The Supreme Court's forthcoming abortion ruling will put Corporate America in a vise, squeezed between employees pressuring companies to speak out and state governments that might punish them if they do.
The big picture: Companies have gotten significantly more outspoken on a host of political and social issues. Abortion was a tougher one to begin with, and a Supreme Court ruling striking down Roe v. Wade is likely to come just as big corporations are growing more afraid of how much their activism can cost them.
Our cars have always been our companions, but now, thanks to the integration of new digital voice assistants like Amazon's Alexa, they're finally able to understand us better.
Why it matters: The arrival of more reliable voice technology is revolutionizing the in-car experience, giving drivers hands-free access to more features and apps so they don't have to fumble with buttons or screens while driving.
If your income is rising much more slowly than inflation, that's a sign you might be rich.
Why it matters: The bottom 90% of earners are seeing their income keep up with inflation, while the bottom 50% had wage gains 3.4% bigger than inflation in the first quarter of 2022. That's according to Realtime Inequality, a project that attempts to disaggregate growth statistics by income percentile.
As labor shortages continue to bedevil the food service industry, robots are transforming how restaurants cook french fries, brew coffee, fry tortilla chips and grill burgers.
Why it matters: "Smarter" back-of-the-house machines are helping companies serve more consistent food — and more batches of it — in safer and more virus-proof kitchens.
What is the metaverse anyway? Good question! In fact, it's not even clear if it's one world, or a word meant to include all of the distinct virtual places being created by different projects. The answer will have big implications.
Why it matters: A lot of folks spend an ungodly amount of time online already. But technologists believe we will spend even more once they make it extra immersive using 3D, super social worlds to do things like shop, see concerts and attend conferences.
The National Labor Relations Board prosecutors determined that Amazon violated federal labor law by holding mandatory anti-union meetings at a warehouse where workers were weighing whether to unionize, Bloomberg reports.
Why it matters: The National Labor Relations Board regional office in Brooklyn told Bloomberg that it will issue a complaint against the company if it does not agree to a settlement.
Women comprised 45% of all new Fortune 500 board appointments in 2021, a new high, while Black directors were 26% of new appointees, a tad lower than 2020 after a surge that year, according to a report released Wednesday morning by executive search and leadership consulting firm Heidrick & Struggles.
Why it matters: The yearslong push to diversify boardrooms intensified in 2020 after companies were spurred to action in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd — and it appears to be paying off.
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