Amazon copied products and rigged search results to promote its own brands

Amazon.com Inc has been repeatedly accused of knocking off products it sells on its website and of exploiting its vast trove of internal data to promote its own merchandise at the expense of other sellers. The company has denied the accusations.

But thousands of pages of internal Amazon documents examined by Reuters – including emails, strategy papers and business plans – show the company ran a systematic campaign of creating knockoffs and manipulating search results to boost its own product lines in India, one of the company’s largest growth markets. READ MORE

Few individual investors participate in shareholder voting. Here’s how that may be changing

Despite the high demand for values-driven investing, few individual shareholders participate in corporate decisions. But some companies and funds are making it easier for investors to voice concerns through a proxy voting process.

When someone buys a stock, they become part-owner of the company and may vote on decisions — such as executive compensation or picking the board of directors — at the corporation’s annual meeting. READ MORE

Is Stagflation a Serious Market Risk?

Stagflation: that ghoul from the era of shag carpet and disco balls.

It's something that hasn't been seriously discussed in economics circles since the late 1970s. But today, with inflation pushing multidecade highs and company after company reporting that results might end up being disappointing over the next several quarters due to rising labor and materials costs, stagflation is a real topic of concern again.

The question is: Should it be? READ MORE

‘It’s Not Sustainable’: What America’s Port Crisis Looks Like Up Close

Like toy blocks hurled from the heavens, nearly 80,000 shipping containers are stacked in various configurations at the Port of Savannah — 50 percent more than usual.

The steel boxes are waiting for ships to carry them to their final destination, or for trucks to haul them to warehouses that are themselves stuffed to the rafters. Some 700 containers have been left at the port, on the banks of the Savannah River, by their owners for a month or more. READ MORE

Qualities To Look For When Choosing Board Members For Your Micro- To Mid-Sized Company

The lasting effects of the global pandemic; environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations; political dynamics — today’s business climate is challenging. As the owner of a micro to mid-capitalized company, these pressures can be magnified, and having board members who are aligned with your company’s goals is critical. If you are considering or are already in the process of taking your company public, the selection of board members requires careful consideration. READ MORE

Why Trust Is the Top Requirement for Building and Growing Your Company

What's more important for your company: growth or trust?

If you said the former, you're not alone. Organic growth is overwhelmingly the top goal for business executives, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers's twenty-fourth annual global survey of CEOs. It's what 88 percent of U.S. company heads and 73 percent of global leaders reported as their number-one priority for 2021. READ MORE

Amazon return-to-office plans left up to managers

Amazon's senior leadership is open to mixing it up when it comes to corporate workers' return to the office and has handed the decision down the chain of command as to whether, when and how often employees will make the trek to the workplace once their offices open again in 2022.

In a notice to Amazon employees on Monday, CEO Andy Jassy pointed out that the company first thought they would be back in the office in September 2021, before pushing that date back to Jan. 3 "with the suggestion we should all try to be in the office at least three days a week." READ MORE

Biden's economy is stalled. Here's what he must do now to unfreeze our supply chain

Instead of playing hide-and-seek with the White House press corps, or whining about Republicans blocking his $5 trillion tax-and-spend scheme, President Joe Biden could be doing something useful.

The president could be working to bring down inflation. How? By getting people back on the job, addressing the supply chain challenges that are increasing the cost of nearly all consumer goods and by doing everything possible to increase U.S. oil and gas output, to help put a lid on fast-rising energy prices. READ MORE

Three Key Causes to the Rise in Employee Departures

Much has been said and written about “The Great Resignation.” And for good reason. Various research shows that anywhere between 40% and 50% of knowledge workers in the United States have left a job in the last year, or are considering doing so. 

That’s a huge increase over annualized voluntary attrition benchmarks in the technology industry, which have hovered around 13% to 15% in the past few years. What’s behind it? To find the truth, we must do a little digging. And what we find may surprise us.

In my research, departures generally happen for one of three reasons: READ MORE

Increase chances of startup success by avoiding these 5 common legal mistakes

For over a decade I have worked with thousands of startups and entrepreneurs across a broad spectrum of industries and markets. I’ve seen them succeed. I’ve seen them fail. I’ve seen some overcome adversity, and others come to the realization that they needed to pivot and try something else. Many of these young companies faced similar challenges.

At the Entrepreneurship Law Center at the University at Buffalo School of Law, we strive to prepare and position clients to focus on growth. By being aware of – and avoiding – the following top five legal mistakes startups make, entrepreneurs can increase their chances of building a successful business. READ MORE

Decade after Jobs' death, has Apple traded magic for profit?

Ten years after Apple founder Steve Jobs' death, the firm has grown into a colossus of devices and services that is the world's most valuable company, but the tech legend's diehard fans lament its lost aura of revolution.

"Apple doesn't innovate anymore" or "Steve Jobs is turning in his grave" are the type of disillusioned tweets that pop up especially during product launches led by Tim Cook, who took Apple's reins in August 2011. READ MORE

A Three-Day Work Week? One Startup Experiments to Draw Talent

A shortage of technology talent has Indian companies offering sweeteners like more vacation time and gender-neutral parental leave as they compete for graduates and professionals. One Bangalore startup is trying a more dramatic solution: a three-day work week.Fintech company Slice is offering new hires a three-day week with salary at 80% of the going market rate. This is a win-win approach that frees the workers to pursue other passions or interests -- or other gigs -- while still locking in a steady pay and benefits from Slice, said Rajan Bajaj, the company’s founder. READ MORE

‘A perfect storm’: supply chain crisis could blow world economy off course

It was all going so well. Successful vaccination programmes were driving the post-pandemic recovery of the global economy, stock markets were back at record highs, and prices were rising just enough to make deflation fears a thing of the past.

But a supply crunch that initially put a question mark over the availability of luxury cars or whether there would be enough PlayStations under our Christmas trees is instead morphing into a full-blown crisis featuring a shortage of energy, labour and transport from Liverpool to Los Angeles, and from Qingdao to Queensland. READ MORE

A startup says its software can spot racial bias within companies. Will this surveillance scare employees?

Employees at Telhio Credit Union are already used to having their internal communications monitored to ensure compliance with US financial rules. But Telhio, which is based in Columbus, Ohio, and has over 250 employees, recently began watching for something else, too: indications of unconscious and overt bias in emails, texts, and phone calls. READ MORE

Car sales plunge as chip shortages choke off supply

New car sales plunged over the last three months in the United States despite strong demand, as the shortage of computer chips and other supply chain issues caused shutdowns at auto factories and choked off the supply of vehicles.

General Motors reported sales fell a third from a year-ago last quarter, and they were off 40% from the same quarter of 2019 before the pandemic roiled the car market. Sales at Stellantis, the company formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA Group, fell 19% from a year ago, and 27% from the pre-pandemic period. READ MORE

Watch out Amazon: These startups deliver in a matter of minutes

Have an instant craving for a bag of chips or ice cream and don't want to run out to the store? A new breed of startups in the United States is trying to deliver to customers with the munchies in as little as 10 minutes.

Companies such as Gopuff, Gorillas, Getir, 1520, Jokr, Buyk and Fridge No More are expanding delivery services in major US cities, and they're putting pressure on traditional grocers, convenience stores and e-commerce players to offer delivery options within minutes, instead of hours. READ MORE

Investments In Chips Hit Record Level As Tech Giants Look To Design Their Own

As the chip shortage continues to disrupt different sectors—perhaps most notably automotive—investors have flooded money into the design and processing of chips at a never-before-seen rate.

This rush to invest also comes at the same time more tech giants have unveiled plans to design their own chips—something that likely is not a coincidence. READ MORE

The workers who keep global supply chains moving are warning of a 'system collapse'

Seafarers, truck drivers and airline workers have endured quarantines, travel restrictions and complex Covid-19 vaccination and testing requirements to keep stretched supply chains moving during the pandemic.

But many are now reaching their breaking point, posing yet another threat to the badly tangled network of ports, container vessels and trucking companies that moves goods around the world. READ MORE