Tag: Digital

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Politics

Tech exec invests in digital information start-up launched by veteran journalists

Tech exec invests in digital news start-up launched by veteran journalists

Stevica Mrdja / EyeEm | EyeEm | Getty Images

A digital news start-up that’s being launched by veteran journalists received an investment from a top tech executive.

The start-up, expected to launch in the fall, is led in part by longtime National Geographic executive Mark Bauman. The endeavor has received funding from tech entrepreneur Brian Edelman who runs RAIN, a firm that specializes in helping companies develop voice technology software.

RAIN lists on its website tech companies it has worked with in the past such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft.

Bauman told CNBC in an interview on Friday that Edelman was part of a series A funding round worth over $10 million. The other investor in the company is International Media Investments, a fund based out of the United Arab Emirates with a portfolio that includes other media ventures including The National, Euronews and Sky News Arabia.

Edelman’s LinkedIn page says he’s CEO and founding partner at RAIN. His company’s website notes it has offices in New York, Utah and Washington state. Bauman told CNBC that Edelman himself has investments around the globe, with a focus on technology and new media. Bauman also noted Edelman has done some work in the Middle East.

Edelman’s investment in the company gives a glimpse into how some executives see value in digital news businesses that have seen growth over the past year.

At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, CNBC digital posted a record 115 million unique visitors in March 2020 alone. The New York Times reported last April that traffic to its news site grew by more than 50 percent, as did The Washington Post’s. Saudi Arabia is funding a yet to be announced digital news site.

Bauman referred all other questions about Edelman’s investment to the tech entrepreneur. An email to RAIN was not returned.

Axios first reported on the new venture and International Media Investments being part of the recent round of funding but did not have the detail on Edelman’s investment.

Bauman confirmed to CNBC that he will be the president and CEO of the yet to be officially named news outlet and Laura McGann, who had stints at Politico and Vox.com, will take the lead on editorial. They will be reporting to board members Madhulika Sikka, David Ensor, Chris Isham, John Defterios and Alberto Fernandez. All of the board members have extensive experience in news and politics.

The job postings for the soon to be launched digital news business gives a glimpse into the topics readers will see on the site.

For instance, the company is hiring a reporter to cover China, with the goal of  “identifying the most important and interesting angles and issues, ranging from trade to territorial ambition; from climate change to the Belt & Road Initiative; and the many facets of the U.S.-China relationship,” according to the job posting.

A reporter covering politics and government “will be responsible for covering how existing shortcomings in the American political system and new attacks on it are posing a profound threat to the future of representative and responsive government in the United States.”

They also have a job for a misinformation reporter that will “cover the rise of misinformation, one of the most influential phenomena driving our public discourse and shaping our lives.”

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World News

The U.S. is deciding how to reply to China’s digital yuan

The U.S. is deciding how to respond to China’s digital yuan

China is beating the U.S. when it comes to innovation in online money, posing challenges to the U.S. dollar’s status as the de facto monetary reserve. Nearly 80 countries — including China and the U.S. — are in the process of developing a CBDC, or Central Bank Digital Currency. It’s a form of money that’s regulated but exists entirely online. China has already launched its digital yuan to more than a million Chinese citizens, while the U.S. is still largely focused on research.

The two groups tasked with this research in the U.S., MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, are parsing out what a digital currency might look like for Americans. Privacy is a major concern, so researchers and analysts are observing China’s digital yuan rollout.

“I think that if there is a digital dollar, privacy is going to be a very, very important part of that,” said Neha Narula, director of the Digital Currency Initiative at the MIT Media Lab. “The United States is pretty different than China.”

Another concern is access. According to the Pew Research Center, 7% of Americans say they don’t use the internet. For Black Americans, that rises to 9%, and for Americans over the age of 65, that rises to 25%. Americans with a disability are about three times as likely as those without a disability to say they never go online. That is part of what MIT is researching.

“Most of the work that we’re doing assumes that CBDC will coexist with physical cash and that users will still be able to use physical cash if they want to,” Narula said.

The idea of a CBDC in the U.S. is aimed, in part, at making sure the dollar stays the monetary leader in the world economy.

“The United States should not rest on its current leadership in this area. It should push ahead and develop a clear strategy for how to remain very strong and take advantage of the strength of the dollar,” said Darrell Duffie, professor of finance at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

Others see the digital yuan as insidious.

“The digital yuan is the largest threat to the West that we’ve faced in the last 30, 40 years. It allows China to get their claws into everyone in the West and allows them to export their digital authoritarianism,” said Kyle Bass of Hayman Capital Management.

Watch CNBC’s deep dive video into CDBCs to learn more.

Categories
Politics

E.U. Delays Digital Levy as Tax Talks Proceed

E.U. Delays Digital Levy as Tax Talks Proceed

Other finance ministers indicated that the delay was another sign of progress.

“It’s very, very good that we are now going to the next step, discussing how we will implement this at the European Union and that the European Union is deciding not to go with its own proposal to the public today,” Olaf Scholz, Germany’s finance minister, said as he entered the meeting.

The E.U. digital levy proposal faced a difficult path to becoming law in Europe, but the prospect of a new proposal that could be construed as a tax that targets American companies would have been another distraction for the fragile negotiations.

The United States has already been angered by other digital taxes that countries like France, Italy and Britain have enacted, which are separate from the new proposal. More than a dozen countries have enacted or announced plans in recent years to move forward with their own digital taxes.

The Biden administration has asked countries to immediately drop their digital taxes and has prepared retaliatory tariffs on a wide swath of European goods, including cheese, wine and clothing. As part of the global tax negotiations, countries have said they are willing to do so in exchange for additional tax on the largest and most profitable multinational enterprises, those with profit margins of at least 10 percent, that would be based on where their goods or services were sold, even if they had no physical presence there.

France, Europe’s biggest proponent of a digital tax, had no comment Monday. Its finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, had said during the weekend that France would legally commit to withdrawing its digital services tax only after an agreement was in effect, which is unlikely to happen before 2023.

In remarks at the meeting on Monday, Ms. Yellen emphasized the importance of a close relationship between the United States and the European Union and underscored the importance of the global tax agreement that she has been helping to broker. She argued that a deal over a global minimum tax would help European nations make important investments in their economies and reduce inequality.

“Long-run fiscal sustainability is critically important, which is one of the reasons why we need to continue working collectively to implement a global minimum tax of at least 15 percent, in line with the commitment the G20 made just days ago,” Ms. Yellen said. “We hope all E.U. member states will join the consensus and the European Union will move forward on this issue at E.U. level.”

Categories
World News

Digital leash on staff could possibly be crossing a line

Digital leash on workers could be crossing a line

Internal surveillance camera

Krisanapong Detraphiphat | Getty Images

With many companies working from home during the pandemic, managers and employers have found it difficult to divert dispersed teams away from the office.

Some have turned to technology to help, but they may be down a dangerous path using tools like artificial intelligence and algorithms to track employees and their work throughout the day, or even facial recognition that can make sure someone is sitting at their desk.

A recent report by the Institute for the Future of Work, a UK research and development group, states that algorithmic systems typically used to monitor the performance of warehouse workers or delivery drivers have pervaded more and more industries.

Andrew Pakes, deputy general secretary of the UK-based union Prospect, told CNBC that these “digital leash” technologies have been an upward trend for some time and that remote working with Covid-19 is accelerating this.

“This was a topic we picked up on before Covid, but rocket amplifiers have grown over the past year as companies turned to technology,” Pakes said.

“On the one hand, technology was really important in keeping us safe and connected at home, but there is another side and that is the concern we see with it.”

Prospect has published some research on employee attitudes towards these technologies. The majority of respondents in a survey said they were uncomfortable with monitoring cameras or keystrokes.

This technology is attracting increasing attention from critics. Microsoft faced a backlash in Microsoft 365 against the “Productivity Score” that allowed managers to track an employee’s performance. Microsoft has since resorted to the features of the product and minimized the data collected from individuals.

PwC was criticized last year for developing a facial recognition tool for financial companies that monitors an employee and ensures that they are at their desks when they are supposed to be. A PwC spokesman told CNBC that the tool was a “conceptual prototype”.

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But that type of game hasn’t stopped others from tinkering with the technology. Fujitsu has developed an AI tool that can be used to determine how much someone is focused on an online meeting or course by analyzing the muscle movements in the face.

As more technologies like this emerge, employers need to be careful what they use.

privacy

Brian Honan, a cybersecurity advisor and former Europol advisor, said the introduction of AI-powered work tracking tools like facial recognition or keystroke monitoring poses a number of risks for businesses.

“Businesses have a duty of care to protect their business and they have a legitimate interest in making sure their business interests are considered, but they need to be weighed against individual rights in the workplace,” Honan said.

He suspects that many tools like keystroke monitoring or programs that take screenshots of a person’s desktop could be illegal under the EU’s extensive GDPR regulations. “If you think about all of the information these tools might gather while you work,” he said.

Honan added that the power of these tools is heavily weighted towards the employer and possibly extends too far into an employee’s personal space.

He said the case of camera surveillance with a person sitting at their desk can be particularly problematic in a work-from-home scenario. The camera could take pictures of the employee’s family or roommates, he said, and now their privacy has been violated.

Aside from the regulatory risks, he added, the use of these technologies does little to foster a positive culture in the workplace.

“Without exception, you tell your employees,” I don’t trust you to do your job for what I pay you to do, “he said.

regulation

Pakes said GDPR provides employers with a good framework when considering technologies to manage workers. However, in the age of hybrid and remote working, stricter rules specific to the workplace are required.

Prospect advocates a “right to segregation” law in the UK that will lay down a clear line as to when communication between an employee and his boss ends. Pakes said such regulations are necessary to protect workers from being overreach by employers through technology. The right to separate laws was passed in France and Ireland.

Regardless, the EU will have stricter rules on artificial intelligence that will restrict the use of AI in various industries. Any employer who deals with facial recognition must be wary of new obligations.

“Most of the labor laws in Europe over the last century were designed with physical harm and risk, health and safety in mind. They were not designed for this digital age of AI and for decisions about how to collect data in clouds or black boxes. We argue very strongly that data is the new health and safety, “said Pakes.

“We need to update our labor laws to make them fit for the way we use AI.”

Categories
Entertainment

Shock G, Frontman for Hip-Hop Group Digital Underground, Dies at 57

Shock G, Frontman for Hip-Hop Group Digital Underground, Dies at 57

When it was Mr. Shakur’s turn he quickly released a thoughtful verse about the dangers of success: “Get some fame, people change.”

Mr. Shakur had auditioned for Shock G and was hired as a member of the group’s street crew. He ended up performing and recording with Digital Underground. He appeared in the groups “This Is an EP Release” (Tommy Boy) and “Sons of the P” (Tommy Boy), which were nominated for a Grammy Award.

In 1991, Mr. Shakur started a solo career with the album “2Pacalypse Now” (Interscope), which sold half a million times. It included two humble hits, “Trapped” and “Brenda’s Got a Baby,” a song about the plight of an unmarried teenage mother. Before the album was released, he also began a career as a film actor, playing the violent, unpredictable bishop in the Ernest Dickerson film “Juice”.

Until 1993, Mr. Shakur was a rising star. Shock G and another member of the Digital Underground, Money B, appeared on Mr. Shakur’s album and helped create his first big hit, “I Get Around,” a poolside hymn with a relaxed beat. But now it was Shock G with an Afro T-shirt and an oversized purple T-shirt that said, “Now you can tell from my everyday seizures that I’m not rich man caught in the mix / Tryna makes 15 cents one dollar. “

Shock G was born in Brooklyn on August 25, 1963, and his musical instincts were shaped by a childhood spent moving around the country. His mother, Shirley Kraft, was a television producer; his father, Edward Racker, was a senior executive in computer administration. After the couple divorced, “I spent most of my time in Tampa, but I also lived in New York, Philly, and California,” Shock G told the Times. “I was always interested in music and played in bands when I was 10 or 11 years old.”

His grandmother, Gloria Ali, was a pianist and cabaret singer in Harlem in the 1950s. She taught him how to play Thelonious Monk’s “Round Midnight” on the piano. When hip-hop picked up speed in New York in the late 1970s, Shock G, who lived there at the time, recalled: “All my friends and I sold our instruments to buy mixers and turntables.”

Shock G is survived by his parents; his sister Elizabeth Racker; and his brother Kent Racker.

Shock G saw music as expansive, inclusive, and experimental. “Funk can be rock, funk can be jazz and funk can be soul,” he told the Times. “Most people have a checklist of what makes a good pop song: It has to be three minutes long, have a repeatable chorus, and have a catchy catch. That makes music stale. We say, “Do what feels good.” If you like it for three minutes, you will love it for 30 minutes. “

Christina Morales and Jesus Jiménez contributed to the coverage.

Categories
Business

Chipotle’s digital gross sales stay sturdy as eating rooms reopen: CFO

Chipotle's digital sales remain strong as dining rooms reopen: CFO

Chipotle Mexican Grill is encouraged by the strength of its digital sales even with its dining rooms open due to coronavirus-related closures, CFO Jack Hartung told CNBC on Friday.

“The pandemic has really put some turbochargers behind our digital business, of course, but as we start to see Covid behind us – and we still have a long way to go – we keep most of that digital business, around 80%,” said Hartung in an interview on “Closing Bell”.

“Then when the restaurants reopened … we regained about 60% of what we lost when the pandemic started,” added Hartung, who joined Chipotle nearly two decades ago. “So, really, we’ll be ahead of the game in the end, though [the] The pandemic is completely behind us. We are very optimistic about where we are going from here. “

During the Covid crisis, customers flocked to Chipotle’s online ordering options. The fast casual chain saw digital sales jump 174% year over year in 2020, resulting in a 7.1% increase in total sales. Digital sales accounted for 46.2% of the California-based company’s sales last year, compared to 18% of sales in 2019.

In November, Chipotle opened its first restaurant entirely digital. More recently, quesadillas have been added to the menu, but the long-awaited addition is only available for online orders.

Earlier this week, Chipotle announced an expansion of its debt-free college degree for employees. It now includes degrees in agriculture, food and hospitality.

According to Hartung, Chipotle has seen positive results since the educational initiative was launched almost two years ago.

“When our employees use these debt-free programs, they are three and a half times more likely to stay with us and seven times more likely to be in leadership positions. We see this as an investment in our people.” Said Hartung.

Chipotle’s shares closed the session modestly on Friday at around $ 1,531 apiece. The stock is up 10.4% since the start of the year and nearly 100% over the past 12 months.

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Business

Utz Manufacturers doubles down on digital advertisements to develop snack gross sales, retain prospects

Utz Brands doubles down on digital ads to grow snack sales, retain customers

Dylan Lissette, CEO of Utz Brands, told CNBC on Friday that the company is increasing its marketing spend on digital advertising to reach new customers and increase sales of snacks.

“We are investing a lot of money there. In the further course of 2021 [it will be] About 60% more, “he said in a Mad Money interview with Jim Cramer.” But if we look beyond that, we will invest even more. “

The company, which sells a range of salty snacks, including potato chips and pretzels, wants to capitalize on bans in pandemic times with consumers eating at home. The company’s portfolio includes brands such as Zapp’s, Golden Flake and Boulder Canyon.

“What we love [digital ads] is the fact that you are really able to turn a dime in … and keep track of what works, “he said.” If some kind of angle of attack works for one brand or another in reaching our customers, they are able to lean behind it very quickly. “

According to the annual report, Utz spent around 11.1 million US dollars on consumer marketing and advertising for the 2020 financial year ending on January 3. Lissette didn’t say how much would be spent on marketing and advertising expenses in the current fiscal year.

Lissette said there are more opportunities in social media and digital ads “than doing a commercial and running it for a year and realizing that it isn’t really giving you what you need”.

The Utz share rose by 5% to USD 26.56 on Friday. The 100-year-old brand went public last year through a purpose of the acquisition company.

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Business

Why central banks need to get into digital currencies

Why central banks want to get into digital currencies

The intense interest in cryptocurrencies and the Covid-19 pandemic have sparked a debate among central banks about whether they should issue their own digital currencies.

China has led the way in developing its own digital currency. It has been working on the initiative since 2014. Chinese central bank officials have already carried out massive trials in major cities like Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Hangzhou.

“China’s experiment is very extensive,” said J. Christopher Giancarlo, former chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. “When the world arrives for the Beijing Winter Olympics next winter, they will use the new digital renminbi to shop, stay in hotels and buy meals in restaurants. The world will work.” [central bank digital currency] very soon, within the coming year. “

The USA are playing catch-up. At the end of February 2021, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the US would talk to the public about the digital dollar this year.

Proponents claim that central bank digital currencies could facilitate cross-border transactions, promote financial inclusion and ensure the stability of the payment system. There are also privacy and surveillance risks with government-issued digital currencies. And in times of economic uncertainty, people may be more likely to get their funds from commercial banks, which speeds up the bank run.

Watch the video above to find out how central bank digital currencies can become the future of global finance.

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Business

Tribune Publishing, dealing with an acquisition, provides to money holdings and digital income.

Tribune Publishing, facing an acquisition, adds to cash holdings and digital revenue.

Tribune Publishing, which owns The Chicago Tribune, The Daily News, and seven other metropolitan newspapers, has significantly increased its digital subscribers and sales over the past year, the newspaper chain announced on Thursday in its first profit publication since it signed a deal last month announced had bought Alden Global Capital from the hedge fund.

Tribune also announced it increased cash holdings by $ 36.7 million to nearly $ 100 million during the year and reduced total cost of ownership by more than $ 138 million.

In the fourth quarter, Tribune advertising revenue declined more than $ 32 million compared to the same quarter last year. This was a sharp drop, partly due to the coronavirus pandemic, while total subscription income fell by $ 3.1 million, although digital subscription income rose by $ 5.4 million.

Last month, Tribune and Alden announced that Alden would buy the 68 percent of the company’s shares it did not already own for $ 630 million, provided two-thirds of Tribune’s remaining shareholders approve the deal . Alden already owns dozens of newspapers across the country through a subsidiary, the MediaNews Group.

Terry Jimenez, who was named Chief Executive of Tribune in February 2020, pointed in a press release on the company’s digital gains to mitigate the “negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic” and position Tribune for a prosperous future. ”

Tribune gained around 102,000 digital subscribers in 2020, an increase of 30.5 percent for a total of 436,000. Digital revenue, including digital advertising and subscriptions, grew $ 16.5 million, or 57 percent.

“The steps we took over the year to streamline our cost structure, significantly reduce future commitments, pursue digital growth and invest in high quality content have enabled Tribune to create a platform that will work for will be successful for years to come, “said Jimenez.

Alden already has a 32 percent stake in Tribune, which it acquired at the end of 2019. The Manhattan-based hedge fund is known for cutting the cost of its own newspapers in order to increase profit margins. In January 2020, Tribune offered large-scale buyouts. After the pandemic hit the United States, it permanently cut some employees’ wages, initiated vacations, and also closed several offices of their newspapers.

Tribune said that considering the Alden deal, there would be no conference call to discuss the earnings announcement.

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Business

Wendy’s to hit 10% digital gross sales aim properly forward of schedule, CEO says

Wendy's to hit 10% digital sales goal well ahead of schedule, CEO says

The coronavirus pandemic caused American companies to use the internet to reach consumers, and the same goes for Wendy’s.

According to CEO Todd Penegor, who appeared on CNBC on Wednesday, the digital arm of the fast food chain is well on its way to getting a bigger share of the company’s total sales with the help of its loyalty program.

The company now expects digital to account for 10% of sales in 2021.

“We didn’t think we’d hit 10% by 2024 before the pandemic,” Penegor Jim Cramer said in a Mad Money interview. “We’re bringing a lot of active users to our app and people are getting involved with the app. We’re seeing a lot more mobile orders and that’s really because there is an advantage.”

Wendy’s also found success in the breakfast menu it launched last year. While fewer Americans commuted to the office during the pandemic, which cut their chances of getting a morning breakfast sandwich or coffee at a restaurant, breakfast sales accounted for about 7% of total revenue last year, the company said.

Penegor remained optimistic about competing with other restaurants in the morning rush. He expects the breakfast menu to account for 10% of sales by the end of 2022.

“The breakfast business is doing quite well in the face of the pandemic,” he said. “For us it is remarkable and very encouraging to be able to achieve a sales mix of 7% on our breakfast day. … What we see is a strong repetition.”

On the previous Wednesday, Wendy reported fourth quarter results that missed Wall Street’s estimates of both profit and profit. The company posted total revenue of $ 474.3 million for the quarter, up 11% from $ 427.2 last year, and net income of $ 38.7 million, up 46% from $ 26.5 million. USD. According to FactSet, analysts were looking for revenue of approximately $ 476.6 million and net income of $ 39.9 million.

For the full year, Wendy’s posted revenue of $ 1.73 million, an increase of 1.5% and a decrease of $ 117.8 million, a decrease of 14% from 2019.

US restaurant revenue increased 5.5% for the quarter and 2% for the full year.

Wendy’s shares fell more than 5% on Wednesday to a closing price of $ 20.12.