The European Union will launch a raft of retaliatory tariffs against US exports on Friday, a top official has said.
The move comes after US President Donald Trump imposed steep duties on steel and aluminium earlier this month.
American exports such as blue jeans, motorbikes and bourbon whiskey will be targeted, trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom confirmed.
However, she said the bloc “did not want to be in this position”.
Here are eight behaviors that are all but taken for granted in American culture — all of which are potentially expensive. Before you blindly follow the presumed cultural custom, it’s worth at least giving each some thought and deciding whether it’s truly a priority of yours – or just something everyone else seems to be doing.
Some or all of these might be really important to you, things you feel are well worth the money — and that’s fine! At least you’ll have come to that decision mindfully.
Fiorentino decided the classic bean bag chair was due for an update.
His version is called the MoonPod, and it’s a uniquely-shaped bean bag that is designed to create the sensation of “zero-gravity weightlessness.” The bag, which weighs around 10 pounds, holds your shape no matter how you bend it–use it as a seat when you want to do work or stretch it out to take a nap. The bag can also stand upright and be put away in the closet. The Kickstarter project launched this week and has already surpassed its $21,500 goal, raising over $350,000.
IF YOU KNOW the company Square, it’s probably because you’ve paid in a store using a Square “stand,” a dock that supports a tablet, or you’ve swiped your card through Square Reader, a smartphone dongle that processes payments. These products have a simplistic, decidedly Apple-y aesthetic, from the simple dongle to the all-white stand that typically houses an iPad. But since late last year, Square has been quietly selling its own tablet, the Square Register, a $999, Android-based custom system. And the company has taken an obsessive approach to designing the product.
In the snack world, ice cream and popcorn might not sound like a winning combination. But according to Steve Rothenstein, senior director of franchise development for Dippin’ Dots, which also owns Doc Popcorn, the disparity between the two foods is what makes them a perfect match in the franchise world. Since 2015, Rothenstein has led a push to open kiosks featuring both brands, primarily in shopping malls, in an effort to appeal to more customers from a single space. So far, it’s working: More than 20 co-branded operations are currently open, seeing higher sales volumes than single-brand locations. By the end of 2018, that number of locations will double.
Finding time to wash your clothes is difficult enough at home, but it’s even more of a hassle when you’re traveling. The Sonic Soak is designed to act like a tiny, portable washing machine, using sound waves to clean clothes – including your delicates – as well as jewelry, toothbrushes, cutlery, baby items, fruit, veggies and basically whatever else can be thrown into a tub of water with it.
If you’re thinking about selling your Xbox One because a new release is imminent, you may not want to unplug it from your TV just yet.
A new report from Thurrott, a tech blog that’s previously leaked accurate information about unannounced Microsoft products, claims the next Xbox won’t arrive until 2020. The site also obtained details on next-gen Microsoft Surface devices, including when a new Surface Pro will be launched.
Microsoft is rolling out subtle changes to Office 365 to make work a little easier for its millions of customers.
The cluttered control bar (Microsoft calls it a ribbon) on the top of web-version of Word has been slimmed down to just one line. The same new bar will appear in Outlook next month.
Microsoft is holding off on slimming down PowerPoint, Excel and other Office 365 apps until it can do more research. It’s walking a fine line between offering simplicity to casual customers and angering power users.
James T. Green thought he was having a panic attack.
He took a break from work to walk around the block during a stressful day, and noticed he felt out of breath strolling up a slight incline. This isn’t normal, Green thought. He had become an avid cycler in recent months and wasn’t exactly out of shape. He sat down at his desk, and looked at the Apple Watch on his wrist.
His heart rate was through the roof, and the HeartWatch app he was using to check his pulse was flashing warnings. Maybe it was something more serious, he thought.
In May, Walmart announced that it would begin offering to cover U.S. workers’ college expenses — tuition, fees and books — leaving the recipient of the program responsible for only $1 per day toward an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in business or supply chain management from one of three universities.
“Walmart is just the beginning of the education and upscaling that’s going to be happening in the workplace, sponsored by employers who are realizing they’re not going to be able to hire and fire their way out of this problem,” Maggioncalda says. “It has now become mission-critical, existential.”
Dispatches From The Front 