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Personal

Hey Siri, are you really ’20x’ more on top of it this year? Apple personal assistant getting new look in iOS 14

By Gertrude Aziz 6 days ago

Apple will stage its traditional post-Labor Day product reveal on Tuesday, where it is expected to tout new editions of the Apple Watch and iPad.

Along the way, there will be new things for Siri to do as well on the iPad, as part of the iOS mobile operating system upgrade. Siri is the oft-maligned but heavily used personal assistant.

This year, Siri will tout a “completely new look,” with “over 20x more facts than just three years ago.” Yes, Apple actually says this, on the promo page for the iOS 14 upgrade, which has traditionally been made available in September. (We first met Siri way back in October 2011, on the iPhone 4S.)

I downloaded iOS14 this week from Apple’s Beta site to give it a spin and engage in that great parlor game of asking Siri (and Alexa and the Google Assistant) multiple questions, to see if I

Finance

What would a no-deal Brexit do to the economy on top of Covid-19?

By Gertrude Aziz 1 week ago

Britain is going through the most profound economic shock in living memory.

Shutting down swathes of the economy to battle the pandemic wiped more than one-quarter off GDP by April. The rebound is underway but still far from complete.

Into this mighty crunch-and-recovery cycle comes a structural shift: Brexit.

The possibility of ending the transition period without a new deal with the EU appears to be very real.

What would that mean for the economy, and how would these two shocks compare?

A ‘no deal’ Brexit was once seen as the biggest threat facing the economy. That was in an age before Covid. Now, pretty much nothing will register as a big shock on any graph of GDP, because the crash and recovery are quite literally off the charts which were used before this year.

That does not mean any new economic developments are unimportant, however.

The nature

Money

Top tips for shopping online marketplaces for back-to-school and remote work supplies

By Gertrude Aziz 1 week ago

The early days of the pandemic put an urgency in Americans to buy home gym equipment and video games to help pass the time. Now as COVID-19 remains an everyday presence in the country, people are outfitting their homes to foster learning and productivity.

Searches and purchases for remote learning and working essentials like desks, webcams, and printers were up as much as 200% from July to August compared with the previous year, according to data from OfferUp, an online peer-to-peer marketplace.

The run on goods caused by quarantine measures has sent the retail supply chain into overload with Americans turning to secondary markets, or ‘re-commerce,’ the portmanteau of recycling and e-commerce.

Online marketplaces have replaced traditional yard sales and the go-to destination for second-hand goods. (Photo: Getty)

“More and more people are turning to retail marketplaces like OfferUp to buy things that they really need,” Nick Huzar, CEO and

Personal

Ontario premier defends province’s top doctor, ‘You cannot hold big parties,’ Dr. Tam warns

By Gertrude Aziz 1 week ago

Yahoo News Canada is committed to providing our readers with the most accurate and recent information on all things coronavirus. We know things change quickly, including some possible information in this story. For the latest on COVID-19, we encourage our readers to consult online resources like Canada’s public health website, World Health Organization, as well as our own Yahoo Canada homepage.

As cases of COVID-19 continue to spread around the world, Canadians seem to be increasingly concerned about their health and safety.

Currently, there are more than 6,00 active cases of COVID-19 in Canada (with more than 131,000 diagnoses so far) and 9,100 deaths. Nearly 90 per cent of the country’s reported COVID-19 cases have recovered.

Check back for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak in Canada.

For a full archive of the first month of the pandemic, please check our archive of events.

September 8

Finance

Boasting A 64% Return On Equity, Is Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) A Top Quality Stock?

By Gertrude Aziz 2 weeks ago

While some investors are already well versed in financial metrics (hat tip), this article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE) and why it is important. By way of learning-by-doing, we’ll look at ROE to gain a better understanding of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG).

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder’s equity.

Check out our latest analysis for Booking Holdings

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for return on equity is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders’ Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Booking Holdings is:

64% = US$2.5b ÷ US$4.0b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).

The ‘return’ is the income the business

Insurance

Pfizer says vaccine may be ready by end of October; Canada’s top doctor urges wearing a mask during sex

By Gertrude Aziz 2 weeks ago

Amid reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is telling some health officials around the country to be ready to start distributing a coronavirus vaccine by November, the chairman and CEO of Pfizer said Thursday that the company may have an effective vaccine by the end of October.

That timeline is “conceivable” but not likely, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told CNN Thursday.

Meanwhile, higher education continues to grapple with the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

At the University of Georgia, nearly 800 students tested positive for COVID-19 or reported positive tests last week, the first full week of classes, and the university has set aside or rented nearly 500 rooms on and off campus for students in quarantine or isolation. Iowa State University on Wednesday reversed its decision to allow 25,000 fans to its home-opening football game, and 30 out of 40

Insurance

Canada’s top doctor says wear a mask during sex; cyberattacks hit virtual class; more colleges alter reopening

By Gertrude Aziz 2 weeks ago

Higher education continues to grapple with the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with more universities altering plans on Wednesday.

That includes Iowa State University, which, two days after announcing plans to allow 25,000 fans to its home-opening football game, reversed its decision. Also Wednesday, 30 out of 40 Greek houses at Indiana University-Bloomington were asked to quarantine after a spike in coronavirus cases. School officials on Monday reported an 8% positivity rate among students living in Greek houses.

Some universities, however, are staying the course. University of South Carolina officials said they had no plans of shutting down campus even after reporting over 1,000 confirmed cases among students.

Some significant developments:

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson revealed Wednesday that he, his wife and two young daughters all tested positive for COVID-19.
A coronavirus vaccine may be ready to distribute by Nov. 1, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control

Business

5 Top Stocks for September

By Gertrude Aziz 2 weeks ago

Some investors may have heard of the September Effect, which is a phenomenon in which stocks tend to drop slightly in September in markets around the world. Since World War II, the S&P 500 has dropped by an average of 0.5% in September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, for its part, declines an average of 0.8% during the month.

So what should savvy, long-term investors do to outsmart the September Effect? Absolutely nothing. Speculating on what the market might do is not a good way to build wealth. Instead, focus your attention on finding great companies that have the potential to beat the market over the long term — September Effect be darned — and let the other investors worry about what month it is.

To help you do that, a handful of Motley Fool contributors have put together a list of five top stocks for you to consider

Insurance

How the coronavirus is changing the influencer business, according to marketers and top creators on Instagram and YouTube

By Gertrude Aziz 2 weeks ago

Macy Mariano.

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Macy Mariano.

Marketers and digital creators are adjusting to changes in the influencer-marketing industry as the coronavirus continues to spread globally.
As with most businesses in the ad industry, professionals have trimmed budgets, canceled events, and looked for alternative revenue streams.
Several months in, brand deals are slowly starting to trickle back and creators are adjusting to a new normal in their careers.
Business Insider spoke with influencer-marketing professionals across the industry to better understand how they are adjusting their businesses to continue to earn a living during the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic turmoil.
Subscribe to Business Insider’s influencer newsletter.

This post will be added to when new information becomes available and was last updated on September 1.

As the near-term effects of the coronavirus outbreak continue to be felt across the global economy, businesses and creators in the influencer-marketing industry

Personal

Klarna, Affirm and Brex Make List of Top Fintech ‘Unicorns’

By Gertrude Aziz 3 weeks ago

technology sector is seeing a flurry of fresh investments — even as deal activity is dropping, noted researchers at CB Insights in the firm’s latest quarterly “State of Fintech” report.” data-reactid=”19″Fintech is on fire, again. After a slump in funding, the financial technology sector is seeing a flurry of fresh investments — even as deal activity is dropping, noted researchers at CB Insights in the firm’s latest quarterly “State of Fintech” report.

retail, health care and banking.” data-reactid=”20″In the 89-page report, CB Insights also identified the top venture capital-backed companies and said there are 66 fintech unicorns that have an aggregate value of $248 billion. Thirty-three are in the U.S. alone and include a variety of financial service providers for retail, health care and banking.

retail and consumer products sectors such as Klarna, Affirm, Brex and Kabbage.” data-reactid=”21″Among the list of unicorns, which are privately owned

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