Amazon is in talks with some big Wall Street banks to launch a checking account geared towards its younger customers. The e-commerce giant is in the early stages of talks with banks like JPMorgan, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Amazon is not trying to become a bank but rather wants to offer Amazon-branded checking accounts. This would be the second partnership Amazon has with JPMorgan. Earlier this year, the company announced it was teaming up with JPMorgan and Berkshire Hathway to create an independent healthcare company.
Apple will reportedly unveil a cheaper MacBook Air and noise-canceling headphones later this year. Longtime Apple analysts are predicting the cheaper MacBook Air could comes as soon as the second quarter of this year. The current version of Apple's MacBook Air costs $999. The newer version will reportedly be a 13-inch model. And according to Bloomberg, Apple is planning to release noise-canceling headphones, similar to ones made by Bose and Beats by Dre. Those are expected out at the end of this year.
Ashley Jenkins, host of Rooster Teeth's "The Know," joins us to talk about the alleged meeting between President Trump and video game makers. So far, no gaming companies have received invitations for the meeting which is supposed to take place this week. The goal of the meeting is to address violence in video games and what effect it could potentially have on people. Jenkins notes there are no studies showing any link between video game consumption and behavior. She also touches on Twitch's new user guidelines which will strictly enforce anti-hate speech and harassment rules. Jenkins says the new rules will allow Twitch to ban users with more uniformity.
Plus, we're recapping the 90th annual Academy Awards with Bonnie Fuller, editor-in-chief at Hollywood Life. The biggest prize of the night, Best Picture, went to Guillermo del Toro's "The Shape of Water." Fuller was excited to see Frances McDormand win Best Actress for her role in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri." She also weighs in on McDormand's speech, calling for actors to make use of inclusion riders in their contracts. The show also gave some airtime to the #MeToo and Time's Up movements, with actresses like Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino taking the stage to call for action.
While many are excited to watch the final two NFL teams square-off and see which one ultimately takes home the trophy, some, on the other hand, are there for another mian attraction -- the commercials. Companies during this year's game are looking towards the future From electric vehicles, to robots, and crypto-currency, several first-time advertisers are expected to join long-time advertisers like Pepsi, Budweiser and Doritos during the NFL's biggest game. Tom Morton, Global Chief Strategy Officer at R/GA, joined Cheddar News' Big Game Special to discuss.
Americans are expected to spend nearly $24 billion in 2022 for Valentine's Day, and many of those gifts will be in the form of chocolate. John Galloway, interim president of the Americas and CMO of Godiva, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss what chocolate trends the brand is seeing this year, plus the impact of inflation and supply chain issues on the industry.
New York City's famous subway system is currently facing scrutiny after several recent attacks on platforms. Now, local leaders in the Big Apple are calling on the MTA. To step in and take action.
New York City ride-hailing app drivers are about to get a pay raise. According to the city's Mayor Eric Adams, New York will increase its minimum driver pay rate for both Uber and Lyft drivers. This means both platforms would now be required to pay their drivers a minimum of $1.61 cents per mile and about 0.50 cents per minute. Ultimately, the move would give riders at least a 5.3% race. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Tensions in Ukraine continue to rise. According to NATO and U.S. officials, Russian troops are still being built up despite Moscow's claims of de-escalation. However, Ukraine does not believe the troops are enough to mount an invasion. The government in Kyiv has also reported several cyber attacks against its defense agencies and banks which is the largest attack in the country's history. Foreign Affairs Reporter based in Ukrain, Terrell Starr, joined Cheddar to discuss more
