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Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency branded after a viral canine meme from years in the past, has a market capitalization of about $86 billion following a six-month climb of almost 25,000 %.
Over that very same time interval, the S&P was up 19 %, whereas crypto rivals bitcoin and ether had been up 286 % and 698 %, respectively, in accordance with CoinMarketCap. And inventory market darling Tesla? It’s up 56 % since November.
“The joke is on Wall Avenue this time,” mentioned Mati Greenspan, portfolio supervisor and founding father of Quantum Economics. “What you have got is a state of affairs the place teenagers on TikTok are outperforming even the neatest fits by 1000’s of share factors.”
In 2013, software program engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer launched the satirical cryptocurrency as a strategy to make enjoyable of bitcoin and the various different cryptocurrencies boasting grand plans to take over the world.
They referred to as it dogecoin – pronounced “doje coin” with a tender “g” sound – after the once-popular “doge” shiba inu meme. Its goal? To be a sooner however “enjoyable” different to bitcoin.
“The enchantment of dogecoin has at all times been its honesty,” Galaxy’s researchers Alex Thorn and Karim Helmy defined in a word to shoppers on Might 4. “In contrast to many different cryptocurrency initiatives…there is no grand imaginative and prescient, no pronouncements about how dogecoin will change the world.”
As well as, whereas bitcoin has a capped provide of 21 million cash, there’s at present no restrict to the variety of dogecoins that may be created.
“One of many worth propositions of bitcoin is digital shortage; that there’ll solely be 21 million,” mentioned Greenspan. “There is no such thing as a such arduous cap [with dogecoin], and it has a very loopy inflation schedule.”
It is not completely clear when or why dogecoin captured the center of Elon Musk.
The billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO has spent years speaking up the token.
“You could have this one man who’s form of just like the cult chief,” mentioned Asheesh Birla, a basic supervisor at Ripple, which manages another cryptocurrency used for funds.
Musk, nevertheless, is not alone in his superstar endorsement of the animal-branded token. Dallas Mavericks proprietor Mark Cuban, Snoop Dogg and Kiss bassist Gene Simmons have all publicly rallied behind dogecoin. Even beef jerky model Slim Jim is getting in on the motion.
However there’s extra to dogecoin’s file value run than simply superstar backing.
Market circumstances have additionally been proper. A number of rounds of stimulus checks have meant folks have more cash available to spend. Apps like Robinhood have made it simpler than ever for the informal investor to make a wager on shares, turning day-trading right into a pandemic pastime.
There’s additionally the enduring sentiment to “stick it” to the institution.
“Dogecoin is like this sort of large F-U to the system,” mentioned Avi Felman, Head of Buying and selling at BlockTower Capital. “It is like, ‘Yeah, this factor can have worth, too. And I am simply going to purchase it, as a result of I’ll purchase it.'”
Consultants say the dynamic is harking back to the GameStop buying and selling frenzy from earlier this 12 months.
“Elon is mainly pushing up this message of, ‘Why cannot dogecoin have worth?'” mentioned Felman. “It is a part of the GameStop increase. Folks like these narratives. They like these tales. They like these jokes. And dogecoin simply captured the thoughts and creativeness of each single retail investor.”
The rise of commission-free buying and selling by way of on-line brokerage apps like Robinhood additionally made it simpler than ever to purchase into crypto.
“You could have a rabid on-line group,” Birla mentioned of the fanbase of doge evangelists. “You could have Twitter and Reddit, the place they’re all form of congregating and fascinated with tips on how to pump dogecoin.”
The query of whether or not dogecoin holds worth is debatable.
In the mean time, there are only a few use instances for the token. Although extra retailers are beginning to settle for dogecoin as a way of fee, it’s nowhere close to the extent of adoption mandatory for use as any form of precise foreign money substitute.
“Nowadays it is all one large advertising and marketing ploy,” mentioned Mike Bucella, BlockTower Capital basic companion.
In contrast to rival cryptocurrencies akin to ethereum, which let programmers construct purposes on their platform to do issues like lend and borrow cash, there is not a lot anybody can do with dogecoin.
Dogecoin is not actually a dependable retailer of wealth both, on condition that this sometimes requires a sure diploma of long-term religion within the coin and the blockchain upon which it has been constructed.
“Should you take a look at the dogecoin protocol itself, I do not even know if there’s anybody over the past a number of years who has added new performance or code to it,” mentioned Birla. “Dogecoin would not actually have a growth staff behind it.”
Given these limitations, the run-up in dogecoin seems to be purely speculative. Dogecoin has worth as a result of different folks consider that it has worth. And since they consider that another person is prepared to purchase it from them at a better value.
“We see dogecoin rising in value as an element of low liquidity and excessive progress within the community,” defined Greenspan. “As soon as the community does attain crucial mass, I do not assume that sort of progress is sustainable.”
However all isn’t misplaced for the way forward for dogecoin.
“The actual worth is in at the moment’s meme-driven tradition, and doge represents the community worth of memetics, which can show to be huge,” defined Bucella. “If sooner or later, the doge group decides to implement a burn or new provide mechanism, by way of a protocol arduous fork, then this worth could have a better probability of being retained long-term.”
Disclosure: “Saturday Night time Dwell” is a TV present of NBCUniversal, the father or mother firm of CNBC. CNBC owns the unique off-network cable rights to “Shark Tank,” which options Mark Cuban as a panelist.


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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- An Oklahoma Tax Commission official testifies before Congress about the impact of a possible permanent federal government ban on taxing Internet access. According to a story from The Oklahoman's Washington bureau, commission Vice Chairman Jerry Johnson told a U.S. House subcommittee Tuesday that Congress shouldn't make a moratorium on taxing Internet access permanent or should do so only temporarily.
Now that consumers are buying Internet access, cable television services and even phone services from single providers, Johnson says tax commissioners nationwide are concerned that companies could argue their entire package of services qualifies as Internet access.
In Oklahoma, the 4.5% sales tax applies to phone and cable services.
Johnson told lawmakers they should ensure the definition of Internet access doesn't go beyond the original intent, which is to provide tax-free connection to basic Internet content.

domain: news


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Google has today clarified that despite industry speculation and discussion around alternative replacements for third-party cookies, which the search giant is gradually phasing out, it will not be looking to provide a means to maintain the same level of individual data tracking once cookies are gone.
As explained by Google:
"We continue to get questions about whether Google will join others in the ad tech industry who plan to replace third-party cookies with alternative user-level identifiers. Today, we’re making explicit that once third-party cookies are phased out, we will not build alternate identifiers to track individuals as they browse across the web, nor will we use them in our products."
That could be a blow for advertisers who were hoping for an alternative option, in order to maintain their data flows as normal. But then again, Google has been pushing forward on its removal of cookies for some time, so its official stance in this respect is no real surprise.
To clarify, in January last year, Google officially outlined its plan to phase out third-party cookie tracking due to shifting consumer and regulatory sentiment around data privacy on the web. Google had been working towards this for some time - in May 2019, Google began investigating solutions to address concerns about data misuse, while still maintaining a level of data tracking.
Based on these investigations, Google established that it would be possible "to sustain a healthy, ad-supported web in a way that will render third-party cookies obsolete". Google has been experimenting with different methods on this via its Privacy Sandbox, which has enabled Google and its advertising partners to establish workarounds and alternatives that will protect individual privacy, while still allowing a level of user data collection.
But in the end, advertisers won't have the same level of individual user data available. Instead, Google is proposing new anonymized groupings for ad targeting.
"Advances in aggregation, anonymization, on-device processing and other privacy-preserving technologies offer a clear path to replacing individual identifiers. In fact, our latest tests of FLoC show one way to effectively take third-party cookies out of the advertising equation and instead hide individuals within large crowds of people with common interests."
That should ensure ad targeting remains responsive and focused, but it will be a significant shift in the specific data advertisers have become used to. Combine that with Apple's coming IDFA update, and it could mark a major change in digital advertising approach - which is important, given the broader concerns about individual user tracking, but it will force an adjustment in strategic thinking.
So how do brands counter this, and ensure their ads remain as targeted and responsive as ever? Well on both fronts, in terms of cookie tracking and IDFA, we don't yet know the full extent of the impacts because we haven't seen what will happen once each element is removed.
It could be that the change is minimal - essentially, users will be able to implement more control over data tracking if they wish, but there's no guarantee that they will, which could mean data targeting remains largely intact.
But it could, as expected, see some major shifts. Some apps will still have access to lots of user data regardless, so effectiveness could remain relatively stable. But, in certain applications at least, you can expect that there'll be a need to change your audience tracking approaches, which will eventually lead to new industry norms, and likely, new ways to maintain direct connection with your focus audiences to boost ad effectiveness.
As Google notes:
"Developing strong relationships with customers has always been critical for brands to build a successful business, and this becomes even more vital in a privacy-first world. We will continue to support first-party relationships on our ad platforms for partners, in which they have direct connections with their own customers. And we'll deepen our support for solutions that build on these direct relationships between consumers and the brands and publishers they engage with."
Establishing your own databases, your own contact listings, collecting your own data insights, and utilizing your own audience segmentation, will be an important focus for all brands moving forward. If you don't have audience data collection processes in place yet, or they could stand for some specific improvement, it may be worth investing the time into working out the most effective data elements for your business, and how you might be able to maintain that connection in future.


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Pop-up beer garden? Count us in.
Union Square Greenmarket will add 12 small plate restaurants and a beer garden to it’s usual Friday fare of farmers market vendors as part of a Night Market.
From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. (we call that happy hour), local beers, hard ciders, and wines, like KelSo’s Rhubarb Gose, will be served in a temporary beer garden.
Burgers, barbeque, and pre-made boxes filled with dinner essentials will be on sale for $5 to $20 amidst the fresh produce, meats and cheeses usually for sale at the Greenmarket.
“People sometimes come through the market and want to purchase prepared food, and since we can’t provide that on a daily basis, we decided to do it for one night,” said GrowNYC market spokesperson, Liz Carollo. “It will let people relax and hang out at the market.”


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The answer to forgotten phone passwords could soon be in the palm of consumer's hands, as Samsung is moving forward with a patent for a palm scanner, that can help one uncover or reset a forgotten password.
prior to this addition, users with forgotten passwords were sent a link that re-directed them to a website where they would be prompted to create a new password. Now, users can simply hold their palm up to their smartphone's camera, while the scanner verifies the user's identity. The smart device will then reveal a few characters of the password, with the intention of reminding the user what code they originally selected for the device.
If the patent is approved, the palm scanner could help a user unlock their phone, or confirm purchases.


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Samsung’s Galaxy E5 and E7 are two of the best mid-range smartphones that the company has ever made in the history of its smartphone business. Plus these two smartphones have been doing pretty well in terms of sales, at least in the emerging markets such as India.
According to people the biggest draw of the two devices is that they have fast and smooth software especially when compared to how non-flagship phones from Samsung are and have performed in the past.
Well the Galaxy E5 and %7 users are in for a bad news as the Lollipop update for their smartphones will not be experienced any time soon. However Samsung has stated that the smartphones will be update to the Android 5.0 Lollipop in the third quarter of this year.
Now the third quarter is a very late time frame for this update to arrive as the Android M would also be available by that time. Moreover the Android 5.0 might not boast a huge list of user facing features but it is still a very huge update, especially when talking about performance.


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Micarna presented their Pop-Bugs for the first time at the Anuga food fair. The original insect product was also honored with the innovation prize as part of the “Taste 17” exhibition as well as with the “Show Star” award by the food magazine “Lebensmittelpraxis”.
What will the world of tomorrow taste like? How can we surprise our consumers in the coming year? And how should a growing global population be fed in the coming decades? Anuga, the leading fair for the food industry, dealed with exactly these questions. More than 200,000 visitors and a good 7,000 exhibitors from 100 countries presented the latest trends and products in Cologne. In addition to this, the most innovative creations were awarded at the special exhibition “Taste 17”. Micarna was honored for its Pop-Bugs, the first cricket flour product. After the innovation prize for the “Paprika Wave Chips” (2013) and the “Chicken Gelati” (2015), this year’s award was the third innovation prize in the series at the renowned food fair. In addition to the innovation award at the fair itself, Micarna was also awarded the “ShowStar” by the food magazine “Lebensmittelpraxis” in the category of originality.
Crickets innovatively presented as food
The pop bugs are small balls, which are made from cricket flour as a protein source. They are similar to breaded meatballs, except in Pop-Bugs cricket flour is used instead of meat. “The Pop-Bugs are our first snack with insect protein,” says company director Albert Baumann. “On the one hand, because using insects as a complement to our diet is an important and contemporary issue. On the other hand, because our Pop-Bugs are visually convincing. Packed in an innovative carton tray which also has a serving function, the Pop-Bugs can be eaten right out of their fine packaging along with the dips which are included. “They will both delicious and a perfect topic for conversation, guaranteed.”
Insects are more than just a product idea
For Micarna, insects are more than just a product innovation. “We are convinced that the market can offer the potential for insects to be possible sources of protein. However, it is not just about consuming whole insects, but rather using them as interesting sources of protein for other products.” To carry out this foundational research, in April, Micarna set up a product manager for insects. “His main task is to develop a basic knowledge in this area and, for example, to find out what the legal possibilities are or what animal welfare means in the field of insects.” Micarna expects this foundational work to take around two years. The first innovative products however are being presented with the Pop-Bugs this autumn.
Profile of the Micarna Group
The companies of the Micarna Group, which are part of M-Industry, produce high-quality meat, poultry, fish and egg products. Founded as a Migros meat processing company by Gottlieb Duttweiler in Courtepin in the canton of Fribourg in 1958, the Micarna Group currently comprises the Swiss-based companies Favorit Geflügel, Gabriel Fleury, Lüchinger + Schmid, Maurer Spezialitäten, Mérat & Cie., Micarna, Natura Bündner Fleischtrocknerei, Optisol, Rudolf Schär and Tipesca. In addition, Stauss Geflügel and KM Seafood, both of which are based in Germany, are also part of the group. Micarna Group companies deliver the very best quality thanks to state-of-the-art production plants and the highest standards in hygiene, product safety and occupational health and safety. The companies are committed to animal welfare and reducing the animals’ stress during transport. They ensure that the origin of every single product is completely traceable. M-Industry’s meat, poultry, fish and egg segment includes over 3000 employees and generated a turnover of CHF 1.5 billion in 2016.


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BUYER: Derynda Properties II LLC (Michael Derynda), Oconomowoc, Wis.
SELLER: Lee County Real Estate Holding LLC
PROPERTY: 10050 University Plaza Drive, Fort Myers
PREVIOUS PRICE: $6.25 million (part of additional property), January 2009
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Coleman Yovanovich & Koester PA, Naples
PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Culver's restaurant franchisee Michael Derynda purchased 1.19 acres at the southwest corner of Alico Road and Ben Hill Griffin Parkway for $800,000.
The price equated to $672,269 per acre. That figure is lower than the two-year average price per acre for retail land ($746,593) in Southwest Florida, according to the CoStar Group.
Derynda, a 21-year franchisee with three existing Culver's in Wisconsin, is helping to bring the restaurant brand to the Gulf Coast area. Construction has already started on the new 4,400-square-foot restaurant.
“We hope to open right before Christmas,” he says.
The large number of Midwesterners that have migrated to Florida should ease Culver's entry to the market, Derynda says. He has plans to develop additional stores in the area if the first location proves successful.
Fellow Culver's franchisees Mike and Vinnie Busalacchi are developing the first Florida Culver's at 5775 Airport-Pulling Road N., Naples. The Culver's restaurant chain expects to announce a future location in Sarasota. The chain has more than 480 open restaurants nationwide. Florida is Culver's 21st state.
Tom Strauss and Matt Yaniglos of LandQwest Commercial handled the transaction for the seller.
Purchase entity Derynda Properties II LLC mortgaged the property to First Bank Financial Centre for two loans totaling $3.4 million.


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On Friday, October 18, American Express OPEN – as part of Scale Up Milwaukee – will host a free Corporate Venture Forum to convene national and local leaders in an interactive dialogue on strategic cooperation between corporate partners and entrepreneurial ventures at different stages – a critical element of an entrepreneurship ecosystem. The forum will provide insight and opportunities to local entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses as well as to regional leaders looking to partner with entrepreneurs for mutual gain.
The event will feature panel discussions moderated by Isenberg and workshops that will delve into how entrepreneurs and innovators from all size companies can partner to build a mutual benefitting relationship. Confirmed speakers include:
· Harshul Sanghi – Managing Partner, American Express Ventures
· Kolawole Otitoju – Managing Director, Business Development, GE Healthcare
· Eric Apse – Partner, IBM Venture Capital Group
· John Hoesley – Managing Director, Silicon Valley Bank
· Doña Storey – Advisor on Procurement, American Express OPEN
Earlier this year, the Greater Milwaukee Committee along with Governor Scott Walker and Mayor Tom Barrett launched Scale Up Milwaukee, a multi-stakeholder effort to catalyze entrepreneurial growth in the Milwaukee-area by helping entrepreneurs scale their business ventures using proven methodology by entrepreneurship expert Daniel Isenberg. Scale Up Milwaukee is commissioned by American Express OPEN as part of a national initiative, OPEN for Enterprise: Coalitions for High-Growth Entrepreneurship – designed to help U.S. cities with strong but untapped growth potential, such as Milwaukee, connect a diverse group of stakeholders to stimulate, support and “scale up” new and existing entrepreneurial ventures.
Registration information is available here: https://events.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07e869vwms3dd6b858&oseq=&c=&ch=
Audience will include:
· startups working on new products
· post–revenue scale ups figuring out how to grow
· larger corporations expanding into new markets
· regional leaders opening up their supply pipelines


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WaterStone ATMs to be added to 25 Pick 'n Save stores
WaterStone Bank automated teller machines are replacing ATMs formerly operated by the defunct Guaranty Bank in Pick 'n Save grocery stores in suburban Milwaukee.
Wauwatosa-based WaterStone said Thursday said it has a partnership with FCTI Inc., a nationwide ATM network company, and Pick 'n Save for ATMs in 25 stores.
Pick 'n Save is operated by Roundy's Supermarkets Inc., a subsidiary of The Kroger Co.
The ATMs will be located inside the stores. They won't be in Pick 'n Save stores where Tri City Bank branches are located.
The new in-store ATMs will give WaterStone customers more places where they can use the machines without paying transaction fees, said Becky Arndt, WaterStone senior vice president.
"It's a terrific branding opportunity for us also as we're looking to grow our customer base," she said.
With assets of more than $1.8 billion, WaterStone is the eighth-largest bank headquartered in Wisconsin.
“We continue to deliver, and support, solutions that provide our customers with easy access to their funds and the convenience of banking at WaterStone Bank,” Doug Gordon, president and chief executive officer of WaterStone Bank, said in a statement.
Glendale-based Guaranty Bank was shut down in May by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. of Raleigh, N.C., took over Guaranty, but Guaranty branches inside supermarkets weren't reopened.
RELATED:Feds close Guaranty Bank; to reopen as First Citizens


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Thailand doubles rubber subsidy, farmers yet to cancel weekend – AP, September 10, 2013
…After the drop in prices last year, the government spent 22 billion baht buying rubber from October 2012 to May 2013 and built up stocks of 210,000 metric tons of rubber sheet without making much impression on global prices.
That $690-million rubber subsidy program was axed after criticism it was costly and distorted the market. Similarly, a government rice intervention scheme has come under intense scrutiny after incurring losses of at least $4.46 billion since it was introduced in 2011.
Thailand has tried to enlist Indonesia and Malaysia, the next biggest exporters, in restricting shipments but has not had much success. Demand from companies in China and from tire makers has proved to be a bigger factor in setting prices…
- Remembering Black May 1992
- All About Royal Ploughing Day
- Four Years Ago: Another Coup in Thailand
- I burned the city? When?
- Student Hero
- A young girl does a better job than the PM
- Who will come crawling?
- Talking to the snake
- Anti-rabies GT 200
- The rich man is not full yet
- Thai-style Animal Protection Unit


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In his Autumn Budget speech, Chancellor Rishi Sunak made significant changes to fuel duty and duty rates on alcohol.
The government will keep fuel duty frozen at 57.95p per litre across the UK for 2022/23 in recognition of the significant cost that fuel represents for households and businesses.
The alcohol duty system will undergo a major simplification. Drinks will be taxed in proportion to their alcohol content, making the system ‘fairer and more conducive to product innovation’ in response to evolving consumer tastes. Additionally, a new relief that recognises the importance of pubs and supports responsible drinking will be introduced, with duty rates on draft beer and cider being cut by 5%.
A radical simplification of the system will see the number of main rates reduced from 15 to just six. All alcohol categories will move to a standardised set of bands, with rates for products between 1.2%-3.4% alcohol by volume (ABV), 3.5-8.4% ABV, 8.5-22% ABV and above 22% ABV. The government stated that above 8.5% ABV, all products across all categories will pay the same rate of duty if they have the same proportion of alcohol content.
Commenting on the changes, Kate Smith, Associate Director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said: ‘The reforms to alcohol duty . . . are a very welcome step. Moving to a system that taxes all drinks in relation to their alcohol content is sensible.
‘However, one anomaly from the previous system remains, with cider still taxed much more lightly than other drinks under the proposed reforms.’


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Liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) looks like vodka. It’s crystal clear and bright — brighter than water. And liquid CO2 has an unusual quality: It’s very jumpy, almost jiggly.
Although carbon dioxide is commonplace — it’s in every breath we exhale — most people will never see it flowing as a liquid; it doesn’t exist at the temperatures and pressures of ordinary life. But free-flowing CO2 is transforming a mundane, unpleasant task.
Thanks to some ingenious technological tweaks, liquid CO2 is now being used commercially by a new company called Hangers Cleaners in what its developers say is the first pollution-free process that cleans clothes as well as traditional chemical methods do. But more than that, quicksilvery liquid CO2 could be the engine that turns Hangers into a nationwide brand. Micell Technologies Inc., Hangers’s Raleigh, North Carolina-based parent company, aims to turn going to the dry cleaners into an experience — just as Starbucks turned buying a cup of coffee into a status statement.
“How does [Hangers] look to me? It looks fabulous,” says Ken Langone, 64, cofounder of the Home Depot and a member of Micell’s board of directors. “You’ve got an environmental problem in dry cleaning that has to be dealt with. You’ve got an industry that hasn’t had any new technology in how long? This is a breakthrough.”
Actually, the revolution in dry cleaning has been declared before. For the past half century, most clothes have been dry-cleaned using “perc” (short for perchloroethylene), an organic solvent that replaced the flammable, petroleum-based cleaning fluids that were previously used. But perc, it turns out, is highly toxic, and its use is now strictly regulated. “Wet cleaning,” a water-based process, is perc-free but doesn’t effectively clean all fabrics.
Enter Joseph DeSimone, 36, a polymer chemist with no previous expertise in dry cleaning. In the early 1990s, while working on ways to replace traditional manufacturing solvents with liquid CO2 — the substance used to carbonate soft drinks — DeSimone and a team of researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill developed detergents that also happened to clean well when combined with liquid CO2. “I’m fairly certain it’s the only cleaning experiment ever published in ‘Science,'” says DeSimone.
In 1995, DeSimone and his colleagues patented the process and cofounded Micell Technologies in Raleigh. Their plan was to develop and sell a new kind of dry-cleaning machine that replaced perc with CO2.
During an early pitch to investors, the Home Depot’s Langone saw that DeSimone had a great technology but a limited plan for marketing it. Langone’s suggestion: Why not wrap the technology into a whole new business? In order to buy Micell’s machines, independent dry cleaners would first have to become Hangers franchisees. That way, Micell could control more than just the cleaning process.
“This is an image business,” says Micell president S. Kirk Kinsell, 45. “We want people who are first and foremost concerned with the customer experience.” Indeed, a Hangers looks more like a Banana Republic than like a dry cleaner. The stores are airy and flooded with light; the customer counters are topped with buffed stainless steel.
As of May, Hangers had 40 stores in Nebraska, North Carolina, and Rhode Island, and the company expects to open another 60 by the end of the year. By boldly aiming for 25% of the $6.5 billion market, Micell is trying to roll up the dry-cleaning business the same way that the Home Depot rolled up the hardware industry.
Micell must overcome a few hurdles — some practical, some psychological. For one thing, the liquid CO2 process requires a machine that is too big to fit into some storefronts. And although the machines are more efficient, they cost $150,000 each — double the price of many perc machines. Plus, franchisees must give up their store names and send 5% of their revenues to Raleigh.
Hangers is hoping that established dry cleaners will realize the virtues of a national brand and a nontoxic process. “We can turn this back into a growth industry,” says DeSimone. “We have the technology to grow the business to grow revenues — and to build equity, instead of liability.”
Contact S. Kirk Kinsell by email (email@example.com), or learn more about Hangers Cleaners on the Web (www.micell.com).
Sidebar: Out, Damned Spot!
How do you transform an intensely local business whose methods haven’t changed in decades? How do you persuade independent operators to join the CO2 revolution? Hangers Cleaners has a plan.
- Offer a better product. The best part of the Hangers package is the CO2 technology. The process is essentially nonpolluting, and the machines recycle 98% of the CO2 that they use. The company says that the small amount of atmospheric CO2 that the Micell machines add to the environment is more than offset by the energy that they save.
- Offer a better business. Micell Techonologies president S. Kirk Kinsell thinks that his company’s package — new technology, new attitude — gives dry cleaners a way of distinguishing themselves from every other cleaner in town and offers franchisees the chance to build a business that they will actually be able to sell later on. Says Kinsell: “We want people who understand enough to ask not ‘What does it cost?’ but ‘What is the return on investment?’ ”
- Offer a better process. Hangers changes the very nature of dry cleaning. The machines are easy to use — a single-touch screen operates the equipment — and have none of the fumes or unpleasantness associated with most modern perc machines. That allows Hangers to compete for employees who might not otherwise be willing to do the dirty work.


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PC / Tech. > ExtremeTech
lundi 27 novembre 2017, 17:01
Google’s Chrome OS-based computers debuted in 2011 with a very limited feature set, but they’ve exploded in popularity as functionality improved. There are still a few pain points for those who want to move over to Chromebooks (See on Amazon). For example, a lack of...
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vendredi 24 novembre 2017, 04:00
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mercredi 22 novembre 2017, 19:37
Intel's new Core i5-8250U is a huge improvement over the dual-core CPUs Intel has been selling for the past few years. The post Intel’s New Core i5-8250U is a Huge Upgrade Over Older 7th Generation CPUs appeared first on ExtremeTech.
The flowing water on Martian slopes might just be sand, based on a new analysis of data from orbit. The post Flowing Water Observed on Mars Might Just Be More Sand appeared first on ExtremeTech.
Intel has released a new set of updates for the Intel Management Engine. There are multiple significant security vulnerabilities in the engine that this should address, once OEMs make fixes available. The post Intel Patches Major Flaws in the Intel Management Engine...
Uber just disclosed a hack from a year ago that it paid to conceal rather than disclose, despite legal requirements it do so. The post Uber Paid Hackers $100K to Hide Data Breach Exposing 57 Million Users [Updated] appeared first on ExtremeTech.
mardi 21 novembre 2017, 22:45
A flat-earther who disavows any belief in science will strap himself into a homemade rocket on Saturday, because the universe recognizes the human need for irony in life and is occasionally willing to provide it. The post Flat-Earther Plans Homemade, Manned Rocket Launch...
The FCC will vote to eradicate net neutrality and its attendant consumer protections in December, despite widespread consumer opposition. The post The FCC Votes in December To Dismantle Net Neutrality, Other Consumer Protections appeared first on ExtremeTech.
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NASA engineers are designing a new generation of rover wheels that can cope with the rugged terrain of the red planet. The post NASA Reinvents the Wheel for Future Mars Rovers appeared first on ExtremeTech.
If you're happy about Battlefront II's temporary suspension of pay-to-win mechanics or bought the game because of it, it may be thanks to Disney, not EA. The post Disney May Have Pushed EA to Pull Battlefront II Pay-to-Win Loot System Last Week appeared first on ExtremeTech.
Scientists just found the first asteroid believed to have originated in a different star system, and it doesn't look much like what we see around us. The post Scientists Just Discovered Our First Known Interstellar Visitor And It’s Pretty Weird appeared first on ExtremeTech.
Microsoft's new Surface Book 2 packs a much more powerful graphics card than the previous system, but don't count on using that performance whenever you want it. The post Microsoft’s Surface Book 2 Drains the Battery While Gaming, Even When Plugged In appeared first on Extrem...
lundi 20 novembre 2017, 21:12
Windows 10 is supposed to include support for memory address randomization techniques that stop certain kinds of malware. Unfortunately, that protection isn't currently working. The post Key Windows 10 Anti-Malware Tech Critically Broken appeared first on ExtremeTech.
Comfort and luxury for four, great fuel economy with the hybrid, and a standard safety suite. Cargo capacity is limited and the driver may feel hemmed in. The post Lexus NX 300 Review: Why It’s a Best-Selling SUV appeared first on ExtremeTech.
If you have any desire whatsoever to develop your own games, Unity is an invaluable tool. Not only is it a powerful cross-platform engine for PCs, phones, and consoles, but the Unity asset store helps devs both small and large implement specific features or art assets...
56 sources (32 en français)
sam. 20 janv. - 10:09 CET


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European buyers have expressed interest in the octopus from Yucatan, which would allow the local product to reach into new international markets in this capture season, Delfin Quesada Dominguez, the State Commissioner of Fisheries and Aquaculture, told Notimex.
In an interview, he explained that the food from Yucatan is already sold in countries such as Japan, China and the United States where it is bought for being a high quality product.
Recently there has been a rapprochement of buyers from Europe to bring the marine product to that country, which would strengthen Yucatan as one of the leading exporters of mollusk as well as Africa, he added.
“There are already buyers of Spain and Italy in dealings with fishermen and permit holders of Yucatan, which should be already in the process of closing deals to buy local product and bring it to their markets,” he said.
“This situation will give an added attraction to the fishery, as having more international buyers, prices could rise, for the benefit of seamen,” he mentioned.
The exportation octopus currently values between three and four thousand dollars per ton, and could reach up to five thousand dollars with the interest of the European market, he considered.
Quezada Dominguez said there are also entrepreneurs from states like Jalisco and Mexico City about to close a deal to bring the mollusk to these entities as part of the national sales generated by the fishery.
He highlighted that the octopus from Yucatan has the quality and safety recognized by European markets, which will allow its arrival without problems into that region.
He recalled this year it is expected the capture exceeds the 24 thousand tons obtained in 2015.
He emphasized that there were agreements between fishermen and fish companies to set at 70 pesos per kilogram of mollusk on the beach, to avoid the surcharges that do not allow freezers and exporters to purchase it.
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Huawei has announced the Mate 50 series a day before Apple’s event in September and with a feature that the iPhone 14 is expected to offer: the ability to send texts via satellite communications. The Mate 50 and Mate 50 Pro can send short texts and use navigation thanks to China’s global BeiDou satellite network, enabling communication in areas without a mobile signal.
The flagship Mate 50 series only includes 4G versions of the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset with 8GB of RAM. The 50 Pro comes with a slightly larger 6.74-inch OLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate, while the Mate 50 offers a 6.7-inch, 90 Hz OLED panel. Both have a 50-megapixel main camera on the back with a variable aperture lens with stops from f/1.4 to f/4 – most smartphone cameras use fixed apertures, so a moving aperture is neat, but the lens itself is so small that it unlikely to create a meaningful difference in depth of field in most situations.
Both models share a 13-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle lens, and while they each have a telephoto lens, the Pro gets an improved 64-megapixel camera with 200x digital zoom – the standard Mate 50 offers 100x digital zoom with a lower-resolution 12-megapixel sensor .
If you feel like you hear a lot about satellite-based communications these days, it’s because you are. T-Mobile and SpaceX just announced a partnership that aims to bring this feature to T-Mobile subscribers via Starlink satellites. And rumors about Apple’s satellite messaging feature have been swirling since last year.
In all of these cases, the technology will likely be limited, at least initially. T-Mobile says the system allows for text and even MMS messages, but voice calls and data come later. And based on Huawei’s description of the system, it appears that the Mate 50 phones can only send SMS via satellite and cannot receive them. In all of these cases, satellite texting is meant to provide an emergency connection in places with no signal to send urgent messages, rather than a way to keep up with your group chats while out of range. In the US we will in any case have to wait for the feature – Huawei’s devices will of course not be sold here.
Janice has been with businesskinda for 5 years, writing copy for client websites, blog posts, EDMs and other mediums to engage readers and encourage action. By collaborating with clients, our SEO manager and the wider businesskinda team, Janice seeks to understand an audience before creating memorable, persuasive copy.


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Proposed Bill Could End Sales Of Flavored Tobacco In CaliforniaFlavored tobacco could be banned statewide from California stores if a new bill becomes law. The group of lawmakers behind it would help to halt what they're calling a resurgence of nicotine consumption among youth.
Sacramento City Council Approves Ban On Flavored Tobacco ProductsThe City of Sacramento is targeting flavored tobacco products to stop skyrocketing teen usage.
Smoke Shop Owner Says Flavored Tobacco Ban Would Turn Underage Kids To Online SalesMaddux has owned Broham Smoke Shop for almost 10 years now. Just under half of the products he sells to customers are flavored tobacco products.


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Four of Scotland’s leading sectoral trade associations have combined to voice disquiet at the Scottish Government’s decision to increase fees for planning applications by more than twice the rate of inflation.
The four trade associations – the British Aggregates Association, Homes for Scotland, Scottish Retail Consortium, and Scottish Tourism Alliance – have spoken out ahead of the 5% increase which will come into effect this week, on 1 November. It follows a previous 20% rise in fees introduced in 2013.
Richard Bird, Secretary of the Stirlingshire-based British Aggregates Association, said:
“We already have concerns about the lack of sufficiently experienced planners to deal with mineral planning applications, and this further bumper leap in fees will only exacerbate that.”
Homes for Scotland’s Head of Planning Strategy, Blair Melville, commented:
“Homes for Scotland members have always stated that they would be willing to pay higher planning application fees in return for a quality service. However, the Scottish Government’s own Planning Performance Framework monitoring shows a system which falls far short of the standards of customer service, speed and efficiency that the country needs if new development is to stimulate economic growth.
“There are some bright spots and good authorities, but too many are still offering inadequate service, and the worst-performing Councils are undoubtedly acting as a drag on development. In addition, when public service spending cuts are continuing, we have no confidence that increased planning application fees will be used to improve staffing or service levels in planning departments.”
David Lonsdale, Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said:
“Retailers want to see an effective and well-resourced planning system, one that facilitates investment in new or existing retail premises. However it is far from clear that this further above-inflation rise in fees, coming on top of last year’s hefty 20 per cent increase, has been accompanied by a commensurate and demonstrable improvement in service to retail applicants.”
Marc Crothall, Chief Executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said:
“Scotland’s tourism industry has enjoyed a strong 2014. However if we are to maximise the momentum of the past 12 months and achieve the growth ambition set out in the national tourism strategy, then investment into many existing businesses and new assets is essential.
“Managing costs remains a challenge and commitments to tourism investment need surety that the upfront costs are justified. The industry has yet to be convinced of the need for this further above inflation rise in planning fees. Tourism firms will expect to see improvement in the service provided and especially in the pace of processing applications.”


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Apple's cash reserve is rapidly approaching that of Microsoft's. Meanwhile, Apple has seeded yet another build of its impending Mac OS X 10.5.3 update; some fresh photos of a purported 3G iPhone have appeared on an overseas discussion forum; and Apple's latest flagship retail store to open in Boston may be the company's largest yet.
While Microsoft has long held the title as the technology firm squatting the largest mound of cash, Apple may soon give the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant a run for its money, literally.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Todd Bishop points out that Microsoft has reduced its cash balance from more than $64 billion less than four years ago to $26.3 billion this year through large stock buybacks, dividends and acquisitions.
Meanwhile, Apple over the same period has seen its spare coin surge from $5.5 billion to $19.5 billion as a result of its industry-leading growth in the personal computer market and its dominance in the digital media player sector.
"Keeping too much cash on the balance sheet can raise eyebrows among investors, who often want companies to reinvest the cash in the business or to return the money to shareholders through dividends or stock buybacks," Bishop noted. "Investors are now watching Apple's growing cash balance in much the same way they did Microsoft's a few years ago."
Cisco still sits between Microsoft and Apple with $22.7 billion in cash. Google is a somewhat distant fourth with $12.1 billion.
Mac OS X 10.5.3 build 9D27 Seed Note
Continuing to plug away at the next maintenance and security update to its Leopard operating system, Apple on Monday is reported to have seeded Mac OS X 10.5.3 build 9D27 to its vast developer community.
According to people familiar with the distribution, the build was accompanied by documentation listing no know issues with the software update and asking that developers continue to focus their evaluation efforts on a previously stated list of 12 core system components.
As was the case with recent builds, build 9D27 saw the addition of nearly a dozen fresh code corrections, bringing the total number of bug fixes baked into the impending Mac OS X 10.5.3 Update to nearly 215.
Some of the latest tweaks target server certificates, printer plugins, Directory Server, and Apple File Server.
More would-be 3G iPhone photos
More photos purported to be that of Apple's upcoming 3G iPhone have surfaced on the Chinese-language discussion forums of WeiPhone.com. The images depict an iPhone clad in a white plastic shell with added sensors and modified microphone and speaker grills, matching a recent description of the next-generation device recently posted over at iLongue.
Although the images are almost certainly inauthentic mockups or third-party casings, they're being republished for the sake of discussion.
Apple's Boston flagship to be largest yet?
"According to a store employee, it's a good thing Boylston Street is so big: Apple estimates 1,500-2000 customers/hour will visit â more than 10 times the 160/hour that the average store gets," the gadget site reported. "It's something else inferiority-complex ravaged Bostonians can hold over New York."


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THEY are the queens of the catwalk worth a combined €129 million a year.
The new Forbes list of the 21 highest paid models in the world has revealed that some of the globe’s most beautiful women command salaries that would make even some of the top footballing stars envious.
In fact these super-rich supermodels can boast multi-million pound pay packets along with their gorgeously toned bodies.
Brazilian beauty Gisele Bundchen heads the annual rankings, raking in a whopping €38.8 million in earnings last year – and claiming the top spot on the list for the ninth year running.
That’s despite retiring from the catwalk earlier this year.
The 35-year-old mum of two has made her loot thanks to a string of contracts, including posing in sports bras for fitness brand Under Armour, as well as advertising perfume for Chanel.
A former Victoria’s Secret Angel who began modelling aged 14, she also boasts lucrative contracts with brands like Isabel Marant, Stuart Weiztman and Balenciaga.
She recently bought a luxury 14,000 acre estate in Massachusetts, US, with American football star hubby Tom Brady, 38.
In fact she is so wealthy that while 1990s supermodel Linda Evangelista’s famously bragged that she wouldn’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day, Forbes estimates that Gisele does not get out of bed for less than €106,600 a day.
British beauty Cara Delevingne came second in the Forbes list making a tidy €7.8million last year.
And the 23-year-old has raced up the rankings after only entering the list last year – making €2.7million in 2013.
Cara, who is currently dating singer St Vincent, 32, has made a mint modelling for the likes of Burberry, H&M, DKNY, Yves Saint Laurent and TAG Heuer.
She recently began an acting career too, starring in the movie Paper Towns.
But she has denied reports that she is giving up strutting her stuff on the catwalk for Hollywood saying: “I’m not stopping modelling.”
Cara’s annual earnings have now overtaken fellow Brit Kate Moss who made just €6.1million last year, though with an eye-watering €75.5million fortune in the bank the 41-year-old is still the nation’s wealthiest model.
Other well-known names appearing on the list include Dutch-English model Lara Stone.
The 31-year-old, who scooped €4.4million, divorced comedian David Walliams, 44, earlier this month.
Brazilian Adriana Lima, 34, secured third spot in the Forbes list earning €7.8million while Aussie siren Miranda Kerr, 32, was sixth with €4.8million.
Also flashing the cash is Kate Upton, 23, famous for her cleavage baring poses for the Game of War franchise grabbing a tidy €3 million.
Kim Kardashian’s little sister Kendall Jenner, 19, also made her first appearance on the list swelling her bank balance by a €3.4million thanks to work with Givenchy, Fendi, Calvin Klein and Topshop.
TOP 21 MODEL EARNERS
1 Gisele Bundchen €38.8m
2 Cara Delevingne €7.8m
3 Adriana Lima €7.8m
4 Doutzen Kroes €6.6m
5 Natalia Vodianova €6.1m
6 Miranda Kerr €4.8m
7 Joan Smalls €4.8m
8 Lara Stone €4.4m
9 Alessandra Ambrosio €4.4m
10 Candice Swanepoel €4.4m
11 Karlie Kloss €4.4m
12 Carolyn Murphy €3.8m
13 Kate Moss €3.8m
14 Liu Wen €3.8m
15 Daria Werbowy €3.8m
16 Kendall Jenner €3.4m
17 Hilary Rhoda €3m
18 Jourdan Dunn €3m
19 Kate Upton €3m
20 Anja Rubik €3m
21 Edita Vilkeviciute €3m
Celebrities Romantic Life


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Much Wenlock’s food alleviation scheme has been recognised at a national awards ceremony for similar projects. The Flood and Coast Conference Exhibition took place at Telford International Centre in March, with winners being announced across a range of categories. Wenlock’s scheme triumphed in the sustainability category.
Shrewsbury Flower Show is delighted to announce that local jeweller T.H. Baker will once again sponsor the Home and Craft Marquee this year. Andrew Cross,


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He reminds us that Thanksgiving is a time to 'lay aside the troubles and disagreements of the day and bow our heads in humble recognition of the providence bestowed upon our Nation.'
Royal wedding date-watchers need speculate no more. When the long-awaited engagement of Prince William and longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton was announced last week, they and their wedding planners were bombarded with questions. Where did that gorgeous ring come from? Who will design the wedding dress?And – when will the wedding of the decade be? Some of those questions were answered immediately (the ring originally belonged to William's mother, the late Princess Diana), some have since been answered, and some remain up in the air (rumors run rampant about who will design Kate's wedding gown, but nothing has been confirmed). Here are some of the details that have been finalized.
The turkey, a bird native to North America, represents Thanksgiving for many people. In this photo released by the Wildlife Conservation Society, a wild turkey named Franklin walks among the fallen leaves at the Prospect Park Zoo in New York City on Oct. 14, 2010.
Google changed their logo today to a pre-Thanksgiving doodle that promotes the recipes of Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa.
Black Friday shoppers increasingly rely on smartphones to get the best deal, a new study says.
The new Apple iOS 4.2 update is creating a stir with iPad and iPhone users. Some exciting new features include AirPlay, Find My iPhone, and multitasking for the iPad. But the update promises more than just these features. Here are four more.
Stock prices mostly recover from a 149-point decline that traders attributed to an FBI raid on two hedge funds and worries about Ireland's bailout.
Lebanese soldiers take part in a military parade in downtown Beirut to celebrate the 67th anniversary of Lebanon's independence.
It's enough to create a royal tizzy. With Prince William and Kate Middleton engaged to be married, they must now settle on a wedding date – while dodging obstacles posed by friends' weddings, a major political referendum, and, of course, Britain's cold and rainy months. Sources are speculating, guessing, estimating, and guesstimating on the possible day. It's of importance to more than royal watchers, friends, and family of William and Kate. Many brides-to-be are concerned that their special day will be overshadowed by what tabloids are calling the biggest wedding of the decade. Here are the four likely wedding dates being bandied about:


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The Ghana Statistical Service last week announced that inflation had jumped to 27.6% in May 2022 from 23.6% recorded in April.
The drivers of this development are varied and largely driven by local products.
Data from the Statistical Service show that 56.2% of the products accounting for the rise in inflation are food and non-food products locally produced, while 43.8% are imported.
The major drivers based on the year-on-year figures show that grapes, which is imported, saw a 100.8% inflation followed by diesel, 81.1%, also imported.
Firewood saw 73.7% year-on-year inflation.
See the full list of the top 15 drivers of inflation below:


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PHILADELPHIA — When National Consumer Protection Week began in the late 1990s, many Americans still didn’t have internet access at home, let alone on mobile devices. Now, infringement on our online privacy is a huge threat, even when you just have apps running in the background. The new tips guide from U.S. PIRG Education Fund can help consumers control access to their private information and what companies can do with your data if they get it.
“Beyond the information that we post online, apps left in their default settings collect data about our daily lives -- where we are, who our friends are and what we do online,” said Isabel Brown, U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s Consumer Watchdog associate. “Companies then gather and -- yes -- buy and sell our data. We become commodities.”
Because the data collection and transactions happen behind the scenes, many consumers don’t know that’s happening. And once someone has your information, they may try to manipulate you into buying something or doing something you don’t mean to.
“Companies use the information they collect to send us targeted ads. Sometimes this can be helpful, but other times it’s downright creepy,” said Brown. “But consumers have the power to decide how their data is used, if at all.”
Changing account settings can ensure that apps trying to employ “dark patterns” only get the information they need or are entitled to.
Our tips guide, “Dark Patterns: A Step-By-Step Guide,” is part of U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s work to recognize National Consumer Protection Week 2022 by putting actionable consumer protection information in the hands of all Americans. All week, U.S. PIRG Education Fund is providing consumer protection tips and tools to help Americans address some of the most common consumer issues that threaten our health, safety or financial security. To see all of our resources for consumers, visit our site.
Your tax-deductible donation supports U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s work to educate consumers on the issues that matter, and the powerful interests that are blocking progress.
You can also support U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s work through bequests, contributions from life insurance or retirement plans, securities contributions and vehicle donations.


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even as mass marketers fret over TV, they've remained loyal to print as a cost-effective advertising alternative.
But with newspapers and magazines losing their grip on younger audiences, package-goods companies find themselves in a bind. They're reluctant to follow the migration of eyeballs online, deeming the Internet not ready for prime time when it comes to their category.
The growing package-goods reliance on print-driven in part by a growing reliance on marketing-mix modeling-creates a conundrum that defies quick explanation or resolution.
Print has always been important to package-goods marketers, and it's getting more so. "The ratio [of print] has been creeping up, mainly because TV is so expensive," said one veteran package-goods marketer. "It was an 80/20 rule [TV to print]. It got to be more of a 70/30 rule."
It's also become more attractive, thanks to the the importance of fashion and service magazines in what he calls "the mention wars" among beauty and personal-care brands. "There's a lot of `scratch my back and I'll scratch yours."'
That's not among the reasons Unilever cites, but the package-goods giant boosted print's share of its measured-media budget by nearly 10 points last year to 31.3% as overall ad spending rose 0.5% to $557.9 million, according to TNS Media Intelligence.
"Our view is that print works," said Brad Simmons, VP-North American media for Unilever. "It's a visual medium. It allows us to communicate with our consumers with a little more depth than television. We've all seen the trend toward consumers controlling their media intake in television, but in print, that's something consumers have done all along, and that allows them to sit back when they're more receptive to our advertising and take it in."
It doesn't hurt, either, that magazines are showing superior return on investment. "We've done recently more [marketing mix] modeling to see what parts of our mix are really driving volume," Mr. Simmons said, "and we've seen very effective results for print."
Unilever isn't the only package-goods player spending relatively more on print. As Clorox Co. stepped up its use of marketing-mix modeling last year, its overall media spending fell 9% to $418.5 million, according to TNS, but print advertising fell more slowly, increasing its share of Clorox's media budget 1.2 points to 43.7%.
L'Oreal, as it boosted ad spending 14% last year, enlarged its already heavy print spending even faster, increasing its share of the media budget 0.1 points to 47.1% of its media outlay.
CONTRARY TO TREND
Procter & Gamble Co. bucked the trend, reducing reliance on print in its $2.7 billion media outlay by 2.1 points, to 24.4%. But that came as P&G boosted coupon distribution, primarily through its P&G BrandSaver custom freestanding insert, by double digits for the second year in a row. One reason behind the coupon surge, according to former executives, is the media impression value of FSIs, which rank behind TV and ahead of magazines in P&G's media mix.
The surge in print spending for package-goods marketers appears contrary to consumers trends. The Internet is a primary factor diverting consumers from both TV and print-and the evidence indicates print may be taking a bigger hit than TV.
The Digital Future Report, an ongoing 10-year study of 2,000 U.S. households by the Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School, has found that the more years people have been using the Internet, the less they watch TV or read newspapers and magazines.
The impact on print media is the most devastating of all. The most recent report from the center last year found that the most experienced Internet users, those with seven or more years online, spent 30.2% less time watching TV than non-users. But experienced users turned away from print even more dramatically, spending 35.5% less time with magazines and 42.6% less time with newspapers.
For many marketers, media dollars are following that shift in attention. Spending on Internet advertising rose 21.4% last year, twice the 9.8% increase overall, according to TNS and reaching 5.2% of total media spending.
Spending by seven key household and personal-care advertisers rose even faster-29%. But once Unilever is factored out, spending by the other six actually declined. Even counting Unilever, whose online spending accounted for more than 3% of its media outlay, less than 1% of media spending industry-wide was devoted to the Internet. P&G's outlay was less than 0.5% of its total.
"There's no question consumer attention is migrating online," said Pete Blackshaw, former interactive brand manager for P&G and now chief marketing officer, Intelliseek, which tracks consumer opinions expressed about brands online. "In theory, advertising is supposed to follow attention. But we're certainly not seeing that [with package-goods companies]."
One of the reasons online advertising hasn't truly taken off in package-goods, he believes, continues to be lack of a compelling ad model, something that P&G tried to foster by launching its Future of Advertising Stakeholders Summit in 1998.
Echoing comments from package-goods marketers, he notes that much of the broad increase in online ad spending is for search, a format with great relevance for automotive marketers and several other segments but little use for marketers of package-goods and other "low-involvement" categories that consumers have little reason to research. "We're talking lather, rinse, repeat," said one marketing executive. "There's not a lot of relevant content."
A key reservation package-goods marketers express about online advertising is that consumers are more likely to view it as an intrusion, whereas many buy magazines in part for the ads. "I think we [package-goods marketers] may have soured the well with some shaky, intrusive ad models out there in the early days," Mr. Blackshaw said.
Today, the vast, if uncountable, majority of package-goods online marketing dollars go into e-mail marketing and Web sites, largely as a way to get consumers to try new products. P&G late last year sold members of a club for Cover Girl a full range of its new cosmetics line online for a limited period to help build buzz. Earlier this year, it used a viral e-mail campaign to get more than 500,000 consumers to pledge to save energy by washing their laundry in cold water to back the launch of Tide Coldwater. And both P&G's Crest and Unilever's Dove used online ads heavily to drive purchase of new products integrated into to NBC's "The Apprentice" in the past year.
But the marketers tend to rely more heavily on offline media to drive consumers to their sites and loyalty programs, such as print ads from Publicis Groupe's Leo Burnett Co. (with planning and buying from sibling Starcom MediaVest Group), for the BeingGirl.com site that supports P&G's Always and Tampax brands.
the upper hand
Even if consumers use online media as a substitute for print, package-goods marketers don't see it that way. "It has a very specific role in a brand's communications mix," said Mr. Simmons. "We don't see one as a substitute for others."
Unilever's Axe, which spent a huge-by-CPG-standards $5 million on online advertising last year, used its ads largely to tout a new online game featuring its "Pitman" character. CPG's biggest online spender also happens to have one of the youngest consumer profiles. "It's a medium that our consumer at least spends a lot of time with," said David Rubin, brand development director for Axe. "It allows you to spend more time with him. ...You can't avoid things if the consumer is doing them."
But for Unilever as a whole, print continues to have the upper hand. Mr. Simmons isn't seeing a major shift away from print use by most Unilever consumers. And if it's happening, he sees it as a problem mainly for publishers. "Certainly younger people today have many more entertainment options vying for their attention," he says, "so magazines are going to have to find ways to continue to be relevant, or there's going to continue to be erosion among that group."


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MILAN — Unipro, the association for Italian cosmetics industries, has released preliminary sales results for 2007 and recapped the history of the Italian beauty industry during the 40 years since the association was founded.
Italy’s beauty industry is on track to close this year with combined sales of 8.9 billion euros, or $13.06 billion at current exchange, a 2.5 percent increase from 2006. This year’s figure is a long stretch from the industry’s turnover in 1967, the year Unipro was founded, when sales were the equivalent of 110 million euros.
At a recent party marking Unipro’s 40th anniversary, Emma Bonino, the Italian government minister for international commerce, inaugurated the event with a speech that championed the importance of Italian beauty companies, regardless of their size.
“The Italian beauty sector has a grand future because it incorporates every aspect of Italian strength in business: technology, innovation and creativity,” said Bonino, adding the Italian beauty industry is considered one of five major Italian industries including fashion, food, automobile and home furnishings.
For 2008, Bonino outlined the importance of the Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian markets for the Italian beauty industry and said further sales growth was expected from key export markets like Europe, Japan, Russia and the U.S.
Unipro executives confirmed the Italian beauty industry would most likely top 9 billion euros, or $13.2 billion, in sales in 2008, despite a hike in raw materials prices.
Fabio Franchina, president of Unipro, said the association took its anniversary as an opportunity to look at the history of small, medium and multinational companies in the Italian beauty industry.
“We’re studying the companies’ dynamics over the years,” said Franchina, “and looking at them now in order to locate their principal sources of competitive advantages and equip them with useful tools to confront the future,” said Franchina.
In order to survive, said Franchina, Italian beauty firms must invest in research, innovation and internationalization. — Stephanie Epiro
Estée Lauder Sued by Nefeli
NEW YORK — Nefeli Corp., a company that markets skin care products incorporating traditional Chinese medicine concepts, sued the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. for $5 million in state court. The case was filed in July by Nefeli and its founder, Dr. Ping Zhang, but only recently came to light.According to legal documents, Nefeli alleged that it entered into a secrecy agreement with Estée Lauder in June 2005 to provide the company with confidential information, samples, technology and material used in the Nefeli skin care line. The agreement was later extended to include Origins, Nefeli said.
According to the legal documents, Nefeli alleged that Lauder analyzed and reverse engineered product samples after receiving products and information from Nefeli. The lawsuit contained allegations of breach of contract and fraud. Zhang also said Origins Youthtopia products, which use herbal Rhodiola to fight aging, falsely claim to be a new approach. Nefeli said it has used Rhodiola for some time.
Lauder said it declines to comment on pending litigation, but in court documents filed in answer to the complaint denied the allegations. Board Moves at L’Oréal
PARIS — L’Oréal announced Friday that Franck Riboud has decided to end his tenure as a director of the company’s board, a position he has held since 2002. The French beauty giant’s board has co-opted Charles-Henri Filippi, chairman of the board of HSBC France. That appointment is pending approval at L’Oréal’s next shareholder meeting.
Exclusive: @britneyspears is continuing to expand her brand. The pop icon, who appears in @kenzo ’s latest campaign, is partnering with Epic Rights to launch a line of branded merchandise. Read @hernameislex ‘s story, link in bio. #wwdnews #britneyspears
The Duchess of Cambridge channeled Princess Diana’s look upon giving birth to Prince Harry, when she and the Duke of Cambridge departed the hospital with the new baby Prince this afternoon in London. #wwdeye #princeofcambridge
The new Prince of Cambridge has arrived! The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge posed with the 8-pound newborn. She wore a look from one of her go-to designers, @jennypackham. Tap link in bio for more. #wwdeye #princeofcambridge
Jewelry label @alisonlou has made a name for itself with fine jewelry that speaks to the Millennial market. Now @twallz21 reports that the label is bringing those playful ideas to a new affordable line of lucite hoops with the launch of Loucite by Alison Lou. Here’s a look from the line modeled by @emrata. #wwdaccessories
@sarahjessicaparker and @gilt are teaming up on a bridal ready-to-wear line. Tomorrow, Parker will launch SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker Bridal — and as part of the launch, Gilt will offer 15 exclusive styles from the SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker footwear collection that were designed to complement the new line. Made out of 10 styles, the line is designed for a variety of occasions, from bridal showers to receptions. Get more details on WWD.com #wwdfashion
A grooming moment between @tanfrance and @antoni last night at the The LGBT Community Center Trailblazer Awards honoring Anna Wintour, Ricky Martin and more. See more photos at WWD.com #wwdeye (📷: @lexieblacklock)
“It was a very surreal feeling. It wasn’t like we were in the studio together coming up with it — it’s more like he discovered it and loved it. I didn’t let myself get my hopes up, but then it happened it was very exciting,” said singer-songwriter @nombe on discovering that @pharrell would be using his song, “Cant Catch Me” on his HBO documentary series “Outpost.” The German-born singer — named Noah MacBeth — talked to WWD about feminism, using art as a platform for political expression and personal style. Read more on WWD.com #wwdeye (📷: @jilliansollazzo)
This season, denim is going west – in influence. Brands like @fathersdaughterla (pictured here), @tommyhilfiger Jeans, @levis and more are opting for raw, top-stitching styles. (Styled by @thealexbadia; 📷: @ryanplett)


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We’ve had a long wait for Watch Dogs. Originally thought to be a launch window game for the new-gen consoles, Watch Dogs has pushed back its release to May 27th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. Perhaps with an eye towards one last big push of excitement, Ubisoft has released this new Watch Dogs 101 video, which offers a detailed look at many of the game’s story elements, gameplay features, and characters.
Take a look at the nearly 10-minute long video, and share your thoughts below. Is Watch Dogs on your watch list?


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Asia Pacific Cert (APCERT) Discuss Building Trust in Digital Economy
First ever Asia Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team (APCERT) Open Conference in India and the first in South Asia was held in New Delhi on November 15, 2017. It was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad in the presence of the Minister of State of Electronics and Information Technology, Shri K J Alphons. In their presence the Indian Compute Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) received the host country award from the APCERT, handed over by Japan CERT (JPCERT). CERT’s from 22 digital Asia Pacific economies participated along with participation from USA, Europe, Industry, Academia, Government and Media totalling to over 350 professionals to discuss response mechanisms in the complex and evolving threat landscape for Building Trust in the Digital Economy on the contours and vision laid down by the Hon’ble Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad during the inauguration of the open conference on November 15, 2017.
The Hon’ble Minister of Electronics and Information Technology made three significant announcements:
He announced that under the government’s programme of supporting PhD scholars in digital technologies, the government will offer PhD scholarships in cyber security to candidates from Asia Pacific, who do their PhD in any of the 100 leading universities of India, including IITs, IISc and other universities. He invited research scholars to explore doing their research in India.
The Hon’ble Minister mentioned that innovation in cyber security is a big focus of the Government. There are more than 100 cyber security product companies in India and it was proposed that in furtherance of the Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) preference shall be provided by all procuring entities in the government to domestically manufactured / produced Cyber Security Products.
He also said that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology was in the process of working with Data Security Council of India to conduct Challenge Grant for cyber security as a means to encourage budding start-ups to develop innovative technologies.
India was selected to be part of the steering committee of APCERT along with 6 (Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan) other countries to shape the agenda for the next 2 years across the region.
In India, cyber security professionals got an opportunity to attend a highly content rich technical conference, interact with the Asia Pacific incident response leaders in cyber security and the International community got to see the skills and depth of some of the cyber security start-ups from India.
The spectrum of topics covered included setting up sectoral CSIRTS, Nation State exploits, vulnerabilities of block chain, secure communication in industrial internet, cyber crime in financial technology ecosystem, building a sharing economy, machine learning, malicious behaviour in encrypted traffic, mobile security and Artificial Intelligence.


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OPINION: Tourism's immense gift to SA economy
IOL / 15 MAY 2018 - 13:30 / EUSTACE MASHIMBYE
JOHANNESBURG - Last week saw Tourism South Africa put on its most spectacular Tourism Indaba to date. With more than 1000 exhibitors from across the continent and 6000 delegates from 80 countries, the size of the event was an indication of the immense contribution to our economy that tourism makes.
In his address at the Durban-staged event, Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom put the sector’s value into context. Africa received 62million visitors in 2017, 10million of which we hosted here in South Africa.
Eustace Mashimbye is the chief executive of Proudly SA.
These 62million are just 5percent of global tourists. Tourism contributes 8percent to our gross domestic product and employs 6.5percent of the country’s work force, which is more than even the mining sector. It’s current contribution and potential for growth is enormous.
It is not Proudly SA’s mandate, but that of our cousin, Tourism SA, to drive international tourism to our shores (and our mountains, game reserves and national parks). They also work hard on increasing domestic tourism and their Sho’t Left programme has had a significant influence on more South Africans taking a "stay-cation".
But insofar as our mandate is all about local procurement, we do urge South Africans to holiday in their own country and discover all it has to offer. If you do choose to go to the KwaZulu-Natal coast, to the Drakensberg, the Kruger National Park or anywhere else in South Africa, you are de facto "buying local" as the costs for your accommodation and activities are incurred here.
So, what more are we advocating for in this sector?
The multiplier effect of job creation in the tourism sector is almost limitless. Our message is not only to South African holiday consumers, but to the tour operators, lodge owners, tour guides, game rangers, hotel chains, transport companies, excursion organisers and everyone else on the front line of tourism. And our message is simple - consider your entire value chain when it comes to local procurement.
Linen and guest amenities are two of the highest consumables in accommodation establishments.
Both can be procured here in South Africa. But in addition, if every hotel room was furnished and accessorised with local furniture and artwork, think about how many beds, chairs and pictures on the wall that would equate to and how many jobs in the furniture manufacturing sector that might save.
And we would be creating rooms and public spaces that are 100percent South African. And what about staff uniforms for all these tourism enterprises? Are they sourced and manufactured locally?
They should be. That would be jobs sustained and even created in the struggling clothing and textiles sector.
And transport operators - in the public sector buses are a designated item for local procurement under the terms of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act and there are experienced vehicle manufacturers in South Africa ready to fit out your tourist buses and coaches.
We were recently asked to contribute to the SA Tourist Guide newsletter and we emphasised in our article the role of those who accompany our visitors around the country to encourage them to spend their money on authentically South African souvenirs and act as ambassadors for the buy local movement. So tour guides, mug up on what’s local and what’s not, and point your guests in the right direction!
The above is a clear demonstration of how we can expand on our tourism income by keeping tourist dollars (euros, pounds and yen) in the country, encouraging visitors, whether they are from overseas or are domestic travellers, to spend on everything that’s grown, produced and manufactured here in South Africa to convert tourism into jobs. You need the tourists and local suppliers need you!
Some of our largest hotel groups are already looking at their supply chain and how they can support small businesses and entrepreneurs. One of Tsogo Sun’s prestigious annual Entrepreneur of the Year competition finalists is Cape Town based Spapreneur Ms Noli Mini. Her Relax Spas are situated within hotels, and thanks to the patronage of guests she has been able to employ a growing number of staff, who may otherwise not have a job.
So let's support our own and continue to build on the "African Dream" for our country that Vicky Sampson wrote about in her song composed especially for the 1996 African Cup of Nations, hosted right here in Mzansi when we welcomed many new visitors for a continental showpiece. Let’s keep those tourists coming back.
Eustace Mashimbye is the chief executive of Proudly South African.
Disclaimer - The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER


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FTC officials said that these companies had used hacked email accounts to send spam emails that looked as though they were from consumers’ families and friends. In addition to the illegal mailing practices, the agency had stated that the companies made false weight loss claims and used phony celebrity endorsements to lure in millions of consumers.
A new form of click bait, dubbed “fake ads,” is popping up on social media. The posts typically promote new vehicles, but use either edited or deceptive photos, Automotive News reports. In most cases, these pictures include concept cars, vehicle renderings or an entirely different car than what’s advertised.
Clients frequently ask me, "click-wrapped", "browse-wrapped" -- what do these terms mean? Are they the typical legal mumbo jumbo?
The Washington State House of Representatives passed legislation to protect students who enroll at for-profit colleges or career schools in Washington from deceptive and fraudulent advertising and recruitment claims.
Membership reward service called Upromise, aimed at consumers trying to save for college, will pay a $500,000 civil penalty to settle allegations that it violated the terms of a Federal Trade Commission order.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that she was harmed and injured from purchasing Huggies Natural Care Baby Wipes that were advertised as being “natural,” “gentle,” “hypoallergenic,” and made with the “simplest formula for a gentle clean." The suit states the product contains non-natural, synthetic chemical ingredients, including phenoxyethanol, that can depress the central nervous system and may cause vomiting and diarrhea in infants.
New rules passed by the European Union called the General Data Protection Regulation puts the onus directly on companies and organizations that hold personal data to be fully responsible for protecting it. One of the major changes will be setting full privacy as the default position.
Jetstar and Virgin Airlines caught in the dodgy airline tactic known as “drip pricing” – when an advertised price becomes unavoidably higher with extra fees as you progress further into an online transaction.
The importance of understanding how companies approach personal data is on the rise. Because online identities are always at risk, consumers should take steps to protect themselves, especially when it comes to sensitive data linked to financial accounts or email, cybersecurity experts say.


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The Queensland Government is working to address the impact of non-conforming products on the state’s building and construction industry, an issue which was highlighted in a 2013 report from the Australian Industry Group (AIG).
One of the findings of the report was that the current regulatory system placed too much responsibility on building certifiers at point of installation. The QLD government is addressing this with the introduction of a Bill that places conformance obligations on all supply chain participants.
The Steering Committee of the Construction Product Alliance (CPA) has welcomed the Bill.
“While the industry is yet to assess the full impact of the legislation, it is apparent that the QLD Government has listened to the concerns expressed by the CPA and the industry.
“The CPA has previously stressed that governments needed to close the gaps in the administrative and regulatory systems that currently enable non-conforming products to enter the marketplace.
“We have also asked governments to improve compliance regimes and work with industry to implement effective educational programs to ensure that non-conforming products are quickly identified and banned before they cause safety or costly rectification problems.”
The AIG has also expressed its approval of the Bill. According to the group, the Bill will go a long way in restricting the ability of “unscrupulous operators” to place non-conforming building products into the QLD market.
“This will provide more confidence to the construction industry that the products they install are fit for purpose and comply with the relevant standards,” said the AIG.
“Queenslanders do not wish to see a repeat of the Infinity Cable and Lacrosse Fire incidents in their state, and this legislation sends a message to all those who seek to gain unfair advantage through misrepresenting product performance, that there is a cop on the beat and there will be a consequence for doing wrong.”


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Holiday shopping is increasingly becoming associated with violence and hazards. At one large national chain store last year “crowds who came looking for holiday deals came face-to-face with riots, shootings, and pepper-spray attacks”. CNN notes that “violence marred Black Friday shopping in at least seven states, including California, where police say a woman doused fellow shoppers with pepper spray in a bid to snag a discounted video game console.”
These incidents add to a previous incident where a worker was trampled to death while a mob of shoppers rushed through the doors of a big box store to take advantage of a Black Friday sales event. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) the store was not using the crowd management measures recommended in OSHA’s fact sheet – Crowd Management Safety Guidelines for Retailers, which provides employers with recommended elements for crowd management plans.
OSHA’s Assistant Secretary David Michaels also sent a letter to the CEOs of fourteen major retail companies, saying that “crowd-related injuries during special retail sales and promotional events have increased during recent years.” “Many of these incidents can be prevented by adopting a crowd management plan, and this [OSHA] fact sheet provides retail employers with guidelines for avoiding injuries during the holiday shopping season.”
Michaels points out that under the federal law “employers are responsible for providing a place of employment free of recognized hazards that are likely to cause serious injury or death. OSHA encourages employers to plan for crowd management several weeks, or even months, in advance of sales events that draw large crowds. We recommend that employers and retail store owners adopt a plan that includes, at a minimum, the elements outlined in the fact sheet.”
In addition, the recently released U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BOL) preliminary findings of the 2011 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary, notes that retail fatalities were sufficiently prominent as to be quantified. OSHA uses this data when developing strategies for what industries to focus OSHA’s enforcement efforts.
Retailers are advised to review and implement the OSHA suggestions for crowd management. Adopting, implementing, and training store employees on the crowd management plan will both lessen the risk of employee and shopper incidents, and will assist the employer in fending off potential OSHA enforcement proceedings.


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Scented computers could make e-commerce sense
CNN's Allison Tom sniffs out some new computer technology
(QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)
(CNN) -- E-commerce sites succeed by letting customers look at things they want and sometimes listen to them. But what about smelling the online merchandise? New technology in the works would make it possible to do just that.
CNN's Allison Tom reports.
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General Motors announced today that it is sending the Chevrolet Avalanche—our Top Pick among pickups three out of the last four years—out to pasture. The versatile truck will soldier on for one final year in 2012 with a new 2013 Black Diamond edition, which will feature body-colored sail panels and bed cover, some additional equipment, and lower price.
The Avalanche full-sized truck was designed specifically for non-commercial customers, emerging from the trend of trucks being used increasingly as personal transportation. Based more on the extra-large Suburban SUV than on their mutual pickup progenitor, the innovative Avalanche used an integrated body and bed, with a weather-tight fold down partition to extend the cargo space into the rear seat. It debuted as a concept vehicle in 2000, and it went into production for the 2002 model year.
The Avalanche used a coil-spring rear suspension from the Suburban to give it a better ride than leaf-sprung pickups. All these features, along with an impressive degree of refinement and quiet cabin made it our Top Pick among pickups again this year.
But as Chevrolet spokesman Michael Albano told us, "The world has changed in the automotive landscape." That is, the once-vibrant personal-pickup segment has collapsed. Now, a much higher percentage of those who are buying pickups are more likely to need them for work than a decade ago.
Chevrolet, it turns out, is redesigning its line of full-sized pickups and SUVs for a new fuel-economy era, and the Avalanche no longer fits in the product portfolio. "A lot of [Avalanche] customers were moving over into crew-cab trucks, which they see... as very close in capability," says Albano. "And it becomes a question of, 'do we need two vehicles in that space?' So they're taking that money [that would have gone into Avalanche development] and putting it into cars."
Many of the Avalanche's innovations have also been incorporated into other trucks, as well. Dodge has adopted the built-in storage boxes in the Ram bed rails, Honda has taken the integrated body and personal pickup even farther with the Ridgeline, and Subaru for a while used mid-gate to open the bed to the cab in its Outback-derived Baja.
All this, plus $4 a gallon gas, has left little room for the large Avalanche. We'll miss its versatility but not its appetite for gas.


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Last week’s National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) report on Joshua Brown’s fatal Autopilot accident does a lot more than exonerate Tesla. It’s a stamp of approval for Tesla’s entire ecosystem and rollout strategy, from Autopilot to data gathering to wireless updates.
Legacy auto makers should be terrified.
As futurist Brad Templeton points out, NHTSA’s report is so favorable to Tesla, it’s hard to believe it was written by the same government agency whose letter to George Hotz compelled him to cancel the Comma One, the only other semi-autonomous driving technology to approach Tesla’s as of 2016.
NHTSA investigator Kareem Habib dismantles every argument critics and competitors have been firing at Tesla since Autopilot was released in October of 2015. The report is explicit: the Tesla crash rate declined 40% after Autopilot’s release. Tesla’s safety technologies are not defective. Tesla is clear about driver responsibility. Tesla provides clear engagement and disengagement alerts.
Tesla should hire Habib. So should Faraday. This guy knows his way around defending autonomy.
Any hopes the legacy automakers might have had that regulators would throttle or halt Tesla’s progress are now shattered. What appeared to be Tesla’s headlong rush toward autonomy is now a three year head start. Why? Because the old guard were so skeptical of self-driving cars—and so terrified of being the first one to have a fatality with a car even temporarily in control—that they ceded the first round of the autonomy wars to Tesla without a fight. Continue reading


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From its humble beginnings in 1963, when CEO Sidney Eskenazi founded the company to support the growth and development of Indiana shopping centers, Sandor has emerged as a leader in the real estate industry.
“Our portfolio includes more than 8 million square feet of commercial retail property,” said Ron West, COO of Sandor. “In the last five years, we have acquired more than $130 million of property.”
When West joined the firm in 2008, Sandor was starting to focus less on ground-up development and more on the acquisition of undeveloped land, existing centers, and single-tenant assets. The privately held company now owns and manages strip centers in 25 states.
“Mr. Eskenazi built this family-owned business from the ground up,” added West. Sidney Eskenazi’s son, David Eskenazi, currently serves as president of the Indianapolis division, while his nephew, Jay Stein, serves as president of the Scottsdale, Arizona division.


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There are something like one million Android phones for every person on the planet right now (plus or minus one). Most of them suck. Many are great. Here's the definitive list that tells you which is which.
When we first got our hands on the Moto X last week, we were way more impressed than we thought we'd be. We've been using and abusing it since then, and we're happy to say that the good first impression has held up. Forget specs. This is a phone that punches above its weight.
For years, one of Android's biggest problems has been Android skins that weigh down the best hardware the platform has to offer. But now the two best Android phones in the world—the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4—come in pure, stock Google Editions. And after spending some time with both, we can confirm that …
You might not have noticed, but in the last two weeks Google has fixed the thing you hate most about Android.
The best Android phones represent a powerhouse combination of features, specs, and all-around user experience. Last week we asked you to tell us which ones you thought were the best. Then we looked at the five best Android phones available right now, and put them to a vote. Now we're back to highlight our winner.
There are so many Android phones on the market that choosing the best one can mean a ton of research, price-checking, and waiting to see what's coming out in the next few weeks or months. Some are exclusive to specific carriers, some run stock Android, some are littered with bloatware but have powerful features. This…
Yesterday at Google I/O, the company announced something it hasn't before: a stock version of an existing Android handset. Is it better than a Nexus, though? Yes...and no.
YOU GUYS! Google just announced at I/O that it's going to be selling a Samsung Galaxy S 4, unlocked, with stock Android, on Google Play starting June 26. Just to pick out the important words for you: "STOCK" "ANDROID" "GALAXY S 4."


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The total loan approvals for Nigeria from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has now risen to N1.89 billion in 8 months, the Executive Vice President, Corporate Governance and Legal Services at Afreximbank, Dr George Elombi, disclosed during the intra-African Trade Fair 2021 official Nigeria high-level roadshow which held in Lagos on Monday.
Speaking on the theme “Promoting Nigeria-Africa Trade and Investment under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)”, Dr Elombi stated that in the context of COVID-19, the AfCFTA has probably taken on an even more important role as the framework for African economic recovery.
He noted that factors such as market fragmentation, reliance on the export of primary commodities, tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade and others have resulted in a low percentage of intra-African trade, averaging around 15 per cent and continuously subjecting Africa’s growth and development to external forces.
He said that the IATF 2021 which is scheduled to hold in Durban, South Africa, between November 15 and 21, 2021, is expected to generate more than $40 billion in trade and investment deals, an opportunity beneficial to the Nigerian economy.
According to him, the IATF 2021 would also attract over 1,000 exhibitors, about 10,000 visitors, buyers and conference participants from all 55 African countries, and the world.
Dr Elombi noted that Afreximbank being the organiser of the IATF 2021, has supported and facilitated trade and investments in Nigeria through its array of financial and non-financial instruments.
According to him, the bank has approved over $26 billion in support of Nigerian public and private sector entities since its inception in 1993 and added that it continues to support the Nigerian economy through various funding programs for Nigerian businesses.
‘From January to August 2021, total loan approvals for Nigeria were in excess of $1.89 billion and at the end of August 2021, the Bank’s total loans exposure to Nigeria was $5.5 billion, representing 26.8 per cent share of the Bank’s total loans and advances.
‘For those reasons, we also think that IATF, an Afreximbank event, deserves the full support of Nigeria,’ Elombi said.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, who was represented by the Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Export Promotion Council and President, ECOWAS TPO Network, Segun Awolowo, noted that the IATF fell squarely within the country’s market access goal of taking deliberate steps to take Nigerian products and services to Africa.
For her part, the Managing Director, Intra-African Trade Initiative, Afreximbank, Kanayo Awani, revealed that the available funding facility of the bank is to the tune of $20 billion, but lamented that the fund is currently underutilised.
She reiterated the bank’s commitment to expanding value chains, providing policy advocacies and exposure to international markets for the African business communities.