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Scorching Industrial Markets Cool to “Hot”
The Summer/Fall 2017 Allen Matkins/UCLA Anderson Forecast California Commercial Real Estate Survey shows that broad segments of the overall CRE market will be slowing down in the coming years. The report notes though unemployment has dropped and income and spending are increasing, there is an ebbing of market optimism about the future from developers, which should lead to a slowing of development.
Sentiment about the next three years in industrial markets has abated somewhat, but only because this has been the hottest market, and building-gone-wild has prevailed throughout the state. E-commerce will continue to drive a hot market for warehouse space, just not quite as searing hot as before.
Allen Matkins’ John Tipton says, “In the Northern California industrial markets, after a really incredibly strong run, the conditions are softening. People are remaining very optimistic. You’ve just seen such a boom in the supply retailing through the industrial building chain, such as Amazon taking over world, that those markets have really remained very strong.”
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Dennis Kaiser


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Following a weakening of sentiment in December amid the onset of Omicron, consumer sentiment picked up again in January.
- Consumer sentiment indicators continue to be highly sensitive to the rapidly moving developments on the pandemic and the unprecedented economic challenges that have occurred during its initial stages and over the course of the recovery to date.
- The Scottish Consumer Sentiment Indicator returned to positive territory in the second half of 2021 having significantly improved from the series low levels of sentiment in the second half of 2020.
- Following a slight weakening in sentiment in the final quarter of 2021, consumer sentiment strengthened over the month in January with the composite indicator rising 3.9 points to 7.3, its highest level in the monthly time series.,
- The rise in sentiment in January was driven by a broad based rise across the current and expectations indicators. In terms of the current indicators, respondents views of current economic performance had the largest rise (4.3) points and was positive overall while respondents views on security of household finances and attitude to spending improved over the month, but remained negative overall.
- Expectation indicators for economic performance and security of household finances notably improved in January by 9.6 and 4.0 points respectively and remained positive overall meaning that households on balance feel more positive about future economic performance and household finances over the coming year.
- In January 2022, retail sales in Great Britain rose by 1.9%, following a fall of 4.0% in December with the overall volume of sales remaining above its pre-pandemic level in February 2020 (3.6%).
- Non-food stores sales rose by 3.5% over the month driven by an increase in home improvement sales volumes, while food store sales fell by 2.3%. Both were below pre-pandemic levels (-1.1% and -0.8% respectively) with food store sales volumes falling below pre-pandemic levels for the first time and continuing its downward trend from the second half of 2021 as consumers diverted spending to wider hospitality, food and leisure services.
- Online retail sales also fell 4.5% in January and as a proportion of all retail sales, fell to 25.3% (down from 26.6% in December). This was its lowest proportion since March 2020, however remains significantly higher than in February 2020 prior to the pandemic (19.7%).
- Google Mobility data indicates that following a rise in visits to retail and recreation hubs in December, visits fell sharply in January 2022 (30% below pre-pandemic levels) reflecting a combination of the holiday period and Omicron. Movement around retail and recreation hubs have partially picked-up, though remain around 15% below pre-pandemic levels in mid-February.
Household Savings and Consumer Credit
- At an aggregate level, households increased their levels of savings during the pandemic due to a reduction in expenditure coupled with a rise in disposable income through the retention of earnings. This was particularly evident during periods of lockdown in Q2 2020 and Q1 2021 when consumer facing services were largely closed.
- Bank of England data provides insights at an aggregate level of how savings and consumer credit flows have evolved over the year as restrictions have been removed and economic activity recovery has progressed.
- In recent months, at an aggregate level, net flows from UK households into deposit-like accounts has returned to a broadly similar position as they were prior to the pandemic. In December 2021, net inflows were £3.2 billion over the month, significantly lower than the monthly average in the year to November 2021 (£10.6 billion) and was lower than pre-pandemic flows which averaged £5.5 billion in the year to February 2020.
- Alongside this, net consumer credit fell significantly during the pandemic, however started to grow again over the course of 2021. In December, consumers net borrowing was £0.8 billion, reflecting £0.4 billion in credit card debt and £0.4 billion of 'other' forms of consumer credit (such as card dealership finance and personal loans).
- Monthly net borrowing remains lower than in 2019 prior to the pandemic, however the annual growth rate for consumer credit increased to 1.4% in December (up from 0.8% in November).
- UK CPI inflation rose to 5.5% in January 2022, up from 5.4% in December and has risen to its highest rate since the 1990s, presenting increased cost of living challenges. Inflation rates have also continued to rise in the US (7.5%) and in the Eurozone (5.1%), in part reflecting rising energy prices over the past year.
- In the UK, the consumer price index has risen over the year across almost all goods and services monitored, most notably in electricity and fuel prices (+23%), transport (+11%), and household goods (+8%), but also in key categories such as clothing (+6.1%) and food (+4.5%).
- Further price rises are expected, with the Bank of England forecasting inflation to peak at around 7.25% in the first half of 2022 and to remain high at more than 5% over 2022, intensifying the cost of living challenges.
- Alongside the rise in energy prices, wider drivers of inflation such as the feed through from producer price inflation (changes in the prices of goods bought and sold by UK manufacturers, including price indices of materials and fuels purchased and factory gate prices) also remained elevated in January. Input price inflation was 13.6% in January (down from 13.8% in December) while output price inflation was 9.9% (up from 9.3% in December).
- In response to the further rise in underlying inflationary pressures, the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) increased the Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points to 0.50% in February, having previously raised it by 0.15 percentage points in December 2021.
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Meal kits, with fresh, pre-portioned ingredients for consumers to create a healthy home-cooked meal, are increasingly popular in Australia, according to a recent Nielsen report.
These easy-to-use/easy-to-prepare boxes offer the perfect sweet spot between convenience and gratification. Meal kits have been gaining traction in the U.S. for the past few years, expanding in size three times faster than any other channel.
Here in Australia, meal kits are estimated to be worth over $300 million in annual sales and growing at a rate of 40 per cent compared to 2018.
For brands and retailers, Australia’s meal kit shoppers are an attractive consumer group. These shoppers are big spenders, with the majority having among the highest monthly expenditure on food and drinks in the country; and they spend just over one-fifth of their overall monthly food and beverage spend on ready meals/meal kits.
Understanding who’s buying meal kits and what influences their purchasing decisions is crucial to reaching these shoppers and further growing this market.
Opportunities are in store
In the U.S., meal kits started as a mostly web-exclusive offering. However, the market has now grown into a multi-billion dollar industry, with approximately three-in-10 shoppers purchasing their meal kits in-store.
According to the latest Nielsen U.S. data, 187 new meal kit items were introduced at bricks and mortar retail outlets during the 52 weeks ending 29 December 2018.
In-store offerings bring shoppers a new way of buying meal kits, while also giving retailers another opportunity to drive foot traffic and increase shoppers’ overall spend.
In Australia, half of the growth of meal kits comes from bricks and mortar supermarkets, supermarket online sales and discounters. Meanwhile, online sales of meal kits already represents 9 per cent of total food and grocery online sales.
So who’s buying meal kits? Meal kits are most popular among young families and young millennials, who see them as a healthy alternative for out-of-home meals. These consumers are generally time-poor, but health-conscious. There is, however, still plenty of scope to grow the category further by enticing new consumers to purchase these pre-packaged meals.
While meal kits sales are quickly rising, only 6 per cent of Australian households have purchased a meal kit in the last year. For continued growth, retailers need to dial up the key enablers for purchasing, while working to eliminate any purchase barriers.
More than one-in-two shoppers say that price is a barrier for purchase, but with lower-cost options like Dinnerly (under $8 per portion) now in-market, this will likely change. For those who don’t purchase meal kits online because they prefer the in-store shopping experience, retailers should look to optimise the way meal kits are merchandised. This can include where the meal kits section is in the store, what products are ranged alongside meal kits and offering choices that are both convenient and inspirational.
For people who dislike the extra charges associated with purchasing meal kits (such as delivery and handling), retailers have an opportunity to take advantage of this with their in-store meal kit offering. To address consumer concerns regarding the freshness of the products, retailers could consider different ways to highlight the freshness or the time of packing.
Reducing the risk of entry
In the U.S., meal kit distribution is spreading across multiple channels and traditional retailers are reducing their risk by partnering with grocery brands when developing their meal kit offerings.
We’re already seeing collaborations like this in Australia, with Coles partnering with Uber eats and the Woolworths investing over $30 million in Marley Spoon.
In addition to these types of partnerships, Coles and Woolworths have started using pre-cut meats and pre-measured portions of rice, noodles, vegetables and sauces in the supermarket fresh section. In essence, this gives shoppers the option to make their own meal kits in-store, while reducing their food waste.
Meal kits are also an opportunity for manufacturers to collaborate with meal kit providers, like in the case of Perkii Kombucha and HelloFresh. This means that meal kit providers can also become a platform for brands to trial their new product launches.
It’s clear that shoppers are showing a continued interest in meal kits, especially in their ability to deliver fast and fresh meal options. One thing is for sure – meal kits pose a large opportunity to expand in-store spending by thinking outside the box.
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Verizon Media’s talent program has come to an end for the third year, closing with a hybrid pitch-off event for Musicians Making A Difference (MMAD). The Verizon Media Academy class of 2021, made up of 44 emerging leaders from across Australia and New Zealand media, advertising and marketing industry, were given just one hour to […]
Social purpose organisation UnLtd’s Big Games competition has raised a combined $85,000 for children and young people at risk. Running over five weeks, the competition involved 32 teams from across the advertising, marketing and media industries battling it out virtually for a chance to qualify for the Rocket League final. The tournament culminated in a […]
Stan has announced that the Stan Original Film Transfusion commenced filming in Sydney earlier this week and will premiere on Stan in 2022. Transfusion is a taut, muscular thriller starring Sam Worthington (Avatar) as Ryan Logan, a former Special Forces operative, who is battling to cope with life after the loss of his wife and is thrust […]
According to a decade of data collected by iStock, Australian brands turned to imagery depicting outdated gender stereotypes during the pandemic. Tracking the keyword ‘women’, iStock by Getty Images found that in 2020, ANZ brands and businesses reverted to gender stereotypes. Images of mothers home-schooling were used at almost twice the rate of images of […]
Schwartz Media is congratulating Maddison Connaughton on her three years as editor of The Saturday Paper. Connaughton has decided to finish up her editorship this month. “It’s been an honour to edit the paper,” Connaughton said. “The Saturday Paper is one of the brightest voices in Australian media and I have been happy to see […]
Research from EdBbirdie using Spotify data has identified the most popular songs to study to. After analysing thousands of studying and homework playlists on Spotify, American singer Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘drivers license’ came out as top song to study to. It featured on 48 study playlists, while other top songs included ‘Ophelia’ by The Lumineers, ‘Falling’ […]
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CHARLOTTE — An auction of the late Rick Siskey’s wine collection brought in gross proceeds of $1.45 million, producing more funds that can benefit investors harmed by the Charlotte businessman’s alleged investment fraud.
More than 4,000 bottles were on the block Friday and Saturday in Hillsborough, making it potentially the largest single-owner wine collection ever put up for bid in a Southeastern or Mid-Atlantic state.
Siskey, 58, took his own life in December, days after court filings gave the first public indication that he was under investigation for fraud. An FBI affidavit unsealed in January alleged he was operating a Ponzi scheme for years, costing investors millions.
Proceeds from the wine auction, as well as an earlier estate auction, will benefit investors and creditors, attorneys have said. Siskey’s widow, Diane, has also pledged proceeds from life insurance and the sale of the couple’s SouthPark mansion, although claims against her could slow the process.
A court-appointed-bankruptcy trustee is currently sifting through investor and creditor claims.
The auction, co-hosted by Leland Little Auctions and Iron Horse Auction Co., drew bidders in person, online and by phone. Among the higher-priced items sold over the two days was a case of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, 1982 vintage, for $27,500.
Other purchases of note, according to Mark Solomon, the fine wine auction director at Leland Little Auctions:
* One bottle of Romanee Conti, 2005 vintage, for $13,000.
* Three bottles of Screaming Eagle, 1995 vintage, for $7,750.
* Six bottles of Chateau Haut Brion, 1989 vintage, for $7,500.


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Celebrating and supporting the fast-growing MENA games industry in association with Jordan Gaming Lab and the King Abdullah II Fund for Development
The MENA region is an increasingly exciting and important part of the $160 billion global games industry. The domestic market is the fastest growing in the world, increasing 14.5% in value over the last year to $5.4 billion and with 377 million estimated players, it now has almost as many gamers as the whole of Europe (386 million) and far more than America (210m). Unsurprisingly, there’s been a surge in local development talent too and few spots are more exciting than Jordan. Thanks to the multi-year support of the King Abdullah II Fund for Development including initiatives like the Jordan Gaming Lab, the country already boasts a number of success stories like Babil Games, Tamatem, Maysalward and Play 3arabi as well as a wealth of developers.
From PG Connects Jordan to PG Connects Digital #4
In the last few years, Steel Media have attempted to add our support to the region too, speaking at the long-running Jordan Gaming Summit as well as hosting our Big Indie Pitch. Last year we took things a step further, with the launch of the incredibly successful Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan event and had every ambition.
Unfortunately, the global pandemic has disrupted plans for that physical event this year, but whilst we’re not able to travel out to Amman, we are going to be celebrating and supporting the creativity and potential in this amazing region with some dedicated segments of Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #4.
Game Development 101 in association with King Abdullah II Fund for Development and the Jordan Gaming Lab
Game Development 101 is a dedicated side-event taking place on Friday (from 09:00 to 18:00 GMT), designed to provide education and information to the current and next generation of game developers in Jordan and beyond. The event will cover all the key areas needed to get started and succeed in the games industry, from funding and company setup through the fundamentals of Game Design and Publishing through to Game Economy, Live Ops and Community Management. The talks will be broadcast via Zoom and can be watched live (ideal for asking questions and interacting) or streamed later. Jordanian developers will also have full access to the full PG Connects Digital #4 event, so they can watch the content live (or recorded sessions after), connect with potential partners via the MeetToMatch meeting system and take part in fringe events.
Marvelous MENA track in association with Play 3arabi
As well as supporting the next generation of game developers, Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #4 will also be celebrating the success stories and potential of the MENA market so far in our Marvelous MENA track on Monday 9th (from 09:00 to 13:00 GMT). Hear from sponsors Play 3arabi, established global businesses such as Ubisoft and upcoming players such as Sakura Games, FRAG Games and Lahza Games.
More to come…
Hopefully we’ll be meeting face-to-face and see you back in Amman next November as PGC Jordan aims to return in 2021 to celebrate even greater success of the MENA market.


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A few days ago we posted about the upcoming Halloween Tsum Tsums that are being released this Fall. We now have a detailed look at the Tsum Tsums that are being released at Disney Store Japan. There looks to be 11 Tsum Tsums that will be released including the 4 that are a part of the Halloween Bag Set. No word yet if any of the bag set Tsum Tsums will be released individually. Below is a look at the Halloween Tsum Tsums and as always stay tuned for more information.
I want these in the Disney Stores in the United States!!!
Is there any chance that these guys will be sold in the US? I would love to buy some but don’t know how.. :l


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Retailing giant Staples Canada nailed its recycling targets last year, collecting tonnes of toner cartridges and old batteries.
The office supplies retailer, which has four outlets in London, beat its goals in 2013 by collecting 93,274 kg of batteries, almost double the 2012 total and three million ink and toner cartridges, a half million more than the previous year.
Schools across the country helped by signing up for free ink cartridge collection bins.
Staples Canada also beat its target for collecting electronic devices, pens, pencils and markers.
The chain carries 3,400 sustainable products, including paper made from recycled material or alternative fibres such as wheat straw and sugar cane, which accounted for more than half the paper sales in 2013.
Overall energy consumption by the chain also was down 2.2% last year.


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Tickets for The Speed You Need, the launch of the OnePlus 6, have sold out in less than 9 hours. Over 1,000 tickets were sold in record time for the London event, which only went on sale this morning.
Carl Pei, co-founder, OnePlus, commented, “OnePlus has always worked hand-in-hand with its Community and their response to The Speed You Need has been nothing short of amazing – I’d like to thank our Community for their incredible passion. We can’t wait to see people’s reactions to the OnePlus 6.”
In the last four years, OnePlus has been built and shaped by its Community, which is why The Speed You Need is the biggest Community event to date. Tickets have been bought from as far away as the USA, Canada and Hong Kong, as well as hundreds from all across Europe.
People around the world who weren’t able to snap-up tickets will be able to tune into the livestream to see the news as it happens. To make sure to not miss out on the most anticipated launch of the year don’t forget to sign-up for the livestream here: http://onepl.us/ea


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Boulevard, a spa management and payment platform, has raised $27 million in a new round of funding despite a business slowdown caused by the COVID0-19 pandemic.
Founded four years ago by Matt Danna and Sean Stavropoulos, Boulevard was inspired by Stavropoulos’ inability to book a haircut and Danna’s hunch that the inability of salons and spas to cater to customers like the busy programmer could be indicative of a bigger problem.
The two spent months pounding the pavement in Los Angeles pretending to be college students doing research on the industry. They spoke with salon owners in Beverly Hills, Hollywood and other trendy neighborhoods trying to get a sense of where software and services were falling short.
Through those months of interviews the two developed the booking management and payment platform that would become Boulevard. The inspiration was one part Shopify and one part ServiceTitan, Danna said.
The idea was that Boulevard could build a pretty large business catering to the needs of a niche industry that hadn’t traditionally been exposed to a purpose-built toolkit for its vertical.
Investors including Index Ventures, Toba Capital, VMG Partners, Bonfire Ventures, Ludlow Ventures and BoxGroup agreed.
That could be because of the size of the industry. There is more than $250 billion spent per year across roughly 3 million businesses in the salon and spa category, according to data provided by the company. By comparison, fitness attracts roughly $34 billion in annual spending from 150,000 businesses.
“With limited access to the professionals that help us look and feel our best, I think the world has realized something that our team has always recognized: Salons and spas are more than a luxury, they are essential to our well-being,” said Danna, in a statement. “We are humbled that so many businesses are placing their trust in us during such a turbulent time. This new capital will help accelerate our mission and deliver value to salons and spas that they never imagined was possible from technology.”
According to data provided by the company, Boulevard is definitely giving businesses a boost. On average, businesses increase bookings by 16%, retail revenue jumps by 18% and gratuity paid out to stylists jumps by 24% for businesses that use Boulevard, the company said. It also reduces no-shows and cancellations, and halves time spent on the phone.
“Boulevard is revitalizing the salon and spa industry, as evidenced by the company’s sustained 300-400% revenue growth over the last three years,” said Damir Becirovic of Index Ventures, whose firm led the company’s Series A round and has doubled down with the new capital infusion.
Customers using the company’s software include: Chris McMillan the Salon, Heyday, MèCHE Salon, Paintbox, Sassoon Salon, SEV Laser, Spoke & Weal and TONI&GUY.
Boulevard now has 90 employees and will look to increase that number as it continues to expand across the country.
Investors have taken a run at the spa market in the past, with company’s like MindBody valued at over $1 billion for its software services. Indeed, that company was taken private two years ago in a $1.9 billion transaction by Vista Equity Partners.
As Boulevard expands, the company may look to get deeper into financial services for the salons and spas that it’s already working with. Given the company’s window into these businesses’ financing, it’s not impossible to imagine a new line of business providing small business loans to these companies.
It’s something that the founders would likely not rule out. And it’s a way to provide more tools to entrepreneurs that often fall outside of the traditional sweet spot for banks and other lenders, Danna said.


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— Steve’s Marketplace —
Editor’s note: Contributing columnist, Steve Nicklas, expresses his views and insight on various topics in Marketplace.
Prices are going up, while consumer/business sentiment is going down. It’s an economic seesaw that nobody wants to ride – but we don’t have a choice. It’s the only ride in town.
If you’ve bought gas in Nassau County, or groceries at your local Publix, the price increases are obvious. You’d have to be wearing a blindfold to miss these inflationary trends. And when the costs of food and energy consume more of your wages, your confidence can get shaken and/or stirred like a martini at the The Decantery.
This is indeed happening. The U.S. inflation numbers are irrefutable. Consumer prices rose by an absurd 5.3 percent in August. This year-over-year increase in the Consumer Price Index is the highest in 13 years. The index measures goods and services, including volatile energy and food costs.
“The indexes for gasoline, household furnishings, food and shelter all rose in August,” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was a bit of an understatement, however.
Not to be overshadowed, consumer sentiment has declined to its lowest level in 10 years. And critical small-business optimism is at eight-year lows. All the while, difficulties in hiring are the worst since the 1970s.
An explosion in the money supply created by federal bureaucrats has complicated the equation, as the U.S. economy rebounds forcefully from the pandemic. It’s like pouring gasoline on a roaring fire. Yes, the economy can overheat – producing flames of inflation. And the flames are difficult to douse.
Cheap, loose money causes other problems. For instance, people won’t work and will instead rely on government subsidies. Thus, you have a labor shortage. We have examples of this locally. In some states, a family can receive close to $100,000 a year by sitting at home.
Meanwhile, the tourism industry on Amelia Island is wheezing like a heavy smoker. And it’s not because of a lack of demand. It’s from an inadequate supply of workers, a shortcoming that appears difficult to address. In turn, labor shortages also drive up costs, through higher wages for instance.
In addition, the costs for local restaurants have ballooned due to inflationary pressures on food. Have you noticed chicken prices, due in part to interruptions at poultry plants from the virus? And prices of beef are already up 14 percent.
It’s so bad that a major grocery chain has waved a warning flag like at a NASCAR racetrack. Kroger has announced that inflation is “running longer than management anticipated” and that prices will steadily increase the rest of this year.
Again, some of the price increase is from a shortage of supply due to virus afflictions. Some is from cybersecurity hacks. The rest is from inflation caused by loose money.
We’ve witnessed runaway inflation in the 1980s, under then-President Jimmy Carter. It’s possible again. Back then, interest rates spiked into the double digits, pushing up borrowing costs and slowing the U.S. economy.
More government spending is on the horizon. To the tune of $3 trillion. Government lawmakers are primarily behind it, but Federal Reserve officials are refilling the punch bowl with regularity.
Fed officials are keeping their foot on the gas pedal by printing an excess supply of money while pushing down interest rates (through bond purchases). This can exacerbate inflationary pressures, which the Fed passes off as “transitory.” Sort of like cracks in an ice-covered lake.
Commodity prices are soaring, from coffee to aluminum. Just look at hard assets like real estate. And oil prices have nearly doubled in eight months as the Biden administration restricts production out of environmental concerns. This reduces supply, pushing up prices. And higher gasoline prices add to transportation costs, which are passed on to retailers – and in turn, to the consumer.
Here’s another ironic twist and turn. How much will vaccine mandates hinder the hiring of retail clerks, restaurant servers, truck drivers, etc. These lines of work provide products and services to the consumer. Obviously, the outlook in these sectors is murky. It’s no wonder consumer sentiment is slipping – like on an ice-covered lake, with cracks already showing.
Steve Nicklas is a financial adviser with a regional brokerage firm who lives and works on Amelia Island. He is also an award-winning columnist. His columns also regularly appear in several weekly newspapers in North Florida, and on his website at SteveNicklasMarketplace.com. He has published a book, “All About Money,” of his favorite columns from the past 20 years. The book is available on Amazon. He can be reached at 904-753-0236 or at [email protected]


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There’s nothing spooky about it: Arizona Charlie’s Decatur and Boulder will feature its "$120,000 Cash O’Lantern III" promotion throughout the month until Oct. 28. Ultimate Rewards Club members will earn tickets for the combined $30,000 weekly drawings for select slot, video poker, table games, race and sports book and bingo play.
There will be weekly drawings held on Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at both properties. The drawings will produce 11 winners at each property. The winners will have a chance to pick one of 11 pumpkins worth a cash prize.
Of the 11 pumpkins there will be two $1,000 prizes, five $750 prizes, three $500 prizes and one $250 prize.


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U.N. agency prohibits lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger aircraft
Feb 22 (Reuters) - The U.N. aviation agency on Monday agreed to prohibit shipments of lithium-ion batteries on passenger aircraft, citing concerns that they are a fire hazard.
The International Civil Aviation Organization's 36-state governing council said the prohibition would be in effect as of April 1, 2016 and would be maintained until a new safer packaging standard is designed to transport the batteries.
"This interim prohibition will continue to be in force as separate work continues through ICAO on a new lithium battery packaging performance standard, currently expected by 2018," ICAO council president Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu said in a statement. (Reporting By Allison Lampert; Editing by Diane Craft)
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Fitbit has unveiled its new Fitbit Luxe – a stylish fitness tracker aimed at women (predominantly), which brings a color screen to the band format for the first time.
Fitbit’s more recent band-style wearables have been focused on delivering better value (Fitbit Inspire 2) or offering more tech (Fitbit Charge 4) – but the Luxe is certainly designed to deliver a better looking device.
While we’ve been big fans of those two devices, the screen tech has been a cause of criticism. When the likes of the Amazfit Band 5 and Xiaomi Mi Watch 6 can deliver a week of battery life with glorious AMOLED displays, they have seriously put the monochrome Fitbit screens in the shade.
While Fitbit has been a little shy on the screen specs, the Luxe appears to have the same screen tech as the Versa and Sense. And it still manages to deliver the same 5 days of battery life as the rest of its line up.
The case is made from stainless steel, so it’s a big visual and quality step up from the rest of the Fitbit tracker line up.
Under the hood are many of the best features of the Fitbit Sense.
There’s skin temperature, HRV and SpO2, which are all reported in the Fitbit Health Metrics – although skin temperature is coming after launch.
And stress detection is coming over from the Fitbit Sense, and the stress score will be part of the mix. However, there’s no EDA sensor on the Fitbit Luxe, which allows users to check stress response using electrodermal activity.
There’s also no GPS on board (although you can use connected GPS from a paired smartphone) and it also supports the new Active Zone Minutes metric, that rewards you for time spent at higher heart rates.
The Fitbit Luxe is shipping with six months of Fitbit Premium, and that means the Luxe can access all the joys of the Fitbit app – from advanced sleep monitoring, guided workouts and mindfulness including the Deepak Chopra content and manual blood glucose tracking.
The Luxe does come with a top-end price tag: it’s set to cost $149.99 putting it alongside the Charge 4. For those interested in style over GPS, it’s a no brainer.


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With this agreement, Ericsson customers will be able to have personalized Internet content, including sports scores, stock quotes or email delivered to their wireless phones. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Mobile phone carriers like Ericsson see wireless data as the next big market opportunity. Industry analysts estimate that by 2002, more than 100 million mobile phones will be able to tap the Net in some fashion. And by 2003, more than 1 billion mobile phones are expected to be in use worldwide.
Yet to date there are few companies that provide Web content geared for mobile devices, although today's deal shows that the market is picking up. Yesterday, America Online signed a deal with Tegic Communications to provide AOL content for Web-ready mobile phones.
"Lycos' breadth in content and services and the opportunity to pull from their best-of-breed network of sites make them an ideal partner for Ericsson," Hans Davidsson, vice president and general manager at Ericsson Wireless Internet Solutions, said in a statement. "With this alliance, we reinforce our commitment to providing the best solutions for wireless customers."
Stockholm, Sweden-based Ericsson makes mobile phones and other wireless technologies. Waltham, Mass-based Lycos runs the Lycos Network, a unified set of Web sites.


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Shoppers have been evacuated from Antrim Castle Mall following heavy flooding.
Traffic in the town is at a standstill and police are advising motorists to avoid a number of badly affected roads.
It is understood Fire and Rescue Service have also been dispatched.
A witness told Belfast Live: "Castle Mall is closed and evacuated. Tesco is closed as flooded, most roads too.
"I was there about 30-45 min ago. Antrim is at a standstill now, Antrim show on too and traffic coming from it blocking the whole town.
"Didn’t see any police out helping traffic and the fire brigade was called to local businesses with flooding and out in force."
A spokesperson for Antrim Castle Mall confirmed that the shopping centre has been hit by flooding and that customers were evacuated.
Tesco has been contacted for a repsonse.
The Fire Service said they are dealing with a number of floods in the area.
Police have advised drivers to avoid the town as traffic is at a standstill.
They said: "Motorists are being asked to avoid the following areas in Antrim due to severe flooding. Traffic is at a standstill.
"The areas are Randalstown Road, Ballymena Road, Oriel Road and Dublin Road.
"Please drive carefully as other roads in Antrim are also affected by the severe weather."
Keep up-to-date with all the very latest news, what's on, sport and everything else in Belfast and beyond with the Belfast Live app.
Only select news that interests you by picking the topics you want to display on the app's homepage. Plus, our enhanced user experience includes live blogs, video, interactive maps and slick picture galleries. Download it now and get involved.


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Airline profits hit 25.6 billion dollars last year. Customer complaints also shot up—34 percent higher than the year before. Dissatisfaction is likely driven by cramped seating, long lines, and having to pay for services that used to be free, like selecting a seat or checking a bag. Consumer Reports has important advice on how to squeeze the best out of the airlines that are trying to squeeze you.
One tip: Airlines will often release the seats they haven’t sold or were canceled 72 hours ahead of the flight. So keep trying then and you might score a decent free seat.
Knowing which seats give you the most room can help, too. Check out SeatGuru.com for information about most airlines’ seating plans, including size, limited recline, or leg room.
If despite your best efforts you’re still in a cramped seat or your flight is over 4 hours, get up frequently and stretch your legs and feet to avoid blood clots.
Another travel mishap you can avoid: missing your connecting flight. These days with increased security, Consumer Reports recommends allowing at least 2 hours between domestic flights and 4 if you’re travelling overseas.
Sitting in the front can save as much as 15 minutes when deplaning, though you might have to pay for that seat. Avoid booking the last flight of the day. And if possible, also avoid major airports that have the worst on-time departure performance.
You do have rights if you are bumped involuntarily from a flight and are delayed. You may be entitled to up to $650 if the flight is domestic and $1,300 if it’s international, according to Department of Transportation regulations.
Consumer Reports latest customer satisfaction survey found that as in past years, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, and Virgin America top the ratings.


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XPO Logistics plans to spin off its freight brokerage arm and divest its intermodal and European businesses as it refines its focus on trucking.
The Greenwich, Conn.-based company said Tuesday its board approved the spinoff of its transportation brokerage services division to become its own public company, along with the possible sales of its North American intermodal and European businesses. The moves, XPO said, would give it room to be a pure-play trucking company.
Investors seemed to like the news. Shares of XPO jumped nearly 11 percent in after-hours trading Tuesday, following the announcement, to $61.93. XPO had a recent market cap of $7.1 billion.
The announcements follow last year’s spinoff of warehousing and distribution services company GXO Logistics.
“We learned from the GXO spin that when you have a management team doing one thing, they’re more focused and fit for purpose to drive growth,” XPO chair and CEO Brad Jacobs told CNBC Tuesday, adding pure-play companies are easier for investors to understand.
Similarly, the trucking and brokerage businesses each have their own “distinct operating model,” Jacobs said in a statement Tuesday.
“We believe that by separating these businesses through a spin-off, we can significantly enhance value creation for our customers, employees and shareholders, as we did with our successful spin-off of GXO last year,” the CEO said.
GXO, with a market cap of $7.8 billion, closed up nearly 6 percent on Tuesday to $68.
GXO is building up its warehousing capabilities in its own right, with the company last month making an offer to buy Clipper Logistics for 965 million pounds ($1.3 billion). The deal would bring e-commerce logistics expertise and heavy hitters in the fashion space into GXO’s fold with Asos, PrettyLittleThing, Giorgio Armani and River Island among the companies Clipper counts in its customer base.
The decision post-spinoff would allow the trucking and brokerage businesses to focus solely on their priorities and “tailor strategic decision-making,” XPO said.
The trucking business would come out of the spinoff as the third largest in North America, the company said, with 21,000 employees, about 12,000 drivers, 291 terminals and 25,000 accounts.
The trucking business closed last year with revenue of $4.1 billion and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $904 million.
The brokerage business, which is expected to see its spinoff completed in the fourth quarter, had revenue of $4.8 billion last year with adjusted EBITDA of $305 million. The business, which offers services in last mile and freight forwarding, counts 172 locations and roughly 5,500 employees.
The brokerage business services about 10,000 customers with last mile logistics, forwarding and transportation management.
Meanwhile, XPO said it has an exclusivity agreement with a possible buyer for its $1.2 billion intermodal business in North America, which offers drayage and rail brokerage services.
The company said plans for the European business, which handles last mile and freight forwarding, are to either sell or list it in Europe. The European business closed last year with $3.1 billion in revenue.


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Hades and Ghost of Tsushima are the big winners at the 2021 Game Developers Choice Awards.
Umurangi Generation and Genesis Noir are among the winners at the 2021 Independent Games Festival Awards.
The nominees for the 21st Annual Game Developers Choice Awards are announced.
The founders of Velan Studios reveal their approach to developing games, including Mario Kart Live Home Circuit for the Nintendo Switch and the upcoming Knockout City.
There are just four days left to submit talks for this summer's Game Developers Conference.
Organisers of the annual Game Developers Conference have confirmed the dates for next year’s event, which will be a physical/virtual hybrid.
In their GDC Summer talk, Mike Bilder and Brooke Hofer from Jackbox Games speak about the highs and lows of gaining new players during COVID lockdown.
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) will return with a smaller scale event this summer.
Untitled Goose Game, Control, and Disco Elysium are the big winners at the 2020 Game Developers Choice Awards.
A Short Hike wins the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at this year's Independent Games Festival awards.
Following the postponement of GDC 2020, organisers have detailed a week of talks and panels that will be live-streamed on Twitch from today.
The ESA has cancelled E3 2020 following growing concerns around the spread Coronavirus COVID-19.
GDC organisers have announced plans to stream the Independent Games Festival, the Game Developers Choice Awards, plus a range of developer talks next week.
Following the postponement of GDC 2020, Microsoft confirms plans to live-stream its panels.
The MIX – or the Media Indie Exchange, to use its Sunday name – usually travels with the bigger events. It's like an indie game remora,...
The organisers of GDC 2020 say it's "postponed" until "later in the summer" but the effects of the conference's absence are far more immediate.
The legendary developer behind Sim City, The Sims and, of course, Spore, will be speaking as part of the 'Vision' track at GDC 2020.
GDC confirm that Hideo Kojima will deliver a talk on the making of Death Stranding.
Death Stranding, Outer Wilds, and Control lead the field at this year’s Game Developers Choice Awards
Mutazione, Knights and Bikes and Untitled Goose Game are among this year’s IGF award finalists.


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Third-party logistics (3PL) services provider SEKO Logistics and web-based shipping services provider ShipStation announced they have formed a partnership focused on increasing the ability of eCommerce to grow in cross-border markets.
Through this partnership, the companies online merchants can connect to SEKO Logistics via ShipStation and gain valuable benefits, including:
- Reduced transit time and lower cost to international markets for faster expansion.
- Reduced cart abandonment rates internationally with lower shipping costs.
- Easy and monetized returns solution with international in-country return capabilities.
- Unified international tracking, regardless of final mile postal carrier.
- Seller custom-branded tracking portals.
“We made a strategic decision earlier this year to partner more with technology providers to more easily facilitate the integration of our solution as retailers and e-tailers alike work with such a disparate spectrum of ERP, platform and other technology stacks where both API, EDI and even XML become standard integration formats and can delay the onboarding process,” he said. “We wanted to work with the leader in this space, and ShipStation was the natural start for us as the market leader in helping retailers integrate quickly and easily with both carriers and shopping cart platforms.”
Brian Bourke, SEKO vice president of marketing (in Statement to LM)
US, U.K., and Australia
ShipStation clients in the US, U.K., Australia, and other countries ShipStation serves now have immediate access to SEKO’s cross-border, next-day and returns solutions.
Small- and medium-sized shippers can now leverage SEKO’s cross-border rach and final mile postal integrations at competitive prices and fast transit times.
Do you sell internationally and do you think this integration could help you? Please use the comments section below or head over to our Facebook Group for Small Business Sellers and interact with other small business owners.


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Medical technology exporter Enztec announced aggressive growth plans after the closing of a $27.5 million debt financing by parent company Orthopaedic Synergy, Inc. (“OSI”).
“This is an exciting development for Enztec and will enable us to continue to scale the business at a faster rate,” said Paul Morrison, founder and General Manager of Enztec.
Mr. Morrison noted that Enztec recorded 39 percent revenue growth in 2013, and has increased its staffing levels and made significant investments in equipment to expand its manufacturing capabilities in 2014. "Finding appropriately skilled and experienced staff is one of our major constraints in the short to medium term," he remarked.
Enztec has diversified its customer base over the last two years, with around one-third of its business coming from sales to sister company OMNI, and the remainder from other orthopaedic equipment suppliers around the world.
"Enztec has always had an international reputation for the quality of our instrument design and manufacturing, and our ability to respond quickly to the requirements of our customers, who are typically multinational companies with large global product programmes," Mr. Morrison said. He added that interest in Enztec was exceptional at the recent meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.
"Many of the orthopaedic companies are constrained in their ability to design, engineer and manufacture high-quality surgical instruments," Mr. Morrison said. "Some of their orthopaedic implant product programmes are stalled by a lack of resources to develop and deliver appropriate instrument sets, which makes a design-to-delivery service like Enztec's an increasingly attractive option."
"We are delighted to be back on a high growth trajectory. The access to growth capital provided by OSI's financing will enable us to add equipment and personnel at an even faster rate," said Mr. Morrison.


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By Santiago Fernandez de Cordoba, Niematallah E. A. Elamin and Axel Marx
© bayu harsa
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was not happening fast enough to achieve the goals and targets by 2030.
As the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report states, “it is unequivocal” that humans’ adverse impacts on the environment, which have triggered several environmental crises, persist. The conclusions of the report are clear and reveal the upheaval that global warming is presently unleashing on the world.
In addition, it’s well established that economic growth enhanced by international trade alone is not enough to ensure equity and social progress. Hazardous workplaces continue to exist, and discrimination remains a challenge. According to the latest global estimates, 152 million children are in child labour and 25 million adults and children are in forced labour.
The need to pursue development within the social and environmental systems’ boundaries remains as critical as ever. We need to move to a sustainable path of consuming, producing and trading our goods.
Trade as an engine for sustainable development: Expectations vs reality
Trade is recognized as a vital factor for the 2030 Agenda. It’s singled out as a key policy instrument to contribute to sustainable development.
Trade is now predominantly conducted through global value chains (GVCs). Today, about $8 trillion worth of world trade goes through GVCs, accounting for nearly 70% of the total share of global trade.
However, though the expansion of international trade and the increasing integration and complexity of GVCs have brought economic and social benefits, they’ve sometimes led to a failure to address adverse social and environmental impacts.
GVCs’ participation has resulted in an imbalance in country experiences on job creation, combating inequalities and achieving desired social gains. Furthermore, trade expansions have seemingly been the cause of negative impacts on the environment by increasing pollution or degrading natural resources.
To respond to these challenges, rather than limiting trade, there is a need for powerful tools and instruments to ensure trade’s benefits become more inclusive and sustainable.
In other words, it’s essential to transform towards sustainable trade and value chains through competing and complementary priorities of environmental protection, economic growth and social equity.
Minding the gap: The role of sustainable value chains
Sustainable trade and value chains take place when trade’s adverse impacts are mitigated and the international exchange of goods and services yields positive social, economic and environmental benefits.
To achieve sustainable and inclusive growth, responsible business practices are essential throughout the entire value chain.
A recently released UNCTAD report entitled “Better trade for sustainable development” advances how voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) have been considered as tools and instruments that contribute to this transformation.
VSS comprise certification schemes, labelling programme, and private standards that aim to integrate social, environmental and economic concerns in global production processes.
VSS have been recognized as potentially transformative tools for governments to realize their sustainability commitment. If used appropriately with trade policy, they could change our course towards sustainable development.
Evolution of the number of VSS active worldwide, 1940–2020
The report says the potential of VSS to make trade more sustainable relies on two crucial components: they should generate an impact on the ground and be widely used and adopted.
Developing countries’ integration into sustainable value chains remains a challenge
Several challenges need to be overcome, especially by developing countries, for VSS to have an impact and garner uptake.
The main challenges include compliance costs, the lack of incentives and "governance gaps". Possible mechanisms to overcome these barriers exist and have been discussed in the report, which outlines how to build sustainable value chains (SVCs).
Besides these pre-existing challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic creates further complications for developing countries. The socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic are mainly severe in structurally vulnerable developing countries.
The key question is how to balance the speed and magnitude of post-pandemic recovery while achieving inclusive and sustainable growth.
That is to say, the economic recovery strategies shouldn’t focus only on supporting countries to recover but also help them move forward towards a more sustainable future. Thus, SVCs currently play an even more essential role.
Moving towards more SVCs can better position developing countries to build back better and achieve the SDGs.
UNCTAD Acting Secretary-General Isabelle Durant will host a webinar on 30 August to explore this issue.
Santiago Fernandez de Cordoba and Niematallah E. A. Elamin are UNCTAD economists and Axel Marx is the deputy director of the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies at KU Leuven.


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- Hit game show "Deal or No Deal" is returning to TV with a live mobile gaming app that lets fans play along as the show airs on CNBC. The "Deal or No Deal Live" app offers a chance to win prizes daily and a chance to enter a sweepstakes for bigger rewards, according to a press release.
- Hosted by comedian Howie Mandel, the show challenges a contestant to open 26 sealed briefcases containing hidden amounts of cash ranging from a penny to $1 million. The accompanying app lets mobile users play along during the show, making their own decisions about whether to accept a cash offer from a mysterious "Banker" in exchange for an unknown amount of money in a virtual briefcase.
- The app's social media integration also lets players compete with friends, family and fans across the country. The gaming division of show producer Endemol Shine partnered with game developer iPro to create the play-along app.
Endemol's "Deal or No Deal Live" app may help CNBC to more deeply engage viewers of the rebooted game show. The first two airings of the show performed strongly with an average of 830,000 viewers, according to Nielsen data cited by Programming Insider, pointing to the potentially large user base for the accompanying app. Even as more consumers are cutting the cable cord, the show has expanded to alternative channels to appeal to consumers' shifting viewing habits. "Deal or No Deal" is also available on its own YouTube channel, where the first episode received more than 60,000 views.
The show's accompanying mobile app comes as consumers increasingly watch TV while using another device. These "distracted viewers" make up a significant part of today's TV audience, with 89% of smartphone users saying they watch TV while using a phone, according to a Deloitte survey. A majority (82%) of marketers believe TV viewers' second screens and advertising clutter are hampering their TV ad campaigns, according to a survey by ad tech company Viant. Viewers are engaging with their devices as much during TV shows and commercials as they are during the 30-minute window before and after, Viant data show. "The challenge here for advertisers is that TV viewers might be physically present while commercials air, but not fully mentally present," Viant found. To combat this, marketers are now working to develop strategies to engage these second-screeners through mobile apps and play-along content, such as "Deal or No Deal Live."
"Deal or No Deal Live" arrives in a moment of live-trivia games' growing popularity among consumers. Game show-style app HQ Trivia has gained sponsorships from major media brands including movie studios, pointing to how "Deal or No Deal Live" could generate revenue in the future. Meanwhile, broadcasters like Fox and TBS have created their own live-trivia apps. Fox's "FN Genius" launched in August, and late-night TV host Samantha Bee launched the "This Is Not a Game: The Game" in September to urge people to vote in the recent U.S. midterm elections.


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The era of the Porsche and Piech families controlling the German sports car maker looks like it will soon be drawing to a close of sorts. Following quickly after yesterday's approval by the Volkswagen supervisory board of a merger agreement with Porsche, Qatar moved in to take a stake today. The Persian Gulf emirate has bought 10 percent of the Porsche SE holding company as well as the options that Porsche held on 20 percent of VW shares, though no purchase price has been announced.
When Porsche started making its big move for control of VW last year, it ended up with way more options than it could afford. It's still not entirely clear who will own what when the whole deal is done in 2011, but it appears that Qatar may end up as one of the biggest shareholders of the combined company. What stake will be owned by the Porsche and Piech families is unknown. Even as the families cede control of Porsche, Ferdinand Piech remains firmly in charge back in Wolfsburg.
Qatar now a shareholder in Porsche
Stuttgart. This Friday, in a festive ceremony, Porsche Automobil Holding SE, Stuttgart, and Qatar Holding LLC (QH) signed an agreement signaling the entry of the Emirate of Qatar into the Porsche SE family. In the afternoon, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Porsche SE, Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, welcomed the high-ranking delegation from Qatar led by Prime Minister of the Emirate, Sheik Hamad ibn Jassim ibn Jabir Al-Thani, to the historical Porsche Villa located on Killesberg Hill outside of Stuttgart. There, in the presence of the Minister President of Baden-Württemberg, Günther Oettinger, the two men signed two contractual agreements.
The Prime Minister of the Emirate of Qatar signed the purchase agreement with which Qatar will acquire ten percent of the ordinary shares of Porsche SE. As spokespersons for the family shareholders, Dr. Wolfgang Porsche and Hans Michel Piëch also signed the agreement. The second agreement, which provides for the takeover by the Emirate of a major share in the cash settled options relating to Volkswagen shares, was signed by Ahmad Al Sayed, CEO of Qatar Holding, and Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG, Michael Macht, as well as his Deputy Chairman, Thomas Edig, who are both members of the Executive Board of Porsche SE.
Dr. Wolfgang Porsche gave the Emirate of Qatar a warm welcome as a new member of the Porsche shareholder family and declared: "Today is a historic day for us. For the first time in Porsche's history, an external investor has acquired a holding of ordinary shares that so far have been solely owned by the family members of Porsche and Piëch." The Porsche and Piëch families, continued Supervisory Board Chairman, have expressly welcomed the decision of the Emirate to become a shareholder in the company and, at the same time, to take on a major holding in the options to VW ordinary shares held by Porsche. "This will not only improve Porsche's liquidity situation, but it is also an important step on the predestined road to an integrated automobile company, which we intend to forge together with Volkswagen," explained Dr. Porsche.
Sheik Hamad ibn Jassim ibn Jabir Al-Thani emphasized that Qatar considers itself a strategic investor who has great interest in the long-term positive development of Porsche. "Porsche ranks among the most valuable automobile brands in the world. We are proud to be a part of this sports car manufacturer and its rich tradition and history. Through our trust-based collaboration with the family shareholders, we will help ensure that the success story of Porsche, and, in the future, of Volkswagen continues to be written," explained the Prime Minister.
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Could regular face mask use prevent a second wave of cases?
Some British researchers believe that preventing a second wave of coronavirus could be as simple as wearing a face mask.
Scientists studied the effects of people wearing masks combined with periods of lockdown and the reproduction rate of the virus.
They found that wearing masks in public was twice as effective at lowering the reproduction rate of the virus compared to only wearing masks after symptoms appear.
The virus reproduction rate also slowed down when at least half the population wore masks regularly.


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Triangle Woodworkers Create Thousands of Toys For Tots
Posted December 12, 2001 12:21 p.m. EST
RALEIGH — As toys on store shelves become more advanced every year, some local woodworkers hope their simple toys win kids over this Christmas.
Members of the
Triangle Woodworkers Association
have made everything from airplanes to teddy bears to doll cradles.
This year, the members worked hundreds of hours to craft more than 3,000 wooden toys by hand.
The toys are donated to the Marine Corps Reserve's Toys For Tots program.
The woodworkers have been making the toys, and bringing smiles to the children who receive them, for 13 years.


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The watchmaker last month entered the smartwatch segment with Android Wear-powered watches alongside other connected wearables. Now, the company can be expected to refresh its lineup with technology from Misfit.
"Misfit brings to Fossil Group a scalable cloud and app platform, a world-class software and hardware engineering team, a native wearable technology brand and a pipeline of innovative products," Fossil said in a press statement. The company also announced Sonny Vu, Co-Founder and CEO of Misfit, will serve as president and chief technology officer of connected devices for the Fossil Group.
The acquisition will allow Fossil Group to use Misfit's technology across Fossil and Skagen product lines, among others. The company is expected to strengthen its connected device portfolio.
Commenting on the acquisition, Kosta Kartsotis, chief executive officer of Fossil Group said, "We have a significant opportunity to add technology and connectivity across our platform of watches and accessories. With the acquisition of Misfit, Fossil Group will be uniquely positioned to lead the convergence of style and technology and to become the fashion gateway to the high-growth wearable technology and connected device markets."
Tag Heuer earlier this month unveiled its Android Wear powered smartwatch 'Connected'. The connected device segment is set to heat up with Switzerland-based Swatch also plans to enter smartwatch segment with its offering.


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Ford Motor Co. plans to follow its rivals by offering a credit card that would allow customers to more easily finance repairs and earn them money toward service or new-vehicle purchases.
The Visa card, which will be tied to the FordPass Rewards system and is expected to launch in the second quarter, would allow users to accumulate points for any purchase, automotive-related or not, that could be redeemed in Ford showrooms or service centers, according to dealers briefed on Ford's plans.
Cardholders can earn 5 percent back on certain Ford transactions, plus another 5 percent through FordPass Rewards. The card will offer 3 percent back for gasoline, auto insurance, parking and other auto-related purchases, as well as on dining, and 1 percent back on all other purchases.
Users would be eligible to get 0 percent interest for six months on purchases of $499 or more at Ford, Lincoln or Quick Lane stores and could earn credits for hitting annual purchasing thresholds, dealers were told.
There is no dealer participation fee, and Ford's retailers would earn a $65 sign-up bonus for each person enrolled and approved, people familiar with the plans told Automotive News. Dealers were told customer enrollment will be completely digital and that the card will be offered through the First National Bank of Omaha, not Ford Motor Credit Co.
A Ford spokeswoman declined to comment on any details about the credit card.


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The price will rise 0.32ppl as a result of the co-operative’s currency smoothing mechanism.
Arla has announced a 0.32ppl milk price rise from April 1, as a result of the last quarter’s average exchange rate being introduced into the cooperative’s currency smoothing mechanism.
It takes the manufacturing litre price to 27.43ppl.
Arla Foods amba board director, Johnnie Russell, said: “Commodity market prices have stabilised over the last few weeks, however protein prices remain at record low values.
“The recent increases in butterfat and cheese prices have diminished with these prices also stabilising around their February levels.”


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Under the values of Marca España, four companies of the Spanish sector of children’s products (ALONDRA, BARCAROLA, BOLÍN BOLÓN and MICUNA) have taken part in a trade mission at the end of March 2012, with the support of the Spanish Commercial Office in Kiev ICEX and ASEPRI.At this occasion, they have presented their new collection for the next season in order to establish new trade agreements with distributors and realize market research.
In 2010, the Spanish sector of products for children has doubled the number of Spanish companies in Ukraine and it has multiplied its turnover by five in this market.
Spanish Children’s fashion and childcare companies confirm their commitment to the markets of Eastern Europe, increasing by 246% their presence in Russia and by over 50% in Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Poland.
It is also important to highlight that in 2010, the volume of sales of Spanish children’s fashion and childcare products in Russia, Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine represented 6.70% of the total export turnover of the Spanish companies of the sector, with a total turnover exceeding 22 million euros – 39% more than in 2009.
Source: Ediciones Sibila


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When IBM and Apple forged their partnership last year to bring new mobile apps to the corporate world, their promise of bringing 100 such apps to market by the end of 2015 was widely considered an ambitious goal. Sure enough, though, it now looks lik...
IBM's Watson has been pushing ever further into the business world in recent months, and now it's helping online merchants analyse performance and make better merchandising decisions.
A languishing software upgrade project at Deutsche Post DHL Group has forced the German mail and courier company to take a write-off of €345 million, but software provider SAP is taking pains to make it clear that it's not to blame.
Back in January IBM announced Identity Mixer, a new technology for protecting users' personal data during authentication. On Friday, it announced that the technology is now available to developers on its Bluemix cloud platform.
Gene M. Amdahl, chief architect of IBM's System/360 mainframe and later the creator of the IBM plug-compatible mainframe vendor that bore his name, has died aged 92.
IBM on Tuesday bought Gravitant, a maker of brokerage software designed ease the purchase and management of software and services across mixed cloud platforms.
Analytics is often described as one of the biggest challenges associated with big data, but even before that step can happen, data has to be ingested and made available to enterprise users. That's where Apache Kafka comes in.
Reporting its third-quarter earnings, Google also talked about how vital machine learning will be to its future.
IBM may be the fastest-growing vendor in the worldwide security software market, but it's also the owner of the world's largest source of spam.
IBM will acquire object-based storage vendor Cleversafe in a move to bolster its cloud business unit with more flexibility and simplified management options in the hybrid cloud, it announced on Monday.
Researchers at IBM say they've made a major breakthrough in carbon nanotube technology that could speed the development of smaller, faster and more powerful chips.
IBM’s Bluemix development platform is already available in public and hosted private cloud versions. On Thursday, the company announced a third option for customers that need to build apps behind a firewall.
At the BoxWorks conference, the Apple CEO explained why the former foes could gain more by collaborating than by competing.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday that the most successful businesses will be those that use mobile devices the best moving forward.
Watson's AI services will bring us unparalelled convenience, untold marketing opportunities, and zero privacy
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- Dropbox levels up its features for administrators
- Donald Trump encouraged Russia to hack Hillary Clinton's email
GGG Evaluation Team
First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.
For work use, Microsoft Word and Excel programs pre-installed on the device are adequate for preparing short documents.
The Fujitsu LifeBook UH574 allowed for great mobility without being obnoxiously heavy or clunky. Its twelve hours of battery life did not disappoint.
The screen was particularly good. It is bright and visible from most angles, however heat is an issue, particularly around the Windows button on the front, and on the back where the battery housing is located.
My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.
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Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system has enabled Xbox One game streaming to PCs. While that’s a neat feature for Xbox One owners, Microsoft is working on streaming PC games to Xbox One consoles too. In an interview with The Verge, Microsoft’s head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, reveals the company is working on the feature. “We understand if you’re going to go PC to Xbox, we need to get keyboard and mouse working completely so you could play those games,” explains Spencer. “In terms of where we want to go with our platform, those are absolutely in scope of things that we want to do.”
The real challenge of getting PC to Xbox game streaming working is encoding games and having the right amount of bandwidth to stream them to the Xbox One. Streaming from Xbox One to Windows 10 PCs is a lot more predictable “because we know exactly what you have,” says Spencer. “It’s actually a little more challenging doing the encoding on the PC side to the Xbox, but challenge is good.” There’s no timeline on when this might arrive, but it’s clearly a challenge Microsoft is willing to tackle.
It’s early days for Xbox and Windows integration, but if the Xbox app is anything to go by then the future of gaming on Windows 10 is going to be interesting. “[Gamers] want to play games on the device that they want to play on. They want to play with their friends and they progress whenever they sit down,” explains Spencer. “Because of that, the roadmap and our focus on what’s going on, Windows is incredibly strong.”
By Tom Warren


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- 4 min read
Bill Gates finds cryptocurrency neutral and Elon musk lucrative; For ZebPay CFO education is priority
Cryptocurrency trading has become a great matter of debate in the last several months, especially more so after billionaire Elon Musk’s Tesla put in $1.5 billion in bitcoin. Back home, India is mulling how to deal with the key challenges of cryptocurrency trading including concerns over money laundering and terrorism financing. Very recently Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman that the government would take a “calibrated approach” towards cryptocurrency. On the other side, the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, is mulling its own digital currency. What to make of the developments in the crypto episode so far? And where is it further headed? ETCFO catches up with cryptocurrency exchange ZebPay CFO & COO Avinash Shekhar to get concrete insights. The finance veteran said managing regulatory uncertainty is his biggest challenge. Edited excerpts.
Avinash Shekhar: There could be regulation for cryptocurrency exchanges and other market participants. The government should look at bringing in KYC, AML and CFT rules.
Also, anti-money-laundering guidelines which the banks are subject to currently, can be put in place for the cryptocurrency exchanges as well. There could be more disclosures in place.
I don’t think cryptocurrency exchanges would have any problems sharing information with regulatory agencies, and therefore periodic reporting should be implemented. This way the concerns of the government can be addressed and as the system matures, regulations can further evolve.
Q: What is the sense you are getting from your meetings with the government?
Avinash Shekhar: We, as an industry, are trying to engage with the government at various levels. And while we echo the government’s concerns, we have conveyed to the government that the solution would be regulation and not banning.
Huge innovations are happening in decentralised and open source networks and we are hopeful that the Government would encourage and enable Indian entrepreneurs to be leaders in this area.
Q: What if the government goes for a blanket ban?
Avinash Shekhar: As long as we have the internet, how will the ban on crypto be monitored or enforced? The ban will force the closure of legitimate businesses and would encourage the very things (money laundering and financing illegal transactions) the Government wants to eliminate.
The Blockchain Technology provides a transparent and auditable trail of all transactions. This along with strict KYC and AML policies will enable the government to monitor, control and eliminate the use of Crypto for illegal activities.
There are millions of Indians holding bitcoins and there are many businesses providing employment and contributing towards nation building by technological innovations and by generating revenue and paying taxes.
We are confident that the government will consult the industry and will bring required regulation to ensure that India plays a leading role in the development of this technology..
Q: What are your views on RBI’s virtual currency? Would a Central Bank’s virtual currency be safer than Bitcoin?
Avinash Shekhar: There are several variables to consider. If the CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) is built on a blockchain, it would have the advantages of a decentralized network and immutable ledger. If it also has a fixed supply or rate of inflation, that would bring further benefits.
The more you study bitcoin the more you realize, first of all, that bitcoin has never been hacked. Any lack of safety has come from fraud and scams outside the blockchain, targeting humans or more vulnerable systems.
A digital rupee could be a great thing and crypto assets could live in such an economy as a separate asset class, not competing or infringing on the functions of a national currency. As for safety, it would be wise for the designers of the digital rupee to learn from the design of bitcoin. It is a revolutionary technology with security features never before seen.
Q: What would you say when a business leader like Bill Gates expresses concerns in crypto trade? As a CFO, do you think more of a Musk than Gates right now?
Avinash Shekhar: If you look at what Bill Gates actually said in recent interviews, he said he’s “neutral” on bitcoin and made some points we agree with. First, he joked that anyone with less money than Elon Musk shouldn’t buy bitcoin without being aware of price volatility.
We constantly tell our members to invest in education first, use rupee cost-averaging, and only use risk capital. Elon has similarly said no one should invest their life savings in crypto and to consider it speculation at this point.
Second, Bill Gates expressed concerns about potential criminal use, but that was also reasonable. That’s why ZebPay has KYC and AML practices as strict if not stricter than banks’.
Q: As a CFO how do you manage all this regulatory uncertainty? Is it tough being a CFO of a crypto currency exchange? Or does this uncertain atmosphere give you a kick every day?
Avinash Shekhar: If other CFOs knew what a great adventure we’re having every day at ZebPay, they would want to join us. Also, managing accounts in both fiat and crypto is very interesting and something not a lot of CFOs get exposed to.
I feel privileged to be part of one of the biggest technological innovations the World has ever seen. Historically, regulations have always evolved after innovations. I am a participant and have a front row view of this revolution.


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(Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
While Jennifer Hudson is literally singing the praises of Weight Watchers for helping her lose 80 pounds, Jenny Craig is actually the No. 1 diet plan, according to Consumer Reports Health. Weight Watchers came in third place, behind Slim-Fast.
On a 100-point scale, Jenny Craig had an overall score of 85, easily surpassing Weight Watchers (57) program by nearly 30 points.
“In a 332-person, two-year study of the program published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 92 percent of participants stuck with Jenny Craig for two years, a remarkable level of adherence," writes Consumer Reports Health. “As a result, those participants shaved off an average of about 8 percent of their weight.”
“The point of the report is to give dieters a side-by-side comparison of the main diet programs so they can choose for themselves. Jenny Craig is worth considering, but if you don’t like the idea of eating prepackaged meals, it may not be the best option for you,” said Nancy Metcalf, an editor with Consumer Reports Health. “The best diet is the one that you can stay on. Because if you can’t stick with it, then you won’t lose weight, nor will you be able to keep off any weight you do manage to lose.”
At the end of the day the formula to losing weight is simple, burn more calories than you eat. No matter what the research says the number one diet is, if you don’t like the diet or if it doesn’t work with your schedule you won’t stay on it.
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BEM ended the year with a sales increase of 30% over the previous year, highlighting the five communities that now make up the network of the company presided by Felix Sanchez. Last Tuesday, December 23rd the daily collection record was achieved, as well as beating the weekly sales record in this last week of December.
Catalonia, meanwhile, earned his daily top on December 27th, breaking his monthly record for the eighth consecutive month. In the Basque Country and Cantabria the monthly average sale record per room has been beaten. So, despite having three rooms less, annual sales growth was 8%.
December also marked the top of sales in the halls and arcades of Castilla-La Mancha and outstanding was BeM tendency in Madrid, with 22% more than in 2013.


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The Executive Vice Chairman of the Presidential Task Team on the Restoration of Law and Order in Apapa Port, Dr. Kayode Opeifa, has said that over 50,000 unreturned empty containers are responsible for hike in freight rate in the country. Opeifa who stated this in a chat with newsmen at the just concluded 3rd National Transportation Summit of the Chartered Institute of Nigeria (CIoTA) in Abuja, said that Nigeria is not the only country experiencing a surge in freight surcharge as there are presently a shortage of containers in the world.
According to him, the surcharge issue has become an international issue, as he traced the surge to the effects of the pandemic, which led to a low repatriation of containers by the shipping companies. “Freight rate all over the world has increased, not only in Nigeria. It is a global issue. The problem is that there are fewer containers available in the world after the pandemic. So they are now manufacturing new ones,” he added. He also revealed that the major cause of extortions and other forms of corrupt practices at the nation’s ports can be traced to the presence of over 50, 000 empty containers in Nigeria.
Business Hilights is an online news channel conceptualized and structured to report and track on a daily basis; latest developments in critical business sectors to serve as a one stop news gateway for governments, foreign and indigenous investors.


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The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) appears to be preparing for another crackdown on shady influencer marketing.
Commissioner Rohit Chopra has published a statement that suggests the current regulations there need to be toughened up. “Misinformation is plaguing the digital economy, and recent no-money, no-fault FTC settlements with well-known retailers and brands to address fake reviews and undisclosed influencer endorsements may be doing little to deter deception,” wrote Chopra. “The FTC will need to determine whether to create new requirements for social media platforms and advertisers and whether to activate civil penalty liability.”
Instagram, YouTube and TikTok are mentioned as examples of social platforms where influencer marketing is major or growing rapidly, while brands are also under the spotlight.
“I am concerned that companies paying for undisclosed influencer endorsements and reviews are not held fully accountable for this illegal activity,” wrote Chopra. “Going forward, we need to seek tougher remedies for companies that are illegally astroturfing or disguising their advertising as an authentic endorsement or review.”
Music Ally’s message to music companies remains, as ever, to pay close attention to guidelines and regulations about how paid influencer campaigns should be disclosed, and to make sure their influencer partners meet the requirements with their posts.


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For the first time since February I’m feeling optimistic about Storytel again – MW
When Storytel’s co-founding CEO Jonas Tellander “stepped down” earlier this year, it was the end of an era. Storytel, led by Tellander, had shown the world that not only could audiobook subscription work, but that it could work everywhere.
But not as quickly as the shareholders wanted. In February 2022 the Tellander Doctrine came to an abrupt end. Building out international expansion, one market at a time, was no longer the way forward. Rather it was cost-cutting, staff dumping and a focus on a handful of core markets that could keep the shareholders happy.
It didn’t work. Storytel’s Acting CEO Ingrid Bojner had her hands tied. She had no room to strategise and meanwhile Storytel’s value plummeted – just the opposite of the bright idea to dump Tellander and focus on profitable markets, led by the newly acquired entrance into the US market which Tellander himself had brought about.
For Bojner the timing could not have been worse. Russia invaded Ukraine and Storytel had to abandon a key market, with substantial losses. Around the world consumers starting counting their pennies. For some, audiobooks became a luxury, and of course that can only continue as we head into a global recession amid a global climate crisis and a global supply chain crisis that will take us well into 2023 before we can even think about light at the end of that tunnel.
But someone at Storytel had enough vision to see a way forward, and that way forward – if we accept the Tellander era can not be revived in the current economic climate even if the will was there – lies in following the SVOD model of core market focus alongside truly global reach.
Look at Netflix, or Amazon Prime, Disney+ or indeed HBO Max International, whence the new CEO Johannes Larcher comes.
Per the Storytel press release, Larcher,
Planned and led the launch of HBO Max in 60 countries across Latin America and Europe and was responsible for the management of WarnerBros. Discovery’s flagship direct-to-consumer streaming service and its more than 28 million subscribers outside the United States.
Storytel’s subscriber number is around 2 million, not that that’s a fair comparison. Video and audiobook streaming are different planets, and no-one should for even one second imagine Larcher suddenly ratcheting up Storytel’s subscriber numbers to rival the big SVOD operators.
But what Larcher brings to the table is Jonas Tellander’s international vision combined with BookBeat CEO Niclas Sandin’s modus operandi.
The Tellander model looked to expand into new markets by either virgin expansion or by acquisition of existing operations, but each time focusing on the market to deliver localised content. Each market had a target five-year break-even point, but many were slower – only a few faster – and that got up shareholders noses. Especially when Tellander started looking at seriously long-term projects like India and Indonesia – each with huge populations and huge returns down the road, but very little short-term cashflow, let alone profits.
As Tellander was ousted in February Storytel had expanded to 26 markets, if we include the USA, which isn’t listed on the Storytel international page.
And it may well be we have to keep Audiobooks.com to one side for this discussion of Storytel’s future, because US publishers will stampede if Storytel were ever to try offering the unlimited subscription model that defines the other 25 Storytel markets.
Audiobooks.com will be a valuable contributor to Storytel’s bottom line, but the credit model is not the future of subscription and not the future of Storytel. Metred-access might be, if the BookBeat experiment proves successful.
Read the press release for all the Board changes as Larcher takes over, but let me single out one new Board member as of special interest here:
Lina Brouneus is currently, per press release, Director Film Acquisition EMEA at Netflix and was,
instrumental to building out Netflix’s presence and team across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
In Larcher and Brouneus we have, pretty much, the likely future of Storytel identified.
And just maybe, as the economic climate swings wildly away from that favoured by the Tellander Doctrine, the Larcher Doctrine will prove more stable in the new environment.
Of course we don’t know just what Larcher himself has planned, and my speculation could be completely off the mark, but here’s how I see Storytel’s strategy developing.
First, take a look at Netflix and Amazon Prime, and for a moment set aside the media nonsense about Netflix being about to croak, as vigorously dismissed here:
In 2016 Netflix had reached 60 countries. More than double Storytel’s reach even today.
Then Netflix went global. Truly global. This is Netflix reach today:
Over 190 countries. Only China, North Korea, Syria and Cuba appear to be holding out.
And it’s a similar story for Amazon Prime Video. While Jeff Bezos lost interest in ebooks and audiobooks, Prime Video went global too, and pretty much an identical footprint, although Netflix is globally by far the better known.
Of course we now see Disney+ rising, and any number of rival outfits chasing its tail, including HBO Max International where, as mentioned above, Larcher personally took the operation into 60 new countries.
Lina Brouneus meanwhile has helped Netflix EMEA expansion. That’s Europe – Middle East – Africa, where Storytel already is seeing some action, although thus far the Africa footprint is only Egypt. I can’t be sure but would imagine Brouneus was involved in the Netflix Nigeria expansion two years ago.
Neither Brousneus nor Larcher have history with audiobooks, or indeed digital books generally, but of course a digital file is a digital file. Geographical barriers are easily surmounted if the will, and the content, is there, as the video streamers are showing us time and again.
And as Niclas Sandin is showing us with BookBeat.
Rivals Storytel (under Tellander) and Nextory have focussed on the one-market approach, building out by investment and acquisition, but one market at a time.
Sandin had a different vision. He chose to offer BookBeat pretty much Europe-wide, simultaneously focusing on core markets while identifying interest elsewhere. And very recently – sorry, no internet to cover this in TNPS at the time, will try rectify soon – BookBeat adjusted its consumer model to metred access.
BookBeat of course is part of the Bonnier stable, so Sandin possibly has his hands tied in terms of where he can expand, and it may be Bonnier’s decision not to venture from beneath the comfort blanket of Europe.
But what Sandin has shown us is that the model can and does work. Sandin’s BookBeat expansion of late has focussed on building on proven interest, as witness the Belgium and Netherlands country launches in February of this year. That took BookBeat to ten active markets – Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, one treading water (UK), and seventeen more European markets where BookBeat can be accessed but with no local content.
On paper BookBeat’s 28 markets means it has bigger geographical reach than Storytel, but I’d wager not for much longer.
Expanded reach, after all, is what Larcher and Brouneus specialised in, and my guess it is this expertise that finds them running the Storytel show today.
Will we see Storytel expand globally with a soft presence as BookBeat has in Europe and as many video streamer have worldwide?
Or that Spotify is on the way to doing?
And mentioning Spotify brings us neatly to the sixty-four gazillion dollar question that rounds off this essay – is Storytel being lined up for acquisition by Spotify?
Daniel Ek has made no secret of his plans for Spotify to invade the global audiobook arena. Storytel shareholders made plain in February that they are in this for the cash, not the culture.
But early days. I suspect Ek will be happy to let Storytel do the donkey work before seriously looking at bidding to acquire Storytel, but I’d be very surprised if it is not on the agenda in the not too distant future.


text: HomeArtOmega Her Time Exhibition Opens in Hong Kong Lea Lindaas June 18, 2018 Art, Exhibitions, Fashion, Jewellery and Watches, News AFTER being showcased in fashion capitals all over the world, Omega’s Her Time is headed for its next destination, Hong Kong. Following exhibitions in Milan, Moscow, Shanghai, Sydney, and Paris the women’s timepieces, as well as advertising from the past, is now being shown in its second Asian city. Proudly displays Omega’s continuous love and devotion to ladies watchmaking, the exhibition honors both the past and present. Her Time Exhibition Ladies’ De Ville Jeux d’Argent, 1974 Ladies’ jewelry “secret watch” and Arabesque d’Or ring, 1966 Over a timespan of a hundred years, Omega has been creating watches for the modern and elegant woman. The inspiration behind the Her Time exhibition was bringing this legacy to life, giving the public a detailed look into the evolution of Omega. Pieces such as early Lèpine pendants and the timeless Ladymatic are beautifully displayed, as well as the “secret jewelry watches” and today’s latest creations. Furthermore, visitors can take a closer look at examples of vintage artwork and classic Omega advertising. Some of the highlight pieces that can be seen are the 1925 Omega Art Deco Jewellery Wristwatch, the 1960 Omega Jewellery “secret watch” and the revolutionary Ladymatic. Exhibits on show at the Her Time Exhibition Ladies’ Constellation Manhattan wristwatch, 1982 by Lea Lindaas The Her Time exhibition is now open to the public at selected Omega Boutiques in Hong Kong until July 2, 2018.


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This past Thursday, two self-driving prototype cars, one operated by Google Inc and the other by Delphi Automotive Plc, had a close call on a Silicon Valley street, according to Reuters -- possibly the first such incident involving two vehicles specially equipped for automated driving.
The incident occurred Tuesday on San Antonio Road in Palo Alto, said John Absmeier, director of Delphi's Silicon Valley lab and global business director for the company's automated driving program, who was a passenger in one of the cars. No collision took place. The Delphi vehicle was a prototype Audi Q5 crossover vehicle equipped with lasers, radar, cameras and special computer software, with a person at the wheel as a backup.
As the Delphi vehicle prepared to change lanes, a Google self-driving prototype - a Lexus RX400h crossover fitted with similar hardware and software - cut off the Audi, forcing it to abort the lane change, Absmeier said.
Google declined to comment.
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