A homeless crisis of unprecedented proportions is rocking the West Coast, and its victims are being left behind by the very things that mark the region’s success: soaring housing costs, rock-bottom vacancy rates and a roaring economy. Elected officials are scrambling for solutions. Homelessness is not new on the West Coast. But interviews with local officials and those who serve the homeless – coupled with an Associated Press review of preliminary homeless data – confirm it’s getting worse.(Associated Press)
Apple has accumulated more than $128 billion in profits offshore, and probably much more, that is untaxed by the United States and hardly touched by any other country. Nearly all of that was generated over the past decade. The previously undisclosed story of Apple’s search for a new island tax haven and its use of Jersey is among the revelations emerging from a cache of secret corporate records, called the “Paradise Papers,” from Appleby, a Bermuda-based law firm.(Seattle Times)
Uber is pledging $5 million during the next five years to fund sexual assault prevention groups as well as train its own employees. The move was announced Monday and is aimed at helping the ride-hailing service combat its own problems and society as a whole. Uber’s image has been tarnished by findings of sexual harassment of employees and multiple reports of drivers assaulting passengers.(CBS San Francisco)
Wells Fargo officially got into the digital advice market on Monday with the launch of Intuitive Investor, the bank’s new hybrid robo-adviser. The offering combines digital access to a portfolio of ETFs designed by the Wells Fargo Investment Institute with access to human advice from a team of advisers from the firm’s wealth management division, Wells Fargo Advisors. The robo integrates with Wells Fargo’s online and mobile banking services to allow for single sign-on capabilities and money transfers.(Investment News)
I.am+, the tech startup founded by pop star and entrepreneur will.i.am, has raised $117 million in venture funding, the company told Reuters on Mondayas it announced its entry into the corporate computing market with a voice assistant for customer service. The company, founded in 2012, initially focused on consumer electronics devices such as headphones.(Reuters)
Swag can be important. That’s where Swag.com comes in. The company aims to be a way for companies to get quality swag to help people rep their brands. “People think of swag as junk, but it shouldn’t be,” Swag co-founder Jeremy Parker told TechCrunch. “It could be an amazing marketing tool if it’s built right.” Swag.com offers products like water bottles, umbrellas, shirts, jackets, USB drives, bags and other items from brands like Patagonia and Case Logic.(TechCrunch)
Since the U.S. healthcare system still mainly operates under a fee-for-service model, adapting so-called frugal innovations from the rest of the world will be difficult, according to a new study. Frugal innovations have been defined as “ ’good enough,’ affordable products that meet the needs of resource-constrained consumers.” They can improve quality at the same cost as other solutions or can provide the same quality at lower costs, or both.(Modern Healthcare)
Malware attacks in healthcare can put patient safety at risk, shutting off access to records, taking down medical devices and interrupting supply chains, according to a new report from the ECRI Institute that puts ransomware and cybersecurity threats at the top of its technology hazards list for 2018. To prevent cyberattacks, healthcare organizations must be proactive and engage their employees in safeguarding efforts, according to the ECRI Institute, a patient-safety not-for-profit.(Modern Healthcare)
New York City is quickly becoming the capital of fast-food nation. More chains are moving in to replace diners and other independent restaurants forced out by relentlessly rising rents. In 2008 the Center for an Urban Future began tracking the growth of local chain retailers and restaurants, and counted about 5,400 city locations. By last year the figure had grown by more than a third, to 7,300.(Crain’s New York Business)
