• An offer by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to cover NASA costs of an astronaut lunar lander increased from $2 billion to upwards of $3 billion
• Bob Smith, the CEO of Blue Origin said that the company would “add valuable competition” and help in covering NASA’s “budget and funding shortfall” for the program that led to the agency selecting just one company for the HLS contract

Roblox and Nike strike deal to create virtual world called “Nikeland”

• On November 18, Nike announced that it is partnering with Roblox to create a virtual world called “Nikeland” on Roblox’s gaming platform online
• In this virtual gaming space, it will include Nike buildings, fields, and arenas for players to compete in multiple mini-games
• The company eventually plans to integrate in-play moments that emulate global sporting event

Amazon and Starbucks open chashierless coffee shop showcasing new technology

• In midtown Manhattan, New York, Starbucks is opening a pick-up cafe with Amazon that utilizes cashierless technology
• The first Starbucks Pickup with Amazon Go location opens Thursday in New York City on 59th Street, between Park and Lexington Avenues, with a flag outside waving both companies’ logos
• Amazon’s technology allows customers to leave without seeing a cashier and scales, cameras and shelf sensors tally up customers’ totals and charge them when they leave 

GlobalFoundries and Ford partner to increase supply of chips for vehicle production

• Included in Ford’s plans to inrease its short- and long-term supply of semiconductor chips, the company has announced a new partnership with GlobalFoundries
• This may eventually result in new chip designs specifically for Ford and an increase in the domestic production and supply of chips for the overall automotive industry

CVS plans to close 900 stores in transition to its “digital strategy”

• On November 18, CVS Health said that it will close about 900 stores over the next 3 years as it transitions to better serving online shoppers
• The chain has said that it will focus more of its funding towards digital growth and transitioning its stores into a sort of department store for health-care products
• According to CVS, store closures will begin in the spring of 2022

Ford CEO says EV production to increase to 600,000 by 2023

• According to Jim Farley, the CEO of Ford, the company plans to increase production capacity of its electric vehicles to 600,000 vehicles
• Farley expects this mode to make Ford the second-largest US based EV manufacturer in the world, behind tesla
• Ford’s first three new Electric vehicles are currently the Mustang Mach-E, E-Transit, and F-150 Lightning

The post Business News – 11-18-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• The first all-electric aircraft Rolls-Royce has ever produced has completed its first flight for about 15 minutes in the United Kingdom this week
• According to information by Rolls-Royce, they say the plane is the “Spirit of Innovation” and it uses a 400-kilowatt electric powertrain 
• In the future, the company wants the top speed of the aircraft to exceed 300 miles per hour 

New jobs added as Ford ramps up production of electric F-150 with reservations above 150K

• According to Ford, in a statement on September 16, it plans to invest an additional $250 million into adding 450 jobs across its three Michigan facilities
• Ford has now invested around $950 million into the production of a hybrid F-150 and the electric F-150 lighting scheduled to go on sale around $40,000
• Since its debut in May, more than 150,000 reservations have been made for the F-150 Lightning, says Ford

Agot AI to use computer vision to get fast-food orders made accurately

• A restaurant tech start-up called Agot AI has closed a seed funding with Continental Grain, Frit Ventures, and the Kitchen Fund worth $10 million 
• The technology they plan to implement uses overhead cameras in restaurant kitchens which utilize computer vision to check the accuracy of food orders as they are prepared

The post Business News – 09-16-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• For the first time in the history of the company and the world, Elon Musk’s SpaceX prepares to launch 4 civilians into space
• The mission is named Inspiration4 and scheduled to lift off on Wednesday nit opening at 8:02 p.m ET

Ford and Argo AI have scheduled testing with Walmart for self-driving cars in major cities

• Walmart is expanding its partnerships with self-driving vehicle companies which included Argo AI and Ford Motor
• On September 15, the companies said that the collaboration will utilize Ford’s Ford Escape hybrids along with Argo AI technology for Walmart deliveries in DC, Austin. Texas, and Miami, Florida

Pfizer claims that side effects from COVID vaccine boosters are similar to second dose

• According to new data submitted to the FDA from Pfizer, side effects from their Covid-19 vaccine booster shots are very similar to those of the second dose
• The research also found that the side effects are more likely to affect “younger people” 
• In the “phase 4 study”,  Pfizer found that out of 300 participants from ages 18 to 55, 63.7% experienced fatigue after getting their boosters, 48.4% had headaches and 39.1% felt muscle pain

The post Business News – 09-15-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• The previous president for Lowe’s online presence, Mike Amend had been hired by Ford to oversee software, data, and technology
• Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley believes that improvements in the company’s tech space are key to his Ford+ turnaround plant which is designed to allow the automaker to generate more revenue through software services

U.S. and international scientists find Covid Booster, “not appropriate” currently

• A group of leading U.S. and international scientists on September 13 have said a review of scientific evidence behind the Covid booster vaccine shots has revealed that they are not needed currently
• The conclusion made by two senior FDA officials and the WHO came as more studies show that authorized Covid vaccines in the U.S. remain highly effective

Top NY and CA earners could have increased combined tax rate under House Plan

• Under the House plan proposal; those earning more than $5 million per year will have a 3% surtax and the top marginal income tax rate would increase to 39.6%
• Top Earners in California could see a combined tax rate of 59% and Top New York earners could see a 61.2% combined tax rate

The post Business News – 09-13-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• From last year in 2020, Ford’s sales for its third quarter have fallen by 27.4% as the semiconductor shortage continues to hurt the automotive industry by interrupting vehicle production and shorted dealer inventories
• On the contrary, Ford sale’s have improved during the quarter from losses of more than 30% in July to 17.7% in September 

The worldwide airline industry expects to cut losses by 78% in 2022 

• According to a forecast by IATA, Airlines all over the world will continue to lose money in 2022, but this amount will drop by almost 78% to $12 billion
• From 2021 through 2022, airlines will have lost more than $200 billion as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic

Tesla exceeds expectations with 241,300 deliveries in its third-quarter

• According to a statement by the company on October 2, Tesla has delivered 241,300 vehicles during its third-quarter in 2021
• Before this was announced, analysts predicted that the company would only deliver about 220,900 electric vehicles 

The post Business News – 10-04-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• Sales of Electric Vehicles are expected to increase from an estimated 350,000 cars in 2021 to more than 1 million by 2025, says LMC Automotive
• Ford and its battery manufacturing partner SK Innovations will ensure a consistent supply of essential metals like lithium, nickel, and copper for EVs

Google signs new deal for $2.1 billion office building in Manhattan market

• Despite the growth of remote work and the decline in the New York office market, Google’s $2.1 billion deal to buy a Manhattan office building adds rapid growth to Silicon Alley
• The building was the St. John’s Terminal on the West Side of Manhattan where the company had been leasing 1.3 million square feet but decided to buy the space

The post Business News – 09-22-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• In a sales report from Ford, its vehicle sales in October were down by 4% from the year prior at only 175,918 vehicles
• According to Cox Automotive, new US vehicle sales are down by approximately 21% in October in comparison to a year prior
• Ford said vehicle inventories, which have been at record lows due to the chip shortage, increased by 7,000 units from a month earlier to 243,000 cars and trucks

Ford sales in US market continue to recover from October losses

• In a sales report from Ford, its vehicle sales in October were down by 4% from the year prior at only 175,918 vehicles
• According to Cox Automotive, new US vehicle sales are down by approximately 21% in October in comparison to a year prior
• Ford said vehicle inventories, which have been at record lows due to the chip shortage, increased by 7,000 units from a month earlier to 243,000 cars and trucks

BMW’s electric car sales to increase by double by end of 2021

• The sales of BMW’s fully electric cars have grown by 121.4% in the first 3 quarters of 2021, with 59,688 units
• Between January and September 2021, the company sold 213,575 all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles which is a 98.9% increase 

Ford unveils custom 1970s F-100 pickup truck with redesigned interior and electric motors

• Based on the Mustang Mach-E, Ford has unveiled its F-100 Eliminator concept truck that features retro styling of a 1978 F-100 but with electric motors and batteries
• Ford built this vehicle to showcase its new “e-crate motor” that is on sale at its dealerships and online
• The e-crate motors produce 281 horsepower and 317 foot-pounds of torque and will sell for $3,900

Job listings across the US show vaccine mandates

• In October 2021, the number of job listings requiring candidates to have a COVID-19 vaccine has doubled 
• According to the Biden Administration has said that it will be soon issuing a rule that requires larger-sector employers to mandate vaccines for workers

Hertz Global Holdings announces 37 million share offering by stockholders

• On November 3, Hertz Global Holdings announced that certain shareholders of the firm will launch a public offering of 37.1 million common shares 
• The launch of the shares will be at a discount price of $25 compares to $29 a share and hertz said it intends to purchase between $250 million and $500 million of the shares

The post Business News – 11-03-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• Tesla filed an application with the Texas Public Utility Commission to sell electricity in the state as the company’s big battery build-out in Angleton, Texas comes online
• The company aims to connect a 100 megawatt energy storage system to the grid and has already built several utility-scale energy storage systems across the globe

Disappointing earnings cause Peloton stock to fall 

• On August 26, Peloton reported that revenue growth in their 4th fiscal quarter dropped off dramatically
• The company posted a bigger-than-expected loss as costs from its treadmill recall mounted and also offered up a disappointing revenue outlook for its 2022 first quarter

Ford F-150 pickup truck production cut due to chip shortage

• Due to the ongoing semiconductor shortage, Ford is cutting production of another one of their vehicles, their F-150 pickup truck along with 2 others starting August 30
• The two other vehicles experiencing the cut in production are the Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus crossovers
• Ford has been impacted particularly hard by the lack of chips, losing about 50% of its planned production in the second quarter.

The post Business News – 08-27-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• Ford is delaying customer deliveries of certain Bronco SUVs and Mustang Mach-E crossovers due to manufacturing issues
• The delays are due to a roof problem on the Bronco SUV and a shortage of semiconductor chips for the Mustang Mach-E crossover

Bill gates claims he will give $1.5 billion towards climate change projects if Infrastructure bill passes

• On August 12, Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates pledged to give $1.5 billion for projects to combat climate change only if the infrastructure plan is passed by Congress
• Currently, the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill has not yet passed through the House 
• $24 billion of the infrastructure bill is set aside for climate-focused demonstration projects 

Ninety percent of US counties now align with CDC COVID-19 indoor guidelines

• According to the CDC Director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky on August 12, she said that more than 90% of US counties now experience high or substantial rates of Covid transmission
• The average number of daily Covid vaccinations tripled in Arkansas and quadrupled in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi over the past month

Authentic Brand Group and Adidas reach deal to transfer Reebok brand

• Adidas’ struggling athleticwear and sneaker company “Reebok” is now being sold to Authentic Brands Group
• Authentic Brands Group already owns many bankrupt brands such as Aeropostale, Forever 21, and Brooks Brothers
• The acquisition of Reebok s expected to close in the first quarter of 2022 as Adidas announces in a news release 

The post Business News – 08-12-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.

• Legacy automakers like Ford and General Motors have been forced to cut production of vehicles due to the semiconductor chip shortage this year
• Ernie Garcia, the CEO of Carvana has said that the high used car prices will not start to fall until automakers can get production back to normal levels
• In the second quarterof 2021, that average transaction price for a used car was $25,410 which is a 21% year-over-year increase

Employees at Frontier Airlines will now be required to get vaccinated or take regular tests

• Along with United Airlines’ announcement vaccination mandates for their U.S. staff, Frontier Airlines have said their workers will have until October 1 to show proof of vaccination or regularly test negative
• Due to the rapid increase of delta variant Covid cases, Frontier Airlines has decided to issue this new mandate

The post Business News – 08-07-2021 appeared first on Easy Ad - Local Small Business Resources.