Not long after announcing its entry in the fintech sector, Walmart has reportedly hired two of Goldman Sachs' senior executives, Omer Ismail and David Stark, to head its online banking arm. The recruiting coup would be the latest in a series of developments that has the established players worried about corporate behemoths leaning on their huge customer bases to eat into the banking wallet, according to a BNN Bloomberg report.
From <https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/with-goldman-hires-mcmillon-moves-closer-to-bank-of-walmart-1.1570100>
Photo courtesy The Washington Post
Posting that perfect shot of yourself getting vaccinated on social media might garner a bunch of likes and comments, but it is also likely to generate plenty of ill will. Meryl Kornfield's piece in The Washington Post injects spirited debate into the issue and may help move the needle regarding public perception.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/02/27/vaccine-selfies/
Bitcoin's meteoric rise in popularity and value has not impressed Bill Gates as much as it has Elon Musk. "My general thought would be that if you have less money than Elon, you should probably watch out,” Gates said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. With Musk's financial worth pegged at US189.6 billion on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, that warning is directed at quite a few of us.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/it-s-gates-versus-musk-as-world-s-richest-spar-over-bitcoin-1.1568557
While private space companies including Elon Musk's SpaceX steal headlines with the introduction of civilian space travel, NASA still has a world of opportunity in the new Space Age. "The solar system is a big place," Phil McAlister, NASA's director of commercial spaceflight, said in a Washington Post article. "We at NASA should always be doing the next thing, the thing where the profit motive is not as evident and where the barriers to entry are still...
If the global pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we never know the troubles someone may be facing. Take Warren Buffett, for example. The guy just started his job as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway 51 years ago, and he is already saddled with the burden of finding ways to spend the company's stockpile of cash. To ease the pain somewhat, the company purchased $24.7 billion USD of its own stock. The whippersnapper CEO had this...
Surging momentum toward online sales of electronics has cost 5,000 Best Buy employees their jobs. The workers were laid off this month as Best Buy adjusts to an anticipated 40% of sales through e-commerce in 2021, up from 19% two years ago. The company said it has closed 20 of its stores in each of the past two years with more shutdowns to come. As CNN reports, sales floors will be reduced at many of the existing stores...
Following the 2019 acquisition of Entertainment One, multinational toy conglomerate Hasbro Inc. has announced plans to bring many of its most popular toys and games to the screen. The Rhode Island-based company is no stranger to entertainment having had success with film franchises such as Transformers and TV series including the animated My Little Pony. Hasbro says it will start producing several movies and streamed shows per year. Expect to see feature films based...
Photo courtesy Washington Post
The 1,230-kilometre Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline being laid between Russia and Germany is causing major concern for the U.S. and some European countries. Germany is looking to access a low-cost gas supply from Russia, but the U.S., Ukraine, Poland, and Slovakia maintain the project will give too much leverage to Russia. The pipeline has been under construction for several years but has been delayed because of U.S. sanctions. The...
A white-faced saki monkey has a snack at the Korkeasaari Zoo in Finland.
Video screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET
Helsinki, Finland's Korkeasaari Zoo is doing its best to keep its white-faced saki monkeys from getting bored. Researchers from Aalto University have set up a video monitor that allows the primates to watch a series of videos, which they say provides stimuli and improves their well-being. The researchers say it seems to have helped because there is less scratching by the...
Facebook Inc. and the Government of Australia say they have come to an understanding after the social network platform shut down news service to Australian Facebook users and publishers last week. Facebook says it plans pay $1 billion to publishers over the next three years. Facebook reacted sharply after the Australian government proposed a bill that would have forced some Internet platforms to negotiate payment with individual publishers. Those same issues are being discussed...
