(Brands & Consumers)
Starbucks is making a change to its ice cubes, which has sparked curiosity among its customers. Cold beverage lovers will now find “nugget ice” in their drinks, featuring smaller ice pieces compared to the chain’s current cubes. Ice plays a crucial role at Starbucks, with its iced handcrafted beverages accounting for approximately 75% of sales….
OpenAI is making it even easier for many to access ChatGPT. OpenAI on Thursday announced the launch of a free ChatGPT app for iOS users in the United States, with plans to roll out to other countries soon. As reported on CNN, the launch comes six months after OpenAI first released ChatGPT online to the…
A group of TikTok users has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn Montana’s recently enacted ban on the app, arguing that it violates the First Amendment. The complaint was filed shortly after Governor Greg Gianforte signed the ban into law, and it contends that the state does not have the authority to restrict access to…
Disney has escalated its conflict with Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, resulting in the state losing 2,000 white-collar jobs. Disney has canceled its $1 billion office complex project in Florida, citing changing business conditions. The decision comes amid an open feud between Disney and DeSantis, who is expected to enter the 2024 GOP presidential race…
Nigeria will earn over $4 billion in nominal revenue as the Federal Executive Council, FEC, on Wednesday okayed the concession of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, to the Corporacion American Airport Consortium, a Luxembourg-based company. James Odaudu, the Special Assistant on Public Affairs to the…
Elizabeth Holmes has been given a deadline to report to prison by May 30, according to a judge’s decision. This comes after her last-minute attempt to avoid starting her sentence was rejected by an appellate court the day before. Judge Edward Davila, who presided over Holmes’ trial, issued an order on Wednesday stating that she…
Coca-Cola revolutionized soda customization with its Freestyle fountains about 15 years ago, and now Kraft Heinz aims to do something similar for dipping sauces. The concept involves sauce “bases” such as Ketchup, Ranch, 57 Sauce, and BBQ Sauce. Customers can choose one base and then mix it with flavor “enhancers” like jalapeño, smoky chipotle, buffalo,…
Apple has recently announced a range of new accessibility tools for their iPhone and iPad, with one notable feature being the ability to replicate a user’s voice for phone calls after just 15 minutes of training. This innovative tool, called Personal Voice, allows users to read text prompts to record audio, enabling the technology to…
Google has announced its plans to delete inactive accounts that have been dormant for at least two years, as part of an effort to mitigate security risks. While the updated policy is effective immediately, the actual deletion process will not commence until December. Prior to deleting the accounts, Google intends to send multiple warning notifications…
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has warned that the electric-vehicle maker is not immune to the global economic environment, which he said will be difficult for the next 12 months. At the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday in Austin, Texas, Musk spoke about car demand, making more money than competitors in a slow economy…
Yes, Barclays has announced that it will be closing 15 branches in the UK. The closures will take place in July 2023 and will affect branches in the following locations: Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire Kidsgrove, Staffordshire Hedge End, Hampshire Eastleigh, Hampshire Wokingham, Berkshire Bognor Regis, West Sussex Prudhoe, Northumberland Haltwhistle, Northumberland St Ives, Cornwall Falmouth,…
European regulators have given their approval for Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, a significant win for the technology giant. While concerns about potential competition issues were raised, Microsoft’s concessions were deemed sufficient to address antitrust concerns, according to a statement from the European Commission. The commitments made by Microsoft include allowing European consumers…
Vodafone has unveiled a turnaround plan to revive its fortunes after years of poor performance, which includes cutting 11,000 jobs over three years. The job cuts will impact the company’s UK headquarters and operations in other countries, leading to a more than 4% slide in shares in London. Vodafone aims to simplify its organization and…
Warren Buffett’s conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, has sold its remaining shares in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest chipmaker. The announcement was made in a filing indicating that Berkshire Hathaway no longer holds a stake in TSMC as of the end of Q1. In recent weeks, Buffett had expressed concerns about the future of…
Google recently announced that its AI chatbot Bard is now available in more than 180 countries. Although it is still in the experimental stage and can be inaccurate at times, Bard AI can be accessed on both smartphones and computers. While the AI chatbots can be quickly accessed from their websites, here are 3 extensions…
Apple has launched its SOS via satellite feature in the southern hemisphere with its arrival in Australia and New Zealand. This feature is now available for iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max users starting from May 15, 2023. Although it is technically a paid service, current owners are enrolled for free…
PUMA, a global sports brand, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. The company has recently announced its first-ever swimwear collection in the United States. While PUMA has been participating in the swimwear category in other regions since 1996, this collection marks its first entry into the US market. The move is buoyed by the…
Paolo Porta, an experienced fashion and luxury executive, has been appointed as the new CEO of British luxury leather goods and stationery brand, Smythson, with immediate effect. Prior to his appointment at Smythson, Porta was the CEO of Hunter and held senior positions at renowned brands such as Jimmy Choo, Burberry, Christian Dior, and Stella…
Contemporary designer Ronny Kobo is expanding her distribution by opening a shop-in-shop in the Amazon Fashion store. Amazon is expanding its premium fashion brands, and Ronny Kobo is the latest to join the list. The e-commerce giant will debut its Ronny Kobo shop-in-shop on Monday, highlighting the designer’s spring collection. Kobo’s collection, known for its…
Adidas is facing a challenge with unsold Yeezy sneakers since the German sportswear company ended its partnership with rapper Kanye West. The company could lose over $770 million if it fails to sell the millions of Yeezys accumulated in its warehouses. However, Adidas has not been enthusiastic about profiting from shoes designed with Ye since…
Michael Jordan is one of the most famous names, not only in basketball, but across sports. Heck, his popularity transcends the boundaries of sports and breached other aspects of the world as well. He’s also the richest athlete and a big part of that money comes from his deal with Nike. That often leaves people…
Honda is preparing for its 75th anniversary and there may be more than just cake and ice cream on the menu. Honda Motor Europe Senior Vice President Tom Gardner gave a hint, saying “watch this space” as the company is turning 75 and “we had the S2000 at 50.” He added a disclaimer, saying “who…
Reports of data breaches resulting in the leakage of millions of user data are not uncommon. However, it is less common for a company to unintentionally publish millions of user data online.Recently, Toyota Motor announced a cybersecurity case that involved its subsidiary, Toyota Connected, where part of the information about 2.15 million users was accidentally…
Microsoft, through its Africa Transformation Office (ATO), has announced its planned Xbox Game Studios Game Camp Africa, a two-day conference to recognise and celebrate all game creators across more than 50 diverse countries and regions, including Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa. A statement by ATO said the conference will run from July 15th –…
Twitter’s owner, Elon Musk, recently announced 59-year-old American media guru of Italian descent Linda Yaccarino as the new Chief Executive Officer of the platform. The announcement instantly made Yaccarino the most trending topic on social media, as many comb the internet to dig out facts about her. Here are 10 interesting facts about the new…
Tesla is set to recall over 1.1 million cars in China due to possible safety concerns, according to a statement released by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR). The recall will commence on May 29th, and the affected vehicles were manufactured between January 12, 2019, and April 24, 2023. The SAMR stated that the…
LinkedIn, the world’s largest social media platform for professionals, will cut 716 positions and discontinue its jobs app in mainland China, according to a statement by the California-based company. The decision was made due to shifts in customer behavior and slower revenue growth, said CEO Ryan Roslansky in a letter to employees. In the same…
Paramount Media Networks, MTV and Showtime, which are divisions of Paramount, announced on Tuesday that it would shut down MTV News and reduce its workforce by 25%. Chris McCarthy, the head of Paramount Media Networks, MTV and Showtime, revealed that the media giant has continued to feel pressure from broader economic headwinds despite its success…
Elon Musk has announced that he has found a new CEO to take over Twitter, months after he first promised to step back from the role. The new CEO will take over at X Corp., which was recently changed from Twitter Inc., in the coming weeks. However, Musk did not provide a name. Reports indicate…
Biotech company Novavax has announced that it will be laying off 25% of its workforce in an effort to reduce expenses. The decision was made to better align the company’s infrastructure and scale with the “endemic Covid opportunity,” according to Novavax CEO John Jacobs. Despite the layoffs, the Maryland-based company is still focused on updating…
Tech giant Google has recently launched its advanced AI chatbot, Bard, which is now available in 180 countries, with new features that promise to be interesting. The chatbot can now create functions in over 20 programming languages and add comments to explain code to collaborators, regardless of their location. During the launch, Google’s Vice President…
Disney has reported a loss of 4 million subscribers to its flagship streaming service in the first quarter of the year. Despite the decline in subscribers, Disney+ was able to reduce its losses by $400m. The company behind the Marvel and Star Wars franchises is under pressure to make its streaming business profitable amid a…
Vast, a California-based startup, plans to use a SpaceX rocket to launch what it hopes to be the world’s first commercial space station and ferry passengers to and from the orbiting outpost. The cost of the agreement was not disclosed. It remains unclear how much a trip to the proposed space station would cost visitors,…
Twitter has added encrypted messaging to the platform Wednesday, and calls will follow shortly, CEO Elon Musk has revealed via a tweet. “…This will grow in sophistication rapidly. The acid test is that I could not see your DMs even if there was a gun to my head,” he said. “Coming soon will be voice…
Google has unveiled Studio Bot, an AI-powered coding tool designed to assist Android developers with generating code, fixing errors, and answering questions about Android. The bot will be built on Codey, Google’s new foundational coding model that has emerged from its updated PaLM 2 large language model. Studio Bot supports both Kotlin and Java programming…
I’m very much aware that I have no control over the decisions social media apps and organizations make, but it would have been nice to know that a strange little AI bot was going to show up as a Snapchat friend. I’m not sure about you, but AI scares the living life out of me….
Tecno just unveiled the Camon 20 Premier 5G with a premium design featuring leather and ceramic on the back. Tecno says the build is premium and “free from the flimsiness of plastic” and each phone takes 56 hours of polishing and 576 total hours to build. The rear panel is clad in lychee pattern leather,…
New Balance has teamed up with New York-based skateboarding label POETS to present their own take on the Tiago Lemos 1010 sneaker, a ’90s-inspired silhouette designed for professional skater, Tiago Lemos. Having been founded by legendary skateboarder Gino Iannucci back in 2002, POETS developed its name from the neighborhood of Poet’s Corner in Long Island;…
A major Adidas shareholder, Union Investment, is set to call for transparency over the company’s relationship with Kanye West at the annual meeting on Thursday. Janne Werning, the head of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) at Union Investment, is expected to ask Adidas to reveal the findings of its investigation into West’s behaviour after he…
With Summer right around the corner, Nike (NYSE:NKE +0.23%) looks to bring back its weird and wonderful Air Rift silhouette in its original black and green colors. Inspired by Kenyan barefoot runners and named after the Great Rift Valley, a geographic rift that runs from Lebanon to Mozambique, the Air Rift is no doubt one…
In today’s age of mobile technology, almost every brand-new vehicle you can buy in showrooms comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. It’s the current gold standard, and Ford intends to keep it that way – at least for its vehicles – in the years to come. In an interview with the Wall Street…
Volvo’s new, next-generation electric vehicle, the luxuriously appointed, three-row EX90 SUV, isn’t even out yet, but the Swedish company is already talking about the follow-up. The Volvo EX30 will be a small SUV that will have its global debut on June 7th. US reservations will also open up on that date. The EX30 name had…
Berkshire Hathaway’s shares rose following a strong earnings report and Warren Buffett’s annual shareholder meeting, dubbed the “Woodstock for Capitalists.” The company’s A shares climbed 2% on Monday, reaching an intraday high of $502,055, and extending its year-to-date gains to over 6%. For the first quarter, the conglomerate reported a 12.6% increase in operating earnings,…
Samsung has come out on top as the most repair-friendly smartphone brand in 2022, beating Apple by a large margin, according to a study by the Electronics Hub. The study aggregated data from iFixit to determine which smartphones were easiest and most difficult to repair at home, based on average repair times and the difficulty…
During her tenure as CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer admits that the company’s $1.1 billion acquisition of Tumblr in 2013 was not the best decision. Mayer revealed in an interview with Tech Brew that Yahoo had considered purchasing Netflix or Hulu instead of Tumblr, with the former priced at $4 billion and the latter at…
The idea of a bridge connecting mainland Italy to Sicily across the Straits of Messina goes back to Roman times. But despite various proposals, including one for a tunnel, the project has not been realized. However, there is a new impetus to make it happen, thanks to a decree passed last month by the Giorgia…
Picture this: You’ve dropped your iPhone and shattered its screen for the second time. You rush to your nearest Apple Store for repairs, and the team at the Genius Bar returns your phone to you within hours, but with a hefty bill. As you prepare to make the payment, you notice a new option on…
Apple shares rose on Friday after the company reported higher-than-expected earnings for the second quarter, driven by impressive sales of iPhones in emerging markets. The tech giant reported iPhone sales revenues of $51.33 billion, up 1.5% from the previous year, which was boosted by the sale of high-end iPhone Pro models during the holiday season….
After a surprise decision by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last week, the biggest acquisition in gaming history hangs in the balance. Microsoft’s $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard has been blocked by UK regulators, and EU regulators are due to make a decision in the coming weeks. In Status Update (above),…
Microsoft is now rolling out the new AI-powered version of its Bing search engine to all users, following a limited preview version that had only been available to select users via Microsoft’s Edge browser. The new version of Bing is powered by the viral AI chatbot ChatGPT, which has generated concerns around inaccuracies and tone….
