Business

Turns Out, Siri Was Eavesdropping

Apple to settle 95 million dollar lawsuit.

A disconcerting settlement took place in Oakland last week, as Apple agreed to pay $95 million following accusations that they were deploying Siri to eavesdrop on people. 

The lawsuit was first filed against Apple five years ago, alleging that the company surreptitiously activated siri to record conversations through iPhones and other Apple devices… for more than a decade! The recordings would even occur when people did not seek to activate the virtual assistant. 

So they weren’t just recording your conversations with Siri, but also tapping into your phone whenever to listen in. Some of these recorded conversations were then shared with advertisers in an attempt to sell their products to consumers more likely to be interested in the goods and services, according to the lawsuit.

Which might explain why you would immediately see digital ads for a product shortly after talking about it with someone. 

This all comes despite Apple’s long-running commitment to protect the privacy of its customers… or so they say. 

These allegations, which lead to the settlement, certainly paint a concerning picture of a real breach of privacy. Many have always suggested that your Alexa, or other smart devices, are always listening in to your conversations and homes. But this might serve as the first true acknowledgement of it. 

Now, of course, a settlement does not necessarily signify guilt. And Apple hasn’t acknowledged any wrongdoing. But you don’t often hand over $95 million for absolutely no reason.

If the settlement is approved, tens of millions of consumers who owned iPhones and other Apple devices from September 17, 2014 through 2024, could file claims. Each consumer could receive up to $20 per Siri-equipped device covered by the settlement, although the payment could be reduced or increased, depending on the volume of claims. 

Only 3-5% of eligible consumers are expected to file claims.

Biden Blocks Steel

Nippon will not be acquiring US steel, what does this mean?

President Joe Biden announced on Friday that he has decided to block a $15 billion takeover of U.S. Steel by the Japanese company Nippon Steel, capping off a yearlong saga.

A national security review by a Treasury Department committee failed to reach a consensus on the deal last month and deferred the final decision to the president. NBC News had reported back in September that Biden was preparing to block the takeover, so this announcement shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise. 

The decision does come in the final weeks of Biden’s presidency, who said in a statement: “steel production, and the steel workers who produce it, are the backbone of our nation. A strong domestically owned and operated steel industry represents an essential national security priority and is critical for resilient supply chains. … Without domestic steel production and domestic steel workers, our nation is less strong and less secure.”

President-elect Donald Trump had also voiced opposition to the takeover proposal during his presidential campaign. 

Following the news, U.S. Steel’s stock fell more than 6% on Friday.

Meanwhile, in a joint statement, U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel condemned Biden’s decision, saying it “reflects a clear violation of due process and the law.” The companies also hinted at taking legal action.

On the flip side, United Steelworkers, the union representing many of the company’s employees, hailed the announcement… as you would imagine.

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Tech

Tech Leaders Predict 2025

Top leaders in tech share their predictions. 

AI dominated the tech space in 2024. And, according to experts in the field, 2025 won’t be much different. Many tech leaders, such as Bill Gates and Amazon’s CTO, made predictions for 2025, which centered mostly around AI, as well as potential tariffs under President-elect Donald Trump - which (at least) one executive believes could lead to higher prices and project cuts for businesses.

While AI was the popular point of discussion, the predictions were still mixed - which indicates the (still) uncertain future for artificial intelligence. However, many executives believe that the way people interact with technology will continue to change in the new year and will most likely impact jobs across the country.

Amazon CTO Werner Vogels wrote last month that “the workforce of tomorrow will not only be driven by financial success and career progression, but by a deeper desire to create positive change in the world.”

Meanwhile, Clement Delangue, the CEO of AI startup Hugging Face, predicted on LinkedIn that the “first major public protest related to AI” is coming in 2025. 

Bill Gates has been claiming for a decade that two-thirds of all jobs in the U.S. will require some form of education beyond high school by 2025… well, now we’ll find out if he was correct.

The greater concern, though, might be the amount of those jobs that disappear because of AI. Don McGuire, CFO at ADP, said “things that people used to sit beside you and have a headset, now you can do those things with GenAI tools.”

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Economy

EV on the Move for Ford and GM

They even outgrew Tesla.

Tesla’s fourth-quarter sales didn’t live up to the lofty expectations, as Ford and GM grew their EV sales faster. 

GM more than doubled its EV sales (125%) for the full year, up to 114,000 vehicles, while Tesla suffered a decline. GM just reported last week that its Q4 EV sales jumped 50% alone to nearly 44,000 units.

GM launched several new Cadillac and Chevrolet electric models in 2024, such as the Equinox EV.

Ford’s hybrid sales grew 27% in Q4 and its EV sales increased 16% - both much higher than its traditional vehicles (7%). For the full year, Ford’s total EV sales jumped 38% to a record 285,291 units. Meanwhile, the sales of its traditional vehicles only increased by 0.2%.

Ford added 2.3% on Friday, closing at $9.88 a share. Meanwhile, GM added 1.3%, while Tesla only added 0.8%.

Tesla’s U.S. sales fell 6% in 2024, down to 633,000 vehicles. However, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives forecasted a better 2025 for Tesla with the expected launch of a cheaper new EV, the growth of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software, and the Cybercab as potential growth drivers. 

Still, while those two did better than the market, unlike the EV king, Tesla does still dominate the industry with about 50% market share. Meanwhile, GM is around 12% - which is much better than the 6.5% they held at the start of the year.

Overall, GM is still the #1 U.S automaker, selling more total cars than anyone else in 2024 (2.7 million, which was an increase of 4%).

Deportations to Tank Mexico’s Economy

How will mass deportation affect the economy?

As president-elect Donald Trump gets set to retake office, exports are warning that his mass deportation policy will wreck Mexico's economy.

As Trump plans to deport all U.S. individuals who are here illegally, with a particular focus on those who have committed crimes, exports estimate that Mexico will need to invest millions of dollars to provide care, food, housing and transportation for the deported migrants, as well as for those arriving from other countries. 

Banxico, Mexico’s National Bank, reported that migrants in the U.S. sent $63.3 billion to Mexico in 2023. From January to October of this year alone, the amount has already reached nearly $55 billion. 

Meanwhile, mass deportations could cost the U.S. a staggering $315 billion for ao one-time effort, according to the American Immigration Council. The long-term cost of deporting one million people per year could average $88 billion annually, totaling $968 billion over a decade. 

“They’re talking about deporting 11-13 million undocumented migrants now in the United States, it seems like an impossible tak. But, if only 1-2 million people get deported, it would still be a huge strike on the Mexican economy,” said Ismael Plascencia Lopez, a specialist with the Northwest Mexico Federation of Economists.

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Politics

No Love Lost

What’s up with Trump and Biden as the inauguration looms, and no today’s date is not lost on us.

 Inauguration day is now just two weeks away. And according to some, the relationship between the current president and the future president is worsening by the day. Just wait until the two have to share the armored limo on January 20th… it might turn into some sort of episode of Celebrity DeathMatch. 

President Joe Biden has continued to take shots at President-elect Donald Trump. When asked what Trump should take away from the life of Jimmy Carter after the 39th president’s passing, he replied, “decency. Decency. Decency.”

“Can you imagine Jimmy Carter, walking by someone who needs something and just keep walking? Can you imagine Jimmy Carter referring to someone by the way they look or the way they talk? I can’t,” Biden continued. “The rest of the world looks to us … and [Carter] was worth looking to.”

The two have also gone back and forth, with Trump mostly responding through social media, on the topics of Liz Cheney, the terrorist attack in New Orleans last week and the lowering of flags following Carter’s death.

Both Biden and Trump officials say that the two administrations have worked well together on key national security questions and that U.S. adversaries should not try to exploit the transition. However, it seems the two have never been more estranged.

It shall be an interesting day two weeks from today. At least a peaceful transfer of power is expected from President Biden.

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