America is in the midst of a nationwide labor shortage—perhaps you’ve heard? In fact, data just released by the Department of Labor shows that the number of workers quitting their jobs hit an all-time high in August. Just as businesses are free to adopt whatever office design they believe is optimal, they’ve also been free since the pandemic began to resolve workplace shortages in whatever way strikes them as the most strategic. Many companies thought inside the box for sweetening the pot: Chipotle raised wages, Amazon is reimbursing college tuition costs, and there’s a Big Tech trend toward introducing free childcare.
Category: News and Views
Etsy Sellers Avoiding Supply Chain Shortages, CEO Says | Small Business Trends
As supply chain issues continue to disrupt major retailers in the US, smaller businesses, which are less reliant on complex global supply chain procedures, are less predisposed to disruption this holiday season.
An example of small businesses avoiding supply chain issues can be found at Etsy. According to Josh Silverman, CEO of the ecommerce company, the vast majority of Etsy sellers are businesses that source raw materials locally.
As such, they are not susceptible to the supply chain issues currently hobbling larger retailers.
Etsy Sellers Avoiding Supply Chain Shortages, CEO Says
Silverman’s unveilings show the resilience and agility of small businesses. They also offer confidence to small business owners as we move into the holiday season that their business won’t be adversely affected by the widely-hyped supply chain disruption.
Amazon Acquires Exclusive U.S. Rights To TikTok Connected-TV App | Forbes
Amazon announced Monday that it has acquired the exclusive U.S. rights to a connected-TV TikTok app, allowing Amazon Fire TV users to stream videos from the popular social media app on their televisions.
IRS unemployment refunds: update on checks finally here | Fast Company
It’s been a long time since we’ve heard anything from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about those much-coveted tax refunds for people who received unemployment compensation, but that day is finally here.
After Fast Company reported on a wave of mysterious direct deposits last week, the IRS confirmed Monday that it has sent out another 430,000 unemployment-related refunds, with checks averaging $1,189. The refunds are part of an ongoing Herculean effort by the agency to review and correct millions of tax returns that needed to be adjusted after the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act in March. The act excluded up to $10,200 in 2020 taxable unemployment income, meaning millions of taxpayers were due refunds.
Apple’s 2018 iPhone XR Still Works Just Great In 2021 | Digital Trends
As the iPhone 13 takes its place as the iPhone literally everyone should buy, the question still exists: Should I upgrade to the new iPhone, or should I keep my old one? To find out, I went back to a much older iPhone — the 2018 iPhone XR — for just over a week to see how well it would fare in 2021. Back when we reviewed it, we praised it as the “budget” iPhone to buy. This device was loaned to me by the folks at Backmarket, so it’s a refurb without all the dings and nicks that you’d have on an actively used phone.
A game changer with a legacy
The iPhone XR may be old now, but it’s an important iPhone that preceded the current iPhones like the iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and the most recent iPhone 13. It’s a phone that would be considered less than the “real” iPhone, but an iPhone nonetheless. Apple tried this sort of non-standard iPhone model with the SE and the iPhone 5C before. In many ways, the iPhone XR kicked off the standardization of Apple’s lineup, and it also became one of the bestselling iPhones in its day. After using it, it’s not a surprise.
Facebook changes its name to Meta in major rebrand | BBC News
Facebook has changed its corporate name to Meta as part of a major rebrand.
The company said it would better “encompass” what it does, as it broadens its reach beyond social media into areas like virtual reality (VR).
The change does not apply to its individual platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp, only the parent company that owns them.
The move follows a series of negative stories about Facebook, based on documents leaked by an ex-employee.
YouTube warns creators it will start to demonetize low-quality kids’ videos next month | TechCrunch
YouTube says it will soon begin to demonetize some of the channels on its platform that market themselves as “made for kids” if the content they produce is low-quality, encourages negative behavior or attitudes, or is heavily commercial. The company had previously warned this sort of content would no longer be eligible for inclusion in its dedicated YouTube Kids app, but starting next month YouTube will also begin to enforce new monetization policies as well, which may impact the creators’ eligibility for or possible removal from the YouTube Partner Program.
YouTube first announced its plans to increase its protections for minors in August, saying that some of the updates would directly address upcoming regulations, while others were going beyond what would be required by law. At the time, YouTube said it would shift the default settings on videos for users ages 13 to 17 to private, would enable “take a break” and bedtime reminders for minors, would stop leveraging “interests” data for targeting teens and kids with ads, and more.
Tesla surpasses $1 trillion market value | TechCrunch
Tesla’s market valuation hit and then surpassed the $1 trillion mark Monday, a milestone reached by the company 11 years after it became a publicly traded company. It also puts Tesla in select company with Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google, all of which have market caps above $1 trillion.
Tesla met the $1 trillion market cap mark around midday Monday when shares hit $998.22. Share prices hovered just below $1,000 and then suddenly shot past it — another first for Tesla. Shares closed up 12.66%, at $1,024.86. This is the first time the company’s share price reached $1,000 a share.
Coal-fired power is on the rise in America for the first time since 2014 | CNN
In a blow to the climate movement, US power companies are ramping up their coal consumption due to surging natural gas prices.
US coal-fired generation is expected to surge by 22% in 2021, the US Energy Information Administration said Monday. That would mark the first annual increase in coal-fired electric power generation since 2014, the EIA said.
Coal was long the main fuel source for the US power grid — even though its environmental footprint is the largest.
CDC: ‘Avoid Travel’ Warning For 5 New Destinations Due To Covid-19 | Forbes
Well, the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Covid-19 Travel Recommendations seem to change as frequently as the Kardashians’ wardrobes. Every week there are new additions to the list of destinations considered Level 4, the highest of four Covid-19 risk levels. Destinations at Level 4 are deemed by the CDC as places that you should avoid traveling to, regardless of whether you are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. This past week five new destinations ascended to Level 4: Belarus, Moldova, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Dispatches From The Front 