Aon to restore most salaries cut by COVID-19 pandemic — and pay employees back what they gave up

Two months after cutting pay for most employees by 20% in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Aon is restoring their salaries, repaying them for what they gave up -- and adding a bonus. The global insurance giant announced Tuesday it was ending most of those salary reductions, in part because the likelihood of a worst-case macroeconomic outcome had “decreased significantly” since the pay ...
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/finance/companies/aon-to-restore-most-salaries-cut-by-covid-19-pandemic-e2-80-94-and-pay-employees-back-what-they-gave-up/ar-BB169Rvq?source=Snapzu

California Police Are Using Copyright to Hide Surveillance Documents

California police are refusing to release documents about the surveillance technology it uses, despite a new law that requires their release.
Read more: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/5dzdqq/california-police-are-using-copyright-to-hide-surveillance-documents?source=Snapzu

Amazon India scraps single-use plastic in packaging across centers

The Indian unit of Amazon.com Inc has eliminated all single-use plastic in its packaging across fulfillment centers in the country, in line with its target to weed out the packaging material by June, the e-commerce giant said on Monday.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-india-plastic/amazon-india-scraps-single-use-plastic-in-packaging-across-centers-idUSKBN24011F?source=Snapzu

Why the American Consumer Has Fewer Choices—Maybe for Good

“We may not need 40 different choices of toilet paper.” U.S. companies spent the past decades trying to please everyone. The pandemic made that impossible, and now some no longer plan to try.
Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-the-american-consumer-has-fewer-choicesmaybe-for-good-11593230443?source=Snapzu

Starbucks to halt advertising on social media

It will continue to post to social media but not for paid promotions
Read more: http://www.theverge.com/2020/6/28/21306065/starbucks-advertising-social-media-july-facebook-twitter?source=Snapzu

Mark Zuckerberg has $7 billion wiped off his fortune as Coca-Cola halts all social media advertising for 30 days

A boycott of Facebook by major advertisers is hammering the social media giant's stock price and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg's personal fortune. Zuckerberg's net wealth is down by $7.21 billion as of Saturday, while Facebook's share price dropped more than 8% at the close of Friday trading, as the ad boycott snowballs.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-mark-zuckerberg-worth-craters-coca-cola-boycott-ads-2020-6?source=Snapzu

Microsoft's Store Closings Drive Home the Uniqueness of Apple's Retail Success

Thanks to a few different factors, Apple's large-scale success at running its own physical retail stores is very tough to replicate.
Read more: https://realmoney.thestreet.com/investing/technology/microsoft-s-store-closings-drive-home-the-uniqueness-of-apple-s-retail-success-15359640?source=Snapzu

U.S. likely regained 3 million jobs in June, but coronavirus flareups hamper recovery

Investors already got fooled once after several million people returned to work in May. They might get fooled again in June, but they worry the next surprise won’t be so pleasant. Wall Street DJIA, -2.83% predicts the U.S. regained an additional 3 million jobs in June, with forecasts going as high as 8 million.
Read more: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-likely-regained-3-million-jobs-in-june-but-coronavirus-flareups-hamper-recovery-2020-06-27?source=Snapzu

Amazon launches Counterfeit Crimes Unit to fight knockoffs on its store

Despite the name, it’s not a new CSI show.
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/24/21302114/amazon-counterfeit-crimes-unit-knockoffs-store-online-investigators?source=Snapzu

Why the Widening Wealth Gap Is Bad News for Everyone

Stockpickers have always considered long-term trends. It’s time to look at economic inequality. It’s growing, and its economic repercussions could soon hit portfolios.
Read more: https://www.barrons.com/articles/why-the-widening-wealth-gap-is-bad-news-for-everyone-51592617966?source=Snapzu

Coca-Cola pauses advertising on all social media platforms globally

Coca-Cola on Friday announced it will be pausing paid advertising on all social media platforms globally for at least 30 days. The company clarified it was not joining the official boycott, but said “we are pausing” advertising.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/26/coca-cola-pauses-advertising-on-all-social-media-platforms-globally.html?source=Snapzu

Forget UBI, says an economist: It's time for universal basic jobs

Pavlina Tcherneva talks about "The Case for a Job Guarantee," and how public-sector work can pull us out of crises both immediate and long-term.
Read more: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2020-06-24/forget-ubi-says-an-economist-its-time-for-universal-basic-jobs?source=Snapzu

How Tech Can Help Asheville's Economy

Asheville depends heavily on tourism for its income. With remote work now gaining wider acceptance, one long-term effect may be regions becoming more open to new types of business -- such as high tech.
Read more: https://avlwatchdog.org/how-tech-can-help-ashevilles-economy/?source=Snapzu

Microsoft to permanently close nearly all of its retail stores

Just four locations will remain open. The rest are closing.
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/26/21297400/microsoft-retail-stores-closing-cities-open?source=Snapzu

Factbox: More U.S. companies join Facebook ad boycott bandwagon

A handful of U.S. companies have pulled advertising from Facebook Inc in support of a campaign that called out the social media giant for not doing enough to stop hate speech on its platforms.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-ads-boycott-factbox/factbox-more-u-s-companies-join-facebook-ad-boycott-bandwagon-idUSKBN23V2JD?source=Snapzu

'Elon Musk' Bitcoin scam rakes in $2 million in two months

A fake Bitcoin scam, with Elon Musk’s likeness at the helm, has reportedly raked in over $2 million.
Read more: https://decrypt.co/?p=32904?source=Snapzu

9 Pro Tips for your Social Media Optimization Strategy

Want to gain more visibility? Take your social media game to the next level, with these 9 pro tips for your Social Media Optimization Strategy.
Read more: https://searchclickgrow.com/blog/tips-for-your-social-media-optimization-strategy/?source=Snapzu

The masters of the diamond world are losing control

For decades, shopping for uncut diamonds was a tightly scripted affair: First, persuade De Beers to add you to its list of handpicked customers. Then, 10 times a year, attend a week-long sale to buy exactly the amount De Beers offers you at whatever price it chooses.
Read more: https://www.miningweekly.com/article/the-masters-of-the-diamond-world-are-losing-control-2020-06-22/rep_id:3650?source=Snapzu

Pirated editions of John Bolton memoir have appeared online

NEW YORK (AP) — John Bolton's memoir officially comes out Tuesday after surviving a security review and a legal challenge from the Justice Department. But over the weekend, it was available in...
Read more: https://apnews.com/d58c06b5dc22674bba6d43d4589421bb?source=Snapzu

Wirecard says missing $2.1 billion never existed, rips up earlier accounts

Wirecard said on Monday that 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) missing from its accounts was likely never there and it was looking at the sale or closure of parts of its business as it sought to avert a looming cash crunch.
Read more: https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-wirecard-accounts/wirecard-says-missing-2-1-billion-never-existed-rips-up-earlier-accounts-idUKKBN23T06V?source=Snapzu

Shares of Virgin Galactic surge after announcement that it will train astronauts for NASA

Shares of Virgin Galactic shares jumped Monday after it signed an agreement with NASA that will allow the space tourism venture to train astronauts for trips to the International Space Station on flights to the edge of space. The company — which is publicly traded but largely owned by founder Richard Branson and chairman Chamath Palihapitiya — announced on Monday that it signed a “Space Act Agreement” with NASA’s Johnson Space Center, which leads the agency’s astronaut program in Houston.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/22/virgin-galactic-signs-nasa-agreement-to-use-flights-to-train-astronauts.html?source=Snapzu

Dow futures climb as investors weigh hope for V-shaped recovery against rise in coronavirus cases

U.S. stock-market indexes climbed, but imply a lackluster open, on Monday as investors weighed optimism over a quick recovery for the domestic economy, or V-shaped rebound, and evidence of an acceleration of COVID-19 infections in states and elsewhere in the world.
Read more: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-futures-climb-as-hope-for-v-shaped-recovery-overshadows-rise-in-coronavirus-cases-2020-06-22?mod=home-page?source=Snapzu

Blackballed by PayPal, Scientific-Paper Pirate Takes Bitcoin Donations

Bitcoin as a censorship-free money has been used by outlaws of all sorts, but this time the outlaw is a young scientist from Kazakhstan breaking through the paywalls of academic journals. Alexandra Elbakyan, a 31-year-old freelance coder, neurobiologist and phylologist, is running a database of over 80 million articles from academic journals that are normally available only through subscriptions.
Read more: https://www.coindesk.com/blackballed-by-paypal-scientific-paper-pirate-takes-bitcoin-donations?source=Snapzu

A Canadian grocery store is growing organic veggies on its rooftop

Required by the Montreal borough of Saint Laurent to install a green roof to offset carbon emissions, IGA, a grocery store started growing 30+ kinds of organic veggies on its roof to sell it in the produce section downstairs. The project is not only profitable but truly 'local' in nature. The idea saves the nutritional value of the produce lost in transportation, improved the water usage by utilizing the water from the store's dehumidification system...
Read more: http://posinewz.com/stories/A-Canadian-grocery-store-is-growing-organic-veggies-on-its-rooftop/69/?source=Snapzu

The Scientist and the Spy — intellectual property and industrial espionage - The China Story

In the current climate of escalating competition and tension between the United States and China on the technology front, Mara Hvistendahl’s The Scientist and the Spy: A True Story of China, the FBI, and Industrial Espionage is a very timely book that illuminates the various facets of the nexus between intellectual property protection, industrial espionage and national security.
Read more: https://thechinastory.org/the-scientist-and-the-spy-intellectual-property-and-industrial-espionage/?source=Snapzu

After 15 Years, Apple Prepares to Break Up With Intel

Apple could announce plans as soon as Monday to replace Intel processors in Macs with chips that it designed itself.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/technology/apple-intel-breakup.html?partner=IFTTT?source=Snapzu

Why venture capital doesn’t build the things we really need

I felt bad asking Zack Gray to repeat his story. He was used to it, he said. It’s the founding tale of his startup, Ophelia; he’d already told part of it in his commencement speech at Wharton, and to potential investors.
Read more: https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/06/17/1003318/why-venture-capital-doesnt-build-the-things-we-really-need/?source=Snapzu

How to “manage up” from home

Telecommuting requires new interpersonal skills, especially if you’re trying to stay on the boss’s radar. So what’s the best approach?
Read more: https://applied.economist.com/articles/managingup?source=Snapzu

Jobless claims total 1.5 million, worse than expected as economic pain persists

Weekly jobless claims stayed above 1 million for the 13th consecutive week as the coronavirus pandemic continued to hammer the U.S. economy. First-time claims totaled 1.5 million last week, higher than the 1.3 million that economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting. The government report’s total was 58,000 lower than the previous week’s 1.566 million, which was revised up by 24,000.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/18/weekly-jobless-claims.html?source=Snapzu

Facebook says it doesn’t need news stories for its business and won’t pay to share them in Australia

Facebook has rejected a proposal to share advertising revenue with news organisations, saying there would “not be significant” impacts on its business if it stopped sharing news altogether. On Monday, the social media giant issued its response to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which has been tasked with creating a mandatory code of conduct aimed at levelling the playing field.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/jun/15/facebook-says-it-doesnt-need-news-stories-for-its-business-and-wont-pay-to-share-them-in-australia?source=Snapzu

Best Chromebooks for work in 2020: Which high-end laptop is right for your business?

With the coronavirus pandemic making working from home more popular than ever, business-class Chromebooks are coming to the forefront.
Read more: https://www.zdnet.com/article/best-enterprise-chromebook-laptops-for-business/?source=Snapzu

How Elon Musk aims to revolutionise battery technology

Elon Musk has perhaps the most exciting portfolio of businesses on the planet. There's SpaceX with its mission to Mars, and Tesla with its super-fast hi-tech electric cars. He claims his Hyperloop concept could revolutionise public transport. And even his Boring Company is kind of interesting - it aims to find new ways to dig tunnels. So which one will end up changing the world most? It is my contention that it will be his battery business.
Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53067009?source=Snapzu

How Apple is making the antitrust case against it stronger

Say your company makes a new email platform. In 2020, that means building not just a website but also an app — several of them, actually. You’ll probably want clients for Mac and Windows, iOS and Android, the open web, and — if you’re showing off — Linux. In some of these places, like the web, there is no cost for operating this service beyond building and hosting it.
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/interface/2020/6/17/21292983/apple-spotify-antitrust-hey-email-congress-house-judiciary-tim-cook?source=Snapzu

Google bans two websites from its ad platform over protest articles

The two sites, ZeroHedge and The Federalist, will no longer be able to generate revenue from any advertisements served by Google Ads.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/google-bans-two-websites-its-ad-platform-over-protest-articles-n1231176?source=Snapzu

COVID-19 Broke the Economy. What If We Don’t Fix It?

Instead of reopening society for the sake of the economy, what if we continued to work less, buy less, make less—for the sake of the planet? At the end of March, Donald Trump tweeted, in all capital letters, "WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF." He was referring to the economic ramifications of shutting down the country in order to protect the public from the novel coronavirus, which has now killed over 100,000 Americans.
Read more: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qj4ka5/covid-19-broke-the-economy-what-if-we-dont-fix-it?source=Snapzu

Removing "Annoying" Windows 10 Features is a DMCA Violation, Microsoft Says * TorrentFreak

Microsoft has hit Ninjutsu with a DMCA notice. The company argues that tweaking and disabling of Windows 10 features violates its license.
Read more: https://torrentfreak.com/removing-annoying-windows-10-features-is-a-dmca-violation-microsoft-says-200611/?source=Snapzu

Apple launches new 0% Apple Card financing for iPad, Mac, AirPods, and more

Apple today has officially launched support for financing additional products with Apple Card and 0% interest. The new financing options are available for the Mac lineup, iPad, AirPods Pro, AirPods, Apple Pencil, and more. In December, Apple launched a new iPhone 0% financing option for Apple Card users, and during Apple’s most recent earnings call with investors, Tim Cook teased that similar promotions would soon be available for other Apple products and recent reports indicated the rollout was imminent. These new options are available starting today.
Read more: https://9to5mac.com/2020/06/15/apple-card-financing-ipad-mac/?source=Snapzu

Gearbox Software Sues 3D Realms Over Duke Nukem Franchise | Digital Trends

Gearbox Software, the studio behind the best-selling Borderlands franchise, is suing the parent company of 3D Realms, accusing the creator of the Duke Nukem franchise of breach of contract. In a third-party complaint, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Gearbox says Apogee Software (which owns 3D Realms) breached their 2009 contract by failing to deliver the Duke Nukem intellectual property “free and clear,” withholding details of a...
Read more: https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/duke-nukem-gearbox-software-sues-3d-realms/?source=Snapzu

Ikea planning to repay furlough payments

Ikea has said it is planning to repay salaries paid by governments around the world under furlough schemes. It is set to repay nine governments, including the US and Ireland. However, it does not include the UK as although the furniture chain furloughed 10,000 UK workers it did not claim back their salaries from the government.
Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53047895?source=Snapzu

Technologies that have been jump-started by COVID-19

The economy is suffering, but some technology businesses, such as telemedicine, contactless payment, 3D printing and e-paper document management have taken off. While others, which were already big, like ecommerce and videoconferencing, have seen enormous growth. Here's why, and how, they're flourishing in bad times.
Read more: https://www.idginsiderpro.com/article/3561755/technologies-that-have-been-jump-started-by-covid-19.html?source=Snapzu

A four-day work week might be exactly what the U.S. — and its economy — needs right now

“The pandemic has created a moment for businesses to take stock and consider more radical reconstructions of the workplace," experts say.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/four-day-work-week-might-be-exactly-what-u-s-n1229631?source=Snapzu

Sony Patent Suggests AI Could One Day Take Over if a Multiplayer Opponent Ragequits

The technology behind the patent would seek to eliminate the headache of ruined multiplayer matches when a player rage quits or is disconnected.
Read more: https://www.ign.com/articles/sony-ps5-multiplayer-emulation-patent?source=Snapzu

Facebook fires employee who protested inaction on Trump posts

Facebook Inc fired an employee who had criticized Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg’s decision not to take action against inflammatory posts by U.S. President Donald Trump this month, citing his tweet challenging a colleague’s silence on the issue.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-protests-firing/facebook-fires-employee-who-protested-inaction-on-trump-posts-idUSKBN23J35Y?source=Snapzu

Largest union federation in the US demands apology from Mark Zuckerberg over new software feature that would allow employers blacklist words like 'unionize' in chats

The largest union federation in the United States on Friday blasted Facebook after it was revealed the company was offering to let employers limit unionization efforts on its platform. Facebook's Workplace functions as an internal message board for corporate clients, an answer to Slack or Microsoft Teams. This week, The Intercept reported that Facebook was promising those clients the ability to exert "content control" over their respective news feeds. Specifically, it said companies could suppress the word "unionize."
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/afl-cio-blasts-facebook-over-software-would-limit-union-drives-2020-6?source=Snapzu

AT&T seeks sale for Warner gaming unit, could fetch about $4 billion, sources say

AT&T is discussing selling its Warner Bros. gaming unit with Take-Two Interactive, Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard in a deal that could net the wireless giant about $4 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/12/att-seeks-sale-for-warner-gaming-unit-could-fetch-4-billion.html?source=Snapzu

Facebook's estimated $400 million acquisition of Giphy is now under antitrust scrutiny in the UK and Australia

Facebook's $400 million acquisition of popular GIF site Giphy is being probed by the UK's competition watchdog. Facebook announced it was buying Giphy, a searchable library of shareable images, in May. The company said Giphy will be folded into the team at Facebook-owned Instagram and its vast library of GIFs will continue to operate separately.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-400-million-giphy-competition-cma-probe-2020-6?source=Snapzu

OpenAI’s Text Generator Is Going Commercial

The research institute was created to steer AI away from harmful uses. Now it’s competing with tech giants to sell a cloud-computing service to businesses.
Read more: https://www.wired.com/story/openai-text-generator-going-commercial/?source=Snapzu

How to design a Proof of Concept project to evaluate software

Before your company commits to a new enterprise application, such as a programming or test tool, it makes sense to determine if the software truly meets the business’s needs. Make your “proof of concept” project a success by following these guidelines.
Read more: https://www.functionize.com/blog/how-to-do-a-product-evaluation-for-enterprise-software/?source=Snapzu

Keepin' it real: achieving brand authenticity — the behaviorist

Brands are judged as having motivational causes, and it matters for having the right style of motivation for achieving brand value.
Read more: https://www.behaviorist.biz/oh-behave-a-blog/authentic-brands?source=Snapzu

The Looming Bank Collapse

The U.S. financial system could be on the cusp of calamity. This time, we might not be able to save it.
Read more: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/07/coronavirus-banks-collapse/612247/?source=Snapzu