Toshiba is a brand that’s been drowning in scandals for years. Including a recent one that involved overstating it’s profits to shareholders by $1.2 billion which resulted in the resignation of their CEO.
The company was once one of the most innovative businesses on the planet, they produced one of the first laptops. They were credited as being the first company to mass produce one. Chances are you owned one…
They were sued and settled to pay $1billion in a class action lawsuit for faulty equipment.
Despite being such an innovative company, Toshiba has experienced some massive setbacks over the years that have resulted from a combination of both poor business decisions and public scandals.
This video y Company Man highlights the most notable ones. Here’s a video that highlights the history of Toshiba’s insane series of scandals.
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The Surprising History of Toshiba
Toshiba traces its history in Japan to 1875. The company rode the post-war Japanese manufacturing boom in the late 1950s to high growth portfolio of unique and innovative products. Toshiba began selling products in foreign markets during this period and continued to expand its businesses across the globe during the following decades.
Today, the conglomerate operates business units on a worldwide scale in a variety of diverse industries, including semiconductors, personal electronics, infrastructure, home appliances, and medical equipment.
Toshiba reported net worldwide sales of more than 3.38 trillion Japanese yen or $31 billion for the 2020 fiscal year. The company employs more than 125,648 people worldwide.
Somewhere in remote Montana, right now, there’s a guy getting paid to shoot an assault rifle at any bird that lands on his pond. In order to save their lives…
He’s a hero. In order to understand why, you need to know about the Berkeley Copper Mine.
It’s a cocktail of death, especially for un-expecting waterfowl.
The levels of copper are high enough in the water table that Montana Resources has mined copper directly from the water itself!
But the Berkley Pit is a Graveyard for Waterfowl…
In 1995, a flock of migrating geese landed in the Berkeley Pit and died. A total of 342 carcasses were recovered.
After inspecting the corpses, scientists discovered their insides were lined with burns and festering sores from exposure to high concentrations of copper, cadmium, and arsenic.
The water burned them alive…
On November 28, 2016, several thousand snow geese died after a large flock landed in the pit’s water to avoid a snowstorm. Immediately after the event, officials made efforts to scare birds away and prevent more from landing in the area.
Now, in order to protect any waterfowl from dying a very painful death, this man gets paid to protect them. By shooting at them…
Don’t worry, he doesn’t hurt them, he only scares them away for their own protection. Crazy job…
“All my life I’ve seen murders and robberies. I came from that world where everything was dog-eat-dog. If you had money or jewelry, if you couldn’t defend it or protect it, you’re going to loose it.”
– Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson was first arrested at 10 years old. 38 more times by age 13.
Needless to say, he grew up in a rough neighborhood in Brooklyn. If you couldn’t protect yourself, you got taken advantage of. Mike was in over 400 fights in his life.
He quite literally fought his way through life and still is to this day…
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How Mike Tyson Blew a $600 Million Fortune
By the age of twenty Tyson was one of the most famous figures on the planet. Namely for being the most talented boxers of all time. And for biting off Evander Holyfield’s ear off during one of the most televised matches in boxing history.
Here’s that throwback…
During his boxing career he amassed over $685 million and he accomplished to spending all of it. Every last penny…
He not only managed to blow through a half billion in cash, he then eventually owed over $50 million in debts, including another $13.4 million to the IRS.
So What Did Mike Tyson Spend $685 Million On Exactly?
Mike routinely traveled with an entourage so large it rivaled the size of a small country.
He owned Siberian tigers and spent hundreds of thousands/year to care for them.
He bought over $400k worth of pigeons too…it’s a long story
He had fleets of luxury vehicles, a posse of prostitutes, and a 21-bedroom mansion.
He was known to spend over $240k month for entertainment and another $100k/month for Jewelry and clothes.
During his lifetime, Tyson reached the peaks of fame and fortune most of us mere mortals will never know or experience. He climbed from the gutter to the height of success. But even at the top of the world by the age of 20, he still had a darkness inside of him…
Watch Mike explain his incredible life story and lessons of gratitude from his personal experiences literally fighting for his life.
Taco Bell is the largest Mexican restaurant on the planet by volume. Here’s how they did it…
Taco Bell has been dominating Mexican fast food since the 1960s. They own over 7,000 locations consistently generating over $10 billion dollars in annual sales.
Watch the full story how or read the summary below.
First and foremost, Taco Bell wouldn’t be a thing without it’s founder, who knew how to spot a potential opportunity when he saw one.
A cook who served in WW2, Bell returned home to start a restaurant in San Bernardino CA. Inspired by the McDonald’s franchise, Bell copied the model. Literally, Taco Bell used to be called Bell’s Hamburgers, they originally sold cheeseburgers and hot dogs.
Until one day Glen added tacos to the menu, altering the course of taco history…
2. Taco Bell Single Handedly Introduced the World to Tacos
The second reason for Taco Bell’s now icon status, was their role in introducing tacos the American market.
After 14 years in the restaurant business and having gone through 5 different restaurants and concepts, Glen launch Taco Bell in March 21, 1962 in Downey CA.
At the time, most Americans had no clue what a taco was. When ordering, most customers asked for a “tay-ko”, simply because they simply had never heard of a taco. Kind of like the whole gyro “guyroh” thing…
And they obviously fell in love with them. Putting Taco Bell on the map.
“I always smile when I hear people say that they never had a taco until Taco Bell came to town”. – Glen Bell
3. Pepsi Gave Them a Shit Load of Money
Another reason for their success was their partnership deal with Pepsi.
In the 1970s Pepsi was expanding and looking to invest in new markets. They bought Pizza Hut for $315 million, giving them access to sell their sodas to customers dinning in the largest Pizza Chain on the planet up until that time. Pepsi wanted to saturate the Taco consumer market too. So they gave Glen a handsome $125 million for the right to sell Pepsi products at every Taco Bell.
Pepsi’s infusion of cash enabled the franchise to massively scale. They went from just under 1,000 locations in 1978 to nearly 7,000 by 1998. Meaning, almost every Taco Bell you’ve ever visited was started between the 80’s-90s Pepsi infused growth period.
4. Absolutely Bat-Shit Crazy But Catchy Menu Items…
While declaring to serve Mexican food, no one buys into that claim when it comes to Taco Bell. That’s because they have become famous for coming up with bat-shit crazy menu items.
The fourth key to the mega taco franchise model was their dedication to marketing. Especially standing out in crowded markets through their off the wall menu item.
Items like the Cheesy Gordita Crunch, the Mtn Dew Baja Taco Blast, their most successful product launch; the Crunch Wrap Supreme, and most recently the Doritos Locos Tacos. Or finally the rather nachos fries.
5. Taco Bell Excels at Marketing to Drunk People too…
Despite how much you want to hate them, Taco Bell continues to stay relevant across generations. They have a consistent track record of being customer focused and keeping their cost low. Something they have been promoting in their ads for decades…
One of their most successful marketing campaigns was “the forth meal of the day” commercials. After noticing a high influx in sales late at night (wink wink), the Bell starting promoting a “4th meal of the day”.
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On a more serious note though, probably the biggest reason Taco Bell has been so success over the years has been their commitment to their original mission; “thinking outside the bun”. Mission accomplished…
Russia and Ukraine export nearly a third of the world’s wheat and barley. And more than 70 percent of its sunflower oil…
The war in Ukraine is preventing grain from leaving the “breadbasket of the world” and making food more expensive across the globe.
World food prices were already climbing, and the war has made things worse, preventing over 20 million tons of Ukrainian grain from getting into the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Asia.
According to this article in Intelligencer, West Africa is facing its worst food crisis in a decade, with the number of people in need of emergency food aid standing at 27 million in April and rising fast. Another 13 million face severe hunger in the Horn of Africa, and as many as 19 million will be food insecure in Yemen by the end of this year.
Europe embraces for another mass migration crisis sparked by food shortages in Africa and the Middle East.
Sri Lanka, once more prosperous than its neighbors, applied last month for 100,000 metric tons of food aid from a regional food bank as its debt crisis threatens to leave millions hungry.
Watch this video for a full explanation of the developing food crisis…
Ford Motor Co.’s luxury division on Thursday debuted the Lincoln Model L100 Concept at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California. And it’d totally badass…
Lincoln debuted the new futuristic product branding scheduled for 2040 at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The new Model L100 concept pushes the boundaries of Lincoln’s “Quiet Flight” design to create connected experiences that reimagine the ultimate vehicle sanctuary of tomorrow.
WATCH the video explaining Ford’s plans to dominate the future of transportation design…
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At the product launch, Ford’s Executive Chair, Bill Ford, said;
“Lincoln has been one of the most enduring and stylish automotive brands in the world and in many ways, it is perfectly positioned for a second century defined by great design, zero-emissions and technology-led experiences. Lincoln has always been special to me and my family, especially my father and my grandfather. If there is one secret to Lincoln’s longevity, it is the brand’s ability to balance its core values with a desire to innovate and create the future.”
“Concept vehicles allow us to reimagine and illustrate how new experiences can come to life with the help of advanced technologies and allow our designers more creative freedom than ever before,” said Anthony Lo, chief design officer, Ford Motor Company. “With the Model L100, we were able to push the boundaries in ways that evolve our Quiet Flight brand DNA and change the way we think about Lincoln designs of tomorrow.”
Wayfair, the online home goods retailer, announced today it was laying off close to 900 employees. This comes after the company announced a hiring freeze back in May.
The layoffs represent about 5% of the company’s global workforce and 10% of its corporate team. 400 jobs are being cut in Boston alone at the company’s HQ).
This announcement came as an alarm to investors, causing the stock to plummet…
Wayfair has been struggling to keep customers after a spike at the start of the pandemic. Earlier in August, Wayfair said it lost 24% of active customers since last summer.
Recent regulatory filings revealed that the job cuts will help Wayfair “manage operating expenses and realign investment priorities.”
CEO Niraj Shah wrote in an letter to employees that the layoffs were a “difficult decision” resulting from Covid-19.
“We were seeing the tailwinds of the pandemic accelerate the adoption of e-commerce shopping, and I personally pushed hard to hire a strong team to support that growth,” Shah wrote. “This year, that growth has not materialized as we had anticipated. Our team is too large for the environment we are now in, and unfortunately we need to adjust.”
Is This the Beginning of the End for Wayfair?
Wayfair had flourished at the beginning of the pandemic, when demand for inexpensive furniture and other home decor upgrades that it broke global supply chains and caused lengthy shipment delays.
But fast forward to the present economy, inflation has killed discretionary spending for middle-income shoppers, who have pulled back their purchases to focus on paying for necessities like groceries, gas and rent. Wealthier customers have shifted their spending from furniture and other goods to travel and services. Mortgage rates have climbed significantly, cutting into demand for new homes as well (a key demographic for the company).
Overall, Wayfair posted a net loss of $378 million during the quarter. Wayfair’s shares have lost about 70% of their value since the start of the year. The layoffs will cost Wayfair between $30 million to $40 million for employee severance and benefits.
Sri Lanka Just Announced They Are Bankrupt. And Out of Fuel…
A country thriving and wealthy in 2012 just announced they are bankrupt in 2022.
Before it’s recent bankruptcy Sri Lanka had a thriving economy. In fact its economy grew at an accelerated rate, ranked above Singapore, Ireland, and South Korea.
Located in the center of the world’s most important shipping location, the country was set up to be a world economic import superpower. But a crisis hit…
On Tuesday, the country’s president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, told the Sri Lankan parliament that the country is not only bankrupt and that it also has no fuel left. Government employees have been told to stay home due to fuel unavailability.
Inflation spiked 54.6% in a year and is expected to hit 60% soon, and transportation costs have gone up 128% in only one month, according to Bloomberg.
At the G7 Summit last month, the US pledged $20 million to assist Sri Lankans in the fight for food security. This came in addition to a previously donated amount of $12 million.
But despite global assistance, the nightmare is far from over for Sri Lanka. Premier Wickremesinghe said that the country was participating in negotiations as a bankrupt state, and the worse is yet to come…
“Due to the state of bankruptcy our country is in, we have to submit a plan on our debt sustainability to (the IMF) separately. Only when they are satisfied with that plan can we reach an agreement at the staff level. This is not a straightforward process,” he said, and CNN reported.
According to the Wallstreeet Journal reported today, Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke says company made wrong bet on pandemic-fueled boom in e-commerce growth.
The main reason for the layoffs was rapid hiring to accommodate increased ecommerce shopping trends.
Basically, Shopify was betting on that the rapid Covid-era lock downs would increase in ecommerce shopping would continue as a trend, hastening a greater adoption of online shopping.
That didn’t happen…At least not for Shopify.
What is Shopify?
Based in Ottawa, Canada, Shopify is an e-commerce service that allows merchants to quickly build and customize websites for selling products online. In addition to plan fees, Shopify makes its money in part by taking a percentage of customer transactions. In short, they are a platform that enables users to create drop shipping sites.
Northern Italy’s worst drought in 70 years is about to take a big hit on olive oil and tomato prices.
Farmers say the drought could dramatically impact crops on olive oil, tomatoes, and rice resulting in yet another increase in prices for these products.
The Italian government declared a state of emergency in northern regions of Italy as the weather dried out entire stretches of the Po River, the countries longest river and major source of water irrigation for the north of Italy.
The drought has already cost billions of dollars in damage to Italian crops resulting in higher prices around the world…
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Italy embraces as their severe drought dries up it’s longest river (the Po River). The Po River irrigates one of the biggest bread baskets in Europe. And it’s all dried up.
Farmers are extremely exhausted, and the situation is only getting worse. Here is a video of how the river depletion is causing havoc on the region…
