Tausi Insider

A fast-moving conveyor moves packages to delivery trucks at an Amazon fulfillment centre in Robbinsville, N.J., on Nov. 29, 2021. MIKE SEGAR/Reuters Spending on Cyber Monday, the biggest U.S. online shopping day, may hit a record $11.6 billion, according to a report, as discounts on everything from pajamas to AirPods drive shoppers to buy even under the strain of inflation. The Adobe Analytics report is predicting Cyber Monday spending of $11.2 billion to $11.6 billion, an increase of up to 8.5% from a year earlier, as inflation-weary consumers have been putting off holiday shopping for weeks in the hopes of deep post-Thanksgiving markdowns. Adobe Analytics, which measures e-commerce by analyzing transactions at websites, has access to data covering purchases at 85% of the top 100 internet retailers in the United States. Cyber Monday sales fell 1.4% last year as retailers spread out promotional deals across weeks from as early as October to better manage inventories amid widespread p...

Bitfront, a U.S. crypto exchange backed by Japanese social media firm Line Corp, said it has suspended new sign-ups and credit card payments and will cease operations in a few months despite efforts to overcome challenges in the rapidly evolving industry. “However, despite our efforts ... we have regretfully determined that we need to shut down BITFRONT in order to continue growing the LINE blockchain ecosystem and LINK token economy,” the California-based company said in a statement on its website on Sunday. Bitfront said the move is unrelated to recent issues among certain crypto exchanges that have been accused of “misconduct”. FTX, which was among the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is now the subject of investigations by authorities for “criminal misconduct”. The company had filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, while cryptocurrency lender BlockFi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, hurt by exposure to the collapse of FTX. Bitfront said it has susp...

Twitter Inc plans to change the pricing of its Twitter Blue subscription product to $11, from $7.99, if paid for through its iPhone app and to $7 if paid for on the website, the Information reported on Wednesday, citing a person briefed on the plans. The move was likely a pushback against Apple Inc’s AAPL-Q 30 per cent cut on any payments made by users via apps on the iOS operating system, the report said. The lower pricing on the website was also likely to drive more users to that platform as opposed to signing up on their iPhones, the report said. It did not mention whether pricing would change for the Android platform as well. Musk, who took ownership of Twitter in October, is planning to roll out the micro blogging site’s verified service with different coloured checks for individuals, companies and governments, after a botched initial launch led to a surge in users impersonating celebrities and brands on the platform. Twitter, Apple and Google, which owns the Android operating s...

Photo : Miro Vrlik Photography ( Shutterstock ) Vehicles catching on fire seems to be trending this year, with F ord and Ram Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) being recalled in November, and Kia SUVs in October. Now, Subaru is joining the group with their most recent SUV recall. Subaru of America, Inc. has announced a safety recall for certain Subaru Ascent SUVs for the potential of a fire risk stemming from a production issue—and the company is telling nearly 272,000 owners to park their Subaru Ascents outside due to the risk. The recall was made official after two separate reports of an SUV catching fire were made to the company. There have been no reports of injuries due to the incidents. What is the Subaru Ascent recall? According to the official recall statement from Subaru , there was a bolt that may have been improperly fastened during production. The bolt secures the ground terminal of the Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) heater, which when improperly secured, has ...

Canada’s competition tribunal said on Thursday it had not arrived at a decision regarding the $20-billion merger between Rogers Communications Inc RCI-B-T and Shaw Communications Inc SJR-B-T. “The Tribunal wishes to advise the public that it intends to provide 24-48 hours notice on its website of the time and date of the issuance of its decision,” the competition watchdog said in a notice on its website. The much-awaited decision on the merger, one of the country’s biggest, will put an end to a 20-month-old dispute with the antitrust authority. The agency had blocked the merger on grounds that it would reduce competition. The companies had proposed selling Shaw’s Freedom Mobile Inc to Quebecor Inc to facilitate the merger, but the bureau rejected the plan saying Quebecor was not a viable competitor with the merged entity. https://www.tausiinsider.com/competition-tribunal-yet-to-decide-on-roger-shaw-merger-will-give-notice-ahead-of-decision/?feed_id=327064&_unique_id=6410fe91...

A box containing issues of Now Magazine, in Toronto, on March 31, 2011. Fernando Morales/Tausi Insider Online media company Gonez Media (GMI) says it has acquired Now Magazine. Financial terms of the agreement were not immediately available. Now Magazine published its last print edition last year, but has maintained its website. GMI says it plans to relaunch the publication it under the Now banner in a digital-only format on Jan. 17. It says the publication will have a major reporting focus on arts, music and entertainment, harking back to the publication’s roots as an alt newspaper. Now will also create content on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube. Gonez Media is the producer of the Brandon Gonez Show and News You Can Use which air on YouTube. https://www.tausiinsider.com/gonez-media-acquires-torontos-now-magazine-plans-relaunch-under-now-banner/?feed_id=325554&_unique_id=63f816d801052

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario says it is continuing to investigate a “cybersecurity incident” that has knocked out its website and mobile app since Tuesday. The provincial Crown corporation says in a brief statement on Wednesday that its website and mobile app remain unavailable. The LCBO says its shops are open to customers as they were unaffected. The latest incident comes as Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children continues to recover from a December ransomware attack, with the hospital saying it had restored about 80 per cent of its priority systems as of last week. A notorious ransomware group later apologized for that attack, claiming it was carried out by one of its partners. Ontario’s Cybersecurity Expert Panel concluded in a September report that the broader public-services sector needed more work to achieve “cyber maturity.” https://www.tausiinsider.com/lcbo-continues-to-investigate-cybersecurity-incident-site-and-mobile-app-still-down/?feed_id=325284&_unique_id...

Photo : Miro Vrlik Photography ( Shutterstock ) Vehicles catching on fire seems to be trending this year, with F ord and Ram Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) being recalled in November, and Kia SUVs in October. Now, Subaru is joining the group with their most recent SUV recall. Subaru of America, Inc. has announced a safety recall for certain Subaru Ascent SUVs for the potential of a fire risk stemming from a production issue—and the company is telling nearly 272,000 owners to park their Subaru Ascents outside due to the risk. The recall was made official after two separate reports of an SUV catching fire were made to the company. There have been no reports of injuries due to the incidents. What is the Subaru Ascent recall? According to the official recall statement from Subaru , there was a bolt that may have been improperly fastened during production. The bolt secures the ground terminal of the Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) heater, which when improperly secured, has ...