Companies lean heavily on equity in effort to dent blow from coronavirus

Orca Security, an Israeli cloud security firm that focuses on giving enterprises better visibility into their multi-cloud deployments on AWS, Azure and GCP, today announced that it has raised a $20 million Series A round led by GGV Capital. YL Ventures and Silicon Valley CISO Investments also participated in this round. Together with its seed […]

Cockroach Labs, the NYC enterprise database company, announced an $86.6 million Series D funding round today. The company was in no mood to talk valuations, but was happy to have a big chunk of money to help build on its recent success and ride out the current economic malaise. Altimeter Capital and Bond co-led the […]

Machine learning ops focuses on the ML model and datasets, as opposed to code. Data engineers run MLOps, but it’s likely that the specialized role of MLOps engineer will come about soon.

When the shutdown began six weeks ago, the powers that be at Box sat down for a meeting to discuss the situation. They weren’t in the same room of course. They were like everyone else, separated by the virus, but they saw this as a key moment for Box as a company. They had been […]

After years of working in mobile advertising, founder Niles Lichtenstein discovered a box of records from his late father. That compelled him to start putting together memories and online histories earlier, by documenting his mother’s life history and how he first met his wife. That developed into an interactive timeline where he collected songs from […]

Only about 6 percent of the country’s biggest cities are planning for or thinking about autonomous vehicles or self-driving cars in their long-range transportation plans, according to the National League of Cities. What’s even more surprising is that only 3 percent of these cities’ transit plans are even taking into account the impact of ride-hailing companies like […]

With California on a precipice of a ballot initiative next year that could legalize marijuana recreationally, scores of cannabis startups are vying to capture what is the nation’s largest market in advance of such a big regulatory change. Meadow, a Y Combinator-backed startup, was one of the earlier ones with an ordering and delivery service […]

His imperious manner and lack of emotional intelligence make him vulnerable

Locatee, a Swiss startup that uses existing sensors and IT infrastructures to provide employers and commercial real estate owners with detailed data about how their spaces are utilized, today announced that it has raised a $4 million Series A funding round led by San Francisco-based FYRFLY Venture Partners and Zurich-based Tomahawk VC. “We started the […]

As the infrastructure for developing games becomes more advanced, studios have turned to buying best-in-class technology from others instead of building everything from scratch (often with inferior quality). This shift underpinned Unity’s rise as the most popular game engine. The current focus on games as ever-evolving social hubs that can remain popular for a decade […]

German group’s battle to minimise financial damage from scandal hinges on test case

Manufacturers say they will struggle to provide equipment sought by business

Government loans a start but not the end; Pendragon takes a pop at Lookers; insurers and honey badgers

Peanut, an app that began as a tool for finding new mom friends, has evolved into a social network now used by 1.6 million women to discuss a range of topics, from pregnancy and parenthood to marriage and menopause, and everything in between. On the heels of significant growth in online networking fueled by the […]

Got something in your medical history that first responders should know about if you call 911? Things like known drug allergies, or the medications you’re on? The iPhone and Apple Watch will soon be able to share this information with first responders automatically (if you opt to let it do so). When a user with […]

In the time many of us live in now, we all know our online media consumption is — to state the obvious — going through the roof. Subsequently, the amount of data pertaining to online marketing is, equally, reaching stratospheric heights and in recent years tech companies like Datorama and Funnel.io, SuperMetrics and Adverity have appeared to […]

Back in 2018 Templafy — which had come up with a way for enterprises to more easily make templates out of standard documents (yes, it’s a thing) — raised an additional $15 million from existing investors as an extension of its earlier Series B round taking it to $40.2 million raised. The company integrates with enterprise infrastructure to […]

There are some startups that behave like sprinters, and others that run a marathon. I came across Instabug when I was in Cairo in 2013. Born during the chaotic era of the Arab Spring, this plucky startup managed to make it to TechCrunch Disrupt, then Y Combinator in 2016, then a $1.7 million in seed […]

Emerging economies that have long tested investors’ patience say they need fresh help

Two-thirds of companies with lowly ratings from Moody’s were bought by PE groups

Will environmental and social initiatives survive Covid-19? Our specialists answered your questions

Chinese group writes to French government as it seeks to reassure over the future of Hayange plant

World’s largest auto group enjoys earnings boost and increases dividend

Herbert Diess wants to sell 26m emission-free vehicles in 9 years, overtaking rivals including Californian electric pioneer

Shortages of components likely to be far worse than expected, warn experts

Battery maker Livent says industry is looking to diversify away from China

Unfortunately, the world doesn’t have a constant quantity of problems, and while governments and most private businesses are focused on tackling the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, companies like Genecis Bioindustries are working on technologies to solve another major problem: climate change. For over a decade, sustainability advocates and entrepreneurs have been searching for a way to […]

As the infrastructure for developing games becomes more advanced, studios have turned to buying best-in-class technology from others instead of building everything from scratch (often with inferior quality). This shift underpinned Unity’s rise as the most popular game engine. The current focus on games as ever-evolving social hubs that can remain popular for a decade […]

Apple and Google are providing additional resources for developers working with the first version of their Exposure Notification API, the development tools the companies have created and are working on in order to provide a cross-platform way for public health agencies to notify individuals of a potential exposure to a person with a confirmed case […]

If you can’t stop them, power them. That’s the strategy behind Snapchat App Stories, which launches today to let users show off their ephemeral content in other apps too. The first partners will let you post Stories to your dating profile in Hily, share them alongside [music] videos in Triller, watch them while screensharing in […]

“If your kids aren’t sleeping, you aren’t sleeping,” says Moshi founder and CEO Ian Chambers. As mindfulness apps grow increasingly popular among adults, Moshi is looking to bring mindfulness and meditative techniques to children. The app today announced the close of a $12 million Series B financing led by Accel, with participation from Latitude Ventures […]

Figma, the design platform that lets folks work collaboratively and in the cloud, has today announced the close of a $50 million Series D financing. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with partner Peter Levine and cofounding partner Marc Andreessen managing the deal for the firm. New angel investors, including Henry Ellenbogen from Durable […]

Eight glasses of water a day. That’s the old recommendation you and I have heard growing up. And while we all know the importance of hydration to our health, some methods of hydration are more efficient than others. At least, that’s the premise that Hydrant was built on. The company, a wellness brand that launched […]

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo issued a joint call on 24 April for governments to refrain from imposing export and other trade restrictions on key medical supplies and food and to quickly lift those put in place since the start of the year.

The government of Canada contributed CAD 450,000 (just over CHF 300,000) in 2020 to help developing countries and least-developed countries (LDCs) comply with international food safety, animal and plant health standards, with the aim of increasing their access to agricultural markets.

Canada has contributed over CAD 90,000 (approximately CHF 60,000) in 2020 to enhance the trading capacities of developing countries and least-developed countries (LDCs). This donation to the WTO’s DDA Global Trust Fund will finance training workshops and seminars for government officials, with the aim of deepening their understanding of current trade issues and challenges and improving their negotiating skill-set.

TC Early Stage SF goes down on April 28, and we are getting pretty damn excited about it! The show will bring together 50+ experts across startup core competencies, such as fundraising, operations and marketing. We’ll hear from VCs on how to create the perfect pitch deck and how to identify the right investors for […]

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 […]

In recent years, fintech’s revolution has felt like a rising tide. Behemoths like Stripe and Square edged out banks while newbies like Brex nonchalantly raised nine-figure rounds. Today, however, the state of the financial technology industry feels more wobbly — some healthy startups in the genre are faring better than ever, while others are feeling […]

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 […]

The U.S. average retail price for on-highway diesel fuel rose to $3.08 a gallon on Monday. That's up a penny from a week ago, based on the weekly price survey by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The U.S. average retail price for on-highway diesel fuel fell to $3.06 a gallon on Monday. That's down 1 1/2 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 on-highway diesel fuel fell to $3.04 a gallon on Monday. That's down 2.7 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 on-highway diesel fuel fell to $3.01 a gallon on Monday. That's down 2.7 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 on-highway diesel fuel fell to $2.96 a gallon on Monday. That's down 5.4 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 on-highway diesel fuel fell to $2.91 a gallon on Monday. That's down 4.6 cents from a week ago, based on the weekly price survey by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Henry Hub natural gas spot prices averaged $2.02 per million British thermal units in January according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Typically, January natural gas prices are among the highest of the year; however, warmer-than-normal January temperatures across much of the northern hemisphere contributed to the lowest average January spot price in many years. After beginning 2018 and 2019 with low U.S. working natural gas inventories, EIA forecasted that normal winter temperatures in the first quarter of 2020, along with production growth, would bring total inventories back over the five-year average this winter. So far this winter, temperatures have actually been warmer than normal, and EIA estimates that in January there were 18% fewer heating degree days in the United States than the prior ten-year average. As a result of reduced space heating demand, U.S. natural gas working inventories ended January 9% above the five-year average, higher than previously forecasted. In its February Short-Term Energy Outlook, EIA forecasts that at the close of the April-October injection season, working inventories will reach almost 4.1 trillion cubic feet on October 31, which would be the highest end-of-October inventory record on level. Expecting inventories to remain elevated as winter heating season winds down, EIA forecasts that Henry Hub natural gas prices will average $2.21 per million British thermal units in 2020, down from $2.57 per million British thermal units in 2019. In 2021, EIA expects natural gas prices to increase, reaching an average annual price of $2.53 per million British thermal units.

Events in January contributed to ongoing uncertainty in crude oil markets, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. On January 6, Brent crude oil prices closed at $70 per barrel following U.S. military operations in Iraq, the highest price since May 2019. However, as tensions in the Middle East de-escalated and market concerns over a related oil supply disruption faded, crude oil prices fell. The outbreak of the coronavirus and subsequent travel bans significantly disrupted transportation-related oil demand in China as well as other countries. This accelerated the decline in crude oil prices, despite ongoing crude oil supply disruptions in Libya. Prices closed at $54 per barrel on February 4, the lowest level since December 2018. In the February Short-Term Energy Outlook, EIA estimates the Brent crude oil price will average $58 per barrel during the first half of the year and rise to $64 per barrel during the second half of the year. Brent crude oil spot prices are expected to average $61 per barrel for 2020 as a whole.