Facebooks vice president of content policy pushed back against criticism that rebranding its parent company as Meta Platforms was just a distraction from negative attention.
Monika Bickert’s comments, given in an interview with Bloomberg, precede fresh testimony Monday by whistle-blower Frances Haugen in the European Parliament, where legislators are drafting strict new rules to rein in technology platforms.
“This is something we’ve been working on for a really long time, so no, this is not in response to anything recent,” Bickert said of the Meta name.
Facebook, now a subsidiary of parent Meta, is reeling from heightened scrutiny after Haugen shared a trove of documents with journalists that suggested it prioritizes profit over content moderation.
The leak coincided with Facebook’s rebranding and its announcement to create 10,000 new jobs in the EU to help develop a “metaverse” while about 15,000 people globally moderate all content posted to the social media platform.
Critics, including Haugen and British lawmakers, said the company should focus on the safety of its existing platforms before creating a new one.
This is “a false choice,” Bickert said. “We will do both of those things.”
She said the company supports giving users more transparency and control over the algorithms that determine what they see “in general.”
“I’ve seen regulatory proposals in the almost 10 years I’ve been here that, on the surface, sound great,” she said. “But when you dive into the details of them, you realize that there could be some unintended consequences.”
The EU’s Digital Markets Act would target anti-competitive behavior, while the Digital Services Act rules on how companies handle illegal and harmful content. Both proposals are being debated in EU institutions and intended to be enforceable next year.
Parliamentarians are expected to focus their questions to Haugen on the Digital Services Act and whether its proposal would do enough to address algorithms the whistle-blower says give too much priority to misinformation and hate speech.
EU commissioner for internal markets, Thierry Breton, said he’d met Haugen earlier Monday and in a statement echoed sentiments of British lawmakers around executive accountability.
“At the end of the day, it is the CEO and the board who are responsible for their company’s actions,” he said. “The digital sphere is no exception.”
Tesla stock tumbled Monday after Elon Musk asked his Twitter followers to decide whether he should sell 10% of his holdings in the electric car company.
The 4.9% slide, which brought Tesla down to $1,162 a share and slashed $65 billion off its valuation, came after Musk put the question to his 62 million followers on Saturday: “Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock. Do you support this?”
By the time the survey ended, 58% of the participants voted yes.
But the poll was held up by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., as exemplifying the need for his proposed Billionaires Income Tax. “Whether the world’s wealthiest man pays any taxes at all shouldn’t depend on the results of a Twitter poll,” Wyden tweeted. “It’s time for the Billionaires Income Tax.”
Musk responded with a vulgar tweet about Wyden’s profile picture, which was retweeted thousands of times.
Billionaires have been able to pay low effective tax rates, in part, because the value of their company stock holdings is not subject to capital gains taxes until they are sold. Wyden’s plan, which has since been dropped, would have been a major shift in the U.S. tax code by leveling a 23.8% tax on the increase in stock value – or “unrealized capital gain” – even before those assets are sold. Lawmakers are now considering a millionaire surtax that would work differently.
Musk has been known to move his company’s stock price with his tweets. Last week, shares fell sharply after he seemed to question Tesla’s deal with the rental car company Hertz by saying a contract had not been signed yet.
In 2018, federal regulators charged Musk with securities fraud related to a potential effort to take Tesla private. The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that a “series of false and misleading tweets” caused Tesla’s stock price to jump more than 6% that day and significantly disrupted the market. Musk and Tesla ultimately reached a settlement with the SEC, with each paying a $20 million penalty and Musk having to relinquish his chairman title for three years.
Don Langevoort, a securities law and corporate governance expert with Georgetown University Law School, said he thinks Musk’s weekend tweet is unlikely to draw SEC action, given that a Twitter poll isn’t binding.
“The SEC in high-profile cases is usually pretty careful to select cases that they are highly confident in winning,” Langevoort said. Ensuring that Musk is acting in the interest of investors would fall to the company’s board, he added.
An SEC spokesperson declined to comment. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
Though Musk promised to abide by the poll results, he probably would have started selling millions of shares this quarter regardless, according to a CNBC report. The reason: Musk faces a tax bill of more than $15 billion in the coming months on stock options.
In 2012, Musk was awarded options as part of a compensation plan. The 22.8 million shares had a strike price of $6.24, according to CNBC, which based on Friday’s closing price would put his gain on the shares at just under $28 billion. The options expire in August 2022, and to exercise them, Musk has to pay state and federal income tax on the gain.
Though Musk did not specify what he would do with the proceeds of the suggested stock sale, he tweeted Saturday: “Note, I do not take a cash salary or bonus from anywhere. I only have stock, thus the only way for me to pay taxes personally is to sell stock.”
French economic activity reached a level in August not seen since before the Covid-19 pandemic and has continued rising since, aided by a strong recovery in the service sector, according to a Bank of Frances survey of businesses.
Economic output was about 0.5% above early 2020 levels in October and will rise again in November, putting the euro area’s second-largest economy on track for roughly 0.75% growth in the final quarter of the year, the estimates show.
“This return to pre-crisis levels has come sooner than we expected previously — we’ve gained about one quarter in time,” the central bank’s chief economist Olivier Garnier said. If the fourth quarter forecast holds up, growth for the year would be around 6.75%, he added.
The French economic activity expanded apace in recent months after the removal of Covid-19 restrictions unleashed a boom in consumer spending. While factory output was dampened by supply difficulties, France’s industry makes up a smaller share of the economy than Germany’s and is specialized in areas that have suffered less.
Those constraints may also be easing. The Bank of France survey showed the share of business leaders hampered by supply difficulties stabilized at 56% in October, ending four months of increases. In construction, the measure fell to 58% from 62%.
But there is still uncertainty about bottlenecks with significant variations between sectors, Garnier said. In pharmaceuticals, only 26% of companies said supply was impacting their activity, compared to 86% in the automobile sector.
“It would be premature to say we are over the peak of the supply problems,” Garnier said.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,626.13 on Monday, down 0.09 points or 0.01 per cent. Transactions totalled 86.63 billion baht with an index high of 1,635.62 and a low of 1,621.35.
The index slightly fell for the second day running after dropping by 0.05 points or 0.00 per cent on Friday.
In the morning session, Krungsri Securities forecast the SET Index on Monday would fluctuate between 1,615 and 1,635 points.
It said the index gained positive sentiment from the decline in US jobless claims, the efficiency result of Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill and rising oil price.
However, fund flow volatility due to the US Federal Reserve’s move to taper its quantitative easing programme and third-quarter performance announcement would pressure the index, Krungsri Securities said.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were KBANK, GUNKUL, AOT, DELTA, GPSC, GULF, PTT, SCB, CPALL and BBL.
Other Asian indices were mixed:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 29,507.05, down 104.52 points or 0.35 per cent.
China’s Shanghai SE Composite closed at 3,498.63, up 7.06 points or 0.20 per cent, while the Shenzhen SE Component closed at 14,508.86, up 46.24 points or 0.32 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 24,763.77, down 106.74 points or 0.43 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,960.20, down 9.07 points or 0.31 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 17,415.30, up 118.40 points or 0.68 per cent.
ICONSIAM rewards Thai athlete heroes of Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games with prize money worth over 990,000 baht and proudly honors them as “YOU ARE THE ICON” thanks to their success in bringing joy and smile to Thai people.
Bangkok (November 7, 2021) – The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games came to an end and Thai Paralympic squad had successfully accumulated 18 medals during the competition in Tokyo, Japan. ICONSIAM, the iconic landmark on the bank of Chao Phraya River, holds a ceremony to hand monetary rewards of over 990,000 baht and honors the Thai athlete heroes as “YOU ARE THE ICON” for their inspirational spirits to Thai people. The event is also aimed to express gratitude to these heroes for their enduring efforts, physical and mental toughness to accomplish their goals and also bring back joys, smiles, and prides to all Thais.
Mr. Supoj Chaiwatsirikul, Managing Director of ICONSIAM Company Limited, says “ICONSIAM”
has a strong mission to honor and support the precious stories and prides from every single aspect of Thainess. We proudly present the stories of the competence of Thai people who successfully make the legends that are beneficial for people at large via our concept of YOU ARE THE ICON. These legendary people in different fields are the representatives of our era to tell the notable aspects of being Thainess and promote these distinctively celebrated features to be recognized in both local and international levels. The Thai Paralympic athlete heroes are recognized for their strong determination and strength and they not only achieve their goals, but also become a great source of inspiration for all Thais. They set up legendary story telling the greatness of Thai athletes and promoting Thailand to the world.”
ICONSIAM rewards Thai athlete heroes of Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
The ceremony is held to provide monetary rewards and express appreciation to the Thai Paralympic winners who bring happiness to Thai people. The Thai athletes winning the gold medals at Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games receive 100,000 baht each while those winning the silver and bronze medals get 50,000 baht and 30,000 baht each respectively. All winners also receive VIZ Black Card offering many privileged offers at ICONSIAM, Siam Paragon, Siam Center and Siam Discovery. The total rewards given to the athletes worth over 990,000 baht.
ICONSIAM rewards Thai athlete heroes of Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
In addition to support the Paralympic athletes, ICONSIAM’s business philosophy is to provide all convenient necessities catering to people of all group, ages, genders, physical diversity and elderly adults. All buildings are fully equipped with all convenient features and are designed with universal friendly approach. The entrance and the exit areas are connected with accessible ramps installed at all building sites and are conveniently linked to the parking buildings. Lifts have sufficient spaces to enable
people using mobility devices and signages are universally recognized and located at proper viewing distance allowing users to find their destination with ease. Appropriately designed accessible public toilets and parking spaces for elderly adults and the disabilities are truly concerned and provided at all floors of the sites. ICONSIAM pier also provides separated ramps accessible for people with mobility impairments. ICONSIAM is the organization earning the 2019 Friendly Design and Tourism for All Awards from the Friendly Design for All Foundation as a good model of friendly design approach ensuring that people of all ages, genders, and abilities can access safely, easily, conveniently and equitably.
AIA Thailand Teams Up with RISE to Launch ‘AIA x RISE Accelerator’, Bringing Together World-Class Startups to Develop Innovations to Strengthen Its Leadership Position
AIA Thailand reinforces its status as the Number One Insurance Company*, teaming up with RISE, the corporate innovation powerhouse, to launch “AIA x RISE Accelerator” to seek out the best start-ups from around the globe. The finalists will get a chance to collaborating with AIA Thailand in designing innovations that will drive the organization 360 degrees into the future. This is to elevate Thailand’s Insurance industry by delivering an all-around superior experience to the customers, employees, and agents under its pledge to help people live “Healthier, Longer, Better Lives.”
Commenting on this partnership, Mr Kris Chantanotoke, Chief Executive Officer of AIA Thailand, says, “AIA has been a longstanding leader in life insurance industry trusted by customers for over 83 years. We never cease to invent, innovate, and develop products, technology, and service provision, all with Customer Centricity approach, to provide comprehensive coverage that can response to the demands of all stages of life. Our collaboration with RISE is considered an important step that we take to drive the organization forward into becoming an organization of the future in every way through the utilisation of innovations in corporate context to further expand and deliver the best experience to AIA’s customers. We have RISE, an expert in corporate innovations and technology, to help bringing out the full potential of each of the finalist start-ups in developing innovations and technologies that will become new solutions for Thailand’s insurance industry, in compliance with AIA’s goal to being the number one in innovations that deliver maximum benefits to customers and all Thai people.”
Dr. Supachai Parchariyanon, CEO and Co-Founder of RISE, states, “We are honored to have been trusted by AIA, the number one leader in life insurance industry, to drive forward AIA x RISE Accelerator that will soon be taking place. For RISE, as an innovation accelerator that has worked with more than 400 leading organizations throughout Asia and with its network of more than 20,000 start-ups worldwide, we aim to deliver tangible results from the cooperation between AIA and start-ups in developing new innovations related to insurance industry for Thai people and to lead the organization to its intended destination.”
AIA Thailand Teams Up with RISE to Launch ‘AIA x RISE Accelerator’
AIA x RISE Accelerator is considered as South East Asia’s first project that emphasizes on the development of innovation and advance technologies that will answer to the specific demands of the life insurance industry, with the focus on adopting innovations that are relevant to the needs of customers in the digital age. This also includes the adoption of innovations to further enhance operational performance and convenience to employees and agents, with the ultimate goal to deliver service and experience of the highest degree to customers all over the country and to drive the organization 360 degrees into the future to prepare it for becoming the Digital Insurer that answers to the new generation’s novel ways of working, and with a swift customers service that can response to the fast pace of the digital world through collaboration with start-ups, both international and domestic, in order to bring out their potentials to develop innovations with AIA. This is considered a key step for AIA in developing innovations that will not only response to the demand of the customers and businesses, but will also inspire tangible cooperation to support start-ups and new generations with cutting-edge solutions to further support and elevate the health and quality of life of the Thai people under AIA’s brand promise to help people live “Healthier, Longer, Better Lives.”
Out of more than 200 start-ups around the globe who participate in the program, AIA and RISE have selected start-ups with the criteria of having the most interesting presentation of innovations and technologies that are compelling, contemporary, and with possibility of adoption into organization to develop innovations that serve to all dimensions of demands, namely Customer Journey, Customer Reach, Customer Needs, and Deep Tech. The start-up finalists to make it to the final round to jointly develop innovative solutions with AIA are:
• GoalsMapper (Singapore)
Will be developing with AIA the technological apparatus that will help elevate the capability of insurance agent to become an insurance counselor and professional investment advisor to meet the requirements of different lifestyles and needs of different individuals.
• Autify (Japan)
Collaborate with AIA to developing a test automation that allows companies to speed up their release cycle. Autify is a no-code software testing solution; therefore, anyone can do the test without involving a tester/QA.
• Lightwork (Thailand)
Developing tools with AIA with the use of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in the insurance reviewing process, from policy issuance to the process of making a claim and compensation payment.
• Vulcan Coalition (Thailand)
Will be developing with AIA data scientist team a solution that makes customers data labeling systematic and economical by well-trained disabled people, enabling AIA to identify and categorize data, then bring the labelled data to enhance the capability of machine learning.
• Vonder (Thailand)
Developing online educational and training medium under the concept ‘Microlearning’ that employs gaming technology for an enjoyable and continuous learning experience.
• Tetherfi (Singapore)
Developing technological innovation that will facilitate remote working for telesales to offer the best experience to the customers, with speed, quality, and precision in every step of the process.
• Smarten Spaces (Singapore)
Developing an intelligence Hybrid Workforce management solution provider trusted by 300+ brands across 100+ cities. Its solution suite ranges from space management to hybrid workforce management and employee safety. It has just won COVID Management of the Year award from the Singapore Business Review 2020.
All finalists will receive the chance to win the prize with a combined value of up to 1 million baht from AIA and an opportunity to receive investment fund of up to 3 million US dollars from SeaX Ventures, a US-based Venture Capital with Southeast Asia portfolios focused in advanced
technology start-ups. The AIA x RISE Accelerator will provide an incubation period of 3 months in which innovative solutions will be developed, after which the finalists will be showcasing their innovations at the Demo Day Event in early 2022.
For more information and updates on AIA x RISE Accelerator, please visit aia.riseaccel.com
Note: *Number One in Market Share and Gross Premium (Source: The Thai Life Assurance Association Jan-Aug 2021)
SAN FRANCISCO – Elon Musk launched a Twitter poll over the weekend asking users whether he should part with 10% of his shares in the electric vehicle company.
Twitter said yes. In a poll that amassed more than 3.5 million votes, 58% supported a sale.
Musk, the outspoken Tesla CEO who has gotten into regulatory trouble over some tweets, took the unusual step of crowdsourcing advice for his financial portfolio Saturday afternoon.
“I will abide by the results of this poll, whichever way it goes,” Musk wrote.
Such a sale would come as Tesla’s stock has ballooned past a trillion dollars in value, trading at more than $1,200 a share. Musk holds a more than 20% stake in the company, according to a regulatory filing from earlier this year.
Musk said such a move was motivated by legislative proposals to tax unrealized gains. He said he does not take a cash salary or bonus, so “the only way for me to pay taxes personally is to sell stock.”
It was not immediately clear if or when Musk would sell the stock. After the poll closed, he replied to a user saying, “I was prepared to accept either outcome.”
Tesla’s stock gains have propelled Musk to the title of world’s richest person, with an estimated net worth of $318 billion, according to Forbes. Musk launched his poll amid discussions around a billionaire tax in the U.S. Senate, which would tax unrealized gains of a handful of the richest Americans before such assets are sold.
Estimates have said Musk would pay as much as $50 billion over the tax’s first five years.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who proposed the tax in the U.S. Senate, criticized Musk’s poll Saturday on Twitter and said it only affirmed his proposal.
“Whether or not the world’s wealthiest man pays any taxes at all shouldn’t depend on the results of a Twitter poll,” his tweet read. “It’s time for the Billionaires Income Tax.”
Musk’s tweets have landed him in trouble in the past. The Securities and Exchange Commission fined Musk and Tesla $20 million each, and Musk was stripped of his Tesla board chairmanship, after Musk tweeted in 2018 he had “Funding secured” to take Tesla private at $420 a share.
An agreement with the regulatory body required Musk’s potentially market-moving tweets to be vetted by a securities lawyer.
Musk sent Tesla’s stock into a nosedive last May when he tweeted that he thought Tesla’s stock was overvalued, writing “Tesla stock price is too high imo,” shorthand for “in my opinion.”
The price of gold in Thailand on Monday morning was unchanged from Saturdays one-time trading price announcement.
A9.29am report from the Gold Traders Association showed the buying price of gold bar at THB28,400 per baht weight and selling price at THB28,500, while the buying and selling price of gold ornaments is THB27,894.40 and THB29,000, respectively.
The spot gold price on Monday morning was hovering around US$1,820 (THB60,260) per ounce after Comex gold at close on Friday surged by $23.3 to $1,816.8 per ounce due to support from the fall in US government bond yields, after US non-farm payroll in October surged beyond expectation.
The price of gold in Hong Kong, meanwhile, rose sharply by HK$120 to $16,830 (THB71,858) per tael, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society reported.
The baht opened at 33.17 to the US dollar on Monday, weakening from the previous closing of 33.33.
The Thai currency is likely to move between 33.10 and 33.20 during the day and between 33.00 and 33.50 during the week, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool predicted.
Poon said that the baht might fluctuate as the gold price is the most important factor that affects the baht. Investors might start to sell gold if the price reaches between $1,820 and $1,830 per ounce which will cause the baht to strengthen.
The baht’s key support level would be from 33.00 to 33.10, the level some importers are waiting for so they can buy dollars, he added.
Moreover, foreign investors set a stop loss level at 33.00 to the dollar. If the baht strengthen past the level, the baht might strengthen suddenly and reach 32.80.
Krungsri Securities forecast the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index on Monday (November 8) would fluctuate between 1,615 and 1,635 points.
It said the index gained positive sentiment from the decline in US jobless claims, the efficiency result of Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill and rising oil price.
However, fund flow volatility due to the US Federal Reserve’s move to taper its quantitative easing programme and third-quarter performance announcement would pressure the index, Krungsri Securities said.
It also recommended buying of the following companies’ shares as an investment strategy:
▪︎ PTT, PTTEP, TOP, PTTGC, SPRC and BCP, which benefit from rising oil price and gross refining margin.
▪︎ GULF, BGRIM, CHG, BCH, BDMS, KCE and JMT, whose third-quarter profit is expected to grow.
▪︎ AOT, KBANK, SCB, CPN, CRC, HMPRO, CPALL, AMATA, WHA, BTS, BEM and VGI, which benefit from the country reopening.
ICONSIAM rewards Thai athlete heroes of Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
ICONSIAM rewards Thai athlete heroes of Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
AIA Thailand Teams Up with RISE to Launch ‘AIA x RISE Accelerator’
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