Elon Musk gets the green light. Shareholders of Tesla and SolarCity "overwhelmingly" approved a $2 billion stock-swap merger between the electric vehicle maker and the residential solar installer. The two are already working on joint technologies, including a new solar roof made out of shingles that could be priced less than traditional materials. (Reuters, Fortune, New York Times) Salesforce predicts it will top $10 billion in next fiscal year. The cloud business software company beat revenue expectations for its third quarter ended Oct. 31, but its net loss for the three-month period widened. Salesforce expects to deliver $8.4 billion in revenue for the current fiscal year ending Jan. 31, and projects it will become the first pureplay cloud company to cross $10 billion in the next one. (Wall Street Journal, Reuters) Apple mulls making iPhones in the U.S. Back in June, the tech giant asked two of its big production partners, Foxconn and Pegatron, to explore American factories, reports Nikkei. The report suggests that Foxconn is still weighing its options, but Pegatron isn't interested. President-elect Donald Trump criticized Apple's heavy dependence on Chinese production during his campaign. (Fortune) Microsoft will tie executive bonuses to diversity goals. The software giant isn't pleased with its progress on hiring more women and minorities—its ratios actually slipped in the past year—so it's building requirements into the compensation plans for its managers. (Bloomberg) Baidu's CEO says China welcomes foreign tech workers. The leader of the country's biggest Internet search engine, Robin Li, believes China's tech firms could benefit from Trump's anti-immigration stance. Many Silicon Valley companies worry the new administration will crack down on H1-B visas, which many use to recruit engineers. "I hope that talent in all countries can come to China, and give us a more important role on the stage of global innovation," Li said Friday. (Fortune) Watch out Netflix, Amazon's video service is about to go global. The company's service, currently available in the U.S, U.K., Germany, Austria, and Japan, should be available in more than 200 countries by the end of December. (Wall Street Journal) Walmart thinks the blockchain could help with food safety. In October, the massive retailer began using the technology to track certain produce items in the United States and to keep tabs on pork in China. Blockchain could help alert Walmart about less-than-ideal conditions, such as excess heat in trucks or trains, and help the retailer more easily pinpoint the source of problems when they occur. (Bloomberg) Why wait in line to order a Big Mac? McDonald's is testing the idea of self-service with mobile apps and kiosks that let diners place their orders tableside. (Reuters, New York Times) |
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