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Tag: Consumer Products

  • As the world courts TSMC, Taiwan worries about losing its ‘silicon shield’ | CNN Business

    As the world courts TSMC, Taiwan worries about losing its ‘silicon shield’ | CNN Business

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    Hong Kong
    CNN
     — 

    Semiconductor giant TSMC was feted this week by US President Joe Biden and Apple CEO Tim Cook during a ceremony to unveil its $40 billion manufacturing site in Arizona — a huge investment designed to help secure America’s supply of the most advanced chips.

    But back home in Taiwan, there is deep unease over the growing political and commercial pressure being applied to the world’s most important chipmaker to expand internationally. The company is building a facility in Japan and considering investing in Europe.

    “They’re like the Hope Diamond of semiconductors. Everybody wants them,” said G. Dan Hutcheson, vice chair of TechInsights, a research organization specializing in chips. (The Hope Diamond is the world’s largest blue diamond, which now resides at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington.)

    “Customers in China want them to build there. Customers in the US want them there. And customers in Europe want them there too,” he added.

    Apart from the risk that TSMC will take its most advanced technology with it — stripping Taiwan of one of its unique assets and reducing employment opportunities locally — there are fears that a diminished presence for the company could expose Taipei to greater pressure from Beijing, which has vowed to take control of the self-ruled island, by force if necessary.

    TSMC is considered a national treasure in Taiwan and supplies tech giants including Apple

    (AAPL)     and Qualcomm

    (QCOM)    . It mass produces the most advanced semiconductors in the world, components that are vital to the smooth running of everything from smartphones to washing machines.

    The company is perceived as being so valuable to the global economy, as well as to China — which claims Taiwan as its own territory despite having never controlled it — that it is sometimes even referred to as forming part of a “silicon shield” against a potential military invasion by Beijing. TSMC’s presence gives a strong incentive to the West to defend Taiwan against any attempt by China to take it by force.

    “The idea is that if Taiwan became a powerhouse in semiconductors, then America would have to support and defend it,” said Hutcheson. “The strategy has been super successful.”

    A day before Tuesday’s Phoenix ceremony Chiu Chenyuan, a lawmaker with the opposition Taiwan People’s Party, grilled Foreign Minister Joseph Wu about whether there is a “secret deal” with the United States to disadvantage Taiwan’s chip industry.

    Chiu claimed that the chip giant was under political pressure to move its operations and its most advanced technology to the US. He cited the transfer of 300 people, including TSMC engineers, to the Arizona plant. In response, Wu said there was no secret deal, nor was there any attempt to diminish the importance of Taiwan to TSMC.

    Patrick Chen, the Taipei-based head of research at CL Securities Taiwan, said there was a common concern on the island about TSMC’s growing international importance, the pressure it is facing to expand, and what that means for Taiwan.

    “It is similar to what happened in the US in the 70s and 80s when manufacturing jobs were being shifted away from the States into other countries. Many local jobs were lost and cities bankrupted,” he said.

    CNN has asked TSMC for comment about its expansion plans.

    Its CEO, CC Wei, had previously said: “Every region is important to TSMC,” adding that it would “continue to serve all the customers all over the world.”

    Founded in 1987 by Morris Chang, TSMC is not a household name outside Taiwan, even though it produces an estimated 90% of the world’s super-advanced computer chips.

    Semiconductors are an indispensable part of just about every electronic device. They are difficult to make because of the high cost of development and the level of knowledge required, meaning much of the production is concentrated among a handful of suppliers.

    Concerned about losing access to crucial chips, particularly as tension has escalated between China and the United States, as well as between Beijing and Taipei, governments and major consumer-facing companies like Apple have asked semiconductor companies to localize their operations, according to experts.

    “TSMC’s decision to expand its Arizona investment is evidence that politics and geopolitical risks will play a bigger role than previously in supply chain decisions,” said Chris Miller, author of “Chip War: the Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology”.

    “It also suggests that TSMC’s customers are asking for more geographic diversification, which is something that wasn’t previously a key concern of major customers.”

    On Tuesday, TSMC said it was increasing its investment in the US by building a second semiconductor factory in Arizona and raising its total investment there from $12 billion to $40 billion.

    Chang had previously said its plant in Arizona would produce 3-nanometer chips, the company’s most advanced technology, as advances in chip manufacturing require etching ever-smaller transistors onto silicon wafers.

    These announcements alarm politicians like Chiu of the Taiwan People’s Party’s. He frets about the island losing out as TSMC is courted globally.

    Chen of CL Securities said national security concerns among governments globally are driving TSMC’s expansion. But he believes the company will continue to manufacture its most advanced technology at home.

    “This would make economic sense given [the] lower salaries [and] higher quality of Taiwanese engineers,” he said, adding that the company needs the approval of the Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs to move its most advanced technologies abroad, which it was unlikely to give.

    Many experts believe that by the time 3-nanometer chips are being made in Arizona, TSMC’s Taiwan operations would be producing even smaller, more advanced chips.

    Hutcheson also believes TSMC will keep its most cutting-edge development teams in Taiwan.

    “Once you have a team of people doing development work, they work very closely together. You don’t want to disrupt that. It’s not an easy thing to do,” he said.

    — CNN’s Wayne Chang contributed to this report.

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  • Key inflation measure shows price pressures cooled off in November, but remain high | CNN Business

    Key inflation measure shows price pressures cooled off in November, but remain high | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN
     — 

    Another key inflation measure shows price pressures cooled off but remained stubbornly high in November, despite the Federal Reserve’s monthslong efforts to fight inflation through higher interest rates.

    The Producer Price Index, which measures prices paid for goods and services by businesses before they reach consumers, rose 7.4% in November compared to a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. That’s down from the revised 8.1% gain reported for October.

    US stocks fell immediately after the report, as economists surveyed by Refinitiv had expected wholesales prices to have risen just 7.2%, annually. The higher-than-expected inflation readings raised concerns about whether the Fed will be able to slow the pace of rate hikes.

    But futures for the Fed funds rate still show a strong likelihood of a half-point increase at the central bank’s policymaking meeting next week, rather than the three-quarter point hike instituted at the last four meetings.

    “Overall inflation is moving in the right direction, though at a slow pace,” said Kurt Rankin, senior economist at PNC. “The Federal Reserve’s tightening plans will remain aggressive until clear, consistent signs of inflation’s demise have been demonstrated.”

    The PPI report generally gets less attention that the corresponding Consumer Price Index, which measures prices paid by US consumers for goods and services. But this is a rare month in which the PPI report came out before the CPI report, which is due out Tuesday.

    That and the Fed meeting scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday next week is making this inflation report of particular importance to investors.

    “Next Tuesday’s CPI release will be more important than today’s data, but with traders on edge, any indication that prices remain elevated and that inflation is more sticky than currently believed is a negative for markets,” said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Independent Advisor Alliance.

    Overall prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% compared to October — the same monthly increase as was reported in both September and October — but were slightly higher than the 0.2% rise forecast by economists.

    Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, core PPI rose 6.2% for the year ending in November, down from the revised 6.8% increase the previous month. Economists had forecast only a 5.9% increase.

    Core PPI posted a 0.4% increase from October, a far bigger rise than the revised 0.1% month-over-month rise in that previous month, and twice as big as the 0.2% rise forecast by economists.

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  • Microsoft says it has reached a 10-year deal to bring ‘Call of Duty’ to Nintendo | CNN Business

    Microsoft says it has reached a 10-year deal to bring ‘Call of Duty’ to Nintendo | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN Business
     — 

    Fans of the popular first-person shooter game “Call of Duty” may soon have more options for where they can play it.

    Microsoft said late Tuesday it has reached a 10-year deal to bring the 19-year-old game franchise to Nintendo after its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which makes the game, is completed. The deal is pending regulatory approval.

    The news came one day after Microsoft president Brad Smith wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that the Redmond, Washington-based company offered a 10-year contract for “Call of Duty” to work with Sony’s PlayStation console. (Microsoft reportedly made another offer earlier this year). Sony did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The Nintendo deal is the latest attempt by Microsoft to ease concerns that its blockbuster acquisition of the gaming giant could harm competition in the industry.

    Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard in January in a deal valued at nearly $70 billion, which would be one of the biggest ever in the tech industry. The move could boost Microsoft’s standing in the gaming industry, as its Xbox console trails behind Sony’s PlayStation and the Nintendo Switch.

    Microsoft head of gaming Phil Spencer announced the commitment with Nintendo in a tweet and said it will continue to offer “Call of Duty” on gaming platform Steam if the deal is completed. “Microsoft is committed to helping bring more games to more people – however they choose to play,” he said.

    The company’s decision to bring “Call of Duty” to Nintendo comes as Microsoft’s Activision deal faces regulatory scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic. The US Federal Trade Commission reportedly plans to sue Microsoft to block the Activision acquisition.

    But Smith this week defended the strategy, saying a block of the deal would be “a huge mistake.”

    “It would hurt competition, consumers and thousands of game developers,” he wrote in the Wall Street Journal.

    He argued that Microsoft faces “huge challenges” in the gaming industry, and the potential acquisition of Activision Blizzard could allow Microsoft to compete against these companies “through innovation that would benefit consumers.”

    Microsoft also wants to offer the option for customers to subscribe to a cloud gaming service that lets them stream a variety of games on multiple devices for a “reasonable” fee, Smith said. The company is open to providing the same commitment to other platforms, which would be legally enforceable by regulators in the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

    According to Eric Abbruzzese, an analyst at ABI Research, the effort to open up access to its games shows Microsoft is “scrambling” to overcome regulatory hurdles.

    “If the offer helps the deal finalize, then that is a huge win that flies under the radar with ‘Call of Duty’ in the headlines,” he said. “But offering a single entity for a limited time would not be enough to circumvent regulation, as it is temporary and narrow in scope.”

    “Call of Duty” is arguably the most popular game title today, so the impact to consumers is notable. As of 2020, the game had topped 250 million downloads worldwide, according to data from SensorTower, an analytics firm that tracks app downloads.

    “Nintendo is not a high priority for ‘Call of Duty,’ all things considered – it has done perfectly fine without being on Nintendo recently,” Abbruzzese added. “Keeping it on Steam for the PC market is significant though, and obviously if this offer convinces Sony to accept as well, that’s gigantic.”

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  • What’s gone wrong at Beyond Meat | CNN Business

    What’s gone wrong at Beyond Meat | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN Business
     — 

    A slew of problems have stalled the growth of Beyond Meat, once a darling of Wall Street whose top product became synonymous with plant-based burgers.

    Sales have been declining, sliding 22.5% in the third quarter compared to the previous year, and the company has laid off over 20% of its global staff since August. After an extremely successful market debut in 2019, Beyond Meat

    (BYND)     has lost favor with investors. The stock dropped about 77% so far this year.

    Some of the problems can be attributed to broader industry challenges. In the grocery store, interest in plant-based meats has waned as consumers, faced with inflation, focus on shopping for affordable basics.

    At the same time, restaurant traffic is dipping. Cash-strapped customers are pulling back on dining out, making Beyond’s foodservice business more vulnerable. And Beyond is far from the only company to lay off staff as a possible recession looms.

    But Beyond is facing some unique challenges.

    The company recently parted ways with three members of its C-suite, one of whom allegedly bit someone’s nose. A recent LA Times report called into question the hygiene of a Beyond Meat facility in Pennsylvania, though the company stands by the cleanliness of the plant, saying that its “food safety protocols go above industry and regulatory standards.”

    Also, a promising partnership with McDonald’s

    (MCD)     has stalled in the United States. And fierce competition is squeezing sales, including in frozen, plant-based chicken, a category that is growing while refrigerated plant-based meat sales falter.

    The company’s plan is to focus on cash flow and profitability rather than growth, and become more strategic in its restaurant and marketing initiatives, among other things.

    “Despite the current headwinds facing our business and category, we remain confident in our ability to deliver on the long-term growth and impact expected from our global brand,” a Beyond Meat spokesperson told CNN Business in response to a request for comment.

    “They’ve got a big task ahead of them,” said Peter Saleh, restaurant analyst at financial services firm BTIG. Next year will be about “trying to get their financials in order to a place where they can sustain themselves,” he added. “It’s a tall order.”

    Last year, Beyond Meat announced a strategic partnership with McDonald’s, including working with the burger chain on the McPlant, a plant-based burger.

    Since then, the McPlant has been added to the McDonald’s menu permanently in some European markets.

    In the US, McDonald’s

    (MCD)     tested out the burger in some locations. But it hasn’t added the item to the menu, and it’s not clear if or when that will happen.

    “I don’t think it’s totally off the table, but I’m not sure that it’s going to be [Beyond’s] saving grace at this point,” said Saleh.

    Beyond has also lost its spot on the Dunkin’ menu. The coffee chain enthusiastically rolled out a breakfast sandwich with Beyond sausage nationally in 2019, but stopped working with Beyond last year.

    McDonald's tested the McPlant, but has not added it permanently to US menus.

    Beyond still has plenty of partnerships with restaurants, but many of them are limited-time tests.

    “In the last 12 months, we have had 25 trials for permanent menu launches with nine distinct products,” said Beyond CEO Ethan Brown during a November analyst call discussing the company’s third-quarter results.

    Brown positioned the launches as long-term investments, saying they won’t generate big sales in the short term but should pay off eventually. But getting a permanent menu spot might be challenging, noted Kathryn Fenner, principal at foodservice consulting firm Technomic.

    “Even if they sell, say 30 to 40 of these plant-based burgers a day … that still pales in comparison to their traditional proteins,” she said, speaking about plant-based burgers in general. And these days, making a limited-time offer permanent is a tough sell because operators have been slimming down their menus, she noted.

    Meanwhile, Burger King continues to sell the Impossible Whopper nationally. “We haven’t been experiencing what Beyond Meat and some of the other brands in the space have reported,” said Impossible foods spokesperson Keely Sulprizio. Impossible is private and is not required to share its sales data publicly.

    In the grocery store, Beyond is facing a swell of competition.

    Beyond has embraced competition in the past. But now, rivals are interfering with its bottom line.

    “We believe that healthy competition within plant-based meat is a good thing as it brings investment in marketing to the category,” said Brown during the November analyst call.

    “However, in the current environment, we are not seeing this benefit,” he said. “Instead, more companies are pursuing the same or fewer consumers.” Brown said Beyond is the leader in refrigerated plant-based meat, and that he expects some brands to pull back or consolidate in the future.

    It’s true that the plant-based meat pie is smaller these days. Retail sales of meat alternatives fell about 12% in the year through November 6, according to data from IRI. Ground plant-based meat fell about 19%, and patties were down 30% in that period.

    But frozen chicken alternatives are growing. Strips and cutlets sales increased about 16% and nuggets jumped nearly 28%.

    “Frozen plant-based chicken is the largest single subcategory in all of plant-based meats and continues to grow at a double-digit pace,” said Brown during the analyst call. “So we are pleased to be expanding our presence of additional chicken items.”

    Beyond Meat introduced plant-based chicken strips in retail in 2014, but pulled the product in 2019. It launched a retooled version, Beyond Chicken Tenders, in stores in 2021, and has built its plant-based chicken portfolio since then.

    But in the few years Beyond’s product was off the market, new entrants rushed into the space.

    Nuggs, a plant-based chicken nugget made by startup Simulate, has made a splash online thanks to its bold packaging over the last few years and has been expanding in retail.

    Daring, another plant-based chicken company, launched its product in the US in 2020. Daring’s chicken alternative became available at Whole Foods last year. Impossible and other legacy brands have offerings, as well.

    “Plant-based chicken is a good growth category,” said Saleh. “I would have liked to have seen [Beyond] double down.”

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  • Coca-Cola is getting into Christmas movies | CNN Business

    Coca-Cola is getting into Christmas movies | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN Business
     — 

    Coca-Cola is hoping that this holiday season, families will crack open some Cokes, settle into a comfy spot and watch its first Christmas Anthology film series.

    The beverage company partnered with production firm Imagine Entertainment to create three short films, which are available to watch on Amazon Prime across the globe starting Wednesday.

    The venture is a continuation of Coca-Cola’s Real Magic platform, which takes an experimental approach to marketing the company’s core product.

    In the past year, Real Magic has focused on unusual, limited-time flavors such as Starlight, Byte and Dreamworld, which have been launched alongside digital experiences including a holographic concert and a debut in Fortnite. The Christmas Anthology is part of a new platform called Real Magic Presents.

    For Coca-Cola

    (KO)    , it’s important to do more than just sell soda — the soda giant has to connect with younger consumers and build new traditions, especially as interest in sugary, carbonated soft drinks stagnates.

    “We’re always exploring new ways to reach our audience,” said Selman Careaga, category president of Coca-Cola trademark, calling Christmas “a great canvas for creativity.” The anthology, he said, is “a new way to engage” with the holiday.

    Coca-Cola has a history of associating itself with Christmas, so much so that the company has an FAQ page for “Did Coca-Cola create Santa Claus?” (The answer: Sort of. In 1931, the company commissioned a painting of Santa that aligns with how he is portrayed in the US today, according to the page.)

    In more recent years, the company’s polar bears and brightly-lit trucks have been strongly linked with the holiday.

    This year, Coke is trying something a little more high-concept.

    After launching the Real Magic platform in 2021, Coca-Cola published a video on YouTube called “Real Magic at Christmas,” about a boy who bonds with his new neighbors by working together to build a chimney out of cardboard boxes.

    This year, the short films are longer — running between 10 and 12 minutes — and more ambitious.

    A vampire meets his girlfriend's family.

    There’s “Alma,” which shows a single mom who has cooled on Christmas being reminded of the joy of the holiday by a sentient computer; “Les Petits Mondes De Noël,” a moody love story about two exes who reunite in Paris; and “Christmas Bites,” about a vampire who wins over his girlfriend’s family when he steps in for Santa on Christmas Eve.

    A viewer wouldn’t necessarily know that these are Coca-Cola movies, except for the fact that each film features at least one character sipping a Coke.

    But for the company, the shorts are about more than just product placement. “It allows us to work on content that fits into our Real Magic platform,” said Careaga.

    The films are not your typical cheesy Christmas movie, and not only because they’re shorts. There are no overt love stories, fat snowflakes swirling around fake sets or ugly sweaters (at least, not too many).

    The Hallmark model may be popular in the United States, but it doesn’t necessarily have global appeal, said Marc Gilbar, EVP of brands and documentaries at Imagine Entertainment.

    Characters reconnect in

    “I mentioned Hallmark films” to members of the global team working on the project, Gilbar said. “That shorthand doesn’t mean much to someone in Spain or someone in Argentina. It’s more centered on our traditions.”

    The Coca-Cola anthology is designed to appeal to a global audience. “Alma,” set in Mexico, is in Spanish, and “Les Petits Mondes De Noël,” is in French. Only “Christmas Bites” is in English.

    And although these are certainly Christmas movies, they’re not overtly religious.

    “Christmas means different things to different people,” Gilbar said. “The religious aspect never really came up. It was more about other traditions.”

    As Coke dips its toes in film-making, rival Pepsi took another approach, partnering with “Falling for Christmas” star Lindsay Lohan to promote Pilk, or Pepsi plus milk, as a holiday tradition.

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  • TSMC ups its Arizona chipmaking investment to $40 billion ahead of Biden’s visit | CNN Business

    TSMC ups its Arizona chipmaking investment to $40 billion ahead of Biden’s visit | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN Business
     — 

    Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is upping its investment in the United States, announcing Tuesday that it’s building a second semiconductor factory in Arizona and raising its investment there from $12 billion to $40 billion.

    TSMC’s plans come as tensions between Washington and Beijing are rising over chips, with President Joe Biden imposing a sweeping set of controls on the sale of advanced chips and chip-making equipment to Chinese firms.

    Biden visited the manufacturer’s site in Phoenix and spoke about bringing jobs and investment to Arizona, calling TSMC’s $40 billion commitment “the largest foreign investment in the history of this state.” Other lawmakers and business leaders also attended the event, including Apple CEO Tim Cook.

    “American manufacturing is back, folks,” Biden said at the event. “These are the most advanced semiconductor chips on the planet, chips that will power iPhones and MacBooks, as Tim Cook can attest … It could be a game changer.”

    In his remarks, Cook said: “As many of you know, we work with TSMC to manufacture the chips that help power our products all over the world, and we look forward to expanding this work in the years to come as TSMC forms new and deeper roots in America.” He added that with the opening of the new facility, Apple’s own Silicon chips “can be proudly stamped ‘Made in America.’”

    TSMC previously announced that it was building a $12 billion facility in Arizona that will eventually manufacture 3-nanometer chips, TSMC’s most advanced technology. Between the two factories, thousands of “high-paying high-tech jobs” will be added to the state and 600,000 wafers per year will be produced, the company said.

    TSMC accounts for an estimated 90% of the world’s super-advanced computer chips, supplying tech giants including Apple

    (AAPL)     and Qualcomm

    (QCOM)    .

    Chips are an indispensable part of everything from smartphones to washing machines — but are also difficult to make because of the high cost of development and the level of knowledge required, meaning much of the production is concentrated among a handful of suppliers.

    The White House is touting the new investments as a direct result of Biden’s economic plan, including the $200 billion CHIPS and Science Act. Biden has been visiting communities where companies like TSMC and Intel have announced new investments since the passage of the law this summer.

    “It means more workers in these major factories, but it also means more opportunities for suppliers and contractors, good paying construction jobs, opportunities for small and medium sized manufacturers and suppliers,” National Economic Council Director Brian Deese told reporters in a call on Monday. “It means economic opportunity for communities that have often been left behind in economic cycles, including traditional energy communities that have powered our nation for generations and tribal nations.”

    The global chip shortage first surfaced at the beginning of the pandemic, which upended supply chains and changed consumer shopping patterns. Automakers cut back on their orders for chips while tech companies, whose products were boosted by lockdown living, snapped up as many as they could.

    The facility Biden will visit Tuesday in Phoenix is slated to begin producing chips in 2024. The new facility should start production in 2026.

    – CNN’s Nikki Carvajal, Wayne Chang, Clare Duffy and Diksha Madhok contributed to this report.

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  • ‘Gaslighters have two signature moves’: Are you being gaslighted at work? Here’s how to recognize the signs.

    ‘Gaslighters have two signature moves’: Are you being gaslighted at work? Here’s how to recognize the signs.

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    Are you less happy at work since you befriended that new recruit? Have they told you stories about how colleagues have constantly undermined them? Or do you have a boss who excludes you from key meetings — and then asks why you did not attend a meeting even though you are pretty sure you were not invited to begin with? If so, you may be working with a gaslighter.

    Gaslighters, as the name suggests, cast themselves in a positive light — friend or confidante who is here to help — but actually operate much more effectively in the shadows. Merriam-Webster named “gaslighting” the word of the year. Searches for the word on merriam-webster.com surged 1,740% in 2022 over the prior year year, despite there not being an event that the publisher — known for its dictionaries — could point to as a cause of the spike.

    It defines gaslighting as “psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one’s emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator.”

    Perhaps the reasons were more personal — or professional — than political. My social media feed is now full of thought pieces on how to spot one of these saboteurs. The comments sections read like the show notes of a True Crime podcast — gruesome yet hard to turn away from. 

    The term was coined in a 1938 play, “Gas Light,” a psychological thriller set in Victorian London and written by Patrick Hamilton.

    The term was further popularized after George Cukor’s 1944 film, “Gaslight,” based on the play, in which Gregory (Charles Boyer) tries to convince his wife Paula (Ingrid Bergman) that she has lost her reason. While he turns on the lights in the attic while searching for hidden jewels, the gaslight flickers in the rest of the house. He tells Paula that she is merely imagining the dimming of the lights.

    The workplace is fertile ground for such behavior, given what’s at stake: money, power, status, promotion, rivalry and the intrigue that often comes with office politics. 

    I’m in the business of helping people work out their conflicts at work. None of this surprises me. In fact, I dedicated a whole chapter in my book, “Jerks at Work,” to gaslighters. 

    “‘For gaslighters, slow and steady wins the race, and the best ones make friends with their victims first.’”

    What has surprised me is how wide-ranging the definition of “gaslighting” has become. Everything from “not respecting personal boundaries” to “talking so much shit about me I couldn’t get hired for two years” seems to fall under the umbrella. 

    What I’ve learned from my doom scrolling is that the word “gaslighter” — probably the worst name to bestow on a colleague or boss — seems to refer to anyone who’s done a whole bunch of bad things to us at work, especially things that involve humiliation. 

    So what really is a gaslighter, and why is it important to distinguish one from, say, a demeaning boss with a chip on their shoulder and a penchant for public shaming?

    If we stick to the clinical definition, gaslighters have two signature moves: They lie with the intent of creating a false reality, and they cut off their victims socially. 

    They position themselves as both savior and underminer, creating a negative and fearful atmosphere, spreading gossip and taking credit for other people’s work. They are often jealous and resentful, and aim to undercut others in order to further their own position.

    You may also be an unwitting pawn in the gaslighting of another colleague. The gaslighter might try to convince you that Johnny is trying to steal your leadership role on a project, and encourage you to freeze him out in the cafeteria at lunch time, or simply be extra wary about sharing important information.

    For gaslighters, slow and steady wins the race, and the best ones make friends with their victims first. For this reason, it could also be considered a form of workplace harassment.

    They often flatter them, make them feel special. Others create a fear of speaking up in their victims by making their position at work seem more precarious than it is. And the lies are complex, coming at you in layers. It takes a long time to realize your status as a victim of gaslighting, and social isolation is a necessary part of this process. 

    “‘It takes a long time to realize your status as a victim of gaslighting, and social isolation is a necessary part of this process.’”

    But there’s a difference between an annoying coworker or micromanaging boss, and a gaslighter, who lies and conspires to undermine your position. “The gaslighter doesn’t want you to improve or succeed — they’re out to sabotage you,” according to the careers website Monster.com. “They will accuse you of being confused or mistaken, or that you took something they said the wrong way because you are insecure. They might even manipulate paper trails to “prove” they are right.”

    Examples cited by Monster.com: “You know you turned in a project, but the gaslighter insists you never gave it to them. You can tell someone has been in your space, moving things around, or even on your computer, but you don’t have proof. You are the only one not included in a team email or meeting invite, or intentionally kept out of the loop. Then when you don’t respond or show up, you are reprimanded.”

    Knowing this, what can you do to prevent yourself from becoming a target? First, recognize that gaslighters don’t wear their strategy on their sleeve. Flattery, making you feel like you’re a part of a special club, or questioning your expertise are not things that raise gaslighting alarm bells. 

    Rather than looking out for mean behavior by a boss or coworker, look out for signs of social isolation. A boss who wants to cut you off from coworkers and other leaders should raise red flags, even if the reason is that “you’re better than them.” 

    Second, recognize that lie detection is a precarious — and from a scientific perspective, almost impossible — business. Don’t try to become a lie detector, instead take notes, so you can put your “gaslighter” on notice that you are wise to their tactics. You can also use the notes as evidence if you decide to later raise the situation with Human Resources. 

    Here are some ways to beat the gaslighter: Send emails with “a summary of today’s meeting” so you can document the origin of ideas and make sure they don’t steal credit from you. Furthermore, document things that happened in person, and share it with your would-be gaslighter. And speak up at meetings. Don’t allow yourself to be browbeaten into submission. 

    The more you document, the more difficult it will be to be victimized. But a word of warning: Don’t try to confront gaslighters — instead, go to your social network to build your reality back up. Trying to beat these folks at their own game is a losing strategy. But these small things, done early in a working relationship, can work wonders. 

    Tessa West is a New York University social psychology professor with a particular interest in workplace behavior, and author of “Jerks at Work: Toxic Coworkers and What to Do About Them.“

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    People are seeking a genuine connection with their colleagues’ — one that goes beyond ‘Hollywood Squares’ Zoom meetings. Not all workers are happy with remote work.‘

    The backlash to quiet quitting smacks of another attempt by the ruling class to get workers back under their thumbs:’ Am I wrong?

    We want to hear from readers who have stories to share about the effects of increasing costs and a changing economy. If you’d like to share your experience, write to readerstories@marketwatch.com. Please include your name and the best way to reach you. A reporter may be in touch.

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  • Foxconn says it’s restoring production at the world’s largest iPhone factory | CNN Business

    Foxconn says it’s restoring production at the world’s largest iPhone factory | CNN Business

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    Hong Kong
    CNN Business
     — 

    Apple supplier Foxconn says it is “gradually” restoring production capacity at its sprawling campus in central China, which has been hit by Covid-19 restrictions and worker protests since October.

    The “epidemic situation” at the facility, known as iPhone City and normally home to hundreds of thousands of workers, has been brought under control, the Taiwanese contract manufacturer said in a statement on Monday.

    “We have also started to recruit new employees, and are gradually moving toward the direction of restoring production capacity to normal,” it said, adding that the outlook for the fourth quarter was expected to be in line with market consensus.

    Foxconn did not provide further details. Its executives were quoted as telling Reuters that full production would resume between late December and early January.

    The ongoing supply disruptions at Foxconn’s campus in the city of Zhengzhou were costing Apple roughly $1 billion a week in lost iPhone sales, Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, had told CNN Business. He estimates that Apple is short of between 10 million and 15 million iPhones in the vital holiday shopping season.

    The troubles started in October when workers left the campus because of concerns about working conditions and shortages of food. Short on staff, bonuses were offered to workers to return.

    But protests broke out last month when newly-hired staff said management had reneged on their promises. Workers clashed with security officers, before the company eventually offered them cash to quit and leave.

    Analysts said the production woes at iPhone City would speed up the pace of Apple’s supply chain diversification away from China.

    In recent weeks, according to The Wall Street Journal, Apple

    (AAPL)     has accelerated plans to shift some of its production outside China. It was reportedly telling suppliers to plan more actively for assembling Apple

    (AAPL)     products elsewhere in Asia, particularly India and Vietnam.

    Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    “The shift out of China will not be easy and come with clear logistical, engineering, and infrastructure hurdles as the aggressive move to India and Vietnam now begins with the Apple ecosystem alerted,” Ives wrote in a research report on Sunday.

    If Apple moves aggressively, more than 50% of iPhone production could come from India and Vietnam by the 2025/2026 fiscal year, versus the single-digit percentage currently, he added.

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  • Forget smartwatches, consumers are snapping up these quirky alternatives | CNN Business

    Forget smartwatches, consumers are snapping up these quirky alternatives | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    In 2015, the same year Apple introduced its smartwatch, a Kickstarter campaign launched for a very different kind of wearable device: a wellness-tracking ring called the Oura.

    Seven years later, the Apple Watch is the most popular wearable device while other similar products from Google and Samsung also dominate the wearables market. But something notable is underway: products like Oura, which look and sometimes function markedly different from more mainstream wearables, are gaining renewed traction.

    The Oura ring ($399) experienced a spike in sales during the pandemic, and has seen continued momentum this holiday season, CEO Tom Hale told CNN Business. It provides sleep tracking data without needing to wear a smartwatch to bed and can detect subtle changes in body temperature. It also has no screen. Earlier this year, the company announced it had received a $2.55 billion valuation and has since rolled out partnerships with Gucci, Strava and other brands.

    The ring is among a small but increasingly buzzy group of alternative wearable devices that people are gravitating toward right now, including a fitness band tracker with no screen and headphones that don’t need to be put in the ear. Some of the demand stems from shifts during the pandemic, as consumer interest in health monitoring surged. People turned to activity trackers, smartwatches and other devices to keep tabs on their steps, vital statistics and more. Many were also willing to experiment with different form factors, as long as they provided accurate data and were still comfortable – a trend that continues today.

    “The funny thing is that most of these devices have been around for a while but have slowly built a name for themselves in recent quarters,” said Ramon Llamas, a research director at IDC Research. “But it takes time for word of mouth to spread.”

    The devices may also tap into a desire to get the benefits of wearable trackers without necessarily having a screen or device on their body at all times.

    Take the WHOOP band, a health tracker without a screen that first came out in 2015. It has a very specific focus on workout recovery, resting time, training and coaching. Founder and CEO Will Ahmed told CNN Business this year’s Cyber Monday was its largest sales day ever.

    “It wasn’t that long ago that people only wore a health monitor if something was wrong. Now, we’re seeing people take a much more proactive approach to their health,” he said. “This trend has continued even as the pandemic subsides.”

    Like Oura, the WHOOP is a subscription-based device and targeting a more niche audience. It’s pricy, too: $480, including a two-year subscription plan.

    The WHOOP band

    “The challenge is that most of these devices are vying for single-digit market share behind the market leaders, [such as Apple and Samsung],” Llamas said. “That’s why it is key to have a well-differentiated segment that you can serve almost exclusively. Companies like WHOOP have been successful because they focus on athlete rest and recovery so well, and those are key factors for many athletes today.”

    Ahmed said the product is evolving to support this growing interest in health by adding new features related to pregnancy, stress and deeper biometric monitoring. In August, WHOOP announced it raised $200 million in a funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, giving the company a valuation of $3.6 billion.

    Health tracking devices continue to take on new shapes and sizes, too, including some that don’t require being worn at all. In September, Amazon showed off a non-wearable sleep tracking monitor, Halo Rise, which sits on a nightstand and tracks breathing patterns while the user is asleep. Meanwhile, some companies like Withings let users slip sensors under the mattress to collect sleep data.

    There’s also a shift in demand for what is arguably one of the original wearables: headphones.

    Bone conduction headphones, which like the Oura have been around for years, are also “having a moment,” according to Steve Konig, head of the research department at the Consumer Electronics Association. Rather than sitting inside or on top of the ear canal, bone conduction headphones rest in front of the ear, leaving it uncovered. They transmit audio along the user’s bones and jaw to the ears instead of directly into the ear canal. The headphones also feature a soft band that runs behind the upper portion of the neck to secure it in place and minimize sound distortions.

    Bone conduction headphones by Shokz.

    At the same time, the exposed ear allows users to pick up on sounds and the environment around them, crucial for safety when doing activities such as riding a bike or jogging. Unlike earbuds, there’s also less concern about it popping out of your ears.

    Shokz ($125) pioneered bone conduction headphones, but the market has since expanded with other brands offering similar designs. Open earbuds – such as ones designed by Sony and Bose – feature a similar design that leaves the ear canals completely open so that the user can hear the outer noise. But some audiophiles say the sound quality on bone conduction headphones and open earbuds is less than stellar.

    “In the past 10 years, audio innovation in general has soared because of the introduction of new features, such as noise cancellation technology, built-in wireless capabilities and more,” Konig said. “Now, people own multiple pairs of personal listening products for different locations and use cases; some leave them at the office, others prefer bigger, beefier ones on airplanes. They also make a great holiday gift because, in the grand scheme of gift giving, they’re fairly reasonable to buy.”

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  • China’s Zhengzhou, home to world’s largest iPhone factory, ends Covid lockdown | CNN Business

    China’s Zhengzhou, home to world’s largest iPhone factory, ends Covid lockdown | CNN Business

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    Hong Kong
    CNN Business
     — 

    The central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, home to the world’s largest iPhone factory, has lifted a five-day Covid lockdown, in a move that analysts have called a much-needed relief for Apple and its main supplier Foxconn.

    Zhengzhou is the site of “iPhone City,” a sprawling manufacturing campus owned by Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn that normally houses about 200,000 workers churning out products for Apple

    (AAPL)    , including the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. Last Friday, the city locked down its urban districts for five days as Covid-19 cases surged there.

    Foxconn’s massive facility is not part of the city’s urban districts. However, analysts say the lockdown would have been detrimental to efforts to restore lost production at the campus, the site of a violent workers’ revolt last week.

    “This is some good news in a dark storm for Cupertino,” Daniel Ives, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities, told CNN Business, referring to the California city where Apple is based. “There is a lot of heavy lifting ahead for Apple to ramp back up the factories.”

    Ives estimates the ongoing supply disruptions at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou campus were costing Apple roughly $1 billion a week in lost iPhone sales. The troubles started in October when workers left the campus in Zhengzhou, the capital of the central province of Henan, due to Covid-related fears. Short on staff, bonuses were offered to workers to return.

    But protests broke out last week when the newly hired staff said management had reneged on their promises. The workers, who clashed with security officers, were eventually offered cash to quit and leave.

    Analysts said Foxconn’s production woes will speed up the pace of supply chain diversification away from China to countries like India.

    Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities, wrote on social media that he estimated iPhone shipments could be 20% lower than expected in the current October-to-December quarter. The average capacity utilization rate of the Zhengzhou plant was only about 20% in November, he said, and was expected to improve to 30% to 40% in December.

    Total iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max shipments in the current quarter would be 15 million to 20 million units less than previously anticipated, according to Kuo. Due to the high price of the iPhone 14 Pro series, Apple’s overall iPhone revenue in the current holiday quarter could be 20% to 30% lower than investors’ expectations, he added.

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  • Best standing desks of 2022 | CNN Underscored

    Best standing desks of 2022 | CNN Underscored

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    Whether you’re a professional, a student or somewhere in between, the “new normal” has meant trading in a proper desk for a work-from-home space. It could be your kitchen tablet, a small hallway turned into an office or even tossing together something in the bedroom. But what about a standing desk or convertor desk? The trend that has taken the professional industry by storm is now readily available — with literally countless options — and could be the perfect solution for working from home.

    That’s why we’ve been testing a handful of standing desks for months on end — from assembly to entire days spent on each — to find the best one for you.

    Best standing desk

    Best standing desk overall

    The Branch Adjustable Standing Desk is a near-perfect desk that can handle multiple monitors, dual laptops and a plethora of knickknacks. It’s also incredibly sturdy, with one of the best builds we’ve encountered.

    Branch’s standing desk might only come in two sizes and a handful of colors, but it doesn’t corner the product into oblivion. Instead, it keeps a high level of craftsmanship in a standing desk that ultimately rises above the best with seamless motion, a sturdy build and a design that doesn’t distract.

    It starts with the desktop — in this case, a 48-inch wide by 30-inch depth particle board laminate. You can also opt for white or a dark walnut finish. Either route, though, you’re stuck with a set of legs in white. What’s especially lovely about the Branch option is that the depth is wider than the average desk. This makes it easy for multiple monitors, a laptop (maybe a tablet as well), a notebook with plenty of room to spare.

    Furthermore, the desk’s front edge has a comfortable rounded bevel, making it pleasant to rest your arms on or lean into it without the feeling of a sharp corner jutting into your abdomen. During our testing, spills of water, coffee and never stained the finish, nor did the tabletop scratch. The side edges did peel a bit and showed some scuffs — but from pretty unnatural, heavy bangs.

    The Branch also features a metal plate in the center rear of the desk that can either tilt backward or forward to reveal a brush system, through which you can snugly run cables to keep them tidy — and it even kept loose Lightning and USB-C cables from falling through.

    While it’s not curved with an ergonomic cutout in the front like our previous overall pick — the ApexDesk Elite Series — we feel the Branch Standing Desk is a better overall package. Setup as a whole took about 20 minutes, and found a drill sped things up a bit. Branch does include all the necessary tools in the box and can be done with ease. The desk comes in two boxes — one with the legs and one that’s the desktop, and the directions were clear and thorough.

    Heights range from 25 to 52 inches, and you can make adjustments by the centimeter at most heights. Whether adjusting up or down, the transition was one of the smoothest we tested no matter how heavy the items we had atop the desk. The Branch comes standard with a control switch that’s on the left-hand side that features an LED dot display showing the exact height, an up and a down switch and four presets. Those presets are easy to set and one touch to operate.

    The Branch was also one of the sturdiest desks we tested, never rocking side to side or back and forth.

    Other top standing desks we recommend

    Best customizable standing desk

    Uplift V2-Commercial Standing Desk

    The Uplift V2-Commercial Standing Desk offers the widest breadth of customization out of any standing desk we’ve encountered, from size to finish to keypads — in addition to being a high-quality desk.

    Read our review

    Best budget standing desk

    SHW Electric Height-Adjustable Computer Desk

    The SHW Electric Height-Adjustable Computer Desk is a surprisingly functional, sturdy desk at an incredibly affordable price, comparatively. It was a breeze to assemble, comes with a cable management tray and features a digital keypad with memory presets. ​

    Read our review

    Best standing desk overall

    Most customizable standing desk

    Best budget standing desk

    What we loved about it

    The Branch Adjustable Standing Desk is a near-perfect desk — the sturdiest we tested (no matter the height) and one of the most comfortable to belly-up to thanks to its a slightly diagonally cut finish in the front. Setup took just 20 minutes.

    We value choice. And with such an investment, we appreciated Uplift’s customizability — from size to finish to keypads — that ensures you’re getting the exact desk you want.

    We were surprised by just how sturdy this affordable desk was once assembled, with minimal wobble from front to back and side to side at all heights. The this desk moves smoothly up and down without a hitch. Setup took just 25 minutes.
    What we didn’t like about it

    While you can choose from several finishes for the desktop, you’re stuck with white legs. Also, the side edges did peel a bit and showed some scuffs — but from pretty unnatural, heavy bangs.

    The Uplift was one of the toughest desks to assemble, thanks to and assembly took nearly an hour due to all the parts required. Expect an hour-plus of assembly time.

    We should note that the desktop is actually two planks of wood rather than one solid piece as the product photos may lead you to believe. Certainly looks and feels a bit cheaper than the other models highlighted.
    Key specs

    48-inch wide by 30-inch depth; adjustable from 25 inches to 52 inches high

    42-inch wide by 30-inch depth up to 80-inch wide by 30-inch depth; adjustable from 22.6-inches to 48.7-inches high

    47.25-inch wide by 24-inch depth; adjustable from Adjustable from 28-inches to 46-inches high
    Price

    $699

    $599+

    $209.87

    The testing process for these desks lasted nearly two months. We unboxed and assembled each desk, paying special attention to the amount of time each unboxing and building process took. We noted how long it took to put each one together, how clear the product’s instructions were and if any special tools were needed. Once each electric standing desk was fully built, we used it at both sitting and standing heights; desk converters, of course, were used only in standing positions. We used each product for at least three full workdays and carefully noted how each desk performed in terms of ease of adjustments and ergonomics. Overall, we evaluated them on what we considered the most important factors: function, build and length of warranty. After tallying up scores for each product, we also took value into consideration, factoring the starting price of each desk with regard to the features it delivered on, to determine our final winners.

    We broke the testing into the following categories and subcategories:

    Function

    • Comfort: We made note of whether the desk provided proper ergonomics at all heights, and, where applicable, in both sitting and standing positions.
    • Number of different height adjustments: We noted the range of heights the desk was capable of reaching.
    • Ease of adjustments: We considered how easy it was to adjust the height of the desk, noting how smoothly it was able to move up and down as well as how easy and intuitive the keypad, if there was one, was to operate.
    • Sturdiness from front to back: We noted how much the desk wobbled, if it all, from front to back.
    • Sturdiness from side to side: We noted how much the desk wobbled, if it all, from side to side.
    • Organization: We noted if the desk came standard with any slots/grommets to organize wires, cable management trays, extra outlets. etc.

    Build

    • Build quality: We looked at the quality of the desk’s materials, assessing whether it felt cheap or flimsy, as well as whether the desktop was prone to scratches and/or smudges.
    • Ease of assembly: We considered the time it took to unbox and fully assemble the desk, how clear the instructions were, if any special tools were necessary as well as if the included tools were efficient in the building process.
    • Appearance: We assessed the aesthetics of the desk — how it looked in a room/home office, if it was available in different colors and if so, how many.
    • Size: We noted how much equipment could fit on the desk, how much room it took up and whether it was available in more than one size and if so, how many.

    Warranty

    • We looked into the warranty for each product and noted the length of coverage and what parts were covered.

    ApexDesk Elite Series 60” (starting at $599.99)

    The ApexDesk Elite Series 60” — our previous pick for best standing desk overall — is a sturdy, gorgeous standing desk available in two desktop sizes, both big enough to accommodate multiple monitors and devices. With a curved front, it’s more comfortable to use in both sitting and standing positions compared with the other standing desks we tried, allowing us to sit closer to the desk. It also comes standard with covered grommets to manage your wires. When we re-tested against the Branch, we found the latter had a sturdier and overall more premium build — and, therefore, more worth your money.

    Fully Jarvis EcoTop Standing Desk (starting at $519 for 30×24”; fully.com)

    Let it be known that we adored this desk, for myriad reasons. A newer model produced by Fully’s Jarvis line, the EcoTop is the brand’s most eco-friendly design to date, crafted from locally sourced fiber in Oregon that’s a minimum 92% pre-consumer, recycled or recovered, meeting the Eco-Certified Composites (ECC) Sustainability Standard. Beyond this new desktop, it’s identical in build and function to the customer-favorite (and also earth-friendly) Jarvis Fully Bamboo Standing Desk — and it’s easy to see why it’s so beloved. It scored top marks for its range of sitting and standing heights (25.5” to 51.1”, the second largest range of all desks we tested, displayed in increments of 0.1”) as well as its ease of adjustments, with the industry-standard four memory presets being intuitive to program. This desk felt high-quality — according to Fully, it can support upwards of 350 pounds — though a bit more wobbly from side to side at higher heights than our best overall pick. Similar to the Uplift’s warranty, Jarvis desks are covered by an impressive all-inclusive 10-year warranty on all frame components, including motors and electronics, and a five-year warranty on desktop surfaces, excluding normal wear and tear, and damage caused by improper assembly, disassembly or repair.

    Ultimately, this desk lost points when it came to assembly. It was one of the most complicated builds of our pool, taking the most time and clocking in at a bit over an hour; particularly we found that the giant allen key, with prongs of equal lengths, made things clumsy to assemble. While the EcoTop features two uncovered grommets at the back corners for your cables, if you’d like to attach cord organizer, you’ll need a power drill to do so, as there are no pre-drilled holes. (We did appreciate that it came packaged with a surge protector, however.) The EcoTop is available in six sizes, and in black and white finishes.

    This is a solid desk — and was indeed a solid contender for winner — particularly if you value sustainable, earth-friendly materials.

    Vari Electric Standing Desk (starting at $650 for 60”; amazon.com; starting at $695 for 60” models; officedepot.com)

    Another one of our favorites, the Vari is a classic electric standing desk, and there’s a reason — well, many reasons — why you may have seen it in myriad office spaces throughout the country as the standing desk du jour. For one, it’s impossibly sturdy, racking up top marks in that category during our testing. And despite its heavyweight build, it was by far the easiest of the non-budget-priced electric standing desks to assemble, taking approximately 20 minutes to do so. The Vari moves up and down smoothly, from a minimum height of 25” to a maximum of 50.2” (the highest maximum height of all desks we tested), and its LED keypad displays increments of 0.1. Programming the four memory presets is easy as pie; we didn’t even need to consult an instruction manual for that. And while there wasn’t much difference among all our standing desks in terms of motor noise, we’d contend that the Vari was noticeably quieter than the others in our pool. It has a five-year warranty for all components.

    The Vari Electric Standing Desk is available in two sizes, 60×30”, 48×30” (starting at $550 at Amazon and Office Depot for the latter) as well as five finishes. Really the only place where it lost major points was in the category of organization. It features no grommets to contain wires, but rather a slightly indented back should you want to place it flush against the wall, so you’ll still have space for all your cables to comfortably hang; an additional wire tray is sold separately. (We did appreciate the complimentary bag hook that was included with our shipment.) The Vari came in just one point behind our overall winner, the ApexDesk Elite, so suffice it to say that we would recommend this desk in a heartbeat, so long as you can make do with that caveat.

    Readydesk 2 Adjustable Standing Desk ($154.99; amazon.com)

    While we were fans of this converter’s artsy, minimalist design, constructed from sustainable birchwood (it just screams “Brooklyn architect,” does it not?), admittedly we can understand how not everyone might be — and how it may not necessarily vibe with your decor scheme. Aesthetics aside, we appreciated how easily this converter assembles: Literally, it took just five minutes to unbox and slot the shelves into the base, no tools necessary. Because of this, it’s a good option for students living in dorms, or anyone else who may be moving around a lot and have minimal desktop space to work with. Disassembling is just as simple if you need to quickly get it out of the way and store it in a corner without taking up much space at all. Despite its lightweight build (it weighs in at less than 15 pounds), we found the Readydesk 2 to be impressively sturdy, both from front to back and side to side. It’s also designed with two keyhole-esque slots on each ledge to manage wires. The product has a one-year warranty free of defects in craftsmanship and material and a generous 100-day free return policy in the US.

    It fell short in a few categories, however: It’s available in just one size and color, and doesn’t provide as much room for equipment as other converters in our testing pool did. Its unfinished edges had us worried we might snag the fabric of our sleeve on it (a valid concern among reviewers as well, as we later learned). Because of the lack of grips at the base, depending on the surface beneath it, it could be prone to sliding, although we had no issues in this regard. And, given its unique design, it’s not the most ideal product if two or more people of different heights are sharing use of it, as you have remove the piece of wood and manually move it to a different slot if you’d like to change up the adjustments, which is easy enough, but obviously not as simple as raising or lowering a lever.

    Flexispot Standing Desk 48×30” ($249.99; amazon.com)

    The Flexispot Standing Desk is another budget-priced standing desk model, similar to the SHW. It’s available in black, white and mahogany finishes, and while it does look quite sleek, and the desktop is indeed one solid piece rather than two narrow pieces assembled side by side, for the same price as our best budget winner, it comes with some noticeable downfalls. For one, the basic model includes a keypad with only an up and down button; the desk has a standing range from 28–47.6”, but in order to know what height you’re standing at (if that’s important to you), you’ll have to tack on another $90 for the “standard” model, which is 55” long and includes a digital LED keypad with memory presets. There’s also a smaller, 42×24” model, for $244.99.

    We also noticed significant wobble once fully assembled, mostly from side to side but also from back to front. And on the topic of assembly: this desk arrives in two boxes, both pretty lightweight, but the instructions were confusing at times. A particularly baffling example: One step was to loosen bolts and stretch a rod, but the instructions didn’t specify to what length to stretch it. So we guessed, and when it came time to add the desktop, we had to loosen the bolts once again and then measure it to the correct length. Another step also required backtracking and unscrewing screws from a previous step. This desk comes with a five-year warranty for the frame, motor and other mechanisms, and a two-year warranty for the controller and switch, electronics.

    Seville Classics 27.8” Tilting Sit-Stand Height Adjustable Mobile Laptop Computer Desk Cart with Mouse Side Ergonomic Table ($44.99; homedepot.com)

    If you’re looking for a simple sit-stand option with enough room for your laptop and a mouse, and a laptop and a mouse alone, this Seville Classics desk is one worth considering. At just a hair under $50, unsurprisingly, you’re not getting a super-sturdy, smart standing desk option — but you are getting a product that gets the job done (the job being: providing the option to stand while at your computer), and on wheels to boot. Assembly was easy enough, as the desk is lightweight, and though the flimsy hexagon key wrench proved a bit difficult to use, we were able to build it in approximately 25 minutes. It comes with a one-year limited warranty.

    The desk adjusts from a minimum of 27.9” to a maximum of 40.7”, so if you’re above, say, 5’9”, we can’t imagine you’d find this the most ergonomic product to use. We should also note that the desktop’s tilt is not adjustable, i.e, you cannot position it parallel with the floor, and the manual twist-lock knob can be a bit annoying to use to make adjustments to heights. Bottom line: If you’re on a tight budget and looking for something that’ll allow you to take standing breaks from time to time, this is a perfectly adequate solution. It’s a desk that’s perhaps best suited to students, children, and those with minimal space.

    Vivo Height Adjustable 32-Inch Standing Desk Converter (starting at $109.95, originally $119.95; amazon.com)

    This Vivo converter was quite similar in both build and function to the Flexispot converter. Assembly required only attaching the keyboard tray to the base, which was simple enough, and adjustment is controlled via lever. It’s a standard desk riser, and we found its sturdiness to rival Flexispot’s as well, but ultimately we didn’t select it as a winner for a few reasons: We took value into consideration, and the Vivo is available only in one size, at a starting price of $119.99, versus Flexispot’s $99.99 for its 31-inch option. (For $159.99, you can snag the Vivo in light wood or white finishes, or dark wood for $179.99.) The width of both the keyboard and desktop are a bit smaller than the Flexispot converter we tested, at 10” and 15.75”, respectively, though it does rise to a maximum height of 19.5,” one inch higher than our winning converter does. It comes with two cable clips to stick to the underside of the product, and it has a three-year warranty. If you’re seeking a finish that isn’t solid black, could make use of another inch of height as a tradeoff for some desktop space, and you’re willing to shell out a bit more cash, we think the Vivo is a fine option.

    Ergo Desktop Kangaroo Pro Junior ($399; amazon.com)

    This desktop converter is unique in its design, and we appreciated the dual ergonomics at play here: Basically, the desktop work surface and your attached monitor adjust separately, allowing you to customize the setup more so than typically possible with a traditional desk riser. The desktop surface, which measures 24×18” — enough to fit a laptop, or a keyboard and mouse — is adjustable to 14.5” above your desk. You’ll have to mount your monitor, and though it took us a bit to figure out the twist-knob situation in order to adjust our monitor, we no sooner got the hang of it. However, we found the removable stabilization leg to, initially, be quite confusing, and ultimately, a crucial design flaw; while the adjustable rod is meant to provide extra stability to your desktop at all heights, we found it difficult to stay put, and ultimately not a reliable source of stability after all. The Kangaroo Pro Junior does, however, take up minimal space, and if you’re working with a single monitor and a keyboard, we could see why you might be interested in this product.

    High Rise Height Adjustable Electric Full Standing Desk DC840B (starting at $499.99, originally $609.99; victortech.com)

    The highlight of the Victor Technology’s High Rise standing — available in 4-foot top or 3-foot top versions — features a deep work space paired with various height levels. All of this allowed us to comfortably fit a laptop, phone, papers, water bottle and iPad with space to spare. Made from materials including wood and metal, the build is sturdy no matter the height at which it’s set. Taking less than 20 minutes to assemble, the desk came with tools to put it together and straightforward directions.

    There’s a memory function which lets you save four preferable heights — just tap the button and it adjusts to that exact height, ranging between 28.7 to 48 inches. Better yet, for anyone who works around other people, the desk is quiet when moving between heights.

    The High Rise does lack additional perks, like desktop customization, options for additional accessories or a curved design like the ApexDesk. The price is very similar to our top-ranked standing desks, but for the same price, many of those desks offer unique features that create an individualized experience for customers, including white board and laminate desktops.

    Read more from CNN Underscored’s hands-on testing:

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  • Elon Musk claims Apple has ‘threatened to withhold’ Twitter from its app store | CNN Business

    Elon Musk claims Apple has ‘threatened to withhold’ Twitter from its app store | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN Business
     — 

    Elon Musk on Monday claimed that Apple has “threatened” to pull Twitter from its iOS app store, a move that could be devastating to the company Musk just acquired for $44 billion.

    “Apple

    (AAPL)     has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why,” Musk said in one of several tweets Monday taking aim at Apple

    (AAPL)     and its CEO for alleged moves that could undermine Twitter’s business.

    In another tweet, Musk claimed that Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. “Do they hate free speech in America,” he said, in an apparent reference to his oft-stated desire to bolster his idea of free speech on the platform. “What’s going on here [Apple CEO Tim Cook]?” Musk added in a follow-up tweet. He also criticized Apple’s size, claimed it engages in “censorship,” and called out the 30% transaction fee Apple charges large app developers to be listed in its app store.

    The tweetstorm highlights the tenuous relationship between Musk and Apple, which along with Google serves as the major gatekeepers for mobile applications. Long before taking over Twitter, the Tesla CEO said that when the car company was struggling, he considered selling the company to Apple, but that Cook refused to take a meeting with him.

    Removal from Apple’s app store, or that of Google, would be detrimental to Twitter’s business, which is already struggling with a loss of advertisers following Musk’s takeover and a rocky initial attempt at expanding its subscription business.

    Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Musk’s tweets. The company has previously shown it’s willing to remove apps from its app store over concerns about their ability to moderate harmful content or if they attempt to circumvent the cut Apple takes from in-app purchases and subscriptions.

    In January 2021, Apple removed Parler, an app popular with conservatives, including some members of the far right, from its app store following the US Capitol attack over concerns about the platform’s ability to detect and moderate hate speech and incitement. Parler was returned to Apple’s app store three months later after updating its content moderation practices.

    In its official app store review guidelines, Apple lists various safety parameters that apps must adhere to in order to be included in the store, including an ability to prevent “content that is offensive, insensitive, upsetting, intended to disgust, in exceptionally poor taste, or just plain creepy” such as hate speech, pornography and terrorism. “If you’re looking to shock and offend people, the App Store isn’t the right place for your app,” the guidelines state.

    Various civil society groups, researchers and other industry watchers have raised concerns about Twitter’s ability to effectively moderate harmful content and maintain the platform’s safety following widespread layoffs and mass employee exits at the company. Musk has also claimed he wants to amplify “free speech” on the platform and has begun to restore some accounts that were previously banned or suspended for repeatedly violating Twitter’s rules. Musk himself has shared a conspiracy theory and several other controversial tweets since taking over as Twitter’s owner.

    Musk, long a prolific and antagonistic tweeter, has not let up at all since taking over the company. And what it may have lost in revenue, he has claimed it has made up for in engagement. Part of the strategy appears to be relentlessly taking aim at enemies, either of him personally or of “free speech.”

    In an interview with CBS earlier this month, Cook was asked whether there are any ways in which Twitter could change that would cause Apple to remove it from the app store. “They say that they’re going to continue to moderate and so … I count on them to do that,” Cook responded. “Because I don’t think that anybody really wants hate speech on their platform. So I’m counting on them to continue to do that.”

    In an op-ed published in the New York Times last week, Twitter’s former head of trust and safety, Yoel Roth, who left the company earlier this month, suggested that Twitter had already begun to receive calls from app store operators following Musk’s takeover. Roth said the company’s failure to adhere to Google and Apple’s app store rules could be “catastrophic.”

    And last weekend, the head of Apple’s app store, Phil Schiller, deleted his Twitter account.

    While the state of Apple and Twitter’s relationship is unclear, the iPhone maker was running Black Friday ads on the platform as recently as last Thursday, according to posts viewed by CNN.

    Many companies have pulled back on digital ad spending in recent months as the economy declined, and Twitter has likely always only been a small portion of Apple’s ad budget. Apple’s impact on Twitter, however, could be much more significant, including if Musk succeeds in shifting its core business to being more reliant on subscription revenue, and potentially has to pay a 30% cut to Apple.

    In one tweet Monday, Musk asked his nearly 120 million followers if they know “Apple puts a secret 30% tax on everything you buy through their App Store?” In another tweet, he posted a picture of a highway exit: one lane headed toward “pay 30%,” the other pointed toward “go to war.” An old car labeled “Elon” skidded toward the latter.

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  • ‘We’re headed for a family feud’: My father offered his 3 kids equal monetary gifts. My siblings took cash. I took stock. It’s soared in value — now they’re crying foul

    ‘We’re headed for a family feud’: My father offered his 3 kids equal monetary gifts. My siblings took cash. I took stock. It’s soared in value — now they’re crying foul

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    Dear Quentin,

    Several years before my father’s death, he offered me and my two siblings each an early “cash gift” from his estate in the amount of whatever the maximum non-taxable amount was at the time. He was an active investor and offered the gift in the form of the stock instead of cash. My siblings took the cash and I decided to take it in stock valued the same as the cash amount.  

    Fast forward five years: My father just passed away and my siblings bought expensive toys and luxury automobiles with their cash, while my stock is worth many times what it was when it was given to me. His will states that the three of us should share in equal parts of his estate, but my siblings are arguing that my now very valuable stock should be included as an asset to be split among the estate.

    Legally, they have no leg to stand on, but both are insistent that I’m taking money that is morally theirs. There’s no changing their mind and I’m convinced that we’re headed for a family feud. I’m not sure what I should do. Had the stock value gone to zero in that time, they wouldn’t be arguing that I should get extra to compensate for my “bad gamble.”

    The Other Brother

    Dear Other Brother,

    Them’s the breaks — in this case, the sudden screeching of car brakes.

    Your siblings could have chosen stocks over cash, but they wanted immediate gratification. That was their decision, and they are going to have to take ownership of their choice and live with it. Buying stocks are more likely to pay off if you hold on to them over the long term. You did just that. Instead of buying a Ferrari or a Tesla
    TSLA,
    -0.19%    ,
    you effectively chose to invest your gift.

    Show the same certainty now, and don’t cave to your siblings’ demands. Don’t allow them to bully you into selling.

    Investing is all about delaying your gratification — the ability to live for today and save for a more comfortable tomorrow, as opposed to having everything today and to hell with tomorrow. The gamification of stock trading with apps such as Robinhood
    HOOD,
    -0.74%    ,
    which has extended its trading hours beyond the market’s official hours, is in part about getting that dopamine hit. (However, trading after hours comes with risks — chief among them warped stock prices.)

    This dispute is about choice. If you had taken the cash, those stocks would still be part of your father’s estate, but you made the choice to take the stock. Your siblings had the same option and chose not to exercise it. Tell them, “I know it must be frustrating for you, but we all had the same opportunity. I took it. You took the cash.”

    There is only one reason they missed out — and if they look in the rearview mirror of their respective luxury cars, they will see that reason staring right back at them.

    You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions related to coronavirus at qfottrell@marketwatch.com, and follow Quentin Fottrell on Twitter.

    Check out the Moneyist private Facebook group, where we look for answers to life’s thorniest money issues. Readers write in to me with all sorts of dilemmas. Post your questions, tell me what you want to know more about, or weigh in on the latest Moneyist columns.

    The Moneyist regrets he cannot reply to questions individually.

    By emailing your questions, you agree to having them published anonymously on MarketWatch. By submitting your story to Dow Jones & Company, the publisher of MarketWatch, you understand and agree that we may use your story, or versions of it, in all media and platforms, including via third parties.

    More from Quentin Fottrell:

    • My girlfriend says I should tip in restaurants. I say waitstaff are just like construction and fast-food workers. Who’s right?
    • ‘He was infatuated with her’: My brother had a drinking problem and took his own life. He left $6 million to his former girlfriend who used to buy him alcohol
    • ‘She had a will, but it was null and void’: My friend and her sister are fighting over their mother’s life-insurance policy and bank account. Who should win out?

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  • Apple has a huge problem with its supplier’s iPhone factory in China | CNN Business

    Apple has a huge problem with its supplier’s iPhone factory in China | CNN Business

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    Hong Kong
    CNN Business
     — 

    A violent workers’ revolt at the world’s largest iPhone factory this week in central China is further scrambling Apple’s strained supply and highlighting how the country’s stringent zero-Covid policy is hurting global technology firms.

    The troubles started last month when workers left the factory campus in Zhengzhou, the capital of the central province of Henan, due to Covid fears. Short on staff, bonuses were offered to workers to return.

    But protests broke out this week when the newly hired staff said management had reneged on their promises. The workers, who clashed with security officers wearing hazmat suits, were eventually offered cash to quit and leave.

    Analysts said the woes facing Taiwan contract manufacturing firm Foxconn, a top Apple supplier which owns the facility, will also speed up the pace of diversification away from China to countries like India.

    Daniel Ives, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities, told CNN Business that the ongoing production shutdown in Foxconn’s sprawling campus in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou was an “albatross” for Apple.

    “Every week of this shutdown and unrest we estimate is costing Apple roughly $1 billion a week in lost iPhone sales. Now roughly 5% of iPhone 14 sales are likely off the table due to these brutal shutdowns in China,” he said.

    Demand for iPhone 14 units during the Black Friday holiday weekend was much higher than supply and could cause major shortages leading into Christmas, Ives said, adding that the disruptions at Foxconn, which started in October, have been a major “gut punch” to Apple this quarter.

    In a note Friday, Ives said Black Friday store checks show major iPhone shortages across the board.

    “Based on our analysis, we believe iPhone 14 Pro shortages have gotten much worse over the last week with very low inventories,” he wrote. “We believe many Apple Stores now have iPhone 14 Pro shortages … of up to 25%-30% below normal heading into a typical December.”

    Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities, wrote on Twitter that more than 10% of global iPhone production capacity was affected by the situation at the Zhengzhou campus.

    Earlier this month, Apple said shipments of its latest lineup of iPhones would be “temporarily impacted” by Covid restrictions in China. It said its assembly facility in Zhengzhou, which normally houses some 200,000 workers, was “currently operating at significantly reduced capacity,” due to Covid curbs.

    The Zhengzhou campus has been grappling with a Covid outbreak since mid-October that caused panic among its workers. Videos of people leaving Zhengzhou on foot went viral on Chinese social media in early November, forcing Foxconn to step up measures to get its staff back.

    To entice workers, the company said it had quadrupled daily bonuses for workers at the plant this month. A week ago, state media reported that 100,000 people had been successfully recruited to fill the vacant positions.

    But on Tuesday night, hundreds of workers, mostly new hires, began to protest against the terms of the payment packages offered to them and also about their living conditions. Scenes turned increasingly violent into the next day as workers clashed with a large number of security forces.

    By Wednesday evening, the crowds had quieted, with protesters returning to their dormitories on the Foxconn campus after the company offered to pay the newly recruited workers 10,000 yuan ($1,400), or roughly two months of wages, to quit and leave the site altogether.

    In a statement sent to CNN Business on Thursday after the protests had wound down, Apple said it had a team on the ground at the Zhengzhou facility working closely with Foxconn to ensure employees’ concerns were addressed.

    Even before this week’s demonstrations, Apple had started making the iPhone 14 in India, as it sought to diversify its supply chain away from China.

    The announcement in late September marked a major change in its strategy and came at a time when US tech companies were looking for alternatives to China, the world’s factory for decades.

    The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that the company was looking to boost production in countries such as Vietnam and India, citing China’s strict Covid policy as one of the reasons.

    Kuo said on Twitter that he believed Foxconn would speed up the expansion of iPhone production capacity in India as a result of Zhengzhou lockdowns and resulting protests.

    The production of iPhones by Foxconn in India will grow by at least 150% in 2023 compared to 2022, he predicted, and the longer term goal would be to ship between 40% and 45% of such phones from India, compared to less than 4% now.

    — Chris Isidore contributed to this report.

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  • Margot Robbie says tequila shots helped her film nude ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ scenes | CNN

    Margot Robbie says tequila shots helped her film nude ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ scenes | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    According to Margot Robbie, she needed a little bit of liquid courage to film a now-famous scene in “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

    The Daily Mirror reported that during remarks at a BAFTA: A Life In Pictures recording, the Australian actress shared some of what happened behind the scenes when she starred as Naomi Lapaglia in the 2013 film opposite Leonardo DiCaprio as real-life stockbroker Jordan Belfort.

    The pair had a pretty racy nude scene together, and Robbie reportedly said she reached for some tequila to prepare.

    “I’m not going to lie, I had a couple of shots of tequila before that scene because I was nervous – very, very nervous,” she said.

    The film went on to be pretty big, unlike what Robbie had imagined.

    “Honestly, I know it sounds silly now, knowing how big the movie became, at the time I thought, ‘No one is going to notice me in this film,” she said.“‘It kind of doesn’t matter what I do in this film because everyone is going to be focused on Leo [DiCaprio] and everything.’”

    The role in the 2013 film actually helped launch Robbie into stardom.

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  • UK bans Chinese surveillance cameras from ‘sensitive’ sites | CNN Business

    UK bans Chinese surveillance cameras from ‘sensitive’ sites | CNN Business

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    Hong Kong
    CNN Business
     — 

    Hikvision, a leading Chinese surveillance company, has denied suggestions that it poses a threat to Britain’s national security after the UK government banned the use of its camera systems at “sensitive” sites.

    The restrictions, announced Thursday, will prevent authorities from installing technology that is produced by companies subject to China’s National Intelligence Law, which requires Chinese citizens and organizations to cooperate with the country’s intelligence and security services.

    In a statement to CNN Business on Friday, Hikvision said it was “categorically false to represent Hikvision as a threat to national security.”

    The company said it was hoping to engage with UK officials “urgently” to understand the decision, and had previously spoken with the UK government to clear up what it saw as misunderstandings about its business.

    “Hikvision is an equipment manufacturer that has no visibility into end users’ video data,” the Hangzhou-based company said. “Hikvision cannot access end users’ video data and cannot transmit data from end-users to third parties. We do not manage end-user databases, nor do we sell cloud storage in the UK.”

    In a statement to the UK parliament on Thursday, Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden said that after a security review, government departments had been instructed to stop deploying equipment produced by companies that are subject to the National Intelligence Law.

    Dowden cited “the threat to the UK and the increasing capability and connectivity of these systems,” without specifying further.

    Government departments have also been advised to consider whether to “remove and replace such equipment where it is deployed on sensitive sites rather than awaiting any scheduled upgrades,” he said. The minister added that departments could review whether sites not deemed sensitive should also be taking similar measures.

    The move comes months after UK lawmakers called for a ban on technology by Hikvision and Dahua, another Chinese surveillance camera maker, citing allegations that the firms had been involved in enabling human rights abuses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

    The United States in 2019 placed Hikvision and other Chinese companies on a trade blacklist, prohibiting them from importing US technology over similar allegations.

    In a statement released in July by Big Brother Watch, a British nonprofit group that investigates the use of surveillance systems, 67 members of the UK parliament said the Chinese companies should be prohibited from selling their products in the country.

    Big Brother Watch said at the time that it had “found that the majority of public bodies use CCTV cameras made by Hikvision or Dahua, including 73% of councils across the UK, 57% of secondary schools in England, 6 out of 10 National Health Service Trusts, as well as UK universities and police forces.”

    Earlier this year, a UK health minister disclosed that there were 82 Hikvision products in use in his department.

    Hikvision, in its statement, said its cameras were compliant with UK laws and “subject to strict security requirements.”

    Dahua did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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  • In Britain, nearly 200,000 workers are striking on Black Friday | CNN Business

    In Britain, nearly 200,000 workers are striking on Black Friday | CNN Business

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    London
    CNN Business
     — 

    Britain’s cost-of-living crisis is already taking the shine off Black Friday. Now, the annual shopping bonanza faces an additional threat from strikes that could disrupt deliveries, subdue online sales and deliver another blow to the slumping economy.

    Some 235,000 workers have gone on strike across the United Kingdom this week, encompassing schools, universities and the postal service. Workers are demanding better pay and working conditions as they struggle with soaring food and energy bills.

    Strike action by as many as 115,000 Royal Mail staff on Thursday and Friday threatens to disrupt Black Friday sales and deliveries at a crucial time of the year for retailers.

    Small businesses in particular are suffering “enormous damage” as a result of the postal strikes, as they “rely on an efficient mail service for so much of their trade,” according to a statement posted to LinkedIn and signed by Murray Lambell, eBay

    (EBAY)     UK general manager, Martin McTague, chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, and Michelle Ovens, founder of campaign group Small Business Britain.

    Postal workers are planning further strike action for November 30 and December 1, following walkouts in August and September.

    “Customers should expect delays to items posted just before, during or just after strike action,” Royal Mail said in a statement.

    Strikes have swept the United Kingdom this year, as workers grapple with a worsening cost-of-living crisis and an economy that is sliding into a recession. Wages have stagnated and failed to keep pace with inflation, now at a 41-year high, setting the stage for clashes between employers and employees.

    Those clashes have already caused widespread disruption, including to train travel, and are now spreading to even more sectors, such as education and healthcare.

    More than 70,000 university workers went on strike over pay, working conditions and pensions on Thursday and Friday at 150 universities across the United Kingdom.

    The strike is the biggest in the history of British higher education, affecting over 2.5 million students, according to the University and College Union, which organized the strike. Another strike is planned for November 30.

    In Scotland, every school on the mainland was shut Thursday after walkouts by as many as 50,000 teachers in the first day of national strike action over pay in almost 40 years, according to the Educational Institute of Scotland, a trade union.

    Meanwhile, the Royal College of Nursing, which has more than 300,000 members, said Friday that nurses would hold a strike on two days in December — the first in the union’s 106-year history — in support of its call for higher pay. Unison, a labor union representing nearly half a million health service workers, will complete its own strike ballot on Friday.

    According to the Office for National Statistics, 356,000 days were lost to strike action in August, not far off the previous high recorded in July 2014, when 386,000 days were lost. That number dipped to 205,000 in September.

    But the picture could get worse again before it gets better, with disruption stretching beyond Black Friday and well into the holiday season. Strike action will also add to losses facing companies and could prompt further job cuts.

    RMT, Britain’s largest transport union, on Tuesday announced four 48-hour strikes in December and January after talks with Network Rail collapsed. Network Rail’s chief negotiator, Tim Shoveller said that striking makes the “precarious financial hole” in which the company finds itself bigger and “the task of finding a resolution ever more difficult.”

    Drivers for Best Food Logistics, who deliver fresh food to restaurants including KFC, Burger King and Pizza Hut, have also voted to strike, according to a statement from the GMB Union on Thursday. No dates have yet been announced and a company spokesperson told CNN Business it is committed to “reach a way forward.”

    The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents striking postal workers, has announced additional walkouts on December 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24, which could jeopardize Christmas deliveries. Royal Mail says it has not yet been formally notified of these dates.

    Relations between the company and the union have deteriorated after they failed to reach an agreement on pay and changes to working terms and conditions during talks lasting seven months.

    According to Royal Mail CEO Simon Thompson, the strikes have added £100 million ($121.3 million) to Royal Mail’s losses so far this year and could lead to further job cuts on top of 10,000 already announced.

    “The CWU’s planned strike action is holding Christmas to ransom for our customers, businesses and families across the country, and is putting their own members’ jobs at risk,” Thompson said in a statement.

    Also on Friday, thousands of Amazon

    (AMZN)     warehouse workers plan to take part in protests and strikes in around 30 countries, including the United States, Britain, Japan, India, Australia, France, Germany and South Africa, according to UNI Global Union.

    This is the third year that the Make Amazon Pay campaign has organized a global day of action on Black Friday. Protests due to take place between shifts at an Amazon warehouse in Coventry, England on Friday evening are not expected to affect Black Friday deliveries.

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  • The US-China chip war is spilling over to Europe | CNN Business

    The US-China chip war is spilling over to Europe | CNN Business

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    Hong Kong
    CNN Business
     — 

    Two European chip deals have run into trouble over their links with China, a sign of concern spreading in the West over potential Chinese control of critical infrastructure.

    Last week, the new owner of Britain’s biggest chipmaker was ordered to unwind its takeover, just days after another chip factory sale was blocked in Germany. Both transactions were hit by national security concerns, and had involved acquisitions by Chinese-owned companies.

    In the United Kingdom, Nexperia, a Dutch subsidiary of Shanghai-listed semiconductor maker Wingtech, was told by the government to sell at least 86% of its stake in Newport Wafer Fab, more than a year after taking control of the factory. Staffers have since been protesting the decision, saying it puts nearly 600 jobs at risk.

    In Germany, the economic ministry barred Elmos Semiconductor, an automotive chipmaker, from selling its factory in the city of Dortmund to Silex, a Swedish subsidiary of China’s Sai Microelectronics.

    Chipmaking was already emerging as a new front in US-China tensions. Now the two troubled deals illustrate how the pressure is also rising in Europe, particularly as Western officials face calls for key sectors to be kept out of Chinese control.

    “These decisions mark a shift towards tougher stances regarding Chinese investment in critical industries in Europe,” said Xiaomeng Lu, director of geo‑technology at Eurasia Group.

    “US pressure definitely contributed to these decisions. [A] growing sense of technology sovereignty also likely prompted these moves — governments around the world are increasingly [viewing the] semiconductors industry as a strategic resource and seek to protect them from foreign takeovers.”

    Legal experts said the two decisions were notable because each deal was initially thought to have been cleared.

    The Newport Wafer case is “the first completed acquisition” that needs to be unwound under a UK national security and investment (NSI) act, which took full effect in January, according to Ian Giles, head of antitrust and competition for Europe, the Middle East and Asia for Norton Rose.

    Nexperia said last week that it was “shocked” by the decision, and that “the UK government chose not to enter into a meaningful dialogue with Nexperia or even visit the Newport site.”

    The company added that it had offered to avoid “activities of potential concern, and to provide the UK government with direct control and participation in the management of Newport,” a 28-acre site in south Wales.

    The factory makes silicon wafers, the basis for making computer chips. Many of its products eventually power cars and medical equipment. Nexperia has indicated that workers at the facility now face an uncertain future.

    In an open letter to the UK government last Thursday, the Nexperia Newport Staff Association said that it was “in disbelief” that employees’ livelihoods had been “put in jeopardy in the run-up to Christmas.”

    “This is clearly a deeply political decision,” the group wrote, rejecting the idea that the deal would undermine British security. “You must see sense and protect our jobs by allowing Nexperia to keep their Newport factory.”

    For Elmos, German authorities had initially indicated that they would issue a conditional approval, and even shared a draft approval after an intense review process lasting about 10 months, the company said in a statement following the injunction.

    Tim Schaper, head of antitrust and competition for Germany at Norton Rose, said government intervention was also significant given that “Elmos’ technology is said to be quite old, state of the art in the 1990s, and allegedly not of great industrial importance.”

    “The transaction became the plaything of a public debate about Chinese investors’ acquiring stakes in key German technologies,” he said.

    A company sign of Elmos Semiconductor, seen on Nov. 9 in the German city of Dortmund.

    It’s possible that regulators were concerned about an outflow of technical know how, according to Alexander Rinne, the Munich-based head of international law firm Milbank’s European antitrust practice.

    “Elmos is known for making chips for the automotive sector, which is Germany’s core industry and the pride of the country,” he said in an interview.

    Elmos and Nexperia both declined interview requests. A Nexperia spokesperson told CNN Business on Tuesday that it was “considering its options regarding the UK government’s decision.”

    Chips are a growing source of tension between the United States and China. Washington has declared a shortage of the materials a national security issue, and highlighted the importance of remaining competitive in advanced technology capabilities.

    This year, the United States ramped up its own restrictions and pressed allies to enact their own, according to Lu. In August, the US government ordered two top chipmakers, Nvidia

    (NVDA)     and AMD

    (AMD)    , to halt exports of certain high-performance chips to China.

    Two months later, the Biden administration unveiled sweeping export controls that banned Chinese companies from buying advanced chips and chip-making equipment without a license. The rules also restricted the ability of American citizens or US green card holders to provide support for the development or production of chips at certain manufacturing facilities in China.

    The pressure is mounting. On Monday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged the West to “be careful not to create new dependencies” on China. Speaking at a NATO parliamentary assembly in Madrid, Stoltenberg said he was seeing “growing Chinese efforts” to control Western critical infrastructure, supply chains, and key industrial sectors.

    “We cannot give authoritarian regimes any chance to exploit our vulnerabilities and undermine us,” he said.

    China has pushed back on the handling of the two European semiconductor cases.

    “We firmly oppose the UK’s move, and call on the UK to respect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and provide a fair, just, and (a) non-discriminatory business environment,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning told a press briefing last Friday when asked about the Newport Wafer order. “The UK has overstretched the concept of national security and abused state power.”

    Zhao Lijian, another Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, called on Germany and other countries to “refrain from politicizing normal economic and trade cooperation” at a press conference earlier this month, without addressing Elmos specifically.

    Germany has shown greater scrutiny of Chinese buyers this year. Last month, a bid by Chinese state shipping giant Cosco for a stake in a Hamburg port terminal operator sparked similar controversy. Under pressure from some members of the government, the size of the investment was later limited.

    Attorneys say if the chipmakers appeal, they could face an uncertain battle that may drag on for years.

    In each case, they would need to file a challenge in court within roughly a month of regulators’ decisions, barring exceptional circumstances, according to Norton Rose.

    Both Britain and Germany have recently added rules that expand government oversight over such decisions, making outcomes harder to predict. In Germany, a change to foreign direct investment rules in 2020 meant the government can intervene in prospective deals “if there is a ‘probable impairment of public order and security,’” said Schaper.

    Previously, by contrast, it could only impose restrictions “if there was an ‘actual, sufficiently serious threat to public order and security,’” he told CNN Business.

    In the UK, the ability of the government to retroactively review deals under the NSI Act “was really something that was considered surprising and far-reaching,” said Andrea Hamilton, a London-based partner at Milbank.

    “If challenged, as Nexperia apparently intends, it will also become a test case as to [the] extent of the NSI Act’s limits,” she said.

    Elsewhere, attention is shifting to the Netherlands. The Dutch government is currently facing pressure from the United States to limit exports to China, particularly from ASML

    (ASML)    , a semiconductor equipment maker that holds a dominant position in the lithography machine market, according to Lu at Eurasia Group.

    “It will become the next case study,” she told CNN Business.

    The Netherlands has made clear it will form its own position.

    Asked about the issue this month, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade Liesje Schreinemacher said the country would “not copy the US export restrictions for China one-to-one.”

    “We make our own assessment,” she said in an interview with Dutch newspaper NRC.

    — CNN’s Zahid Mahmood, Rose Roobeek-Coppack and Laura He contributed to this report.

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  • Kindle’s 15-year anniversary is a reminder simplicity is king | CNN Business

    Kindle’s 15-year anniversary is a reminder simplicity is king | CNN Business

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    CNN Business
     — 

    Len Edgerly, a 72-year-old podcaster from Cambridge, Massachusetts, has spent the last 14 and a half years talking about his favorite tech product of all time: the Kindle.

    Edgerly, who records a weekly podcast called “The Kindle Chronicles,” has spoken to authors, readers, publishing industry experts and Amazon executives — even founder Jeff Bezos, twice — about his appreciation for the e-reader in more than 700 episodes.

    “I use the most basic Kindle, which is under $100,” said Edgerly, who said he’s owned about 30 Kindle devices over the years. “I love how small it is and fits in my pocket. It’s the one that most disappears when I read something. It’s like holding nothing but the words.”

    Amazon

    (AMZN)     launched the original Kindle on November 19 2007, pushing the publishing industry to further embrace digital books and also kickstarting the e-commerce giant’s hardware efforts. In the 15 years since then, the tech industry has seen smartphones and tablets rise and surpass the e-reader space, but the Kindle’s e-ink display, compared to an LCD display, still draws fans by offering the most natural reading experience with limited eye strain.

    “The Kindle Chronicles” sometimes gets 2,000 downloads per episode, according to Edgerly, a niche but loyal listener base. A Kindle group on Reddit has more than 202,000 active members, ranking in the top 1% in terms of size, with users posting what they’re reading and taking pictures of the places where they bring their e-readers. There are also Facebook appreciation groups, and Kindles have been been spotted over the years in the hands of celebrities on vacation or in the background of popular shows such as “The Big Bang Theory.”

    The Kindle dates back to an earlier era of single-use, digital devices, from the iPod to cameras, that launched in the 2000s before smartphones became ubiquitous. Its staying power may be a testament to this approach, at least for a certain subset of users.

    “Much of the longevity for this type of single-use case device is that they just do one thing very, very well,” said David McQueen, a research director at ABI Research.

    Although the e-reader category has shrunk over time — many market research firms have stopped tracking sales and Amazon does not publicly share Kindle sales numbers — the Kindle continues to see demand as a reading device for a handful of reasons. It’s intuitive, can hold thousands of books, features a long battery life, is lightweight and upgrades aren’t always necessary. Amazon can keep Kindle prices relatively low because the business model is all about selling books, not selling hardware, McQueen said.

    Kindle, which was codenamed Fiona in its early days, sought to provide the best type of hardware for e-reading at a time when nothing else was on the market. The day it launched, it sold out in the first five and a half hours.

    “Our supply chain and manufacturing teams have had to scramble to increase production capacity,” Bezos said in a letter sent to shareholders at the time, which was shared publicly in 2017, on the tenth anniversary of its launch. “We knew Kindle would have to get out of the way, just like a physical book, so readers could become engrossed in the words and forget they’re reading on a device. We also knew we shouldn’t try to copy every last feature of a book — we could never out-book the book.”

    Bezos made good on that promise. Over the years, the Kindle has offered larger screens and touchscreens, the ability to adjust font size and spacing, and better processors and battery life. It improved its illumination with the Kindle Paperwhite, added waterproofing with the Kindle Oasis, launched a Kids Edition, and, most recently, introduced an e-pen for writing with the Kindle Scribe.

    The Kindle’s specs have gotten smarter, too. The first Kindle’s battery had to be recharged every other day if the wireless connectivity was turned on and had an internal storage of 250MB — enough for 200 medium-length books. Now, the battery lasts for up to six weeks, has 16GB of storage for thousands of books, and weighs 5.5 ounces (nearly half the weight of the original). Likewise, the original Kindle had access to 90,000 books in the Kindle Store compared to 13 million books now in the Kindle Store. The original cost was $399; now it starts at $99.

    Still, the Kindle today is strikingly similar to the original. Corey Badcock, head of Kindle product at Amazon who joined the company eight years ago, told CNN Business that’s been a strategic decision.

    “The vision of Kindle is that it’s always been about reading a book with the advantages of it being digital and portable,” Badcock said. “Year after year, people told us they don’t want notifications on the device or browser to watch YouTube. … People love the sanctuary part of it; that it is distraction free.”

    In 2017, Amazon told CNBC it had sold “tens of millions” of Kindles in its first 10 years. Badcock declined to share updated Kindle sales numbers but said the “business continues to grow and expand.”

    Linn Huang, an analyst at IDC Research, believes the most significant part of Kindle’s legacy is that it helped kickstart Amazon’s development of consumer tech devices. “It isn’t so much that the Kindle e-reader is still around, it’s that it launched Amazon as a consumer device manufacturer, and holy hell look at how far they’ve come in that regard,” she said.

    Amazon’s current lineup of hardware devices includes the Fire tablet, the Firestick media streaming gadget and the Echo smart speaker. Huang believes the Kindle will likely remain part of that lineup for another 15 years.

    “We’ll still have e-reader fanatics just like we still have those who prefer paper,” she said. “The more interesting question is will Kindle be broadly considered retro tech like vinyl record players or arcade cabinets of today?”

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  • Consumers continue to lack confidence in the US economy ahead of holiday shopping season | CNN Business

    Consumers continue to lack confidence in the US economy ahead of holiday shopping season | CNN Business

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    Minneapolis
    CNN Business
     — 

    Heading into the all-important holiday shopping season, American consumers still aren’t feeling very confident about the state of the US economy.

    The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index landed at 56.8 in November, up from the preliminary reading of 54.7 measured earlier this month but lower than the 59.9 recorded in October.

    Economists were expecting a reading of 55, according to consensus estimates on Refinitiv.

    The month-over-month decline in sentiment offset about one-third of the gains made since the index bottomed out in June, according to Joanne Hsu, director of the university’s Surveys of Consumers.

    “Headwinds to consumer strength have started to emerge. Strong incomes have thus far helped consumers, particularly lower-wage workers, cope with high inflation,” Hsu said in a statement. “However, their perceptions of weakening labor markets could make them pull back their spending in the future. Wealthier households are experiencing declining stock markets and home values, which would also produce drag on their willingness to spend.”

    Consumers surveyed also highlighted the effects of rising interest rates on their desire to buy homes, cars and other big-ticket items. The Federal Reserve, in efforts to combat decades-high inflation, has enacted a series of steep interest rate hikes.

    About 83% of respondents to the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers said that it was a bad time to buy a home. That’s the highest share ever recorded, according to the university.

    The survey also showed that consumers’ inflation expectations for this year and five years out remained relatively unchanged at 4.9% and 3%, respectively. This is a key data point for the Federal Reserve. If consumers believe prices will remain high, that could factor into increased wage demands, which could cause businesses to raise prices.

    Earlier this month, when the preliminary survey data was released, Hsu noted that very few consumers were front-loading purchases to avoid higher interest rates in the future. That was an indication that expectations aren’t worsening, she stated at the time.

    Still, Hsu noted Wednesday, uncertainty over these expectations remains at an elevated level, “indicating that the general stability of these expectations may not necessarily endure.”

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