All posts by Amelia Jacobs

About Amelia Jacobs

Amelia Jacobs began her career in business following a surprisingly successful trip to China. Having visited the region as a tourist, she returned to America as an import-exporter. Today, Jacobs runs a thriving import-export company, splitting her time between Chicago and Shanghai. Contact Amelia at amelia[at]businessdistrict.com

Driverless Cars to Expand Service in San Francisco

Artificial Intelligence, Companies, Tech News, Technology, Transportation Industry

In August of 2023, the California Public Utilities Commission passed a vote that allows driverless car companies Waymo and Cruise to expand their operations in San Francisco. Until now, Cruise and Waymo were only permitted to offer limited service within the city. This vote enables both companies to charge a fare for rides at any time of day or night, on any street within the municipality.

Waymo and Cruise are similar in concept to companies such as Uber or Lyft, just without the human driver. While some first responders are concerned that driverless vehicles have not yet perfected the method of getting out of the way of emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks, other travelers are hopeful that driverless vehicles will help to limit traffic fatalities, which are on the rise in San Francisco.

Hunter Pond presents – A Taste of Old Hollywood

Lifestyle, Millenials, , ,

Where do the hottest stars of today go to get a taste of the Hollywood glamour of yesterday? Restaurant magnate Hunter Pond, Chairman and CEO of Vandelay Hospitality Group, is thrilling the LA scene as he expands his restaurant empire beyond Dallas, Texas.

The much anticipated Drake’s Hollywood celebrated its grand opening on May 4th on the famed Melrose Strip of West Hollywood, California. Paris Jackson, Kelli Berglund, Mackenzie Ziegler, Leona Lewis, Olivia Culpo, and a host of young celebrities came to experience the ambiance, which is designed to take diners back to the classy days of 1940’s Hollywood. Hunter Pond has curated every aspect of the décor to ensure that diners are fully immersed in old Hollywood elegance. The deep red booths and bar stools are surrounded by original artwork that features iconic idols from the Silver Screen.

The menu of Drake’s Hollywood combines sophistication and fun with dishes such as sturgeon caviar, le deluxe mac n cheese, and Melrose cracker crust pizza. All of Hunter Pond’s restaurants are known for using premium ingredients to ensure outstanding taste and quality. 

A native of Dallas, Texas, Hunter Pond opened his first restaurant at just 24 years old. Today, Vandelay Hospitality Group operates several restaurants, and is known for meticulously orchestrating every aspect of the dining experience, from the exquisite food, to the music, to the interior design.

The original Drake’s Hollywood has been delighting customers in Dallas since 2019. So, whether you’re in North Texas or on the West Coast, pull out your classiest old Hollywood outfit and head over to Drake’s Hollywood for a most memorable evening.

Summer Air Travel is on the Rise

Companies, Economy, News, Transportation Industry

Air travel may finally be recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Although some experts predicted that rising inflation would keep vacationers close to home, Delta Airlines reports a 17% increase in demand for flights in the quarter that ends in June.

Despite rising fares, according to Expedia, there has been a 25% increase in flight searches for summer trips, and an even larger increase in searches for international travel to Europe and Asia.

Airlines are also feeling hopeful about the return of corporate travel. Now that offices are reopening after the pandemic, business people are once again willing to fly to meetings. This summer, a high percentage of seats are expected to be filled by people traveling for work.

The next challenge for the airlines will be to ensure they are prepared for this increase in travelers. Throughout the past year, the airline industry was plagued with thousands of cancellations due to bad weather and internal issues. To ensure that passengers arrive at their destinations in a timely manner, Daniel Janki, CFO of Delta, said that Delta has devoted time and energy to “ensuring that we have the right resources in the right places with the right level of training.”

Kellogg to Split into Three Companies

Brands, Companies, ,

The famed food manufacturing company Kellogg has announced that it will be splitting into three independent companies. The first will consist of Kellogg’s (K) North America cereals, the second is snacks, and the third is a new “pure-play plant-based foods company,” a shootoff of its MorningStar Farms brand.

The announcement from the 116-year-old iconic business comes a decade after Kellogg acquired Pringles. That sale was the beginning of a shift from a focus on cereals to snacks, following people’s tendencies to eat on the go and between meals.

In explaining the company’s decision, CEO Steve Cahillane affirmed that the move gives the chance for each spinoff to unlock its full potential. In an effort to grow shareowner value, splitting the business into individual entities enables each to realize the possibilities of its specific product line and reach appropriate financial goals.

The snack breakoff is destined to be the largest of the three, with over $11 billion in sales last year – 60% of sales coming from Pop-Tarts, Nutri-Grain, Cheez-It, and Pringles.

The new business split up is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023.

Trump Getting Ready to Pull US Out of NAFTA

Trade, , , , ,

Reports have emerged that the Trump administration is taking concrete steps to pull the United States out of the North American Free Trade Agreement, also known as NAFTA.

According to Politico, two White House officials stated that a draft order to withdraw from NAFTA has already been submitted for the last stages of review, and could be released by the end of this week, or early next week.

The order was written by Trump’s head of the National Trade Council, Peter Navarro, in corroboration with the White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. It is still unclear what the order states, but the effect on trade can be predicted by an examination of the top 20 exports arriving from Mexico to the US.

In January Capital Economics’ chief emerging markets economist Neil Shearing published a chart in a memo to clients graphing the top 20 exports from Mexico according to their 2015 US dollar value.

About 25 percent of Mexico’s total exports to the US, by far the largest slice, came from the auto sector, valued at about $80 billion. The next three items are electrical components, food, and computers, together valued at about $55 billion.

“The upshot, then, is that targeted measures imposed on the vehicle, electronics, and food and beverage sectors would hit Mexico’s economy especially hard,” wrote Shearing. “Similarly, in the event of a blanket tariff across all sectors, producers in these areas would be among the hardest hit.”

In wake of the reports that Trump is on the verge of pulling out of NAFTA the peso is crashing, down over 2.2 percent at 19.2704 as of 12:53pm Wednesday afternoon.