Tesla working with suppliers to improve Autopilot
Tesla Motors Inc. is working with suppliers Bosch GmbH and Mobileye NV to refine its Autopilot technology, which has come under fire in recent weeks following a fatal accident that occurred while it was in use.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a Sunday Twitter post that he had a “promising call” with Bosch, which supplies radar for the semiautonomous Autopilot feature. He said “significant improvements” to the system could be possible via an over-the-air software update.
He also thanked Israeli company Mobileye, which supplies technology used in the Autopilot system, and Bosch for their “help and support in making Autopilot better” and said criticism of the system should be directed at Tesla, not the suppliers.
The Palo Alto, Calif., automaker has come under scrutiny after it was revealed that Joshua Brown was killed May 7 after his Model S, in Autopilot mode, crashed into a tractor trailer on a Florida highway.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in a letter made public last week, said it is investigating the incident, asking the automaker for details on the design and testing of the Autopilot system. The incident also has drawn an investigation from the National Transportation Safety Board, and a U.S. Senate committee has asked Tesla to brief it on the accident.
Since releasing the Autopilot feature last year, Tesla has said it should be utilized solely as a driver aid in certain conditions, saying the driver should remain in control of the car and stay alert at all times.
“Tesla Autopilot functions like the systems that airplane pilots use when conditions are clear,” the company said Thursday. “The driver is still responsible for, and ultimately in control of, the car.”
Some consumer advocates say Tesla has not gone far enough in educating users about the feature. Consumer Reports magazine last week called on Tesla to disable the feature until updating it to require that drivers keep their hands on the steering wheel, while also calling the Autopilot name “potentially dangerous” and misleading.
Musk told The Wall Street Journal last week that the company has no plans to disable Autopilot, though it is looking to educate drivers on its proper use and is working to update the system.
“A lot of people don’t understand what it is and how you can turn it on,” Musk said, according to The Journal.
Musk said Sunday on Twitter that a “recent poll” of Tesla customers showed zero percent of them want Autopilot disabled.
“Tesla customers are v smart & don’t want media speaking on their behalf abt Autopilot,” he wrote.
Source-AN
Turkish shares close down 7% after coup attempt
Shares in Istanbul closed down by 7.1% following Friday's attempted coup in Turkey.
But the Turkish Lira, which initially fell by nearly 5%, recovered some of its lost ground and rose by 1.4% on Monday.
Over the weekend the government moved to calm fears and said it had consulted the central bank and the treasury and decided on "all necessary measures".
The central bank said it would provide unlimited liquidity to banks.
At about 1600 BST the lira was trading at 2.97.31 against the dollar, having ended the week at 3.01.57 per dollar, close to the record low set last September.
After a fairly quiet start to trading on Monday, shares on the Istanbul National-100 stock exchange slid by nearly 9% at one point, before clawing back some ground.
Salman Ahmed, chief global strategist at Swiss investment manager Lombard Odier, said the "swift resolution of the problem" had largely helped to cushion the shock to financial markets.
However, there are fears events could further damage Turkey's tourism industry, which is crucial to the economy.
Shares in tourism-related companies were worst hit on the Istanbul National-100 stock exchange. Airport operator TAV saw its shares fall by 17.34% and Turkish Airlines was down by 12.58%.
In May, visitor numbers were 35% lower than the same time last year, following some high profile security incidents.
"Given the sharp rise in political instability and Turkey's extremely vulnerable external profile, which is likely to worsen as tourism gets hit further, we think Turkish assets are likely to remain under pressure," said Mr Ahmed.
He pointed out that Turkey was already considered as vulnerable among emerging economies. The World Bank has forecast that Turkey's economy will grow by 3.5% this year, compared with 4.5% last year, which is low compared with other emerging nations.
The wide current account deficit is a particular problem. In 2015 it stood at more than $32bn (£24bn), or about 4.5% of GDP, and this is set to deteriorate because of the predicted decline in tourism and the blow to investor confidence.
Source-BBC
Microsoft to miss 'one billion' Windows 10 target
Microsoft has said it will miss its target of getting its Windows 10 operating system running on more than one billion devices by 2018.
In a statement, it said problems with its smartphone business would delay it hitting the milestone.
The software giant has struggled to find customers for Windows phones in a market dominated by Android and Apple.
Microsoft says Windows 10 is in active use on about 350 million separate devices at present.
Released in July 2015, Windows 10 has been built to act as a unifying platform across desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, small embedded systems and the Xbox One games console.
Shortly before the main release of the operating system, Microsoft set itself the target of getting the software on to one billion devices.
However, its plans took a knock soon after when it sacked 7,800 people in its smartphone business and wrote off the entire value of the Nokia phone business it bought in 2014 for $7.2bn (£5.4bn).
Earlier this month, it scrapped its Finland phone unit and laid off more staff.
At the time it made the prediction about Windows 10 use, Microsoft was hoping to sell about 50 million Windows phones a year.
However, global smartphone sales figures from Kantar Worldpanel suggest Windows phones now account for only 1.6% of sales in North America and 0.4% in China - the two biggest markets for smartphones.
Microsoft said the "focusing" of its smartphone business would mean it would now take longer than three years to hit the one billion figure.
It said it expected adoption numbers to get a boost from businesses starting to use it and because it will be used on new devices Microsoft and its partners are planning.
However, as Peter Bright at Ars Technica pointed out, demand for Windows 10 looks set to slow in the near future thanks to dwindling sales of PCs and because the Microsoft programme that lets people upgrade to the OS for free will stop at the end of this month.
Many people have also been reluctant to install the software on their home computers because of the "aggressive" tactics Microsoft has used to prompt them to update.
Source-BBC
"Game of Thrones" Leads 68th Annual Emmy Nods, "People v. O.J. Simpson" Close
On Game of Thrones, winter has arrived, and so have the Emmy nominations. The HBO fantasy drama lead this morning's 68th Annual Emmy Nominations, with 23 nods, though the FX series The People v. O.J. Simpson is right behind it, with 22.
Other top-nominated series include Fargo with 18, Veep with 17, Saturday Night Live with 16, House of Cards with 13, The Night Manager with 12, Silicon Valley with 11, and Downton Abbey with 10.
HBO is the network with the most nods -- a total of 94 -- followed by FX with 56, Netflix with 54, NBC with 41, and ABC and CBS with 35 each.
Jimmy Kimmel returns to host the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, broadcast live on ABC Sunday, September 18.
Here are the nominees in key categories. For the full list, go to Emmys.org.
Drama Series
Game of Thrones
The Americans
Better Call Saul
Downton Abbey
Homeland
House of Cards
Mr. Robot
Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Kyle Chandler, Bloodline
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder
Robin Wright, House of Cards
Claire Danes, Homeland
Taraji P. Henson, Empire
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Keri Russell, The Americans
Comedy Series
black-ish
Master of None
Modern Family
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep
Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth
William H. Macy, Shameless
Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley
Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
TraceeEllis Ross, black-ish
Laurie Metcalf, Getting On
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie
Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Shumer
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Limited Series
American Crime
Fargo
Roots
The Night Manager
The Peopple v. O.J. Simpso
Movie
A Very Murray Christmas
All the Way
Confirmation
Luther
Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Bryan Cranston, All the Way
Idris Elba, Luther
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
Cuba Gooding Jr., The People v. O.J. Simpson
Courtney B. Vance, The People v. O.J. Simpson
Tom Hiddleston, The Night Manager
Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Sarah Paulson, The People v. O.J. Simpson
Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grille
Kerry Washington, Confirmation
Kirsten Dunst, Fargo
Lili Taylor, American Crime
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Reality-Competition Program
The Amazing Race
American Ninja Warrior
Dancing with the Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef
The Voice
Variety Talk Series
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
The Late Late Show with James Corden
Real Time with Bill Maher
The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon
Source-ABC
Death robots: Where next after Dallas?
The use of a robot to deliver an explosive device and kill the Dallas shooting suspect has intensified the debate over a future of "killer robots".
While robots and unmanned systems have been used by the military before, this is the first time the police within the US have used such a technique with lethal intent
"Other options would have exposed our officers to greater danger," the Dallas police chief said.
Robots are spreading fast. What might that mean?
Remote killing is not new in warfare. Technology has always been driven by military application, including allowing killing to be carried out at distance - prior examples might be the introduction of the longbow by the English at Crecy in 1346, then later the Nazi V1 and V2 rockets.
More recently, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones such as the Predator and the Reaper have been used by the US outside of traditional military battlefields.
Since 2009, the official US estimate is that about 2,500 "combatants" have been killed in 473 strikes, along with perhaps more than 100 non-combatants. Critics dispute those figures as being too low.
Supporters of drones argue that they are more effective than manned planes because they can usually loiter longer and ensure they strike the right target.
And, of course, there is the understandable desire to reduce risks to pilots, just as in Dallas the police officers could stay protected.
But critics argue that the lack of risk fundamentally changes the nature of operations since it lowers the threshold for lethal force to be used.
Secret Life of Pets holds off Tarzan at UK box office
The Secret Life of Pets has retained the top spot at the UK box office for the third week in a row.
The movie took £3.62m over the weekend - holding off competition from The Legend of Tarzan, which debuted at number two with takings of £3.57m.
Now You See Me 2, another a new entry, took £2.96m to enter at number three.
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie and Central Intelligence - both in their second week of release - rounded off the top five.
1. The Secret Life of Pets - £3.62m
2. The Legend of Tarzan - £3.57m
3. Now You See Me 2 - £2.96m
4. Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie - £2.31m
5. Central Intelligence - £1.34m
The Secret Life of Pets is an animated children's comedy that imagines what house pets get up to when their human owners are out.
The film, which features characters voiced by Kevin Hart and Eric Stonestreet, has now taken £22.26m in the UK since its release.
But it will face tough competition for next week's top slot from another children's film - Ice Age: Collision Course, which is released on Friday.
Source-BBC
Taylor Swift is the world's highest-paid celebrity, according to Forbes
Taylor Swift has topped Forbes' annual list of the 100 highest-paid celebrities.
With a $170m (£130m) fortune, the singer-songwriter is ahead of Adele, who's at number nine with $80.5m (£61.9m), Madonna is in 12th spot with $76.5m (£58.8m) and Rihanna at number 13 with $75m (£57.7m).
Taylor's 1989 World Tour earned more than $200m (£154m) last year.
The star's ex-boyfriend Calvin Harris is in 21st spot with $63m (£48.4m).
Other top 10 earners include boy band One Direction at number two with $110m (£84.6m), actor-comedian Kevin Hart at number six with $87.5m (£67.3m) and US radio DJ Howard Stern at number seven with $85m (£65.4m).
Kim Kardashian is featured on the magazine's cover.
She's number 42 on the list with $51m (£39.2m).
Forbes says 40% of her pay this year came from her mobile game Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.
The game's maker, Glu Mobile, is scheduled to release an app starring Taylor Swift next year.
Katy Perry is at number 63 with $41m (£31.5m).
"The world's 100 highest-paid celebrities pulled in $5.1bn (£3.9bn) pre-tax over the past 12 months, more than the GDP of Belize, Gambia and Bhutan combined," Forbes said.
Magazine editor Zack O'Malley Greenberg said live entertainment continues to be a major cash draw.
"From soccer games in Spain to concerts in China, fans are willing to shell out to see big names - and this is driving the celebrity economy to ever greater heights," he said in a statement.
On the Hollywood front, Jennifer Lawrence was the industry's highest-paid actress for the second consecutive year, earning $46m (£35.1m), a slight drop from the $52m (£39.7m) The Hunger Games star banked the year before.
Actor Dwayne Johnson wrestled the highest-paid actor spot from Iron Man's Robert Downey Jr, earning $64.5m (£49.3m), largely thanks to the billion-dollar Fast and Furious franchise and the surprising success of 2015's San Andreas movie.
Many athletes also made the list, including Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo ($88m - £67.2m), tennis player Roger Federer ($68m - £51.9m), and British F1 driver Lewis Hamilton ($46m - £34.9m).
There are other Brits at 18 (Rolling Stones), 25 (Paul McCartney), 34 (Gordon Ramsay), 44 (Muse), 60 (Rory McIlroy), 61 (Elton John), 67 (Mumford & Sons), 77 (Gareth Bale) and 82 (Ed Sheeran).
Top 10 highest-paid celebrities
1. Taylor Swift - $170m (£130m)
2. One Direction - $110m (£84.6m)
3. James Patterson (Author) - $95m (£72.3m)
4. Dr Phil McGraw (US TV personality) and Cristiano Ronaldo - $88m (£67m)
6. Kevin Hart - $87.5m (£66.6m)
Source- BBC Beat
BOE Governor defends private Osborne Brexit meetings
The Bank of England governor has said it is "important" that he and Chancellor George Osborne are allowed to have private meetings.
However, Mark Carney has agreed minutes of their private talks on Brexit may be examined "discreetly" by MPs.
It was his first time giving evidence to MPs since the vote.
He denied again that the Bank of England had tried to "frighten" the public about the negative effect a Brexit vote could have on the economy.
Supporters of Leave - including two former Conservative Chancellors - accused him last month of "peddling phoney forecasts".
But Mr Carney said: "It is our responsibility to give these assessments... we have an obligation to make these assessments.
"The debate cannot be about whether we should have made an assessment. If we view something as the biggest risk, we have an obligation, a statutory obligation, to make that clear to parliament. We have an obligation to the people of the United Kingdom to come straight with them."
Treasury Select Committee's chairman Andrew Tyrie questioned him on his private meetings with Chancellor George Osborne.
"It is important that governors and chancellors can have private conversations about important economic and financial issues and we'd be derelict in our duties if we did not," Mr Carney told MPs, adding that he did not want to limit "free-flowing" discussions.
However, he reluctantly agreed that he would be prepared for any notes taken by private secretaries to be examined by a committee representative, on the condition that "we can create a process which relies on the discretion of you and the committee so we're not putting things into the public domain are immediately commercially sensitive".
The Bank governor said he would not want to create a situation where those conversations were "minuted, recorded, tweeted in real time, that is not in the interest of monetary and financial stability". Mr Tyrie said there were precedents for sensitive conversations being examined by members of the Committee.
Mr Carney was limited about what he could say about interest rates as he is in "purdah" ahead of Thursday's Monetary Policy Committee decision. Many commentators expect the Bank rate to be cut from 0.5% to 0.25% to try to stimulate the economy.
Source-BBC
JP Morgan to raise pay for 18,000 US staff
Banking giant JP Morgan Chase plans to raise the hourly wages of 18,000 US staff over the next three years.
The bank's chief executive Jamie Dimon said he wanted to address income inequality and called on others in the private sector to do more.
"A pay increase is the right thing to do. Wages for many Americans have gone nowhere for too long," Mr Dimon wrote in The New York Times.
The increases will affect bank tellers and customer service representatives.
Salaries will increase from $10.15 (£7.71) per hour to between $12 and $16 an hour depending on geographic area.
Mr Dimon said the move "enables more people to begin to share in the rewards of economic growth."
He also said raising salaries was good for the bank because it would help attract and retain workers.
JP Morgan's shares were up 1.2% on Tuesday.
JP Morgan is not the first major US company to announces it would raise pay for hourly workers. On Monday, Starbucks announced it was raising wages for 150,000 hourly workers, and in April, McDonald's announced a pay increase for workers at its non-franchised stores.
Wage stagnation has been a problem in the post-recession recovery, despite the improving jobs market.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has said it is a sign of that the labour market is not at its peak and that the central bank is watching wage growth closely.
The gap between the highest earners and lowest earners has also been a central theme in the US election.
Source-BBC
Odeon & UCI cinemas sold to China-owned firm
Odeon & UCI Cinema Group has been bought by AMC Entertainment, a US chain owned by Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda, in a deal worth £921m ($1.21bn).
Odeon & UCI is currently owned by private equity firm Terra Firma, and has 242 theatres with 2,236 screens.
Dalian Wanda, the world's biggest movie theatre operator, is led by China's richest man Wang Jianlin.
Odeon & UCI will continue to be based in London and will operate as a subsidiary of AMC.
Adam Aron, AMC's chief executive and president said in a statement: "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to acquire Europe's leading cinema chain and create the world's biggest and best theatre operator."
He said there were uncertainties created by Brexit, but added "we are encouraged that current currency rates are highly favourable to AMC with the pound falling to a three decade low versus the dollar".
The addition of Odeon & UCI will mean AMC has 627 theatres and more than 7,600 screens in eight countries.
The sale is still subject to competition clearance from the European Commission.
Source-BBC