While Microsoft is staking the future of Xbox on cloud gaming, Nintendo has long depended on iconic properties like Mario and Pokémon to drive sales of its video game consoles. In fact, the Japanese company has been infamous for filing lawsuits to protect its intellectual property for about as long as video games have been around. In one notable example from the 1980s, Nintendo sued Blockbuster for copyright infringement after the video rental chain added games to its lineup Continue reading
When it comes to global commodities like coffee beans, even the slightest change in the environment or the economy can drastically change prices and supplies. That’s what happened in 2021 when a sudden and severe frost in Brazil destroyed 500,000 acres of coffee plantations, sending prices for unroasted coffee beans soaring. The extensive damage reduced the country’s coffee production by more than 10 million bags annually for three consecutive years. Brazil is the world’s largest producer of Arabica beans, the Continue reading
With its iconic cartoon characters, movies, theme parks, and more, Disney has practically held a monopoly over children’s attention for nearly a century. But that’s starting to change as kids spend more time on streaming services, which now account for two-thirds of TV watch time for children ages 2 to 11. And instead of watching Disney+, which offers full-length movies and TV shows, these days most children prefer short-form videos on platforms like YouTube. For example, the “Kids Diana Show” Continue reading
The stock market is known for its rapid rises and unpredictable falls, but last week’s brief meltdown was extreme even by those standards. When the markets opened last Monday, numbers were falling and traders were selling off their stocks in panic. Japan’s stock exchange fell more than 12 percent, the biggest plunge in 37 years. The S&P 500 — which tracks the stock performance of 500 of the largest U.S. companies — lost $1.3 trillion in value, or 3 percent, Continue reading
Last month, we wrote about the global technology meltdown that impacted more than 8.5 million computers and caused at least $10 billion in financial damage. Triggered by the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, a faulty software update crashed Microsoft products around the world and in the process revealed how fragile our global technology infrastructure can be. Air transportation was one of the sectors affected most by the outage as airlines were unable to scan boarding passes or track crew members. Carriers canceled Continue reading