Mustang Mach-E: 5 Tech and Design Details That Stood Out - TechCrunch

Ford finally showed the world its highly anticipated all-electric crossover, the Mustang Mach-E. The vehicle, which was unveiled Sunday at the Hawthorne Airport and in Tesla’s backyard, marks a series of firsts for Ford and the Mustang badge.

It’s the first vehicle to come out of Team Edison, the automaker’s dedicated electric vehicle organization. It’s not only the first electric Mustang, it’s also an SUV. 

TechCrunch has had an up close look and ride in the Mach-E, the first variant of which will become available in fall 2020. While there’s a lot to highlight, here are some of the details that stood out.

Door handles

Ford went an entirely new direction with the door handles on the Mustang Mach-E. You won’t find any Tesla lookalike door handles here. The doors seem to be lacking handles at all. A closer look though reveals illuminated buttons on the B and C pillars. The front doors also have a small, protruding handle located just under the button to grab onto.

Pressing the button for the backdoor immediately pops it open just slightly. Then the passenger reaches into the ajar door to hit the latch. This might sound dangerous and apt for a crushed finger. Except there’s an immediate safety in place that doesn’t allow the door to close. TechCrunch tested it out.

Owners will be able to also use their smartphone to unlock the Mustang Mach-E. This phone as a key technology is new to Ford.

Tech tray

It’s a seemingly small detail, but so many automakers ignore that their customers have smartphones and want to put these devices somewhere other than a cup holder. Behold the tech tray, which has wireless charging pad.

The cup holders, located just below the tech tray, can be used to hold actual cups.

Infotainment system

The 15.5-inch screen will get a lot of attention, perhaps because its location and vertical placement is reminiscent of the Tesla Model S. But then there’s the physical dial placed on the bottom of the screen to control the volume.

While not everyone will love this feature, it’s interesting how this dial came to be. Team Edison was assembled in 2017 to do more than create a new electric vehicle. It was created to do it differently and much faster than a typical vehicle program.

How the look and functionality of the infotainment system was developed is an example of this newfound nimbleness. A group of just over a dozen people with minimal oversight started with a research trip to China. Further customer research revealed that people wanted native apps in their car’s infotainment system and they didn’t want to learn anything new, Philip Mason, who is on Team Edison’s user experience, said during a backgrounder event prior to unveiling.

A prototype of physical dial was put together quickly — no fancy prototypes — and research groups responded positively.

The infotainment system is also cloud connected, allowing it to show traffic in real-time in navigation feature, has natural language, activated by one of four “wake words” like OK, Ford, and allows users to create personal profiles. The system learns the behavior and likes of the user over time.

And the entire system will be updated and improved via over-the-air software updates.

Vegan interior

Ford is hardly the first to move away from leather for its interior. Tesla has dropped leather and the Porsche Taycan is also vegan. Now the interior of the Mustang Mach-E also qualifies.

The synthetic material is among the better faux leather materials TechCrunch has come across. Even the steering wheel, a challenging area for synthetics, feels good.

Frunk

A front trunk in an all-electric vehicle is nothing new. The Mustang Mach-E doesn’t have the biggest frunk on the market; it’s not the smallest either.

But there is something interesting about this 4.8-cubic-inch frunk. It’s drainable and plastic lined. Josh Greiner, senior interior designer on the Mach-E, was quick to note during a backgrounder prior to the unveiling that the frunk could be packed with ice and used while tailgating.

One more bonus item

Right above the steering wheel is a driver monitoring system. This might come in handy for the automaker’s eventual plans to offer a hands-free driver assist system in Mach-E.

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https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/17/mustang-mach-e-5-tech-and-design-details-that-stood-out/

2019-11-18 07:41:15Z
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TransLink announces major SeaBus service cuts due to transit strike - Vancouver Is Awesome

The SeaBus departs North Vancouver. Starting Monday Nov. 18, the SeaBus will operate on a very reduced schedule due to Unifor’s operator job action. File photo by Cindy Goodman/North Shore News

Commuters take note: TransLink has announced that the week will begin with what they are deeming major service cuts on the SeaBus.

On November 18 and 19, the SeaBus will run on a 30-minute frequency schedule outside of the morning and evening rush-hour times.

TransLink is advising customers to make alternate arrangements if possible.

“Exact sailing times will be different as service moves to this new schedule. A bus bridge will be established to help manage passenger loads, but customers are warned it will not match SeaBus capacity,” adds TransLink.

Talks broke down again late last week between Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) and Unifor, the union representing about 5,000 transit operators and maintenance workers, resulting in Unifor making good on their promise to escalate their job action.

On Friday, several bus routes experienced disruptions across Metro Vancouver throughout the day. The next step has been a ban on operator overtime, which begins Monday. In addition to the SeaBus cancellations, TransLink cautions that bus service will be reduced by about 10% across Metro Vancouver starting Monday.

Customers are advised to give themselves extra time to travel to their destination, as well as check the Transit Alerts page for updates on service levels.

The following is the base operation schedule for the SeaBus:

• 6 to 9 a.m. – 15-minute service
• 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. – 30-minute service
• 3 to 9 p.m. – 15-minute service
• 9 p.m. to end of service – 30-minute service

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November 18, 2019 at 01:29AM

Saudi Aramco IPO: Company valued at up to $1.71 trillion, may top Alibaba’s 2014 record - RT

The price range for Saudi Aramco shares published on Sunday ahead of an IPO indicates that the value of the oil giant is between $1.6 trillion to $1.7 trillion, which falls short of the initial $2 trillion target.

The indicative price range for about 3 billion shares that Saudi Aramco offers is between 30 riyals ($8) and 32 riyals ($8.53) per share. This would bring anywhere between $24 billion and 25.6 billion into its coffers, depending on the final price that is to be announced on December 5. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. raised $25 billion in its 2014 IPO.

The range indicates an assessment of between $1.6 trillion and $1.71 trillion for Saudi Aramco. The value falls short of the $2 trillion figure floated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2016, when the IPO was first proposed.

Also on rt.com Could Saudi Aramco IPO kill OPEC?

The offering made at Tadawul, the national Saudi stock exchange, will allocate a third of the sold shares to Saudi citizens. The company is not planning to market the IPO abroad and counts on domestic and regional investors for subscription. Retail investors will have until November 28 to jump in, while institutional investors can subscribe as late as December 4.

The IPO is meant to raise money for the crown prince’s ambitious goal of diversifying Saudi economy away from oil export. Investors are likely to be reassured by Aramco’s status, as the world’s most profitable company that plans to distribute $75 billion in dividends next year, which is five times more than Apple.

Among the negative factors is a lack of financial and operational transparency that makes valuation harder, uncertainty over global demand for oil in upcoming years and regional tension, as indicated by a missile and drone attack on Aramco’s infrastructure in September.

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November 17, 2019 at 04:52PM

How grocery stores are trying to speed up your shopping experience - CTV News

Aleksandra Sagan, The Canadian Press
Published Sunday, November 17, 2019 10:10AM EST

Shoppers pushing one of 10 new smart carts at a Toronto Sobeys store can scan their items on the spot, track their total bill and accept payment, which means they can skip the cashier or self-checkout altogether.

The artificial intelligence-equipped carts are the latest aspect in grocers' efforts to streamline the shopping experience as consumers became increasingly accustomed to convenience.

Despite all the advancements found in a modern grocery store, customers are still required to gather their groceries, unload them at checkout, and then place their purchases into bags.

"This helps remove a little bit of that friction," said Jacquelin Weatherbee, communications director for Sobeys.

The grocer announced late last month it purchased 10 smart carts that it is starting to pilot at an Oakville, Ont., location.

For now, shoppers using the carts must allow it to scan each item they place inside. Eventually, the cart, which "gets smarter over time," will learn what each product is and the company will remove the scanning requirement, said Weatherbee.

The cart also weighs produce, keeps a running tally of the total bill, and accepts payment. One feature it lacks is a seat to hold a child.

"It really limits the amount of time you're going from product to stand to belt to bag for the customer," said Weatherbee.

Sobeys hopes to develop the technology to include suggestions about missing ingredients for recipes based on what is already in the cart and the ability for customers to upload their shopping lists.

The carts -- created by New York-based Caper Inc., which did not respond to an interview request -- show one way grocers turn to tech to eliminate the need for traditional checkouts.

Amazon debuted its Amazon Go system in Seattle in 2018. Shoppers must have an Amazon account and the Amazon Go app, which grants them access to the store. Customers take the products they want and leave. In-store technology tracks the purchase and charges their app.

Amazon now operates 18 of the Go stores in four cities in America -- with six more shops on the way, according to its website. With the tech titan's acquisition of Whole Foods, including its Canadian locations, it's possible that the concept will one day land in Canada.

Weatherbee said Sobeys likes its smart cart solution because of the ability to add functionality over time.

Loblaw Companies Ltd. quietly rolled out a pilot in a similar vein last year.

Now in eight stores, customers can use the company's app on their cellphones to scan items as they shop. The app aggregates all the products into one bar code, which can be scanned by a cashier or at the self-checkout when customers pay.

"There's still quite a few improvements to be made on that product," said Lauren Steinberg, a vice president at Loblaw digital. That includes adding the ability to pay within the app rather than at the checkout, which the company plans to roll out next year.

Walmart Canada shifted to a similar system that relies on a consumer's phone this year after testing a handheld device, much like a wand, that allowed customers to scan products while they shopped.

The former scan-and-go system reportedly created frustration for some shoppers.

"Most customers like to actually use their own device, touch their own device, feel their own device," said Alykhan Kanji, vice-president of format development at Walmart Canada.

When the company launched scan and go, he added, they hypothesized the process would shift to consumer phones eventually.

Shoppers at six Walmart Canada locations in the Greater Toronto Area can now test the program, dubbed Fastlane, via the Walmart app.

Already the company has made changes based on consumer response.

Customers balked at suddenly having to weigh produce to give the app the per kilogram cost of, for example, a bunch of bananas. Walmart introduced per unit pricing for as much produce as possible in response so shoppers can now scan the food without having to weigh it.

Canadians, especially younger demographics that are rapidly becoming one of the most important consumer groups, increasingly expect a more tech-savvy shopping experience, said Joel Gregoire, associate director for Mintel's Canada food and drinks reports.

"They've grown up at a time when they are very much tied to their technology -- to the point where this is all they've ever really known," he said.

"And for grocers to have a competitive advantage or to be relevant, they have to make sure they offer an experience that is linked to their technology."

But Gregoire said there's benefits beyond traffic.

Technology could lower labour costs in the long run, as it replaces the need for cashiers. The grocers tended to believe they would redistribute staff formerly tied to the cash register onto the store floor -- even further enhancing customer experience.

The data gathered from these apps could help companies learn more about their customers as well, said Gregoire.

If the smart carts and apps can track how customers move through the store, that information can help grocers improve their layouts, he said.

"I'm only kind of scratching the surface in terms of how that can be used, but certainly data is king in retail."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 17, 2019.

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November 17, 2019 at 10:10PM

HP board unanimously rejects Xerox's bid to acquire the company - CNBC

Tony Avelar | Bloomberg | Getty Images

HP's board of directors said Sunday that they unanimously rejected a proposal from Xerox to acquire the company, because the offer is not in the best interest of shareholders and would undervalue HP. 

Xerox had offered HP $22 per share in its takeover bid for the company. The bid consists of 77% cash and 23% stock, or $17 in cash and 0.137 Xerox share for each HP share. 

"In reaching this determination, the Board also considered the highly conditional and uncertain nature of the proposal, including the potential impact of outsized debt levels on the combined company's stock," the board wrote in a letter to John Visentin, Xerox's CEO. 

HP announced in October that it will cut between 7,000 and 9,000 jobs by the end of fiscal 2022 as part of a broader restructuring plan that it estimates will save $1 billion a year. The cuts would amount to nearly 16% of its 55,000 employees across the world, according to data from FactSet.

The software company is worth $29 billion and is over three times the size of Xerox, which makes printers and copiers, in terms of market cap.

"We note the decline of Xerox's revenue from $10.2 billion to $9.2 billion (on a trailing 12-month basis) since June 2018, which raises significant questions for us regarding the trajectory of your business and future prospects," the board wrote. 

"In addition, we believe it is critical to engage in a rigorous analysis of the achievable synergies from a potential combination," the board wrote. "With substantive engagement from Xerox management and access to diligence information on Xerox, we believe that we can quickly evaluate the merits of a potential transaction."

HP was created after Hewlett-Packard separated its enterprise business — Hewlett Packard Enterprise — which sells data storage equipment and servers, among other things. 

Activist investor Carl Icahn, who owns a 10.6% stake in Xerox, recently bought a $1.2 billion stake in HP. He was pushing for the merger of the two companies, as he believed that a combined company would be in the best interests of both sets of shareholders given the potential for cost savings and a balanced portfolio of printer options. 

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/17/hp-board-unanimously-rejects-xeroxs-bid-to-acquire-the-company.html

2019-11-17 19:09:00Z
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'Some of these guys are going to disappear': Slump hits cannabis industry - CTV News

Jeremiah Rodriguez, CTVNews.ca Staff, with a report from BNN Bloomberg’s Jon Erlichman
Published Friday, November 15, 2019 10:00PM EST

On a day when Canada’s stock market reached an all-time high, shares of cannabis companies continue their downward spiral.

Edmonton-based Aurora Cannabis is the latest producer to report disappointing financial results. Its sales of recreational weed was down 33 per cent compared to last quarter.

With investor pressure mounting, companies like Aurora are cutting costs where they can.

To save $190 million in planned expenses, the company announced it was halting construction of one production facility in Medicine Hat, Alta. and stopping work at another facility.

In Montreal, Aurora Cannabis chairman Michael Singer told BNN Bloomberg, “we are tightening the belt and being very cautious about spending."

For the cannabis industry, it’s been a dramatic shift from the abundant investment hype seen during the last year’s lead up to legalization.

Cutbacks are being felt in communities such as Ontario’s Niagara Region, where layoffs by cannabis company Hexo have affected the town of Lincoln. The company cut 200 jobs last month, which is nearly a quarter of its entire workforce.

The selloff in Canada’s five biggest pot stocks has wiped out $33 billion in market value since May.

One of the largest driving factors is the government’s unsuccessful battle with the black market, companies burning through cash and the slow rollout of legal pot stores in markets such as Ontario.

'SOME OF THESE GUYS ARE GOING TO DISAPPEAR'

Industry analyst Andrew Kessner at equity research firm William O'Neil told BNN Bloomberg, “We don't think they're going to be able to raise money easily going forward. And ultimately some of these guys are going to disappear.”

Elsewhere in Ontario, Mississauga-based producer Green Organic Dutchman shares fell sharply following a $20.1 million third-quarter loss.

There have also been some self-inflicted, regulation issues facing some producers. Former high-flyer CannTrust was targeted by Health Canada for growing some cannabis before securing a licence.

Other types of problems are mounting for fellow producers.

During a call with analysts, Mark Zekulin, the CEO of Canopy Growth Corp. said it's "increasingly unlikely" Canopy would achieve its target of $250 million in revenue in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ends in March.

Zekulin also told BNN Bloomberg his company misread the market for new products like cannabis oils and gel capsules.

"The reality is we expected this might be 20 per cent of the recreational market. It ended up to be somewhere along the lines of five per cent,” he explained.

But the industry's positive spin to this current slump is the upcoming “Cannabis 2.0" -- the moniker for the rollout of things like cannabis gummies, oils and other edibles -- which companies hope provides more growth.

New regulations for cannabis edibles and topicals came into effect last month, but because of the approval process products won’t hit the legal market until mid-December -- at the earliest.

With files from The Canadian Press

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November 16, 2019 at 10:00AM

The world's most valuable company: Saudi Arabia puts $1.7 trillion price tag on its oil monopoly - CNN

In a statement Sunday, Saudi Aramco said it was aiming to sell about 1.5% of its 200 billion shares in a partial privatization for between 30 riyals ($8) and 32 riyals ($8.53) each.

That means Aramco, the most profitable company in the world, could be worth between 6 trillion riyals ($1.6 trillion) and 6.4 trillion riyals ($1.7 trillion) — making it also by far the world's most valuable company ahead of Apple (AAPL).

That won't be the only record to fall if Aramco achieves the higher price: at that level, the share sale would raise just over $25 billion, making it slightly bigger than Alibaba's (BABA) 2014 debut on the New York Stock Exchange, so far the world's biggest IPO.

Saudi Arabia is selling shares in Aramco for the first time as part of an economic diversification plan aimed at weaning the kingdom off oil.

Aramco has vast oil reserves and massive daily output. It holds a monopoly in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter of crude. It made $111 billion in profit in 2018, and has promised to pay an annual dividend of $75 billion through 2024.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had reportedly sought a valuation for Aramco near $2 trillion. But low oil prices, the climate crisis and geopolitical risk have raised skepticism among international investors. Up to 0.5% of the company will be sold to individuals, with the remainder offered to institutional investors.

Aramco may need to heavily rely on rich local families, sympathetic sovereign wealth funds or major customers such as China signing up for shares. Reuters reported Sunday that Aramco will not market the IPO abroad.

The price for the shares will be set on December 5, with trading on the Saudi stock exchange expected to start later that month, according to Aramco's prospectus.

Wall Street's biggest names are advising Saudi Arabia on the privatization, despite pressure from activists who say financing fossil fuel companies will worsen the climate crisis. They have also urged banks not to do business with the kingdom because of its human rights record, including the brutal murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

Aramco listed Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan (JPM), Citigroup (C), Credit Suisse (CS), Morgan Stanley (MS) and HSBC (HBCYF) as joint financial advisers on the transaction. They have all previously declined to comment to CNN Business.

— John Defterios and Julia Horowitz contributed to this article.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/17/investing/saudi-aramco-valuation-1-7-trillion/index.html

2019-11-17 11:25:00Z
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