Chron - Businesses

Twitter users plan platform's funeral after unveiling of paid subscription feature

Sat, 27 Feb 2021 00:45:59 GMT

RIP to the days of free content across social media.

Houston man hit with $2,700 power bill after snowstorm

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 23:17:25 GMT

A Houston resident says he’s been charged $2,738.66 for 20 days this month.

Walmart sales still surging, but a chill may be on the way

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 22:12:08 GMT

Walmart swung to a loss partly due to costs related to the pandemic, and the sale of its Japan and U.K. divisions.

U.S. energy crisis leaves millions without power in big freeze

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 21:39:26 GMT

The energy crisis crippling power grids across the U.S. showed no sign of abating on Tuesday morning.

‘This Is Extremely Dangerous’: Texans in Peril at Home, on Road

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 04:53:03 GMT

The dangerously cold temperatures gripping auto-reliant Texas present a terrible dilemma for millions of residents: Stay put in heat-less homes, or ignore all official advice and venture forth on to the state’s treacherous highways.

Texas is primed to be the next Silicon Valley

Sat, 13 Feb 2021 20:25:53 GMT

Are Oracle, Tesla, and SpaceX on to something? A Bloomberg writer thinks so.

Buc-ee's first Florida store to make debut

Thu, 11 Feb 2021 21:46:51 GMT

A 52,600-square-foot travel center will open in St. Augustine.

Gina Carano fired from 'Mandalorian' after social media post

Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:15:47 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lucasfilm says Gina Carano is no longer a part of “The Mandalorian” cast after many online called for her firing over a social media post that likened the experience of Jews during the Holocaust to the U.S. political climate.

DoorDash buys robot food prep company Chowbotics

Mon, 08 Feb 2021 21:06:37 GMT

DoorDash is buying automated food prep company Chowbotics to expand its fresh meal offerings.

San Francisco-based DoorDash announced the acquisition Monday. Terms of the deal, which closed late last year, weren't disclosed.

Hayward, California-based Chowbotics, which was founded seven years ago, makes a refrigerator-sized robot called Sally that can store up to 22 prepared ingredients. Sally uses those ingredients to make up to 65 salads, bowls and other meals at a time.

Prior to this year, Chowbotics had sold around 125 of its $35,000 robots, mostly to universities, medical centers and grocery stores. But the company said sales jumped during the pandemic as customers looked for touch-free ways to dispense food.

DoorDash said Chowbotics' robots could allow its restaurant partners to offer more varieties of meals without having to expand their kitchen space. Other DoorDash merchants, like convenience stores, could also use it to expand into fresh food.

Chowbotics CEO Rick Wilmer said DoorDash’s reach will help his company grow. DoorDash offers delivery from 390,000 merchants in the U.S., Canada and Australia and is the food delivery market leader in the U.S.

DoorDash said Chowbotics’ staff are now DoorDash employees. But otherwise, Chowbotics will continue to operate independently and has no plans to change its name.

Here's how to finally unlock your iPhone while wearing a mask

Sat, 06 Feb 2021 15:11:55 GMT

If you have an iPhone and have left the house in the last year, you’ve probably noticed that Apple’s signature face recognition tool and mask-wearing do not mix.

Instead of unlocking the iPhone with the handy Face ID tool, users have had to (gasp!) enter their passcode manually while out in public during the pandemic.

This week the tech giant announced that it’s testing a way to resolve the issue. But, of course, you’ll be required to own or buy a second one of their products for this feature to work.

If this isn’t a sign of the times, I don’t know what is.

According to Gizmodo, iPhone users can begin to use the beta version of the roll out now as long as they also have and are wearing an unlocked Apple Watch on their wrist.

To get started make sure both devices are backed up and have the latest updates. Then visit beta.apple.com in Safari on your phone to download the iOS 14.5 public beta. For in depth instructions on how to do that, Gizmodo has you covered.

You’ll then be prompted to install a watchOS (also from your phone). Once that’s downloaded, head to the Watch App and install the software update under General.

Then head to Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Unlock with Apple Watch and turn the feature on. According to Gizmodo, the watch will now vibrate to unlock when users hold their phone ups to their face to unlock.

Or if all of this is too much, just enter the dang passcode manually like we used to do for years. Get your vaccine when you can. And pray that this is all over soon.

Texas beef company offering Brady's semen for free if Bucs win Super Bowl

Fri, 05 Feb 2021 23:10:06 GMT

If Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win, customers who bought Akaushi semen from HeartBrand Beef will get their pricey purchase for free.

How the internet's latest obsession went from amusing to a hot mess

Fri, 05 Feb 2021 15:14:14 GMT

On its best day, the app could be used to make genuine connections, learn about stocks or have conversations about some of your favorite TV shows. But on its worst day ...

Uber will bring the booze after acquiring Drizly for $1.1B

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 22:48:08 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Uber is bringing the booze.

The mobile ride-hailing company said Tuesday that it is acquiring the alcohol-delivery platform Drizly for $1.1 billion in stock and cash. Uber expects more than 90% of the consideration to be paid to Drizly stockholders in shares of Uber common stock and the remainder paid in cash.

Boston-based Drizly formed about eight years ago and delivers alcohol in 26 U.S. states where it is legal. Drizly says it partners with retailers in 1,400 cities to deliver beer, wine and spirits to customers through its mobile app.

Upon closing of the deal, expected in the first half of this year, Drizly will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Uber. The companies said that Drizly’s marketplace will be integrated with the Uber Eats app, while keeping a separate Drizly app.

Shares in San Francisco-based Uber jumped more than 8% in morning trading, to $57.14.

FTC says Amazon took $62 million in tips from drivers

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 22:48:08 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is paying nearly $62 million to settle charges that it took tips from its delivery drivers.

The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that Amazon didn't pass on tips to drivers for more than two years, even though it promised shoppers and drivers it would do so. The FTC said Amazon didn't stop taking the tips until 2019, when the company found out about the FTC's investigation.

“This theft did not go unnoticed by Amazon’s drivers, many of whom expressed anger and confusion to the company,” said FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra in a statement. “But, rather than coming clean, Amazon took elaborate steps to mislead its drivers and conceal its theft, sending them canned responses that repeated the company’s lies.”

The drivers were part of Amazon's Flex business, which was founded in 2015 and allows people to deliver Amazon packages with their own cars. The drivers are independent workers, and are not Amazon employees.

The FTC said Amazon at first promised workers that they would be paid $18 to $25 per hour. It also told them they would receive 100% of tips given to them by customers on the app.

But in 2016, Amazon started paying drivers a lower hourly rate and used the tips to make up the difference, the complaint said. Amazon didn't disclose the change to drivers, according to the FTC, and the tips it took from drivers amounted to $61.7 million.

Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. said in a statement that the way it reported pay to workers was clear. But the company said it “added additional clarity in 2019" and is “pleased to put this matter behind us.”

The FTC said the money Amazon is paying for the settlement will go back to delivery drivers whose tips were taken.

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Follow Joseph Pisani on Twitter: @ josephpisani

Fertitta takes Landry’s public again at $6.6 billion value

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 22:09:38 GMT

(Bloomberg) -- Tilman Fertitta is taking his restaurant and casino empire public again through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company that values his Fertitta Entertainment Inc. at $6.6 billion, including debt.

Fertitta is combining his closely held Houston-based business with Fast Acquisition Corp., a shell company taken public last year by fellow restaurateurs Sandy Beall and Doug Jacob, Fertitta Entertainment said in a statement Monday. Bloomberg News reported earlier that the deal was in the works.

Fast Acquisition rose as much as 6.8% in New York trading Monday and was up 1.8% to $10.77 at 10:51 a.m.

Institutional investors have agreed to invest an additional $1.2 billion for a roughly 35% stake in the business. Those investors include Fidelity Investments, BlackRock Inc. and Neuberger Berman, according to people familiar with the deal, who asked not to be named because the investors haven’t been made public.

Fertitta, who’ll be chairman and chief executive officer, will own about 60% of the shares, a stake valued at roughly $2 billion. He’ll also control the majority of the vote through a special class of stock.

Fertitta, 63, said he was taking the company public now to take advantage of opportunities for acquisitions in the wake of the global pandemic, particularly in the casino industry. Sports betting has exploded in the U.S. since the Supreme Court allowed states outside of Nevada to offer such wagers in 2018.

“I want to do big gaming deals,” Fertitta said in an interview Sunday. “Thirty years ago there was gambling in two states. Now we’re approving new states for online almost on a weekly basis.”

Pandemic Pain

The company reported about $3.4 billion in sales in 2019, but like most consumer-driven businesses, Fertitta’s...

Walmart to build more robot-filled warehouses at stores

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 17:32:38 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart is enlisting the help of robots to keep up with a surge in online orders.

The company said Wednesday that it plans to build warehouses at its stores where self-driving robots will fetch groceries and have them ready for shoppers to pick up in an hour or less.

Walmart declined to say how many of the warehouses it will build, but construction has started at stores in Lewisville, Texas; Plano, Texas; American Fork, Utah; and Bentonville, Arkansas, where Walmart’s corporate offices are based. A test site was opened more than a year ago at a store in Salem, New Hampshire.

Walmart hopes the warehouses will speed up curbside pickups, where orders are brought outside to shoppers' cars. The option, along with deliveries, became increasingly popular as virus-weary shoppers avoid going inside stores. At the start of the pandemic last year, Walmart said delivery and pickup sales grew 300%.

The company said the robots won’t roam store aisles. Instead, they'll stay inside warehouses built in separate areas, either within a store or next to it. Windows will be placed at some locations so shoppers can watch the robots work.

The wheeled robots carry crates of apple juice, cereal and other small goods to Walmart workers, who then bag them for shoppers. Rival Amazon uses similar technology in its warehouses, with robots bringing books, vitamins and other small items to workers to box and ship.

Walmart said the robots save time since employees don’t have to walk store aisles to find items. Workers will, however, have to go into the store to pick out fresh groceries, such as meat, fish and vegetables. They’ll also have to grab TVs, vacuum cleaners and other large items that are too large for the robots to carry.

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Follow Joseph Pisani on Twitter: @ josephpisani

5 things Google got wrong about me

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 01:45:52 GMT

Artificial "intelligence," am I right?

Beyoncé shares a preview of her new Ivy Park release

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 01:51:32 GMT

Ivy Park gets icy for its next release.

Houston's Super Yaki knows nothing is too niche in the internet age

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 02:12:03 GMT

With Super Yaki, fans can celebrate movies that are fun and goofy and great, and not just movies that are great-with-a-capital-G.

Prince Harry says what we've all been thinking about social media

Sat, 23 Jan 2021 20:16:40 GMT

The Duke of Sussex is speaking out.