How Technology Has Failed to Improve Your Airline Experience

There are many reasons for the sorry state of commercial aviation in America. When it comes to your routinely terrible flight — not to mention the sort of exceptional horror that took place aboard United Airlines Flight 3411 last weekend — regulatory failures as well as consolidation, which the authorities have allowed to occur unabated for decades, can be blamed.

People in Silicon Valley pride themselves on their capacity to upend entrenched industries. Uber defeated taxi cartels. Airbnb made getting a room cheaper and more accessible. Streaming services are undoing the cable business. Yet the airline industry has not just stubbornly resisted innovation to improve customer service — in many ways, technology has only fueled the industry’s race to the bottom.

Everything about United Flight 3411 — overselling, underpaying for seats when they are oversold, a cultish refusal to offer immediate contrition, an overall attitude that brutish capitalism is the best that nonelite customers can expect from this fallen world — is baked into the airline industry’s business model. And that business model has been accelerated by tech. read more »

How Uber conquers a city in seven steps

A new website, ‘Why everyone hates Uber’, argues that the company uses controversial tactics to bulldoze its way to domination – one city at a time

he tides are turning for the poster child of the gig economy. Uber’s “disruptive” approach has up until now attracted investors like flies, leading to its valuation snowballing to $69bn. However, a string of allegations about sexual harassment, intellectual property theft and driver manipulation have called into question the aggressiveness of its expansion practices. read more »

Curious Case of Billion-Dollar Lithium Mine Sold for a Song

Remote brine deposit in Argentine mountains lures investors

Mine revalued at least five times amid soaring lithium demand

High in the Andes, in northwest Argentina, stories are told of fortunes being made in lithium, the wonder metal inside iPhones to Teslas that has captivated global investors from Warren Buffett down.

This is not one of those stories.

It begins in the lithium-rich salt pans of Argentina’s Salta Province and stretches all the way to South Korea and Hong Kong, leaving a trail of lawsuits and unhappy investors. The drama reinforces a timeless lesson about sinking money into natural resources: Chasing the latest rush, whether in lithium, uranium or oil, is a high-risk game. read more »

Remembering the Flash Crash of 2015

The last major flash crash happened nearly two years ago on August 24, 2015. That day, U.S. stock markets were set to open down a lot lower with many single stocks falling significantly, and exchanges reacted by curbing the up and down movement in stocks and exchange-traded funds. read more »

This company created the world's biggest bribery ring

It's the largest global corruption scandal in modern history.

Its web of bribes spread over four continents, implicated presidents and involved 12 countries. It also prompted the biggest fine ever levied by the U.S. Justice Department -- $3.5 billion.

At the center of this scandal is a company that few in the United States recognize: Odebrecht.

Based in Brazil, Odebrecht is Latin America's largest construction firm. It doled out nearly $800 million in bribes to individuals between 2001 and 2016. Some bribes filtered through the United States. read more »

AutoNation CEO: Tesla is a 'Ponzi scheme' or it'll 'work out'

The outspoken CEO of the largest automotive dealership chain in the U.S. publicly questioned the market value of Tesla on Tuesday, escalating the rivalry between traditional dealers and the electric-vehicle maker.

Tesla is "either one of the great Ponzi schemes of all time or it’s gonna work out," AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson said at a forum presented ahead of the ahead of the New York Auto Show by the National Automobile Dealers Association and consultants the J.D. Power. read more »

Wisconsin Department of Health Services Agrees to Pay Nearly $7 Million to Resolve Alleged False Claims For Snap Funds

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (WDHS) has agreed to pay the United States $6,991,905 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act in its administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Department of Justice announced today. Until 2008, SNAP was known as the Food Stamp Program.

Under SNAP, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides eligible low-income individuals and families with financial assistance to buy nutritious food. Since 2010, SNAP has served on average more than 45 million Americans per month, and provided more than $71 billion annually.

"This settlement reflects the Justice Department’s commitment to ensuring that taxpayer funds are spent appropriately so that the public can have confidence in the integrity of programs like SNAP,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. read more »