A watchdog group is calling on Amazon.com Inc. to improve conditions for factory workers in China who make Echo speakers and Kindle e-readers, renewing criticisms that CEO Jeff Bezos became the world’s wealthiest man on the backs of low-paid laborers.

How big is the “gig economy”? Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics gave the first official reading of how many Americans rely on temporary work, freelancing, and on-demand apps to make ends meet. And the answer is: a lot.

A worldwide escalation of the trade tensions between the U.S. and its major trading partners would have consequences for global trade equivalent to the 2008 financial crisis, the World Bank has warned.

At 9 a.m. on June 16, 2017, Whole Foods employees packed into the main level of the company’s Austin headquarters. Only an hour earlier Amazon had announced that it was acquiring the high-end natural grocer, and the corporate staffers were as shocked as the rest of the public.