Business Briefs – March 27, 2017

Uber Resumes Self-Driving Car Program After Brief Suspension

NEW YORK (AP) – Uber says it is resuming self-driving car program in Arizona and Pittsburgh after it was suspended following an accident over the weekend. There were no injuries reported in the accident in Tempe, Arizona, Friday night. Police said the self-driving Uber SUV was obeying the law while the human driver of the other car was cited for a moving violation.

The company said Monday that it paused the operations over the weekend to better understand what happened in Arizona, but feels confident in returning the cars to the road.

Rule Britannia: Firms Bet on British Allure to Get by Brexit

LONDON (AP) – China maker Wedgwood and other British brands are hoping to make virtue out of necessity by using their U.K. identity as a selling point as the country falls out of the European Union. Consumers around the world are ready to pay extra for the perceived cultural cool of Britain as well as for the quality and workmanship.

U.S. Economy to Grow Slower Than Trump Pledges, Survey Finds

WASHINGTON (AP) – A survey of economists finds that U.S. economic growth is expected to accelerate this year and next, yet remain modest, even if President Trump’s promised tax cuts and infrastructure spending are implemented. The survey by the National Association for Business Economics predicts the economy will grow a solid 2.3 percent this year and 2.5 percent in 2018. Still, those rates are below the 3 percent to 4 percent growth that Trump has promised to deliver.

 

Robots Could Take Over 38 Percent of U.S. Jobs Within About 15 years, Report Says

(Los Angeles Times/TNS) – More than a third of U.S. jobs could be at “high risk” of automation by the early 2030s, a percentage that’s greater than in Britain, Germany and Japan, according to a report released Friday.

The analysis, by accounting and consulting firm PwC, emphasized that its estimates are based on the anticipated capabilities of robotics and artificial intelligence, and that the pace and direction of technological progress are “uncertain.”

It said that in the U.S., 38 percent of jobs could be at risk of automation, compared with 30 percent in Britain, 35 percent in Germany and 21 percent in Japan.

The main reason is not that the U.S. has more jobs in sectors that are universally ripe for automation, the report says; rather, it’s that more U.S. jobs in certain sectors are potentially vulnerable than, say, British jobs in the same sectors.

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