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- 2018 belonged to trans people Today 6:30 AM
- How to watch local channels on Roku Today 6:30 AM
- How to watch Levante vs. Barcelona online for free Today 6:19 AM
- How to watch Liverpool vs. Manchester United online for free Today 6:00 AM
- The best couch co-op video games for couples Today 6:00 AM
- Pete Davidson is OK and at work following alarming Instagram post Saturday 7:26 PM
- Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker doesn’t know how to use a Venn diagram Saturday 5:38 PM
- This college student made a movie trailer to tease her boyfriend, and Twitter can’t get enough (updated) Saturday 3:13 PM
- ‘Kappa Delta Crypto’ aims to break stereotypes in five-minute Snapchat episodes Saturday 2:29 PM
- Two iPhone X customers are suing Apple over screen size Saturday 1:18 PM
- Secretary Ryan Zinke is out at the Department of the Interior Saturday 12:03 PM
- How to watch the New Orleans Bowl online for free Saturday 10:25 AM
- Prada’s racist toys pulled from shelves after social media backlash (updated) Saturday 10:22 AM
- How to watch the Camellia Bowl online for free Saturday 10:00 AM
- How to watch the Las Vegas Bowl online for free Saturday 8:30 AM
Gamers can grab ‘Rocket League’ for a little less with this Amazon deal
Replace the burning hole in your pocket with some burning rubber on the soccer field.
PC gamers with a burning hole in their pocket should head to Amazon, where Rocket League is currently 40 percent off for the downloadable version. It’s usually $19.99, but you can purchase the game for $11.98 for a limited time.
Rocket League is one of the hottest PC games right now, especially in the esports community. It launched in July 2015, and quickly surpassed 5 million downloads in the first three weeks. For those who aren’t familiar, the sports-action game puts you in the driver’s seat in an arena. Except you’re racing to chase soccer balls into goalposts instead of a finish line.
The deal, which you can check out here, applies to the online game version only. Once purchased, you will receive a code that can be used on Steam. Rocket League is only compatible with Windows computers, as the game developers at Psyonix have not yet released a version for OS X or Steam OS.
The Daily Dot may receive a payment in connection with purchases of products or services featured in this article. Click here to learn more.
Christine Burkson is the Senior Ecommerce Manager of the Daily Dot. Her work focuses on product reviews, Amazon deals, and online shopping. She previously served as an editor at Mashable, where she helped build the site's viral news section, and Yahoo, where she focused on DIY culture. Her work has also appeared on Bustle.


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- About Us
- Nano-Social Network
- Nano Consulting
- My Account
March 22nd, 2005
The tech industry is famous for billion-dollar ideas. But the rewards don't always to go to the inventor. Here's some notable examples of inventions gone wrong and opportunities missed:
4. Silicon nanowires Silicon nanowires, tiny filaments of silicon, could well become the foundational technology for the chip industry in the coming decades. The foundational patents--filed by, yes, AT&T's Bell Labs--were first issued in 1964 and expired years before a practical market could evolve.
AT&T, however, isn't the only nano pioneer that may not profit much from its inventions. NEC invented single-walled nanotubes in 1991. Although the company is actively licensing its patents, the initial ones will expire circa 2008. The nanotube industry is only just getting fired up, and the technology may not affect the electronics market until after 2010. One major semiconductor maker, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it will let the clock run out.
IBM also secured fundamental nanotube patents at about the same time.
|Related News Press|
Electro-optical switch transmits data at record-low temperatures: Operating at temperatures near absolute zero, switch could enable significantly faster data processing with lower power consumption March 20th, 2017
UC researchers use gold coating to control luminescence of nanowires: University of Cincinnati physicists manipulate nanowire semiconductors in pursuit of making electronics smaller, faster and cheaper March 17th, 2017
AIM Photonics Welcomes Coventor as Newest Member: US-Backed Initiative Taps Process Modeling Specialist to Enable Manufacturing of High-Yield, High-Performance Integrated Photonic Designs March 16th, 2017
Intertronics introduce new nanoparticle deagglomeration technology March 15th, 2017
New stem cell technique shows promise for bone repair January 25th, 2017

domain: news


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The Mitt Romney campaign has had chronic problems with spelling this year, but its latest workaround isn't much better: Buzzfeed reports that Romney's Victory Wallet donation website just copied and pasted the text from Barack Obama's Quick Donate, changing only the identifying details. "When you're logged in to your BarackObama.com account with a saved credit card, just click the Quick Donate button. We'll charge your saved credit card and you're done in seconds," said one. "When you're logged in to your MyMitt account with a saved credit card, just click the Contribute button. We'll charge your saved credit card and you're done in seconds," said the other. It's since been corrected and blamed on some poor kid.
The Romney campaign confirmed to Buzzfeed that this wasn't just some dummy text inserted by whatever company built the websites. "This was a junior staff confusion that has been updated and resolved," said digital direct Zac Moffat.
Now the Romney site says, for instance, "Just text the amount you want to donate — i.e., "10"or $10 — and in seconds, you're done." The Obama one, on the other hand, says, "If you text us '10', we'll charge your saved credit card $10. It's never been easier to donate." But look, no typos! Just good old-fashioned Amercian ingenuity.


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Gotham Motorcycles is offering free demonstrations of the brand new 2016 Victory Empulse TT, environmentally friendly, all electric motorcycle
Alex Figliolia Jr., Manager of Gotham Motorcycles, New York City’s only Indian, Victory and Slingshot dealership, will be offering demonstrations of Victory’s brand new electric motorcycle at the showroom at 364 Bay Street, Staten Island, NY 10301 beginning December 14, 2015.
The 2016 Victory Empulse TT has arrived on Staten Island and demonstrations are being offered at Gotham Motorcycles’ showroom at 364 Bay Street, beginning on December 14,2015. Gotham Motorcycles is one of only 80 dealerships around the country to offer this cutting edge electric motorcycle.
Said Alex Figliolia Jr., Manager of Gotham Motorcycles, “We are proud to announce that the Victory Empulse TT electric motorcycle has arrived on Staten Island and we will be offering demonstrations of this unique, all electric bike at our showroom beginning on December 14,2015.”
The Empulse TT is the first all electric addition to the Victory lineup delivering zero-emission output.
“This innovative motorcycle is powerful,” says Alex Figliolia Jr. “It’s capable of reaching 100 miles per hour. The Victory Empulse TT is totally street legal and features a sport bike-style aluminum beam-frame, an adjustable suspension, and aggressive brakes. It has everything a motorcycle lover wants in a bike with the added benefit of being good for the environment.”
The Victory Empulse TT electric motorcycle was delivered just in time for the n time to kick off the Progressive In
Are you ready for some BIG news? I hope you’re sitting down because I have the greatest news in the motorcycle industry. Gotham Motorcycles is now selling the hottest bike on the market the 2016 Victory Empulse TT Electric motorcycle!
Building on the innovative design and engineering that produced the fastest U.S. electric motorcycle at the 2015 Isle of Man TT Zero race, Victory Motorcycles has introduced the 2016 Empulse TT. The Empulse TT is the first all-electric addition to the Victory lineup. This motorcycle is as capable of carving tight lines on twisting roads as it is powering the daily commute. The Victory Empulse TT is totally street legal and can reach 100 miles per hour! Building on Victory Motorcycle’s focus on performance, the Empulse TT features a sport bike-style aluminum beam-frame, an adjustable suspension, and aggressive brakes. With a combination of advanced technology and stylish, modern design, this unique new electric motorcycle delivers outstanding overall performance, zero-emission output, and a torquey motor. The best part is you can own this bike for under twenty thousand dollars. It is definitely the greatest bike to hit the industry.
Are you ready for the kicker? Gotham Motorcycles is one of only eighty dealerships in the nation to sell this electric bike. The first bike arrived in the shop this week and I got to test drive it immediately. The bike weighs under five hundred pounds so it was like riding on a cloud. The cool part about the bike is it takes under four hours to fully charge which is great when you are going on a ride that may be further than usual.
This motorcycle is a must have so stop in to see me, Alex Figliolia Jr., at Gotham Motorcycles and test ride it today and compare it to other bikes on the market.
Hope to see you soon!
For more info visit http://bit.ly/1RdM5AN


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For Sale By:Private Seller
Body Type:Minivan, Van
Interior Color: Tan
Number of Cylinders: 6
Drive Type: FWD
Exterior Color: Teal
Wanaque, New Jersey, United States
2003 HONDA ODYSSEY EX-L WITH 130,000 MILES!
Connected cars are coming en-masse. We know this much. How, though, remains something of an open question, especially as two of the world's largest tech companies are preparing to battle for control of your car's dashboard. On the one hand, we have Apple and its CarPlay system. And now, we know what Google has been working on with Auto Link.
Its new name is Android Auto, and yes, it's based off the Android architecture that is the primary challenger to Apple's iOS mobile operating system. Announced at Google's I/O conference today, Android Auto functions similarly to CarPlay - owners will need to plug their smartphones into their cars to access the full breadth of capability.
In Android Auto's case, that means a wealth of voice controls to limit distracted driving. Google's marquee apps will be available when the interface arrives in production models later this year, including Google Play Music, Google Maps and voice-activated texting and text playback. Meanwhile, developers will be able to begin designing custom apps for the new system via an upcoming software development kit.
If you're planning on buying a new car in the next month or so, you might want to pick from what's on the lot, because there could be a long wait for new vehicles from the factory. Locomotives continue to be in short supply in North America, and that's causing major delays for automakers trying to move assembled cars.
According to The Detroit News, there are about 180,000 new vehicles waiting to be transported by rail in North America at the moment. In a normal year, it would be about 69,000. The complications have been industry-wide. Toyota, General Motors, Honda and Ford all reported experiencing some delays, and Chrysler recently had hundreds of minivans sitting on the Detroit waterfront waiting to be shipped out.
The problem is twofold for automakers. First, the fracking boom in the Bakken oil field in the Plains and Canada is monopolizing many locomotives. Second, the long, harsh winter is still causing major delays in freight train travel. The bad weather forced trains to slow down and carry less weight, which caused a backup of goods to transport. The auto companies resorted to moving some vehicles by truck, which was a less efficient but necessary option.
It's not often that a major automobile manufacturer debuts a brand-new concept at the Montreal International Auto Show - mostly because it takes place concurrently with the massive show in Detroit - but here we are with the so-called Honda Gear Concept Study Model, which was just uncovered by our friendly neighbors to the north.
According to the automaker, the Gear "demonstrates Honda's innovative approach to providing the automotive answer for young, urban, Gen-Y lifestyles. Inspired by fixed-gear bicycles... Gear is simple and utilitarian, but also customizable, connected and full of personality." It is apparently "practical but fun, customizable, connected and affordable. Everything that young, discerning urban buyers would want in a car," according to Dave Marek, Design Director at Honda R&D Americas.
We don't know anything else - what might lie underhood, how it is "connected" or at what price point it might potentially be sold at. Check out our high-res image gallery above and the press release below and you'll know just about as much as we do.


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3PL Subway 2015: Strategic movements among logistics providers
Supply Chain Movement
SEPTEMBER 28, 2015
Nauru. Acquisitions dominated the logistics headlines in 2014 and that trend is continuing this year. The Japanese freight mover Kintetsu World Express has expanded recently outside its home market with the acquisition of APL Logistics, which has a strong base in America and Europe.


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Vimto is to launch an online trade campaign which will be developed by Blue-Chip Marketing.
The Edinburgh-agency was appointed following a four-way pitch to create a campaign for the company’s product range of Vimto, Panda and Sunkist which will drive distribution and build loyalty among independent retailers and on-trade stockists.
The campaign will be centred around the bespoke website which will offer incentives to encourage retailers to signup for regular offers as well as offering advice and help with consumer targeting, merchandising and margins.
Centred around a bespoke website offering heavyweight incentives, retailers signing up will receive regular offers, along with advice and help with segmented consumer targeting, merchandising, stockists and margins.
Emma Hunt, senior brand manager for Vimto, said: “We have great confidence in Vimto and recognise the potential that further investment can bring to the brand despite the economic downturn. We undertook major research to ensure that we continued to take the brand in the right direction.”
The on-line campaign launches in the midst of the current £5million 'Seriously Mixed Up Fruit' muti-platform ad campaign for the brand.


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Mining with a PNY graphics card will automatically void its warranty
Working For Notebookcheck
Are you a techie who knows how to write? Then join our Team! English native speakers welcome!
News Writer (AUS/NZL based) - Details here
With cryptocurrency on the rise this year, there will likely be an influx on new miners wanting to take advantage of the skyrocketing digital asset via personal graphics cards. While GPUs are not the most efficient for the task, some manufacturers are already beginning to take notice and have revised their respective warranty policies to reflect the trend.
PNY has joined Inno3D in explicitly excluding "miners, data mining, and mining farms" from the 36-month limited manufacturer warranty. The change was discreetly made in June of this year across all its GeForce 10 series of graphics cards. More recently, however, users have noticed an addendum added late last month that suggests an even tighter crackdown on cryptocurrency miners.
If taken at face value, the below statement could imply that PNY can deny warranty from any or all of its GeForce 10 customers simply due to the manufacturer's fear of cryptocurrency miners. The legal implications of such a drastic change, however, is certainly questionable.
For now, there is no guaranteed method for manufacturers to flag or even reliably recognize owners who have been using their GPUs for mining purposes. We suggest that readers should avoid mentioning mining if submitting warranty claims to PNY or any other GPU manufacturer or reseller for that matter.


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It is now 18 months since Kumho returned to the UK and Ireland truck tyre market, in which it had held a coveted position, and the signs for the future are very positive. The dealers appointed so far are quick to extol the mileage benefits of the company’s products, which they feel compete well with and frequently surpass those of their premium brand competitors. 2016 sales are already running 160 per cent up on last year’s and an additional salesman has been earmarked to join the team at the start of 2017.
Said Steve Miller, the head of Kumho Tyre UK’s resurgent truck tyre business: “These are challenging times for our market, which is seeing a major influx of Asian product, coupled with the uncertainty of the global economy and Britain’s decision to leave the EU. However, not only have we moved swiftly to create an effective dealer chain, but also been very busy developing an exciting new range of products.” Of particular note are:
KXS10 and KXD10
These flagship steer and drive tyres first became available at the back-end of last year in 315/80 size. 295/80 and 315/70 versions will be added in the near future and Kumho has very high hopes for these cross-Euro patterns and their upcoming derivatives.
KRS50 and KRD50
Stocks of the extra-load, Euro 6 compliant KRS50 pattern are just coming on stream and, according to Miller, ‘already flying out of the door’. This new regional steer pattern is available now in 295/80 size, with the 315/70 version set to join the range at the turn of the year. Its regional drive axle partner is the upgraded KRD50.
Also set to join Kumho’s ever-improving truck tyre line-up by the close of 2016 / early 2017 is the company’s all new trailer tyre, the KRT03.
Added Miller: “One of the major challenges of creating a sustainable range of truck tyres these days is taking account of all the different load levels, temperatures and meteorological conditions fleets can encounter as they travel from one side of the continent to the other in a very short space of time. We believe our solutions are as competitive as those of any major tyre manufacturer, and will be sharing these and other forward-looking views with our European dealers at a special seminar in Hanover on the evening of September 26, that’s been timed to coincide with the IAA.”
Further details of Kumho tyres for trucks, vans, 4x4s, passenger cars and competition vehicles can be found at www.kumhotyre.co.uk.


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Technology giant Intel is working on a hardware "accelerator" for mining, which will reduce energy costs in the production of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
On the night of Friday, March 30th, the price of the first cryptocurrency fell below $7,000, approaching the lows that were reached in early February this year. Now we are experiencing a rebound of around 8% and the Bitcoin price is again over $7,000.
The mobile payment operator Korea Pay has announced a partnership with the Bithumb exchange, which is the second largest trading volume in the country (after Upbit).
The Lithuanian gateway for cryptocurrency, Coingate signed an agreement with the e-commerce application Prestashop. The partnership will allow more than 80 thousand European shops to accept bitcoin and other crypto-currencies as a payment method.
1,000 Americans were interviewed within the framework of a research conducted by LendEDU. Most popular cryptocurrencies have become a frequent response among millennials.
A former CIA official, Edward Snowden, in an interview with Coin Center, said that he considers the public blockchain of Bitcoin as his main drawback.
Head of Fundstrat Global Advisors, Tom Lee is convinced that the bearish trend in the market of altcoins is coming to an end, but the best investment, in his opinion, remains Bitcoin.
Crypto market was a massacre for the most of the investors and traders in the last few weeks and after the G20 some positive signals started to show up.
The Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck, which as a result of hacking in January, stolen NEM coins for $534 million, stops working with anonymous cryptocurrencies Monero, Dash, and ZCash.


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This Business Does NOT Advance Human Rights!!
Boycott MEC Now
A year and a half ago, it was discovered that Mountain Equipment Coop, headquartered in Vancouver, was carrying Israeli products and even partnering with an Israeli company, Source Vagabond, that brags of its connections with the Israeli military. Concerned activists across Canada tried in vain to convince both MEC leadership and those attending the 2009 Annual General Meeting to stop carrying these offensive products. There were meetings with the CEO and other officers, letters and emails, and a vibrant campaign around a resolution introduced at the 2009 AGM. However, none of these efforts were successful in convincing MEC to halt their ties with Israeli companies and MEC management reportedly even played an active role in defeating the resolution to not carry Israeli products. All of this, despite their pronounced commitment to ethical business dealings that “can advance human rights”.
And recently, to add insult to injury, MEC leadership introduced several special procedural resolutions for the 2010 AGM that would make it much more difficult to highlight the legitimate debate and criticism brought to the previous AGM. These special resolutions were regrettably passed and so now, MEC has the distinction of not only being complicit in supporting Israeli military war crimes and apartheid, but also adopting bureaucratic and anti-democratic means to squash further debate. Most of the activist campaign so far has been directed towards calling on MEC members to express their disapproval over the handling of Israeli products and, of course, to not purchase them. However, we feel the time has come to call for a boycott of MEC as a company that has shown it is neither ethical nor cooperative nor democratic. Please read the statement below put out by Canada Palestine Association, ask your organization and friends to endorse it and email your endorsement to [email protected] for inclusion on our website. Then inform MEC of your position by emailing [email protected] and their CEO at [email protected]. Lets tell MEC that consumers in Canada do not need hydration systems from a company whose products are “field-tested” and used by the Israeli military, very likely in the assaults on Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Tell MEC this kind of business does not advance human rights and we will have no part of it.
The Canada Palestine Association in Vancouver, BC calls upon all Palestine solidarity organizations and all those who support Palestinian human rights in Vancouver and Canada to focus their efforts on imposing a general boycott on Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC). Despite efforts to engage in constructive dialogue on various occasions, MEC has refused to divest from Israeli products. Within the framework of International Humanitarian Law, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all relevant international conventions, the Canada Palestine Association:
- Considers importing products manufactured in factories that have ties with the Israeli state or any of its instruments such as the “Israeli Defense Forces” as morally abhorrent and detrimental to efforts to uphold Palestinian human rights, and
- Calls upon all Palestine solidarity organizations and individual supporters of Palestinian human rights to impose a general boycott on Mountain Equipment Coop until it cuts all ties with Israel.


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Destiny will be taking its brand of complex alien weaponry and space magic onto kitchen tables everywhere soon, thanks to the fan-made D&Destiny. The project aims to be a completely free guide to a Destiny tabletop roleplaying game, using Dungeons & Dragons 5E as a base for its rules.
Dungeons & Dragons is an iconic property belonging to Wizards of the Coast, which is now a subsidiary of toy and game giant Hasbro. D&D has existed for decades now, but recently experienced a renaissance thanks to its inclusion in popular media like the hit Netflix exclusive Stranger Things. The game is played using homemade characters that have randomly-generated stats, and progression is sustained by the creativity of the party and the Dungeon Master, a player who is in control of the story and the world surrounding the rest of the party.
D&Destiny isn't available yet, although Patreon supporters can get early access and beta testing. According to its creator, who was recently interview by Kotaku on the project, the game already features a combat system design, races, classes, unique mechanics that pertain to the Light and Darkness zones featured in Destiny gameplay, and, of course, a bestiary's worth of monsters. The project director, who goes by Kitty, has described the game as fully functional and "loads of fun" according to its playtesters. There's even a detailed basic class table that shows just how much effort has already gone into D&Destiny:
Every class will get its own abilities, proficiencies, and a super ability. D&Destiny is clearly being made with the intent of preserving the feel of Bungie's shooter as best it can, and the nods to different gameplay mechanics and the features that have made Destiny and Destiny 2 such an enduring force will definitely be well-received by fans. While Dungeons & Dragons itself has been ported into all kinds of different variants, D&Destiny feels like it could be on the verge of creating something truly special, an intersection of two incredibly passionate fanbases meeting in the middle of all the things that make both games great.
Apparently, fans aren't going to have to wait too much longer to get their hands on a playable version of D&Destiny publicly. The game's first edition target release date is in October, although it is being advertised as sometime during autumn as a hedge against any possible delays. Fans interested in the project can check out its progress and support its creators at its Patreon page.


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In Argentina almost one person dies in a traffic accident every hour. 80% of those accidents happen on road mainly from people attempting to overtake. In a country with hundreds of one-lane roads, Samsung saw a way to make a difference. What an idea Samsung ! to reduce road accident it developed smart trucks which will not only makes truckies smart but traffic smart. Samsung safety truck keeps drivers safe by letting them see whats ahead on the road.
Is this the future of road safety ? Watch the video for more:


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As specs of the LG G3 have been leaking out all over the internet, it has become evident that this monster of a phone will sport a QHD display of 2560×1440 pixels, 3GB RAM, Snapdragon 805 processor, and a huge battery at around 3200mAh. For the past couple years, LG has released their flagship phone after Samsung and HTC, mainly because of the better hardware they will be able to put in. So when the holidays come around, their new flagship will hopefully look better to the consumers.
Well this has HTC and Samsung scared apparently, as both are readying updated models of their already fantastic flagships that launched just around a month ago. We’ve been hearing rumors and supposedly seen the “Galaxy S5 Prime” already with near identical specs to the G3, now we’re hearing more about the “M8 Prime”.
The M8 Prime is rumored to sport a 5.5 inch QHD screen as well with 3GB of RAM and to be made of an “exotic material”, a composite of aluminum and liquid silicone, which can be described here. The phone is also rumored to be waterproof and blazing fast with a Cat. 6 LTE radio, capable of downloading up to 300Mbs.
With HTC announcing the name of its new phone, the HTC One Mini 2, this “M8 Prime” could very well be the HTC One Maxx 2, the successor to the somewhat underwhelming phablet of 2013.


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A customers uses Alipay to pay for his pill at a shop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 24, 2017. Malaysia's second largest bank CIMB joined hands with Ant Financial, an affiliate company of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, on Monday to cater to local mobile payment demands. (Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung)
KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's second largest bank CIMB joined hands with Ant Financial, an affiliate company of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, on Monday to cater to local mobile payment demands.
CIMB's electronic payment system subsidiary Touch 'n Go entered into an equity joint venture (JV) with Alipay, CIMB said 0in a statement.
The JV will see Touch 'n Go to be the major shareholder in the venture while Ant Financial as a minority shareholder, according the statement. CIMB said it is Ant Financial's first investment in Malaysia but did not elaborate on the value of the deal.
The capital injected by both parties will go towards the creation of a world-class online and offline payments provider, delivering superior mobile wallet solutions and other related financial services, it said.
"Along with the launch of the JV, individuals as well as small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be able to purchase or do business in a more convenient and efficient way in both domestic and international markets, enjoying a broader range of services," said Eric Jing, Ant Financial Services' CEO.
"Touch 'n Go's leading position combined with Ant Financial's Alipay capabilities will allow all Malaysians to participate and access secure payments and digital financial services for the long term," said CIMB's CEO Zafrul Aziz.
Currently, millions of users across Malaysia use Touch 'n Go cards daily for electronic payment purposes at toll roads, public transportation systems, parking and retail outlets. The new e-wallet will give current and new Touch 'n Go's users access to more services conveniently, on their mobile phones, including online-shopping.


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As the market closes at another all time high, the “recovery”, if only on paper, is again bypassing most Americans and it is starting to hit where it hurts the most. According to restaurant tracker NPD Group, traffic at U.S. fast-food restaurant fell 1% in the third quarter, the sector’s first traffic decline in five years. Unfortunately, the reason is not that many Americans have migrated to a higher wealth group and are now eating at more expensive venues, but a more familiar one, namely higher costs of eating out, changing consumer behavior and higher bills for items such as rent and drugs. In other words, America’s “main street” is so squeezed, it can’t even afford to eat out as much as it did just one year ago.
According to Bonnie Riggs of the NPD Group, “the term growing your business in a 1% world has become a popular mantra for the restaurant industry after six consecutive years of annual traffic gains of just 1%,” said NPD analyst Bonnie Riggs. “However, over the past six months, restaurant industry traffic growth has come to a standstill and quick-service restaurants, which have been the traffic growth drivers, are now experiencing a slowdown in visits.”
While inflation in wages is missing for most Americans, expect for those on minimum wages who most likely already work in said fast-food restaurants, inflation in food costs is all too prevalent and eating out has become more expensive, even as the cost of food purchased for home use has fallen 2.4% in the past year, according to the October consumer price index.
Curious, even as food costs have shrunk because of a global glut in farm products such as wheat, rice, soy and corn, the price of rapidly prepared food has risen as a result of managers passing on rising minimum wages to consumers, which in turn has pressured overall sales and traffic. As MarketWatch notes, the pressure was evident in third-quarter earnings, with companies bemoaning the shortage of growth drivers and fretting about weak consumer confidence and general unease about the state of the world. In November, Moody’s Investors Service weighed in by slashing its operating-profit-growth forecast for the restaurant sector and revising its outlook to stable from positive.
Underscoring the severity of the economic reality for most Americans, a recent NPD survey found 75% of respondents saying they have cut back on restaurant dining as they keep a closer tab on spending in most or all purchase categories, with many saying restaurant prices are too high.
Meanwhile, for the Fed which is now considering letting the economy “run hot” because there is not nearly enough inflation (except in rent, medical bills, college tuition and, of course, asset prices), the average restaurant bill has climbed 21% in the past decade, and the gap between eating in and eating out has consistently widened. In fact, from a nation of people “eating out”, the NPD estimates that 82% of all meals are now consumed at home.
Naturally, being an industry-funded organization, Riggs tried to spin the data: “the marketplace is changing, and despite improving economic indicators the consumer landscape is fundamentally reshaped,” she said. “What hasn’t changed and won’t change is the consumer’s need for food service; it saves them time and provides them with an experience.”
Or maybe, those “improving economic indicators” are really nothing more than a mirage, meant to boost the confidence of some Americans, if not those 95 million who are no longer in the labor force.
Meanwhile, fast food vendors are scrambling to come up with differentiation strategies in a field where there is tremendous saturation. For now, consumers are still drawn to new products and promotions, as well as competitive pricing, like “extensions” to the Big Mac and french fry line. No really, “We are impressed with McDonald’s potential product pipeline heading into 2017,” said Instinet analyst Mark Kalinowski. “Big Mac and french fry line extensions, platforms for customization, fresh beef and further menu innovation have been in test across multiple U.S. geographies.” McDonald’s is also planning to roll out a new mobile order-and-pay program in hopes of further driving traffic.
Now if only in addition to hip, cool, mobile apps, the fast food restaurants could also send some old-fashioned “money” to their cash-strapped customers, then the worst fast food market in 5 years might have a chance of turning around.
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Sofia Richie always felt stuck in her family’s shadow. Now she’s stepping into the spotlight.
The Kardashians have given the internet so many hilarious and cringeworthy memes, but these are the most iconic.
Kardashian fans are going to have to rely on social media to keep up with their favorite family.
The beauty mogul is back at work, but her “business” looks an awful lot like our personal dream vacation.
The series of different looks this star has circulated through over the past few weeks have fans confused.
This massive estate has a 3,000-square-foot roof deck.
It’s been a busy week for members of the Kardashian-West family, and they were pretty busy to begin with.
What better way to celebrate a new year than with a makeover?
California recently began relaxing lockdown rules, but the stay-at-home order is still in place.
Khloe Kardashian set the internet ablaze when she shared a simple photo to Instagram on May 22 — and the flame has been burning for a full week.


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By Alysha Webb, Editor and Publisher
Is the traditional dealership on its way out or does it have a bright future? That was the question addressed in a recent webinar hosted by The Rawls Group titled “Automotive and Dealership Trends for the Next Decade.”
The conclusion seemed to be that dealerships – even smaller, single-point dealerships – will be around in some form for quite a while. But a dealership’s ability to survive and thrive in a changing environment will require an understanding of the needs of the next generation of dealer principals. Greater collaboration with manufacturers will also be called for.
Dan Gavin, a principal with Bernstein Private Wealth Management, part of money management and investment firm AB Bernstein, moderated a panel consisting of Dan Schneider, a partner with The Rawls Group, and Glenn Mercer, an auto industry consultant and author of The Dealership of Tomorrow: 2025.
Importantly, there isn’t going to be a mass exodus by Millennials – those born between the early 80’s and the early 2000’s – out of the car market, says Mercer. In the last few years, as that group of consumers has gotten jobs and had families, they have “moved into the car-buying market with vigor,” he says.
Though Millennials may not have the love affair with cars that characterized some past generations, that’s okay, says Mercer. “Once you have a child or two, it is out to the suburbs and get a car.”
A bit more concerning is the long-term impact mobility services such as car sharing and subscription services will have on demand, say Mercer. While he dismisses the term mobility service as “a fancy word for a taxi,” Mercer admits that “we don’t know how far (mobility services) will penetrate” the market. Still, he is optimistic that the impact will be muted.
“In 2025, we thought the SAAR would be 20 million,” he says. “Maybe the impact of all these mobility services is 18 million rather than some sort of apocalypse.”
A more immediate concern for many dealers is the question of succession. The dealership business has traditionally been a multi-generational affair, but the next generation of dealer principals is losing its appetite for the business.
Communication is crucial in solving this issue, says The Rawls Group’s Schneider. Ask your children what their fears and concerns are regarding the future of the family business. Find out their definition of success.
Prepare to accept that taking over the dealership may not be the best career for your preferred successors, he advises.
“The key is communication,” says Schneider. “Find out what they really want and try not to push what you think they should be doing onto them. Be open to the idea that your children may not want to be part of your business.”
Dealer-manufacturer relations are not at an “all-time low,” but they are not especially good, says Mercer. He sees two trends. The bigger a dealership group becomes, the more its interests overlap those of the manufacturer, he says.
On the other hand, smaller dealership groups, particularly those that are privately-held, don’t have good manufacturer relations.
Manufacturers have discovered that state dealership associations “will fight them tooth and nail” over unpopular policies such as facility image programs. So manufacturers are finding new tools to control dealerships, including using backend payments, says Mercer.
Rather than being combative, try to maintain a collaborative relationship with manufacturers, advises Schneider.
Pay attention to exactly what the manufacturer asks for and “put metrics around what you want to have happen in your dealership,” he says.
What does the manufacturer see as sales effectiveness? Volume? Market penetration? New/used mix? Customer service scores? Know the manufacturer’s expectation in important areas and try to work with them, says Schneider.
“The key to maintaining rapport [with the manufacturer] is to realize each party has reasonable expectations of the other,” he says
Processes and procedures are key – have you made it easy to do business with customers or are they having to” camp out for a day” to make a purchase?
Having a good relationship with your employees is an important element of customer satisfaction, says Schneider. Those employees drive customer relations.
“It is still a relationship business,” he says.
The importance of relationships in the automotive retail business is why some family-owned dealerships may survive in this age of consolidation, says Schneider. In rural areas, where mobility services are often not practical or available, customers often prefer in any case to do business with a dealership they know.
“Even in urban areas, some people might prefer buying from a family-owned business,” he says.
Mercer has “mild optimism” that some smaller stores will survive, especially small rural dealerships. The U.S. has a rural population of 60 million that is not expected to grow, but also not shrink, he says.
He advises small rural dealerships to “to diversify, selling and servicing RVs, large trucks, and other non-passenger car types of vehicles.
“I am not predicting a glowing future,” says Mercer. “But I can’t see how these communities won’t not be served entirely.”


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LOCATION LOCATION: Lily Allen was in mock casting-agent mode arriving at the Dior Men show on Friday, with her tell-all, best-selling memoir, “My Thoughts Exactly,” set to be made into a film or TV series. Sporting a silver leopard-print anorak accessorized with a diamond cannabis-shaped necklace she picked up at Icebox in Atlanta, Allen, who is also working on a second book, her fifth album and two musicals, had inadvertently matched her black lipstick to the color of the venue, a sprawling ephemeral structure set on the Champ-de-Mars opposite the École Militaire, with the Eiffel Tower looming in the near distance. When asked who should play her, the singer, who said the format for the adaptation has not yet been decided, shrugged, surveyed the space, and jokingly pointed to the nearest fellow front-rower: Christina Ricci. An unassuming Ricci, a friend of Dior Men creative director Kim Jones who had flown from Los Angeles to support his sophomore outing for the house, was taking in the space. “It’s very impressive to see this big Brutalist tent set against the beauty and elegance of Paris,” she said. Other high-profile guests attending the event included Kate Moss, joined by her beau Count Nikolai von Bismarck; Robert Pattinson and Naomi Campbell. “You’reRead More...
The digital start-up is heading to the big leagues.
Ford died after a battle with cancer.
Proactiv is standing behind Jenner, but marketing experts say there's an authenticity lesson to be learned from the backlash.
A former partnership and events leader with news and magazine media is joining the live music TV show.
The modelpreneur and Beautycon ceo hosted a dinner in L.A. to celebrate the winner of their "Next Beauty Star" competition, which they hope to bring to TV.
Ukonwa Ojo, the global chief marketing officer of Cover Girl and Sally Hansen, is the latest high-level departure from Coty Inc.’s consumer division. Her exit comes a week after it was announced that Laurent Kleitman, president of the Consumer Beauty division, was being replaced by chief executive officer Pierre Laubies. “We have tremendous respect for Ukonwa and gratitude for her contributions to Coty. During her two years here, she helped build our global marketing team and capabilities and spearheaded brave brand initiatives,” said a Coty spokesperson in a statement confirming her departure to pursue other opportunities. Ojo relocated from her post in London with Unilever in 2016 to join Coty as senior vice president of Cover Girl. She was promoted to chief marketing officer, global Cover Girl, Sally Hansen and Consumer Beauty U.S. last summer. Ojo was instrumental in the relaunch of Cover Girl, as well as the debut of the brand’s own store in Manhattan’s Times Square that she said was inspired by events like Beautycon. Despite the spark Ojo injected into the beauty nameplates, the Consumer Beauty division continues to struggle. Consumer Beauty sales declined last year — down 20.6 percent in the fourth quarter, to $828.8 million. Part of that wasRead More...
Millard “Mickey” Drexler has stepped down as chairman of J. Crew Group Inc. and is being succeeded by Chad Leat, another member of the J. Crew board. Drexler, the former chief executive officer of J. Crew, is retiring to devote his full time to Drexler Ventures LLC and other interests. Drexler Ventures was launched in July 2017. Drexler Ventures invests in and advises emerging brands, including Outdoor Voices, which sells men’s and women’s activewear, and Warby Parker, the eyewear company that for every pair of eyeglasses sold, another is donated to a needy person. Drexler owns 10 percent of the J. Crew Group, which is principally owned by TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners. With his departure from J. Crew, the 74-year-old Drexler will continue to hold onto his stake and also serve as a strategic adviser to J. Crew’s office of the ceo and the J. Crew Group board. The office of the ceo is running the company and is composed of Michael Nicholson, president and chief operating officer; Adam Brotman, president and chief experience officer; Lynda Markoe, chief administration officer, and Libby Wadle, president of Madewell. The company has been searching for a new ceo since Jim Brett was removed from theRead More...
SPACE MAN: Tavares Strachan is getting into fashion. The Bahamian artist has created a capsule collection and installation of six bomber jackets showing in Paris. “I never thought I’d be producing something that people would wear,” said Strachan at a preview of the installation at the Crillon. “I don’t see this as fashion to me, this is sculpture.” Branded under the name B.A.S.E.C., for the Bahamian Aerospace and Sea Exploration Center Strachan created after undertaking cosmonaut training a few years ago, the project is staged by edgy trade fair CIFF under the tagline “The Northwind Trilogy.” Curated by Neville Wakefield, the three-part project was unveiled at Art Basel Miami in December before hitting Paris and will head to CIFF in Copenhagen at the end of the month. The jackets were created in collaboration with the artist’s mother, and have a social as well as commercial ambition. Crafted by local women, money raised from their sale will be used to fund training initiatives for women in the island nation and inject resources into boosting local production. Fewer than 600 jackets will be produced in total, and they will be offered to select retailers worldwide that can support the installation concept. They will sell for around $2,000Read More...
The event, choreographed by Daniel Ezralow, took place at the Centre Pompidou.
The designer and e-tailer released a new collaboration on the heels of a successful initial offering last year.
The designer toasted his second collaboration with the brand with a pop-up at the French department store.
Katalin Berenyi will start in the role on Feb. 1.
The Montreal-based intimate apparel firm will help grow Flora Backer’s lingerie brand.
Proceeds will benefit the Franca Sozzani Fund for Preventive Genomics at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard, established by Francesco Carrozzini, son of the late editor in chief of Vogue Italia.
Amy Williams is chief executive officer of Citizens of Humanity, one of the few vertically integrated denim production facilities in the U.S.
Researchers at the Global Wellness Institute said this segment of wellness is converging with hospitality and travel.
SILVER SIRENS: The influence of Hollywood on American fashion between the Great Depression and World War II will be explored at an upcoming exhibit at the Chicago History Museum. Opening April 8, “Silver Screen to Mainstream: American Fashion in the 1930s and Anna Blessmann ’40s,” will trace how the movies and costume designers help put American fashion on the map. “The exhibition is about Hollywood’s reach, not costume design, so the central concept is how did Hollywood costume design influence fashion,” said Virginia Heaven, curator of the exhibition. “It was profound what Adrian, Howard Greer, Omar Kiam and Irene [Lentz] accomplished in both the movies and mainstream fashion. But they are just a few of the designers that migrated to mainstream fashion from costume design.” Spanning 2,100 square feet, the exhibit will feature 30 ensembles from the museum’s permanent collection. Some of the looks on display will include evening dresses by Chanel, Vionnet, Schiaparelli and Alix, which later became known as Madame Grès. These Parisian designs allude to how the influence of Paris was about to be eclipsed by Hollywood and WWII, Heaven said. The majority of garments are by Americans, including Chicago designers Paul Dupont, who dressed Ruth Page, Blum’s Vogue and Martha Weathered. TheRead More...
The fashion group includes Virgil Abloh's Off-White label.
It’s a place where the iconic Parisian marinière surrenders itself to Balmain’s glam-rock universe.


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Lexus is experimenting with a no-negotiation experience in a dozen of its U.S. dealerships.
The brand, which is supported by 236 dealerships in the United States, made the announcement at this week’s CAR Management Briefing Seminars.
Lexus Division General Manager Jeff Bracken told industry insiders and reporters that the experiment is founded on an attempt to further elevate the already-praised Lexus customer experience, reports Automotive News.
Even if the program is widely adopted, Lexus will not be the first in the Toyota brand family to employ a no-haggle strategy; Scion dealerships have operated under the “Pure Price” program since the brand was launched in the early part of this century.
It’s unclear whether a shift to no-haggle pricing will buoy sales; Scion has struggled to maintain its low-margin strategy since the economic collapse and the only other brand to employ it on a long-term basis is GM’s now-defunct Saturn brand.
Lexus sales are up more than 13% in 2015; the brand is in the hunt to reclaim the luxury sales volume crown which it lost to BMW in 2011.


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A Needham analyst upgraded chewy $CHWY stock on June 27, 2022.
Needham analyst Anna Andreeva upgraded Chewy Inc (NYSE: CHWY) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $55, implying a whopping 44% upside.
Anna said the company had exceeded expectations in Q1 FY22 after missing consensus EBITDA for four quarters. She thinks the positive momentum continued in Q2 as the pet category was inelastic, with price increases sticking and improving supply chain operations and company-specific initiatives driving profitability.
The analyst noted that the headwinds from last year across the supply chain and wage/labor pressures are starting to dissipate, with sell-side estimates poised for upside.
Wedbush Upgrade For Chewy Stock Could Start Off An Analyst Upgrade Barrage
CHWY stock has exploded higher over the last week after the stock received an upgrade from Wedbush analyst Seth Basham to an outperform rating.
The analyst says that Chewy has lost more than 50% of its value year to date and is primed for a rebound on what he terms “relatively favorable” dynamics in the pet food market.
Seth said that customer churn led many investors to abandon the stock. He says this should abate “materially” in 2023. In a new research note, he wrote, “we expect gross customer add challenges to ease … as competitors adjust their advertising and acquisition strategies, and shoppers seek value in the online channel.” In his view, this should keep customer acquisition costs modest.
Over the last 5 quarters, salesThe income statement provides a summary of a company's revenue and expenses over a specified period of time, typically a year or a quarter. It shows the company's total revenue, th... have been uptrending for Chewy. Pets will need to eat regardless of economic conditions making this stock a Consumer Staples sector company.


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Procrastinators, rejoice: Ordering packages at a moment's notice has just gotten a little less stressful this holiday season.
Amazon has just announced a partnership with the USPS to make delivering packages on Sundays a regular, and free, thing. Soon, any customer will be able to get their order on a Sunday with no extra fee. Usually, packages wouldn't be delivered on Sundays unless customers used a little known option that allowed them to pay extra to get the package that day. (Sometimes third party retailers on Amazon will pay to get the package to you by Sunday.) So, if you order a last minute package on Friday, you should be able open it up and play with it before you get back to school or work on Monday morning if you use two-day shipping. The USPS program will start in the New York City and Los Angeles areas, with plans to expand it to Houston, New Orleans, Dallas and Phoenix in early 2014. Amazon has already dropped $14 billion to expand their warehouses, while increasing their threshold for free deliveries to $35 from $25. In other words, they're going all in on this deliver thing.
There you have it: If you want to crash all weekend without leaving the comfort of your room, you can do that a little easier now thanks to Amazon. Hey, it's also another reason not to go to Best Buy.
[via USA Today]


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“Thrift shop” is not a term you’d associate with the late New York socialite and best-dressed-list hall-of-famer Nan Kempner.
But after the exhibition of her wardrobe at The Met’s Costume Institute earlier this year, and the auction of important gowns at Christie’s, that’s exactly where the leftover Oscars, Valentinos, Chanels and Yves Saint Laurents ended up – in the Bergdorf Goodman of secondhand stores.
At 10 a.m. yesterday, 40 people carrying designer bags rushed the racks of the Memorial Sloan-Ket tering thrift shop to pick from 25 boxes worth of the style icon’s designer suits, sweaters, blouses, jackets and acces sories donated to the cancer hospital’s charity arm.
Kempner, who in 2005 died from emphysema at age 74, had been a longtime supporter of the Society for Memo rial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
“This is a New York happening,” said one shopper who decided to line up after seeing the sign in the win dow on her way to the grocery store. “Nan was very much a fixture in this neighbor hood,” said an other.
At the front of the line was a small group of dealers buying to resell in their own shops, the first one arriving at 5:30 a.m. to get first dibs on the limited number of trea sures. “I took a 5:10 a.m. train in from Massachusetts to get here,” said Petria May, a fashion blogger who owns a store in the Berkshires and was fifth in line.
With prices ranging from $95 for a Givenchy gown with a daring cut-out waist to $575 for a spongy ’80s black Chanel suit, the crowd was selective in its choices.
A short 90 minutes later, a couple of dealers hauled away bags of clothes.
Half the sales racks were rolled away empty, but there were still several $250 double-breasted Saint Laurent suits and leather skirts in runway-model sizes left.
“Unfortunately, Nan was so thin,” said “Vered,” an art dealer who nonetheless managed to find a fringed Fendi skirt and some Valentino and Emanuel Ungaro jackets that fit.
Although the 5-foot-9 Kempner was famously wee – Tom Wolfe was said to have coined the term “social X-ray” in “Bonfire of the Vanities” with her in mind – she still owned a few size-6s and -8s. She owned a lot of everything.
“I wonder how Nan would feel knowing that she had dressed New York?” mused interior designer Jo Ann Blecker.
May spent about $500 on a skirt, belt, bag, palazzo pants and coat, many without labels, for herself.
“In Kempner’s case, because she loved Yves Saint Laurent, there are a few things without labels that we believe were from him. They could have been samples or made for her,” May said.
An avid Saint Laurent fan, she was thrilled. “There are very few things I would wake up early and stand in line for – this was worth it.”


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The Tanzanian government has revealed plans to institute several Milk Collection Centers (MCC) in rural areas to increase access to dairy products in the country.
This was disclosed last weekend by the Tanzania Dairy Board (TDB) which currently is working on the modalities for the centres.
This MCC initiative is aimed at increasing the country’s milk collection and increase milk processing factories, as well as other dairy products.
In Tanzania, there are at least 99 milk processing factories that produce 865,600 liters per day, however, milk has not been sufficient.
Due to the unavailability of milk from farmers, the industries only process 203,600 liters, estimated at 23.52 percent of their production capacity.
Registrar of the board, Noely Byamungu said the inability to supply sufficient milk to the factories is a result of the poor and unfriendly road infrastructures in the country.
“To address the setbacks, the board is looking forward to expanding available Milk Collection Centers (MCC) in all rural areas with a high number of dairy cattle farmers and milk production.
“Out of the number, at least 717 MCC have been established with special milk cooling tanks…with professional ability to safely preserve milk for a weeklong period, and at capacity to cool a total of 352,098 liters a day,” he explained.
According to Noely, there are at least 221 milk collection centers (MCC) initiated by the board in different areas countrywide.
He revealed that the MCC will provide a platform that ensures that farmers are presented with reliable markets for their produce.
The TDB, he added, will continue to work closely with stakeholders and milk processors to educate and motivate the farmers to form special groups and have a collective voice in the milk collection centers.
“Throughout the system, milk factories are straight coming to procure milk at the MCC, where the farmers are paid on weekly basis under a well-being established contract.
“By increasing availability of the MCC in all concerned areas, we will manage to stand a promising chance to overcome several challenges facing dairy farmers as well as milk processing plants,” Noely said.


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Keep in mind again in 2015 and 2016 when the advert trade was in a frenzy over advert blocking?
There was sufficient hand-wringing to trigger collective carpal tunnel.
Nowadays, folks don’t discuss advert blocking as a lot as they used to – it’s arduous to get a phrase in edgewise with a lot deal with third-party cookies and sign loss on cellular – however that doesn’t imply that advert blocking isn’t nonetheless occurring.
In truth, in accordance with Blockthrough’s most up-to-date PageFair report, after declining between 2018 and 2020, advert block charges rose once more final 12 months to achieve 2018 ranges. In 2021, desktop advert blocking elevated 5% to 290 million folks utilizing advert blockers throughout the globe.
One purpose for the rise is that, after making good religion efforts to mitigate advert blocking between 2016 and 2018, publishers received distracted, says Marty Krátký-Katz, CEO of advert block income restoration firm Blockthrough, on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks.
“Publishers are beneath assault from a thousand totally different instructions,” he says.
Though combatting advert blocking was a precedence for a time, GDPR got here in 2018, adopted by Google’s unique announcement in early 2020 that third-party cookies had been quickly (ha) to be phased out in its Chrome browser. Then the pandemic hit, advert costs dipped and publishers began slinging extra adverts to hit their numbers.
And similar to a rising tide lifts all boats, a receding tide grounds all ships. When somebody activates an advert blocker out of frustration, that additionally impacts publishers making an effort to serve up respectful advert experiences.
“If [an] abysmal advert expertise makes me activate an advert blocker,” Krátký-Katz says, “that impacts each writer, not simply the one who really triggered the issue and pushed me over the sting.”
Additionally on this episode: Quantifying writer income loss from advert blocking, a deep dive on the Acceptable Advertisements Committee, how Krátký-Katz turned a hyperpolyglot (he speaks six languages!) and why advert block partitions (you understand, these “Seems such as you’re utilizing an advert blocker! Uh-oh!” pop-ups) have fallen out of favor.


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How To Reduce The Risk Of A Cyber Attack
Cybercrime is on the rise, and the impact can be significant. In 2015, there were over one million web attacks against people each and every day according to Symantec.1 And, over the past year, Norton reported that consumers lost nearly $358 on average per person.2 The cost to businesses is even greater, and experts expect the cyber crime costs to quadruple from 2015-2019. According to research conducted by Juniper, it is predicted that by 2019 the cost of data breaches will rise to $2.1 trillion globally.3 And, of course, beyond the dollars, the cost in reputational damage, consumer confidence in the brand, and time to recovery can be enormous.
While major high-profile security breaches, such as those suffered by Target and Home Depot, make the biggest splashes in the global news, the attacks are not limited to national and multinational companies. For example, the largest online breach targeting credit card data in Australia’s history occurred in December 2012, when criminals attacked 46 small and midsize businesses – the majority of which were service stations and individual retail outlets.4
The principle lesson to be learned is that companies of all sizes are vulnerable to cyber-attacks. In fact, Microsoft research found that "20% of small to medium sized businesses have been targeted for cyber crimes."5 Unfortunately, many don’t view themselves that way because they believe they are too small to be targeted. But from a risk management perspective, that is exactly the wrong attitude to take.
Because of the potentially devastating impact that a major breach can have – on both the top and bottom lines, on the brand, and along many other dimensions of the business – and because of the increasing likelihood that such an event may one day occur, it is prudent to rank cyberthreats as one of the three largest areas of exposure for essentially every business. According to Symantec, in 2015, a record-setting total of nine mega-breaches were reported. These breaches exposed 191 million records.1 As such, thwarting cyber attacks, as well as planning for how the company will respond in the event of a successful major breach, should be a C-suite-level concern, and not something relegated to the IT department and then promptly forgotten – until it’s too late.
An Ounce of Prevention
A first step in assessing your company’s exposure to cyberthreats is to conduct a thorough inventory of your data collection and data storage protocols. What kind of data do you have? How is it being protected? In addition, what does the threat environment look like for your company and industry? How frequently are your systems being attacked? Your competitors?
Fortunately, the majority of attacks are not as sophisticated as those that Target and Home Depot in past years. Most cyberthreats do not target a specific company, and they may be stopped by the use of basic IT security measures, including up-to-date antivirus software and robust firewalls. However, as noted above, it is highly prudent to be prepared to defend against more dangerous efforts and think about what to do should a major breach occur.
Business Continuity and Risk Transfer
A key step is to build cyberthreats into your company’s business continuity plans, alongside other kinds of potential major disruptions. How would your business function if it suddenly lost access to critical data? What kinds of plans are currently in place for dealing with a major data breach? Running scenario-based drills to test the impact and response times to various types of breaches will aid in identifying where your company’s greatest weaknesses are, so that they can be adequately addressed. As Home Depot’s example demonstrates, it’s never too early to start.
There may still remain areas where, for various reasons, risk cannot be managed internally. In this case, the best decision may be to transfer the risk via a cyber-liability policy. These policies should be viewed as a supplement to, and not a replacement for, good risk management policies. But they can provide a vital source of liquidity in the days following a successful attack.
By taking cyberthreats seriously and building them into your business continuity plans and practices, your company will be better positioned to survive a major cyber-attack and get back to normal business operations quickly.
1 “2016 Internet Security Threat Report.” Symantec, April 2016. Accessed online on July 7, 2016 at https://www.symantec.com/content/dam/symantec/docs/reports/istr-21-2016-en.pdf.
2 2015 Norton report, published by Symantec Corporation. Accessed online on July. 1, 2016 at http://us.norton.com/norton-cybersecurity-insights-report-global?inid=hho_norton.com_cybersecurityinsights_hero_seeglobalrpt.
3 “Cybercrime Will Cost Businesses Over $2 Trillion by 2019.” Juniper Research, May 2015. Accessed online on June 21, 2016 at http://www.juniperresearch.com/press/press-releases/cybercrime-cost-businesses-over-2trillion.
4 Matthew Clarke. “Cyber attacks: It’s not a matter of if but when.” Insurance & Risk Professional, June/July 2014. Accessed online on Sept. 12, 2014 at http://content.yudu.com/Library/A2vnli/InsuranceampRiskProf/resources/36.htm.
5 Jennifer Warnick. “Digital Detectives.” Microsoft. Accessed online at July 7, 2016 at http://news.microsoft.com/stories/cybercrime/.


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After four days of strikes to demand an increase in the Lunar New Year bonuses, thousands of workers at Pou Chen Vietnam Company returned to work on January 12.
The above information was announced by the state-controlled media on the same day, citing the confirmation of Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy – Vice President of the Labor Confederation of Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province.
Ms. Thuy said that the enterprise has reached an agreement with the laborers and will keep the Tet bonus as announced. However, leader Pou Chen Vietnam agreed to still pay 100% of the salary for four days workers stopped working.
According to Ms. Thuy, through working with the company’s leaders and checking the general Tet bonus situation, the 2022 Lunar New Year bonus at Pou Chen VN Company is equal to other companies of Puo Chen International Group (Taiwan).
Before that, at noon on January 7, thousands of workers at Pou Chen VN Company began to stop working, asking businesses to maintain the same Tet bonuses as last year.
Specifically, in 2020, the highest Tet bonus at Pou Chen for those who have worked full-time for 12 years or more is 2.2 months’ salary and in 2021 the highest level is 1.87 months’ salary. However, this year, the company cited the epidemic, so the bonus was only about 1.5 months’ salary.
Taiwan Pou Chen International Group in Vietnam has eight factories in five provinces and cities, including a factory in Bien Hoa, Dong Nai that specializes in manufacturing shoes for famous brands such as Nike and Adidas.


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Film by Leo Burnett Thailand shows how you can save money with a banking app while living your life.
Definitive action and the ability to project stability in uncertain times helped Citibank, DBS, HSBC, Standard Chartered and others achieve favourable perceptions, according to a report from Carma Asia.
Brand becomes latest tech giant to make inroads into banking, following moves by Amazon, Apple and Uber.
Latest OCBC campaign seeks to pull in young people with edgy, futuristic vibe.
Grey Dhaka brought Bangladesh's United Commercial Bank and the grocery company Shwapno together in this effort to help farmers convert their spare food into savings.
TOP OF THE CHARTS: Latest JWT report says China is leading the way in payments and fintech innovation.
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06 May 2016 --- Kellogg has reported a 22.9 percent drop in first quarter net profits, but said it has gained share in the US cereal market in the period.
Net profits were $175 million in Q1, down from $227 million in 2015’s first quarter while sales fell 4.5 percent to $3.39 billion from $3.56 billion.
The Frosties maker was hit by the cost of a cost-cutting drive, the re-evaluation of its Venezuelan business, and the impact of a strong dollar on overseas sales.
However, there were bright spots for Kellogg in the results. The cereal giant has been battling for customers against yogurt makers and other breakfast snack providers in recent times.
In the US, its market share of the breakfast cereal market grew amid a declining market in the period.
But sales in its snacks business fell 2.6 percent, partially because of the cost of an operational change to its work force.
But key snack brands Cheez-It and Pringles performed well in the period.
Outside of the US, sales were down 1.6 percent in Europe and down by 5.8 percent in Asia Pacific.
"We have made good progress on our priorities: We have continued to improve our food; we've continued to expand the Pringles business; we've enhanced our sales capabilities; productivity initiatives continue to provide earnings visibility; and continue to feel momentum building," said John Bryant, Kellogg chairman and chief executive officer.
"The actions we are taking are having an impact and we remain confident that they will drive continued improvement as this year progresses, and into 2017."
Separately, Kellogg announced that Ron Dissinger is retiring as chief financial officer at the end of 2016.
Dissinger will step down as CFO on Dec. 31, but he will remain with Kellogg into 2017 to help ensure an orderly transition to his successor.
An internal and external search for a new company CFO will now start.
"Ron has had an extraordinary, nearly three-decade career with Kellogg, including the past six years as CFO and a highly valued member of our Global Leadership Team," added Bryant.
“Over the years, we have relied on Ron's business acumen, disciplined approach to finance and extensive knowledge of our global organization to provide strategic financial leadership across every aspect of our business.
"Ron has also led or played a central role in a number of other major initiatives that have helped to position Kellogg for the future.”
"These include acquisitions such as Pringles and Bisco Misr, as well as Kellogg Integrated Margin Management, Project K, Zero-Based Budgeting and the development of our 2020 Growth Plan.
"We thank Ron for his many contributions to Kellogg over the years, as well as for continuing to serve our company in 2017 before he transitions into retirement.”
To contact our editorial team please email us at


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Mobile being an on the move communication device, why not choose an on the move (read out of home) medium to advertise the service and the product? That’s exactly what telecom players in the country are doing. Today, telecom is one of the biggest spenders outdoors. Handset as well as service providers choose the out of home medium to communicate to the masses effectively. OOH media major JCDecaux recently worked on three new bus Q shelter innovations in the capital for telecom players such as Tata Indicom, Nokia and Vodafone.
For the launch of Blackberry, Tata Indicom wanted a larger than life format. Thus, in Delhi, JCDecaux transformed the complete facade of the MUPI (multi-photon ionisation) panel situated adjacent to the bus shelter to make it look like a giant Blackberry phone. Acrylic sheet with self adhesive vinyl was used for the purpose. The backlit MUPI panel lent itself to attractive after dark advertising and the blue light on the Blackberry grabbed eyeballs.
It was strategically executed at Golf Club Road, a prime location in the heart of the city, and has already created a buzz. The promotion has established its set of admirers, including pedestrian traffic and vehicular traffic. People are actually stopping their cars to take a look at the innovation.
For handset manufacturer Nokia, eleven bus Q shelters spread across the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area were employed to promote the Nokia XpressMusic phone. A three-dimensional phone was placed inside the MUPI panel. This made it look as if a large Nokia phone was actually placed in it. A lively headphone was also placed on top. The headphone added vibrancy to the regular MUPI panel.
The third innovation was done for service provider Vodafone’s two day music sale for its customers. The MUPI panel was dressed up to look like a person carrying an assorted stack of CDs. The backlit portion of the bus shelter, too, had a similar image with the Vodafone branding, making it look like CDs stacked on a shelf.
This was strategically done at the bus shelter outside Aga Khan Hall in Connaught Place, Delhi, where the music sale took place.
Rahul Kakar, sales manager, JCDecaux India, tells afaqs!, “The marketing team of Tata Indicom, comprising of Ashish Mehrotra and Priyaranjan Singh, along with their outdoor agency Aaren Initiative, briefed us about the launch. That’s when JCD conceptualised the innovation and suggested them to execute such an innovation.”
He adds, "For Vodafone, its creative agency Ogilvy gave us a clear cut brief to exhibit the innovation. For Nokia too, JCDecaux India was given the elements on which the company wanted to communicate innovatively and that is when the innovation was conceptualised. We suggested their agency Aaren Initiative and they gave us a go ahead."
The response to these innovations has been great and has been appreciated by key agency people. It has also attracted the eyeballs of many. Kakar says, “At JCDecaux India, we are trying to keep up with our global standards of quality and ensuring that the final product has a ‘wow’ factor attached to it.”
JCDecaux took three to five days to execute each innovation. The company did not share the cost details of creating such innovations that includes production cost and media loading charges, over and above the advertisement fee for the bus Q shelters.
It is interesting to note how all these innovations were for telecom players. Kakar says, “We think that the telecom segment is pushing OOH innovations as differentiators as these communicate with the masses. It helps the brand to communicate in an innovative fashion and grab the eyeballs of many. But each and every category is open to try out of the box concepts.” He shares that FMCG and apparel brands are also experimenting with innovations.
Praveen Vadhera, country head, 141Wall Street (the OOH division of Bates 141 that handles Aditya Birla Group’s Idea Cellular), says, “In fact, telecom is not ‘one’ of the biggest spenders, but ‘the’ biggest spender on outdoor today. With about 8-15 per cent of their budgets going into outdoor, they are bigger spenders than the FMCG or even the media segment.”
He explains, “You see, media as a category would need to advertise outdoor only in 20-25 markets, whereas telecom, due to its widespread nature, would need to advertise in about 500-600 towns.” This is because of two reasons.
Firstly, for telecom, the local scenario is extremely important. While a telecom player’s brand campaign will be aired on television, in local circles, tactical, value-added services, promotions-led or tariff-led campaigns are released. In this scenario, OOH is the most cost effective media for localised communication.
Secondly, with the current scenario of competition amongst telecom players, it is extremely important to maintain top of mind recall. Outdoor being an involuntary and non-intrusive medium tends to deliver this.
The science of the medium apart, as viewers of the outdoor medium, all we can say is the more the innovations, the merrier. So while telecom is riding this wave, hopefully other categories will catch up, too.
6 months ago


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With the objective of providing a high-resolution 3D view of their environment, LiDAR (light detection and ranging) sensors are set to be a mainstay in autonomous vehicles.
While not all have been proponents of the technology – Elon Musk, for one, has stated in the past that he is not a fan – J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee says the “debate around value-add of a LiDAR in a sensing suite has been long settled.”
The decision to forgo the use of lidar more revolves around costs rather than performance although the jury is still out on the “winning technology approach.”
That said, as far as Chatterjee is concerned, the answer is pretty clear.
“We believe the true differentiation remains in a high performance forward facing LiDAR capable of handling both L2 ADAS as well as L3+ highway autonomy allowing automakers to prioritize safety with ADAS while selling a premium option in L3 highway driving,” the analyst opined.
Against this backdrop, Chatterjee has picked up this thread, and followed it to the logical conclusion: pulling the trigger on LiDAR stocks that he sees as winners going forward. In fact, the analyst sees a particular pair of stocks delivering gains of more than 200% in the year ahead.
And turns out he’s not alone; using the TipRanks database, we can see that both are rated as Strong Buys by the analyst consensus. Let’s take a closer look.
Luminar Technologies (LAZR)
We’ll start with Luminar, one of the first lidar companies to go public back in December 2020, following a SPAC merger with Gores Metropoulos. The company has established itself as a leader in this nascent space with a focus on bringing to market mass-produced automotive-grade products without breaking the bank. The tech is designed with a wide remit in mind, suitable for both passenger vehicles and commercial trucks.
The company has been pivoting away from its legacy Hydra system to the more capable Iris and the auto industry has obviously been impressed. Luminar has already struck deals with various OEMs including such luminaries as Nissan, Volvo and Mercedes.


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News - Suzuki - Celerio
Suzuki Celerio scores three stars in ENCAP
European safety hiccup for Suzuki’s new Celerio city hatchback due here in 2015
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6 Nov 2014
SUZUKI’S latest mini car, the Thai-built Celerio, has scored three stars in the latest round of European New Car Assessment (ENCAP) crash safety results.
The Alto replacement managed the lowest score among six vehicles tested in the latest batch, with four of them – the American all-electric Tesla S sedan, front-wheel-drive BMW 2 Series Active Tourer hatch, Nissan Pulsar hatch and Skoda Fabia small hatch – all getting the maximum five-star rating.
Renault’s Megane hatch was upgraded from three stars to four stars after the French company modified safety items such as the rear seatbelt warning system and speed limitation device to ENCAP requirements.
The result for the five-door Celerio was Suzuki’s second safety embarrassment this week, after its Indian-built Maruti Suzuki Swift scored zero stars in the Indian NCAP rating scheme.
The only other light hatchback to score three stars in ENCAP this year was the MG3 from Chinese company SAIC (Shanghai Automobile Industry Corporation).
However, Suzuki Australia says it is confident the Australian-market version of Celerio will do better under Australia's NCAP system when it touches down in showrooms here in the first quarter of next year.
General Manager automobiles Andrew Moore told GoAuto: "Our engineers are now developing Celerio for Australia which they are very confident would receive four stars for ANCAP."Because head-protecting side airbags are only an option on Celerio in Europe, the five-door hatch was excluded from the side pole test, thus missing out on vital points.
In Australia, the Suzuki Alto – the Indian-built hatch that will be phased out when the Celerio arrives about May – already has standard side airbags and carries a four-star rating.
This indicates Celerio will also to have side airbags as standard equipment, potentially improving its score.
Less clear is whether the Celerio’s marginal leg protection for the driver and poor rear passenger whiplash protection in the Euro tests can be improved for Australia.
Overall adult occupant protection was rated at only 61 per cent by ENCAP. This compares with more than 80 per cent for the five other vehicles in the latest results.
But the biggest issue for the European Celerio was its lack of latest safety technologies, scoring just five points or 38 per cent in the safety assist category.
This compares with 70 per cent for the BMW’s new 2 Series Active Tourer which has items such as autonomous braking as standard equipment.
The small BMW scored 84 per cent for adult occupant protection, the same as Nissan’s Pulsar, which topped the pedestrian protection rating among the latest cars to be tested, with 75 per cent score.
The electric Tesla S impressed across all categories, and would have fared better had a glitch in the front passenger airbag software not prevented full inflation of the bag.
The passenger dummy’s head hit the dash through the airbag, resulting only “adequate” protection. ENCAP says the fault was traced to the airbag supplier, and has been fixed.
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“Mobile banking apps are no longer just about simple transactions and account balance checks. They need to provide users with end-to-end banking capabilities, including everything from money movement [and] From opening accounts to full-service interactions with bankers. [As if that were] not hard enough [they need to offer] a seamless, user-friendly experience.”
Eric Brandtstrategic market analyst, NKR
Consumers increasingly want to use banking apps to manage all aspects of their financial life
Consumers use their banks’ mobile banking apps to do a variety of their banking needs. Not surprisingly, consumers use these apps to do the majority of their day-to-day banking. When asked which mobile app features they value most, several respondents cited standard banking practices.
The desire for mobile banking apps is such that many consumers choose their banking partners based on banks’ mobile and online banking capabilities, with 40% of consumers saying this is the most important factor. In contrast, only 27% of respondents cited the convenience of a physical store as the most important factor.
Consumers want to use mobile banking apps to do more. While consumers want to use their banking apps to meet standard banking needs, there is a clear interest in using these apps for much more than basic banking. A growing percentage of consumers want to use their banking apps to fulfill almost all of their financial needs, including making peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, locating ATMs, and budgeting and tracking their finances.
Mobile banking apps should offer consumers dynamic, personalized experiences. There is an overwhelming desire for mobile banking apps that offer a more dynamic and personalized experience to complete many complex financial tasks. For example, 93% of consumers want personalized financial reviews from their banks. According to one survey, 15% are frustrated that they can’t apply for a loan through their bank’s messaging services. Additionally, according to a separate survey, 63% want their financial services providers to be proactive in helping them manage their finances. The desire for personalized mobile banking experiences to address more complicated banking needs is more pronounced among younger generations.
Banks should provide chatbots and virtual assistant capabilities. In fact, consumers increasingly want their mobile banking apps to act as some sort of digital assistant. Consumers who have become more accustomed to virtual assistants like Siri or Alexa in recent years now expect similar experiences when taking care of their financial affairs. For example, usage of Bank of America’s virtual assistant app Erica has skyrocketed since 2021.
We’re always looking for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.


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Blockchain firm Sirin Labs – which has footballing sensation Lionel Messi as a brand ambassador – has laid off 25% of its staff following poor smartphone sales, according to Israeli news outlet Globes.
Sirin Labs is run by Moshe Hogeg, chairperson of the Singulariteam fund and owner of the Beitar Jerusalem football team.
The company raised more than $157 million during its Initial Coin Offering (ICO) early in 2018. It had previously also raised $97 million prior to the ICO, meaning it has raised roughly $254 million in total since its inception.
However, it has been revealed that 15 out of 60 employees have now been let go from Sirin Labs.
Recently, Sirin Labs released its blockchain smartphone called the ‘Finney‘. It was available for pre-order at a price of $999 – providing customers held Sirin tokens (SRN).
The Finney boasts a crypto wallet and other apps designed to work with cryptocurrencies alongside its blockchain capabilities.
However, Sirin Labs has revealed that sales of the smartphone “were not what we expected” and that “the global market is not in the best state”.
Reports had surfaced suggesting Sirin Labs had failed to pay wages to its employees, but the firm has denied these claims.
“The company gives some of its work to outsourcing, and plans to focus on development and distribution of the software,” Sirin Labs said.
Reportedly, this isn’t the first of Hogeg’s start-ups to lay off employees or close down recently. In late 2018, STX – which operated on the Stox blockchain – closed down its activity in Israel after letting go of all of its employees.
In 2010, Hogeg founded Mobli, which also shut down operations in 2017 after reporting it had raised $86 million to develop a picture sharing app.
Haven’t heard about the blockchain-based smartphone developed by Sirin Labs? Discover how the final design was unveiled at an event in Barcelona in late 2018.


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On Tuesday, one of the world’s biggest venture firms, Sequoia Capital, told investors morning it would split its global partnership into three different geographic units, independent of each other. These will be located in China, the U.S. and Europe, and Southeast Asia and India, giving an “increasingly complex” reason.
Roelof Botha, Neil Shen, and Shailendra Singh— Sequoia Capital, informed about the update to their limited partners through a joint memo. The managing partner for Sequoia’s U.S. and Europe business is Botha, whereas Shen and Singh head the venture’s China and Southeast Asia businesses, respectively.
In a joint statement, the three partners told investors, “To deliver on our mission, we have decided to fully embrace our local-first approach.”
According to the information revealed by the three partners, the move will be completed by March 31, 2024.
The U.S. firm will retain the Sequoia branding. Shen’s Chinese fund, which has often been viewed as a highly independent entity even before the decision came to light, will take the name HongShan in English. The Indian branch under Singh will be renamed Peak XV Partners.
Since it’s establishment, Sequoia Capital (US and Europe), Sequoia China and Sequoia India and South East Asia, have been set up as different businesses with investment decision-making independent of each other.
In the past years, the goals and gimmicks for every business has fluctuated and the scale and market leadership throughout dynamic geographies has begun to show up in brand confusion and portfolio conflict, according to the VC firm.
“It has become increasingly complex to run a decentralized investment business,” the executives wrote in their message to investors. “We’ve seen growing market confusion due to the shared Sequoia brand as well as portfolio conflicts across entities.”
It is one of the world’s best and well renowned venture funds, with large investments in big tech companies like Apple, Google, Paypal, and Zoom.
A Sequoia spokesperson did not reciprocate to a request for comment.
In the last 17 years, Sequoia India & SEA has collected around 13 funds, invested in over 400 startups, with more than 50 companies priced at $1 billion and above. The venture has witnessed 19 IPOs and several other M&As resulting in $4.5 billion of realized exits so far. The investment team is headed by 11 managing directors with a mean tenure of over 12 years at the firm.
Shailendra Singh, managing director, Peak XV Partners said, “It’s a new beginning for us as Peak XV Partners, but unlike most beginnings, this is an opportunity for us to build on top of the foundation laid over the last 17 years. Our firm will continue to be managed by the present leadership team and will continue to invest from the most recently raised set of funds focused on India and Southeast Asia.”
“We are seeing companies emerge from every region with global ambitions. The flexibility that comes with the new structure will open up an unbounded global opportunity and help create more value for our founders and LPs,” Singh said. “There will be no change in the way we manage our portfolio relationships. We will invest across SaaS, AI, developer tools, cyber security, cloud, fintech, climate tech.”
Sequoia Capital will still hold $9.2 billion across 13 funds and moreover, it will invest in India and the SEA region from Peak XV Partners’ $2.5 billion of capital which isn’t yet invested.
Peak XV will continue to be sector agnostic as it was previously, and is likely to make investments across sectors, covering SaaS, AI, developer tools, cyber security, cloud infrastructure, fintech, climate tech, healthtech and consumer internet.
Apart from VC firms, it will also get grip on its startup programs like Surge and Spark.


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Ridiculous Fishing Sells 300,000 Units - NewsWilliam D'Angelo, posted on 20 August 2013 / 3,948 Views
Vlambeer founders Jan Willem Nijman and Rami Ismail announced that their game Ridiculous Fishing has sold 300,000 units on the Apple App Store at a GDC Europe presentation. The game is available for $3, which would mean the game has generated $900,000 in revenue.
The game was almost free-to-play and players would have been able to purchase additional boats and one would have cost $1,000. However, the developer decided against this and released the full game for just $3.


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Fidget Spinner Bubble Could Collapse At Any Minute, Economists Warn
THE Department of Finance has dismissed as ‘nonsense’ a report which suggests that the Fidget Spinner boom could be nearing its end, which could bring about a catastrophic knock-on effect to the Irish economy the likes of which would make the property crash look like dropping a euro while running for a bus.
Although Fidget Spinners are currently the most sought-after item in the world ahead of food and water, economists have warned that even a single YouTube video from a social influencer describing them as ‘lame’ could be enough to bring the whole Fidget industry crashing down; a crisis that would result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs worldwide, plunging the global economy into a deep depression.
With Ireland more heavily invested in the three-pronged toy than most nations and every single retail outlet in the country selling Fidget Spinners for lower and lower prices each day, the fate of our economic future quite literally rests in our children’s hands.
However, despite the warnings from leading economic minds, the Minister For Finance was insistent that the popularity of the toy would prevail for decades to come.
“There are new children being born every day, and they themselves will need Fidget Spinners,” said Michael Noonan, due to step down as Finance Minister before any economic dilemma hits.
“And in each playground in the country, there’s still kids who haven’t been able to get a Fidget Spinner yet; they’ll help drive the Fidget economy on for years to come. Why just this morning I cut the ribbon on a brand new Fidget Spinner superstore in Dublin, with nineteen more branches due to open later this month. The good times are here to stay!”
Meanwhile, investors across the country are being advised that they ‘can’t go wrong’ investing in Fidget Spinners, with banks offering 100% loans to buy as many of the toys as you like.


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According to the data shared by the Finance Ministry on Thursday, GST collections in the month of November stood at around Rs 1.46 lakh crore, which is 11% higher than the year-ago period.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections touched a record high of about Rs 1.68 lakh crore in April. The second highest collection was Rs 1.52 lakh crore in October.
“The gross GST revenue for the month of November 2022 is Rs 1,45,867 crore, including CGST Rs 25,681 crore, SGST Rs 32,651 crore, IGST Rs 77,103 crore (including Rs 38,635 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess Rs 10,433 crore ( 817 crore collected on import of goods),” the finance ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said on Thursday that the monthly GST revenue has been over Rs 1.4 lakh crore for nine consecutive months.
Government has settled Rs 33,997 crore to CGST and Rs 28,538 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement. Besides SGST, the Center had also released Rs 17,000 crore as GST compensation to the States/UTs in November 2022.
“The revenue for the month of November 2022 is 11% higher than the GST revenue in the same month last year at Rs 1,31,526 crore. During the month, revenue from import of goods was 20% higher and revenue from domestic transactions- (including import of services) is 8% higher than the revenue from these sources during the same month last year,” the ministry said.


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A recent report revealed by the German media, two or more German carriers are preparing to release the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus most probably on September 18th, 2015.
Read More: iPhone 6S Images & Features Leaked
The same report further adds that Apple will be launching iOS 9 two days before the launch of iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. Hence, we will most probably see iOS 9 hitting the shelves on 16th September. Just a year ago iOS 8 was released on September 17th.
Before these launches, Apple might conduct a fall event as part of launching new iPhones on September 9th.
What will be new in the upcoming iPhones?
This year, in iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s plus, new Force Touch display technology will be introduced along with faster CPU and much better front camera. It has also been expected that these phones will be packed in a much thicker shell, unlike its predecessors.
For more details on price, specs and review, keep visiting our website.


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A major development work that has taken nearly half a year has been released in the form of an open-source Pull Request (PR#954) on PIVX GitHub today.
Crypto Wallet Keys Recovery – Things You Should Know About Mnemonic Recovery Phrases
Private keys and passwords are meant to keep your cryptocurrencies safe and secure as well as aid their retrieval when necessary. With them in place and some extra security measures, you can keep your cryptos safe indefinitely.
The H4X Project is a showcase of Tide Protocol’s open source ‘trustless’ data privacy technology — removing the need for trust when relying on third parties to protect sensitive data.
The popular privacy-centric digital currency PIVX announced the long-awaited release of its dedicated iOS mobile wallet.Continue reading
Today, November 26, 2018, marks the launch of the Foundation for Interwallet Operability (FIO)and the FIO Protocol, an interwallet protocol that seeks to make the transfer of cryptos between wallets as simple and straightforward as making transfers on PayPal.
Managing cryptocurrencies and ensuring that they always stay safe is a fairly straightforward task (once you get the know the basics, at least). However, since owning cryptocurrencies means being your own bank and taking complete control over your funds brings with it an inevitability which might potentially be scary for some investors.
Before the internet brought us dog videos and your grandmother’s Facebook updates, losing money was a traumatic experience. Dropping $20 meant you’d probably never see it again – all you’d have left is that unmistakable sensation of feeling stupid.


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Living up to the hype? Black Panther’s appeal to brands
With unanimously glowing reviews and a worldwide opening weekend gross of $361m, Black Panther has – much like 2017’s Wonder Woman – lifted hopes of a revival of the superhero genre, and even for cinema in general.
Yet despite being the most hotly anticipated Marvel release in recent memory, Black Panther’s consumer products presence has been nearly as anonymous as the secret African Kingdom of Wakanda it depicts.
To kick off week two of this month’s New York Fashion Week, ‘Welcome to Wakanda’ was a fashion extravaganza for the glitterati featuring runway interpretations of Black Panther from seven designers and labels – from Cushnie et Ochs to Hood by Air. But their creations were strictly one-offs to be auctioned for the benefit of Save the Children.
Press information around the event assured that larger retail collections would be available from Brother Vellies, Douriean and Josh Bennett – not exactly heavy-hitting names. While the afro-centric style of the first two are a point of intrigue, Josh Bennett’s involvement seems to be based on his prior success with Marvel’s Thor franchise – a natural fit for a maker of luxury Nordic knitwear.
Elsewhere, sneaker/concept store BAIT gave Black Panther a small boost with its own t-shirt prints accompanied by exclusive styles from Nixon, New Era and PUMA. Purchasers at BAIT were also rewarded with a complimentary first edition reprint comic. New Balance released two exclusive styles on sneaker platform, Jimmy Jazz and Clark’s Originals issued a 1,000 piece limited edition of its Trigenic Evo shoe – just in case two fashion-forward men’s shoe brands aren’t already enough.
Already in October, Lexus announced a limited edition LC 500 coupe – as featured in the movie. A related concept car was described by Lexus as “part Takumi craftsmanship, part Wakandan vibranium engineering and all badass.” Inexplicably, the partnership was also marked with a lame, custom-comic series featuring a car in practically every panel.
And that’s it.
I was expecting more. After all, how many times has Disney’s consumer products division wowed us in recent years with elaborate retail promotions, inspiring style guide management and eye-popping rosters of halo licensees?
Not this time. What happened? Did Disney not believe in the movie? Or did everyone turn them down? Or were they deterred by the knowledge that searching for “Black Panther capsule” leads to a male potency supplement?
Not only does Black Panther’s box-office triumph show it has all the right topline credentials, the incredible grassroots hype shows its unique power to engage with minorities and draw in new audiences. Add to the mix the fact that it is a practically unspoiled property…beautifully designed and full of the kind of branding goodness that sustains hundreds of fashion and lifestyle collaborations: urban cool, hip hop, African roots, technology – to name a few.
Frankly, a game-changing movie deserves a game-changing approach…much more than five shoes from three brands, a car and some chunky knitwear. Did Disney use a Captain America approach when a James Bond or even a Kanye West strategy might have worked better? Or is the best yet to come?
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