A former Apple exec who now works at Google weighs in on how much customer data companies should give away (GOOG) | ||
| | ||
Nest, the smart thermostat company that Google bought for $3.2 billion last year, made a bunch of product announcements this week. One of the company's most interesting announcements was a new program called Nest Safety Rewards, in which the company plans to partner with insurance companies to give discounts to people who own Nest products. People who participate will sign up to send their insurance company monthly data about whether their Nest fire alarm is turned on, its sensors are working, and if its Wi-fi connection is good. In exchange, they'll get up to 5% off their premiums. So far, Nest has signed up two companies — Liberty Mutual and American Family. At the company's announcement, Nest CEO Tony Fadell made sure to stress that the aforementioned would be the only information that insurance companies received. While it doesn't sound like a huge amount of data to give away in exchange for a discount, it's interesting to see such a program come from an executive who formerly worked at a very anti-data-sharing company. Before founding Nest, Fadell worked at Apple for nearly 10 years, even earning himself the colloquial title "Father of the iPod." But Google and Apple have very different ways of looking at how big companies should use people's data. Apple CEO Tim Cook has taken multiple recent opportunities to call out Google and similar companies for collecting user information to target ads. "I'm speaking to you from Silicon Valley, where some of the most prominent and successful companies have built their businesses by lulling their customers into complacency about their personal information," Cook said in a recent speech. In an open letter on Apple's website, Cook has also pointed out that "When an online service is free, you’re not the customer. You’re the product." Since Nest's acquisition, Fadell has also become the lead on Google Glass, and his perspective on data is less stringent than Cook's. The Wall Street Journal's Alistair Barr asked Fadell which company's philosophy on data he aligned with after this week's Nest press conference. "If you’re not sharing anything I think that’s wrong," Fadell replied. "If you’re sharing everything, that’s wrong too. You have to strike a really good balance and you have to understand what the benefit is for the customer and you have to be transparent about it. And if they don’t want to opt in then you have to realize you’ve struck the wrong balance." While it remains to be seen how many people will opt into Nest Safety Rewards, it's interesting to see how a former Apple employee views data sharing now that he's moved to Google. SEE ALSO: The one big feature Nest's new smart camera failed to deliver Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: The 12 best new features coming to the iPhone  | ||
| |
The best secret party spots (and where the big deals will go down) at the Cannes Lions advertising festival next week | ||
| | ||
This weekend, Adland descends on the south of France for the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, a week-long event that brings together the industry's movers and shakers and hands out awards for creative excellence. The usual advertising celebrities, like WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell and Publicis boss Maurice Lévy, will be joined on the main stages by real celebrities: Kim Kardashian, Pharrell, and even Marilyn Manson. We asked a number of seasoned Cannes veterans to give their tips about what goes on away from the main stages, the sponsored parties, and the famous Carlton Hotel — where all the big players stay. They told us where the big deals really get done, where those who party hard hide away from their bosses, and where to get the best views of the French Riviera. Thomas Crampton, Social@Ogilvy global managing director: While the short, drunk, and dangerous stumble between the Carlton Terrace, and The Gutter Bar may have a reputation for being an insider’s zone, the real deals take place in more sober, stunning, and exclusive circumstances, such as yachts in the harbour or over lunch at Eden-Roc restaurant in Antibes. César Agost Carreňo, Ogilvy Mexico regional creative director and vice president of creative services: After 14 years of going to Cannes, let me tell you that the parties are just as important as the awards. Shots Magazine hosts the best party of the festival, which is always on the beach. Try to get an invitation. This year's entertainment comes from Pacha Ibiza's resident DJ Andy Baxter and international DJ and presenter Goldirocks. Agost Carreňo adds: If you are planning a day outside the festival, you must go to Château de la Chèvre d'Or in Village D´eze. The best view of the French Riviera. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
| |
The Economist made a brutal comparison between US mass shootings and pollution in China | ||
| | ||
A new article in The Economist slams America's gun violence problem as an "endemic local health hazard" comparable to China's pollution problem that, unlike China, the US is "incapable of addressing." "Those who live in America, or visit it, might do best to regard them the way one regards air pollution in China: an endemic local health hazard which, for deep-rooted cultural, social, economic and political reasons, the country is incapable of addressing," The Economist writes. "This may, however, be a bit unfair," it continues. "China seems to be making progress on pollution." The article comes in the wake of Wednesday's mass shooting at a Charleston, South Carolina church "that will certainly add to America's growing racial tensions," the Economist notes. The suspected shooter, 21-year-old Dylann Roof, is reportedly an avowed racist. All of his victims were black. Mass shootings are on the rise, The Economist notes, but America's gun policy remains unchanged. "It has become clear since Sandy Hook that meaningful gun control is politically impossible in America," the Economist writes. "The regularity of mass killings breeds familiarity. The rhythms of grief and outrage that accompany them become—for those not directly affected by tragedy—ritualised and then blend into the background noise."
"While better mental health is a good thing in itself, it is unlikely to have a reliable impact in finding and stopping the small number of people who commit mass killings," The Economist writes. "The gunman's access to firearms was obviously a prerequisite for the killings." Roof bought the .45-caliber handgun last April that he used in the shooting at the historic African-American church, CNN reports, citing two law enforcement officials. The article echoes sentiments expressed yesterday by President Obama in his statement on the Charleston shooting: "Once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun," Obama said. "At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other developed countries."
Obama has made this point before. But the recurrence of these mass shootings may have already begun an irreversible process of Americans' desensitization to violence, The Economist notes. "Will mass killings someday be unremarkable enough in America that politicians feel comfortable ignoring them entirely?" Check out the article in The Economist >Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's what it's like to have a drink with President Obama  | ||
| |
Many lawmakers see America's flawed mental health system as the root its gun violence, The Economist notes, rather than the ease with which the mentally unstable can access these guns in the first place.
A former Apple exec who now works at Google weighs in on how much customer data companies should give away (GOOG) | ||
| | ||
Nest, the smart thermostat company that Google bought for $3.2 billion last year, made a bunch of product announcements this week. One of the company's most interesting announcements was a new program called Nest Safety Rewards, in which the company plans to partner with insurance companies to give discounts to people who own Nest products. People who participate will sign up to send their insurance company monthly data about whether their Nest fire alarm is turned on, its sensors are working, and if its Wi-fi connection is good. In exchange, they'll get up to 5% off their premiums. So far, Nest has signed up two companies — Liberty Mutual and American Family. At the company's announcement, Nest CEO Tony Fadell made sure to stress that the aforementioned would be the only information that insurance companies received. While it doesn't sound like a huge amount of data to give away in exchange for a discount, it's interesting to see such a program come from an executive who formerly worked at a very anti-data-sharing company. Before founding Nest, Fadell worked at Apple for nearly 10 years, even earning himself the colloquial title "Father of the iPod." But Google and Apple have very different ways of looking at how big companies should use people's data. Apple CEO Tim Cook has taken multiple recent opportunities to call out Google and similar companies for collecting user information to target ads. "I'm speaking to you from Silicon Valley, where some of the most prominent and successful companies have built their businesses by lulling their customers into complacency about their personal information," Cook said in a recent speech. In an open letter on Apple's website, Cook has also pointed out that "When an online service is free, you’re not the customer. You’re the product." Since Nest's acquisition, Fadell has also become the lead on Google Glass, and his perspective on data is less stringent than Cook's. The Wall Street Journal's Alistair Barr asked Fadell which company's philosophy on data he aligned with after this week's Nest press conference. "If you’re not sharing anything I think that’s wrong," Fadell replied. "If you’re sharing everything, that’s wrong too. You have to strike a really good balance and you have to understand what the benefit is for the customer and you have to be transparent about it. And if they don’t want to opt in then you have to realize you’ve struck the wrong balance." While it remains to be seen how many people will opt into Nest Safety Rewards, it's interesting to see how a former Apple employee views data sharing now that he's moved to Google. SEE ALSO: The one big feature Nest's new smart camera failed to deliver Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: The 12 best new features coming to the iPhone  | ||
| |
These 2 photos show why Tiger Woods' meltdown may be even worse than you think (NKE) | ||
| | ||
Tiger Woods! Not good! He shot a 10-over 80 yesterday, putting him in third to last place. If you want to be optimistic about Tiger, here's the case: He's in the middle of a swing change, the fourth of his career. Every time he changes his swing it takes 2-3 years to get the hang of the change. Once he gets it figured out, he's very good. For instance, he changed his swing in 2010 when he hired Sean Foley as his coach. Just three years later, Woods was playing some of the best golf of his career, winning 5 times on the PGA Tour, and coming one bad shot away from winning the Masters to break his major drought. But that swing put stress on Woods' body and it was never good enough to win a major. So, after sitting out most of 2014 with injuries, Woods decided to change things up again. He's trying to create a swing that's closer to what he had in the 90s. It's flat-out insane for a golfer to change his swing multiple times in his career, but here we are. At Woods' age, with his baggage, it's entirely possible that he'll never be able to get it back. If you want to be optimistic, you have to give him a year or two to sort through the changes. Maybe he figures it out! But, if you want to be pessimistic, here's some ammunition. On the night before the US Open started, Woods was on the range hitting balls. And he looked pretty good. Former pro Paul Azinger tweeted, "Watching Tiger Woods on Golf Channel hitting balls. Looks fantastic! Pro tracer on all his shots as well. He's hitting it nice." This is from that session, and you can see what Azinger is talking about:
But when Tiger gets to the course, he can't control his shots. He's all over the map. Here's a shot from his round:
Again, if you want to be optimistic, you say he's just learning to get comfortable with his new swing, and he doesn't trust it under the pressure of tournament play. But, if you want to be pessimistic, you say he's a basket case mentally. He clearly has the physical ability to hit the right shows. He doesn't seem to have the mental ability to make it happen. Like any weekend hacker he can't bring his swing from the range to the course. He's totally lost out there and doesn't trust himself. This is worrisome because Woods' strength for years was his mental game. He was stronger upstairs than the rest of the field. Now he's a mental mess. He can't trust himself or his swing. That makes him vulnerable for the rest of his career. Even if he gets the hang of this swing, he's got too many scars, too many thoughts. He's going to struggle to figure out what's what. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's how Cristiano Ronaldo spends his money  | ||
| |
The best secret party spots (and where the big deals will go down) at the Cannes Lions advertising festival next week | ||
| | ||
This weekend, Adland descends on the south of France for the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, a week-long event that brings together the industry's movers and shakers and hands out awards for creative excellence. The usual advertising celebrities, like WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell and Publicis boss Maurice Lévy, will be joined on the main stages by real celebrities: Kim Kardashian, Pharrell, and even Marilyn Manson. We asked a number of seasoned Cannes veterans to give their tips about what goes on away from the main stages, the sponsored parties, and the famous Carlton Hotel — where all the big players stay. They told us where the big deals really get done, where those who party hard hide away from their bosses, and where to get the best views of the French Riviera. Thomas Crampton, Social@Ogilvy global managing director: While the short, drunk, and dangerous stumble between the Carlton Terrace, and The Gutter Bar may have a reputation for being an insider’s zone, the real deals take place in more sober, stunning, and exclusive circumstances, such as yachts in the harbour or over lunch at Eden-Roc restaurant in Antibes. César Agost Carreňo, Ogilvy Mexico regional creative director and vice president of creative services: After 14 years of going to Cannes, let me tell you that the parties are just as important as the awards. Shots Magazine hosts the best party of the festival, which is always on the beach. Try to get an invitation. This year's entertainment comes from Pacha Ibiza's resident DJ Andy Baxter and international DJ and presenter Goldirocks. Agost Carreňo adds: If you are planning a day outside the festival, you must go to Château de la Chèvre d'Or in Village D´eze. The best view of the French Riviera. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
| |
A psychology expert reveals the truth about lying | ||
| | ||
Why do we feel compelled to lie? Dan Ariely, professor of psychology and author of "The Honest Truth About Dishonesty," explains how our environment and people we interact with everyday influences us to be dishonest. You can learn more about dishonesty by watching The (Dis)honesty Project. Produced by Justin Gmoser and Joe Avella Follow BI Video: On Facebook
Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Japan must do more to justify whaling plans: IWC | ||
| | ||
London (AFP) - The International Whaling Commission (IWC) on Friday demanded that Japan provide more information to prove that its revised Antarctic whaling programme was for scientific research, saying it could not reach a consensus based on documents submitted. The British-based IWC had been expected to judge whether Japan's "NEWREP-A proposal", which would target 3,996 minke whales over 12 years, had addressed the issues that led to its predecessor being ruled illegal by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). But the commission's 2015 Scientific Committee Report found the new proposal "contained insufficient information" for its expert panel to complete a full review and specified the extra work that Japan needed to undertake. Regardless of the ruling, Japan could still press ahead with plans, scheduled to begin in December 2015, to target whales in the Southern Ocean for "lethal sampling" as it is ultimately up to individual countries to issue permits for whaling on scientific grounds. However, it would face the ire of the international community if it were to resume whaling without the approval of the global body charged with the conservation of the giant mammals. Japan believes the world's whale population, especially the minke stock, is sizeable enough to accommodate a return to sustainable whaling, putting it at odds with campaigners and anti-whaling nations. Tokyo's revised proposals set an annual target of 333 minke whales for future hunts in the Antarctic, down from some 900 under the "Scientific Whale Research Program in the Antarctic Ocean" deemed illegal by the ICJ. The court -- the highest of the United Nations -- ruled the programme was "not for the purposes of scientific research" and was abusing a scientific exemption set out in the 1986 international moratorium on whaling. It concluded that Tokyo was carrying out a commercial hunt and using science as a fig leaf. Japan makes no secret of the fact that the meat ends up on dinner tables. The court said that Tokyo's programme needed to "improve both biological and ecological data on Antarctic minke whales" and "investigate the structure and dynamics of the Antarctic marine ecosystems". Japan argues that knowledge gained by the research killing would help the IWC calculate sustainable levels for hunting and lead to better understanding of the Antarctic marine ecosystem. The ICJ would have to rule separately whether the new plans met the specifications and were legal. Friday's report was intended to build a common scientific base for the court and the IWC to work from. After the ICJ ruling, Japan said it would not hunt during last winter's Antarctic season but has since expressed its intention to resume "research whaling" in 2015-16. In March, Japan's whaling ships returned home from the Antarctic with no catch, as planned, after the UN court's decision. It was the first return without a catch since 1987 when the country began the annual "research" hunt in the Antarctic, according to local media. Japan killed 251 minke whales in the Antarctic in the 2013-14 season and 103 the previous year, far below its target because of direct action by conservationist group Sea Shepherd. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
It's a bond market exodus (TLT) | ||
| | ||
Bond markets are panicking again. In a note on Friday, Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategists wrote that this week outflows in fixed income — that is, the bond markets — were the biggest since the so-called taper tantrum of 2013. During the taper tantrum, government bond prices tumbled and their yields jumped, after then-Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated that the central bank's bond-buying program, or quantitative easing, was coming to an end. The strategists note that the Greek debt crisis, the spike in German bund yields, and concerns about higher US interest rates have driven the outflows. Here's BofAML with the details: "High grade credit funds suffered their biggest outflow this year, and double the previous week (and also the biggest since June 2013). High yield outflows also jumped to $1.1bn, the biggest since the start of the year. However, government bond funds suffered the most amid the recent spike in volatility, with outflows surging to the highest weekly number on record ($2.7bn). This brings the total outflow from fixed income funds to almost $6bn over the last week, the highest since the Taper Tantrum and the third highest outflow ever." This is already on the Fed's radar. In its May monetary-policy update, the Fed voiced concern about volatility in the bond market as it prepares to raise rates. The Fed wrote that yields could rise as term premiums spike "in a manner similar to the increase observed in the spring and summer of 2013." On Wednesday, the Fed reiterated that it expects to raise interest rates this year, and it is glued to the incoming economic data. And investors are getting ready. Here's BofAML's chart showing outflows from fixed-income securities:
SEE ALSO: The Fed is worried about another 'taper tantrum' Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Mark Cuban explains why a 401(k) is a no-brainer  | ||
| |
Reports: Suspected South Carolina shooter confessed to police | ||
| | ||
Dylan Roof has confessed to the shooting and killing of nine people earlier this week at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, Fox news reports. One official reportedly told CNN that Roof, who is white, told investigators that he wanted to start a race war. Roof bought the .45-caliber handgun last April that he used in the shooting at the historic African-American church, CNN also said, citing two law enforcement officials. A former friend who had reconnected with the man accused of a shooting massacre inside a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, said Dylann Storm Roof had become an avowed racist. Joey Meek reconnected with Roof a few weeks ago and said that while they got drunk together on vodka, Roof began complaining that "blacks were taking over the world" and that "someone needed to do something about it for the white race." The shooting occured during a Bible study at The Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston on Wednesday night, ripping out a piece of South Carolina's civic heart and adding to the ever-growing list of America's racial casualties. Police captured Roof in Shelby, North Carolina, after a motorist spotted him at a traffic light on her way to work. His apprehension ended an intense, hours-long manhunt. Roof waived extradition and was back in Charleston on Thursday night, authorities said, with a bond hearing pending. On Friday, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley told NBC's "Today" show the shooter should get the death penalty. "We will absolutely will want him to have the death penalty," Haley said.
Charleston officials announced a prayer vigil for Friday evening. The city's mayor described the shooting at the church as an act of "pure, pure concentrated evil." The victims included a state senator who doubled as the church's minister, three other pastors, a regional library manager, a high school coach and speech therapist, a government administrator, a college enrollment counselor and a recent college graduate — six women and three men who felt called to open their church to all. President Barack Obama called the tragedy yet another example of damage wreaked in America by guns. NAACP President and CEO Cornell William Brooks said "there is no greater coward than a criminal who enters a house of God and slaughters innocent people." Others bemoaned the loss to a church that has served as a bastion of black power for 200 years, despite efforts by white supremacists to wipe it out. "Of all cities, in Charleston, to have a horrible hateful person go into the church and kill people there to pray and worship with each other is something that is beyond any comprehension and is not explained," said Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. "We are going to put our arms around that church and that church family." Surveillance video showed the gunman entering the church Wednesday night, and Charleston County Coroner Rae Wilson said he initially didn't appear threatening. "The suspect entered the group and was accepted by them, as they believed that he wanted to join them in this Bible study," she said. Then, "he became very aggressive and violent." Meek called the FBI after recognizing Roof in the surveillance footage, down to the stained sweatshirt he wore while playing Xbox videogames in Meek's home the morning of the attack. "I didn't THINK it was him. I KNEW it was him," Meek told The Associated Press after being interviewed by investigators.
Meek said during their reunion a few weeks ago, Roof told him that he had used birthday money from his parents to buy a .45-caliber Glock pistol and that he had "a plan." He didn't say what the plan was, but Meek said it scared him enough that he took the gun out of Roof's car and hid it in his house until the next day. It's not clear whether Roof had any connection to the 16 white supremacist organizations operating in South Carolina, but he appears to be a "disaffected white supremacist," based on his Facebook page, said Richard Cohen, president of Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama. On his Facebook page, Roof displayed the flags of defeated white-ruled regimes, posing with a Confederate flags plate on his car and wearing a jacket with stitched-on flag patches from apartheid-era South Africa and Rhodesia, which is now black-led Zimbabwe. His previous record includes misdemeanor drug and trespassing charges. Spilling blood inside a black church — especially "Mother Emanuel," founded in 1816 — evoked painful memories nationwide, a reminder that black churches so often have been the targets of racist violence. A church founder, Denmark Vesey, was hanged after trying to organize a slave revolt in 1822, and white landowners burned the church in revenge, leaving parishioners to worship underground until after the Civil War. The congregation rebuilt and grew stronger, eventually winning campaigns for voting rights and political representation. Its lead pastor, state Sen. Clementa Pinckney — among the dead — recalled his church's history in a 2013 sermon, saying "we don't see ourselves as just a place where we come to worship, but as a beacon and as a bearer of the culture." "What the church is all about," Pinckney said, is the "freedom to be fully what God intends us to be and have equality in the sight of God. And sometimes you got to make noise to do that. Sometimes you may have to die like Denmark Vesey to do that." Pinckney, 41, was a married father of two and a Democrat who spent 19 years in the South Carolina legislature after he was first elected at 23, becoming the youngest member of the House. The other victims were Cynthia Hurd, 54; Tywanza Sanders, 26; Myra Thompson, 59; Ethel Lance, 70; Susie Jackson, 87; and the reverends DePayne Middleton Doctor, 49; Sharonda Singleton, 45; and Daniel Simmons Sr., 74. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the attack would be investigated as a hate crime. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Forget the Apple Watch — here's the new watch everyone on Wall Street wants  | ||
| |
Smith & Wesson nails what Obama did for gun sales in one sentence (SWHC) | ||
| | ||
The irony of the gun control debate is that when it seems tighter gun control policy is coming, sales spike. "[W]e experienced strong consumer demand for our firearm products following a new administration taking office in Washington, D.C. in 2009," said the management of gunmaker Smith & Wesson. That's when President Barack Obama moved into the White House. The explanation for this phenomenon is pretty simple: If there's a risk that you won't be able to buy guns in the near future, then buy your guns now.
Sadly, the biggest pushes for more gun control come after high-profile shootings, like the 2012 killing of 20 children at Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School. And it's following those incidents that gunmakers report strong sales. In its presentations to investors, Smith & Wesson management celebrate the seemingly ever growing demand for firearms. One proxy for demand is the volume of background checks that get submitted to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS. As you can see in the chart above, NICS is going up. On Thursday, Smith & Wesson announced better-than-expected quarterly earnings, driven by a 6.2% increase in sales. "We are very pleased with our fiscal 2015 results, particularly our fourth quarter performance," CEO James Debney said. "Looking forward, we anticipate further sales and earnings growth in fiscal 2016 as we continue to position our company for long-term success." To be clear, gunmakers don't benefit from tighter gun control. They benefit when there are talks of tighter gun control but those talks go nowhere. Should tighter gun control actually get signed into law, then you would have a different story. Smith & Wesson explains: "Currently, federal and several states’ legislatures are considering additional legislation relating to the regulation of firearms. These proposed bills are extremely varied, but many seek either to restrict the makeup of a firearm, including restrictions on magazine capacity, or ban the sale and, in some cases, the ownership of various types of firearms. "In addition, if such restrictions are enacted and they are incongruent, we could find it difficult, expensive, or even impossible to comply with them, impeding new product development and distribution of existing products." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
