“Alexa, ask JPMorgan what the price target for Apple is.”It’s a request that JPMorgan Chase & Co. institutional clients can now get quickly answered through Amazon.com Inc.’s ubiquitous voice-activated assistant. The bank and the e-commerce giant have partnered to provide JPMorgan’s Wall Street users with another way to access its research. Alexa is able to send analysts’ reports and related queries, and the bank is testing other features, like providing prices on bonds or swaps, according to David Hudson, global head of markets execution for the New York-based bank.Voice assistants are “clearly becoming something people are habituated to in their lives,” Hudson said. “It’s about taking information that’s somewhere in the bank, that someone has to generally go and look for, or which is time-consuming or requires authentication to get, and putting that to you in another channel.”As clients’ habits evolve, … [Read more...] about JPMorgan Brings Amazon’s Alexa to Wall Street Trading Floors
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Amazon workers in Spain deliver first strike to demand better pay and conditions
Packages at the Amazon hub in San Fernando de Henares outside Madrid. Photo: AFP Workers at Amazon's biggest logistics centre in Spain have gone on strike, a first in the country as they demand better pay and conditions, a union said Wednesday. Ana Berceruelo of the CCOO union told AFP the strike started Tuesday night, with 98 percent of employees in the warehouse in San Fernando de Henares near Madrid following the work stoppage which is expected to last until Thursday. The logistics centre where workers prepare packages for clients in Spain and Europe is the country's biggest as well as the first Amazon opened there in 2012. Some 1,100 Amazon employees and 900 people employed by temping agencies work on site, according to the union. "There is pretty much zero activity in the warehouse, we don't think orders will be taken," said Berceruelo. She said Amazon had deviated some of the orders to a centre in Barcelona, but delivery won't be … [Read more...] about Amazon workers in Spain deliver first strike to demand better pay and conditions
Amazon Go is re-engineering the emotional experience of shopping
On 23 March 1857, the world's first successful hydraulic elevator was installed in the Haughwout Building, a new store in New York's SoHo area. Though at five stories it was far from the tallest building in New York City and as such didn't require an Otis elevator – the first of the now-ubiquitous machines – Haughwout realised that people would be enticed by the novelty of the new addition, and would be more attracted to his store.Technology in all forms has fuelled a competitive advantage for retailers throughout the history of commerce, but today Amazon leads the disruption charge. Most recently its January 2018 launch of the 'Amazon Go' cashier-less grocery store in Seattle put the retail industry on alert for a new wave of change in their midst.Just as Haughwout wasn't the first to embrace technology, nor will 'Amazon Go' stores be the last. Now, with traditional retail entities such as Co-op, Tesco and Sainsbury's announcing innovative plans of their own, the face of … [Read more...] about Amazon Go is re-engineering the emotional experience of shopping
150,000 sign Amazon tax petition
A couple who run two high street bookshops have handed in a petition signed by more than 150,000 people to Downing Street, calling on internet retailer Amazon to pay their fair share of UK tax. Frances Smith, 66, and her husband Keith, 63, who run bookshops in Warwick and Kenilworth in Warwickshire, launched the petition on the campaigning website Change.org last December. The couple, who live in Warwick, believe the internet retailer Amazon is putting unfair pressure on firms like theirs and driving many out of business by not paying their fair share of corporation tax. Among their supporters is MP Margaret Hodge, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, who accompanied them to Downing Street. Author Charlie Higson and actor Stephen Fry have also backed the campaign. Fry tweeted a weblink to the couple's petition and wrote: "#AmazonUK may be useful but should they be getting away with funnelling their money through Luxembourg?" Amazon hit the headlines last year after it was accused … [Read more...] about 150,000 sign Amazon tax petition
15,000 seasonal workers point to a hot Amazon Christmas
Amazon is set to hire 15,000 seasonal workers across the UK to cope with the expected demand for deliveries this Christmas. The hiring spree beats the 10,000 hired last Christmas and will see new staff working across eight fulfilment centres and its Edinburgh customer service centre. Catherine McDermott, director of operations at Amazon UK, said: “On our busiest shopping day last Christmas, customers ordered a total of 3.5 million items during one 24-hour period at a rate of 44 items a second.” Last year, about one in 10 Christmas temps had been offered a permanent job in January, with a further 500 temporary staff given positions by the end of the year. It is not known how many of the 15,000 workers will be on controversial zero hours contracts — which Amazon uses for some of its staff, giving them no guaranteed fixed hours each week. The company has also been criticised for some of its working practices in the UK, with allegations from its Rugeley, east Midlands, … [Read more...] about 15,000 seasonal workers point to a hot Amazon Christmas