Apple is overhauling its corporate governance and realigning its priorities as part of an effort to reduce its dependence on the iPhone and diversify its business with a focus on services. The company has hired or promoted new executives to its artificial intelligence, services, retail and hardware units during the past few months, and has also hit the pause button on multiple projects, most recently cutting 200 jobs from its autonomous vehicle division.
LG has formed a partnership with smart oven startup Tovala, which also sells pre-assembled meals. By using Tovala's app, LG oven owners will be able to scan data from Tovala's meals, and the oven will automatically adjust to the proper settings to prepare them.
⋅ Reuters
Government officials in Morocco are encouraging the teaching of French in formal education, and have proposed that the language be used to teach science, math and technical courses. The country's official languages are Arabic and Amazigh, but French is used in business, higher-education institutions and government, and some officials tout the benefits of increasing proficiency.
JPMorgan Chase will introduce digital currency to let clients accelerate transactions. Each "JPM Coin" has a face value of $1 and runs on proprietary blockchain technology Quorum.
Kroger is working to build an all-inclusive grocery service model while attempting to limit any loss of its customer base to digital competitors, Hilary Milnes writes. "It's a lot of complexities that we face, and in response, we're putting together a new ecosystem that makes it effortless for customers to get what they want when they want it," says Matt Thompson, Kroger's vice president of digital.
The World Health Organization reported that the number of measles cases worldwide totaled 229,068 in 2018, nearly two times more than in 2017, and that figure is expected to rise as final reports from the year trickle in. The organization said vaccine coverage has stalled at 85%, well below the 95% threshold required to prevent outbreaks, and second-dose coverage is 67%.
US digital ad investment will hit $129.34 billion in 2019, up 19%, taking a 54.2% share of overall estimated ad spend, according to eMarketer. Mobile will make up more than two-thirds of digital ad investment, and while Google and Facebook continue to dominate, Amazon's share in third place will rise from 6.8% in 2018 to 8.8% this year.
⋅ Women's Wear Daily (free content)⋅The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model)⋅The New York Times (tiered subscription model)⋅Newsweek
Karl Lagerfeld, the prolific designer who reinvented Chanel after taking over as creative director in 1983 and also developed his own fashion brand, has died at age 85. "Thanks to his creative genius, generosity and exceptional intuition, Karl Lagerfeld was ahead of his time, which widely contributed to the House of Chanel's success throughout the world," Chanel CEO Alain Wertheimer said.
⋅ The Hill
Russian hackers are the fastest and most efficient cybercriminals, states a report from security firm CrowdStrike, which found that it takes less than 20 minutes for Russian adversaries to infiltrate a website and gather information, making it more difficult for IT professionals to detect then. "Speed is essential in cybersecurity -- for both offense and defense," CrowdStrike wrote in the report, adding that North Korean and Chinese hackers are slower and more noticeable than their Russian counterparts.
Final versions of two regenerative medicine guidance documents have been published by the FDA. The guidances confirm that sponsors can apply for and get breakthrough and regenerative medicine advanced therapy designations for a product and that gene therapies could be included in the RMAT pathway.
Verizon has tapped CEO Hans Vestberg to become its board chairman as of March 8, replacing Lowell McAdam, who will retire after having served seven years in the position but will stay on the board until the May 2 shareholders' meeting. The company also named former Darden Restaurants CEO Clarence Otis as lead director.
Building a social media presence, developing content that reflects your company's culture, asking for help from current employees and using technology to attract potential hires are the keys to a successful digital recruiting strategy. User-friendliness and mobile accessibility are also important considerations for candidates looking for a job online.
The Interior Department leased over 1.5 million acres for drilling in 2018 with a new high of $1.1 billion in lease sales, but President Donald Trump's rush to open up more land for oil and natural gas projects has drawn the ire of environmentalists and some lawmakers. Bobby McEnaney of the Natural Resources Defense Council says government officials' efforts "to lease as much as they can as fast as they can" risk the integrity of areas that are "too sensitive to drill."
Opportunity, one of NASA's Mars rovers, has been silent since June, and after sending one last call to the robot Tuesday with no response, NASA says Opportunity is dead. The rover had been working on Mars since 2004, even though its original mission was intended to last three months.
American Airlines launched six new domestic routes between Feb. 14 and 16, including daily service between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Texas' San Antonio International Airport; twice daily service between New York's La Guardia Airport and Tennessee's McGhee Tyson Airport near Knoxville; and daily service between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in the D.C. suburb of Arlington, Virginia, and Oklahoma's Will Rogers World Airport.