High-priced, handmade boutique sports cars typically make their debut where the well-heeled and the media gather. Pagani took a different approach this time around. The Italian supercar manufacturer unveiled its new nearly $3.5 million Huayra Roadster BC in CSR2, the mobile game produced by Zynga . The physical car will eventually get its moment. Pagani […]

By the end of 2019, the global gaming market is estimated to be worth $152 billion, with 45% of that, $68.5 billion, coming directly from mobile games.

Impossible Foods made huge waves in the food industry when it came up with a way of isolating and using “heme” molecules from plants to mimic the blood found in animal meat (also comprised of heme), bringing a new depth of flavor to its vegetarian burger. This week at CES, the company is presenting the […]

DoorDash has reached an agreement with Square to purchase on-demand food delivery and catering business Caviar. DoorDash has agreed to pay Square $410 million in cash and preferred DoorDash stock. Square bought Caviar about five years ago in a deal worth about $90 million. Now, Caviar has found a new home with DoorDash, the on-demand […]

Credit cards have become all but ubiquitous for consumer transactions, and it isn’t hard to see why. By intermediating payments, networks like Visa allow buyers and sellers to exchange money for goods and services without knowing the financial risk profile of the counter-party. Rather than applying for credit at every merchant you shop at, you […]

This morning Finix, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup selling payments tech to other businesses, announced that it has raised a $35 million Series B. Sequoia led the round, which also saw participation from new investors Activant Capital and Inspired Capital. Finix did not disclose a new valuation as part of its round, and declined to share […]

Jack Dorsey announced in a series of tweets today that he is shifting $1 billion in his Square equity to create a fund dedicated to COVID-19 relief. The Twitter and Square CEO is calling the fund Start Small and posting a tally of disbursements and recipients in a public spreadsheet. Dorsey said in his announcement […]

We’ve spent so long asking tech to turn its attention to real-world problems. Let’s not complain when they do so now. 

Fintech companies have been lobbying for weeks to be able to participate in the U.S. government’s emergency lending program for small businesses. Now those efforts have paid off, as PayPal, Intuit and Square have all been approved to participate in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program, which provides aid in the form […]

23andMe. MongoDB. Eventbrite. Evernote. Bird. Square . Tumblr. Unity. YouTube. Xoom. Roelof Botha has had a seat on each of these companies’ boards, but his list of investments is much, much longer. The Sequoia partner, leading the firm’s U.S. business, is legendary in Silicon Valley and the broader tech world, and we’re very excited that […]

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released updated projections of future U.S. energy production and use in its Annual Energy Outlook 2020 (AEO2020) today.

In the April Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), EIA forecasts that the United States will again become a net importer of crude oil and petroleum products in the third quarter of 2020 and remain a net importer in most months through the end of 2021. Fewer barrels are available for export as U.S. crude oil production continues to decline. In addition, net exports of petroleum products will be lowest in the third quarter of 2020, when U.S. refinery runs decline in response to lower demand for refined products.

Hot startup Superhuman has been getting some backlash, as often happens when someone notices the precise methodology that a startup is using to enable a core feature. We’re well into stage 2 now when, inevitably, the backlash itself gets backlash. The nut of it is that people have been exposed to the idea that Superhuman […]

Airbnb says it will subsidize housing for 100,000 workers at the front lines of COVID-19 care, Groupon gets a new CEO and Stripe invests in a universal checkout startup. Here’s your Daily Crunch for March 26, 2020. 1. Airbnb to provide free or subsidized housing for 100,000 COVID-19 healthcare workers Airbnb’s effort will work by […]

In the U.S., Robinhood has led the charge in upending the stock investing model through its mobile-first, minimal-step, commission-free trading platform. Now a startup out of Germany built on a similar premise is announcing a big round of funding from some top investors to continue its growth. Trade Republic — which lets people buy and sell […]

Layoffs are having a big impact on industries across the board due to COVID-19. This week alone news came out of massive cuts for TripAdvisor, Lyft, and reportedly Juul and Uber. But according to data tracker Layoffs.fyi, the cuts have affected certain job roles more than others. Sales and customer success roles are the most […]

Apple and Google ask for developer feedback on their contact tracing efforts, Facebook sees a “significant reduction” in ads and Microsoft makes life easier for IT managers. Here’s your Daily Crunch for April 30, 2020. 1. Apple and Google release first seed of COVID-19 exposure notification API for contact tracing app developers This is a […]

While global stay-at-home orders have been a blow to most companies, they’ve also created opportunities for businesses helping to keep people entertained. So if you’re a YouTube creator hoping to capture some additional eyeballs while everyone’s stuck at home, online video agency Butter Works has released an interactive report outlining the most promising topics for […]

We’ll admit it: Some of your Original Content podcast hosts are a little skeptical about improvised comedy. Of course, we can enjoy improv when it’s done well. It’s just that we’ve seen it done less well, often by friends who are so enthusiastic without being particularly funny. And our friends aside, live improv has rarely […]

As businesses struggle to reinvent themselves in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Yelp is launching new features to help highlight these changes. For one thing, it’s adding a new information category called virtual service offerings, which will allow businesses to showcase the fact that they’re providing things like virtual consultations, classes, tours and performances. […]

Apple announces a new MacBook Pro, tech stocks take a dip and Uber Eats shuts down in seven markets. Here’s your Daily Crunch for May 4, 2020. 1. The 13-inch MacBook Pro gets Apple’s much-improved keyboard Following in the footsteps of the MacBook Air and 16-inch Pro, Apple’s 13-inch Pro model is finally getting the […]

Burst Oral Care, a startup that sells an electric toothbrush boasting charcoal bristles and 33,000 sonic vibrations per minute, has raised a Series C of undisclosed size. Although we don’t know the amount of the round, the Series C was led by Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, and Burst says it more than doubled the valuation […]

Modern Games is a new studio working to create games that combine physical and digital play. The company was founded by husband-and-wife team Justin and Amanda Kifer — serial entrepreneurs who previously launched companies including Citizen Local (acquired by MyLife in 2011) and Fidgetly, a fidget spinner company that also created a motion controller for […]

Uber and Airbnb are cutting significant portions of their workforce, Microsoft announces new Surface devices and we talk to Apple Craig Federighi about the new iPad cursor. Here’s your Daily Crunch for May 6, 2020. 1. Uber is laying off 3,700 as rides plummet due to COVID-19 In an SEC filing, Uber disclosed plans to […]

Founder and CEO Lara Vandenberg told me she created Publicist to support the ways in which the communications and marketing industry is changing — changes that are only accelerating due to COVID-19. Vandenberg was previously senior vice president of communications and marketing at Knotch, and she told me, “More companies now are being better served […]

BuzzFeed plans to furlough 68 employees as part of broader cost-cutting measures, according to a memo from CEO Jonah Peretti that was shared earlier by Variety. We’ve also obtained a copy of the memo, in which Peretti said the furloughs will affect the business, studios and administration teams. It sounds like the furloughs do not […]

YouTube is giving advertisers a few more tools to reach consumers and measure ad effectiveness on TVs. These tools already exist for YouTube on other platforms, but now the Google -owned video service is bringing them to connected televisions. In a blog post, it says this is in response to how YouTube viewership has grown […]

Zoom acquires some encryption expertise, Uber makes a big investment in scooters and we review the new 13-inch Macbook Pro. Here’s your Daily Crunch for May 7, 2020. 1. Zoom acquires Keybase to get end-to-end encryption expertise Keybase, whose encryption products include secure file sharing and collaboration tools, should give Zoom some security credibility as […]

In its March 2020 update, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) significantly revised its Short-Term Energy Outlook for global oil supply, demand, and prices compared with the February Short-Term Energy Outlook. These updates largely resulted from updated data and assumptions about the effects of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on global oil demand and assumptions regarding the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) crude oil production following its meeting on March 6. EIA now forecasts that OPEC will target market share instead of a balanced global oil market. As a result, EIA expects that OPEC crude oil production will increase to an average 29.1 million barrels per day in the second and third quarters of 2020. EIA forecasts that global demand for liquid fuels will grow by 0.4 million barrels per day from 2019 to 2020, down from the 1.0 million barrels per day increase EIA previously forecasted in February. The revised March estimate is driven by EIA's expectations of slowing economic growth, primarily related to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak. EIA expects the decline in global liquid fuels demand, combined with the increase in OPEC production, to result in significant global oil inventory builds in the first half of 2020-putting continued downward pressure on prices. EIA forecasts Brent oil prices will average 43 dollars per barrel in 2020 and 55 dollars per barrel in 2021.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration is forecasting that U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) will decrease by 7.5% in 2020, driven by the economic slowdown and restrictions on business and travel activity related to COVID-19. This follows a 2.7% decrease in emissions in 2019. EIA forecasts that energy-related CO2 emissions will then increase by 3.6% in 2021. In its April Short-Term Energy Outlook, EIA estimates that in 2020, CO2 emissions from petroleum will decrease 7% and from coal will decrease 18.4%. EIA creates estimates of energy-related CO2 emissions based on energy consumption and on the amounts of CO2 that are released when different fuels are burned. Total CO2 emissions depend on total energy consumption and the fuel mix of the energy consumed. When it is burned, coal creates the most CO2 of the major fossil fuels. However, because more petroleum products (such as motor gasoline) are consumed than coal, petroleum is the largest source of CO2 emissions in the United States. Natural gas is the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel, but in recent years, because of its increasing consumption, it generates more U.S. CO2 emissions than coal. Non-fossil fuels such as nuclear power and renewable generation emit no direct CO2 at the end use. As these noncarbon generation sources increasingly enter the fuel mix, energy demand can be met without a proportional increase in energy-related CO2.

As a result of the global economic slowdown related to COVID-19, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that global petroleum and liquids consumption will average 95.5 million barrels per day in 2020, down 5.2 million barrels per day from 2019. EIA forecasts that U.S. oil consumption will decline 6.5% in 2020 to average 19.1 million barrels per day, which would be the largest percentage decline in U.S. consumption since 1980. At the same time, in its April 2020 Short-Term Energy Outlook, EIA expects global oil supply to increase in the coming months from first-quarter 2020 levels. Total world liquids supply will average 98.7 million barrels per day through the third quarter of 2020. These supply and demand developments are contributing to a significant increase in liquid fuels inventories. EIA estimates that second-quarter 2020 global petroleum inventories will increase an average 11.4 million barrels per day. Within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the most stocks recorded in historical data were in July 2016 at 3.1 billion barrels. EIA forecasts inventories will surpass this level as production continues to outpace consumption. EIA expects these large stock builds will put downward pressure on crude oil prices for several months. Brent crude oil prices averaged 32 dollars per barrel in March, the lowest monthly average since January 2016. EIA forecasts Brent crude oil to average 23 dollars per barrel during the second quarter of 2020 before increasing to an average 46 dollars per barrels in 2021.

The U.S. average retail price for regular gasoline rose for the first time since February to $1.79 a gallon on Monday. That's up 1.6 cents from a week ago, based on the weekly price survey by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The U.S. average retail price for regular gasoline rose for the first time since February to $1.79 a gallon on Monday. That's up 1.6 cents from a week ago, based on the weekly price survey by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

CEOs are more optimistic about growth than international counterparts, despite concerns about over-regulation and the Government's response to Australia's fiscal deficit, according to a PwC report launched today.

The sale of New South Wales' and Queensland's utility assets will be among the most eagerly anticipated power deals globally in 2015, according to a PwC report released today.

PwC has appointed the former CEO of Transdev Australasia, Jonathan Metcalfe, to lead the public transport practice.

Australia must focus on transitioning out of the mining economy or face falling out of the G20.

If we continue to ignore the rising economic success of our Asian neighbours we will lose our place as a G20 economy by 2030.

PwC Australia is delighted to announce a partnership with The Australian National Committee for UN Women in a joint effort to promote gender equality.

Governments must apply renewed focus to achieve fiscal balance and sustainably reduce the cost of delivery.

On Friday 28 February at 4.30am Sydney time, PwC will host its second global forum to students around the world.

Australia dropped six places to 15th position - the largest drop out of the 27 OECD countries measured.

The Federal Government's decision to be a part of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is a bold move which encourages long term investment in a growing region which will benefit Australia.

PwC has acquired infrastructure advisory firm Appian Group, bolstering the firm’s focus on health and social infrastructure, PwC Managing Partner, Deals Sean Gregory announced today.

Greater Sydney generates 23% of the Nation's GDP and will be a city of 8 million, up from 4 million, in the next 40 years.

PwC Chief Executive Luke Sayers today announced the members of an external advisory board charged with moving the firm towards greater diversity and inclusion among its people.

Early reports of what is in next Tuesday’s Federal Budget indicate “more carrot and less stick” to help lift productivity and tighten the fiscal gap.

Australia’s four major banks delivered combined underlying cash earnings of $15.5 billion for the first-half to March 2015.

Driving workforce participation, support for small businesses and much needed investment in infrastructure make this a pragmatic budget.

The global mining industry's fight for value and free cash flow has descended into a brawl, after 2014 saw the world's 40 largest miners ramp up production, slash capital spending, and rein in costs.