Local retailers turn to delivery apps to make sure your gifts arrive by Christmas
With just a few days before Christmas, shoppers are running out of options to receive their holiday gifts in time to place them under the tree.
Apple targets car production by 2024 and eyes “next level” battery technology – sources
(Reuters) – Apple Inc is moving forward with self-driving car technology and is targeting 2024 to produce a passenger vehicle that could include its own breakthrough battery technology, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The iPhone maker’s automotive efforts, known as Project Titan, have proceeded unevenly since 2014 when it first started to design […]
China has five COVID-19 vaccines in the final phase of state approval, according to health officials
By Kevin Shalvey December 19, 2020 Five COVID-19 vaccines made in China have entered the final sprint for state approval, said officials in a press conference on Saturday, according to Xinhua News Agency. More than a million Chinese citizens have already been inoculated by vaccines approved for emergency use. “This will gradually forge a barrier of […]
Microsoft Is Designing Its Own Chips for Servers, Surface PCs
Friday, December 18, 2020 12:26 PM By Ian King and Dina Bass Move is potential threat to Intel’s data center chip business Software giant is using Arm designs for in-house processors (Bloomberg) — Microsoft Corp. is working on in-house processor designs for use in server computers that run the company’s cloud services, adding to an industrywide effort to reduce […]
Will business travel return to normal with Covid vaccine? Top executives are split: Survey
Everyone has an opinion on the return — or looming extinction — of business travel. Do the predictions match the view from the the top executives across corporate functions, and across all sectors of the global markets, who have actually done much of the corporate jet-setting themselves in recent years? Bill Gates says 50% of business […]
U.S. manufacturing production solid; imported inflation muted
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. manufacturing output increased more than expected in November, boosted by motor vehicle production, though momentum could slow as a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 infections keeps workers at home and temporarily shuts down factories. Other data on Tuesday suggested that a benign inflation environment could persist for a while, with import prices […]
Construction sites worldwide attempt to harness automated tech and other innovations
Infrastructure giant Balfour Beatty is to expand its deployment of technology that can manage power use at its sites and, it’s hoped, cut carbon emissions in the process. The system, dubbed EcoNet, has been developed alongside two other companies, Sunbelt Rentals U.K. and Invisible Systems. In a statement Monday, Balfour Beatty said the system worked by “controlling and […]
Amazon Zoox unveils self-driving robotaxi
Amazon’s self-driving vehicle company, Zoox, is taking the wraps off of its first robotaxi. Zoox on Monday debuted an electric, fully driverless vehicle that’s built for ride hailing. It’s a “carriage-style” car, which means that passengers face each other and there’s no space for a driver or passenger seat, since there’s no steering wheel. It has space […]
Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Rises Unexpectedly on Vaccine News
(Bloomberg) — A gauge of U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly increased in early December to the second-highest level since March, amid prospects for a vaccine coming soon to tame the pandemic. The University of Michigan’s preliminary sentiment index rose 4.5 points to 81.4, from a final November reading of 76.9, according to figures Friday that topped all […]
Consumers are spending more in 2020 than they did in 2019, says Bank of America CEO
Consumers are spending more via Bank of America accounts this year, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, than they did in 2019, according to CEO Brian Moynihan. “When you look at what they’re spending year-to-date, they’ve spent more in 2020 than they did in 2019, and that is now across $2.7 trillion in money moved by our […]