Phone scam when you say hello

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's central bank is still working on its digital currency and while it's unclear when the scheme could roll out to the public it will push ahead with it, governor Yang Chin-long said on Wednesday. Taiwan's central bank has been working on a pilot for a government-run digital currency for the past two years, to allow people to use a digital wallet and make payments without using a debit or credit card. Speaking at a forum on digital currencies, Yang said they have been simulating the use of the central bank digital currency, or CBDC, in a closed loop environment. The central bank faces three major tasks next, he added: communicating with the public and winning their support, ensuring the system's stability, and building the legal framework for the currency's operations. "This will take a long time, at least two years, and then we'll have to evaluate it again." As this is a huge project, it's uncertain that even in two years' time the CBDC platform can … [Read more...] about Taiwan central bank says it is working on digital currency, unclear on timetable

One of the reasons I'm so passionate about entrepreneurship is that it allows anyone to chart their own destiny. If you have a good idea and the willingness to pursue it, you're on your way to supporting yourself and adding value to our economy. Which is why, as my company gathered stories from LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs for Pride Month, I was happy to hear that the spirit of self-determination is alive and well. "Ever since I was a child, I've always wanted to be my own boss," says RJ Silver, owner of Sad Boy Designs. "The only thing that ever struck my interest was art, and I wanted to find the best way to display my talents. Today, I'm a graphic designer, and I create multiple things ranging from small keychains to large car decals." We need more, not less, of stories like this. That's one reason Hello Alice regularly surveys the more than 800,000 small business owners on our platform to understand their quantitative and qualitative experiences and advance targeted … [Read more...] about 4 Challenges–and Triumphs–of LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs in 2022

With abortion now or soon to be illegal in over a dozen US states and severely restricted in many more, Big Tech companies that vacuum up personal details of their users are facing new calls to limit that tracking and surveillance. One fear is that law enforcement or vigilantes could use those data troves against people seeking ways to end unwanted pregnancies. History has repeatedly demonstrated that whenever people’s personal data is tracked and stored, there’s always a risk that it could be misused or abused. With the Supreme Court's Friday overruling of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalised abortion, collected location data, text messages, search histories, emails and seemingly innocuous period and ovulation-tracking apps could be used to prosecute people who seek an abortion – or medical care for a miscarriage – as well as those who assist them. “In the digital age, this decision opens the door to law enforcement and private bounty hunters seeking vast amounts of … [Read more...] about Explainer: Abortion, tech and surveillance

- A + A (June 29): The market for nonfungible tokens -- such as artwork of bored apes and pudgy penguins -- has been spiraling downward after sales sank sharply and the prices of popular NFTs plummeted over the last few weeks. The crypto niche is on course to record its first month with under US$1 billion in sales since June 2021, according to data tracker DappRadar. On the world’s biggest NFT marketplace, OpenSea, sales volume has fallen 75% since May, and looks set to scrape the lowest levels since July 2021, Dune data shows. The prices of top-selling NFTs have also slipped. Some Otherdeed NFTs, which were in such high demand at their May launch that they clogged up the Ethereum network, have seen their price floors fall by about 30% in the last 30 days, while the price floor on Bored Ape Yacht Club’s (BAYC’s) blue-chip NFT collection has also fallen nearly 33% in the same time, data from NFT Price Floor shows. Meanwhile, the JPG NFT Index, which tracks a handful … [Read more...] about NFTs have ‘fallen off the cliff’ as sales sink to lowest levels in a year

Earlier this year, an Arizona woman whom we’ll call Kelly was completing the paperwork required to get facial feminization surgery. She was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in her teens, and after years of struggling with depression, she decided as a 20-something to transition. Then reality hit fast: The process is expensive, lengthy, and rarely covered by insurance. “So I did what lots of trans people do,” she tells Fast Company . “I got a job at Starbucks.” advertisement advertisement Starbucks has covered some types of gender-reassignment surgery since 2012. But in a radical move in 2018, it worked with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health to unveil a supplemental insurance plan that added coverage of procedures “previously considered cosmetic,” such as breast reduction, forehead contouring, calf implants, and hair transplants. With the requisite medical signoffs, Starbucks workers could get many of these procedures with zero … [Read more...] about Workers who joined Starbucks for transgender health benefits worry they are now at risk

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Taylor Morrison has been undergoing a quiet but unmistakable transformation. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions over the last five to ten years, it has become the nation’s fifth-largest homebuilder. In doing so, it has shifted to meet the demands of both its employees and customers. Stephanie McCarty, the company’s chief of marketing and communications, has been at the forefront of meeting these changing needs—which have been shaped not just by a rapidly evolving workforce and marketplace, but by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all our relationships to work and home. You might not have heard of it, but Taylor Morrison has been in business for more than 100 years, and with its acquisition of several smaller, regional builders, has achieved Fortune 500 status with just under $10 billion in revenue. It has 19 divisions and 300 active selling communities from coast to coast, serving everyone from first-time … [Read more...] about How Taylor Morrison Is Transforming Homebuilding From The Ground Up

Posco has come up with a number of new measures to ensure the safety of its workers. [POSCO] Posco taken steps toward creating an accident-free work environment by adopting smart technological advancements in order to reduce safety concerns within the workplace. To achieve this, the company has created technology that can automatically halt a moving forklift and a central task monitoring system. Both systems detect hazards to prevent accident occurring. Posco has been working on the automatic forklift halting technology since November 2021 in partnership with the Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (RIST), Posco Holdings Future Technology Research Center and other local enterprises. Posco Holdings and RIST combined image recognition technology and automatic control functions to overcome the practical safety concerns that arise in the use of forklifts. Through deep learning and artificial intelligence, the newly innovated forklift safety system can identify … [Read more...] about Posco puts safety first with new smart systems

The Autopilot mode in Tesla's ( TSLA ) electric cars is turning out to be the company's Achilles Heel following news of yet another crash involving a car equipped with the Autopilot feature. On Aug. 28, 2021, a Tesla Model 3 hit a state highway patrol cruiser in Orlando, missing the officer who stopped to help a disabled motorist on the highway. According to Florida Highway Patrol, the Autopilot feature was enabled in the Tesla involved in the crash. The company is already under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for a series of crashes involving its cars that occurred between January 2018 and July 2021 across nine states. According to the agency, the August crash was the 12th involving a Tesla vehicle. Key Takeaways A Tesla Model 3 in Autopilot mode crashed into a state trooper's car on a Florida highway in August 2021, making it the 12th incident involving this Tesla feature. News of the crash didn't have a big impact on Tesla's … [Read more...] about Tesla’s (TSLA) Autopilot Reported to Cause Another Crash