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Browns division retailer has traded from delight of place on Eastgate Street within the northern English metropolis of Chester since 1791, promoting trend, perfumes and afternoon tea to locals and vacationers visiting the historic centre.
But the way forward for the imposing columned constructing is unsure as its proprietor, British division retailer Debenhams, turns into the newest retailer to enter administration, hamstrung by the pandemic and altering procuring habits.
“It’s heart-breaking,” stated native resident Sue Astbury, 53, who manages a series of charity retailers within the area.
Although she remembers visiting Browns as a baby and the journey of wandering across the nooks and crannies of the characterful retailer, she says she hardly ever goes procuring in Chester due to the site visitors and the price of parking.
“I do a vast amount of my shopping online because you don’t have to worry about parking and you can try on things in your own time,” she stated.
Shoppers have shunned bodily shops to keep away from catching Covid-19, even outdoors of official lockdowns, and accelerated a shift to on-line procuring that was underway earlier than the pandemic.
The results are being felt all through Britain’s excessive streets – fundamental procuring drags the place folks purchased every part from groceries to garments. Many had been on the decline for many years even earlier than the pandemic, struggling to adapt to fashionable occasions.
A report enhance within the variety of shuttered retailers as Britain’s second wave of virus infections obtained underway has left streets and procuring centres pockmarked with empty items.
British retail job losses will rise about 65% to 235,704 this yr versus final, the Centre for Retail Research predicts. About 25,000 jobs are in danger from the collapse of Debenhams and trend retailer Arcadia Group mixed – greater than double the quantity employed on the nation’s fishing fleets.
‘A treasure trove’
Browns of Chester, referred to as the “Harrods of the North” after the posh London division retailer, was a must-visit for these visiting town with its chandeliers, creaking floorboards and maze-like inside. Debenhams took it over in 1976.
“I remember my mum holding my hand tightly as we went around, especially when it was busy, as it was like a maze,” stated Samantha Payne, a 45-year-old tasks administrator who now lives in close by Runcorn.
“It was just so posh – a treasure trove of so many nice things, from the perfume and jewellery counters on the ground floor to the bridal wear upstairs,” added Payne, who purchased a beige silk bridesmaid costume there 20 years in the past.
On a latest morning, the shop was open however large “Store Closing” and “Everything Must Go” indicators hung in its home windows.
Retail investor Mike Ashley is in last-minute talks to purchase Debenhams from directors however has stated there isn’t any certainty that any transaction will happen.
Near Browns is the Grosvenor Shopping Centre with Arcadia Group shops together with menswear chains Burton and Topman and ladies’s trend shops Dorothy Perkins and Topshop. Arcadia collapsed into administration in November.
Local companies fear that the closure of those retailers – particularly the landmark Browns – will imply even fewer folks making the journey into town centre. Parking on the Grosvenor Shopping Centre prices 7.80 kilos ($10.40) for 3 hours.
Festooned with lights
“I am concerned for the city centre,” says Ann Faulkner of The Cheese Shop, which has operated out of its small premises with shiny blue and white striped awning for practically 40 years.
On a latest morning, the store was doing brisk commerce forward of Christmas even with simply two clients allowed contained in the store at a time. The cellphone consistently rang with folks putting orders.
“Visitors like going to those old-fashioned department stores,” she added, as regards to Chester’s reputation as a weekend-break vacation spot.
Two lockdowns in England and a shortened Christmas buying and selling interval have piled stress on retailers as they enter the essential vacation season. In England, non-essential retailers have been allowed to reopen on Dec. 2 for the primary time in 4 weeks.
In Chester, streets festooned with lights have been busy with masked Christmas customers. Although shopper site visitors in England surged 150% on December 2 from the earlier week as retailers re-opened, it was nonetheless down over 1 / 4 from final yr.
Britons have been already among the many greatest web shoppers on the planet pre-Covid-19. UK e-commerce has accelerated this yr, and the habits constructed up over the pandemic are anticipated to stay.
Online procuring has grown 52.eight% since February, in accordance with the newest knowledge from the Office of National Statistics.
In Chester, The Cheese Shop spent round three,000 kilos to arrange a web based retailer in September.
“I don’t think we could have survived this Christmas without the online option,” she stated.
(This story has been revealed from a wire company feed with out modifications to the textual content.)


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Supermarket to remove consumption guidance dates from nearly 70 fruit and vegetable lines in bid to combat consumer confusion and drive down food waste
Tesco is to remove 'best before' dates from almost 70 of its fruit and vegetable lines in a bid to reduce the amount of perfectly edible items thrown away by households. The supermarket said research...
UK insurers will be called upon next month by the Prudential Market Authority to stress test their business against a range of climate and transition risks
As ClientEarth warns too many councils have missed deadlines to submit air quality plans, government confirms fresh support from its Clean Bus Technology Fund
Environment Agency chair Emma Howard Boyd's speech at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development - in full
Britain has its first new deep coal mine in decades - a result of pretending climate change isn't political
Rebecca Willis argues the controversial decision to approve a new coal mine in the UK is symptomatic of a wider political failure

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Nigerian Afrobeat artist Jack Agu better known as Runtown has gotten engaged to his Australian Sudanese model, Adut Akech with a sparkling diamond ring.
In the video sighted, Adut Akech flaunted the ring to a friend who couldn’t believe is as she let out a loud scream. She seemed surprised by the diamond ring which was shown to her.
The two are reported to have met during Fashion Week events in Europe with the Mad Over You crooner featuring for high-end brands’ campaigns such as Dior, Versace, Triple R, and his close association with Nigerian stylist Ugo Mozie exposing him to that scene.
Meanwhile, Adut is an international household name, being a regular on global fashion publications as well as winning Model of the Year for many guilds.
This latest couple in town continues the entertainment blueprint of foreign national famous model/artist engagements such as Weeknd and Bella Hadid, Skepta and Naomi Campbell, Travis Scott-Kanye West and Kardashians, A$AP Rocky and Chanel Iman, among others.
The news is already viral across Africa, mainly in Nigeria and Ghana and we hope this is not a fun hit and run scenario, nor a pathway into an unstable relationship but something beautiful and aspiring for all. On that note, congratulations to them both.
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Boxed Water is Better®, the sustainable packaged water company, today announced its distribution sales more than doubled during 2013, fueled by expanded sales into new markets, several new retail accounts and a tripling of its number of distributors nationwide. Boxed Water is now available in 15 states and in markets in Mexico, Canada and overseas and is selling direct to consumers through boxedwaterisbetter.com.
February 2014 News
ArtPrize 2013 drew more than 389,400 visits and had a $22 million economic impact on Grand Rapids, according to an economic impact study.
The study commissioned by Experience Grand Rapids determined attendance increased 20 percent over ArtPrize 2011, and the economic impact of fifth annual exhibition and $560,000 competition rose 43 percent over two years, according to Anderson Economic Group, of East Lansing.
The promise of same-day delivery has many brick-and-mortar retailers champing at the bit to get in the race. In a world where speed and immediacy sells, stores know this hyper-level customer service can help them claw back market share from online-only competitors.


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Wedgewood Brewing Co. in Middlebury is a father and son business venture
Wedgewood Brewing Company in Middlebury may have the smallest square footage of any Michiana brewery, but they have packed a lot into their space, and they pack a lot of flavor into their beer.
It’s been just about a decade since owner Chris Higgins brewed his first beer — a Stone Arrogant Bastard clone recipe with his brother-in-law. Brewing quickly became a passion and it also quickly took over his house. Chris began fabricating his own equipment, converted to all-grain brewing and, by the time I met him a few years ago, switched from bottling his beer to kegging his homebrews.
Since then, Chris decided to take his homebrewing to a professional level and open a brewery in Middlebury.
It has been almost two years of remodeling and hard work getting the space ready, and they will open to the public for the first time from 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, May 10, according to the company’s Facebook page. Chris and his son, Cody, have hosted a couple of soft openings just to get the hang of the POS system, and I got a preview on Saturday.
Even though the brew house is quite small, they have made the most of the space with a one-barrel system which includes two one-barrel fermenters, one two-barrel fermenter and a two-barrel brite tank.
Chris has brewed eight batches so far on his commercial system including pale ales, IPAs, an English pale ale, a rye porter and a double IPA. Mr. Hop Otto (pale ale, 6.5 percent ABV, 35 IBUs) was the first, and all of the beers are recipes that Chris has previously brewed except the rye porter. The double IPA, Yippie IPA (8 percent ABV, 90 IBUs) is brewed with local honey, and will be kegged and ready to go when they open.
While I was there, I was able to sample the other three currently on tap: Hop Otto, Pale and Oats (oatmeal pale ale, 6 percent ABV, 38 IBUs), and Big Wood Smoked IPA (7.5 percent ABV, 65 IBUs).
It turns out that the one-barrel system chosen by Chris does not work well with leaf hops, which is what Chris prefers, so he came up with a creative solution. He fabricated a hop basket that he can suspended into the brew kettle. He plans to use the hop basket for dry hopping many of his recipes, however, the beers currently on tap were not dry hopped.
Because of the lack of space, they will be kegging all of their beer, and there is cold storage behind the bar for 19 kegs. Chris is working with a company to test a new 1/6 barrel keg product that uses a disposable plastic bag to hold the beer inside the keg.
At first you may think this is wasteful, however, this will save hundreds of gallons of water that would otherwise be used to wash and sanitize the kegs after each use. These plastic kegs will be used in house, but beer will be distributed to 41 Degrees North (next door) in traditional stainless steel kegs.
For now, Chris and Cody are dialing in the efficiency of their new equipment and are planning on brewing about four batches a month. When asked what his future hopes are for his new brewery, Chris replied, “For now, my goal is to open and make the best beer I possibly can.”
The space has room for a maximum of 15 patrons in the tasting room. However, it is cozy and displays much of Chris’ musical interests on the walls with framed covers of Rolling Stone Magazine, photos of Bob Dylan and ticket stubs from concerts that Chris has attended. His love of music is also apparent in his logo, which is a musical note formed out of a hop cone and a barley stalk. He dabbles in playing guitar and told me that the creative process in music and brewing share many similarities.
Hours at the new brewery will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday and from 3 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The brewery is located at 106 N. Main St., Middlebury.


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On Friday, a Ford Motor Co. spokesperson told media the company will delay the new Bronco models to the 2021 summer as the coronavirus pandemic continues to create supplier issues. “We’re committed to building Broncos with the quality customers deserve,” the spokesperson said. The same supplier constraints will now make all Broncos equipped with the Sasquatch gear and three pedals a 2022 model. Ford declined to share further detail about what the supply issues were or which suppliers were affected. Previously, Ford said we’d see the combination launch in late 2021. Ford plans to open order books for the Bronco next month. Reservation holders will be able to actually convert their reservations into proper vehicle orders. Some industry experts and Ford dealers say it’s better to delay the launch now than potentially deal with nagging quality issues later.
It is an important product for Ford. The Bronco is Ford’s answer to the Jeep Wrangler, which is a best-seller in the U.S. market with over 225,000 vehicles sold in 2019. With a highly capable chassis and drivetrain, the Bronco is a key piece in one of the much significant refreshes of the automaker’s portfolio ever. Its interior layout is simple but loaded with technology, such as an available 12.0-inch touchscreen. The cabin also contains durable, waterproof surfaces that protect things when the doors and the soft or hardtop roofs are removed.


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Brewer and retailer Greene King, owners of Dunbar-based Belhaven, have appointed Nick Mackenzie as its new chief executive.
Mackenzie will join the company on 1 May in succession to Rooney Anand, who announced in November he would step down at the end of the financial year.
Mackenzie joins from Merlin Entertainments where, as a member of the executive committee, he is responsible for the Midway portfolio of attractions, which comprises more than 100 businesses around the world including Madame Tussauds, the London Eye and SeaLife centres.
He qualified as a chartered surveyor, working first with Bass and then with Allied Domecq as its acquisitions director before joining Burger King UK as development director. Mackenzie joined The Tussauds Group in 2002, which was subsequently acquired by Merlin in 2007, where he remained to head its property and development group.
He became managing director of the resort theme parks division in 2011 before moving across to lead the Midway business in 2015. He is also an independent non-executive director of north west brewer and retailer Daniel Thwaites, a role he will give up before taking up his executive role at Greene King.
Philip Yea, Greene King chairman, said: “After a comprehensive search we feel Nick’s broad experience and track record at one of the world’s leading leisure businesses as well as his knowledge of the pub business, early in his career and more recently as a non-executive, make him the best candidate to lead Greene King through its next phase. We are looking forward to Nick taking up his role when Rooney steps down at the end of the current financial year.”
Mackenzie said: “Greene King is a very strong business with a great portfolio of pubs and beer brands and a real commitment to its customers, staff and shareholders. I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues to deliver on our vision to be the best pub company and brewer in Britain.”
Anand has been chief executive of Greene King for 14 years. He is credited with turning the company from a small regional brewery and pub business into the UK’s leading pub company. Last month Anand, who was named business leader of the year at the 2016 Lloyds Bank National Business Awards, was appointed chairman of Casual Dining Group, the operator of almost 300 mid-market restaurant brands including Las Iguanas, Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia.


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According to analyst Mark Moskowitz aggregate tablet build plans have declined by roughly 10 percent since early March. Moskowitz took the reduction to mean that "non-Apple tablet hopefuls have adjusted to the weak showing so far."
Describing the trend as an "early dose of reality," the analyst noted that the market has yet to see a high-volume tablet competitor to the iPad. Moskowitz cited Asustekâs Eee Pad Transformer, Motorolaâs XOOM, RIMâs PlayBook, and Samsungâs Galaxy Tab as examples of tablets that have failed to gain traction and whose makers have consequently reduced build plans.
In early March, Moskowitz warned of "increasing risk of a bubble burst" to the tablet market in the second half of 2011 because of exaggerated build plans from tablet makers. Moskowitz saw Apple's iPad 2 as making it tougher for rival first-generation tablets "to play catch-up," which would result in poor sales. The recent reduction in production volumes has allayed some of the firm's fears of a tablet bubble.
Moskowitz acknowledged that extrapolating trends from build plans can be problematic, noting that the firm applies discounts to adjust for limitations. J.P. Morgan now projects 2011 build activity for the tablet market to come in at 63 million after a discount of 14 percent. The firm had previously applied a 20 percent discount to arrive at a 65 million unit estimate, but reduced the rate after tracking "widespread reductions in build activity" in recent months.
According to the analyst, the "nascent tablet market stands to become big enough to create a ripple effect in the broader tech food chain" in 2011. Total tablet shipments in 2011 will reach just 3 percent and 11 percent of total handset and smartphone units, respectively. However, when compared against desktop and notebook PC units, tablet shipments will reach 32 percent and 21 percent respectively. Thus, "tablets stand to be big enough to have positive (or negative) spillover effects" in the broader market, Moskowitz said.
Moskowitz sees "limited upward pressure" in build activity occurring throughout the summer, adding that any increase will likely come from Apple. Some tablet makers are waiting to "see how the back-to-school reception is," while others are waiting to roll out 4G LTE tablets, he said.
Apple admitted in April that it was experiencing the "mother of all backlogs" with the iPad 2 and had sold every unit it could make last quarter. Production constraints for the iPad 2 have caused Wall Street analysts, including Moskowitz, and research firms to lower their shipment estimates for the year. J.P. Morgan currently estimates Apple will ship 6.75 million iPads in the June quarter


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Soulja Boy flexes his rare Lamborghini phone.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
The rapper took to Twitter where he shared a throwback photo of a rare artifact: a Lamborghini phone. Not many are even privy to the smartphone developed by Lamborghini but Soulja Boy was apparently among the first to get his hands on one of these phones. “I was the 1st rapper with the Lamborghini phone,” wrote Soulja Boy along with a photo of the phone in front of the Torino Lamborghini box.
According to a 2015 article published by The Verge, there were less than 2,000 units made of the 88 Tauri smartphone. The Android phone fetched for upwards of $6000 with extravagant finishes including stitched leather and gold-plated stainless steel.
In related news, Soulja Boy is currently revving up to release his forthcoming album, Draco this summer. He set a release date for July 28th which he said in a recent interview with HNHH will be honored, with or without Virgin Music’s backing.
Peep Soulja Boy’s latest tweet below.


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USA billionaire investor Warren Buffett said on Saturday that the world depends on the U.S. and China for progress, dismissing concerns that the two countries' trade tensions could potentially escalate into a trade war. The billionaire has praised Apple's decision to repurchase its own stock.
Buffett also praised Apple's penchant for developing "extremely sticky" products that were extremely successful with their customers, so much so that that users become strictly attached to gadgets such as iPhones, MacBooks and iPads.
"I'm delighted to see them repurchasing shares", Buffett told Berkshire shareholders at the conglomerate's annual meeting.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Wounded In Gun Attack
Considered the brains behind the PML-N's development agenda, Iqbal previously headed Pakistan's Planning Ministry. The party calls for the aggressive enforcement of Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which can carry the death penalty.
Apple's share price hit a record high after Buffett revealed having boosted Berkshire's already large stake in the Cupertino, California-based company to roughly 240 million shares, now worth some $44 billion (2.95 lakh crores).
"It is an unbelievable company", Buffett said in an interview with CNBC.
At the end of the first quarter of 2018, Berkshire owned $40.7 billion of Apple's shares - up from $28.2 billion at the end of 2017, The New York Times reported.
What Elon Musk Actually Said In The Tesla Earnings Report Conference Call
Although Musk marked both Sacconaghi and Spak as short sellers, the two actually have hold ratings on Tesla's stock capital. Musk told investors during the earnings call that Model Y production wouldn't start until "early 2020" at the earliest.
Even after the Apple investment, Berkshire's holdings of cash and equivalents was $108.6 billion (roughly Rs. 7.25 lakh crores), the company has said.
"We have a lot of common interests, and like any two big economic entities, there are times when there'll be tensions, but it is a win-win situation when the world trades", the investor said. As for the current flow of deals, he said his telephone hadn't been ringing off the hook.
Anthony Martial pursuing Manchester United exit at the end of the season?
Reports have claimed Ed Woodward is a huge admirer of the player and wants him to stay. As well as Juventus , Martial is also attracting interest from closer to home.


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The german antitrust Federal Cartel Office (FCO or Bundeskartellamt in German) has announced that it is expanding its current Amazon investigation regarding possible illegal business practices in Germany.
The FCO investigation will take into consideration a newly reformed German competition law, targeting digital giants. The investigation looks into pricing and instruments applied by Amazon to control marketplace sellers, with practices that could lead to monopoly and disloyal competition.
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The FCO (Bundeskartellamt) has two open investigations into Amazon’s activities in German e-commerce. These are now extended because it wants to include a new law for more effective oversight in e-commerce giants. In July this year, the organization already determined Amazon’s paramount significance for competition across markets. This makes the new law applicable to Amazon.
The FCO will start its Amazon investigation by examining the marketplace’s price control mechanisms. According to FCO Amazon algorithmically controls price settings by partner sellers on the marketplace. This makes it difficult for customers to find product offers from these sellers.
But this is not the first time that the online marketplace is being scrutinized. This past summer, the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK launched an investigation into Amazon in the country, the accusations going in the same line of thought: it's slowly becoming a global monopoly that prevents free market competition.
Also, in December last year, the company was fined by the Italian market authority AGCM as it was abusing its market dominance, again, Amazon was accused of monopolistic practices.
This is not the first time Amazon clashes with EU policymakers and law regulation institutions.
In 2020, the internet titan was investigated by the European Commission under antitrust law, again for monopolistic business practices.
At that time the European Commission informed Amazon of its preliminary view that it has breached EU antitrust rules by distorting competition in online retail markets.
The Commission took issue with Amazon systematically relying on non-public business data of independent sellers who sell on its marketplace, to the benefit of Amazon's own retail business, which directly competes with those third-party sellers.
The Commission also opened a second formal antitrust investigation into the possible preferential treatment of Amazon's own retail offers and those of marketplace sellers that use Amazon's logistics and delivery services.
The then executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said:
“We must ensure that dual role platforms with market power, such as Amazon, do not distort competition. Data on the activity of third-party sellers should not be used to the benefit of Amazon when it acts as a competitor to these sellers. The conditions of competition on the Amazon platform must also be fair. Its rules should not artificially favor Amazon's own retail offers or advantage the offers of retailers using Amazon's logistics and delivery services. With e-commerce booming, and Amazon is the leading e-commerce platform, fair and undistorted access to consumers online is important for all sellers.”
So far, Amazon has not been formally condemned for antitrust or antimonopoly practices in the EU.
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BMW expects a new diesel version to boost sales of the Mini, but that likely will strain capacity at the Oxford, England, plant.
"More than two-thirds of the diesel sales will come on top (of gasoline engine models)," says BMW spokesman Thomas Gubitz.
The Mini diesel goes on sale Saturday, June 14, in Europe. Diesel Minis will not be sold in the United States or Asia, but BMW expects the new engine version to account for up to 10 percent of worldwide Mini sales. Forecasts vary between 10,000 and 20,000 sales in a full year.
After the United Kingdom and United States, the No. 3 and No. 4 markets for the Mini are Germany and Italy. Both are strong diesel markets.
"Now our biggest problem is capacity at Oxford," Gubitz says.
The production site can handle a maximum of 180,000 Minis annually. A third shift was introduced last year. Next summer, the plant likely will start building the Mini Cabriolet. But production by Pininfarina in Italy is being considered.
"There isn't much room for more capacity without a major investment," Gubitz says.
But BMW is reluctant to take that step because it would risk the Mini's profitability in its first life cycle.
"If we added significant investment to the Mini calculation now, it would change the life-cycle profitability equation," Gubitz says. "We would rather produce at the utmost capacity limit than worry whether we can fully utilize the plant."
BMW has turned to Toyota to supply the first diesel engine for the Mini. BMW chose Toyota's engine for packaging and quality reasons. The Mini's diesel engines are built in Japan and then transported to the plant in Oxford, where specific Mini parts are added.
As for more model variations, Gubitz says: "We have a lot more ideas for the Mini than we can realize. But all would mean investment, and that's what we don't want yet. The Cabriolet next summer is the limit for the moment."


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The Financial Times (FT) published a June 9, 2016, editorial titled, “Coping with a world of too much Chinese steel.” (Link) The editorial makes the case correctly that China’s steel overcapacity has spilled onto world markets and is having negative effects on steel makers in the European Union and United States. It appropriately argues against Western governments nationalizing their steel industries or providing “other indefinite state support.”
The editorial errs, however, in suggesting that “the best option is a judicious and limited use of trade remedies against subsidized imports.” Economists have understood for decades that when a nation imposes trade restrictions, it always reduces its own economic welfare. It is difficult to argue that imposing a policy measure that reduces a nation’s economic welfare is a good thing to do. The country would have been better off simply by doing nothing. (“Don’t do something, just stand there!”)
There are two easily understood reasons why imposing trade restrictions won’t help the situation. The first is that the global overcapacity is so great that market prices for commodity grades of steel are low worldwide. If imports of hot-rolled steel from China are limited by newly implemented antidumping or countervailing duty (AD/CVD) measures, relatively low-priced hot-rolled coil could easily be imported instead from countries such as South Korea, Brazil, or Turkey. Curtailing imports from China is likely to provide relatively little relief to domestic steel manufacturers.
The second reason is that restricting imports in an attempt to benefit steel producers will have the effect of increasing costs of production for manufacturers that use steel as an input. These downstream users constitute a much larger segment of the economy. In the United States, for example, data compiled by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) at the Department of Commerce indicate that economic value added by “primary metal manufacturing,” which includes steel, copper, aluminum, magnesium, etc., amounted to about $60 billion in 2014. Downstream manufacturers that utilize steel as an input generated value added of $990 billion, more than 16 times larger. Employment by primary metal manufacturers was 400,000, while downstream manufacturers employed 6.5 million, also 16 times greater. Use of trade remedies against steel imports amounts to an attempt to benefit the few at the expense of the many.
To elaborate, the United States currently imposes some 150 AD or CVD orders against a large number of steel products from a large number of countries. These restrictions have had the effect of making U.S. steel prices relatively high, while in the rest of the world they are relatively low. Still, important portions of the American steel industry have not been sufficiently profitable. United States Steel Corporation, the country’s largest producer, reported a 2015 loss of $1.5 billion. So U.S. prices are somewhat high, but not high enough to cure the industry’s commercial problems.
Prices are high enough, though, to do meaningful damage to manufacturers of value-added products that use steel as an input. Many of those firms have difficulty competing with manufactured goods imported from countries with much lower steel prices. Carrier, for instance, has been criticized by politicians for its decision to move 2100 air conditioner jobs from Indiana to Mexico. It seems likely that the many AD/CVD duties against steel – not to mention restrictions on imports of copper tubing and aluminum extrusions – played a role in that decision. Carrier can escape those policy-imposed costs simply by moving production across the border.
The FT acknowledges that antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) measures “will increase costs for the numerous companies that use steel as an input,” and explains that the EU trade remedy process includes a “community interest” test that balances the potential benefit of import restrictions to steel producers against the likely damage that would be done to steel users. The community interest test helps to explain why the EU has many fewer AD/CVD measures in place than does the United States.
Statutes in the United States contain nothing equivalent to the community interest test. Instead, the law requires the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to consider only the effects of imports on the domestic industry producing the same product. So as long as the ITC determines that domestic industry has been injured, it must vote to impose duties no matter how great the costs will be to users. From experience, I know that this is an economist’s nightmare. But commissioners are sworn to uphold the law, so have little choice.
Thus, a suggestion by FT that trade remedies offer a reasonable way to counter China’s excesses seems to be much more a political response than one grounded firmly in economic realities. The policy analysis becomes clearer if we begin by recognizing that China’s decisions to export subsidized steel have the effect of transferring a substantial amount of wealth from that country to the importers. What’s not to like about being on the receiving end of a wealth transfer? Yes, there are adjustment challenges for firms producing basic grades of steel in importing countries. Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) exists to help address those problems in the United States. If policymakers conclude that more assistance is needed, they should take care to avoid measures that damage the broader economy.
The better policy approach would be for the European Union and United States to get the attention of Chinese leaders by reframing the debate and delivering this message:
“Thank you for transferring so much wealth from China to Western countries by selling low priced steel. It’s helping to keep our large manufacturing sectors globally competitive. Please keep doing it.”
This approach has a decent prospect for encouraging Chinese leaders to deal with the root cause of global overcapacity by downsizing and restructuring their steel industry.
And, after engaging creatively with the Chinese, U.S. officials should follow up by reforming AD/CVD laws so that import restrictions could be imposed only when economic analysis shows that benefits would outweigh the costs. It makes no sense to respond to economic harm caused by low steel prices by imposing policies that do even more damage to the U.S. economy.


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Smart Contracts: Smart Enough for the Music Biz? Spotify Links Up w/ Google Maps
Are Smart Contracts Smart Enough For The Music Industry?
Smart contracts promise to automate music rights management and cut down on legal disputes between artists, record labels, and others. But the complexity of the industry is a big challenge for adoption.
Spotify Launches Integration With Google Maps — www.billboard.com
Spotify announced on Monday (Oct. 1) that it will be integrating with Google Maps to provide music listeners as they go along their journeys.
Fan Powered Music has launched a free fan driven streaming service and gaming hub with a catalog of 6000+ tracks from independent musicians. The mix of music and games offers a unique way for artists to communicate with and engage fans.
Founded in 2008 in San Francisco, Airbnb has gone from three air mattresses and broke roommates to a company valued at more than $30 billion. Having changed the way people travel, which led to a massive revolution in the hospitality industry, Airbnb is now trying to make its move to enter the live music space.
How Does Spotify Know You So Well? — medium.com
This Monday — just like every Monday before it — over 100 million Spotify users found a fresh new playlist waiting for them called Discover Weekly. It’s a custom mixtape of 30 songs they’ve never…
Every week the Independent Music Podcast releases a show promoting adventurous independent music from almost every genre conceivable.
Originally written in the Napster era, Welch’s song has been embraced this year by a new generation of artists including Father John Misty, Courtney Barnett and Phoebe Bridgers.
Bittorrent Traffic Suddenly Rising In Traffic Share Thanks To Streaming Fragmentation — www.hypebot.com
For a long time it looked as though the popularity of legal streaming services would be able to curb online piracy, but as streaming offerings continue to diversify, and more of the services continue to release their own original programming, the a la carte option of Bittorrent has seen a…
TuneCore has named Neil Bhayas Vice President of Technology. He joins from Viacom, where he served as Vice President of Technology. Bhay will focus on expanding technology solutions for TuneCore artists.
What Can Blockchain Do For Music? — medium.com
This is the current reality for the creatives who are looking to make a living with music: it is extremely difficult to make even a modest living in the industry. Every time when someone presses the…


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Snowmass history: Hungry for glory
“Deli Doo” ski race featured snacks at the gates and a pie in the face
“Another new Wintersköl event was the Deli Doo, a race between Garfunkel’s Delicatessen and the Snowmass Village Delicatessen,” the Aspen Illustrated News recapped in January 1968.
“The two teams ran four heads. Garfunkel’s won the first and last heats, Village Deli won second and third. The owner of the Delicatessen whose team lost won a pie in the face. Sid Wheeler and Jim Metcalf, owners, simultaneously (pied) each other’s face(s). The course consisted of five gates. At the first gate the racers ate a pickle, at the second a hot pastrami sandwich, at the third a cheese cake, at the fourth a half pint of sauerkraut and at the finish a piece of chocolate cream cake. The two owners raced in the last heat for a real photo finish.”
Snowmass Village retailers combined to generate $2.2 million in revenue in July, which translated to $247,891 in sales tax collections for the town’s general fund, according to the latest tax report available.


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About 200 jobs could be created at a Shropshire engineering firm after it won a £15m contract to supply car parts to Jaguar Land Rover.
Stadco said the jobs would be at its factories in Shrewsbury and Telford which would have new assembly lines and machines installed.
It said its total workforce at sites in Shropshire, Powys in Mid Wales and Castle Bromwich would be 1,100 by 2016.
Shropshire Council described it as a “massive boost” for the local economy.
Leader Keith Barrow said: “It is a huge vote of confidence in the Shropshire workforce and will increase the number of highly skilled and high tech jobs locally.”
Stadco makes panels for vehicles built by Jaguar, Land Rover, Ford, General Motors and BMW. This represents a great move towards creating more car parts in the UK – including enhancing our capacity to manufacture for current and future models.


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The Windows Phone platform currently has hardware specifications that imply a cellular phone device. What is interesting in light of the new WebOS TouchPad, the newly announced Android tablets, the RIM Playbook and the iPad is that this supposed “third horse” of Windows Phone has no hint of present or future presence in the tablet form factor.
That might have something to do with the plans to move Windows to the tablet form factor. Perhaps Microsoft thinks that pocket size devices deserve a separate operating system, platform and ecosystem than portable mobile computers. Perhaps Microsoft plans to have two separate interfaces for these tablets (slates vs. tablets?) Then again, Ballmer held up a Windows Phone and said “This is Windows too.”
It gets confusing.
The bottom line is that without a tablet implementation, Windows Phone developers and content providers will find that the WP ecosystem will have a limited addressable market and will not be suitable for all forms of media or apps. Tablets are currently expected to grow even more rapidly than smartphones did and so there will be significant numerical advantages to those platforms that support multiple screen sizes and form factors.
Now that Nokia has anointed the Windows Phone platform as its exclusive conveyance to the device market, the question in the headline becomes: Where is the Nokia tablet?


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Car manufacturers are currently trying to develop ways of making it easier for car owners to upgrade their cars as they keep on catching up with the latest technology. Before changing a tire, m14x1.5 lug nuts should be taken into consideration.
This has led to creating a new concept known as ‘plug and play’. This method makes it possible for car owners to upgrade their cars easily. New car models are expected to come up in the next few years to adhere to this concept.
The basic idea is to install extra hardware onto the car’s mainframe. This would be able to communicate with a user’s smartphone device.
Below are some of the expected 2022 car upgrades that you should know about:
Collision avoidance system
Car manufacturers are currently trying to come up with ways of reducing the rate at which fatal car accidents occur. While some of this has been due to human error, most of it is blamed on driver distractions.
Most car manufacturers are now focused on improving the collision avoidance system. It would involve installing new hardware to enable drivers to avoid an impending collision.
Some of the hardware that would be used in this upgrade include forward-facing cameras and sensors. It is similar to the Lidar technology that Google uses on some cars.
Most car manufacturers are now offering inbuilt navigation systems. This aims to make it easier for drivers to find the shortest route to their destination without smartphone or tablet devices.
A rise in popularity is projected as more automobile owners embrace connectivity features. With this system, drivers will benefit from enhanced voice control and navigation.
This may be similar to the head-up display technology used in modern cars. However, this upgrade is expected to allow drivers to display different functions on their screens. This may include using a smartphone, information from the car’s navigation system or even a rearview camera.
Most car manufacturers are expected to come up with self-driving technology by 2022. This technology will allow the car to operate independently without human input.
This is expected to be a significant upgrade since drivers will have their hands free, especially while driving in traffic. It would also promote increased safety on our roads.
The biggest challenge with self-driving technology is the high rate of driver distraction. If drivers cannot keep their hands on the wheel, they may get bored and use their smartphones.
This is one of the key reasons why most car manufacturers are expected to develop hands-free control for their steering wheels. This way, drivers can easily navigate traffic without concentrating too much on the road.
Driverless parking technology
This is another feature that will make it easier for drivers to operate their cars. In addition, most car manufacturers are expected to develop driverless parking technology by 2022.
This technology will allow drivers to park independently without using the pedals or any other form of manual operation. This will reduce the chances of accidents usually recorded in parking lots.
The world is moving towards a computerized world where everything is automated. For example, car manufacturers are now looking for ways of integrating virtual assistants into their cars to complete simple tasks without using the computer in the office.
These assistants will be able to schedule meetings, make calls and even read emails on behalf of their users. Btw, you don’t need any virtual assistant with choosing the right roads. Use this app Uproad to pay for toll fees. Save a lot of time and money.
This is a famous 2022 upgrade that you should consider for your car. It’s currently being tested by major companies such as Volkswagen, Audi, GM and BMW. This technology allows for the transfer of power using wireless charging.
It’s important to consider that the technology is not yet perfected, which means that it will be pretty expensive when it comes into the market. However, it’s expected that this feature will charge electric vehicles up to 85%.
There will be plenty of car upgrades in the coming years. Some of these will include safety features, while others will allow drivers to have a hands-free experience. These upgrades are expected to make driving more fun and less stressful.


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Seja a primeira pessoa a gostar disto
Over 1.4 million Chinese tourists visited Australia last year, spending on average $8000 a visit. Myer saw this as an opportunity to generate a new revenue stream, and partnered with ThoughtWorks to identify new ways to connect with this previously untapped segment.
In January 2017, following five weeks of rapid development, Myer launched a digital engagement platform on top of WeChat, aiming to attract Chinese customers to shop in-store, just in time for Chinese New Year.
Pete shared the story behind this innovative new platform as well as the results of the pilot at the 2017 Online Retailer Conference in Sydney.
Access the full story here https://www.thoughtworks.com/clients/myer


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- Subscribe NowLimited Time Offer
LinkedIn finally confirms $90M Pulse acquisition
LinkedIn confirmed on Thursday that it has acquired the Pulse news reader, nearly a month after the deal was rumored to be in the works.
The deal is valued at about $90 million, subject to adjustment, with 90 percent in stock and about 10 percent in cash. It is expected to close during the second quarter of 2013.
The Mountain View professional social media giant said that it expects Pulse, owned by Alphonso Labs, Inc."can be the definitive professional publishing platform – where all professionals come to consume content and where publishers come to share their content."
One of the questions raised when the deal first surfaced last month was how Pulse would fit into LinkedIn's professional focus. It said on Thursday that existing Pulse apps will continue to be supported, but the focus going forward will be "to build future generations of professional content consumption products."
Pulse wrote on a blog announcing the deal,"We’re still working together on the product you love, and will continue to provide an innovative and visual news reading experience. For now, the Pulse apps will remain the same, and our two teams are excited to work together to create cool and useful new offerings."
Pulse was founded in 2010 by Stanford students Akshay Kothari and Ankit Gupta. It now has more than 30 million users who have activated its iOS and Android-based news reader apps in more than 190 countries. It is available in nine languages, and about 40 percent of its users are outside the U.S. There are more than 750 publishers who distribute their content through Pulse.
LinkedIn said the Pulse team will move from their San Francisco location to its Mountain View headquarters.
Click here to read the LinkedIn blog about the deal.
Cromwell Schubarth is the Senior Technology Reporter at the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
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SAN JOSE — Transmeta Corp. said it had begun shipping its TM8800 processor, a product that the company has dubbed “Efficeon 2”.Future enhancements will include 64-bit extensions and virtualization technology, chief technical officer Dave Ditzel said Tuesday.
Transmeta’s 2-GHz TM8800 chip began shipping inside the Sharp PC-MP70G notebook in Japan in September, Ditzel told attendees at the Fall Processor Forum here.
Although Transmeta was once the driver of low-power computing, the majority of PC notebook design wins now include chips from Intel Corp. To counter this, Ditzel said that the company will move aggressively on process technology improvements, designing two generations of parts per process generation. The new Efficeon 2 will be the first on the 90-nm process node, fabricated by Fujitsu Ltd.
Both the TM8800 and the TM8820 a sister part which is housed in a smaller 21-mm by 21-mm package will be manufactured in speeds from 1.0 to over 2.0 GHz, designed to allow the parts to ship inside different thermal envelopes. If the chip consumes less than 7 watts, it can be run without a fan, Ditzel said.
In 2005, Transmeta will disclose its next chip, an unnamed processor with twice the cache, together with a memory bus three times as fast as the current generation and a processor bus four times as fast, Ditzel said. The chip will also include an improved microarchitecture allowing to process more instructions per clock, he said.
Future chips will include 64-bit instruction extensions and virtualization technology, which allows PCs to boot multiple operating systems simultaneously and switch between them on the fly. Intel’s own virtualization technologies are called “Silvervale” and “Vanderpool”, while AMD has named its own technology “Pacifica”.


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Although the market for their ultra-luxury Phantom sedans is razor-thin, additions like the stretched Phantom Extended Wheelbase and the dashing Phantom Drophead CoupÃ© convertible have kept Rolls-Royce in the media.
Rolls-Royce recently announced that it will bring a production version of the EX101, the star of London’s 2006 British International Motor Show, to the market for 2008. Set to be built at the company’s manufacturing plant in Goodwood, England, the elegant four-seat coupÃ© will feature all-aluminum construction and the corporate 6.75-liter, 453hp V-12, which, as Rolls-Royce founder Sir Henry Royce once put it, offers “a bit of fizz.”
“This new model represents an important milestone in the company’s history,” says Ian Robertson, chairman and chief executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “It completes the Phantom family and, judging by the customer reaction to 101EX, we are confident of its success. Our challenge lies in meeting the exceptional levels of customer demand for the Phantom range, and in preparing Goodwood to meet the needs of future new cars.”
Although pricing is yet to be determined, expect the new coupÃ© to fall between the $333,350 Phantom and the circa-$400,000 Phantom Drophead CoupÃ©.
(This post originally appeared in the October 18, 2007, issue of the Hemmings eWeekly Newsletter.)


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'Professional' shop thief gets a suspended three year jail term
A 37-year-old Dublin man who took part in the theft of a large amount of women's clothes in Sligo other items from a store in Carrick-on-Shannon was described as being part of a professional shoplifting gang.
Shane O'Leary of Coburg Place, Seville Place, Dublin 1 admitted three counts of theft when he appeared before Judge Keenan Johnson at Sligo Circuit Court.
O'Leary admitted the theft of several dresses from Oasis, Quayside Shopping Centre on August 9th 2013 to the value of €2,159 and twenty blouses worth €700 from A-Wear, O'Connell Street on October 18th 2013. The third count related to the theft of items valued at €3, 509 from the Sports World Department at Heaton's in Carrick-on-Shannon.
Sergeant Niall Davey said the defendant was identified from CCTV footage and the thefts followed a similar pattern where a woman would enter the shop and organise items into a batch on a rail for the defendant to come in later and put into foiled lined bags and leave with. Some of the items from the Heaton's theft were recovered.
The defendant's home was searched and items unconnected to the charges before the court were found in a pre-fabricated building to the rear and also in his bedroom.
Mr Keith O'Grady BL with Ms Laura Spellman, solicitor (defending) said the defendant's life descended after the death of his father and he ended up with alcohol and drug problems.
Mr O'Grady said the defendant was a qualified mechanic who wanted to set up his own business. The total loss to the shops was just short of €5,000 while the defendant had €300 in court.
"That's a pretty pathetic effort when the case had been adjourned for compensation," interjected Judge Keenan Johnson.
The Judge said the case could only be described as a professional shoplifting gang and the DPP was right to proceed with the matter in the Circuit Court.
"This type of theft is a scourge of legitimate traders who are trying to keep afloat.
"I consider it very disappointing having been adjourned on two occasions for compensation," said Judge Johnson.
He added that it was clear once more the offending had stemmed from the abuse of drugs and alcohol.
A three year sentence was imposed, suspended for five years. O'Leary must also undergo 18 months probation service supervision and submit to regular urine analysis.
#He must also remain drug and alcohol free for five years and repay €5,000 in five yearly instalments of €1,000 each, the first this month.


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The trend was highlighted by Albemarle’s director of fine chemistry services David DeCuir, who told attendees at CPhI this week that drug industry customers once attracted by lower prices in Asia are changing their minds as a result of quality issues and potential interruptions.
“When you save $1.50 somewhere and lose everything by not having a product…people are starting to realize that is not the best option” he said, adding that increasing costs in Asia are also driving customers to seek western suppliers.
Fine chem performance
DeCuir also spoke more widely about Albemarle’s fine chemicals business - which saw sales increase 13 per cent to $208.7m and income grow 17 per cent in the three months to the end of June. He cited Albemarle's line of generic active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) – like ibuprofen – as the key growth driver for the firm in recent times.
This contrasts with the custom synthesis unit - the other division of Albemarle’s fine chemicals business - which, while still showing growth, “has lagged a little” according to DeCuir.
He said this was due in part to the long gestation period of custom synthesis contracts, explaining that customer projects at Phase III are still three years away from commercial sales.
To help counter this and expand Albemarle’s business more generally DeCuir said the firm intends to do more work with ‘virtual pharmas’ that are in need of manufacturing capacity.
He also said Albemarle is open to the idea of growing its pharma business through acquisitions, adding that the firm has come close to making deals on a few occasions
DeCuir explained that although Albemarle had worked hard on the deals “we won’t over pay” adding that “we haven’t found any [acquisition candidates] that our under our limit.”
Albemarle is due to announce its Q3 results next week.


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The arrival of food trucks to New York several years ago was greeted by a City hungry for refined street food, willing to pay higher prices to reward hard-working culinary entrepreneurs. But, what was initially a story of success, as the Mexicue truck can attest, quickly became a nightmare riddled by surging competition, conflicting and arbitrarily enforced regulation, and dwindling profits. As New York has forced food trucks to adapt, the industry evolved, with Mexicue ditching the street vendor model, opening brick and mortar stores, taking in investors like Ruby Tuesday’s Sandy Beall, and keeping the truck as centerpiece of their marketing strategy.
Initially, the food truck business model looked attractive. As Mexicue co-founder Thomas Kelly told Forbes sitting in the top floor of their store on Seventh Avenue, blocks from the Madison Square Garden, the truck was cheaper, offered lower risk, and allowed them to test out their concept without having to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars. While they sunk their life savings into the truck, putting it together cost less than $100,000.
As early adopters, the Mexicue crew, which includes Kelly and CEO David Schillace, saw explosive growth. Their first day, parked in midtown Manhattan surrounded by the skyscrapers that JPMorgan and UBS call their home, the Mexicue truck attracted lines “around the block.” Early on, they were making $2,000 to $3,000 on good days. The happy days of the food truck dream are long gone, though.
The odds were stacked against them. Competition in New York City is ferocious, and the food truck business is no different. Mexicue found itself struggling to find good parking spots, a major factor in food truck success, as other trucks would leave as early as 3:30 in the morning to secure a solid location. The New York Police Department, seeing mobile vendors flood the streets, started aggressively handing out tickets, while regulators began to crack down on the industry.
According to Crain’s, the Department of Health issued 5,100 mobile-food-vending permits, of which 500 belong to food trucks and only about 100 of those to gourmet or high-end trucks. The ratio of hot-dot and ice cream carts to food trucks is 25 to 1, The New York Times Magazine reported last year, and regulations are numerous, conflicting, and arbitrarily enforced. Permits, which are non-transferable, force vendors to shell out up to $15,000 to $20,000 to lease the certificates for two years, allowing predatory permit holders to become junior partners in some cases.
Even worse, a monopolistic group of city commissaries has emerged, which performed forced daily cleaning of trucks and carts, taking on the role of suppliers selling them food, soda, and propane, and occasionally acting as brokers for licenses, creating an estimated $15 million-a-year shady business. “No wonder we have an oversupply of hot dogs and knishes and nowhere near enough waffles and falafels,” wrote the Times’ Adam Davidson.
Exhausted by the hustle, Schillace and Kelly made a U-turn, and in 2011 opened their first brick-and-mortar store. Located on Seventh Avenue between 29th and 30th streets, it complements their previous expansion into catering (which got them through their first winter). Next to the volatile food truck business, running a restaurant appears as a balanced, steady task. Without having to tough it out through inclement weather or ticket-issuing cops, the duo knows what to expect on most days, seeing a steady stream of revenues.
Having built their brand, and following, on the truck, the Mexicue crew is expecting similarly aggressive growth through their stores. They're planning to open a second location in Times Square this Summer and are looking to rake in $3 million a year with $500,000 in profit, according to Crain’s. The plan is to have 8 locations in New York and then grow through the Northeast, with the backing of Ruby Tuesday founder Sandy Beall who owns 25% of the business.
While the truck is no longer a cash cow, it remains integral to their brand and image. A billboard on wheels, the truck still serves food at festivals, corporate events, and even weddings. Yet, Mexicue is entering the crowded space of high-quality quick food, a sort of premium fast food sector, competing with the likes of Chop’t, ‘wichcraft, and others. It remains to be seen whether the brand they built in New York will support the business beyond the city’s borders, and, possibly, across the nation.


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SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the latest online inflation data from the Adobe Digital Price Index (DPI). In March 2022, online prices increased 3.6% year-over-year (YoY) and 0.3% month-over-month (MoM), matching the record YoY high in February 2022. This marks the 22nd consecutive month of YoY inflation online. In March, prices for apparel increased 16.3% YoY (up 0.3% MoM), more than any other category.
Grocery prices continued to surge and rose 9.0% YoY (up 1.4% MoM), a new record. Prices for everyday staples including pet products increased 7.0% YoY (up 1.5% MoM), and personal care items increased 1.4% YoY (up 0.1% MoM). Despite higher prices and supply chain challenges that drove 3.1 billion out-of-stock messages in March, demand for e-commerce remained strong. Consumers spent $83.1 billion (up 7% YoY), a significant increase from $67 billion in February, as the digital economy continued to shift to more personalized customer experiences.
The DPI provides the most comprehensive view into how much consumers pay for goods online. Powered by Adobe Analytics, it analyzes one trillion visits to retail sites and over 100 million SKUs across 18 product categories: electronics, apparel, appliances, books, toys, computers, groceries, furniture/bedding, tools/home improvement, home/garden, pet products, jewelry, medical equipment/supplies, sporting goods, personal care products, flowers/related gifts, non-prescription drug and office supplies.
“Consumers are feeling a greater hit to their pocketbooks, with consistently high levels of online inflation in categories such as groceries and pet products,” said Patrick Brown, vice president of growth marketing and insights, Adobe. “But while e-commerce prices have risen more than years past, durable demand shows that consumers are embracing more personalized experiences in the digital economy as well as the conveniences of online shopping, particularly for growing categories like groceries.”
Over the last 12 months, apparel has consistently outpaced the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which captures prices that consumers pay for goods offline. In February, apparel prices rose 11.0% in the DPI, compared to 3.1% in the CPI (indexed to 2014). Non-prescription drugs followed a similar trend, with the DPI up 7.9% and the CPI down 1.2% in February. For everyday staples like groceries and pet products, online prices now move in tandem with the CPI.
In March, 14 of the 18 categories tracked by the DPI saw YoY price increases, with apparel rising the most. Price drops were observed in four categories: electronics, jewelry, toys and computers.
On a MoM basis, 12 of the 18 categories saw March price increases, with price drops observed in categories including electronics, books, toys, flowers/related gifts, computers and sporting goods.
Notable Categories in the Adobe Digital Price Index for March:
- Apparel: Prices were up 16.3% YoY (up 0.3% MoM), with the category now seeing a full year of online inflation. In this time period, apparel prices online also outpaced the CPI. This reverses the longstanding pattern for the category, where seasonal discounts created predictable peaks and valleys in online prices.
- Groceries: Prices were up 9.0% YoY (up 1.4% MoM), the highest increase for the category on an annual basis. Grocery prices online have been surging, up from a 7.6% YoY increase in February and 5.8% YoY increase in January. In May 2021, prices were up by just 0.4% YoY. March now marks the 26th consecutive month where online prices have risen for groceries, and it is the only category to move in lockstep with the CPI on a long-term basis.
- Pet Products: Online inflation is accelerating for the category as prices rose 7.0% YoY (up 1.5% MoM). It follows a 5.6% YoY increase in February and 4.7% YoY increase in January. Prices for pet products have risen for nearly two years (23 consecutive months), following the rise in demand as more consumers brought pets into their homes. During the last holiday season (2021), online sales for pet products were up by 63% versus pre-season levels.
- Personal Care Products: Prices were up 1.4% YoY (up 0.1% MoM), marking the fourth consecutive month of online inflation after prices decreased 0.9% YoY in November 2021. Prior to the pandemic (before March 2020), online price increases were unusual for the category, with only two months seeing YoY online inflation over 1% (November 2017 up 2.4% YoY and December 2017 up 1.2% YoY).
- Tools and Home Improvement: Prices were up 8.5% YoY (up 1.1% MoM), the highest increase for the category on an annual basis. In February, prices were up 7.8% YoY. March also marks the 16th consecutive month of YoY inflation for the category, as consumers continue to invest in the upkeep and maintenance of their homes.
The DPI is modeled after the Consumer Price Index (CPI), published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and uses the Fisher Price Index to track online prices. The Fisher Price Index uses quantities of matched products purchased in the current period (month) and a previous period (previous month) to calculate the price changes by category. Adobe’s analysis is weighted by the real quantities of the products purchased in the two adjacent months.
Adobe uses a combination of Adobe Sensei, Adobe’s AI and machine learning framework, and manual effort to segment the products into the categories defined by the CPI manual. The methodology was first developed alongside renowned economists Austan Goolsbee and Pete Klenow.
Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.
© 2022 Adobe. All rights reserved. Adobe and the Adobe logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.


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01/4Link between coffee and cancer
Attention coffee lovers, your regular cup of coffee can shield you against cancer! Yes, you read that right. If you are a regular coffee drinker and can’t do without your usual cuppa during the day, then here is some good news for you. Apart from the long list of benefits that coffee offers, a new study now claims that those who regularly consume coffee might have a lower risk of developing endometrial cancer. Read on to know the details about the study and how a cup of coffee a day might protect you from a number of other health issues. (image credits- istock)
02/4Details of the study
A new study has found that higher coffee consumption is linked to a lower risk of endometrial cancer. Along with that, caffeinated coffee may provide better protection than decaffeinated coffee. The research has been published in the 'Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research'. The analysis included 24 studies on coffee intake with 9,833 new cases of endometrial cancer occurring in 699,234 individuals.
03/4Results of the study
People in the highest category of coffee intake had a 29 per cent lower relative risk of developing endometrial cancer than those in the lowest category. The authors of the analysis highlighted several mechanisms that have been associated with the potential anti-cancer effects of coffee.
"Further studies with large sample size are needed... to obtain more information regarding the benefits of coffee drinking in relation to the risk of endometrial cancer," they wrote.
04/4Other benefits of coffee
Coffee gives your body an instant dose of caffeine and fills it up with energy. This is the reason why many people opt for it in the morning to fuel up a sluggish day, while many people need their cup of coffee at night to stay awake for studies or night shift.
Black coffee, which is made without using milk or sugar contains zero calories is often consumed as a pre-workout drink and is said to aid weight loss.
The long list of coffee benefits includes a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, reduced risk of stroke and even a decreased risk of Parkinson’s disease by 25%.
With inputs from ANI
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Update 1 (1/18/19 @ 5:00PM CT): The KDZ file is now available for anyone with
Even the fiercest LG brand loyalists can’t deny that software updates are not the company’s forte.
IFA is one of the biggest events in the mobile world every year. We always
LG has been struggling for the last few years to even make a single dollar
When Android Nougat released, it had us talking about all kinds of new features. We
When you buy a high-end flagship smartphone these days you kind of expect it to
The LG V35 ThinQ has popped up on our radar a few times in the
LG recently took the stage to unveil their latest flagship phone, the LG G7 ThinQ.


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BEIJING Jan. 18, 2011 China Beijing, China
Designed with 40nm CMOS silicon technology, the SC8800G achieves groundbreaking levels of performance and integration while simultaneously reducing power consumption, lowering overall costs and meeting the need for next generation communication experience. Spreadtrum SC8800G enables TD-HSUPA, TD-SCDMA, GSM, GPRS and EDGE operation and supports TD-HSDPA at 2.8Mbps, TD-HSUPA at 2.2Mbps. This product will enable the price of TD-SCDMA mobile terminals to be close to that of 2.5G products. At the same time, it will offer a reliable platform for various 3G services and will play an integral role in driving the development of TD-SCDMA, TD-LTE and 4G technology. The TD-HSPA/TD-SCDMA multi-mode mobile phones developed based on SC8800G have already passed the network access testing of Telecommunication Bureau of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the market entry testing of China Mobile, meeting all commercial standards.
Leo Li China China China China
Abou t Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. :
Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPRD; "Spreadtrum") is a fabless semiconductor company that develops baseband and RF processor solutions for the wireless communications market. Spreadtrum combines its semiconductor design expertise with its software development capabilities to deliver highly-integrated baseband processors with multimedia functionality and power management. Spreadtrum has developed its solutions based on an open development platform, enabling its customers to develop customized wireless products that are feature-rich to meet their cost and time-to-market requirements.
Safe Harbor Statements :
China China China China May 7, 2010
SOURCE Spreadtrum Communications, Inc.


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an hour ago
Brother Maji yelled Fxck! Blur's double point reward extended to 5/1 "Community boycott"
In the NFT market in February, one of the most eye-catching things was the launch of the NFT market Blur token, and more than 110,000 users received an airdrop of $BLUR, with a total value of about 240 million US dollars, for early participants Created a huge wealth effect. At the same time, Blur is also striking while the iron is hot. After the first wave of airdrops, it was announced that 300 million BLUR tokens will be distributed in the second season of reward activities. The successive activities also triggered investors to airdrop BLUR tokens in the next stage. fanatical pursuit. Further reading: $BLU...
7 hours ago
"$BLUR The new rule is a stupid trick" First, change the rules, and it is expected that the bad rules will make the community very dissatisfied, and it will not help. Second, the currency price continues to decline. Originally, people would have expected that the cost of credits would rise, coupled with some positive benefits, which would be conducive to the continued improvement of the whole. ... twitter.com/i/web/status/16409...
7 hours ago
Element and Bitmain have reached a strategic cooperation on the Pizza Festival event, and will launch NFT of Bitcoin computing rights
Odaily Planet Daily News The aggregated NFT trading market Element and the computing power enterprise Bitmain jointly announced on the official Twitter that the two parties have reached an in-depth strategic cooperation on the Bitmain Pizza Festival and jointly launched the Bitcoin computing power rights NFT. In the future, the two parties will also combine innovation in the Bitcoin computing power service market and NFT technology to jointly promote the NFT equity market. Bitcoin Hashrate Equity NFT is the world's first hashrate equity NFT that Bitmain will release on April 4: Pizza Hashrate NFT. The NFT issued this time is a computing power NFT released in limited quantities to celebrate the Bitcoin Pizza Festival. Mint participants can enjoy a 50% discount to purchase designated computing power by holding NFT. Each NFT is bound to 1000T S19 XP series mining machine computing power for delivery right. Users can trade computing power NFT through the Element market secondary transaction.
8 hours ago
Blur says its April 1 launch of new products has been delayed
Wu said that Blur said that the new product originally planned to be launched on April 1 has been postponed, and the team will take longer to build. As compensation, the bid and list points for the second season will remain double until May 1 day.
10 hours ago
20230329 "Daewoo Investment Channel" 2 must-reads: Arb value and price: the price of 1.2 is tasteless Blur's Points Multiplication Period Extended, Much to Community Disappointment There are also many best airdrop tutorials and anti-witch tutorials. Article directory: 💰1. Comprehensive Ethereum Shapella Moment: Liquid Derivatives Staking Track or Explosion Long push: Thoughts on Binance being sued by the CFTC t.me/BTCdayu999/390103...… twitter.com/i/web/status/16408...
16 hours ago
Dyor, I think that after blur's liquidity is lost, the cash in the order flow will quickly replenish to the primary and secondary markets. Moreover, this round of blur’s wealth-creating effect remains to be seen. If blur will no longer give points to bids and lists in the next season, but to points for successful transactions, it will encourage the trading of Tugou projects, and from the perspective of platform thinking, after daily activities are pulled up, It will be very beneficial to make a deal. I am more optimistic about the NFT market in April. twitter.com/xcl2022/status/164...


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General Motors and Tesla announced a new partnership on Thursday that will give GM electric vehicle owners access to Tesla’s extensive charging network in the Bay Area. The agreement, which goes into effect early next year, will give GM owners access to about 12,000 Tesla chargers in the region. This includes both Superchargers, which can charge a vehicle to 80% in about 15 minutes, and Destination Chargers, which are typically slower but more convenient for overnight charging.
The agreement is a major win for GM, which has been criticized for its slow rollout of charging infrastructure. The company has said it plans to have 2,700 public charging stations in place by the end of 2023, but that still falls short of Tesla’s network of over 25,000 chargers worldwide.
The agreement is also a sign that Tesla is open to working with other automakers to expand the reach of its charging network. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has long said that he wants to make Tesla’s charging technology an open standard, and this agreement is a step in that direction.
The agreement is good news for Bay Area drivers who own electric vehicles. It will give them more options for charging their cars, which will make it easier to switch to an electric vehicle. The Bay Area is one of the most popular markets for electric vehicles in the United States, and the partnership between GM and Tesla will help to make electric vehicles more accessible to residents and visitors to the region.
In addition to the agreement with Tesla, GM is also investing in its own charging infrastructure. The company has said it plans to spend $2 billion on charging infrastructure over the next five years. This includes the construction of new fast-charging stations and the installation of chargers at GM dealerships and other locations.
GM’s investment in charging infrastructure is a sign of the company’s commitment to electric vehicles. The company is betting that electric vehicles will become the mainstream form of transportation in the coming years. By investing in charging infrastructure, GM is helping to make that future a reality.


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Soon using that word will cost you money. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte has filed an application to trademark his catchphrase, “Jeah!” The 11-time Olympic medalist will then have the exclusive right to print his favorite word on everything from swim caps to trading cards.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has received Lochte’s application to trademark “Jeah” for use on a wide variety of products. The listed products include swimming goggles, gift cards, DVDs and calendars.
What does Lochte’s made-up word even mean? According to an interview he gave to the New York Daily News in 2009, Lochte said, “I guess it means… good.”
If you want to start sporting your very own “Jeah!” gear, you don’t have to wait for the trademark application to go through. Lochte is already selling sunglasses on his website featuring the word.
Although he already had six medals before the London 2012 Olympic games, Lochte only became a superstar this summer with his two golds (one of them a win over Michael Phelps), two silvers and a bronze. His celebrity isn’t over yet either — Ryan Lochte has already taped an appearance on “90210” and is rumored to be in talks for “The Bachelor.”


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Instagram is bringing back support for Twitter Card previews that are automatically generated when you share an Instagram post on Twitter.
Nine years since the feature was revoked, Instagram is again rolling out the ability to preview posts that users wish to share on Twitter. The change improves the current setting, letting users preview only the URL text of the post they type as a Tweet.
The feature is now rolling out globally on Android, iOS, and the web.
Twitter also confirmed the change in a Tweet, saying that “if you want to share your latest Instagram post on the Twitter timeline too, you’re in luck. Now when you share a link to an IG post in a Tweet, it’ll show up as a card with a preview of the photo.”
If you want to share your latest Instagram post on the Twitter timeline too, you’re in luck: now when you share a link to an IG post in a Tweet, it’ll show up as a card with a preview of the photo.
Rolling out on Android, iOS, and web.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) November 3, 2021
Instagram’s former CEO, Kevin Systrom, was responsible for making the controversial decision to remove the preview when Instagram was acquired by Facebook (now Meta) back in 2012. Only a few months after the acquisition, Twitter also removed a feature that allowed users to find on Twitter, the people they followed on Instagram.
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- By Robin 'Roblimo' Miller -
On June 12 an article appeared on the PC Advisor Web site under the headline Microsoft murders Linux antivirus product in response to the Redmondites' purchase of Romanian company GeCAD software's antivirus technology. While Linux is impervious to Windows viruses, there's still a market for Linux antivirus products, especially at the corporate level. And plenty of other antivirus companies are eager to replace GeCAD's RAV on servers and desktops. In fact, Central Command, the maker of Vexira Antivirus, sees the GeCAD buyout as an excellent marketing opportunity.
Steven Sundermeier, Central Command product manager, says his company is not only not in danger of being bought by Microsoft, but that "Linux is an increasing part of our business. One of the niches of our business plan is the Linux market."
To help grow that niche, Central Command is offering RAV users who 'upgrade' to their Vexira product between now and September 30 a 25% discount.
Sundermeier says his company's biggest Linux antivirus market is ISPs. Another big market component, naturally, is companies that run Linux or Samba servers with Windows desktops attached to them.
And, he says, "We have a lot of inquiries come in from companies, even Fortune 100 companies, looking to move all their desktops to Linux because of licensing and such -- it's definitely a growing market."
F-Prot, antivirus giants Symantec and McAfee, and many others sell Linux antivirus software. And look! F-Prot (AKA Frisk Software International) has a special deal for RAV customers, too! So does BitDefender! And, no doubt, so do many others.
Fear of Microsoft may drive them all to Linux
Microsoft can pay for all the analysts' studies it wants saying how secure its products are, but the fact is that all the viruses and worms that come into my email box are passed on by Windows users, especially those who run Outlook or Outlook Express. So, naturally, the big money in virus protection software is in Windows products -- plus there's the little fact that Windows is still runs more than 90% of the world's computer desktops.
But now Microsoft is going to have its very own antivirus technology. It's likely that Microsoft's antivirus products will soon dominate the market because they will be the default with Windows, the same way Microsoft Word took over from... what was that program? Wordfectper or something? You know the one I mean. It used to be "the" corporate word processor, but now you hardly hear anything about it.
So while removal of a strong competitor in the Linux antivirus marketplace may give a short-term boost to Central Command and F-Prot and other smaller antivirus vendors, in the long run it may drive the antivirus biggies to jump on Linux in a big way as they find themselves driven out of the Windows antivirus market by Microsoft. Not that Microsoft will intentionally hurt them or anything...
Sundermeier points out that there are at least 100 known Linux viruses in the wild.
While none of the existing ones have made much of an impact, it is possible that one could come along that would do something mean to users' machines that doesn't take root access, like scramble some files in their /home partitions.
And don't forget the huge (and growing) number of Linux and Samba servers and all the Windows clients attached to them. They are going to need virus protection for many years to come, no matter how hard Microsoft works to make its products secure -- and to push its new antivirus products.
Even as commercial Linux antivirus competition heats up, there is that old Linux bugaboo (at least in the eyes of proprietary software vendors) lurking in the shadows: Free Software.
There are certainly others (please post links to any you know about below), and more are likely to start if, as Sundermeier expects, the need for Linux virus protection grows in the future, as Linux inevitably becomes more popular on both corporate and personal desktops.


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Following our recent article on the steak alternatives available in North America, we take a look at the innovative brands disrupting steak in Europe.
Not so long ago, most meat alternatives were limited to minced products such as sausages and burgers. But with technology progressing at an astonishing rate, consumers can now enjoy a range of whole-cut products, making it easier than ever to avoid meat.
Here we give six examples of steak made from plants, currently available on the European market, and one more that is soon to arrive.
In 2018, Dutch brand Vivera became one of the first producers worldwide to launch plant-based steak. The product made its debut at UK supermarket chain Tesco, where 40,000 were sold in a single week. Later that year, the steak launched in the Netherlands and Belgium, and Vivera increased production to 100,000 units per week as it continued to sell out. The company then went on to be acquired by Brazilian meat giant JBS.
Commercial manager Gert Jan Gombert noted that consumers were “almost without exception very enthusiastic about the taste and texture of the steak”.
2. Redefine Meat
Redefine Meat offers hyper-realistic 3D-printed plant-based whole cuts, including steak. While the company is based in Israel, it has arrived in Europe through various food service partnerships, including with Marco Pierre White’s Steakhouse Bar and Grill and other high-end UK restaurants.
3. Juicy Marbles
In 2021, Slovenia-based Juicy Marbles launched what it claimed was the world’s first plant-based filet mignon. It was one of the first steak alternatives to be sold raw and unseasoned, and mimics the muscle texture and marbling of meat. The steaks were initially launched DTC across Europe and the US.
4. Meatless Farm
Last May, UK-based Meatless Farm launched vegan steaks made from pea protein at 125 Sainsbury’s stores nationwide. Later that month, the steaks arrived at online retailer Ocado.
“Our new plant-based steak is our latest step in creating exciting and innovative new products and further diversifying the plant-based market,” said Michael Hunter, Managing Director of Meatless Farm UK and Ireland.
5. Green Go
Green Go is a Ukrainian startup producing plant-based steaks and other meat alternatives. The company recently took part in the ninth cohort of the ProVeg Incubator, and conducted a tasting session at the ProVeg HQ in Berlin earlier this year.
At the demo, GreenGo explained that it had developed a plant-based steak with a meat-like structure, fat marbling, and a similar taste and juiciness to animal meat. The company continues to produce in Ukraine despite the ongoing conflict in the country.
In 2018, Spain’s NovaMeat produced what it claimed was the world’s first 3D-printed plant-based steak. An updated version was unveiled in 2020, and was showcased at the Alt Protein Conference the following year.
NovaMeat’s whole cuts first became available to the public in 2021, when they launched at two-Michelin-starred restaurant Disfrutar. The company secured significant funding last year, and expects to launch via various retail partnerships in 2023.
UK-based Adamo has developed whole cut steaks made entirely from mycelium, the root structure of fungi. A proprietary fermentation process is used to transform the mycelium into large fibrous slabs that resemble meat.
Adamo raised $620,000 in funding last autumn, some of which came from the UK government. The steak will soon be launching at multiple European restaurants.
With so many options available worldwide, and companies developing new innovations that range from 3D printing to mycelium, meat lovers no longer need to choose between sustainability and steak.


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The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G has been officially added to the Google Play Console
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is one of the latest smartphones manufactured by Samsung. But, before the launch of the phone in the global market, the Exynos variant of the smartphone is now officially listed on the Google Play Console. In addition, there is some more specific information about the key specs and its main highlights in the listing.
Furthermore, users who use Samsung smartphones or intend to purchase the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G should read the entire article. Because in this article we will discuss more about the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G officially listed on the Google Play Console, let’s take a look at what the sources reveal.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Exynos Variant Spotted on Google Play Console Listing
Samsung’s upcoming smartphone, named the Galaxy S21 FE 5G, is officially listed on Google Play Console. They have not yet been officially released, but they are still listed on the Google Play Console. Basedlly, a prominent user found this smartphone in the Google Play Console Listed and took a screenshot of it and shared it on his twitter handle.
— Mukul Sharma (@stufflistings) September 11, 2021
According to that particular tweet, we have found several hidden details about the new Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G. Moreover, as per the tweet, the device will feature 8GB of RAM and a processor based on the Exynos 2100. Furthermore, one more thing revealed that the phone will run on Android 11 and may be upgraded to the above version.
Officially we can now expect that you all have accurate content about the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G officially listed on Google Play Console. Let’s take a look at what sources revealed. It is also well-known that what is disclosed information is revealed by the Google Play Console listing. To regulate this, if any user has any queries, share them with us in the comment section down below.
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text: How would you like the battery in your smartphone to last ten times longer? It would be great wouldn’t it? No charging for a whole week, talking for hours safe in the knowledge you still have a few days charge left and still juice left to play Angry Birds every lunch time.It’s the kind of battery life we all dream of, but also think is going to take a major technology breakthrough to achieve. Well, it looks like it has already happened and doesn’t require radical new battery tech after all.Researchers at the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering and College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, have discovered a common plant virus allows for large increases in battery life using existing lithium ion batteries. The virus in question is the Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), which attacks both tobacco and a large range of vegetables.Because TMV is a virus it is very good at self-renewal, and the researchers have used that fact to incorporate it into lithium ion batteries. The small rod shape of the TMV is coated in conductive thin film which then becomes the battery’s active material. Because the structure of TMV is so intricate it’s possible to store a lot more energy in the same space which accounts for the 10-fold increase claims.The news gets better as in order to create such batteries you need infected vegetation which would otherwise be a waste product. The manufacturing process is also cheap to do and not wasteful, with one pound of infected plant leaves producing one pound of TMV. The batteries can also be easily scaled up meaning we could one day see them used in industry and potentially electric cars.Read more at PhysorgMatthew’s OpinionI’ve often wished for a laptop with a 40-hour battery in it, and now I may actually get to use one in a few years when this makes it to market.It sounds too good to be true, especially when you consider it is allowing for the use of an otherwise unwanted waste vegetation product. But this could be the next evolution of the lithium-ion battery we all come to rely on.


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State-run HIL India is looking for joint venture investments from agro-chemical makers in China, South Korea and Japan after the government asked fertiliser and chemical PSUs to convert the current COVID-19 adversity into an opportunity.
Fertiliser and Chemicals Minister D V Sadananda Gowda has advised that "Indian corporates especially PSUs under his ministry should try to convert COVID-19 adversity into an opportunity of attracting investments from abroad."
"Following on the advice, HIL, a CPSU under the department, is looking for expanding its business area and has sent proposals to Indian Embassies/Missions in China, Japan and South Korea for inviting interested agro-chemical manufacturers in respective countries for investment in India," an official statement said.
HIL is looking for business tie up in areas of contract manufacturing or plan-on-lease arrangement, it said.
For smooth running of its Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals has taken initiatives to overcome the hurdles posed by Covid-19 pandemic and has suggested them to strengthen their performance by exploring joint ventures with global enterprises looking for investments.
Despite facing a lot of hurdles due to COVID crisis, the ministry said HIL is ensuring supply of essential chemicals such as DDT in health segments, while seeds and pesticides in agriculture segments in various parts of the country.
The ministry said that production in HIL units has been affected during the lockdown period. However, the company has shown good sales during the last week ended April 24.
HIL sold 37.99 tonnes of agro-chemicals, dispatched 97 tonnes of DDT, executed an export order of 10 tonnes of Mancozeb to Peru, it said.
HIL has also drafted an agreement, which has been shared with the Ministry of Agriculture, for supply of Malathion Technical for Locust Control Programme, it added.