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[Misc] (HL-20190421~20190427) Weekly Headlines
최고관리자  |  19-04-19 11:45


(Mon) Jeff Bezos to rivals - hike your wages
아마존 CEO 제프 베조스, 경쟁사들에 임금 인상을 촉구하고 나서

Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos challenged his rivals to ante up in his annual letter to shareholders. He called on other retailers to match Amazon's minimum wage or even better, beat it. The billionaire writes, "Today, I challenge our top retail competitors to match our employee benefits and our $15 minimum wage. Do it! Better yet, go to $16 and throw the gauntlet back at us." The online retailer hiked its minimum wage in the U.S. in November just as retailers and shippers competed to hire workers for the holiday shopping season amid unemployment at a nearly 20 year low. Bezos said in his letter that the wage hike has benefited more than 250,000 Amazon employees and over 100,000 seasonal workers. By contrast, Bezos' total compensation last year: $1.7 million. That's 58 times the median pay at Amazon. 

(Tue) Goodbye tractors? Farm of the future could use robots
트랙터가 필요 없는, 로봇이 일구는 미래의 농장

"This is Tom. Tom is the robot that will live on the farm." Could this robot mark the start of the farm of the future? The Small Robot Company thinks so. They say farms will soon have a team of the machines instead of the huge tractors and machinery common today, freeing up farmers to focus on the bigger picture. And that it can also reduce the use of chemicals and energy used by as much as 95 percent. "We are taking away the driving of the tractor away from the farmer, we are taking away the changing of the pipes that have been gnawed by rats on their drilling kit because it's been left in a shed for a year. Yes, we're doing that and by doing that we're freeing the farmer up to really concentrate on making their farm a successful and profitable business." Tom records the health, status and location of each individual crop and takes hundreds of thousands of photos of them. That means increased productivity and the ability to use fertilizer and pesticides much more precisely. An artificially-intelligent management system then lets another robot, Dick, who weeds, know if it’s needed - or if a single plant needs spraying. It's hoped the robots will allow farmers to control costs and concentrate on developing their business, instead of fixing machines. Agriculture is already embracing with automation - with driverless tractors and data-collecting sensors. So perhaps this could be part of a robot revolution - on a mini scale. 

(Wed) France, Germany and Luxembourg test borderless, driverless technology in Schengen
프랑스-독일-룩셈부르크에 걸친, 국경 없는 자율주행차 시험

First they snubbed the driver and now they're snubbing the borders. Autonomous cars have been given an international road test in the symbolically significant town of Schengen in Luxembourg. The joint venture, which is sponsored by the French, German and Luxembourg governments means that driverless cars can be tested in real-life scenarios including highways and urban spaces across borders. Schengen, which gave its name to the European Union's border-free Schengen Zone, is located on the fringes of France and Germany. Organizers are hoping this border-free test will be the first of many. "We have created a tri-national network for autonomous driving. Tomorrow's mobility should not end at the border of a European member state. We need a European vision. Germany, France and Luxembourg are starting right now and are sending a strong signal for the future of mobility." Typically, surveys have found that people are suspicious of driverless vehicles, believing them to be more dangerous than traditional cars. But transport leaders from France, Germany and Luxembourg are hoping to put paid to that fear, hoping that these tests will prove it's a safe way to travel - and autonomous cars will hold a key place in future mobility. 

(Thu) Bank of America's 'living room' branches
Bank of America, 거실 형태 지점 늘리기로

This looks more like a living room than your bank with the teller counter. It's part of Bank of America's plans to modernize more than half of its branch network. At a time when fewer people are visiting bank branches, some banks like BOA are sprucing them up and investing in expansion again. Bank of America said it'll renovate over 2,500 financial centers over the next three years. The nation's second largest bank plans to outfit its branches with interactive kiosks where customers can view videos that offer financial education. Visitors can consult advisers in walled-in offices that offer privacy. BOA will also upgrade its ATM network. Machines will enable customers to pay their credit card bills and withdraw cash using their mobile phones. Bank of America will also boost its retail network. It's adding nearly 30 new financial centers in Ohio over the next two years and it'll expand into Lexington, Kentucky next year. It's part of its previously announced pledge to add 500 branches to its network of 4,300. But it'll still be smaller than that of the largest U.S. bank. Last year, JPMorgan Chase began adding branches for the first time in nearly a decade. It currently boasts 5,000 branches nationwide. 

(Fri) Leftover lobster shells present plastic alternative
랍스터 껍질, 플라스틱에 대한 대안으로 떠 올라

Could this be the solution to the scourge of single-use plastic? Shellfish could help thanks to something called chitin. The bio-polymer is found in their shells which are often destined for the trash heap. The Shellworks is developing a method to transform chitin into a plastic-substitute that's biodegradable & recyclable. The shells are first pulverized before being broken down in various solutions. The Shellworks says there are enough waste shells to make a serious dent in the UK's plastic use. "We've been trying to understand how we could scale this. And we reached out to one lobster chain within London and what we found is they actually have 375 tons of lobsters going to waste every year, which means chitin content-wise, that's 125,000 kilograms. And from that every year we could make about 7.5 million plastic bags." Some 500 billion disposable plastic bags are used worldwide every year. 

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Mueller links Trump and campaign to 11 instances of potential obstruction

Robert Mueller described 11 instances in which Donald Trump or his campaign engaged in potential obstruction of justice and suggested Congress might prosecute these acts as crimes, according to explosive findings in the redacted version of the special counsel’s report released on Thursday. Over almost 450 pages, portions of which remained hidden from public view, Mueller described in unprecedented detail Russian efforts to tamper with the 2016 US presidential election and the Trump campaign’s receptivity to certain “Russian offers of assistance to the campaign”.

BOK cuts growth forecast to 2.5%, freezes base rate

The Bank of Korea on Thursday revised down its economic growth forecast for this year to 2.5 percent, amid economic uncertainties and weakening exports. The nation’s base rate was frozen at 1.75 percent, as the central bank suggested a rate cut would be inconsistent with the government’s expanded fiscal spending later in the year. “The slowing trend of the global economy has prolonged, while the volatility of policy rates and exchange rates has expanded in the financial market,” BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said at a press conference. “External uncertainties, as well as the general trend in economic growth and inflation, should be considered.” 

Seoul to fight against closed tents, trash in Hangang parks

The Seoul Metropolitan Government laid out plans Sunday to designate tent zones and reduce the amount of trash generated in parks along the Han River, as part of efforts to better preserve the green space and boost public order. Tents will only be allowed to be set up from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 13 specific tent zones in 11 riverside parks – including two in Yeouido Hangang Park and two in Banpo Hangang Park. In the zones, tents must be smaller than 2 meters tall and 2 meters wide, and at least two sides of the tents must remain open. Those who violate the rule could face a fine of up to 1 million won ($880).

No Koreans reported killed or injured in Sri Lanka bombings: embassy

No South Korean nationals were reported killed or injured in the deadly bombings in the Sri Lankan capital and two other towns on Easter Sunday, the Korean embassy in the South Asian country said. As many as 129 churchgoers and hotel guests were reportedly killed and some 250 others were wounded in the blasts that rocked St. Anthony's Shrine and three hotels in Colombo and two other churches in Negombo and Batticaloa. Local police are still investigating who is behind the bombings, although suicide bombers were suspected in some of the six blasts, according to media reports.

Samsung delays Galaxy Fold phone launch over screen problems

Samsung Electronics Co said on Monday it would delay the retail launch of its Galaxy Fold smartphone for an unspecified period of time after reviewers discovered problems with the display, a hit to the reputation of the world's largest handset maker. Last week, reviewers started posting problems with the device on Twitter, but as of Friday the company did not know the root cause of the screen defects, according to Patrick Moorhead, founder of Moor Insights & Strategy, who said he was in direct contact with the company. About 50 units of the $1,980 foldable device had been sent for review to journalists, analysts and bloggers in the United States ahead of a planned April 26 launch, Moorhead said.