Tag: crisis

Computer chip lack: Biden official pleads with Congress to promptly deal with ‘crisis’

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Sad to say, this remarkably disruptive scarcity is unlikely to go away until eventually “deep into 2022,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo advised CNN.

“Hopefully by this time future yr or maybe a small prior to, the brief-phrase crunch will be much better,” Raimondo claimed throughout an interview at her Washington office. “The extended-time period situation will just take many years to type out. We just never make enough chips in The usa.”

Computer chips are vital factors for a extensive array of goods, almost everything from Pelotons and tablets to espresso equipment. And they are important for assembly the Biden administration’s weather ambitions. Every electric powered auto has about 2,000 chips — or around double what common automobile has.

However just 12% of the world’s personal computer chips were being created in the United States very last 12 months, according to the Semiconductor Business Affiliation. That’s down from 37% in 1990.

‘It’s only likely to get worse’

Covid has exposed how delicate America’s intricate source chains are to shocks, even types going on on the other facet of the planet. Covid outbreaks and serious temperature abroad knocked out laptop or computer chip creation in Asia, when need concurrently soared.

That’s why the Biden administration is championing the CHIPS for The united states Act, a $52 billion monthly bill that would really encourage domestic semiconductor creation and exploration.

“We are imploring Congress to pass the CHIPS Act. It has to occur by Christmas. This are unable to acquire months,” Raimondo mentioned emphatically.

Even though Congress passed the laws final 12 months, lawmakers are even now functioning to give means for the provisions.

Funding for the legislation passed the US Senate in June, but it has not been voted on in the Property nonetheless. The difficulty is that even if the funding does get via Congress, it will acquire several years to develop and completely scale up new laptop chip factories.

“This is a disaster now and it’s only likely to get even worse,” Raimondo reported.

New car or truck selling prices spike at swiftest pace since 1970s

The CEOs of dozens of important companies together with Ford (F), Nvidia (NVDA) and Verizon (VZ) despatched Congressional management a letter on Tuesday urging “prompt motion” on the CHIPS for The usa Act to address the chip lack.

“Sad to say, demand for these vital factors has outstripped source, building a global chip lack and ensuing in missing advancement and positions in the economic climate,” the CEOs wrote. “The lack has uncovered vulnerabilities in the semiconductor provide chain and highlighted the require for amplified domestic production ability.”

In new months, Apple, Ford, Typical Motors and other businesses have been compelled to slow generation of their products in significant element because of to the chip scarcity.
The chip shortage has significantly contributed to the biggest inflation spike in three a long time.
New vehicle selling prices soared in Oct by 10.6% from the calendar year
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In the middle of a crisis, Facebook Inc. renames itself Meta

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OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Like many companies in trouble before it, Facebook is changing its name and logo.

Facebook Inc. is now called Meta Platforms Inc., or Meta for short, to reflect what CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday is its commitment to developing the new surround-yourself technology known as the “ metaverse.” But the social network itself will still be called Facebook.

Also unchanged, at least for now, are its chief executive and senior leadership, its corporate structure and the crisis that has enveloped the company.

Skeptics immediately accused the company of trying to change the subject from the Facebook Papers, the trove of leaked documents that have plunged it into the biggest crisis since it was founded in Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room 17 years ago. The documents portray Facebook as putting profits ahead of ridding its platform of hate, political strife and misinformation around the world.

The move reminded marketing consultant Laura Ries of when energy company BP rebranded itself to “Beyond Petroleum” to escape criticism that the oil giant harmed the environment.

“Facebook is the world’s social media platform, and they are being accused of creating something that is harmful to people and society,” she said. “They can’t walk away from the social network with a new corporate name and talk of a future metaverse.”

Facebook the app is not changing its name. Nor are Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. The company’s corporate structure also won’t change. But on Dec. 1, its stock will start trading under a new ticker symbol, MVRS.

The metaverse is sort of the internet brought to life, or at least rendered in 3D. Zuckerberg has described it as a “virtual environment” you can go inside of, instead of just looking at on a screen. People can meet, work and play, using virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses, smartphone apps or other devices.

It also will incorporate other aspects of online life such as shopping and social media, according to Victoria Petrock, an analyst who follows emerging technologies.

Zuckerberg’s foray into virtual reality has drawn some comparisons to fellow tech billionaires’ outer space adventures and jokes that perhaps it’s understandable he would want to escape his current reality amid calls for his resignation and increasing scrutiny of the company.

On Monday, Zuckerberg announced a new segment for Facebook that will begin reporting its financial results separately from the company’s Family of Apps segment starting in the final quarter of this year. The entity, Reality Labs, will reduce Facebook’s overall operating profit by about $10 billion this year, the company said.

Other tech companies such as Microsoft, chipmaker Nvidia and Fortnite maker Epic Games have all been outlining their own visions of how the metaverse will work.

Zuckerberg said that he expects the metaverse to reach a billion people within the next decade and that he hopes the new technology will creates millions of jobs for creators.

The announcement comes amid heightened legislative and regulatory scrutiny of Facebook in many parts of the world because

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