
Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/not-so-big-in-japan-apple-cuts-price-of-iphone-xr-to-boost-sales-1542878065?mod=e2tw?source=Snapzu

The Homeless Crisis Is Getting Worse in America’s Richest Cities

A toxic combination of slow wage growth and skyrocketing rents has put housing out of reach for a greater number of people.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-11-20/the-homeless-crisis-is-getting-worse-in-america-s-richest-cities?source=Snapzu

Sweden’s Push to Get Rid of Cash Has Some Saying, ‘Not So Fast’

Cash is disappearing in the country faster than anyone thought it would. Now, officials are trying to slow its demise as they determine the societal costs.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/21/business/sweden-cashless-society.html?source=Snapzu

Why covering the environment is one of the most dangerous beats in journalism

Reporters who cover environment and natural resource issues are commonly threatened and harassed around the world. Some have been killed for coverage that threatens powerful interests. By Eric Freedman.
Read more: https://theconversation.com/why-covering-the-environment-is-one-of-the-most-dangerous-beats-in-journalism-105477?source=Snapzu

Thanksgiving Food for Thought: The Tech Helping Make Food Abundant

With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, it’s a great time to reflect on the future of food. Over the last few years, we have seen a dramatic rise in exponential technologies transforming the food industry from seed to plate. Food is important in many ways—too little or too much of it can kill us, and it is often at the heart of family, culture, our daily routines, and our biggest celebrations. The agriculture and food industries are also two of the world’s biggest employers. Let’s take a look to see what is in store for the future.
Read more: https://singularityhub.com/2018/11/22/thanksgiving-food-for-thought-the-tech-helping-make-food-abundant/?source=Snapzu

Facebook Wants to Use Your Photos to Identify Your Family And Target You All With Ads

Facebook filed a patent for technology that could target entire families with ads. The tech uses photos and various other data collected by the social network. In a patent filed last May and made public Thursday, the company describes a system enabled by "deep learning techniques" meant to identify groups of people living under the same roof and their relationships to each other. It uses image captions, hashtags, as well as ISP and search data to build a cache of information that's stored and later fed to its network of advertisers.
Read more: https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/security/a25167871/facebook-patent-identify-entire-family/?source=Snapzu

The world’s most expensive ham

A tiny organic farm in south-western Spain produces unconventional ham that sells for €4,100 (£3,600) a leg, and is recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s most expensive.
Read more: http://www.bbc.com/travel/gallery/20181114-the-worlds-most-expensive-ham?source=Snapzu

US Postal Service Left 60 Million Users Data Exposed For Over a Year

The United States Postal Service has patched a critical security vulnerability that exposed the data of more than 60 million customers to anyone who has an account at the USPS.com website. The U.S.P.S. is an independent agency of the American federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States and is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution.
Read more: https://thehackernews.com/2018/11/usps-data-breach.html?source=Snapzu

The IRS hired private debt collectors who are squeezing poor people and hurricane victims

The scheme is hitting the poorest Americans—and making less money than IRS in-house collectors. By Max de Haldevang, Justin Rohrlich.
Read more: https://qz.com/1461860/the-irs-hired-private-debt-collectors-to-squeeze-poor-people-and-hurricane-victims/?source=Snapzu

How Facebook’s P.R. Firm Brought Political Trickery to Tech

When Tim Miller, a longtime Republican political operative, moved to the Bay Area last year to set up a public relations shop, he brought with him tradecraft more typical of Washington than Silicon Valley. He was well versed in opposition research — the pursuit of damaging intelligence about a political enemy. He had ties to online media provocateurs. And, above all, he understood the value of secrecy.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/21/technology/definers-public-affairs-tim-miller.html?partner=IFTTT?source=Snapzu

Our new column from inside Amazon: 'They treat us as disposable'

Welcome Amazonians. It is always Day 1. Are you ready to make a difference? It was my first day as a seasonal Amazon worker, hired just prior to peak season. Our site operations manager was like many Amazon managers: an ex-military white male, in his late 40s and wearing straight-fit jeans and a T-shirt with “Amazon Military” emblazoned on the front. He drew a line alongside an inverted pyramid, writing “least important” on the bottom and “most important” higher up, with the word “customer” scrawled along the very top.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/21/our-new-column-from-inside-amazon-they-treat-us-as-disposable?source=Snapzu

Bezos Coughs Up $97.5 Million for Charity

Jeff Bezos, the richest man in modern history, finally announced the first recipients of his charitable Day One Fund. The initial round of grants total $97.5 million, representing about 1/20th of his proposed investment in the fund, and about 0.0006 percent of his net worth.
Read more: https://gizmodo.com/bezos-coughs-up-97-5-million-for-charity-1830562562?source=Snapzu

PlayStation 4 outsold Xbox One and Switch in October

October was a huge month for both software and hardware, and — once again — Sony is benefiting from that excitement. PlayStation 4 outperformed the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch both in terms of dollars and units sold in October. That’s according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. And as is usual for PlayStation 4, it is still seeing year-over-year growth, according to NPD analyst Mat Piscatella.
Read more: https://venturebeat.com/2018/11/20/playstation-4-outsold-xbox-one-and-switch-in-october/amp/?source=Snapzu

Bill Gates: If you want to understand the tech world, watch ‘Silicon Valley’

In a blog post Monday, the Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -3.39% co-founder wrote that the Emmy-winning comedy is one of the few pop-culture offerings to really get the tech world right. “If you really want to understand how Silicon Valley works today, you should watch the HBO series ‘Silicon Valley,’” he wrote.
Read more: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bill-gates-if-you-want-to-understand-the-tech-world-watch-silicon-valley-2018-11-19?mod=newsviewer_click?source=Snapzu

Mark Zuckerberg is essentially untouchable at Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg isn’t going anywhere at Facebook — at least not if he doesn’t want to. It’s been a rough year for Facebook, which has been dogged by scandal and controversy, and the past week of events at the Menlo Park, California-based company has been among its worst yet.
Read more: https://www.vox.com/technology/2018/11/19/18099011/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-stock-nyt-wsj?source=Snapzu

Break up Facebook (and while we're at it, Google, Apple and Amazon) | Robert Reich

Last week, the New York Times revealed that Facebook executives withheld evidence of Russian activity on their platform far longer than previously disclosed. They also employed a political opposition research firm to discredit critics. There’s a larger story here. America’s Gilded Age of the late 19th century began with a raft of innovations – railroads, steel production, oil extraction – but culminated in mammoth trusts owned by “robber barons” who used their wealth and power to drive out competitors and corrupt American politics.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/20/facebook-google-antitrust-laws-gilded-age?source=Snapzu

Amazon bids for Disney's 22 regional sports networks, including YES Network, sources say

Amazon is bidding for all of the 22 regional sports TV networks that Disney acquired from Twenty-First Century Fox. The e-commerce giant's bid includes the New York-based YES Network, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC. It is bidding for the New York network along with an unknown sovereign wealth fund and the Yankees, the sources said. YES may be sold separately from the other networks.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/20/amazon-bids-for-disneys-22-regional-sports-networks-including-yes-network-sources-say.html?source=Snapzu

When filming your own child is breaking the law

Proud parents capturing their children's performances on smartphones are probably all breaking the law.
Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-21/copyright-on-childrens-performances/10515302?source=Snapzu