Jeffrey Herrera

The US President Donald Trump is losing followers and so, met with Jack Dorsey, the Chief Executive of Twitter Inc on Tuesday. He spent a significant amount of time asking him about the reason for losing Twitter followers. Trump attacked Twitter last week and said it is biased, in a meeting held by White House last week. After the meeting held on Tuesday, Trump tweeted that the meeting held this afternoon with Jack from twitter at the Whitehouse was great. They discussed many important subjects about this social media platform and others as well. Trump also said that he looks forward to keeping an open dialogue. With this tweet, he posted the photo of Dorsey with others in the Office.

Dorsey replied in his tweet saying thank you for his time and added that Twitter is here to serve people and always tries to make the conversations more civil and healthier. Dorsey hadn’t met Trump before that. In this meeting, Dorsey explained the concern of Trump that he was losing his followers. He said that the company was working towards removing spam and fraudulent accounts, due to which many famous people are losing their followers, including Dorsey himself. Trump said that Twitter was biased against him but had no evidence about this. He also wrote on his Twitter wall that the company is discriminatory towards him and doesn’t treat him well.

Trump lost almost 204,000 followers out of his 53.4 million followers in July alone and he is upset about it. He got this data from a firm Keyhole. There were many suspicious accounts on the social media platform which were trying to influence voters in 2016. Such accounts used influential information, which may or may not be correct to run campaigns. Trump also wrote in October that Twitter removed many people from his account and done something due to which people aren’t able to rejoin. Trump’s Twitter account is one of the most followed accounts. So, the declining number of followers is a concern for him.

The ex-chief executive of carmaker Volkswagen, Martin Winterkorn along with four other managers, has been charged in case of fraud in Germany about involvement in a diesel emissions scandal of the company. The public prosecutor in Braunschweig charged him with the fraud. Volkswagen cleared that it wouldn’t comment on this. In the US, Winterkorn is already facing criminal charges, but as Germany doesn’t extradite its citizens, he may not face the trial. In September 2015, 71-year-old Winterkorn resigned after the eruption of the scandal.

Prosecutors accused Winterkorn in a statement saying it is very serious fraud and a breach of competition laws. Prosecutors said that he should have alerted the car authorities and owners in the US and Europe regarding manipulating diesel emissions tests. He was also accused as he approved a “useless” software update which was designed to hide the actual reason for higher emission levels of the cars. He had admitted in September 2015 for the first time about using illegal software to cheat the emission tests in the US.

On about 600,000 vehicles that were sold in the US in the years 2009 to 2015, there were devices installed which let the vehicles perform much better during tests but not on roads later. It was done to millions of vehicles globally. These devices came to light after researchers at West Virginia University did a study on the emissions in the US. Later, investigations sparked for this scandal in Germany and other countries.

It wasn’t clear instantly if the four other accused managers were working at VW currently or had left the job. Winterkorn was given and had signed for the role of a “guarantor” of VW. It means he approved that the company didn’t sell cheating vehicles though he knew since May 2014 about the illegal manipulations. The prosecutors said that all this resulted in higher fines against VW AG Germany and the US as well. The shares of VW were a bit moved by all this. The bosses of VW are making massive promises about electrification of vehicles in the next decade, but the aftershocks from this scandal could seriously change the firm’s course.

If there’s one big issue which every worker in the USA faces then it’s hourly wage rate which they get from employers. However, there’s a piece of good news if you’re working for Bank of America or willing to in future because recently the executives said that they have decided to increase hourly wage rate of the bank to $20 over next two years. The company earlier said that they are going to pay an increased wage rate of $17 from May 1st to its employees. Bank of America currently employs more than 200000 people which means many people will be happy to see the salary getting increased with such a right margin.

Now many workers from different industries are protesting against the traditional system of paying wages to them because according to some group of workers to live a decent life they need a right paying scale also. Now without getting protest or anything Bank of America has surprised its employees with such a piece of great news. Recently CEO Brian Moynihan said that if you work for Bank Of America, then you will be earning at least $41000 per year. Currently, many big banking companies are trying to improve their position also that’s why they have come together to fix the issue of raising wage rate.

Banks earned a considerable amount of money in 2018 because of the massive cut of taxes done by Republicans. Since the 2007 financial crisis, the government is trying to improve situation and giving the right amount of subsidies in terms of tax benefits to banks. However, now since issue of raising wage rate has become national topic banks are also getting targeted by socialists politicians. JP Morgan Chase has already mentioned in its letters to shareholders that the company is willing to increase its wage rate which is good news for those who are working in banking sector.

The automobile industry is changing at a faster rate, and there are many companies which are trying to survive in this industry now because traditional way of making cars is getting obsolete. Ford who is one of the largest automobile companies in the world recently decided to build a new factory in Michigan for making automobile vehicles. Ford is trying to diversify its focus on building electric and autonomous cars which currently are in huge demand. This new facility will take upto two years to make since it will not be easy to develop and establish machines which will help to create automatic cars. Joe Hinrichs who is the president of Ford’s global operations said that the company would try to use this new facility to build new technology enables electric and self-driving cars which will be useful for customers.

This new facility is part of Ford’s plan to invest its $900 million into reshaping its manufacturing plant in Michigan. Project report shows that this new facility will create 923 jobs by the end of 2023. Currently, every major automobile sector company is trying to shift its focus from creating traditional cars to electric or automatic vehicles. Tesla which is one of the largest company in electric car industry is making a right amount of profit from the last two quarters, and now other companies are also trying to walk on Tesla’s path.

Some experts criticize CEO Jim Hackett for taking deliberate actions to shift the company’s focus into building autonomous cars. Ford has a plan of 2023 in which company will try to sell most of the electric vehicles and increase production of it also. A few months ago Ford announced its partnership with Volkswagen to build electric cars and now it seems like Tesla is undoubtedly going to get some severe competitors in future.

President Trump shared the third budget request to the Congress, demanding the financial cutting for the National Science Foundation. The National Science Foundation in the United States of America provides the funding to most of the non medical research programs and the agencies conducting the research. Also, he proposed the closure of the Energy Department program that funds speculative technologies, which are financially risky for private investors. The proposed budget cut is about $1 billion in the third budget request made by President Trump in Congress.

Not just the National Science Foundation, but the president has proposed a 1.4 percent budget cut for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ) than 2019 budget. The budget proposal for 2020 will have the $7.1 billion for the National Science Foundation than the $8.1 Billion allotted in 2019 budget. NSD provides a quarter of its funds to Federal grants for researchers in the field of engineering, mathematics, computer science, and social sciences. The contribution of the NSF is huge in the American Science industry, as 236 Nobel prizes were won by the researchers who got funded by the National Science Foundation in the United States of America. With the 12% Cut of $1 billion, the foundation will face severe problems with funding more science research projects.

The budget cut for NASA is severe as it does not provide sufficient money for its new space telescope WFIRST. The WFIRST telescope is being made for studying the dark matter by studying distant planets. Not just the science, but the National Institute for Health will be crippled after proposed Budget cuts are sanctioned. President Trump has offered $4.5 billion in budget cuts. With this proposal for 2020 Fiscal budget of the United States of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science is quite angry with the decision and the proposal of budget cuts for science research.

The exhibitions of ‘Factory of the Living’ have been showing the effects of digital technology on biology and art. This exhibition was held at the Pompidou Center in Paris. There were two pieces of each and both were in collaboration with natural living organisms. These included a H.O.R.T.U.S. XL astaxanthin.g, which was from ecoLogicStudio (built using cyanobacteria), and an Urban Morphogenesis Lab’s XenoDerma (an Asian fawn tarantula).

XenoDerma shows the spider’s mind or the perception of the spider towards how it sees the world. Spider’s web is not only for trapping of food but also for its living, sleeping and protection. They are very sensitive to even the smallest vibrations or changes in their webs. These webs give us an idea about a new form of architecture.

Claudia Pasquero headed this project. The aim of this project was to gain a more “cosmological” idea about the urban structures and architecture by relating it to these creatures and showing how they are attuned to their space. It was a digital 3D presentation of the pieces. Transparent 3D printed cubes having different lattice structures were used to show how these creatures adjust in their spaces. These creators say that studying these structures will be helpful in giving insights into the construction of multi-headed cities.

H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Astaxanthin.g was about the 3D representation of the morphology of coral reefs. It was the first 3D printed structure of the team in which the photosynthetic cyanobacteria was injected. They are having 185 different components used in them and weigh up to 271 kilograms. This structure was designed in a way that the growth of organisms was maximized. Radiation exposure was optimized for this purpose.

The people who visit the exhibition will be allowed to freely move around the structure. They can observe and engage in the bio-digital landscape. The micro-organisms born in this structure will absorb the carbon dioxide thrown out by human beings and convert it into oxygen. Biomass is also created in this process which can be used for the production of bioplastic material. Both of these structures look beautiful and interactive.

When it comes to toys industry, many people know about some famous companies only like Mattel, Lego, Hasbro but very few know about Funko. Funko which is a toy making company has made lots of famous toys from last few years, and there’s a high probability that you must’ve seen Funko’s awesome toys of Marvel’s Avengers. Funko has made toys based on Star Wars character which were loved by all star wars fans. Also, the company has made some great toys based on real-life athletes from the NBA and NFL. Toys industry is getting lots of hit because of rising of high-end technology. Nowadays children are spending their time playing games on an electronic gadget. However, if we look into Funko’s financial statement, then it shows us a different side of the story.

According to reports the company managed to grow its third quarter’s revenue by more than 25 percent. The company hasn’t released its fourth-quarter earnings reports, but according to analysts it has managed to make more than 20% of last year’s revenue. Some analyst is predicting that this toy making company might provide more than doubled earning per share as compared to previous year. If we look into Funko’s stock then so far they have risen by more than 40%. However, since the company went public in 2012 shares of it has become volatile.

Funko was founded in 1998 whose motto is to provide deep tech nostalgia-themed toys. As of now, the company is doing fine in terms of sales and revenues, but still, overall it is still facing some uncertainties. Because many big companies from toy industry have reported a low amount of sales in previous quarter. However, the company’s official think they will get a boost in sale of their Pokémon based toys since a movie is coming based on famous Pokémon character Pikachu.

A company’s shares show positive or negative response when it releases its earnings reports, and soon Berkshire Hathaway is also going to release its Q4 earnings report. According to reports Warren Buffett who is known as Oracle of Omaha will give investors of Berkshire Hathaway a bright look at where the company is heading. One thing which every Berkshires is waiting to see the amount of buy back shares which Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger has acquired. In financial market buying back own company’s stock indicates lots of things because when a company is in a strong position, it opts for buyback option because indirectly it means the company is in sound financial position.

Now according to Wall Street experts amount of buy back shares is below 2 billion dollars but if number exceeds then Berkshires shares will lift up significantly. However, it could also mean that Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger thinks shares of Berkshire Hathaway’s are cheap. Currently, Berkshire Hathaway is valued at more than $500 billion, and if the company decided to buy back shares worth of $2 billion, then that won’t be considered as one of the significant buybacks. Because many banks recently did repurchase of more than 5 percent after paying a right amount of dividend. However, some experts think Berkshires might get shocked because company must’ve repurchased shares worth of more than 7-8 billion dollars.

Warren Buffet is famous for his value investing technique. If he and Charlie Munger decides to acquire that much amount of shares of their own company, then it will increase Berkshire’s stock prices. So far in 2019 Berkshire’s stock has gone up by only 1% as compared to the S&P 500’s 11.3% rise. Some investors are not satisfied with company’s performance in 2019, and they might want to see good results in upcoming months.

Softbank which is multinational Japanese company has recently decided to expand its portfolio and decided to invest $940 million in an autonomous grocery delivery startup Nuro. Nuro is an autonomous grocery delivery startup which is run by the former employees of Alphabet whose focus is to produce self-driving vehicles for delivery of local goods around the grocery stores. Previously the company received more than $92 million of revenues from Softbank, Gaorong capital and with this latest round of funding company’s valuation has touched to $2.7 billion benchmarks.

Nuro has been in this industry from last few years, and so far it has delivered the right amount of services by using its R1 vehicle. The R1 is a custom made a vehicle which has two compartments in it, and each compartment can carry six grocery bags which makes it unique. Autonomous delivery of goods might not sound right since many people will be sceptical about such technology, but it seems like Nuro is rightly using advance tech. Company’s officials said that from last few years they’ve successfully built a great team and now they’re ready to provide unmanned services to grocery stores.

Now since the company has got a tremendous amount of funding from Softbank, some experts are saying that they can now use that money to build more high tech vehicles and can even hire skilled employees. Even though the company hasn’t given its comment regarding its plans, it seems like this funding will help the company to explore more new opportunities. This funding has come from Softbank vision fund which is a portfolio of $100 billion through this fund Softbank invest in fast-growing startups. Softbank has already invested in many autonomous vehicle ventures which are trying to solve the modern world’s problems by creating some fascinating technology.

Social media is undoubtedly one of the largest industry in the technology sector, and it has so many big companies which are growing in this business sector. Recently twitter reported its fourth-quarter earnings reports which show that company has managed to earn right amount of revenue, but if we look into its daily active users base, then it shows a different side of the story. According to the company’s report, Twitter currently has 126 million active regular users which they can monetize any time. If we look into the previous year’s data then in last year it had approximately 114 million daily active users. Current status shows that the company has managed to gain a good amount of active users from a period of twelve months only, but that’s not enough. Because from the last one quarter it has lost more than 5 million active users and most of them were bots or fake users. Company a few months revealed that they had banned all those counterfeit accounts which were created for promoting political propaganda.

Twitter has revealed that the company will not disclose how many daily active users it has instead they’re going to show how much monetizable daily active users (MDAU) are there. This decision of showing only MDAU indicates lots of things about the company. Many investors of it are worried about its future due to which company’s shares fell by more than five percent yesterday even after reporting a good amount of profits. If we compare twitter to other social media platforms, then it shows that this company will have to do many things to reach the top. Because Facebook has more than 1.52 billion daily active users and Instagram has 400 million users. However, Twitter has always been ideal for see who likes to see only informative currents happenings around the world.

There are some cases shows that a business executive shall do not do those things which will harm its own company. Carlos Ghosn is the perfect example of how a person’s greed can make someone do unethical things. Recently former CEO of Renault Carlos Ghosn was arrested by the Japanese government for doing financial misconduct and soon after his arrest company fired him. However according to some recent reports Renault company has revealed that they have found some audit evidence which shows Carlos Ghosn used the company’s 50000 euros for his personal benefits. So far no clarification has been given by the company on this audit evidence. Now some reports are saying that Ghosn must’ve used this money for celebrating his marriage with his second wife which happened a few months ago.

Most of the allegations on Ghosn have been made by Nissan who is a part of an alliance between Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Motors. Nissan made several claims which indicate that Ghosn was misusing his chief position for his personal benefits. Renault, on the other hand, did not remove Ghosn even after he had been arrested by the Japanese companies in financial misconduct accusations. However, a recent statement of Renault regarding using the company’s 50000 euros by Carlos Ghosn for his own benefits says lots of things. Still, Renault did not reveal any specific details regarding for what purpose Carlos Ghosn used the company’s money. But, if we look into some reports which are claiming that he must’ve used that money for his wedding celebrations. There are already many pieces of evidence regarding how Ghosn misused his authority for his own benefit, and now it seems like this one is new.

An alliance between Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Motors is now on the verge of the end because no company now wants to deal with each other after their Ghosn has been jailed.

In the USA currently, political parties and some leaders have started a war against all those big corporations which does nothing good for its employees and other stakeholders. It seems like tax the rich movement is getting a severe turn in the country because recently Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Bernie Sanders have said that they will bring necessary legislation which will restrict companies to buy back their own shares. From last few months, many big companies have taken some bold decisions which so far has affected thousands of ordinary citizens who work for them. To protect the rights of employees Bernie and Sanders are thinking of bringing new regulations which will force companies to invest more in its employees before they buy back shares. These leaders believe many big corporations use their power to control management and if the government doesn’t regulate such type of companies, then the future of low salaried workers will become more laborious.

Social leaders are arguing that most of the times companies pour billions of dollars into their business, but they hardly give any type of proper incentives for their workers. Many prominent executives who are holding a strong position in companies earn millions of dollars each year also if the situation goes like this, then it will increase the income gap between those rich people and low salaried employees. Bernie Sanders and other political leaders are trying not to let such type of situation by taxing a tremendous amount of money on rich people. A few days ago Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that country should need to put a wealth tax of 70% on all rich people and since that statement, many political leaders now are gathering together to start this movement.