9 challenges Amazon faces on its 25th birthday - CNN

From calls for it be broken up by high-powered officials to questions about its worker pay and growing competition from rivals, the Seattle-based company could be facing a quarter-life crisis.

Elizabeth Warren calls for a breakup

Sen. Elizabeth Warren doesn't like what she sees in Big Tech. The Democratic presidential candidate released a plan to break up giant companies like Amazon (AMZN). She wants to impose new rules on certain kinds of tech companies that have $25 billion or more in annual revenue, and unwind some high-profile mergers such as Amazon's $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods.

"Today's big tech companies have too much power -- too much power over our economy, our society, and our democracy. They've bulldozed competition, used our private information for profit, and tilted the playing field against everyone else. And in the process, they have hurt small businesses and stifled innovation," Warren wrote in a Medium blog post published in March.

AOC slams Jeff Bezos' pay

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has slammed Amazon CEO Bezos for being a billionaire while his company pays its warehouse workers what she called "starvation wages."

She recently said in an interview with ABC News that the company's low worker pay has helped make Bezos the world's richest person.

In a response to the New York Democrat, Amazon said she is "just wrong." The company says it pays a $15 minimum wage and offers full benefits to employees in their first days on the job. It also noted that it has lobbied to raise the federal minimum wage.

Senator Bernie Sanders has also made similar arguments against Amazon's worker pay.

Biden questions Amazon's taxes

Joe Biden knocked Amazon over the amount of corporate taxes it pays.

"I have nothing against Amazon, but no company pulling in billions of dollars of profits should pay a lower tax rate than firefighters and teachers. We need to reward work, not just wealth," he said on Twitter. The tweet from the former vice president and Democratic presidential hopeful referenced a corporate tax rebate that Amazon received in 2018.

Amazon responded, saying in a tweet that the company pays "every penny we owe." It added: "Congress designed tax laws to encourage companies to reinvest in the American economy. We have $200B in investments since 2011 & 300K US jobs. Assume VP Biden's complaint is w/ the tax code, not Amazon."

Trump investigates post office deal

Amazon isn't getting much reprieve from the Trump administration, thanks to the president's beef with Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos as well as the United States Postal Service.

Last year, Trump ordered a federal task force to investigate the Postal Service's finances because he thinks Amazon takes advantage of the agency. At the root of all this drama is likely Bezos' ownership of The Washington Post, which has published stories that are unfavorable of to Trump throughout his presidency.

Amazon has a confidential agreement with the Postal Service under which the agency delivers a large number of packages directly to the post office closest to their destination. The Postal Service then delivers the packages to customers.

Employees want to fix climate change

Amazon employees are putting pressure on the company to rethink how it contributes to the battle against global warming.

In April, a group of 3,500 employees signed a Medium post that urged Bezos to publicly outline the company's plans to reduce carbon emissions and its reliance on fossil fuels. The signatories said that Amazon's "sustainability goals lack context."

Amazon unveiled in February a project it called Shipment Zero, which makes all packages net zero carbon and 50% of all shipments net zero by 2030. The company said it has 200 scientists, engineers, and product designers focused on sustainability efforts, from solar and wind farms to efforts around shipment waste.

Angering its hometown headquarters

Amazon publicly opposed a proposed a new "head tax" that the city of Seattle wanted to place on large businesses to address homelessness and fund affordable housing. Companies would pay 26 cents per working hour for each employee it has in Seattle, or roughly $540 a year for every full-time employee.

The tax would've hit Amazon hard, since it's the city's largest private employer. It has more than 45,000 employees in the Washington city, so it would've paid more than $20 million a year. In response, Amazon temporarily halted construction of a new 17-floor tower.

The bill was scuttled and Seattle ended up passing a smaller version of the tax.

Problems with its HQ2

Amazon had to retreat from Long Island City in New York after it announced in February that it planned to build a second headquarters there. That news prompted lots of public outcry from both the public and local officials.

Amazon ditched its plans three months later, saying "a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence." Critics blasted the $1.525 billion in incentives New York offered to lure the tech behemoth and worried that it would soon lead to longtime residents being priced out of their homes.

Amazon ditches China

Amazon also pulled back from the world's biggest market for online shopping, China. It closed its marketplace, meaning Amazon customers in the country will no longer be able to buy goods from Chinese merchants.

Amazon first entered the Chinese market 15 years ago, when it acquired an online book retailer, but it has struggled amid fierce competition. Research suggests that the company's market share in China was miniscule compared to local rivals, like Alibaba (BABA).

Stamping out anti-vaxxers

A CNN Business investigation in February revealed that Amazon was offering lots of anti-vaccination content to people seeking information about the controversial topic. When asked about it, Amazon said it provides customers with "access to a variety of viewpoints, including books that some customers may find objectionable."

Anti-vax material was also available on its Prime Video service. Days after the investigation published, Amazon began removing the anti-vaccine videos. But some books on the topic are still being sold despite the dangerous and unproven nature of the theory.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/04/business/amazon-25th-birthday-challenges-trnd/index.html

2019-07-04 12:28:00Z
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Opinion: What Apple’s restructure means for the company and for Tim Cook - 9to5Mac

Apple’s restructure to accommodate the departure of Jony Ive led to some concern that Apple wasn’t giving design quite as high a profile in the past – amid claims and counter-claims about the run-up to it.

There is no direct replacement for Ive as head of design, and instead of the hardware and software leads reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook, they are reporting into COO Jeff Williams.

But this shouldn’t be cause for concern; quite the opposite …

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Apple’s restructure already makes sense

As my colleague Bradley Chambers observed, it already makes a lot of sense to have design report to operations.

Whenever people question design and COO, I want to point them to the MacBook keyboard issues.

Because Jony Ive had such power at Apple, he was able to push through a design that was beautifully slim but which couldn’t be manufactured with the required level of reliability. Hence the report today about Apple abandoning the butterfly design. Having operations able to push back against design decisions which look good in the lab but won’t scale to mass production is an extremely important change.

As Steve Jobs himself said:

Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it’s this veneer – that the designers are handed this box and told, “Make it look good!” That’s not what we think design is. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.

But the restructure goes further than this

Apple commentator John Gruber suggests that Apple’s restructure goes even further.

One key point that I missed in [my first take on Ive’s departure] is that having design chiefs Evans Hankey (Industrial Design) and Alan Dye (Human Interface Design) report directly to COO Jeff Williams does make sense organizationally. What I had missed is that coincident with the announcement of Ive’s departure, Apple promoted Sabih Khan to senior vice president of operations. Apple hasn’t had an SVP of operations since Jeff Williams held the title, back when Tim Cook was COO under Steve Jobs. Back then Williams ran operations while Cook ran the company and Jobs devoted his remaining time to new products.

Williams still holds the title COO, but titles don’t mean much at Apple. Rank matters, of course, and SVP is an elite level at Apple — there are only 13 executives at that level, and one of them is still Jony Ive. But the literal titles don’t necessary describe what executives do. Eddy Cue’s title — senior vice president of internet software and services — comes to mind. I don’t know where one would begin crafting a succinct title that accurately describes Cue’s domain, but that’s not it. That just doesn’t matter at Apple.

This means Sabih Kahn is running operations now. Jeff Williams’s title hasn’t changed, but he’s effectively now running product development. He’s led the Apple Watch product team from its inception; now I think he’s overseeing product for everything. Cook and Williams did run operations while holding the COO title, but what “COO” really means at Apple is “second in command”. Tim Cook didn’t move design under operations; he promoted Williams to a new position, effectively “chief product officer”, and as such it makes sense that Hankey and Dye would report to him.

Gruber suggests that Williams’ real role now is ‘chief product officer,’ but given that both hardware and software design heads report to him, you could equally well argue that Williams has now taken on Ive’s role as head of design.

Either way, Apple’s restructure means we now have someone with immense operations experience making the final call on design decisions, and that’s got to be good news when it comes to product reliability.

There’s a reason Williams keeps his COO title

As for title, there’s likely a very good reason Williams remains COO on paper, whatever his real responsibilities. That title does indeed say ‘second in command,’ but more specifically it means ‘CEO designate.’ At some point, Williams is going to replace Cook.

That raises the question of when Cook will go, and what he will do. The ‘what’ is, I think, clear. Cook said back in 2015 that he plans to give away all his wealth, and to take a thoughtful approach to the way that money is used.

He plans to give away all his wealth, after providing for the college education of his 10-year-old nephew […] Cook says that he has already begun donating money quietly, but that he plans to take time to develop a systematic approach to philanthropy rather than simply writing checks.

The most obvious way to do that would be by establishing a foundation, and then running it himself. To do exactly what Bill Gates did, leaving his role as Chairman of Microsoft to establish the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Cook doesn’t have the same sums of money to play with, of course, but he’s still the kind of man who would want to take an extremely active role in ensuring that the money is spent in a way that achieves the biggest impact in the areas which matter most to him.

Cook also frequently speaks out on social issues, and has taken a certain amount of flack for doing so. There are those who feel that he should be focusing less on activism and more on his role at Apple, and I can see a time where he decides that the activism is more important to him. Right now, his role as Apple CEO amplifies his voice, but there will come a time when he feels his profile is high enough to maintain media interest without the job title.

When that will be is harder to predict. Cook clearly cares immensely about Apple, but that doesn’t mean he will necessarily want to continue running the company indefinitely. If he feels Williams represents a safe pair of hands – something already demonstrated by this restructure – then that makes it possible for him to hand over the reigns with a clean conscience sooner rather than later.

Apple can’t afford another major upheaval in its senior leadership anytime in the immediate future, but two years down the line? I could see that.

That’s my take on Apple’s restructure; what’s your view? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Image: TIME

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2019-07-04 11:52:00Z
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BMW and Daimler partner on autonomous driving, first results of team-up in market by 2024 - TechCrunch

Global automakers BMW and Daimler will join forces in a new long-term partnership to co-develop automated driving technologies, including levels of automation all the way up to SAE Level 4, which is defined as full self-driving, no human intervention required, but only under exactly defined conditions or domains – steering wheel and brakes not necessarily even present I the car.

This BMW/Daimler partnership includes developing automated driving technologies that precede Level 4, too, including advanced driver assistance features like smart cruise control and automated parking. And while it isn’t in scope of this specific arrangement, the two car makers also say that talks continue about expanding their cooperation to cover highly-automated driving within denser urban areas and in city driving conditions.

It’s a non-exclusive arrangement, which is the new normal in autonomous vehicle technology development, where cross-manufacturer partnerships have been increasingly common, and where we’ve also seen legacy automakers turn with fair frequency to startups and younger technology companies to supplement their in-house development efforts.

Daimler and BMW aim to develop a “scalable platform for automated driving” through their combined efforts, which the companies say is open for participation form both other automakers and tech providers. The resulting platform will also be made available to other OEMs under license.

Independently, Daimler is currently working on deploying its first Level 4/Level 5 self-driving vehicle pilot program in an urban environment in partnership with Bosch, and aims to have that operational this year. BMW’s next big automated driving push will be alongside its iNEXT lines of vehicles, with Level 3 technologies targeted release along with the first of those models in 2021. Both partners expect to implement the results of this partnership specifically in their own respective model series vehicles beginning in 2024, however.

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2019-07-04 11:43:22Z
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BMW and Daimler to team up in push toward self-driving cars - CNBC

Andrzej Wojcicki | Science Photo Library | Getty Images

BMW and Mercedes-manufacturer Daimler announced a new partnership on Thursday to develop autonomous driving.

Some 1,200 technicians from the two German auto giants will team up in a bid to develop self-driving technology. The engineers will work toward driver-assistance systems, automated driving on highways as well as parking. The firms say the technology will be specified to what industry insiders call SAE level 4.

"Further talks are planned to extend the cooperation to higher levels of automation in urban areas and city centers," BMW said in a joint statement.

SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) levels determine the automation capabilities of vehicles, ranking from zero to five.

Level 4 vehicles can intervene if things go wrong or if there is a system failure. The car can perform all functions itself, although a manual override is available to a driver.

Daimler and BMW said they are targeting 2024 as a key date for installing the technology in cars available to the general public.

The automakers said the cooperation is "non-exclusive" and partner manufacturers and technology firms will take part in the work.

They added that the results won't be kept secret and other firms can see the conclusions "under license."

Safer than a human?

On Tuesday, the two German companies joined with nine other firms to publish a white paper on driverless technology, entitled "Safety First for Automated Driving."

The report aims to draft worldwide industry standards for tackling the risks of self-driving cars and trucks.

Authors and experts from the firms involved say they aim to present the paper's principles and findings at auto industry and technology conferences over the next few months.

BMW said the main goal of the paper is to create a situation where an autonomously-driven vehicle is proven to be safer than one involving full human control.

Other participants in the document included Audi, Baidu, Continental, Fiat Chrysler, Here Technologies, Infineon, Intel, Volkswagen and Aptiv.

Now watch: Uber unveils its autonomous car

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2019-07-04 10:46:23Z
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Samsung charged with misleading Galaxy phone owners over water resistance - The Verge

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is taking Samsung to court over allegations it misled customers over the nature of various phones’ water resistance. Samsung has been depicting phones in or near to unsuitable environments such as swimming pools and oceans since 2016, the ACCC alleges, when it didn’t have a basis to make this representation.

“The ACCC alleges Samsung’s advertisements falsely and misleadingly represented Galaxy phones would be suitable for use in, or for exposure to, all types of water, including in ocean water and swimming pools, and would not be affected by such exposure to water for the life of the phone, when this was not the case,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said in a statement. The lawsuit is based on a review of more than 300 advertisements.

Various Galaxy phones are advertised as having IP68 water resistance, meaning that they can last in waters 1.5 meters deep for 30 minutes. But as the ACCC points out, that doesn’t cover all types of water, and Samsung itself says that the Galaxy S10 isn’t advised for beach use. “Samsung showed the Galaxy phones used in situations they shouldn’t be to attract customers,” Mr Sims says, arguing that consumers value water resistance as a feature and were denied an informed choice.

Samsung tells Reuters that it’s standing by its marketing and plans to fight the case.

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2019-07-04 07:28:24Z
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Lee Iacocca's funeral arrangements set for next week in Oakland County - Detroit Free Press

Ann Zaniewski Detroit Free Press

Published 9:51 PM EDT Jul 3, 2019

Funeral services have been scheduled for next week for Lee Iacocca, the legendary auto executive who died Tuesday at age 94. 

Visitation will be from 2-8 p.m. Tuesday at Lynch & Sons Funeral Home, 1368 N. Crooks Road in Clawson. 

A funeral mass will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Hugo of the Hills, 2215 Opdyke Road in Bloomfield Hills. Burial will follow at White Chapel Cemetery in Troy. 

During the height of his career in the 1980s, Iacocca was arguably the most popular business figure in the world. Pictures of him, often with his trademark cigar, were on magazine covers and TV screens.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles released a statement Tuesday praising his leadership. 

"He was one of the great leaders of our company and the auto industry as a whole," the company said. "He also played a profound and tireless role on the national stage as a business statesman and philanthropist. Lee gave us a mindset that still drives us today — one that is characterized by hard work, dedication and grit."

More on Freep.com:

Detroit police seek hit-and-run suspect from candlelight vigil

'We on the Lodge wit it' T-shirts are latest spin on viral Detroit video

Contact Ann Zaniewski: 313-222-6594 or azaniewski@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @AnnZaniewski. 

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2019-07-04 01:51:00Z
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Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq hit new records ahead of July 4th - Fox Business

U.S. stocks traded higher on Wednesday lifting the Dow Jones Industrials, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to new records as financial markets closed early for the July 4th holiday.

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Ticker	Security	Last	Change	%Chg
I:DJI	DOW JONES AVERAGES	26966	+179.32	+0.67%
SP500	S&P 500	2995.82	+22.81	+0.77%
I:COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	8170.231057	+61.14	+0.75%

President Trump celebrated the milestone tweeting a "congratulations!" noting the 19 percent annual gain for the broadest measure of stocks.

Stock Records Under Trump 

Dow: 87th Record Close

S&P 500: 88th Record Close

Nasdaq Composite: 100th Record Close

Investors are now betting on a rate cut by the Federal Reserve is looking more likely. Private employers added just 102,000 jobs to their payrolls in June, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report -- missing analyst expectations of 140,000. A potential sign the U.S. economy is losing some momentum. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 221,000 for the week.

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As a result bond yields tumbled on fears of a global recession and expectations of interest rate cuts by central banks.

Even with the shortened trading session, deal-making is still on the table. Shares of Symantec Corp surged after sources told Reuters that chipmaker Broadcom is in advanced talks to buy the cybersecurity firm.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	%Chg
AVGO	BROADCOM LIMITED	284.89	-10.44	-3.54%
SYMC	SYMANTEC CORPORATION	25.10	+3.00	+13.57%

And in auto news, Tesla set new production and delivery records in the second quarter, a major achievement for the electric carmaker that has struggled to scale manufacturing operations. Overall, the firm delivered 95,200 cars, a 51 percent increase over the prior three months. Tesla shares jumped nearly 5 percent.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	%Chg
TSLA	TESLA INC.	234.90	+10.35	+4.61%

July is building on what was a strong June for U.S. investors with the Dow Jones Industrial Average registering the best performance since 1938, the S&P 500 the best since 1955 and the Nasdaq Composite the best since 2000.

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The trade deficit in goods and services jumped 8.4 percent in May from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted $55.52 billion in May, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

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U.S. financial markets are closed Thursday for the July 4th holiday.

FOX Business' Ken Martin contributed to this report. 

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2019-07-03 17:52:01Z
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