The FDA is warning dog owners about a link between certain dog food brands and a serious form of canine heart disease.
The FDA investigated more than 500 reports of the life-threatening disease, canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and its possible link to certain kinds of dog food.
The FDA identified these dog food brands as the top-three most frequently reported DCM cases:
Taste of the Wild
The FDA also said dry food formulations have by far the most reported cases of DCM.
DCM was most frequently seen in Golden Retrievers, followed by mixed breeds and Labrador Retrievers.
The FDA report hasn't concluded how certain diets may be associated with DCM in some dogs.
As current and former Apple staff discuss Jony Ive's departure, new details are emerging about the company's previously secret work on a self-driving car, a television —and just what happened when Ive famously one-upped Scott Forstall.
Apple's Jony Ive
Jony Ive is famous for designing countless Apple products that have been worldwide successes. Now that he's leaving, however, Apple staff are also revealing details of his projects that were never released. They include hardware such as the origins of Apple's Project Titan car, the secret Apple TV set and politics such as how Ive snuck in to replace Scott Forstall as head of Apple's Human Interface team.
Forstall was the senior vice president of iOS Software and was ousted following problems at the launch of Apple Maps. It was known that Ive replaced Forstall, putting him in charge of both software and hardware design, but it wasn't known how swiftly that change was made.
According to The Information, in 2012, Ive joined a regular meeting of Apple's Human Interface team, previously overseen by Forstall, just prior to Forstall's departure.
One of the designers present asked where Forstall was, and it was Ive who answered.
"Scott isn't with us anymore," he reportedly said from the back of the room.
Following that meeting, Ive took direct charge and immediately brought that team over to see Apple's industrial design studio. According to The Information's source who was there, the team got to see a prototype of the Apple Watch three years before it was released. They also got to see an Apple television set.
"It was super-minimal," says the source. "Just a piece of glass with nice details."
Apple never released that television set, and so far it also hasn't released the much-rumored self-driving car. However, other sources speaking to The Information have revealed how Ive approached the idea.
Mockup of an Apple electric car (based on a Tesla)
Reportedly, Ive was so involved in the original design of an Apple car that he made a prototype model out of leather and wood specifically to show CEO Tim Cook. The most visibly notable feature of the model was that Ive insisted it should not have a steering wheel.
Instead, the car was to be predominantly voice-controlled. And for his demonstration to Cook, Ive hired an actress to perform as Siri, responding to voice commands.
It's not known how that prototype was received or how close Apple's car plans hew to it, but the company did at least temporarily table the initiative. While Project Titan continues to this day under hardware engineer Bob Mansfield, Apple is not as chasing a full-functioning vehicle as aggressively as it was in 2015.
Ive was more clearly successful with his design work on Apple Park, the new campus that he and Steve Jobs had pushed for — but which Ive now reportedly rarely works in. According to Bloomberg sources, Ive began backing away from day-to-day business shortly after Apple Watch launched in 2015.
Instead of Apple Park, Ive has been working out of the a studio in San Francisco that he has now made the base of his new LoveFrom business. The Information reports that he has been working there for some years.
"It felt special to get invited to his private studio," said a source who has not been there but whose colleagues had.
Nonetheless, enough people do visit the studio in San Francisco's Pacific Heights region that neighbors have reportedly complained. .
The FDA is warning dog owners about a link between certain dog food brands and a serious form of canine heart disease.
The FDA investigated more than 500 reports of the life-threatening disease, canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and its possible link to certain kinds of dog food.
The FDA identified these dog food brands as the top-three most frequently reported DCM cases:
Taste of the Wild
The FDA also said dry food formulations have by far the most reported cases of DCM.
DCM was most frequently seen in Golden Retrievers, followed by mixed breeds and Labrador Retrievers.
The FDA report hasn't concluded how certain diets may be associated with DCM in some dogs.
Guest room at The Bell, A Taco Bell Hotel & Resort
Courtesy Taco Bell
If you're a Taco Bell super fan looking to stay at the Mexican fast food chain's limited-time hotel, you're already too late.
All available rooms were snatched up just two minutes into taking reservations. And with that, the Yum Brands unit proved once again how much its customers love Taco Bell.
The chain started taking reservations at 1 p.m. ET Thursday for the roughly 70 rooms at its Palm Springs hotel.
Less than a minute after bookings went live, the website was already overwhelmed by the demand. Some users attempting to book a room received a message saying the website was experiencing "higher than normal traffic" and to "keep your crossed fingers on that refresh button."
"Taco Bell fans are truly one of a kind and today was one of the best expressions of that fandom yet," Taco Bell's Chief Global Brand Officer Marisa Thalberg said in a statement.
Rooms started at $169 per night, with no minimum required stay. The Bell, which is taking over the V Palm Springs Hotel, will open its doors August 8 and close August 12.
Taco Bell anticipated high demand for its hotel. The chain's U.S. president, Julie Felss Masino, said that only one employee from a company-owned store will win a coveted room as part of a customer service contest.
"We're really trying to make it a fan experience," Masino said in an interview last week.
Guests can look forward to tasting Taco Bell's take on V Palm Springs' restaurant menu, created by Rene Pisciotti, the same product developer who invented Nacho Fries. Among the potential menu options: a grilled chicken Caesar salad that includes croutons crafted out of Mexican rice and chicken marinated in the Nacho Fries' spices. Traditional Taco Bell favorites will also be available.
The Bell will also feature a gift shop with exclusive Taco Bell-themed apparel and an on-site salon with Taco Bell-inspired nail art and hair styling services. To round out the experience, hotel guests can expect performances from up-and-coming musicians, feature-length movie showings, and a lounge inspired by Mountain Dew Baja Blast.
Taco Bell has a history of connecting with its customers through off-beat experiences. Fans can get married in a Taco Bell-themed ceremony for $600 at its Las Vegas Cantina flagship location. As of May, Taco Bell has registered over 165 couples. The brand has also teamed up with fast-fashion retailer Forever 21 to sell clothes featuring its logo and imagery.
Mike Kelly, co-founder and CEO of State of Mind Partners, said a branded hotel wouldn't be right for every fast food chain. But it fits for Taco Bell, he said.
"I think there are certain brands that sort of have this fanbase, and they also have these crazy branded products," Kelly said.
(Bloomberg) -- Pier 1 Imports Inc. shares tumbled as much as 24% after reporting a seventh straight quarter of declining sales as its interim chief tries to make its turnaround plan work.
Same-store sales, an important measure for retailers, fell 13.5% in the first quarter. Results were dragged down by “aggressive clearance actions to move through lower-priced, lower-margin goods,” Interim Chief Executive Officer Cheryl Bachelder said.
Key Insights
Bachelder had laid out her plan to revive the struggling retailer in April, including store closures and cost cuts. Investors got their first glimpse into how the plan’s working on Wednesday, with the company saying it’s still on track with the savings it laid out last quarter and that it’s learning “in real-time.”On the company's earnings call, management said Pier 1 would close about 57 stores this fiscal year. That's higher than the 45 it had announced earlier this spring. Pier 1 had said in April it would recapture about $30 million to $40 million of net income and $45 million to $55 million of EBITDA in fiscal year 2020 -- that’s no longer the case. “The expense savings we plan to realize in the second half of fiscal 2020 are expected to be absorbed by reduced gross margins” instead, the CEO said Wednesday.One big question investors may still have is the home goods store’s liquidity position. S&P Global Ratings said in April it was concerned the company isn’t discussing any debt exchange and cited what it called an increasing “potential for a bankruptcy filing or debt restructuring.” The company has said that its turnaround plan “will provide sufficient liquidity“ for a rebound.
Market Reaction
Pier 1 shares fell to as low as $6.70 as on Thursday. The retailer announced a reverse stock split this month, allowing it to regain compliance with the NYSE minimum share price and continue to be listed.
Get More
For more financial details, click here.For company statement, click here.
(adds share trading and bullet point on store closures.)
To contact the reporter on this story: Olivia Rockeman in New York at orockeman1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anne Riley Moffat at ariley17@bloomberg.net, Jonathan Roeder
For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com
Engineers working on a Jaguar V8 engine at the Ford engine plant near Bridgend, south Wales.
12,000 jobs could be slashed at Ford’s manufacturing plants across Europe, as the carmaker rolls out a major cost-cutting plan.
The company said it will close or sell six of its facilities across Europe by the end of 2020, reducing its “manufacturing footprint” from 24 plants to 18.
It said the wave of redundancies will come “primarily through voluntary separation programmes.”
Ford described the huge cutbacks as part of “the most comprehensive redesign in the history of its business in Europe.”
The company confirmed its Ford of Britain and Ford Credit Europe headquarters in Warley will be closed, with operations consolidated in Dunton.
Stuart Rowley, president of Ford of Europe, said: “Separating employees and closing plants are the hardest decisions we make, and in recognition of the effect on families and communities, we are providing support to ease the impact.”
“We are grateful for the ongoing consultations with our works councils, trade union partners and elected representatives. Together, we are moving forward and focused on building a long-term sustainable future for our business in Europe.”
Ford currently employs around 65,000 people across Europe through its wholly owned and joint venture arms.
The scale of the job losses makes it a significant landmark in Ford’s history in Europe, which dates back more than a century.
Carmakers like Ford face an enormous financial challenge to both adapt their vehicles to meet increasingly tough clear-air rules and invest in a new generation of electric, hybrid and autonomous cars.
Rowley added: “Implementing our new strategy quickly enables us to invest and grow our leading commercial vehicle business and provide customers with more electrified vehicles, SUVs, exciting performance derivatives and iconic imported models.”
“Our future is rooted in electrification,” he said.
