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Survey suggests public has safety concerns about autonomous vehicles

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Motional, the driverless vehicle development company created by Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv, has released its inaugural Motional Consumer Mobility Report, which examines Americans’ perceptions of driverless vehicles.

The study found that one-fifth of Americans are more interested in driverless vehicles than they were before the pandemic.

The survey was carried out from July 17-21, 2020, and considered 1,003 responses from US consumers sampled using a blind online panel recruitment. The overall margin of error for the research is +/- 3.02 percent at a 95 percent confidence interval). [Read more…] about Survey suggests public has safety concerns about autonomous vehicles

9 Reasons Why Should you Change Career after Age 50

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Changing careers after age 50 can be challenging. But older workers who no longer find their jobs full-filling should not be harsh on themselves.

People are working and living longer now. Someone who is approaching their 50s may have 10-20 more years ahead until they finally retire.

So, in many situations, changing careers after age 50 makes a lot of sense. [Read more…] about 9 Reasons Why Should you Change Career after Age 50

Ant Group prepares for ‘biggest IPO in history’

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Ant Group, the online payments provider that could be described as the Asian equivalent of PayPal, is preparing for what some are predicting will be the biggest initial public offering in history.

Parent company Alibaba Group is set to float the company on the Hong Kong Stock exchange early next month, according to Reuters.

Ant’s Alipay app has more than 700 million users across Asia and processed $17 trillion in transactions in the 12 months to June this year, reports Bloomberg. [Read more…] about Ant Group prepares for ‘biggest IPO in history’

Sudden increase in air pollution threatens economic recovery, says report

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There has been a sudden increase in air pollution which is threatening economic recovery in many countries, according to a new report by Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

The environmental research organization estimates that “health damage from air pollution” has cost between 0.4 percent and 6 percent of annual GDP in the world’s leading cities in the first half of 2020.

By “health damage” CREA means such things as absence from work as a result of respiratory problems such as asthma, a particularly pertinent point at a time when a respiratory disease called coronavirus has ravaged the entire world’s population and caused untold economic damage. [Read more…] about Sudden increase in air pollution threatens economic recovery, says report

China expands testing of digital currency in case US bans yuan

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China is expanding the testing of digital yuan currency to prepare for any further restrictions on its companies by the US. 

So far, US President Donald Trump has effectively banned Huawei in the US and from doing business with US suppliers globally.

Huawei is the leading Chinese telecommunications equipment provider, supplying 5G systems to many countries abroad, and it offers a successful line of smartphones. [Read more…] about China expands testing of digital currency in case US bans yuan

Japanese government urged to establish industrial espionage unit

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The Japanese government is being urged to establish an industrial espionage unit to try and stop spies stealing secrets relating to advanced technologies being developed by successful companies in the country. 

According to a report on the Nikkei Asian Review website, the Liberal Democratic Party, led by current Japanese President Shinzō Abe, is formulating a list of recommendations aimed at preventing industrial espionage against Japanese companies.

As quoted by Nikkei, Akira Amari, one of the LDP’s leading members, says: “The need for intelligence capabilities is broadening beyond sensitive military-related information to a wide range of private-sector data.” [Read more…] about Japanese government urged to establish industrial espionage unit

German citizens to be given €1,200 a month for doing nothing

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German citizens are to be given €1,200 a month, or about $1,400, for doing nothing in an experiment to evaluate the effects of a concept called “universal basic income”.

Universal Basic Income, or UBI, is an idea that has been around for many years, and has many supporters and advocacy groups around the world, but was never really taken seriously in the past.

The notion of the government giving everyone in society a fixed regular amount of money whether they work or not sounds like a communist plot to take over the world. [Read more…] about German citizens to be given €1,200 a month for doing nothing

BP’s sale of its petrochemicals business suggests big oil is trying to become big electric

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BP recently sold its petrochemicals business for $5 billion to Ineos, a move which suggests that “big oil” companies are trying to become “big electric” suppliers.

The Wall Street Journal says the sale was the “largest deal by an oil major since the coronavirus outbreak gripped the global economy”.

WSJ says the transaction would enable BP to different itself from its rivals, many of which are forecasting significant growth for the segment and don’t look like they want to sell or leave the petrochemicals sector. [Read more…] about BP’s sale of its petrochemicals business suggests big oil is trying to become big electric

China overtakes US as world’s leading patent generator

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China has overtaken the US as the world’s leading researcher, generating 58,990 patents in 2019 compared with America’s 57,840. 

This is the first time since 1978 that the US has lost its position as the world’s leading producer of patent-winning inventions or innovations. (See animation below.)

The figures were published by the World Intellectual Property Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations. [Read more…] about China overtakes US as world’s leading patent generator

Trump looking to ban Alibaba

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Alibaba, which at one time was the world’s largest e-commerce company, is in the sights of US President Donald Trump, according to Reuters.

Asked directly at a White House briefing if he was considering a ban on Alibaba, Trump replied: “We’re looking at other things, yes we are.”

Alibaba is a Chinese company most famous for its business-to-business website Alibaba.com, where qualified buyers can contact and do businesses directly with manufacturers and other industrial companies in China. [Read more…] about Trump looking to ban Alibaba

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