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Ford expects to lose $3 billion on its electric vehicle department this year, the company announced Thursday. The company will be reorganizing its financial reporting into three distinct branches, Ford Blue, Ford Model e and Ford Pro, which will develop gas-powered, electric and commercial vehicles respectively, according to a press release. In the three years starting 2021, Ford Model e is expected to report a $3 billion loss. (RELATED: ‘Sustainable’ Electric Cars Are Getting Junked Over Minor Damage) “We’ve essentially ‘refounded’ Ford, with business segments that provide new degrees of strategic clarity, insight and accountability to the Ford+ plan for growth and value,” CFO John Lawler said.  “It’s not only about changing how we report financial results; we’re transforming how we think, make decisions and run the company, and allocate capital for highest returns.” Ford’s new structure and way of reporting earnings gives new insight into its EV business (which CFO … [Read more...] about Major Automaker Expects It Will Hemorrhage Billions From Its Electric Vehicle Business

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin I am the CEO of MEBO International ; the leader of Skingenix; and co-founder of the Human Heritage Project. When inflation begins to rise, for-profit businesses have an easier time mitigating the adverse effects. For instance, an online apparel brand may raise prices or shipping rates to cover economic fluctuations. However, it can be more challenging for nonprofit leaders to figure out how to navigate a world of increasing costs while still achieving their mission. What specifically makes nonprofits particularly vulnerable to inflation? For one, many nonprofits focus on meeting with their supporters and donors in person. Even if those meetings occur locally, they can be logistically and financially demanding. And if the meeting is a large event, like a 5K race or gala, it can end up being more expensive as inflation grows. Another point of vulnerability is that though nonprofits can ask for bigger … [Read more...] about 3 Ways Your Nonprofit Can Mitigate Inflation Challenges

Key Takeaways U.S. equities indexes fell on March 22, 2023, as the Fed hiked interest rates even though markets remained concerned about issues in the banking sector. The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 all posted losses of approximately 1.6% during Wednesday's session. Bank stocks saw significant declines, with First Republic (FRC) turning in the worst performance among S&P 500 stocks on uneasiness about its risk of failure. U.S. equities sank after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates another 25 basis points (bps) in its effort to bring down inflation. The decision came despite expectations by some that policymakers might pause hikes because of concerns about the banking sector in the aftermath of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that the banking stress will likely cause tighter credit conditions that will impact the economy. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all dropped about 1.6%. Bank stocks tumbled, … [Read more...] about Markets Dip as Fed Raises Rates Despite Banking Concerns

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline A group of progressive Democrats led by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) are among the first lawmakers in Congress to express their support for TikTok, despite growing bipartisan efforts to ban the popular social media app, amid concerns that an outright ban could lead to a backlash from the app’s most prominent users—Gen Z. Key Facts Bowman was the first major lawmaker in Congress to speak out in support of TikTok earlier this week, criticizing efforts to ban the app as “fear mongering” and suggesting it was fueled by “xenophobia around China.” In a recent video posted to his nearly 160,000 followers on TikTok, Bowman argued that banning the platform won’t solve any problem and said “comprehensive legislation” was instead needed to ensure social media user data is kept safe. The New York Democrat, who is a member of the progressive coalition known as the “Squad,” has since been joined by two other … [Read more...] about TikTok’s Potential Ban Faces Opposition From Some Democrats Amid Concerns It Could Cost Them Gen Z’s Support

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Miami-Dade county taxpayers must be wishing Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria had stuck with his original game plan. MIAMI, FL - MARCH 06: A general view of the new Marlins Ballpark shot throught a fishtank behind ... [+] home plate during a game between the Miami Marlins and the University of Miami Hurricanes at Marlins Park on March 6, 2012 in Miami, Florida. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife) For years Loria ran a low-budget baseball franchises and made a fortune by successfully maneuvering through Major League Baseball's financial system. Loria's strategy: rely on welfare from richer baseball teams and every now and then spend enough to have a contender (the Marlins defeated the New York Yankees in the 2003 World Series ) so fans stay at least somewhat interested. During the five years through the 2011 season the Marlins posted a staggering $153 million in aggregate operating income. But … [Read more...] about Miami Marlins Have Become Baseball’s Most Expensive Stadium Disaster

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Fran Rosch is the CEO of ForgeRock , a global leader in digital identity. Passwords have become an obstacle that hinders nearly all organizations—whether you’re an employee or user accessing an application, everyone has experienced the frustration of not being able to log in. Whether they’re forgotten, weak or outdated, passwords create friction in the user journey, causing lost business revenue, exasperated customers and a decrease in workforce productivity. Forrester researchers found that the typical cost of a single password reset is $70, with the average large enterprise allocating over $1 million annually to password-related support costs. Organizations try to balance strong security with convenience but often fail to achieve either. Stronger security frustrates users and hinders their productivity. Passwords were meant to increase security, but as the attack surface has expanded with a hybrid workforce, … [Read more...] about Embracing The End Of The Password Here And Now

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin CTO & Head of AI - Responsible for driving ethical, explainable & pragmatic AI for global customers @ Provenio AI . The Spice The power of reinforcement learning is phenomenal. It has special importance in the AI ecosystem and is unapologetically ubiquitous in nature. Reinforcement learning, simply put, is the main "spice" in tools like ChatGPT. Undoubtedly, ChatGPT has been intelligently crafted with a series of reinforcement-learning algorithms, plus more ingredients, and is no doubt taking the world by storm. People are relating to the technology by focusing on the use cases and gamifying it—the free use and access also help capture the public's imagination. But I did not like the rap song it wrote me. I'll carry that opinion to the grave. "Show The thumb And Get Your Hand Eaten" The concept of feedback economics has existed for a while. Unknowingly, we always provide feedback to systems … [Read more...] about The “Hullabaloo” Of ChatGPT

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Valentin Buzea CTO & cofounder of Waydev . Cycle time serves as the speedometer for engineering teams, providing valuable insights into their development process. By measuring and improving cycle time, teams can accelerate innovation, stay ahead of the competition and attract and retain the best talent. In the realm of software development, cycle time is the duration it takes for a team to complete a full cycle of development, encompassing all the necessary stages, such as design, development, testing and deployment of a software application or feature. This metric is a key performance indicator for development teams to gauge their efficiency and optimize their processes for faster delivery of high-quality software. Keeping this in perspective, cycle time can be described as the duration in which code remains "in-flight," although the definition may vary based on an organization's workflow. For some … [Read more...] about How To Measure And Improve Cycle Time

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Nacho is CEO of BairesDev , a nearshore tech solutions company and General Partner at BDev Ventures, a VC fund for B2B businesses. There's no doubt that we're facing some challenges right now. And with so much uncertainty—economic and otherwise—it's natural for businesses to want to be conservative with their resources and strategies. There's often pushback against innovation, anyway, and many organizations may think that now is not the time to take risks. In fact, innovating is exactly what businesses should be doing right now. Businesses that focus on "avoiding the downside" risk underperforming compared with their more innovative peers, according to McKinsey research . It's critical to keep moving forward, not just focusing on survival but looking toward growth and new ideas. It's understandable, of course, that you might face pushback to innovation. If this is a challenge you're coping with, try … [Read more...] about Facing Resistance To Innovation? Try These 5 Strategies

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Daniel Saunders is the CEO of L Marks . He is a technologist-turned-investor and an experienced advisor in applied innovation. For most businesses, innovation means commercializing what the R&D department invents. This approach results in what is called "sustaining innovation," where you refine your offering each year, making small but consistent gains. But focusing solely on sustaining innovation closes you off from "strategic innovations" that can disrupt markets by offering something completely new. Complacency over the difference between these two types of innovation has led successful companies to struggle, as a business can become irrelevant overnight in the face of disruptive innovations. Strategic and sustaining innovation differ significantly in the types of solutions they produce, the timescales they work toward and the level of economic returns. Businesses that have mastered different forms of … [Read more...] about Why Executives Need To Pay Attention To Strategic Innovation