Alexa reviewers can access customers’ home addresses

Bloomberg An Amazon.com Inc team auditing Alexa users’ commands has access to location data and can, in some cases, easily find a customer’s home address, according to five employees familiar with the programme. The team, spread across three continents, transcribes, annotates and analyses a portion of the voice recordings picked up by Alexa. Team members with access to Alexa users’ ...

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Waymo picks Detroit plant for self-driving cars

Bloomberg The birthplace of America’s auto industry and driving culture will soon have one of the world’s first plants making driverless cars. Alphabet Inc’s Waymo LLC has picked an idled American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc facility in Detroit as the site where it will equip vehicles made by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc with ...

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Client backlash key in collapse of Deutsche Bank’s merger deal

Bloomberg Fierce resistance from corporate clients dealt a key blow to Deutsche Bank AG’s deal talks with Commerzbank AG, according to people familiar with the matter. Many Deutsche Bank customers threatened to cut ties with Germany’s largest bank should the deal go through, said the people, asking not to be named because the details haven’t been publicly disclosed. That ultimately ...

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BOE expected to keep interest rate unchanged

Bloomberg The Bank of England (BOE) is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged when it meets next week, although some analysts see the risk of a hawkish surprise. While all 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict policy makers will maintain rates at 0.75 percent, six see one official voting for an immediate hike. Such a move would be a ...

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HSBC begins cost review as CEO John Flint rebukes top bankers

Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc has started a cost review that could lead to job cuts, as Chief Executive Officer John Flint rebuked top managers at a meeting in Hong Kong last month for missing revenue and cost targets, according to people familiar with the matter. About 400 executives attended the global conference where Flint called out leadership for “incompetence” and ...

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Colombia holds key interest rate at 4.25%

Bloomberg Colombia left its benchmark interest rate unchanged as policy makers remain wary of derailing the weak, jobless recovery by raising borrowing costs too soon. The seven-member board voted unanimously to leave the policy rate unchanged at 4.25 percent for a twelfth straight month, bank Governor Juan Jose Echavarria said after the meeting. The decision was forecast by all 24 ...

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Crypto market hit by allegations against Tether, Bitfinex

Bloomberg One of the world’s most widely traded virtual currencies faces renewed doubts about its stability, after New York’s top cop accused the coin’s issuer of participating in a cover-up to hide the loss of about $850 million in client and corporate funds. The allegations against Tether and the operator of cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, announced by the New York attorney ...

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Norwegian uses 737 crisis to wring fleet deal from Boeing

Bloomberg Cash-strapped Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA secured a deal to delay deliveries of Boeing Co 737 Max jets, aided by the bargaining power granted by the model’s global grounding after two fatal crashes. Boeing agreed to postpone the handover of 14 Max 8s due in 2020 and 2021, which together with an outline accord to restructure Airbus SE deliveries will ...

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SAS cancels 587 additional flights amid pilot strike

Bloomberg SAS AB cancelled an additional 587 flights across Scandinavia scheduled for Sunday because of a strike by pilots, disrupting travel for an estimated 64,000 passengers, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The pilots are striking over pay, having started the action after rejecting measures proposed by a mediator in talks that have been going on since March. ...

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Walmart explores options for UK grocer including IPO

Bloomberg Walmart Inc is exploring options for its Asda unit including an initial public offering after plans to combine the business with J Sainsbury Plc to create the UK’s largest supermarket chain collapsed, according to people familiar with the matter. In addition to a potential listing, the US retailer may also revisit a sale, though interest from private-equity firms has ...

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