(Brands & Consumers)
Elon Musk has said he’s “personally” paying for Twitter Blue subscriptions for a few celebrities who declined to subscribe themselves. The Twitter chief confirmed that he is paying for the accounts of William Shatner, Stephen King, and LeBron James to have their blue tick verification badges. “I’m paying for a few personally,” the Twitter CEO…
Bluesky, a new social media platform created by Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s co-founder and former CEO, is now available for Android users. Unlike Twitter, which is owned by Elon Musk, Bluesky aims to provide a more flexible and user-centric social network that provides greater autonomy and freedom to its users. Bluesky’s website promises to deliver a…
Meta is to cut hundreds of jobs in London and scrap Instagram’s hub in the city as part of widespread cost-cutting measures as the social media giant wrestles with a slump in advertising revenues amid harsher economic conditions. As reported on Evening Standard, the firm will sack as many as 687 staff, representing around 10%…
Twitter has finally removed its “legacy” blue checks. The verification tick marks were originally established as a way for Twitter to ensure that accounts belonged to the people they claimed to be representing. Over time, they became somewhat controversial, with users arguing that they amounted to special treatment for notable people. When Elon Musk bought…
Interest in electric cars has slumped as electricity prices and falling petrol costs have erased the benefits of owning a plug-in. Searches for battery-powered vehicles have dropped by two thirds since early 2022, according to Britain’s biggest online car marketplace AutoTrader. Interest has waned because of surging electricity prices and the end of Government grants…
The Walt Disney Company has settled with former Marvel Studios VFX chief Victoria Alonso after pink-slipping her last month. While details between Alonso and Disney are confidential, there was a multimillion-dollar financial compensation, we hear. The deal between the parties was reached in the past few days. Alonso was represented by Glaser Weil Fink Howard…
WH Smith has revealed plans to open more than 120 new shops after resurgent travel demand helped sales rocket over the past six months. The retailer also saw profits more than double as it continues to shift its focus further towards airport and railway station shops instead of its traditional high street spots. Boss Carl…
Shares in electric vehicle maker Tesla dropped more than 4% after the company reported first-quarter earnings after the bell. Here are the results. Earnings per share: 85 cents adj. vs 85 cents expected, according to the average analyst estimate compiled by Refinitiv Revenue: $23.33 billion vs $23.21 billion expected, according to Refinitiv estimates Net income…
Technology companies often collaborate with various brands to offer interesting products to their users. Examples of this can be seen in the recent Harry Potter-themed Xiaomi products or Coca-Cola branded phones. However, Samsung has recently made headlines with a surprising collaboration. The South Korean tech giant has collaborated with TOILET PAPER for a limited edition…
In the past, I’d noted that Google was largely wasting money paying Apple to have its search engine as the default search in Apple products. My thesis was based on the construct that Google Search being the #1, Apple even without being paid would have used it. It was not really about Apple; it was…
The NFL is the world’s richest sports league, with the pending sale of the Washington Commanders for $6 billion the latest example of its wealth. But when it comes to reaching the largest global audience, the other football dominates the marketing landscape. Soccer events (World Cup, Champions League), players (Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi) and teams…
Pepsi-Cola of Madison has renewed its sponsorship with Wisconsin Athletics as an Official Partner of the Wisconsin Badgers through the 2028-29 season. While pouring rights contracts are commonplace in college athletics, what is notable about Pepsi’s continued partnership with Wisconsin is its simultaneous commitment to supporting Badger athletes through name, image and likeness deals. “We’re…
Remember the funky LG Wing? We sure do. It’s an incredibly interesting device that came out in 2020 towards the very tail end of the company’s involvement in the smartphone business. It was the first and sadly only device in a new “Explorer series,” which LG intended to use as a soul-searching platform to try…
Alphabet shares are on pace for their worst day in over two months following a report indicating the Google parent company is in danger of losing a key multibillion-dollar search engine contract to Microsoft, as the artificial intelligence rivalry between the two technology giants rages on. As reported on Forbes, Samsung is mulling a switch…
Whilst Microsoft and Sony going back and forth with various self-serving claims has been cause for some amusement, thankfully the end is in sight. The job of regulators is to protect consumers, not the market leader or a trillion dollar company masquerading as a plucky underdog. Even if the deal is blocked, you have to…
When Google announced the acquisition of Fitbit, it was hard to believe in a happy ending for the former wearable company. At the start, we were almost convinced of a bright future. After all, we saw new releases and deeper integration between Fitbit and Google services. However, time passed, and things changed. It’s not a…
The arrival of the iPhone 15 this fall will mean a chance to get familiar with Apple’s latest handset. But it’s also a time to bid farewell to some current models, which will likely drop out of Apple’s iPhone lineup to make way for the new models. The iPhone 15 release date is still months…
Adidas, the iconic sportswear brand, has just opened its flagship store in the bustling city of Lagos in Victoria Island and this has left quite a mark on fashion and sports enthusiasts alike.This new store is not just a place to shop for trendy and high-performance sportswear, but a hub for the community to connect…
Simba Planet, the leading chain of bicycle stores in Nigeria, is excited to announce the launch of Nike shoes in their stores. This latest addition to Simba Planet’s product range is in line with the company’s mission to provide top-quality, high-performance products to the Nigerian fitness community. For 35 years, Simba has been a trusted…
Apple’s iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro designs have already leaked in detail, but now we know the company has made a stunning late design decision to save part of a radical upgrade it had initially scrapped. Reliable leaker Unknownz21 has revealed that while Apple was forced to scrap the solid-state haptic volume buttons planned…
A partnership between MTN and Apple Music has been confirmed in a bid to allow its Nigerian users access to its services amidst card payment challenges. Telecommunication giant MTN has partnered with one of the biggest digital streaming platforms in the world, Apple Music to allow users in Nigeria access its services without having to…
Amazon (AMZN) has built its e-commerce empire by making shopping affordable and foolproof. You didn’t like the pan you bought on Amazon? No worries, you had free returns. However, the days of across-the-board free returns are over: Amazon is instituting a $1 fee on some returns, marking a notable shift from the company’s early days…
Japanese officials have approved controversial plans to build the country’s first gambling resort.The complex will open in the western city of Osaka in 2029. Casinos have long been illegal in Japan. But a law was passed in 2018 providing exceptions to games, such as poker or baccarat, to create jobs and boost tourism. Public opinion…
Nike looks set to re-release the Air Jordan 1 “Lost & Found.” The company had earlier used its SNKRS app to poll users on their reaction to a potential restock of the hugely popular distressed-looking sneaker that mimics the classic 1980’s Jordan 1 model worn by Michael Jordan. Sources told Complex that a “Lost &…
It feels as if every day brings new price changes from Tesla TSLA –0.65% . Investors are getting used to them. The bigger deal now is the electric-vehicle company’s first-quarter gross profit margins are due to be reported in just a few days. Reuters reported that Tesla cut prices for its electric vehicles in Europe…
Analysts believe that the recent ban and Google restrictions on loan apps’ ability to access customers’ data will have a significant impact on digital lending platforms that rely on accessing customers’ contacts and photos to determine creditworthiness and recover loans. As reported on Independent, the affected platforms will now have to explore alternative ways of…
Amazon wants investors to know it won’t be left behind in the latest Big Tech arms race over artificial intelligence. In a letter to shareholders Thursday, Amazon (AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy said the company is “investing heavily” in large language models (LLMs) and generative AI, the same technology that underpins ChatGPT and other similar AI…
Police have arrested a self-described tech entrepreneur over the fatal stabbing in San Francisco of Cash App founder Bob Lee. As reported on BBC, the suspect is 38-year-old Nima Momeni from Emeryville, California. Mr Lee and Mr Momeni knew each other, police said. According to a LinkedIn profile for Momeni, he is a technology consultant…
Olalekan Jacob Ponle, known as Woodberry, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud. He also agreed to forfeit $8 million in proceeds of wire fraud as well as luxury cars and watches to the foreign government. Woodberry, a known associate of the now-imprisoned internet fraudster, Ramon Abbas, better known as Hushpuppi, recently in a plea declaration…
Walmart plans to close half its stores in Chicago, a reversal of the retail giant’s high-profile commitment in 2020 to expand in the city as part of its corporate racial justice initiative in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by police. Walmart announced that next week it will close four poor-performing stores out of the…
The Kenyan authorities have penalised an online lender $3,700 (£3,400) over allegations of intruding and sharing customers’ personal data. It followed complaints lodged against it by users over personal data breaches. The Office of Data Protection said it received close to 150 complaints against Whitepath Ltd, alleging the lender’s mobile app was mining phone contacts…
PepsiCo fully launched its Tesla Semi fleet recently, giving the world a sneak peek at its sustainable class-8 trucks. PepsiCo recently unveiled its Tesla Semi fleet for its Sacramento facility, taking a step closer to reaching its sustainability goals. PepsiCo stated that its Tesla Semi fleet was made possible through a grant by Sacramento’s air…
Twitter Inc is no longer an independent company after it was merged with a shell company called X Corp. A court filing revealed that Twitter no longer exists legally and billionaire Elon Musk’s X Corp has absorbed it. As reported on Independent, a court document submitted in a California court on April 4 suggested that…
Vince McMahon has sold WWE to Endeavor, but he’s still set to earn big money from his role within the company. As reported on Give Me Sport, McMahon is remaining with WWE, despite the merger with UFC, and will continue to serve as the Executive Chairman of the wrestling giant. Vince’s new salary with WWE…
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of popular microblogging company Twitter, Elon Musk, has changed the company’s logo from “doge” meme back to its former classic blue bird logo. The company also removed the “w” in the company’s name at its headquarters in San Francisco.Confirming the changes, Musk on his Twitter account said he would like…
Elon Musk’s electric car maker Tesla says it is expanding in China as it builds a new factory to make its large-scale batteries. The plant in Shanghai will be able to produce 10,000 of its “Megapack” energy storage units a year, the firm says. A Megapack is a very large battery that can be used…
A California Tesla owner on Friday sued the electric carmaker in a prospective class action lawsuit accusing it of violating the privacy of customers. The lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California came after Reuters reported on Thursday that groups of Tesla employees privately shared via an internal messaging system…
The State University System of Florida Board of Governors has banned the social media app TikTok, along with some other software, applications, and developers, from use on university-owned devices “due to the continued and increasing landscape of cyber threats.” In a memo sent to state university system presidents on Wednesday, Chancellor Ray Rodrigues said, “This…
Tesla cut prices in the United States between 2% and nearly 6%, its website showed on Thursday, as the company extends a discount drive on its electric vehicles that analysts caution could hurt profitability. As reported on CNN, the fifth such cut in Tesla’s largest market since the start of the year comes as the…
No one at Donda Academy was allowed to wear Adidas or Nike, two former staff members of the school alleged in a new lawsuit. Teachers and students were “required to wear all black from head to toe,” the former staffers allege, adding that the black clothing must have been issued or designed by Ye, the…
Food and beverage giant PepsiCo is incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into its processes for tracking consumer demand and new product development, helping the company boost its sales and bring new products to consumers faster. PepsiCo Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer Athina Kanioura joined the company in 2020 and began integrating AI into the company’s various…
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service plans to hire nearly 30,000 new employees and deploy new technology over the next two years as it ramps up an $80 billion investment plan to improve tax enforcement and customer service. The tax agency, in its long-awaited Strategic Operating Plan, said it will obligate about $8.64 billion of the…
Shares of Airbnb Inc fell as much as 6% on Thursday after an online independent publication released a report that probed unpleasant experiences that customers had during stays booked through the short-term rental platform. According to The Bear Cave report, horror incidents of guests staying at individually managed Airbnbs abound on the internet, including surprise…
Jennifer Lopez has launched her new low-calorie alcohol line called Delola. The famous singer and entrepreneur took to social media to post a video promoting her new product. According to Delola’s portfolio, the brand will feature Bella Berry Spritz, Paloma Rosa Spritz and L’Orange Spritz flavors “I just wanted to create something better tasting, better…
The fortune of Bernard Arnault, the world’s richest person, has topped $200bn for the first time as shares in his French LVMH luxury goods empire hit a record high. The 74-year-old has become only the third person in history to amass an estimated fortune above the $200bn (£160bn) threshold. Tesla’s Elon Musk and Amazon’s Jeff…
Things are cooking for Apple CEO Tim Cook. Emerging from a slow fiscal quarter due to slowing tech product demand and a sluggish economy, Apple is continuing to push for cost-cutting measures. The latest: eliminating jobs across its development and preservation teams, the corporate retail division that oversees the maintenance and construction of Apple stores….
Seven Nigerians have been named among Forbes’s 30 Under 30 newest self-made young African innovators. Forbes is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family, with a particular focus on business, technology, communications, science, politics, and law. The 2023 thirty young African innovators’ names were published on the Forbes…
Bob Lee, founder of mobile payment service Cash App, has been stabbed to death in San Francisco on Tuesday morning, according to reports. Lee, 43, was reported to have been attacked in the city’s downtown Rincon Hill neighborhood at 2:35 a.m., according to San Francisco police. Officers arrived to find the tech mogul with multiple…
Australia has joined other Western countries in banning the use of TikTok on government devices as the Chinese-owned video app comes under increasing pressure over claims it presents a security concern. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus announced the ban on Tuesday after receiving advice from intelligence and security agencies, saying the directive would be imposed “as soon…
A jury ordered Tesla to pay over $3 million Monday in a racial discrimination case brought by a former employee of its assembly plant in Fremont, California. As reported on CNN, the case was brought by Owen Diaz, who worked as an elevator operator at the plant. He reported he regularly heard racial slurs, including…
