Way of digital marketing

 DIGITAL MARKETING 

Ready To Go Out On Your Own? Building A Digital Marketing Business From Scratch Ready to go out on your own?

 Building a digital marketing business from scratch Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok 5 Digital Marketing Trends For Your Business In 2021  marchmeena29 | Getty Images In the 21st century, technology has revolutionized our lives and is undergoing a process of continual development and acceleration. The landscape of the Internet, in particular, is constantly evolving and changing. For your business to continue to experience growth and expansion, it is crucial that you adapt and adjust your digital marketing strategies accordingly. Digital marketing in 2021 will require a multi-faceted and diverse approach, incorporating some of the tried-and-tested trends of previous years whilst also capitalizing on the opportunities provided by innovative and emerging trends. In this article, we’re going to be discussing five digital marketing trends that every business should keep an eye on in 2021 so that you can begin strategically developing and structuring your plans to give your business a competitive edge. 1. The (continued) rise of social media Inevitably, social media will continue to serve a pivotal role in digital marketing strategies in 2021. Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter may have been created as a means for interpersonal communication, but they have since become pivotal marketing tools. Through social media, businesses have the perfect platform through which they can easily create and publish content, market their products and/or services as well as interact with their target audiences. What’s more, these platforms are increasingly accommodating the entire marketing process – from the moment of discovery to actually making a purchase without ever having to leave the platform. Social media commerce is only going to grow in 2021. Related: Now or Never: Why Manufacturers Are Moving Dollars to Digital Engagement 2. Using social media advertising features Alongside publishing content on your actual social media pages, social media platforms are increasingly providing specialized advertising and marketing services to businesses as well. One such example is Facebook, which has revolutionized how businesses market via social media. Businesses can use Facebook for online advertisements, which are created, published and distributed through the social media platform. Facebook Ads are directed towards specific target audiences, which means that advertisements are only displayed to those users who have been selected according to Facebook’s targeting software. With more than two billion active users, Facebook Ads is an invaluable marketing tool for businesses because of the reach, visibility and personalization it provides. Related: 4 Sure-Fire Digital Marketing Strategies to Use in 2021 Gallery: The 28 Best Remote-Friendly Companies for Women (Money Talks News) 3. Email marketing is as effective as ever Compared to other forms of digital marketing, email marketing has been around for a long time. Due to its age, there may be some questions surrounding its relevance, but the truth is that email marketing is as relevant in 2021 as it was a decade ago. The automated distribution of time or action-triggered emails to email lists and subscribers with relevant information still generates incredible amounts of engagement. Email automation is a powerful marketing tactic, and automating an email campaign allows businesses to generate leads, sales and revenues whenever the opportunity arises. Examples of email automation include a triggered workflow designed to interest customers, seasonal or birthday greetings, as well as automated blog updates. It is one of the most effective methods of communicating with potential customers and sustaining the interest of existing customers. 4. Segmenting your customers for optimum retention With the prevalence of digital technologies, customers are becoming increasingly accustomed to personalized online experiences tailored to their behaviors, preferences, interests and demographics. It’s important that businesses continually collect and analyze data regarding their potential and existing customers and then change their digital marketing strategies accordingly. Segmenting customers is an incredibly effective way to reach out to as broad an audience as possible whilst simultaneously providing them with a bespoke experience of your business. By identifying which group of customers should receive selected content based on the data your business has collected, you can more effectively allocate your marketing resources by ensuring that the content you distribute reaches those most likely to respond positively. Related: Why Digital Marketing Strategies Are Imperative to Boost Startup Growth 5. Interact directly with your customers The Internet has effectively removed the various geographical, language and time barriers which once separated a business from its customers. Whilst in the past, a customer would have had to write an email or call a number to interact with a particular business, in the 21st century, it is as simple as leaving a comment under a post or sending a private message in a matter of minutes. Everyone is always accessible online, and the expectation that customers should be able to interact with a business has extended even beyond the realms of social media. In a digital era, it is more important than ever that businesses ensure they are available to interact with potential and existing customers in the event of a query, review, or even a complaint. Interacting with customers in a timely and professional manner will be a critical part of digital marketing in 2021 because it will demonstrate a business’ commitment to satisfying and listening to its customers. Customer experience is everything, and by ensuring a positive customer experience, a business is more like to see repeat purchases, glowing reviews as well as recommendations to family and friends. Digital marketing is a multi-faceted and complex endeavor that requires a comprehensive and strategic approach. The 5 digital marketing trends described above are just some of the strategies you can incorporate into your digital marketing initiatives. This article provides a useful and informative starting point. You can decide which strategies you would like to prioritize depending on your business's purpose, objectives, and scope. Email marketing, for example, may be one of the oldest digital marketing strategies around, but it continues to be one of the most effective with regards to the traffic it generates and its high conversion rates. The business features provided by social media platforms have just been introduced, but considering that millions of users per month visit these platforms, the scope for reaching out to a larger audience is immense. Digital marketing in 2021 consists of a combination of traditional strategies and innovative methods through which you can propel your business forwards into the year ahead. The Future Of Digital Marketing Agencies In A Post-Covid World Aaron Agius is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of the award-winning global marketing agency Louder.Online. getty It seems like a simple equation: more people spending more time online, plus businesses eager to boost their online presence as a result, equals a promising post-Covid world for digital marketing agencies. We all know life isn’t that simple though, and marketing firms will have to adapt to the realities of this new world. Reaching More Discerning Consumers The pandemic has permanently changed consumer behavior. With people around the world confined to their homes for long periods, 2020 saw a big shift in the way people consumed information. For example, in Q2 there was a 31.7% year-over-year rise in the number of app downloads. This represents a huge shift in people’s behavior, and it’s just a small sample of how people have embraced the online realm. The more people interact with these technologies and enjoy the experience, the more likely this tech is to become a regular part of their lives — pandemic or no pandemic. For digital marketing agencies, this represents even more ways to reach consumers, but with a caveat. The more people become accustomed to these digital platforms, the more discerning they are likely to become to marketing messages that don’t hit the right tone. In the future, digital marketing may be able to reach more people, but the challenge will be to continue to get people to take action. At the beginning of the pandemic, we saw click-through rates (CTRs) drop dramatically on many platforms, with the CTR for Google search ads dropping 41% year-over-year versus Q1 2019. If these trends continue and people become more immune to online marketing, agencies will have to continue to innovate and invest in quality to drive success. Whether that’s investing in top-tier copywriters and graphic designers or taking advantage of tech innovations that prioritize user experience, agencies will need to pull out all the stops to ensure their marketing efforts are successful in a post-Covid world. With more consumers online than ever before, agencies can’t afford to slack. Conveying ROI More Effectively The U.S. GDP decreased by 9.5% in Q2 2020 alone. This represents millions of businesses that had their worlds turned upside down because of the pandemic. Even for businesses that achieved success throughout the lockdowns, this kind of economic turmoil leaves a lasting imprint. While the consumer shift toward online behaviors clearly represents a great opportunity for businesses, clients are still likely to be very protective about their marketing budgets. How digital marketing agencies convey the potential ROI of their services will be crucial. It’s not just going to be about what your services are, but how your services solve your clients’ problems and show tangible results. Saying you’re a HubSpot expert is one thing, but clients want to know in detail how that leads to a return on their investment and how it will make a difference to their business. Demonstrating the value of your services through accurate insights will be key in a world where budgets are closely scrutinized. Agility As a Key Competitive Advantage During the pandemic, the world had to learn to work from home. The interesting part was, many businesses actually found they were quite successful at it. In fact, many of the world’s biggest brands vowed to make work from home the new normal. In general, digital marketing agencies were well-prepared for this shift, but there were still some interesting trends. In the early weeks and months of Covid, the industry took a small hit, but one study found that 80% of agencies that saw a 30+% increase in their revenues were outsourcing. These agencies realized they could do away with expensive offices and utilize the freelance economy to provide exceptional work for clients as needed. Technology has made this a seamless process, allowing agencies to get highly specialist work done without having to maintain full-time employees. This enables digital marketing agencies to be much more agile, saving on fixed costs and scaling quickly to meet the demands of their clients. Without the pandemic, many agencies may not have made this shift. Brand Positioning in an Increasingly Competitive Market There has been a decades-long trend of more and more businesses recognizing the importance of an online presence. However, even for those who refused to embrace the online realm, the pandemic put things into stark perspective. Businesses were left scrambling to boost their online presence, and digital marketing agencies benefited greatly from this. On the other side of things, where there is ample opportunity, there’s generally lots of competition, and this is true in digital marketing. There are 5,585 digital advertising agencies in the U.S. In 2021, up 13.1% from 2020. The competition is only likely to get greater as businesses continue to recognize the power of online marketing. One advantage established digital marketing agencies have over newcomers is the strength of their brand. As marketers, we’re always impressing upon our clients the power of good branding, but we need to make sure we’re following our own advice. Digital marketing will likely become a more crowded space, but brands that can position themselves as strategic partners, rather than just another service provider, will have an advantage. Conclusion Covid might not completely change the future of digital marketing agencies, but it has supercharged existing trends. Marketing agencies have been successful at adapting to these changes during the pandemic, but they need to continue to do so after it’s gone. Understanding that both consumers and your clients have changed their behaviors, and catering your services accordingly will be essential. There may be a greater demand for digital marketing going forward, but this will be balanced out by greater competition. To stand out, you will have to develop a strong brand and invest in flexibility that works for your clients and your business. The post-Covid world is bright for digital marketing agencies, but as ever, only for those that are able to adapt accordingly. Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?

Best 9 movies in Netflix

BEST 9 MOVIES IN NETFLIX 

"The Mitchells vs. The Machines" Netflix

Every week, the streaming search engine Reelgood compiles for Insider a list of which movies have been most prominent on Netflix's daily top-10 lists that week.

Netflix counts a view if an account watches a movie or TV show for at least two minutes.

The animated "Mitchells vs. The Machines" was Netflix's most popular movie this week.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

9. "State of Play" (2009)

Universal Pictures

Description: "A veteran journalist teams up with a young reporter to untangle a web of lies surrounding the suspicious death of a woman tied to a powerful politician."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 84%

What critics said: "The three screenwriters may have been trying to work too many plot strands into two hours; in any case, State of Play is both overstuffed and inconclusive." — New Yorker

8. "Stowaway" (2021, Netflix original)

Anna Kendrick in "Stowaway." Netflix

Description: "A three-person crew on a mission to Mars faces an impossible choice when an unplanned passenger jeopardizes the lives of everyone on board."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 77%

What critics said: "It's a clever take on a familiar genre with a terrific cast, but the slow burn may be too slow." — RogerEbert.Com

7. "Scarface" (1983)

Universal

Description: "In a ruthless rise to Miami drug lord, a Cuban-born gangster descends into addiction, obsession and brutality, with grisly consequences."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 82%

What critics said: "Other than an unflinching, intense and extraordinary performance from Al Pacino as the Cuban-born gangster Tony Montana, this gruesome offering has little to recommend." — Hollywood Reporter

6. "Your Highness" (2011)

Stuber Pictures

Description: "When an evil wizard kidnaps his bride-to-be, a valiant prince teams up with his deadbeat, stoner brother and a fiery warrior on a quest to rescue her."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 27%

What critics said: "Your Highness never sacrifices its cheerful, one-thing-after-another absurdity, or its inability to take itself even remotely seriously." — Film Comment

Story continues

5. "Love Happens" (2009)

Stuber Pictures

Description: "A self-help guru's failure to come to grips with his wife's death may cost him a chance at happiness with a quirky florist."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 16%

What critics said: "Call it a romantic comedy or romantic drama; you're still not going to giggle, your heart won't be warmed and ultimately, you'll leave unsatisfied." — Cinemablend

4. "Green Zone" (2010)

Working Title

Description: "A US Army officer uncovers a conspiracy about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, launching a crusade that creates enemies within his own military."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 53%

What critics said: "A jangly, noisy, compulsively restless thriller on a par with the Bourne movies, shot through with political critique." — Washington Post

3. "Things Heard and Seen" (2021, Netflix original)

Netflix

Description: "A young woman discovers that both her husband and their new home harbor sinister secrets after they leave Manhattan for small-town life."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 38%

What critics said: "You know a ghost story is a hot mess when it strands a stellar Amanda Seyfried and a top cast in a remote, country house haunted by toxic masculinity, dangling plot threads and nothing worth hearing or seeing." — ABC News

2. "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" (2012)

Paramount/Dreamworks

Description: "Next stop: New York! But to get back home, Alex and friends must hitch a ride with a traveling European circus and evade an evil animal-control officer."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 78%

What critics said: "Here is a family movie from which absolutely nothing is expected, and yet it's one of the week's best releases: a muscular, potent and very funny film." — Guardian

1. "The Mitchells vs. The Machines" (2021, Netflix original)

Netflix

Description: "A robot apocalypse put the brakes on their cross-country road trip. Now it's up to the Mitchells — the world's weirdest family — to save the human race."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 98%

What critics said: "Take away the serrated satirical edges, and you're still left with a surprisingly delightful story about a dysfunctional family learning how to connect again." — Rolling Stone

BEST FOODS IN SUMMER

 BEST HYDRATED FOOD IN SUMMER 

 Summer is here and the mercury level is on the rise! Well, let’s brace ourselves to experience intense scorching sun this year, but, it is also important to take care of our health. The heat has the potential to drain us out completely and if you ignore your eating habits, you are putting your body at higher risk. Summer always makes our mouth dry, feel dehydrated, and experience low energy level. Taking extra care during the hot season by eating right and following certain lifestyle changes, we can beat the hazardous impacts of summer. Here we have listed a few cooling foods that you should definitely add to your diet to fight against the hot climate effects. Watermelon Everyone knows watermelon is the best fruit to stay hydrated. But there is nothing wrong with reiterating its benefits. As it contains 91.45 per cent water, it helps in fulfilling your body’s water requirement. Melons are also loaded with anti-oxidants properties and a great source to provide the cooling effect. Cucumber Cucumbers are full of water and fiber. As we eat a lot of mangoes and mango pickles in Summer, having one cucumber a day helps in keeping constipation at bay. Add this crunchier food to smoothies and juices and try having it every day, even when you go out. Curd Curd is often ignored by many, but least do we know its amazing cooling effect on the body. Instead of buttermilk, eating curd as a whole is better due to its vital good bacteria that our body need. However, one can also have curd in different variants like buttermilk, sweet lassi, raita, etc. Or just add tasty fruits to a bowl of curd and make it into lip-smacking smoothies. Coconut water There is no greater drink than coconut water that nature provides. It is full of electrolytes and instead of taking energy drinks or ORSL, it is always best to have one glass of coconut water as it is loaded with essential vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. It has cooling properties that help you fight against the hot weather. Studies also show that drinking coconut water regularly also protect against cancer. Onions Onions having cooling properties is quite surprising but it is the fact. Add red onions in your salads, curries and raita as they are loaded with quercetin, which is considered a natural anti-allergen. Adding onion to your daily diet also helps in protecting you against sun-stroke. Lemon/Lime Water: Last but not least, Nimboo pani or Lime water is everyone’s favourite. It is an ideal drink to beat the summer’s heat as it works immediately on your digestive system, bringing down the body temperature and cooling your gut. Instead of adding a few drops to your food, try drinking the whole lemon in the water this 

Best web design Software

 

TOP SEVEN WEB DESIGNER SOFTWARE 

Best Web Design Software In 2021 The best web design software will make it simple to build the website you need, either by using a drag-and-drop editor - where you can combine different elements easily without coding - or else a software platform that involves customizing web code such as HTML & CSS and even JavaScript. The best web design software Back in the day, creating web pages was the sole province of hardcore coders, but that’s not the case anymore given that there are numerous tools to simplify the process. Some of these even have a visual interface which allow you to easily drag and drop images, text, and links to build your webpages. Other web design tools are geared towards coding, acting as advanced text editors, and allowing for building a website line-by-line. However, many web design tools now offer something between these two extremes. All of them make it easier to build in the elements you require on your website, and can work with additional tools such as form builders, image hosting, and even content delivery networks. In this guide we have focused on the best web design tools currently available. When weighing up which to include, we have focused on ease of use, supported web languages, cost, and how easy the tools make it to upload the finished project once you are done. (Image credit: Adobe)

 1. Adobe Dreamweaver The best web design software for professionals TODAY'S BEST DEALS Reasons to buy +Customize your design+Build a responsive design+HTML5 support Reasons to avoid -Not cheap Adobe Dreamweaver is a long-established app that allows you to code your website design directly, without having to know too much about programming. The software works through a mix of visual editing and HTML editing, which means it shouldn't have too steep a learning curve for most users. Additionally, while coding your own website design requires you to put in more effort than simply using an existing ready made template, at least you have the chance to ensure you get the look you actually want, rather than trying to work around someone else's design specifications. A

 particularly good feature of Dreamweaver is that it allows you to produce a responsive design, which means your website can be optimized to display on desktops as well as mobile devices, without limiting the user experience. However, if you are a more advanced user you may be pleased to note that Dreamweaver provides multi-monitor support for Windows. It also supports the Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) to work with HTML5 elements and CSS grids. Additionally, there's also support for Git to allow you to edit source code directly from within Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver is available as part of Adobe's mid-range packaged app subscription service, Creative Cloud, which also includes Photoshop. (Image credit: Wix)

 2. Wix The best web design software for beginners TODAY'S BEST DEALS Reasons to buy +Very easy to use+No coding required+Huge range of powerful features+Yet still highly user-friendly Wix is more of a website builder than a coding platform, but it is one of the most popular online website creators, offering a range of plans and products. The free version has Wix branding, limited storage space (500MB) and bandwidth, but move up to the most popular plan (unlimited) and there’s no Wix ads.

 An excellent collection of 500 plus templates gets the design process off to a quick start. The drag-and-drop editor gives you all kinds of tools and features to explore – an image editor, video backgrounds, animations, social buttons, an integrated site blog – and just about everything can be tweaked, tuned and restyled. Furthermore, as of recently, Wix introduced Wix Turbo, which increases the speed and performance of websites substantially. All the core editing functions are really smartly designed, and operate more like a native app than your average website builder. Wix does have some weaknesses, with tech support seeming a little sluggish and limited in some respects. But there’s no denying that the superb editor and range of top-notch templates make it easy for web building novices to create something impressive. (Image credit: WordPress)

 3. WordPress The best custom option for beginners TODAY'S BEST DEALS Reasons to buy +Easy to install and use+Many available features+Pre-built website templates Reasons to avoid -Watch out for spam WordPress is an alternative way to set up and design your website, being rather different to the other offerings we've highlighted here because it's actually a content management system (CMS). The power here is that it is a simple matter to set up a website in minutes.

 Indeed, many web hosting packages include a one-click install of WordPress from their Control Panel, but even without that, WordPress is relatively easy to install. Once installed, the backend for administration and management is very user-friendly. You can use the existing WordPress design templates for your website, but more likely you will want to download and install an existing free or premium WordPress template – all of which can be done with just a few clicks. Even if you would prefer to work with your own design, you can often do so using drag-and-drop functions, usually from a downloaded design with an in-built framework. This can allow you to create a professional-looking website without having to learn programming or coding at all. Better still, there are so many free add-ons available to download and install, often requiring nothing more than a few clicks. This makes the whole process of customizing your website very simple, and it does not require any professional skills. Overall, WordPress is a very easy CMS to use, and can provide a very quick way to get any form of website online fast. The huge variety of template designs and additional community supported features mean that getting something which is near the mark of what you want isn't hard at all. Just ensure that in the settings you select to turn off comments so as to avoid spam. (Image credit: Weebly)

4. Weebly The DIY e-commerce website TODAY'S BEST DEALS Reasons to buy +Professional look+Mobile-friendly+Easy to personalize Weebly is another online CMS, this time targeted at people with little or no coding experience, by providing easy to use drag and drop tools for creating a website. Weebly also provides the ability for users to create online stores using existing templates to work with their simply website-building framework. The number of themes available for Weebly is somewhat limited, but the designs are clean and professional-looking, plus there are options to personalize accordingly.

 Additionally, the themes are responsive, which means they are optimized to work with mobile devices, plus they have in built SEO, analytics, and even a feature for posting ads directly to Facebook. There's a free tier available for basic use, and allows you to get used to the service, with paid plans allowing you to connect a custom domain. However, to use your own domain and get rid of ads, you'll need the Professional plan. (Image credit: Webflow)

 5. Webflow Cloud-based offering that needs no coding knowledge TODAY'S BEST DEALS Reasons to buy +Drag and drop GUI+Truly cross-platform Reasons to avoid -Interface takes time to master Webflow is a cloud-based service which has been created specifically to allow people with no coding knowledge to get started with web design. Aside from being truly cross-platform, as it's web-based, Webflow emphasizes the concept of 'smart codelessness'. In the first instance this means a crisp drag and drop interface allowing you to drop elements such as text and images seamlessly onto a page using one of the freely available templates.

 

Unlike many WYSIWYG editors, the code produced is very clean and well-written even if you choose the 'I have no coding experience' option during setup. Webflow's automation tool will create the necessary HTML/CSS code for you. You can make granular changes to individual elements using the panels on the right. Webflow offers a free demonstration of its features via the website, and you can also subscribe for a free Starter package which allows you to create up to two projects. (Image credit: Bluefish)

6 . Bluefish Lightweight and easy to use web coding platform TODAY'S BEST DEALS Reasons to buy +Lightweight and quick+Use advanced code via wizards Reasons to avoid -No visual interface Bluefish is among the smallest web design tools available today. The tiny installer takes only a few moments to setup. While the interface is text-only, it's clearly designed with novices in mind as it employs clear-cut toolbars, user customizable menus and syntax highlighting. While the main focus is on HTML, Bluefish supports a huge range of other languages including PHP, Java, JavaScript, SQL, XML and CSS. 

Unlike visual WYSIWYG web design tools, the text interface makes for much cleaner code. Bluefish has an excellent search function, allowing you to find text across multiple projects. The tool also has no trouble juggling hundreds of documents at the same time. Although Bluefish supports working with remote files, the varied and useful dialogs and wizards don't currently support direct upload of web pages via FTP. Despite the best efforts of the developers, Bluefish may take some time to get used to. The tool is available free of charge, however, so you have nothing to lose by giving it a try. (Image credit: Microsoft) 

7. Visual Studio Code A text editor from Microsoft TODAY'S BEST DEALS Reasons to buy +Customizable+Loads of integrations+Source control tools Visual Studio Code (or VScode) has become popular among developers – the ones who aren’t put off by the fact that it’s a Microsoft product, anyway. It offers a variety of packages and free extensions that can be downloaded from its marketplace to add additional features – and the code editor itself can be customized. While a lot of people may be intimated by the idea of coding if they have no programming experience, at some point in the web design process it can be important to be able to edit code directly. 

This is particularly helpful if you want to customize code for existing software add-ons in order to get the features you want for your website. Visual Studio Code can help make the process less painful by providing a dedicated platform for coding. Visual Studio Code sports its own terminal and debugger, supports linting, and has integration with all manner of source control tools. It especially offers good support for Javascript and Python, making it potentially useful not just for coding the frontend of a website but also potentially some backend functions as well. If you're involved in web design, the chances are you'll also need some graphic design skills and assets. Here we'll look at a couple of other resources and assets you'll properly need to help with your website design process: 

World richest Women

 WORLD SECOND RICHEST WOMEN

Melinda Gates Could Become ‘world’s Second-richest Woman’ Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates speak at the Lincoln Centre in 2018 (AFP via Getty Images) Philanthropist Melinda Gates looks set to become the world’s second-richest woman after her divorce from multibillionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, with court papers showing she is entitled to some $73bn (£52.4bn). In the divorce petition she filed this week at King County superior court in Seattle, Washington, Melinda French Gates – as she now appears to want to be known after updating her social media profiles – asked for the couple’s combined $146bn (£105bn) fortune to be divided up. French is her maiden name. The documents also reveal that the couple, who married in 1994, did not sign a prenuptial agreement – which could explain the 50-50 split. Under Washington state law, divorcing couples are expected to share their assets equally. Currently, the richest woman in the world is L’Oreal owner Françoise Bettencourt Meyers whose inherited fortune is worth around $83bn (£59.6bn). The Gates announced their separation on Monday via a statement on Twitter, writing: “After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage. “Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children [Jennifer, 25; Rory, 21; and Phoebe, 18] and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives. “We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.” Questions have been raised about how the pair will continue to run their charity, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as a team, which is what they have said is their intention. Prof Henry Peter, head of the Geneva Centre for Philanthropy at the University of Geneva, told the Financial Times on Tuesday the separation could lead to a total restructure. “The ecosystem of the foundation is really based on only three trustees,” he said, referring to the Gates and fellow billionaire 90-year-old Warren Buffett – one of the trust’s biggest donors who has promised to donate 85 per cent of his $100bn (£71.8bn) remaining fortune in total. Story continues “It will be interesting to know if [the Gates] are not married how this couple will remain at the head. It might be the right time to look at the governance.” Meanwhile, the foundation itself released a statement in an attempt to quell any concerns the couple’s divorce might have triggered: “Bill and Melinda will remain co-chairs and trustees. No changes to their roles or the organisation are planned. They will continue to work together to shape and approve foundation strategies, advocate for the foundation’s issues, and set the organisation’s overall direction.” Getty The Seattle-based charity, which employs 1,600 staff, has given away $50bn (£35.9bn) to health and development projects across 135 countries since it was founded in 2000, and still has $43bn (£30.9bn) worth of assets. It also provides support to communities struck by natural disasters. Last year, the foundation provided $1.8bn (£1.3bn) for emergency coronavirus medical supplies, PPE and vaccines – and $2bn (£1.4bn) has been earmarked to try and wipe out malaria. The Gates estate includes their 66,000sq ft main home in Medina, overlooking Lake Washington, which is valued at $130m (£93.5m), and various holiday homes such as a $43m (£30.9m) beach house near San Diego, a $59m (£42.5) ranch in Florida and a 492-acre ranch in Wyoming. Their main house alone was built using 500 Douglas fir trees and features no fewer than six kitchens, a 60ft swimming pool, an underwater sound system, a trampoline room, and a 2,300sq ft ballroom which seats up to 200 people. Elsewhere, the couple are among the biggest private owners of farmland in the US, with about 242,000 acres across 18 different states – worth about $700m (£503.7m). And they own several private jets and cars, including a rare $2m (£1.4m) Porsche 959 and an electric Porsche Taycan. Washington, where the couple reside, is one of just nine US states which enforces “community property” laws, whereby courts presume that property bought during a marriage belongs jointly to the spouses and should be divided equally. The pair are scheduled to appear in court next April. The Gates’ split comes just shy of two years after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who is the world’s richest person, separated from his wife of 25 years MacKenzie Scott. Their divorce made Ms Scott the world’s fourth-richest woman, with a $38bn (£27.3bn) fortune. They also lived in Washington state. Ms French Gates and Ms Scott teamed up last year to launch a $30m (£21.6m) project called the Equality Can’t Wait Challenge, which, according to its website, aims to “expand women’s power and influence in the US by 2030”. Read More Bill Gates allegedly had special weekend deal with wife to holiday with ex QAnon conspiracy theorists are having a field day with Bill and Melinda Gates divorce Bill Gates hires Warren Buffett adviser’s legal team in ‘no pre-nup’ divorce from wife Melinda Bill and Melinda Gates divorce could shake up philanthropy The World’s Richest Men Are Brawling Over The Moon I was not around in the 1960s, when NASA embarked on its first mission to land people on the moon, but I have to assume that no one involved in the effort was making penis references to millions of people. The space brawl is illustrative of the modern state of American human spaceflight in a couple of ways. The first is that private companies now do the kind of space work that was once reserved for government agencies. SpaceX has launched astronauts to the International Space Station, and plans to fly non-astronauts as soon as the end of the year. Blue Origin appears closer to starting tourist flights to the edge of space. The vision of the modern-day spacefarer is poised to change dramatically. Read: American spaceflight is now in Elon Musk’s hands The second is that our space icons are now the powerful owners of private companies, who have infused space travel with their own personal narratives and idiosyncratic ambitions. During the Apollo era, the most visible participants in the moon effort were the astronauts—Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins—men who were certainly venerated but who approached their task with the duty of soldiers. At this moment, the most visible participants are eccentric billionaires having rocket-measuring contests in public. As part of the Artemis program, named for Apollo’s sister, NASA aims to land the first woman and person of color on the moon. But can you name any of the astronauts the agency has chosen to train for these missions, or any of the 11 astronauts on the ISS right now? Probably not, but you likely know that Musk is also responsible for Tesla, and Bezos for Amazon. You’re likely aware that Musk is dating a famous singer, and have seen that picture of a muscular Bezos in a puffer vest. You might have even heard that Musk is hosting Saturday Night Live next weekend. Regardless of what happens with the moon contract, these men will help shape humankind’s future in space for decades to come. Musk and Bezos have a colorful history of sparring over and snarking about space matters. When Blue Origin launched a rocket and then landed it upright back on the ground in a historic first, Musk praised Bezos, but pointed out that Blue Origin had only grazed the edge of space, and did not enter orbit. A month later, when SpaceX achieved the same feat with an orbital rocket, Bezos ignored the distinction and congratulated the company with a “Welcome to the club!” tweet. The billionaires have competed for the use of a famous NASA launchpad at Cape Canaveral, and scuffled over their respective initiatives to launch giant constellations of internet satellites into orbit. The companies have different mantras: Blue Origin’s is slow and steady, while SpaceX’s is more of a primal scream. The men’s starry-eyed dreams differ too: Musk wants to build a city on Mars; Bezos envisions floating stations of cities and beaches held in place by artificial gravity. But first, they both really, really want to be the one to take humankind back to the moon. Bill Gates Is Currently The World's Fourth Richest Person Photo credit: Getty Images - Getty Images Bill and Melinda Gates just announced their decision to divorce after 27 years of marriage. Of course, this separation impacts the couple and their family, but given the Gates' massive wealth and charitable foundation, many questions will arise surrounding the fate of the Gates fortune. Bill Gates was the co-founder of Microsoft and, according to Forbes, is currently worth an estimated $124 billion. Right now, he is the world's fourth richest person, after Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and LVMH's Bernald Arnault and family. Additionally, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the world's largest private charitable foundation, having amassed an estimated $51 billion in assets, according to CNBC. Gates stepped down from the board of Microsoft in March 2020, choosing to spend more time on his foundation. According to Forbes, the tech scion has donated $35.8 billion worth of Microsoft stock to the Gates Foundation, and now owns just over 1% of shares in the company. The couple announced their divorce on Twitter, sharing a joint statement. The pair implied that they would remain co-chairs of their foundation, and continue to advocate for the same public health causes as always. Read the full statement below. After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage. Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives. We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life. You Might Also Like

Bilgest bought yahoo!

 BILGETS  INVEST LIKE GENIUS

Bill Gates: 3 Ways To Invest Like The Genius Billionaire Bill Gates is a legendary businessman and entrepreneur, as well as being one of the richest people in the world. And while the majority of his fortune has come from his success in building Microsoft, Gates is a brilliant individual. Many have touted Gates’ incredible ability to retain knowledge. That’s what makes him so intelligent. And with all the free time and money he has on his hands, he has the ability to find and research revolutionary investments for the future. Gates’ intelligence has been proven time and again. He warned about the potential for a global pandemic for years before it actually happened. Furthermore, he has been a major proponent of cleaner energy and has cautioned about the disastrous effects of climate change. Much of what Bill Gates has done in his free time over the past years stems from his foundation and helping solve some of the world’s major problems. And although he may not necessarily do this work solely for the profit, following where revolutionary thinkers like Bill Gates are spending their time and money can lead to some great investment ideas. So here are three ways you can invest today. Climate change As I mentioned, Bill Gates has been one of the biggest proponents of adapting cleaner energy. The world is spiralling out of control when it comes to climate change, so it’s crucial to invest in major clean energy infrastructure projects. This is creating a tonne of growth potential in the industry. Investors can take advantage and buy a high-quality green energy growth stock like Northland Power for the long run. However, if you want to invest even more like Bill Gates, you may want to consider an investment in Uranium. One of the biggest Uranium companies in the world is a Canadian stock, Cameco Corp (TSX:CCO)(NYSE:CCJ). Renewable energy is important and will be crucial for the near term. Bill Gates’ solution is nuclear power, and in 2006 he founded TerraPower, a private company developing a new type of nuclear reactor. Story continues In the past nuclear energy has gotten a bad rap. But most of the major disasters with nuclear have come from technology designed in the mid-1900s. Today’s technology is much better, giving nuclear power the potential to be a game-changer. As this technology grows in popularity, so will the demand for Uranium, which is why producers like Cameco could be a great long-term investment. Cameco both produces as well as refines Uranium. The company has impressive operations that are well integrated, positioning it to take advantage of the growing nuclear industry. Currently, there are over 50 nuclear reactors under construction around the world. And with Bill Gates’ company, as well as several others contributing to the innovation of nuclear technology, Uranium stocks like Cameco could be worth an investment today. Bill Gates is one of the largest private owners of Farmland in the United States It’s a well-known fact that Bill Gates is one of the largest private owners of Farmland in the United States. In fact, many of the richest people in the world own a significant chunk of Farmland as an investment. The farmland and agriculture industry is an incredible industry for long-term investments as it will continue to grow for years. Farmland is one way to go. However, a much better investment for the average Canadian would be in a stock like Nutrien Ltd (TSX:NTR)(NYSE:NTR). Nutrien is best known as a massive fertilizer company. The dividend stock is the largest producer of potash and the third largest producer of nitrogen fertilizer in the world. However, the stock also has a massive retail segment giving it impressive vertical integration. While the company doesn’t own farmland per se, it’s tied to the agriculture industry. And given that it’s one of the most dominant companies in the industry, you can expect Nutrien to grow alongside the increased demand for agriculture. Plus, it pays an attractive dividend and is highly liquid, offering some major benefits to buying actual farmland. Waste management Finally, another key industry is waste management and sanitization. Not only does Bill Gates own Waste Management (TSX:WCN)(NYSE:WCN), a massive American company as one of his largest stock holdings, one of the main issues his foundation focuses on around the world is waste management and sanitization, as waste management is crucial for the health of communities and the environment as well. Waste Management is a top Canadian stock offering exposure to waste management that you may want to consider today. The company operates across Canada and the United States. The company collects transfers and disposes of waste from residential and industrial customers. It also offers recycling and landfill services. This is an essential industry that will only continue to grow as the population increases. Plus, managing waste correctly is crucial to preserving the planet for future generations. The stock has put up an impressive performance over the past couple of years and holds the potential to continue growing at a rapid pace well into the future. So if you want to invest like one of the world’s richest people, these are the three industries to consider. The post Bill Gates: 3 Ways to Invest Like the Genius Billionaire appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada. One industry Gates' isn't invested in, though, that may offer the most growth potential of them all is space! We’re issuing a BUY alert on this TSX space stock "Our team of diligent analysts at Motley Fool Stock Advisor Canada has identified one little-known public company founded right here in Canada that’s at the cutting-edge of the space industry and recently completed a transformational acquisition, all while making a handsome profit in the process! The best part is that in a market where many stocks are selling at all-time-highs, this stock is trading at what looks like a VERY reasonable valuation… for now. Click here to learn more about our #1 Canadian Stock for the New-Age Space Race More reading Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Fool contributor Daniel Da Costa owns shares of NORTHLAND POWER INC. And Nutrien Ltd. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends Nutrien Ltd and Waste Management. 5 Years From Now, You’ll Probably Wish You’d Grabbed These Stocks…Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canada’s free investing newsletter. You aren’t on the list to receive our newest stock picks — but it’s not too late. 2021 Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates, Wife Melinda Gates, Announce Divorce After 27-year Marriage Bill Gates, who co-founded Microsoft, and his wife Melinda, are divorcing after 27 years of marriage. The couple, who co-chair the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a global health and development charity, announced their split on Twitter, saying they would continue to work together at the foundation. "After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," they said in a joint statement posted by each on their Twitter feed. "Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives. We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life." Apple Watch: Apple reportedly looking at blood sugar, blood pressure and alcohol monitoring Trump ban: Will Facebook, Instagram bans stick? Facebook's Oversight Board to issue ruling Wednesday The couple's separation likely surprises many who know the couple as philanthropists. "I think we are all surprised on some level; many of us look up to Bill and Melinda Gates, particularly in this COVID era," said Leslie Barbara, an attorney and divorce & family law group chair with Davidoff Hutcher & Citron in New York. Marriages that end after 25 to 35 years are called "gray divorces, just like the hair color," said Marilyn Chinitz, a partner at Blank Rome LLP in New York who specializes in complex marital splits. Chinitz can't tell if the Gates' had a pre-or post-nuptial agreement. Either way, she said, they won't be suffering financially. "Sometimes the person you once knew and loved changes," Chinitz said. "Sometimes people fall out of love and it's clear that they did. Despite their wealth, they are no different than anybody else. They looked at each other and say, 'It’s time to move on.' Money doesn’t change that." Story continues The couple met in 1987 after Melinda became a product manager at Microsoft and were seated next to each other at a business dinner in New York City. They were married in 1994 in Hawaii. In a 2019 Netflix documentary entitled "Inside Bill's Brain," Melinda laughed about the memory of finding a whiteboard in Bill's bedroom that listed "the pros and the cons of getting married," CNBC reported. Melinda Gates spent a decade developing multimedia products at Microsoft before leaving to focus on their family and philanthropy, according to the Gates Foundation site. The couple have three children: Jenn, Rory and Phoebe. In 2015, Melinda, 56, started Pivotal Ventures, an investment and incubator to help solve problems facing women and families. Her book, "The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World," was published in 2019. In a 2019 USA TODAY editorial, she decried the still-present gender gap. "Based on data from its widely-respected Global Gender Gap Index, WEF estimates that it will take the United States another 208 years to reach gender equality. You read that right. At the current pace of change, gender equality won’t arrive in the U.S. Until the year 2227." The Gates Foundation, founded in 1994, has more than 1,600 employees, and has issued grant payments of more than $54.8 billion, according to the foundation's web site. Last year, Bill, formerly the world’s richest person, said he was stepping down from Microsoft’s board to focus on philanthropy. He became a prominent spokesperson last year as coronavirus spread, given Gates' previous warnings about a global pandemic. He expressed disbelief that a conspiracy theory had him masterminding the delivery of microchips in COVID-19 vaccine shots for the purpose of tracking people. It makes no sense technologically, he told USA TODAY in January. Even if it were possible, "Why would I be involved in that?" he said. "I don’t get it.” Bill was Microsoft’s CEO until 2000 and since then has gradually scaled back his involvement in the company he started with Paul Allen in 1975. He transitioned out of a day-to-day role in Microsoft in 2008 and served as chairman of the board until 2014. Bill, 65, is No. 4 on The Forbes Billionaires list. With $124 billion, behind Jeff Bezos ($177 billion), Elon Musk ($157 billion), Bernard Arnault & Family ($150 billion)... And ahead of Mark Zuckerberg ($97 billion). Barbara, the family law attorney, expects the Gates divorce to parallel that of Jeff Bezos and his then-wife MacKenzie in 2019. Bezos' net worth was $160 billion at the time; in their settlement, Bezos kept most of the assets and she got an Amazon stake valued at more than $35 billion. "They will likely continue to partner together rather than buy each other out and sell off assets," Barbara said. "It appears that it might make more sense for them to continue their professional endeavors in a similar fashion. But don't get me wrong, this will be complicated. Issues of control, passing on the assets to the next generation will likely be at the forefront of the negotiations." The holding company Cascade Investment is Bill Gates' biggest asset, Bloomberg reported. It has interests in real estate, energy, hospitality, Canadian National Railway, Deere & Co. Its value was $80 billion at one point, the Financial Times reported, but Gates has given about half away to charity. Bill remains a significant shareholder in Microsoft, with a 1.3% stake, valued at $26 billion, according to S&P Capital IQ. The couple owns several homes including a mansion nicknamed Xanadu 2.0 in Medina, Washington, overlooking Lake Washington on a 66,000 square-foot compound previously valued at $127 million, according to Business Insider. Last year, the couple bought the former home of Madeleine Pickens, the ex-wife of billionaire T. Boone Pickens, in Del Mar, California, valued at $43 million, The Wall Street Journal reported. They previously purchased for $18 million Jenny Craig’s 299-acre horse farm in Rancho Santa Fe, California, also near San Diego. As to how the couples' split will affect their foundation, Barbara said, "This is bigger than the two of them. I anticipate that they will do everything they can to ensure that this will be preserved so that their legacy will be carried on." The foundation issued a statement to Recode, which said "no changes" were planned for the organization or for Bill or Melinda Gates' roles. "They will continue to work together to shape and approve foundation strategies, advocate for the foundations's issues, and set the organization's overall direction," the foundation said. Contributing: Elizabeth Weise and Terry Collins, USA TODAY; The Associated Press Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bill and Melinda Gates announce divorce after 27 years of marriage 10 Things In Tech You Need To Know Today Elaine Thompson/AP Good morning and welcome to 10 Things in Tech. If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Let's get started. 1. Bill and Melinda Gates reportedly didn't sign a prenup. With nearly $150 billion at stake, they will split their property according to a "separation contract" they've agreed to instead. Bill Gates is the fourth-richest person in the world; here are 11 facts that show just how wealthy he really is. 2. A Silicon Valley realtor said the exodus from the region is overhyped. Instead, it's been a move to more affordable, spacious areas with better weather - but it is slightly easier than usual to buy a house near tech campuses like Google. More data on the tech elites' great migration (or lack thereof). 3. Some Peloton customers reported injuries and safety concerns as early as 2019. Peloton is facing backlash after reports that the Tread+ led to 38 injuries and a child's death. We spoke with five customers who experienced issues. Here's what they told us. 4. Donald Trump started a blog. Months after getting banned from Twitter and Facebook - and just before the Facebook Oversight Board's expected decision today - Trump has created a personal website to share statements, images, and videos. What we know so far. 5. Signal tried to buy Instagram ads that would show users how Facebook targets them. The ads would have displayed personal information that Facebook utilizes to target users - but Signal says Facebook shut down its account instead. View the ads that got blocked. 6. A judge ordered Tesla to turn over documents related to Elon Musk's $55 billion compensation plan. Shareholders sued Tesla in 2018, arguing its board wronged investors by awarding Musk such a lucrative package. Now, Tesla has to give up communications between Musk and its top lawyers. Get the full rundown. 7. Bill Gates added a $43 million beachfront home to his sprawling real estate portfolio last year. His empire also includes a $130 million Washington mansion, horse ranches in Florida, and a San Diego beach house. See Gates' property holdings around the country. Melinda Gates also made a big purchase before the divorce: $1.2 million cottage in Seattle. Story continues 8. More than 500,000 people have ordered or placed a deposit for its Starlink internet service, SpaceX said. The company also launched 60 more Starlink satellites into orbit on Tuesday to power the product. More on that here. 9. An electric-vehicle company is building a car with Uber specifically designed for the ride-hailing industry. The company, Arrival, is designing a fully electric car that is better suited for ride sharing than the typical Toyota Prius or Honda Civic. Here's what to expect. 10. Five top venture capitalists reveal the favorite cybersecurity startups in their portfolios. The cybersecurity market is booming since investors pumped a record $7.8 billion into the industry last year. See the startups backed by plugged-in investors. Have an Amazon Alexa device? Listen to this update by searching "Business Insider" in your flash briefing settings. Compiled by Jordan Erb. Tips/comments? Email jerb@insider.Com or tweet @JordanParkerErb. Read the original article on Business Insider

Tesla car

Tesla selfdriving car

Tesla Privately Admits Elon Musk Has Been Exaggerating About ‘full Self-driving’ © Photo by Britta Pedersen-Pool/Getty Images Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been overstating the capabilities of the company’s advanced driver assist system, the company’s director of Autopilot software told the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The comments came from a memo released by legal transparency group PlainSite, which obtained the documents from a public records request. It was the latest revelation about the widening gap between what Musk says publicly about Autopilot and what Autopilot can actually do. And it coincides with Tesla coming under increased scrutiny after a Tesla vehicle without anyone in the driver’s seat crashed in Texas, killing two men. “Elon’s tweet does not match engineering reality per CJ” “Elon’s tweet does not match engineering reality per CJ. Tesla is at Level 2 currently,” the California DMV said in the memo about its March 9th conference call with Tesla representatives, including the director of Autopilot software CJ Moore. Level 2 technology refers to a semi-automated driving system, which requires supervision by a human driver. In an earnings call in January, Musk told investors that he was “highly confident the car will be able to drive itself with reliability in excess of human this year.” (It would appear the DMV was referring to these January comments, which Moore misunderstood as a tweet from Musk.) Last October, Tesla introduced a new product called “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) beta to vehicle owners in its Early Access Program. The update enabled drivers to access Autopilot’s partially automated driver assist system on city streets and local roads. The early access program is used as a testing platform to help iron out software bugs. In the DMV memo, Tesla said that as of March 9th there were 824 vehicles in the pilot program, including 753 employees and 71 non-employees. Musk has said the company was handling the software update “very cautiously.” Drivers still are expected to keep their hands on the steering wheel and should be prepared to assume control of their Tesla at any time. But he has also offered lofty predictions about Tesla’s ability to achieve full autonomy that conflict with what his own engineers are saying to regulators. Tesla is unlikely to achieve Level 5 (L5) autonomy, in which its cars can drive themselves anywhere, under any conditions, without any human supervision, by the end of 2021, Tesla representatives told the DMV. The ratio of driver interaction would need to be in the magnitude of 1 or 2 million miles per driver interaction to move into higher levels of automation. Tesla indicated that Elon is extrapolating on the rates of improvement when speaking about L5 capabilities. Tesla couldn’t say if the rate of improvement would make it to L5 by end of calendar year. This isn’t the first time that Tesla’s private communications with the DMV have contradicted Musk’s public declarations about his company’s autonomous capabilities. In March, PlainSite published communications from last December between Tesla’s associate general counsel Eric Williams and California DMV’s chief of the autonomous vehicles branch, Miguel Acosta. In it, Williams notes that “neither Autopilot nor FSD Capability is an autonomous system, and currently no comprising feature, whether singularly or collectively, is autonomous or makes our vehicles autonomous.” In other words, Tesla’s FSD beta is self-driving in name only. “Tesla couldn’t say if the rate of improvement would make it to L5 by end of calendar year” (Al Prescott, associate general counsel at Tesla, was also involved in the December meeting with the DMV. Prescott has since left Tesla for LIDAR maker Luminar.) Tesla and Musk have long been criticized for overstating the capabilities of the company’s Autopilot system, which in its most basic form can center a Tesla vehicle in a lane and around curves and adjust the car’s speed based on the vehicle ahead. The use of brand names like Autopilot and FSD has also helped contribute to an environment in which Tesla customers are misled into believing their vehicles can actually drive themselves. There have been a number of fatal crashes involving Tesla vehicles with Autopilot enabled. The latest took place in Spring, Texas, in which two men were killed after their Tesla smashed into a tree. Local law enforcement said there was no one in the driver’s seat at the time of the crash, leading to speculation that the men were misusing Autopilot. Later, Tesla claimed that Autopilot was not in use at the time of the crash and someone may have been in the driver’s seat, too. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are both investigating the crash, in addition to dozens of other incidents involving Tesla Autopilot. Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment, likely because the company has dissolved its press office and typically doesn’t respond to media requests anymore. Tesla Model 3, Model Y Get More Expensive As Automaker Jacks Up Prices Again © Provided by Roadshow Tesla If you ordered a Tesla Model 3 earlier this week, good job -- as of sometime in the wee morning hours of Friday, Tesla instituted yet another price increase for the electric sedan. Tesla Model Y prices jump up again too, as the company's website now shows. The Model 3 became a $40,000 vehicle last month, but as of today, the cheapest version, the Standard Range, now sits closer to $41,000 at $40,690. The Long Range version increases to $49,690. All prices include a $1,200 destination charge and show Tesla bumped up the actual price by $500 for both vehicles. The Model 3 Performance holds steady at $58,190. And keep in mind, these prices assume you select a white exterior color; any other hue and the price increases by at least $1,000. © Tesla As for the Model Y, it also sees a $500 price increase for the Long Range AWD variant, and now costs $52,690. Like its sedan counterpart, the Model Y Performance doesn't get a price increase this time around and remains at $62,190. Tesla does not operate a public relations department to field requests for comment, so we don't have an official answer for why these increases continue to occur so frequently. The automaker has never followed "traditional" model year cycles, often updating its cars at a moment's notice and rejiggering prices accordingly. However, this year, we've already seen more increases compared to years past. One possible explanation is Tesla is simply cashing in on high demand for its cars. On the other hand, the company may need to pass along additional costs to buyers as the global semiconductor chip shortage ravages automotive supply chains. This was originally published on Roadshow. Gallery: Koenigsegg Jesko (motor1.Com) Tesla Admits Totally Self-driving Cars Likely Aren't Happening In 2021 © Provided by Roadshow The goal was a lofty one. Tesla A Tesla engineer has admitted to California regulators the company probably won't have a completely self-driving car ready for operation this year. That's despite CEO Elon Musk saying during a January earnings call the company was "highly confident" it would achieve full autonomy in 2021. The admission comes from a document of exchanges dated May 6 between the California Department of Motor Vehicles and CJ Moore, an Autopilot engineer working for Tesla, released via the legal transparency group PlainSite. "Tesla indicated that Elon is extrapolating on the rates of improvement when speaking about [Level 5] capabilities," part of the memo from the DMV read. "Tesla couldn't say if the rate of improvement would make it to L5 by end of calendar year." © Tesla Level 5 capabilities refers to a fully autonomous car on the SAE scale of autonomy. Anything Tesla currently employs today, from Autopilot to the "Full Self-Driving" beta, registers as a Level 2 driver-assist system -- not a self-driving car. The memo added Tesla remains "firmly" in L2 technology. Tesla does not operate a public relations department to field requests for comment. The California DMV did not immediately return a request for comment. The automaker continues to take a unique approach to realizing the goal of a truly autonomous car: While other companies and rival automakers focus on lidar to help a car "see," Tesla hopes a neural network combined with sensors, radar and cameras will create a smart car good enough to drive itself. Tesla finally gave its Model S sedan a much needed refresh. © Provided by Roadshow This was originally published on Roadshow.

BITCOIN

 BITCOIN!

Crypto20 Shows Relentless Growth, Breakneck Pace Of Bitcoin As the value of bitcoin has skyrocketed in the first months of 2021, Invictus Capital’s Crypto20 (C20) fund has seen its savvy investors reap astronomical rewards. The fund’s token has gone parabolic with 221% appreciation over the quarter, outpacing even bitcoin’s breakneck performance. In mid-April, Invictus Capital released its first quarterly report for 2021, describing the performance shown by the company’s suite of seven innovative investment funds offered to clients, as well as providing commentary on a number of topics of relevance to the company. These include global financial market commentary (covering both traditional and crypto markets) as well as a discussion of the company’s recent achievements, which include the launch of the community token ICAP, and the roadmap for future products and platform features. Although the crypto rally has been kind to all of Invictus Capital’s investors in recent months, a definite highlight of the quarter was the rise of C20, with the fund having achieved a 221% gain in the first three months of the year. C20 is Invictus Capital’s flagship index fund, composed of the 20 most successful crypto assets measured by market cap (and excluding stablecoins). This means that, in addition to bitcoin, it is also host to a number of other prominent assets — including tokens with incredible growth potential in the burgeoning decentralized finance (DeFi) space. Holdings are rebalanced every week in accordance with new market data. Additionally, no more than 10% of the fund can be tied to one individual coin at a time, making the fund an attractive vehicle for broader altcoin exposure where future gains can arguably be expected to outperform the current market leaders as they gain in prominence — an attribute exhibited last quarter as the fund outperformed both Bitcoin and Ethereum. The recent bull run has vindicated the decision of the earliest C20 investors, who as a result of the fund’s launch coinciding with the later stage of the 2017 rally, have had to endure years of their investment showing a negative return. The current token price, in excess of $4, now represents over 300% appreciation over the fund’s life, and this performance is likely to continue as the fund continues to benefit from relatively small cap coins continuing to break powerfully into the mainstream, as witnessed by assets with strong fundamentals like Filecoin and Solana entering the C20 index decisively without showing any signs of looking back. The rise of crypto interest platforms like Celsius and BlockFi have helped educate the market on the importance of letting your assets work for you, and C20 is no stranger to generating yield, having earned about 3% APY over the last quarter through margin lending and the implementation of yield generating techniques enabled by getting crypto exposure via derivatives markets. This easily outstrips the small management fee (0.5% p.A.) that the fund charges, and yields are set to continue climbing as these strategies are refined and scaled up. In short, C20 has something for everyone in the fast new world of cryptocurrency, presenting investors with an opportunity to see returns beyond even the value of bitcoin, while also being carefully protected from some of the volatility that cryptocurrencies are infamous for. Turkish Government Requiring Exchanges To Report Bitcoin Trades Over $1,200 Adding to its recent moves to close in on what it sees as cryptocurrency’s potential to facilitate criminal activity,the Turkish government has announced that cryptocurrency exchanges in the country must report any transactions that exceeds 10,000 Turkish lira (equivalent to $1,200) to the government's financial crime agency, according to a report from Decrypt. Announcing the decision on the national channel CNN Türk, Turkey's treasury and finance minister Lütfi Elvan noted that exchanges would have a timeframe of ten days to report customers who carry out transactions that exceed this benchmark. The minister maintained that the government doesn’t think that cryptocurrency traders have malicious intent, but that its anti-money laundering (AML) rules are modelled after those of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international standard-setter for AML regulations. “People must educate themselves about crypto,” Elvan said, adding that "I often hear from citizens who invest in crypto, and when I ask them what crypto is, they often have no idea.” However, the minister didn't reveal when the new rule would take effect. The new rule is just one part of Turkey’s quickly-evolving regulatory environment regarding the use of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In April, it banned the use of cryptocurrency payment services, citing a lack of mechanisms for central authority supervision of such payments. Later that month, reports surfaced indicating that the country would establish a central bank custodian for cryptocurrency exchanges, following apparent exit scams by the operators of two local exchanges. Meanwhile, the lira has lost significant value in the last year, making bitcoin an attractive option to citizens in the face of these increased regulatory barriers to using it. Founder Of Failed B.C. Cryptocurrency Exchange Ordered To Pay $535K For Broken Bitcoin Contract © Tristan Le Rudulier/CBC The CBC interviewed Michael Gokturk in 2018, a year before the collapse of the Einstein Exchange. He has been ordered to pay a client $535,000 for breach of contract related to the sale of 50 bitcoin. The founder of a failed B.C. Cryptocurrency exchange has been ordered to pay $535,000 to a man who agreed to sell him 50 bitcoin in 2019 — despite the fact the missing commodity is now worth more than $3 million. According to a B.C. Supreme Court judgment, Michael Gokturk wrote to Scott Nelson in August 2019, two months after Nelson transferred bitcoin into Gokturk's digital wallet at an agreed price of $10,700 a piece. Within months, Gokturk's Einstein Exchange would shut its doors amid a B.C. Securities Commission investigation, a cloud of complaints, lawsuits and debts of $16 million owing to customers. "None of this is your problem and I owe you what I owe you," Gokturk wrote to Nelson, who was asking for the money he'd been promised. "Keep these text messages and email records as proof. I am sorry I have been avoiding you. This has been the absolute worst year of my entire existence. These are not excuses, I just don't know what to tell you besides the truth." 'Wire is being set up right now' The details of the correspondence are contained in a B.C. Supreme ruling released this week. Nelson, a Vancouver technology entrepreneur, sued Gokturk for breach of contract in 2019, asking for either the amount the bitcoin was worth on the open market on Feb. 16, 2021 — $3,084,393 — or the amount Gokturk originally agreed to pay. © Yvette Brend/CBC The Einstein Exchange shut its doors in 2019 after a slew of complaints. An interim receiver found that the company had assets of $45,000 and debts of $16 million. In coming to a decision, Justice Sheila Tucker found Gokturk had breached a contract that concluded on June 7, 2019, when he sent Nelson a text reading: "BTC received! Thank you. Wire is being set up right now. Will send you confirmation." Tucker said the law required her to award Nelson the amount lost at the time of the breach, not the amount his bitcoin would be worth in 2021, following recent astronomical gains. "Using the date of breach to assess the damages puts the defendant in the position he would have been had the contract been fulfilled, Tucker wrote. "The fact that [bitcoin] is worth more now than it was at the time of the contract does not result in an injustice." 'No one will lose their money here' The judgment comes a year and a half after accountants estimated that the Einstein Exchange had "hard" assets of $30,000 in cash and less than $15,000 in cryptocurrency when the court appointed an interim receiver to take control of the company on Nov. 1, 2019. The same report noted that customers were owed around $16 million, noting Nelson's lawsuit and another call from a creditor who said they were owed $7 million but had not yet filed a claim with the court. © Dan Kitwood/Getty Images A visual representation of the digital cryptocurrency, bitcoin. Bitcoin has seen a massive increase in value, which poses a question for judges trying to determine the value of the loss in a contract breach. Gokturk spoke to the CBC in January 2018 about a storm of online criticism that accompanied the opening of the exchange. Customers claimed that staff were slow to respond and expressed fear they might lose their money. At the time, Gokturk claimed his team was overwhelmed by the response and demand for digital currency and promised that "no one will lose their money here." Gokturk has filed responses to a number of B.C. Supreme Court claims in the months since the collapse of the Einstein Exchange, arguing that he was not personally liable for agreements made with the company. The responses claim the customers signed agreements acknowledging that "some digital currency exchanges had been the subject of cyberattacks that have resulted in the loss or theft of digital currencies to their users and there is a risk that a similar cyberattack could affect Einstein's services and result in the theft or loss of your digital currencies." According to Tucker's decision, Gokturk's counsel withdrew last November, after which he stopped responding to Nelson's lawyer and failed to attend an examination for discovery. He did not respond to a request for comment through LinkedIn. 'Which date do you use?' Evan Thomas, a Toronto-based litigator with Osler who specializes in digital assets and blockchain, says Tucker's decision is notable because it's one of only a few in a growing body of Canadian law to deal with disputes involving cryptocurrency. He says it's interesting to see judges treat bitcoin as property in the same way as a physical asset like a gold bar. Thomas says courts have also had to grapple with the question of how to determine the value of a commodity that has seen such rapid shifts in worth in recent months. © David Horemans/CBC A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled that the founder of a collapsed bitcoin exchange must pay $535,000 for breaking a contract to purchase 50 bitcoin. In the past year alone, bitcoin has risen from around $13,000 Cdn per unit to highs of nearly $80,000. One bitcoin was worth $68,000 Cdn Thursday. "This has come up before in cases about how do you value bitcoin, a cryptocurrency which is a bit unique in commodities in that the prices can change quite dramatically over relatively short periods of times," he said. "So, of course, there's an obvious question: which date do you use?" Thomas says it's well-settled law that breach of contract disputes assign value at the date the breach occurred — which in Gokturk and Nelson's agreement was June 2019, "when the buyer actually failed to pay the money for the bitcoin." The decision says Nelson doesn't know whether Gokturk sold the 50 bitcoin and if he still has any or all of it in his possession. Thomas says it's easy to see how Nelson might feel out of pocket by $2.5 million, even if Gokturk pays the court-ordered amount. But had bitcoin dropped in value instead of soaring in the interim, Thomas says Nelson likely would not have asked for 50 worthless bitcoin as compensation. "The law says it you're going to make that argument when the price goes down, you have to live by the same argument if the price goes up," Thomas said. "We can all disagree on whether that's fair or not, but that's just what the law is."

Noise pollution control

Noise pollution control 

Des Moines Considers "sound Permit Zones" To Combat Noise Pollution Des Moines will consider "sound permit zones" to control noise in at least five downtown districts. Why it matters: Getting it right is important to balance the needs of our growing downtown living and entertainment spaces. Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free. Noise pollution can affect our health, especially for those living near entertainment venues, but overly strict ordinances could quash the vibrancy that we’ve worked decades to build. Flashback: Des Moines overhauled zoning ordinances in 2019, retiring longtime zoning districts used to determine where sound permits could be issued. A new noise restriction review was launched soon after the changes. Live music supporters were concerned that earlier noise ordinance ideas could hamper outdoor concerts at the new $13 million Lauridsen Amphitheater in Water Works Park. What’s new: The proposed zones include areas surrounding Wells Fargo Arena, Western Gateway Park. Principal Park, and two locations in the East Village. Water Works Park is not in one of the zones. Venues would get up to 10 permits a month, but face restrictions like: A maximum decibel level of 85. (Extended periods over 70 can hearing damage, per the EPA.) Going quiet by 11pm on weeknights and 12:30am on weekends/holidays. Areas with nearby housing would be more tightly regulated. What they’re saying: City officials are making earnest efforts to strike the right balance, Loyd Ogle, one of the co-founders of the 80/35 Music Festival that's held in Western Gateway Park, told Axios. "But it’s difficult to regulate sound. It might look good on paper but until it is in practice, it’s hard to know if it’s right," Ogle said. What’s next: The City Council is expected to consider a proposal in coming weeks. Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free. Noise Pollution May Prevent Forest Growth: Study On Location: April 16, 2021 SHARE SHARE TWEET SHARE EMAIL Click to expand UP NEXT This is an Inside Science story. The effects of noise can reach organisms without ears. Because of the way living things rely on each other, noise pollution may actually stop some forests from growing, a new study suggests. In a New Mexico woodland dominated by pinyon pine and juniper trees, researchers found far fewer tree seedlings in noisy sites than they did in quiet ones. The study raises questions about the future of the area. "If the noise stays there long term, are we going to see the slow-motion transition from a pinyon-pine forest to more of a scrubland, and lose this important ecosystem of the pinyon pine which supports so much wildlife?" said Jennifer Phillips, a behavioral ecologist at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. The study area is dotted with gas wells, some of which are quiet and some of which have compressors that create a constant din. This allowed Phillips and her colleagues to compare sites that were similar except for noise level. © STOCK IMAGE/Campphoto/Getty Images A hiker walks through a wooded area in Navajo County, Arizona in an undated stock image. In areas that had been noisy for at least 15 years, the researchers found only about 13 pinyon seedlings and four juniper seedlings per hectare, compared with 55 pinyon seedlings and 29 juniper seedlings per hectare in quiet areas. The noise also seemed to affect the rest of the plant community, with different wildflower and shrub species dominating in loud versus quiet sites. The differences in plant growth were probably caused by changes in animal behavior, said Phillips. For example, noise might drive away certain pollinators such as bees, bats and moths. In the case of pinyon and juniper trees, the problem was likely a lack of animals to disperse seeds. Pinyons depend on scrub jays to carry their seeds away from the parent tree, and scrub jays are known to avoid noise. It's possible the foxes and other animals that disperse juniper seeds are also noise-averse. © STOCK IMAGE/Campphoto/Getty Images MORE: Fantastic yeasts and where to find them: The science behind sourdough starters MORE: Dragonflies can do midair backflips -- even while unconscious The differences between the sites aren't yet obvious to someone walking through them, said Sarah Termondt, a botanist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who helped conduct the study. That's probably because pinyons and junipers are slow-growing, with most of the mature trees in such woodlands being over a century old. Moreover, pinyons only produce seeds once every five to seven years, so it takes a long time for them to recover. In previously noisy sites that had been quiet for the last two to four years, junipers were once again sprouting, but pinyon seedlings were still scarce. The findings suggest noise pollution is more than a mere nuisance, according to the researchers -- it could be a serious threat with the power to transform ecosystems. The study was published Tuesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Inside Science is an editorially independent nonprofit print, electronic and video journalism news service owned and operated by the American Institute of Physics. Inside Science Noise Pollution Could Stop Forests From Growing Researchers found fewer tree seedlings on noisy plots in a pinyon-juniper woodland, likely because the sound drove away animals that disperse seeds. (Inside Science) -- The effects of noise can reach organisms without ears. Because of the way living things rely on each other, noise pollution may actually stop some forests from growing, a new study suggests. In a New Mexico woodland dominated by pinyon pine and juniper trees, researchers found far fewer tree seedlings in noisy sites than they did in quiet ones. The study raises questions about the future of the area. "If the noise stays there long term, are we going to see the slow-motion transition from a pinyon-pine forest to more of a scrubland, and lose this important ecosystem of the pinyon pine which supports so much wildlife?" said Jennifer Phillips, a behavioral ecologist at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. The study area is dotted with gas wells, some of which are quiet and some of which have compressors that create a constant din. This allowed Phillips and her colleagues to compare sites that were similar except for noise level. In areas that had been noisy for at least 15 years, the researchers found only about 13 pinyon seedlings and four juniper seedlings per hectare, compared with 55 pinyon seedlings and 29 juniper seedlings per hectare in quiet areas. The noise also seemed to affect the rest of the plant community, with different wildflower and shrub species dominating in loud versus quiet sites. The differences in plant growth were probably caused by changes in animal behavior, said Phillips. For example, noise might drive away certain pollinators such as bees, bats and moths. In the case of pinyon and juniper trees, the problem was likely a lack of animals to disperse seeds. Pinyons depend on scrub jays to carry their seeds away from the parent tree, and scrub jays are known to avoid noise. It's possible the foxes and other animals that disperse juniper seeds are also noise-averse. The differences between the sites aren't yet obvious to someone walking through them, said Sarah Termondt, a botanist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who helped conduct the study. That's probably because pinyons and junipers are slow-growing, with most of the mature trees in such woodlands being over a century old. Moreover, pinyons only produce seeds once every five to seven years, so it takes a long time for them to recover. In previously noisy sites that had been quiet for the last two to four years, junipers were once again sprouting, but pinyon seedlings were still scarce. The findings suggest noise pollution is more than a mere nuisance, according to the researchers -- it could be a serious threat with the power to transform ecosystems. The study was published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.