Media

6 Most Important Things in Business Today

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: August 21, 2018 4:59 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 7:05 pm

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) said Russians tried to hack several conservative sites. According to Reuters:

Microsoft Corp said on Monday that it had recently thwarted hackers associated with Russian government attempting to steal user information from conservative groups that promote democracy and advocate for cybersecurity.

The company’s digital crimes unit (DCU) acted on a court order last week, disrupting and transferring control of a total of six internet domains created by a group known as Strontium, also known as Fancy Bear or APT28, which is associated with the Russian government, the company said in a blog posted late on Monday night.

The president may increase tariffs on China. According to The Wall Street Journal:

The Trump administration is moving closer this week to levying tariffs on nearly half of Chinese imports despite broad opposition from U.S. business and the start of a fresh round of talks between the U.S. and China to settle the trade dispute.

The twin administration initiatives—pursuing tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods while relaunching talks to scrap tariffs—underscore a split within the U.S. administration, with negotiators in the U.S. Treasury Department offering a carrot, while the office of the U.S. trade representative threatens with a stick, both with the approval of President Trump, according to people familiar with the administration’s internal deliberations.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) may be running low on cash, at least according to anxious suppliers. The Wall Street Journal reports:

Tesla Inc.’s tumultuous year has fueled concern among some of its suppliers about the auto maker’s financial strength after production of the Model 3 car drained some of its cash, according to industry executives and documents.

A recent survey sent privately by a well-regarded automotive supplier association to top executives found that 18 of 22 respondents believe that Tesla is now a financial risk to their companies, according to the document reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) plans to launch two new computers. According to Bloomberg:

Apple Inc. will release a new low-cost laptop and a professional-focused upgrade to the Mac mini desktop later this year, ending a drought of Mac computers that has limited sales of the company’s longest-running line of devices, according to people familiar with the plans.

The new laptop will look similar to the current MacBook Air, but will include thinner bezels around the screen. The display, which will remain about 13-inches, will be a higher-resolution “Retina” version that Apple uses on other products, the people said. They asked not to be identified discussing products still in development. Apple spokesman Bill Evans declined to comment.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) may be moving deeper into the health care business. According to CNBC:

Amazon has hired well-known cardiologist Maulik Majmudar for a new role, as it looks to move into the $3 trillion health-care sector.

Majmudar announced his new role on his Twitter account on Monday. Before joining the technology company, he worked as a cardiologist and associate director of the health-care transformation lab at Massachusetts General Hospital and he lectured at MIT. At the lab, he looked at how to incorporate the latest medical technologies into the practice of medicine.

Google aggressively mines data from users and it is hard for people to avoid. According to CNNMoney:

Short of chucking your phone into the river, shunning the internet, and learning to read paper maps again, there’s not much you can do to keep Google from collecting data about you.

So says a Vanderbilt University computer scientist who led an analysis of Google’s data collection practices. His report, released Tuesday, outlines a myriad ways the company amasses information about the billions of people who use the world’s leading search engine, web browser, and mobile operating system, not to mention products like Gmail, platforms like YouTube, and products like Nest.