Are you on track to retire? Our newsletter series – and other retirement stories – can help
The Globe and Mail
23-09-19 19:05
The Globe and Mail has launched a five-week newsletter course called The Retire Rich Roadmap, designed to help Canadians plan for retirement. Each week, participants receive an email with practical tips, calculators, explainers, and tools to assist with retirement planning. The course covers topics such as determining retirement age, calculating retirement costs, saving for retirement, financial programs available to retirees, and estate planning. The course aims to provide a realistic and positive perspective on retirement planning.
Government row with Facebook over private messages
BBC
23-09-19 23:16
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has responded to a UK government campaign criticizing its plans to introduce end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for its messaging services. The government argues that E2EE would hide child exploitation, abuse, and grooming, while Meta claims that encryption protects users' privacy. Meta also said that it has developed safety measures to combat abuse while maintaining online security. The UK government has expressed concerns that the move would allow child abusers to escape punishment, but Meta has disputed this, stating that it has provided information on its safety measures to the government.
Cindy Crawford calls out Oprah Winfrey for treating her like ‘chattel’
The Independent
23-09-20 16:32
Supermodel Cindy Crawford has criticised Oprah Winfrey for a 1986 interview in which she asked the then 20-year-old Crawford to show off her body. Crawford, now 57, reflects on the incident in a new documentary on Apple TV+ called The Super Models. In the documentary, Crawford describes feeling like "chattel or a child" during the interview and says that Winfrey's request was not acceptable. The documentary also features interviews with fellow supermodels Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington, who discuss their experiences in the industry.
French music streaming company Deezer to raise subscription price
Financial Times
23-09-21 13:02
Deezer is reportedly planning to raise its monthly subscription price by €1, following the lead of other music streaming services. This move comes as music streaming companies seek to increase profits and address the argument that their products are undervalued. Deezer was the first to raise its prices in early 2022, followed by Apple, YouTube, and Spotify. The standard Deezer subscription will soon cost €12 per month, up from €11. The increase in prices is seen as a "watershed moment" for the music industry, as major labels and investors have long argued that music is undervalued compared to other forms of entertainment. The global music business has been growing, but the streaming boom has been slowing, prompting companies to raise prices in order to boost growth. This trend of increasing subscription prices is also seen in the video streaming industry.
Ruby Franke accomplice allegedly used cayenne pepper on kids’ wounds
The Independent
23-09-21 12:15
Two YouTube stars have been accused of using cayenne pepper and honey to treat wounds on children's bodies, according to court documents. The allegations were made against Ruby Franke and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt. Both have been charged with six counts of felony child abuse. The arrest followed the discovery of a 12-year-old child with open wounds, duct tape on his ankles and appearing to be "emaciated".
Would you like a phone with that car? EV maker Nio thinks Chinese buyers will
South China Morning Post
23-09-21 12:00
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) start-up Nio has launched a smartphone designed specifically for use with its vehicles. The device offers more than 30 car-specific features, such as initiating self-parking mode, unlocking the car with a button press even if the smartphone is powered off, and transitioning a video call from the phone to the car’s screen and speakers. The fully functional Android-based phone is priced from CNY6,499 ($890) to CNY7,499 and is compatible with all eight of Nio’s vehicle models.
Tech remains central in the Hot Peace between China and the US
Financial Times
23-09-21 11:52
While geopolitical tensions between the US and China have been rising, trade between the two countries hit a record high last year, as did the stock of US direct investment in China. The US and Chinese economies remain intertwined, particularly in the technology sector. Despite the rhetoric, the economic symbiosis between the two countries is strong and has benefited both US and Chinese consumers. However, US investors should be wary, as the Chinese economy is experiencing difficulties and the policymaking environment is volatile. Many US companies will prefer to hedge their risks by shifting production to India or southeast Asia, but will still want to remain engaged with China's technological innovation.
Investors riddled with FOMO might be re-entering the US stock market
CNN
23-09-21 11:51
Global fund managers increased their exposure to US stocks this month by a record amount, according to Bank of America survey data going back to 1999. September also marked the first month global fund managers have had an outsized allocation in US equities since last August.
Arm falls below floatation price amid market jitters over tech
Telegraph
23-09-21 19:06
Shares in Arm, the British microchip design company, have fallen below its IPO price of $51 following last week's float. Analysts have raised concerns about demand for the company's semiconductor technology, as well as its exposure to a declining smartphone market and emerging competition. Arm's stock had climbed as high as $68 on its first day of trading, but has since fallen by around a quarter. The company's majority owner, SoftBank, sold 10% of its stake in Arm during the float, with investors such as Apple and Nvidia purchasing shares.
DuckDuckGo says market share constrained by rival Google's huge wallet
Reuters
23-09-21 17:53
DuckDuckGo CEO, Gabriel Weinberg, testified in a trial in Washington that his company struggled to grow its market share because Google paid key companies billions of dollars to keep its search engine as the default option. Weinberg's testimony supports the US government's argument that Google's financial power was used to unfairly hinder smaller rivals. DuckDuckGo, which has around 2.5% of the online search engine market, has been unable to secure a default position on devices made by major companies. The trial aims to determine whether Google broke US antitrust law.
DuckDuckGo founder says Google’s phone and manufacturing partnerships thwart competition
Associated Press
23-09-21 17:43
DuckDuckGo founder Gabriel Weinberg has testified in the US District Court in Washington, DC, that Google's dominance in the search engine market is hard to challenge because of the company's contracts with phone manufacturers and network operators. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) argues that Google pays companies, including Apple and Verizon, to ensure that its search engine is the default option on laptops and smartphones. Google counters that it dominates the market because its product is superior. In response, Weinberg said that users find it too difficult to switch from Google because of the "too many steps" required.
Microsoft announces unified AI assistant, new Surface devices
Reuters
23-09-21 17:04
Microsoft has announced a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool called Copilot, which will be available on its Windows 11 platform. Copilot will work across the company's web and productivity applications, including Bing, Edge browser, and Microsoft 365 software suite. The AI software will be available on Windows 11 from September 26 and will be available for purchase on November 1. Microsoft also announced that its Bing search engine will incorporate OpenAI's DALL-E 3, an image-generating AI. In addition to the AI update, Microsoft also unveiled four new Surface devices: Surface Laptop Go 3, Surface Laptop Studio 2, Surface Go 4 For Business, and Surface Hub 3.
Google pays Apple billions a year to use its search engine. Now executives must testify.
Washington Post
23-09-21 17:02
Apple executives are set to testify in the Google antitrust trial in Washington over the secretive $19bn deal between the companies. Apple's AI chief John Giannandrea, a former Google executive, and Eduardo Cue, Apple's services chief, will be questioned about the deal, which makes Google search the default on iPhones and other Apple devices. The Department of Justice lawsuit against Google is the first major tech antitrust case in almost 20 years. The case is looking at whether Google abused its power by preventing Apple from experimenting with other search engines. Google argues that the deal does not stop consumers from using other search engines if they prefer them. The details of the deal were heavily redacted in court filings. The trial will also examine whether the arrangement between the two companies is monopolistic and stops Google's competitors from gaining access to Apple's billions of users.
DuckDuckGo founder says Google's phone and manufacturing partnerships thwart competition
The Independent
23-09-21 21:38
DuckDuckGo founder Gabriel Weinberg testified in a US antitrust trial that Google's default search engine deals with phone companies and equipment manufacturers make it difficult for his company to compete. Google's dominance, he argued, was due to its search engine being the default option, and the complexity of changing default search engines on devices. Weinberg also highlighted that people's privacy concerns were a bigger priority than the best search results. Eric Lehman, a former Google software engineer, disputed one of the Department of Justice's key arguments, which was that Google's dominance was cemented by the data it collected from user clicks.
Business Highlights: Murdoch stepping down from CEO role at News Corp; S&P has worst day since March
Associated Press
23-09-21 21:34
Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as the leader of both Fox News' parent company and his News Corp media holdings. His son, Lachlan, will take his place. Murdoch, the 92-year-old Australian media magnate, built his empire from a single newspaper in Australia and went on to create Fox News and purchase other major media outlets such as the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal. Fox News has had a significant influence on television and American politics since its creation in 1996. Murdoch's family has also been in the spotlight over the years, with stories of business tactics and interfamily rivalries. Murdoch has been married four times and has six children.
C.E.O. of Google Rival Describes Obstacles to Efforts to Compete
NY Times
23-09-21 19:14
In the first testimony from a rival company in the federal trial of the US Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against Google, Gabriel Weinberg, the CEO of DuckDuckGo, described Google as a monopoly that has harmed competition and consumers. Weinberg argued that Google’s deals to make its search engine the default on browsers and other platforms prevented DuckDuckGo from competing effectively. DuckDuckGo, which has only 2.5% of the US search market, attempted to negotiate with other companies to make its privacy-focused search engine the default, but was consistently turned down due to Google’s deals with its tech partners.
Great news podcast fans: Stress Test is gearing up for another season
The Globe and Mail
23-09-21 19:14
The seventh season of the award-winning personal finance podcast Stress Test will focus on the financial challenges faced by young Canadians, including rising rents and mortgage costs and the trend of living with roommates into their 30s and 40s. However, the podcast will also cover topics such as money splurges to bring some joy into listeners' lives. The upcoming season will launch on 25 October.
Jon Hamm takes on his most Don Draper-like role yet in ‘The Morning Show’ — and he wears it well
The Toronto Star
23-09-21 19:11
Jon Hamm returns to television screens in the Apple TV+ drama The Morning Show, which also stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. Hamm plays a smarmy technocrat with a penchant for corporate takeovers and space missions, in a character reminiscent of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. The Morning Show’s third season centres around the character’s plans to fold the news division into an algorithm, or make it a mouthpiece for his company, Hyperion. The highly anticipated third season of the drama series also covers the emergence of COVID-19 and the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Hamm’s return to his signature role taps into the actor’s ability to make moral ambiguity look good. The character also reminds audiences why Hamm’s portrayal of Don Draper in Mad Men was so compelling. The new season of The Morning Show, which features Hamm’s character as its main driver, premiered on 15 September on Apple TV+.
Apple’s iPhone 15 Goes on Sale in Test of Holiday Resurgence
Bloomberg
23-09-22 02:03
Apple has released its iPhone 15 and Apple Watch Series 9 models in 40 countries, including the US, UK, Australia, and China. Initial online sales have been strong, with new orders for the highest-end iPhone 15 models not due to arrive until at least mid-November in several countries. The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models are expected to be Apple's biggest sellers for the rest of the year. Apple is hoping that the new devices will help it return to growth and break a streak of sales declines during the critical holiday period.
Still Up, review: a charming portrayal of platonic friendship between two chronic insomniacs
Telegraph
23-09-22 02:00
Apple TV's sitcom "Still Up" offers a charming and unflinching portrayal of platonic friendship between two chronic insomniacs. The series follows Danny, an unemployed music journalist, and Lisa, his non-romantic best friend, as they navigate their 30s and cope with their insomnia. The show takes a bleaker approach to comedy, offering a withering take on 21st-century life. While there isn't much plot, the series slowly reveals the deeper unhappiness underlying Danny and Lisa's sleep deprivation. The performances by Craig Roberts and Antonia Thomas are praised, as they capture the characters' loneliness in a crowded city.
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