Category: News and Views

Spotify is rolling out separate music and podcast feeds | Mashable

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Your Spotify home page is getting a makeover.

This week, Spotify is launching separate feeds for music and podcasts that will be accessible through the Home page on the app. This makes it easier to find what you’re really looking for. Your existing Home feed won’t change, but you will notice two new tabs on the upper left of the page: one labeled “Music” and titled “Podcasts & Shows.”

These feeds will essentially put all of Spotify’s recommendations in one place. The Music feed will feature new releases and playlists based on users’ music taste, while the Podcast & Shows feed will keep you up to date on the latest episodes of shows you follow, as well as suggestions based on what you’re listening to now.

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Ford just raised the price of the F-150 Lightening | CNN

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Ford on Thursday will once again begin taking orders for its popular F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck. But this time the base model of the pickup will cost about $7,000 more than before.

When the Lightning first went on sale, the Pro version — the base model intended mostly as a simple work truck — cost about $40,000. Now it will cost about $47,000. More expensive versions of the truck have similar price increases, up to $8,500 for highly equipped extended range models. The Lightning is currently eligible for the $7,500 federal EV tax credit. (With electric vehicle tax credit rules set to change under new legislation, it’s unclear if the truck will continue to be eligible in the future.)

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Toys ‘R’ Us locations: full list of Macy stores | Fast Company 

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Brick-and-mortar Toys “R” Us stores are back! Well, kind of. Macy’s has announced the opening of Toys “R” Us stores at its retail locations in nine states, and stores in another 19 states are set to open before the holiday 2022 shopping season.

Some background: The iconic toy retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in 2017 and the last of the chain’s brick-and-mortar shops closed in January 2021 due to the pandemic. But then in August 2021, Toys “R” Us announced its comeback: It would partner with Macy’s to open stores-within-stores inside the department chain’s locations.

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Text Message Laws Businesses Must Know | business.com

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There are a number of text message marketing laws that your business should be following when trying to reach its target audience.

Text message marketing, also known as SMS marketing, is becoming a poular marketing channel. This rapid rise has many businesses scrambling to incorporate text message marketing into their marketing strategies. Before you get started, however, it is critical to understand the laws surrounding this marketing method. Even though you may not intend to break the law, some aspects of compliance may be easy to miss, and even a tiny oversight could cost your business millions of dollars and damage consumers’ trust in your company.

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Apple and Amazon sales up despite rising prices | BBC News

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Amazon and Apple posted better than expected sales, reassuring investors that the tech giants will be able to weather slowdowns in global economies.

Amazon forecast in a trading update that higher fees for its Prime membership would boost its bottom line, while Apple said demand for its all important iPhone remained strong.

Both firms said they were making progress controlling running costs, despite prices rising at rapid rates.

The updates sent shares soaring.

The quarterly updates from Apple and Amazon are closely watched as indicators of how customers are reacting to the economic climate.

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The FTC is suing to stop Meta from acquiring Within, a VR fitness company | Mashable

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In an era full of giant tech companies devouring smaller tech companies, the Federal Trade Commission is actually trying to stop one such acquisition.

The FTC filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to block Meta from acquiring the VR developer Within, per The Verge. Within is perhaps best known for developing Supernatural VR, a popular VR fitness app. The federal agency’s primary charge is that, in purchasing Within, Meta would be monopolizing VR fitness, given that it already owns another one of the most popular VR workout games in Beat Saber.

“Letting Meta acquire Supernatural would combine the makers of two of the most significant VR fitness apps, thereby eliminating beneficial rivalry between Meta’s Beat Saber app and Within’s Supernatural app,” the FTC’s complaint said.

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How to take advantage of rising interest rates | CNN

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With the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike on Wednesday — its fourth since March — consumers again face the question of where to park their savings for the best return and how to minimize their borrowing costs.

In its bid to beat back high inflation, the US central bank hiked its overnight lending rate another 75 basis points to a range of 2.25% to 2.50%. And more rate hikes are anticipated later this year.

“With inflation running north of 9%, we’re not at the finish line and there will be more interest rate increases to come in the months ahead,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com.

Here are a few ways to situate your money so that you can benefit from rising rates, and protect yourself from their downside.

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Harvard: distracted driving a big problem for office workers | Fast Company

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Ninety-five percent of Americans call distracted driving “extremely dangerous,” and federal campaigns to stop activities like texting behind the wheel (“U text. U drive. U pay.”) have been carried out by federal agencies as varied as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Yet, according to a new survey by Harvard Business School researchers, 87% of the commuters they interviewed still admitted to “multitasking” on their way to and from work.

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Deadline to Apply for EIDL Loans Due to Texas Drought Nears | Small Business Trends

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Deadline to Apply for EIDL Loans Due to Texas Drought Nears

Director Tanya N. Garfield of the SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center-West Texas reminded small non-farm businesses of the August deadline dates to apply for an SBA federal disaster loan for economic injury. The low-interest loans were offered to offset economic losses from reduced revenues caused by drought.

Texas EIDL Deadlines Draw Near

The deadline for primary counties Fisher, Jones and Scurry is August 15, and is the same deadline for neighboring counties Borden, Callahan, Garza, Haskell, Kent, Mitchell, Nolan, Shackelford, Stonewall and Taylor.

The deadline for primary counties Camp, Franklin, Hopkins, Knox, Titus, Upshur and Wood is August 22, and is the same deadline for neighboring counties Baylor, Delta, Foard, Gregg, Harrison, Haskell, Hunt, King, Marion, Morris, Rains, Red River, Smith, Stonewall, Throckmorton and Van Zandt.

The interest rate for the loans is as low as 2.83% for businesses and 1.875% for private non-profit organizations. The terms are up to 30 years, with the actual loan amounts and terms to be set by the SBA who base them on each applicant’s financial condition.

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Union suspends Heathrow refueling staff strike | BBC News

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A strike by refuelling staff which could have disrupted several airlines at Heathrow Airport later this week has been called off.

A total of 50 workers from Aviation Fuel Services (AFS) were due to stage a three-day walkout from Thursday to Sunday in a row over pay.

However, the Unite union said on Wednesday that a fresh pay offer was now on the table after talks.

It will now ballot members on the new offer.

The union said talks at reconciliation service Acas on Wednesday had led to the new offer from AFS.

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