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- Darden was able to commence the spin just in time, as a U.S. House amendment to a Congressional tax bill was legalized preventing similar tax-free REIT spin-offs.
- The bill essentially forced companies that wanted to spin off their real estate into a REIT to be taxed.
- I am more attracted to the dining chain than the landlord.
Darden Restaurants (DRI) reported solid Q1-18 results last week: Total sales were $1.9 billion, an increase of 12.9%, and adjusted diluted net earnings per share were $.99, an increase of 12.5% (from last year's diluted net earnings per share). The company returned approximately $180 million of capital to shareholders with $100 million in share repurchases and approximately $80 million in dividends.
Darden’s recent acquisition of the Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen chain (HQ’d in Texas) caused a slight decline in profits due to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The two storms temporarily closed hundreds of restaurants and may have resulted in nearly $5.6 million in lost profits.
Darden bought the 165-restaurant Cheddar’s chain for $780 million in April, hoping for a young, high-growth restaurant to counter mature brands such as Olive Garden. On the recent earnings call, Darden’s CEO (Gene Lee) explained:
"We are laser focused on integrating Cheddar’s. We think Cheddar’s is an incredible opportunity for long-term growth, and so we are not even contemplating or thinking about doing anything else until that brand is fully integrated, it is firing and has really a good growth platform where it’s contributing at a much higher growth rate than Olive Garden and to add to our overall growth rate, so that’s the focus. Once we have visibility that that has been done successfully, then we’ll look at the platform and determine what our next move is."
Just under two years ago, Four Corners Property Trust (FCPT) completed its spin-off from Darden into an independent public company trading on the NYSE. The company began trading as a C-Corp. and became a REIT effective January 1, 2016.
Darden was able to commence the spin just in time, as a U.S. House amendment to a Congressional tax bill was legalized preventing similar tax-free REIT spin-offs.
Representative Kevin Brady was the key Republican behind the provision in the bill which put the brakes on REIT spin-offs, a popular tool used by many activists as a means to separate real estate and operating assets.
The bill essentially forced companies that wanted to spin off their real estate into a REIT to be taxed - the distribution of either the real estate or operating assets would no longer be tax-free.
Darden was able to pay down ~$1bn of debt subsequent to the spin-off, partially funded by the Four Corners transaction; following the spin-off, Darden had no debt maturities until 2035.


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GAMA: GA Sales Continue To Rise
Sales of piston airplanes rose 16 percent in the first half of this year, compared to the same period last year, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association reported on Monday, with 455 airplanes delivered. Twin turboprops, however, led the field, with a jump from 34 deliveries last year to 58, a growth rate of 71 percent. "We are encouraged to see a strong increase in billings this quarter," said GAMA President Pete Bunce. "But the mixed results in shipments -- and the differences in performance among sectors -- demonstrate that GA airplane manufacturers still face some strong headwinds as the global economy recovers." The GA sector overall saw 9 percent growth, but business jet sales continue to decline.
Compared to last year's numbers, business jet sales are down 4 percent, GAMA said. Overall, billings for GA airplanes worldwide reached $10.4 billion, up 26.4 percent from the same period last year, when they totaled $8.2 billion. "This marks the first time since 2008 that airplane revenues have exceeded $10 billion in the first six months of the year," GAMA said. The complete shipment report can be found at GAMA's web site.

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Top buyers from America, the Middle East and Japan are flooding to London and pushing attendance up by 40 per cent on last year's autumn show, the British Fashion Council said.
They have been attracted to the 25th anniversary of the event this month by the return of big-name British designers. Joining Burberry and Williamson are Pringle, Stella McCartney for adidas, and Jonathan Saunders, who disappeared for years to New York, Paris and Milan.
Another draw is London's growing offering of radical young designers, such as Peter Pilotto, who counts actress Sienna Miller as a fan; Henry Holland, close friend of supermodel Agyness Deyn; Meadham Kirchhoff and Mark Fast whose designs have been worn by Twilight star Kristen Stewart.
The appointment of a specialist US-based PR agency to promote London Fashion Week for the first time this summer has also helped to pull in high-spending executives from New York department stores Barneys and Saks Fifth Avenue. They will be joined by buyers from leading independent boutiques such as Kirna Zabete and Seven of New York and Arcade and H Lorenzo of Los Angeles. US Vogue editor Anna Wintour is also expected to attend after a two-year absence.
A subsidised travel scheme to encourage overseas visitors is also running for the seventh year. The London Development Agency, which funds fashion week, and UK Trade and Investment are providing about £40,000 to help pay for air fares, a sum matched by commercial sponsorship. Some designers have said the programme has helped their business at fashion week triple in the past two seasons.
The six-day extravaganza from 18 to 23 September is expected to generate an extra £20 million in spending in London on hotels, restaurants, bars and taxis on top of clothes orders. It is the biggest and most star-studded Fashion Week yet with more than 50 catwalk shows, a further 45 or more off-schedule shows and another 100 designers showcasing ready-to-wear outfits and accessories. For the first time, a day is being dedicated to menswear.
In the spring, orders at London Fashion Week nudged £100 million and insiders say that figure is expected to be "significantly" higher this month.
It is a striking turnaround for the event, which only a year ago was under threat of being squeezed down to four days after New York said it wanted to change the timing of its shows.
Caroline Rush, joint chief executive of the British Fashion Council, said the return of big name British designers had "signalled the start of a very exciting period for London Fashion Week". She added: "Our focus for the future is to nurture emerging designers and support labels to build their businesses internationally."
London Mayor Boris Johnson, who will open fashion week, said: "What sets London Fashion Week apart is its wit and energy, as well as its sophistication. I'm committed to the capital remaining at the forefront as one of the world's greatest cities for fashion."Reuse content


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Photos Courtesy of Brain Corp and Simbe
The labor market is still far off from pre-pandemic levels and that’s put some retailers in a pinch. In fact, US employers are still 4 million jobs short of where they were in February 2020 and a record 4.5 million workers quit their jobs in November 2021.
A substantial number of store openings in 2021 is a positive sign heading into 2022, but retailers continue to work as hard as ever to attract new talent. Companies including Walmart, Macy’s, and CVS currently offer anything from flexible scheduling to additional training opportunities, and Walmart has gone as far as hiring 150,000 workers for last years’ holiday season and beyond.
But hiring new talent isn’t easy and retailers are looking for alternative solutions when it comes to staffing, fulfilling deliveries, stocking, and automating tasks. For many, autonomous store technology has enormous potential and robots are at the forefront of this innovation.
Robots are already making an impact
Whether we’d like to admit it or not, robots are here and they’re already making rounds at the grocers we use every day. Brian Corporations’ scrubbing robots, which can be found in roughly 600 Sam’s Club’s, are kind of like a “Go-Go-Gadget arm,” explained the tech company’s Vice President of Product and Marketing Josh Baylin.
But Baylin maintains that their robots are not taking desirable labor away from employees.
“We’ve really got to ask ourselves, and certainly we’re asking our customers, ‘is this really work that you want your folks doing?’ Over time, I think we’ll get far more comfortable with robots taking that dirty, dull, and dangerous work away,” Baylin revealed.
Furthermore, fewer available workers these days means that filling in capacity gaps is a plus.
“There’s just a tremendous amount of open roles,” he said.
And many, if not all in-store robots are supplemental, not a replacement for existing workers—another reason employees at Sam’s club should be excited about robotic technology, argued Todd Garner, vice president of in-club product management at Sam’s Club.
At Hy-Vee and Schnucks, a robot named Tally is keeping an eye on shelves. Simbe Robotics, the robotics company that developed Tally, told Morning Brew that their autonomous technology is capable of digitizing information about production location, availability, and price—thereby speeding up the supply chain. Tally covers the “physical retail blind spot,” said Simbe Robotics CEO Brad Bologea.
And there’s Marty, a robot by Badger Technologies that is being used as an “augmentation strategy for process improvements” around inventory, collecting data about stocks and pricing, as well as product location. As of 2019, Marty can be found in over 500 Giant Food Stores, Martin’s, and Stop & Shop locations owned by Ahold Delhaize USA.
“Bringing robotics and A.I. from a research lab to the sales floor has been a very exciting journey, and we were thrilled by the customer response in our pilot stores,” said Martin’s President Nicholas Bertram.
But how optimistic are consumers really about robots gliding through grocery isles?
Consumers aren’t quite warmed up to robots
According to a recent PSFK report, less than 25% of consumers believe robots would improve their shopping experience. As it appears, a certain amount of adjusting will need to take place for adults to feel comfortable approaching in-store robots.
Patrick Maturo, manager of store initiatives for Stop & Shop, has already come to terms with this adjustment period and made an effort to warm the public up to Marty.
“There was an adjustment period for our customers and associates as they got used to its presence in-store and got familiar with its functionality,” said Maturo.
Through works of fiction, video games, and even consumer tech like the Roomba, the anthropomorphization of robots has existed among the public for years. There is, however, reason to believe consumers would rather interact with human employees over robots presented as “big” or “scary.”
To lean away from “big scary robot[s],” Simbe created Tally with neutral colors, a sleek and slender frame, and the ability to get out of shoppers’ ways when needed. Simbe isn’t the only robotics company to build autonomous tech with consumer biases in mind, but a growing number of retailers are using robots on the back-end to fulfill orders instead of assisting in-store customers.
Ocado meets innovation
Inside an undisclosed warehouse in Groveland, FL, several hundred robots and Kroger employees work together to prepare online grocery orders. In a deal with British online grocer Ocado, Kroger is using autonomous technology to fill customers’ e-commerce orders in ways that supplement what human employees can accomplish.
As of 2022, Kroger has invested in warehouses in both Florida and Ohio. Each facility, or “shed,” costs the retailer around $55 million to build and is stocked with 31,000 different grocery, personal care, and household items. Suffice to say, there’s a lot riding on how successful they are.
Behind the scenes, Ocado’s software powers robots roughly the size of dishwasher glides on top of grids of plastic totes. To make life easier for Kroger employees, these robots run an intricate storage and retrieval system that allows workers to fill lanes with inventory and process customers’ orders.
Kroger is also just one out of the many grocers Ocado hopes to partner with over the years to come. Given that Ocado will enter newer and bigger warehouses, the team behind the robot is confident they can fine-tune the technology and practice on a wider range of goods.
Could these robots replace workers? Ocado department manager Alex Harvey doesn’t think so. “It would,” but he adds that any staff worker whose role was replaced would be retrained for another job around the facility. Ocado Co-founder Tim Steiner was a little more open about what the future of robots could look like in similar warehouses.
“Every human touch point is designed to one day be replaced by a robotic solution,” he said.
Steiner and his robotics team are well on their way to making that a reality, but a growing competition including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Amazon Fresh just in the UK could make it hard to dominate the retail space indefinitely.
The future of autonomous technology
Still, robots require assistance from retail workers when it comes to charging, placement, transportation, and loading and unloading. According to Baylin, we’re still in the “early innings” in terms of full automation. The human element will be needed for a while and most workers can feel confident knowing their employment status is safe.
Baylin also noted that it’ll take both business owners and shoppers time to “leap across the chasm” to the world of robots, but that a recognition that we’re not so different from our technological creations may help mind the gap.
“I think we’re all cyborgs in a way, with our mobile phones,” he said. “We never had the ability to take a picture or measure a distance or see the temperature, do a stopwatch, right?
“All of these things sort of enable us to be superhuman. I think the robot is sort of just a modern extension of that.”
Nevertheless, the slow progression towards fully autonomous technology is underway and industry leaders will need to decide what’s best for their teams.


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Apple is set to announce the iPhone 7 on September 7, and rumors are flying. The company remains characteristically tight-lipped on design changes, but analyst Ming-chi Kuo with KGI Securities says there is awesomeness coming, including waterproofing, more cameras, and storage options starting at 32 gigabytes.
If there’s anyone you can trust when it comes to predicting the future of Apple products, it’s Kuo. He has gained celebrity status for savant-level insights ahead of previous releases. According to AppleInsider, here’s what you can expect:
- One big change for the iPhone 7 will be the elimination of the 16 and 64 gigabyte storage options. Instead, the new model will offer 32, 128, and 256 GB capacities.
- The new camera will feature two 12-megapixel lenses, one in wide-angle and one in telephoto. In addition to a new optical zoom, Apple will increase the number of flash LEDs to four. An ambient light sensor will combat poor image quality in low-light atmospheres. It’s expected that the dual-camera design will only be available in the 5.5 inch model.
- In addition to an A10 processor with up to 2.45 gigahertz speeds, there will be improvements on the 3D touch sensor and a new haptic home button. Apple filed 38 patents earlier this year, including for a multi-haptic touch system, so this new home button could be Apple’s first test of adopting the technology system-wide.
- The True Tone display technology unveiled with the 9.7 inch iPad Pro earlier this year will also make its way to the iPhone 7.
- As anticipated, Kuo reports that Apple has pulled the plug on its legacy headphone jack. The company will instead swap out the space for an audio amplifier and will include Lightning EarPods and an adapter with the new model.
- A leak from Nowhere Else reports that Apple has also dropped its mute button, but this wasn’t corroborated in Kuo’s report.
- Clumsy owners can rejoice as the new iPhone will adopt the same waterproofing technology as the Apple Watch. The new model will be able to withstand water immersion of up to one meter for up to 30 minutes.
- Apple is ditching its space gray option to double down on black. It will introduce a dark black and limited, glossy, “piano black.”
The event will also likely include new updates for the Apple Watch and MacBook Pro — the first redesign for the laptop computer in four years.


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To view your stats, you must have a PSN account, be 18 years of age or older, and have played at least 10 hours of PS4 games in 2020. Sony is sending recap reports via email, and until March 2, you can view your statistics on the Wrap-Up site. To celebrate the arrival of Wrap-Up, Sony released a free dynamic theme for PS4.
Sony isn’t the only company to put the personal activity of users from the previous year into a neat package. Nintendo, Spotify and TIC Tac All of the 2020 review features were released in December, so it’s a bit odd that Sony took until February to start sending out its summary reports. Either way, you can now find out how much time you spent trying to beat the Souls of the demon remake.


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Keeping a car, truck, or other vehicle running safely and efficiently requires a certain amount of routine maintenance.
- Brandon Turkus
- Apr 8, 2015
Russia's auto industry continues to suffer, thanks to rapid inflation due to plunging oil prices and western sanctions.
- Danny King
- Sep 30, 2014
Brazil is a long way from the US, and the price of the BMW i3 in that South American country is even further away from what Americans pay for the same electric vehicle. But that hasn't stopped a few wealthy Brazilians from taking the plunge.
- Chris Bruce
- Sep 24, 2014
Whether you're shopping at the grocery story or on a car lot, everything seems to be getting more expensive these days. However, when all the factors are considered, that might be more an issue of perception than of fact. The American Public Media radio show Marketplace recently tackled the question whether modern vehicles were actually more expensive once you factored in important variables like inflation and cost of ownership. The result was pretty surprising.
- Damon Lavrinc
- Aug 15, 2007
The feds are so intent on having you check your tire pressure that they're willing to sacrifice toads in the process. Well, not really, but the new NHTSA ad campaign takes a strange tack to inform consumers that summer weather is Hell on tires.
- John Neff
- May 30, 2007
You've heard this point before, but despite the price of gas being at record levels, adjusted for inflation, it's still not the most expensive we've ever paid for dead-dino juice in the U.S. The Auto Prophet, one of the original auto-related bloggers that's still keepin' it real, found this informative chart (see larger version here) from InflationData.com that illustrates this fact in a straightforward way. The black line is the actual average price of gasoline in the U.S. since 1918, while the
- Dane Muldoon
- Feb 14, 2007
Fact 1: The US Department of Energy estimates that we could save two million gallons of gasoline every day if our tires were properly inflated.
- Ferrari celebrates 70th anniversary in Monterey
- Nissan Midnight Edition Titan and Frontier
- Find and compare 2017 models


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It’s no secret that Amazon tops the list for online sales, but it did come as quite a surprise to see that the runner up to the retail giant’s crown was no other than…Apple.
While the tech company is renowned for its impressive range of hardware, the brand has successfully established itself as a provider of the latest must-have accessories – and with Apple having more than 500 million customer accounts hosted on the App Store alone, this is an incredible feat for the Cupertino powerhouse.
According to information collected from trade publication Internet Retailer, their total online sales hit £10.8 billion in 2013 – ranking second place after stealing the spot from Staples (who had trailed behind Amazon since 2006).
Apple witnessed a 24 per cent rise in online sales from 2012, partly attributed to Internet Retailer comprising the firm’s hardware sales for the first time ever last year – however, these figures also include sales from Apple’s App Store and iTunes.
It appears that the winning formula behind the success of both companies lies with their easy-to-use shopping facility – through their databases of millions of credit card details, this allows customers to purchase goods with just one click. With mobile shopping proving the way forward, Apple already has a lead over its competitors; but with Amazon now selling their own hardware including the Kindle Fire as well as their soon-to-be released smartphone, it will be interesting to see which of these rivals will come out on top.


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The resolution said the capital is expected to come in multiple tranches. ET reported on October 7 that $39 million has already come in from existing investors such as Warburg Pincus, CDC Group and Partners Group.
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The company lost some of its business after Singapore’s Shopee exited the Indian market earlier this year. According to media reports, it even held talks with Amazon for a potential sale.
Prior to this internal funding round, the company had raised a total of $260 million.
The ecommerce logistics space is seeing increasing competition with Delhivery going public, Xpressbees becoming a unicorn this year, and Bengaluru-based Shadowfax holding talks to raise $75-100 million in funding, which ET reported on September 5.
- Front Page
- Pure Politics
- Brands & Companies
- Learn more about our print editionMore
- Vedanta to Demerge into Six Listed Companies
Resources conglomerate Vedanta, which faces bond redemptions exceeding $3 billion over the next 18 months at its UK-based holding company, Friday said it would demerge into six listed companies to undergird the valuations of its revenue streams as diverse as mining, energy, and non-ferrous metals.Jewellery Chains Put their Hallmark on Small Towns
Latha Radhakrishnan used to travel to Coimbatore city to buy gold jewellery from Tanishq's store there, but she now has the option to buy it closer home, as the Titan co-owned chain has opened an outlet at Pollachi.Sony-Zee Show Runs Into Overtime; Legal Glitches Behind Delay: Experts
Sony Group Corp Friday said that there would be a delay of several months in the merger of its local media unit Sony Pictures Networks India with Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL), while adding that both parties would pursue the processes necessary to close the deal that aims to create one of the biggest media companies in Asia’s third-largest economy.
ETPrime stories of the day
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Fans first got a taste for a different style of survival horror when Konami released its Silent Hills demo P.T. It sparked a renewed interest in the genre until the Japanese publisher cancelled the project. Still, fans looked forward to its spiritual successor Allison Road. Unfortunately on June 4, 2016, British developer Lilith, Ltd. announced they cancelled the project as well.
The statement came via the game’s official Twitter. While no details were given, the studio said more information is on the way in the coming weeks.
The title was funded through Kickstarter and developed by a small team. Its campaign was cut short after publisher Team17 picked up the concept after the title reached 4 482 backers. The only footage of the game is a pre alpha build video that’s just over 13 minutes , so there isn’t much to really go on.
Hopefully this doesn’t hurt the ten-person studio too badly, despite starting as a passion project, a lot of time and manpower went into developing this title.


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Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah; President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote as well as President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, Dr Frank Udemba Jacobs are expected to grace the symposium of Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria, CICAN, designed to appraise the growth and development of the nation’s industrial sector.
Tagged, ‘’25 Years of Incisive Industry Reporting; the Gains, the Pains’’, the symposium would among other things x-ray the challenges affecting the real sector of the nation’s economy while highlighting achievements recorded so far.
Resource persons drawn from private and public sectors of the economy would speak on some topical issues, including ‘Financing Industrial Sector for Economic Development’’, “Training and Retraining of Manpower for Economic Growth’’ and ‘’How to maximize the Gains of the Industrial Sector ‘among others
Beyond this, CICAN would also recognize captains of industry, who have contributed immensely to the development and growths of the industrial sector by inducting them in its hall of fame.
Endorsed by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment; the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria; the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Mines as well as Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the symposium would also attract some industry operators, who would appraise industrial milestones in the last 25 years.
CICAN, an umbrella body of specialized media practitioners, drawn from print, electronic and online media, started its industrial reporting in 1992, thus making it 25 years of covering the all-important sector of the nation’s economy.
The event, which would take place at Sheraton Hotels and Towers on October 4, would among other things witness the past leaders of the association as well as industry stakeholders from different walks of life.


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While last year wasn’t a particularly good year for stock investors, at least one man closed it out with a smile. Ken Griffin, the billionaire founder of the Citadel hedge fund, didn’t just outperform the markets last year – he managed to outperform them by a margin of $16 billion. It was the highest annual profit ever seen by a Wall Street hedge fund, and reflected the 38% return generated by Citadel’s flagship fund.
Now we all know that past performance is no guarantee of future gains – but it’s only human to want to follow a winner, and Griffin’s success in a truly bearish market has, for now, set him head and shoulders above the ordinary.
Recent regulatory filings show that Griffin has moved heavily into high-yield dividend stocks, the stock market’s traditional defensive play.
Using TipRanks database, we’ve pulled up the details on two of Griffin’s moves, both Buy-rated equities with dividend yields exceeding 6%. We can turn to the Wall Street analysts to find out what else might have brought these stocks to Griffin’s attention. Let’s take a closer look.
New York Community Bancorp (NYCB)
We’ll start with New York Community Bancorp, a major name in the banking industry. NYCB recently acquired Flagstar Bank, and is now one of the largest regional banks in the US. The bank offers a full range of services to retail and commercial customers, including mortgage origination and services.
The company announced its 4Q22 and full year results on January 31, and saw an immediate positive effect on its stock. The financial release showed a bottom line of 30 cents per diluted share for Q4, exactly the same result as one year earlier – but well above the 20 cents expected. Full-year EPS came in at $1.26 per diluted share, compared to $1.20 in 2021.
On the balance sheet, the bank had $90.1 billion in assets, compared to $63 billion at the end of 4Q21. The total included $25.8 billion in assets accrued during the Flagstar acquisition.
Also in January, NYCB declared its next dividend payment, for February 16. The payment, of 17 cents per common share, annualizes to 68 cents and gives a yield of 7.1%. The company has held its dividend at 17 cents per share since 2016, and has a history of payments going back to 1994.
Ken Griffin clearly sees this bancorp as sound investment, as his recent Q4 filings show that he bought in big. In fact, Griffin expanded his existing position in NYCB by over 12.4 million shares – or a whopping 13,215%. His ownership stake in the company is now worth over $119 million.
Griffin isn’t the only one bullish on this stock. Covering NYCB for RBC, 5-star analyst Jon Arfstrom takes a bullish stance, writing: “We view core trends as favorable with strong organic loan and deposit growth, better than expected margin expansion, and stable credit quality. Additionally, the company announced a material restructuring of the Flagstar mortgage business that should help drive improvement in the expense base and efficiency over time. Overall, we believe the outlook is reasonable, though dependent on successful execution of the Flagstar integration and restructuring activities.”
Looking forward, Arfstrom sets an Outperform (i.e. Buy) rating on NYCB shares, along with a $12 price target. Based on the current dividend yield and the expected price appreciation, the stock has ~33% potential total return profile. (To watch Arfstrom’s track record, click here)
Panning out to a bigger picture, we find that 11 analysts have weighed in on NYCB recently; their reviews include 5 to Buy and 6 to Hold, for a Moderate Buy consensus rating. (See NYCB stock forecast)
Newell Brands Inc. (NWL)
From banking we’ll switch to consumer staples. Newell Brands may not be a name you know – but it’s almost certain that you’ve used the company’s products. Newell is the manufacturer and distributor of well-known brands such as Paper Mate and Parker pens, X-Acto knives, Sharpie markets, Rubbermaid containers, Baby Jogger strollers, and even Mr. Coffee.
While Newell has its hands in a variety of aspects of everyday life, it has been subject to inflationary pressures over the past year. As prices rose, consumers began to cut back on non-essential items – at the same time, companies like Newell also faced pressure in their own purchasing offices as the costs of raw materials went up.
The result, in the company’s recently reported 4Q22 results, was a year-over-year decline in sales. Quarterly net sales dropped 18.5% to $2.3 billion; core sales were down by 9.4%. The company also saw the non-GAAP EPS decline from 53 cents in Q3 to just 16 cents for Q4. However, the Q4 EPS did beat expectations by wide margins; analysts had been looking for just 11 cents per share.
At the same time, Newell has kept up its highly reliable dividend payment. The company this month declared its next payment for March 15, at 23 cents per common share. Newell has held the dividend at this level since 2017, and the annualized payment of 92 cents is now yielding 6.1% – about triple the average dividend yield found among S&P-listed firms.
It’s clear that Ken Griffin saw something worthwhile in Newell Brands; he had an open position on the stock, and loaded up on another 2,285,158 shares in Q4. This expanded his holdings of NWL by more than 300%, and gave him over $45 million interest in the company.
Griffin isn’t the only bull here. In her coverage of this consumer staples company, J.P. Morgan analyst Andrea Teixeira sees it clearing a path forward.
“We remain positive in the long run as we think post 1H23 (with sequential progress in 2Q23), the company will start to show the benefits from the restructuring (project OVID and Project Phoenix introduced back in January – see our note), which along with the recent leadership shuffle announced in December is set to allow better execution of this roadmap. Admittedly, the company is seeing greater than originally expected pressure in some more discretionary categories or those more exposed to low-income consumers (e.g., small appliances, home fragrances), but we expect most of the slack to be picked up elsewhere in the 2H23 (e.g., Commercial Solutions, and sell out in Learning & Development),” Teixeira opined.
“While investors may just ‘wait-and-see’ given uncertainty over the trajectory of the consumer from here, we think current valuation is too cheap to ignore,” the analyst summed up.
In Teixeira’s view, Newell’s opportunities are worth an Overweight (i.e. Buy) rating, and her $18 price target suggests it has room for 18% share appreciation in the year ahead. (To watch Teixeira’s track record, click here)
Overall, Newell Brands has 9 recent reviews from the Wall Street analysts, and these reviews are split 4 each to Buy or Hold, with 1 to Sell – all adding up to a Moderate Buy consensus rating. (See NWL stock forecast)
To find good ideas for dividend stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
#Billionaire #Ken #Griffin #Bets #Big #HighYield #Dividend #Stocks


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Tesla and the Push for Vision in Self-Driving Cars
by Adam Pease
Tesla’s new supercomputer, “Dojo,” has been unveiled at CVPR 2021, the international conference for computer vision. Dojo clocks in at 1.8 exaflops of performance, making it one of the best in the world. This computer will be used to power neural network training for Tesla’s new vehicles, which will be based on computer vision AI alone. In this blog, we discuss the future of vision-only autonomous vehicles, and how they related to concerns about safety and accuracy in the field.
Computer Vision for the Autonomous Vehicle
Tesla’s announcement came with the information that the automaker would be leaving behind its reliance on lidar and radar for autonomous sensing, and relying exclusively on computer vision through its new supercomputer. For deep learning, this is a huge step forward, as it demonstrates that the classical solutions to sensing are not longer requirements if an AI model is fast, accurate, and scalable enough.
Tesla’s new Dojo supercomputer is likely one of the most powerful in the world. According to a recent interview, it has amassed more than one million videos that average about 10 seconds long. Each is auto-labeled through a computer vision system that learns to recognize hazards or other roadway contingencies to drive
Tesla’s new Model Y and 3 vehicles will be launching without radar, relying only on cameras, which the manufacturer boasted are faster and more accurate than previous methods. Still, some have raised questions about whether abandoning radar is the right call. Elon Musk himself even weighed in on the change with a Tweet, pointing out that there can be disagreements between radar and vision, and that the precision of visual AI is the tiebreaker in these situations.
Are Cameras Enough for Self-Driving Cars?
Undoubtedly, this move from a large computer vision player like Tesla bodes well for the place of AI in the self-driving car market. Nevertheless, there are limits to cameras that other sensing modalities can provide important backup support for. Poor weather conditions, for instance, can present serious obstacles. This is the reason Aragon has seen some new computer vision hardware providers moving towards alternative modes of sensor enablement, such as thermal imaging.
One advantage of depending on camera-based neural networks is that vehicles will require less location data to function. Currently, lidar-based autonomous vehicles depend on high volumes of map, traffic, and road data, which Tesla has proposed an AI-driven sensor could reduce our dependence on.
However, these same advantages may make others worried. Is moving towards complete AI enablement the right decision for self-driving, or would it be better to have a variety of sensor modalities that can back one another up? Tesla’s vehicles are admittedly error-prone in crowded environments, a serious flaw that the manufacturer is trying to address through better AI, but which also necessitates the production of better and better super computers like Dojo, a race that may have diminishing returns. It remains to be seen whether Tesla will be able to build a vehicle that will give its users full confidence, but it its underlying vision technology is undeniably improving.
AI Ethics: The Self-Driving Vehicle Conundrum
Self-driving cars were the way many were introduced to the power of computer vision, but the technology has struggled to facilitate widespread adoption. Regulations, the specter of tragic accidents, and the highly variable nature of roadways around the world have all been formidable obstacles to the acceptance of a self-driving future. Autonomous vehicles present a fundamentally new kind of problem for policymakers and everyday citizens alike.
They provoke chilling dilemmas such as the classic problem of a car that must decide which way to go between two groups of pedestrians. An interesting question to consider is whether advances in technology will ever deliver us from the difficult moral problems that surround planning for autonomous vehicles. Even with a highly optimized, accurate algorithm, the idea of a machine making decisions about who to crash into may cause the general public to rankle at freeways full of autonomous cars.
While we are still a ways from the future of consumer automobiles that Tesla envisions, every advance in artificial intelligence brings with it new possibilities for the use of autonomous vehicles in the enterprise, and in tailored, specific settings. Tesla’s vision-only move signals confidence in computer vision, which will move the sector forward as a whole.
The bottom line is that while Tesla’s new announcement signals good things about the growth of the computer vision market, it is more unclear what the announcement means for Tesla’s autonomous vehicles. Despite impressive innovations in underlying AI, self-driving cars are still dogged by safety issues that will make the vast majority of buyers queasy.


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The economic recovery have increased imports cost, leading to a significant improvement in global trade, which may be the largest this year.
According to a study conducted by Euler-Hermes group, international trade is expected to record a growth of 7.7% in volume and 15.9% in value over the year, after declining 8% and 9.9$, respectively.
The study indicated that the reopening of economies in Europe and the United States would lead to a strong increase in imports from Asia to these two regions, which strongly supports global trade in terms of volume.
In addition to the increase in demand, companies are facing the need to replenish stocks that were largely depleted last year when trade almost came to a halt due to the pandemic.
As a result, the freight transport sector, especially sea freight, is facing difficulty in meeting the needs, which leads to a shortage of containers and an increase in transportation costs. This leads to an increase in the value of exchanges that exceeds the increase in their volume.
Between 60% and 65% of the containers have faced delays in delivery since the beginning of this year, compared to about 20% before the crisis, according to the same company.
Euler Hermes also said that the sudden increase in prices force companies to change inventory management strategies.
European companies in particular are facing difficulties because their stocks were lower than those of their American or Asian competitors.
Hardest hit are sectors where inventory management is more difficult, such as automobiles and textiles.
Euler-Hermes expects cost pressures to continue until 2022 as global trade continues to grow.
In early June, an economic report showed that global trade is heading to moderation in the coming quarters, with the maturity of the global recovery process and the opening of economies, allowing for a complete return to the services sector.
Such moderation would be beneficial at this point in the global economic cycle.
A report issued by Qatar National Bank (QNB) and published by Qatar News Agency (QNA) indicated that this will be an indication that spending patterns are on the way to return to normal, as well as it will ease pressure on the troubled supply chains.


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15 jobs created as transport firm launches specialist e-commerce and online trader arm
A transport firm has created 15 new jobs with a new niche company targeted at e-commerce and online traders.
The Nicholson Group has launched Burnside Distribution to provide warehousing and a pick and pack distribution service for companies that do not have their own fulfillment facilities.
The new firm is based at the group’s facility in Billingham and clients including high end bathroom and furniture companies, sportswear brands and machinery part manufacturers.
Nicholson Group launched Burnside with a view to best utilising its 55,000 sq ft warehouse as part of a wider strategy to diversify its logistics offer.
Group managing director David Nicholson said: “Burnside Distribution allows us to concentrate on customers who want their distribution done properly and with an emphasis on service and care.
“Many of these are digital business who need the confidence of a full warehousing, fulfillment and distribution service. This model, where essentially we become a customer focused fulfillment centre, allows us to offer much higher service levels with greater control over that relationship.
“We have operated within this sector for more than 30 years and we can now pass that expertise on to our customers directly rather than being tied to the national distribution hubs.”
Although the Nicholson Group comprises a portfolio of businesses within the logistics and warehousing sector, it has diversified in an effort to spread its interests beyond transport.
Caravan and container storage firm Box Clever will soon expand to a third site while lorry-mounted crane operation Nicholson Hi-ab is performing well.
Bespoke furniture importer J N Rusticus has enjoyed its busiest year to date while Burnside Wood Pellets is gearing up for its first full winter supplying to homes across the country.
Mr Nicholson has predicted quick growth for Burnside Distribution.
He added: “We want to build Burnside Distribution as the go to place for this kind of operation.
“The ethos with the Nicholson Group is always to allow our firms to prosper under their own management teams and I am pleased that Burnside Distribution has quickly and efficiently established itself in this niche market.”


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Is Amazon finally jumping on the smartphone bandwagon? The rumor mills are abuzz after Microsoft’s Director of Business Development, Robert Williams, joined the company as the director of the App store.Williams joining Amazon was made public on his LinkedIn profile, and later a tweet showed him ‘check in’ to the Amazon office.
Williams’ move, which comes after 15 years at Microsoft, has given further credence to reports that Amazon was in the testing phase of a smartphone project. Tech blog CDNet reports,
“On Wednesday, we reported that Amazon was in the “smartphone testing” phase with plans to start production later this year in time for the Christmas holidays.Will Amazon come out with a smartphone?
There are two things to consider here:
Microsoft could be planning on licensing out its Windows Phone operating system to Amazon to take on the giants of the iPhone and Android device base. Or, as rumours suggest, Amazon is developing for Android and Microsoft is simply unable to retain key talent and senior leads are defecting to a rival firm to make a go of it elsewhere.”
A Wall Street Journal report on 11 July also suggested that an Amazon phone could be out as early as December amid rumors that the company was testing a smartphone for over a year.
According to the Market Watch blog,recent shifts in the smartphone and mobile computing markets – along with Amazon’s business objectives – make a smartphone from the company a more logical step now. The company has however remained tight-lipped on the matter, refusing to either confirm or deny the rumors.


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The continued success of Sports Direct International and trading recoveries of Mothercare and Thorntons will place the retail sector in the spotlight this week.
Sports Direct is expected to post a 19 per cent leap in underlying profits to £287.3 million for the year to 28 April, while the City is pencilling in pre-tax profits of £215m. The firm has enjoyed a solid year, with sales soaring in the wake of rival JJB’s collapse.
Retailer Mothercare will update on turnaround progress when it publishes first-quarter trading figures on Thursday. The mother and baby goods store chain has been jettisoning loss-making outlets as part of a three-year restructuring plan, and could announce more closures at an update covering the three months to 30 June.
During the year to 31 March, Mothercare closed 56 UK stores – reducing its footprint by 7.2 per cent – to leave it with around 196 Mothercare outlets and 59 Early Learning Centre stores. The company is working towards a 200-strong estate by 2015, complemented by a stronger online division.
Chocolate retailer Thorntons will reveal further details of its trading revival today as its turnaround gathers pace.
The group’s fourth-quarter trading update comes after it confirmed earlier this month that full-year profits will beat expectations, thanks to a sales recovery and careful cost management.
It first upped profits guidance in April following a successful Easter, when it grew its market share to 4.7 per cent from 4 per cent a year earlier, with Thorntons branded UK commercial sales growing 10 per cent to £27.4m.
Vodafone’s £9.1 billion move for Germany’s biggest cable operator, Kabel Deutschland, will be in the spotlight on Friday when the telecoms group reports first-quarter results.
The acquisition – which now looks unlikely to be derailed by rival interest from US media group Liberty Global – will boost the mobile phone giant’s ability to offer consumers bundled packages of telephone, broadband and television services.
The addition of Kabel Deutschland’s 8.5 million connected households would give Vodafone a total of 32.4 million mobile, five million broadband and 7.6 million direct TV customers in Germany.


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Clean Energy and Transportation News for October 2018
Department of Energy Announces $53 Million in New Projects to Advance Solar Technologies(October 23, 2018)
Electrify America to install Ohio Turnpike's first electric vehicle charging stations(October 22, 2018)
Electrify America expanding EV charging network(October 18, 2018)
The multiple EV charging networks with differing membership capabilities have been a big hindrance for public EV charging. EV owners have had to maintain memberships in multiple networks, and have faced the challenge of only charging at stations where they have a membership. This agreement enables "roaming" similar to how we are able to use any ATM machine -- meaning they're implementing a system of agreements with other EV charging operators to form a larger charging network.
Department of Energy Announces $46 Million to Improve Resiliency of Solar Generation(October 15, 2018)
Honda demonstrates new smart intersection technology enabling vehicles to virtually see through and around buildings(October 4, 2018)
Volkswagen accelerates e-mobility for the masses(October 4, 2018)
Volkswagen has been making big claims for years, that VW would be the prominent electric vehicle seller offering a full range of EV's. Here they are again making a big claim. VW is asking us to believe that during 2010 they'll sell 150,000 electric cars of which 100,000 will be the VW I.D. and VW I.D. SUV. VW plans to jump from zero ID sales to 100,000 per year over the next 2 years. But, how will that be done?To do that VW has developed the MEB vehicle architecture.
Audi unveils E-Tron FE05 for new Formula E Season(October 4, 2018)
Electrify America announces second $200 million zero emission vehicle investment plan for California(October 3, 2018)
Volkswagen's investment into Electrify America is increasing.
Mazda announces electrification and connectivity strategy for cars that invigorate mind and body(October 2, 2018)
Mazda is all about engines, and therefore one should not be surprised to learn their "electrification strategy" is "compact, lightweight electrification technologies while further refining the internal combustion engine". As Mazda puts it, internal combustion engine vehicles are expected to be in the majority of new cars for years to come. Either Mazda is stuck in engines, or they're aptly pointing out the conversion to fully electric drive will take years to accomplish.
Porsche definitively enters the electric era with the new Taycan(October 2, 2018)
Porsche is throwing down quite a lot of money and investment - new employees - new production facilities - for the purpose of "electrification". Notice in the title for the press release Porsche used the word "electric", but in the body they used the word "electrification". However they are describing a fully electric sports car and the advantages of moving to an 800 volt drive-train. It's a matter of physics, with the same wiring thickness Porsche can move double the wattage with their 800 volt system versus a 400 volt system. This enables ultra-fast charging at 350 kW, and higher power delivery for all subsystems.


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NES isn't disconnecting 18,000 customers who haven't paid $5.2M in bills since tornado
Of the more than 400,000 Nashville Electric Service customers in Middle Tennessee, 18,000 have an unpaid balance on their account totaling more than $5.2 million in debt.
Although millions of dollars of debt have accrued due to unpaid bills, NES has halted disconnections. The company first stopped disconnecting services because of missed payments after the March 3 tornado tore through the city.
The coronavirus pandemic, on top of the deadly tornado, has made it difficult or impossible for some customers to afford payment.
The disconnection grace period was extended until Sept. 30 for customers unable to pay their bills. That means even if the account is overdue, power won't be cut off for customers. Typically, accounts can be disconnected after 20 days past the due date.
A company spokesperson said that the average amount owed by each customer is $280.
The company has also moved to waive late fees and absorb credit card fees. As of last Thursday, NES has waived 300,000 late fees — more than $2.6 million.
To help manage the cost of overdue bills, the company began evenly distributing the account balance into 12 monthly payments. These charges will appear on each monthly bill and customers who keep up with their payments going forward are assured service.
"NES advises customers who are facing economic challenges to pay any amount they can to avoid building up a large balance that may be harder to pay off later," a notice on the NES website reads.
The Tennessee Valley Authority and NES have teamed up to offer $350,000 for a Community Care Fund where customers can apply for bill assistance. Funds are available on a first-come, first-serve basis and can be applied for here.


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Samsung Mobile's new president speaks out about the future
Koh steps onto the public stage just as the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 edge are both set to be unveiled this coming Sunday, February 21st, during the Samsung Unlocked event. We've seen numerous leaked images of both models, and you should probably expect to see more in the days ahead.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge are both expected to feature IP67 certification for dust and water resistance. You should be able to submerge either phone into water as deep as 3.2 feet for as long as 30 minutes, and have it emerge unscathed. Water resistance was a feature that Sammy offered on the Samsung Galaxy S5, but did away with on the Samsung Galaxy S6 (except for the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active, of course). Also returning is the microSD slot, which also disappeared with last year's model. And after a year of trying to get by with lower capacity batteries, the Galaxy S7 will be powered by a 3000mAh juicer and the Galaxy S7 edge will come to market with a 3600mAh power plant inside. That compares with the 2550mAh and 2600mAh cells inside the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 edge, respectively.
Check out the new president of Samsung Mobile by clicking on the video below.
source: Samsung via MobileSyrup


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October 19, 2023
BANGKOK – A series of marketing activities and events are being planned by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to boost tourism in the fourth quarter of this year.
This would include exciting countdown events, hoping to attract foreign tourists and sustain the momentum into the first and second quarters of next year. Key events include the Chinese New Year and Songkran festivals.
The TAT has proposed a budget of 600 million baht to conduct marketing, public relations, and hold festival events both domestically and internationally during this high season. They plan to execute these initiatives through four projects, expecting to generate tourism revenue of not less than 31.66 billion baht. The main events are part of the Thailand festival experience, which will be scattered across all five regions, and will need a budget of 200 million baht. The aim is to generate at least 1.1 billion baht in revenue.
The proposal is being timed to ensure provisions are made in the draft Budget Act for fiscal year 2024, which is still under preparation.
The four proposed projects are:
▪ Amazing Thailand passport privileges: Needs a budget of 150 million baht. The expected outcome is to enhance Thailand’s image as a shopping destination and woo new customers from foreign markets, boosting tourism.
▪ Thailand festival experience in five regions: Needs a budget of 200 million baht. The expected outcome is to generate revenue of not less than 1.1 billion baht.
▪ Marketing and public relations: Needs a budget of 150 million baht. The expected outcome is to gain revenue of 30 billion baht from global markets on all continents.
▪ The link local to global: Needs a budget of 100 million baht. The expected outcome is to generate revenue of not less than 560 million baht.
‘Bangkok – Korat’ countdown
TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool emphasised that the 2023 Countdown event, hosted by the tourism agency, would feature two main locations: Bangkok, specifically the iconic Wat Arun, similar to the previous year’s countdown event. The event will showcase fireworks illuminating the temple, a significant landmark in Thailand’s tourism sector. The other location is Nakhon Ratchasima province, where a large event will bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new one over a period of 10 days in front of the provincial city hall. Additionally, the TAT would continue to support private sector-led countdown events, such as the ones at IconSiam and CentralWorld.
Other events, such as the Loy Kratong festival in November, will also be hosted by the TAT. The festival will be held grandly at Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem (canal) and the Chao Phraya riverside from December 1-31 this year, longer than the previous two-week duration. This extension is due to the positive response received from tourists following the previous event, aimed at welcoming the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting delegates.
The projected figure for foreign tourists in the fourth quarter of this year is at least 7 million — 2 million in October, and above 2.5 million a month in November and December. This optimistic projection is based on the fact that 60% of pre-Covid international flight capacity has been restored.
“The market has recovered significantly, exceeding 80-90% compared to 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic. The great number of tourists come from Malaysia, India, South Korea, and Russia. Other markets showing substantial growth include Saudi Arabia and Israel, with an estimated target of 200,000 tourists for this year,” Thapanee said.
PM’s official trip to China
According to the TAT governor, Chinese tourists, were the biggest number among visitors to Thailand in 2019 with over 11 million arrivals. Recent statistics for the first half of this year, from January 1 – October 15, indicate that the number of Chinese tourists was 2,645,885. TAT aims to attract at least another 4 million Chinese tourists during the rest of the year.
Within this week, the TAT will sign a letter of intent on tourism cooperation with eight leading Chinese partners: Trip.com, Ant International (Alipay), Meituan, Huawei, Spring Airlines, Xinhua Net, iQIYI, and JegoTrip. This agreement is set to be signed on October 19 in Beijing.
All these partners are major players in the tourism and service industry, including online travel agents (OTAs), airlines, and payment gateways. Their collaboration aims to promote and market tourism together, emphasising positive perceptions, especially regarding safety, to boost Thailand’s tourism in the Chinese market, Thapanee said.
Srettha said: “I am here in China to participate as a witness in this event,” referring to the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held on October 17-18 in Beijing. His official visit to China on October 19 will mark the formalisation of this collaboration.
21 million in 9 months
Sports and Tourism Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol said that from January 1 to October 15 of this year, Thailand welcomed over 21,019,800 foreign tourists, generating revenue of 882.45 billion baht. The top five countries in terms of number of visitors were: Malaysia – 3,431,287; China – 2,645,885; South Korea – 1,255,769; India – 1,230,125; and Russia – 1,038,036.


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Microsoft will use USA Interactive's Ticketmaster to launch its own online ticketing service on its MSN Web portal. Called MSN Tickets, the site will allow people to search for and purchase event tickets brokered by Ticketmaster. MSN will also weave the service into other relevant areas such as its entertainment and music pages.
The deal is the latest tie-in between Microsoft and USA Interactive. In 1999, USA Interactive acquired Microsoft's network of Web city guides called Sidewalk and folded them into its CitySearch business.


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Flat Rock plant to steer Lincoln Continental's return
Lincoln's new Continental flagship sedan will be built at Ford Motor Co.'s Flat Rock Assembly Plant — good news for auto workers who learned last week that Ford was pulling production of its slow-selling Focus and C-Max from the nearby Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne.
Wednesday's announcement came just days before Ford formally begins contract talks with the United Auto Workers, whose negotiators are seeking assurances that American carmakers will continue building cars, and employing workers, in the U.S. It has been widely speculated by the UAW and others that the Focus could be headed to Mexico.
The Dearborn automaker said its top-of-the-line Continental, shown as a concept car at this year's New York Auto Show, will go on sale in 2016 and will be built at the plant alongside its Mustang sports car and Fusion mid-size sedan.
Jimmy Settles, vice president of the Ford-UAW Department, said the Flat Rock announcement followed "extensive discussions" between the union and Ford.
"It goes without saying that anytime Ford, or any domestic automaker, commits to American manufacturing, it provides a win for our members, the American middle class, and communities all across this country," Settles said.
The Continental announcement could be a goodwill offering to the UAW ahead of negotiations aimed at securing a new four-year contract this fall, according to Art Schwartz, president of business management consulting firm Labor and Economics Associates.
"Ford just hit them with some bad news," Schwartz said. "Maybe this is a way of saying 'Hey, we're still partners.' Ford and the UAW have had a fairly collaborative relationship."
While the new Lincoln will be built and sold in the U.S., its primary target is China, where the full-size sedan market is expected to grow.
The Continental will enter a vigorously competitive top-luxury market whose rivals include Cadillac's new flagship sedan, the CT6. Production will begin late this year at General Motors Co.'s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant.
The Flat Rock plant employs more than 3,100. A Ford spokesperson said the company plans to continue producing the Mustang and Fusion in Flat Rock.
Stephanie Brinley, senior analyst at IHS Automotive, said the Continental likely will be built on the same platform as the Fusion, Edge, MKX and other vehicles.
"It's a very familiar platform for Ford, which should allow them to execute a really strong program," she said. "A near-flawless launch should be possible."
IHS expects the Mustang will remain the top-volume product in Flat Rock, while it predicts Ford will produce between 25,000-30,000 Continentals annually.
The concept Continental shown in New York is extremely close to the production version planned for 2016. Ford discontinued the Continental name in 2002, and while it hasn't confirmed the production vehicle will use the name, executives have said they're very pleased with the positive reaction it's gotten.
The car shown in New York looked dramatically different from any vehicle in the Lincoln lineup and is designed to become the new face of the luxury brand. Gone is the split-wing "bow wave" front grille design that's been around since the 1930s, replaced by a sleeker, cleaner front that emphasizes the Lincoln logo. Ford said the car will be powered by a 3-liter V-6.
"The Continental is dramatic," Brinley said. "It does move the design language forward quite a bit and it has the opportunity to make quite a statement."
Kelley Blue Book Senior Analyst Karl Brauer said the new Continental represents a significant change for Lincoln, which has struggled to find its footing in a crowded luxury market. "It will help validate Lincoln as a world-class luxury brand, and the plant that produces it enjoys increased prestige and visibility as a result," Brauer said.
The Continental will replace the Lincoln MKS, which is made at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant. Settles said the move will not result in any loss of jobs at the Chicago plant.
Lincoln is coming off a year in which sales rose 15.6 percent in the U.S., its best year since 2008. Lincoln sales through the first six months of 2015 are up 5.8 percent to 47,112, mostly due to its Navigator SUV and new MKC crossover.
Last year, Ford said it would invest $2.5 billion in Lincoln by 2020, and the brand hopes to triple its volume to 300,000 vehicles by that time. Last November, the brand launched in China with a handful of dealers, and hopes to expand to 60 by the end of 2016.


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Despite the slowdown in the auto sector, Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors seems bullish about India and is looking to invest Rs. 7000 crore for a new plant to kick-start its innings here.
Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors could soon invest ₹ 7000 crore in India as the company plans to set-up operations in the country, a recent report from ETAuto suggests. With more and more China-based carmakers setting shop in India, the news does come as little surprise, the massive investment plan certainly is big news amidst one of the worst slowdowns in the domestic auto sector. The report states that Great Wall will be setting up a new corporate entity, in addition to its current Indian subsidiary, Haval Motor India, which was set-up before October this year and is headquartered in Gurgaon. The new entity will make the automaker eligible for the low corporate tax rate of 15 per cent (17.01 per cent with surcharge).
Furthermore, Great Wall is said to be looking at land options across the country for its manufacturing facility. It has been looking for land options in other parts of Maharashtra, as well as Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Maharashtra has emerged as the strongest contender, followed by Gujarat. The company is looking at options in Chakan, Maharashtra and could acquire the land that is currently with Chinese truck maker Foton. General Motors’ Talegaon based facility in Maharashtra is also said to be in consideration.
Foton acquired the land three years ago but there has been no progress since on the same. Meanwhile, GM India exited the market in 2017 and the Talegaon facility only caters to export operations for now. The American automaker’s Halol facility in Gujarat was sold to SAIC, another Chinese automaker that introduced the MG brand in India earlier this year. The report also says that Great Wall has already signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GM for the Talegaon plant and could take possession by May-June next year, if all goes well. Expanding in an existing plant will help the Chinese automaker to fast-track its plans for India that will result in the brand rolling out its first product as early as 2021. A new facility, meanwhile, will push India operations by a year prompting a market debut by mid-2022.
Great Wall is also said to be looking at fresh concessions from the Maharashtra government. The same were provided earlier to GM as well. The company’s executives did meet with the former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on the matter, but with the current political scenario in the state, a decision will be hard to reach anytime soon, cites the report.
Great Wall is known for its SUV and pick-up range in China and we could see the brand bring in a number of offerings across the UV space when it arrives here. The automaker also has an electric vehicle line-up and it could go the MG way and bring those models too early into its operations here.
Great Wall has written to the Prime Minister’s office seeking an appointment in the first week of December, according to the report. A formal announcement is likely to be made about the company’s plans and investments post the meeting. The report also states that the Indian unit of Great Wall has named Qingke Shi and Baoyu Chong to its board. Qingke Shi is also the India project head, while former Maruti Suzuki executive Kaushik Ganguly will steer the India product strategy


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Brand New Restaurant Opens First Canadian Location in Erin Mills Town Centre in Mississauga
While it’s certainly not unusual for exciting new restaurants to set up shop in Mississauga’s shopping centres, we don’t hear about new openings (of the food-related kind) in Erin Mills Town Centre nearly as often as we’d like.
Fortunately for us—and for everyone who lives in the growing and ever-more-bustling community around EMTC—a brand new restaurant has opened its doors inside the newly rejuvenated retail hotspot.
We're excited to announce that Crepes de Luxe just opened its first cafe in Canada, and it's located on the lower level, Walmart wing!#Crepes #CrepesDeLuxe #Mississauga #Dessert pic.twitter.com/ROSlHy8kbD— ErinMillsTownCentre (@erinmillstown) January 16, 2019
On Jan. 16, EMTC took to Twitter to announce that Crepes De Luxe opened its first Canadian location on the lower level of the shopping centre.
The new cafe can be found in the Walmart wing.
The Parisian-style cafe offers sweet and savoury crepes and something else that’s a little off the beaten path: Turkish coffee.
The newly-opened restaurant has already netted some online buzz, eliciting close to 300 reactions on Facebook and 120 comments.
So if you plan on stopping by EMTC for lunch, Crepes De Luxe might be worth checking out.
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You butter believe it - global food trends push up butter prices
After years of being castigated as borderline evil for our waists and hearts, butter sales continue to grow and drive up prices.
This week the Global Dairy Auction in New Zealand held a rather ordinary auction. It's wintertime in the antipodeans and milk production from dairy farmers is low.
However, one figure stood out from the crowd at the auction - that of butter prices.
Butter prices at the auction reached an all-time high, and according to one New Zealand commentator the high is due to the global surge in butter sales.
This year, Kerrygold sales were driven in part by growth in the US market, where sale volumes were up 20pc.
In fact, consumers in Wisconsin were up in arms earlier this year when Kerrygold butter was removed from supermarket shelves over some archaic law.
And this is due to a shift in scientific thinking - that butter is now considered by many as a good fat - as well as the growth in popularity of new diets.
The Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) diet has been been growing in popularity worldwide in recent years and one proponent of a version of this, the Bulletproof Diet, is Dave Asprey, who has 349,000 followers on twitter and runs the Bulletproof Conference, which Kerrygold sponsored.


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Employees at Clements Market recently carried on a tradition they began last year by using their own money to purchase food for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.
By opting to have a small amount of money deducted from their paychecks each pay period for a year, more than 60 percent of the market’s employees were able to pool enough money to purchase $15,000 worth of food.
Clements helped its employees find the best deals on items most needed by the bank, which produced 17,700 pounds of fresh produce, canned vegetables, pasta, rice, canned soup and more, all piled high on a total of 10 pallets.
“The generosity of our employees never ceases to amaze me,” said Tracey Anthony, general manager of Clements Market.
Andrew Schiff, CEO of the food bank, said the donation comes at a critical time as food donations have declined in recent years while the demand has doubled.
Currently, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank serves 66,000 people, one-third of whom are younger than 18, throughout Rhode Island. •


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“KLT’s roadshows generate awareness around our activities and achievements over the past year, which are aligned to our three-year marketing strategy, and our plans for the future. They also serve as a platform to generate ideas to ensure tourism growth,” says KLT’s Executive Director, Lisa Sheard.
The roadshow kicked off on 13 September, engaging LTOs and stakeholders from Lydenburg, Sabie, Pilgrim’s Rest and Graskop. All LTOs across the region were invited to KLT’s presentations, held in the various areas represented by the regional tourism body, including Bushbuckridge, Hazyview, Barberton, Nkomazi, Nelspruit, White River and Badplaas.
Kicking off the sessions with the recently-launched destination marketing video, Sheard discussed how important tourism is as a growth sector in the economy and how the Kruger Lowveld / Ehlanzeni region performs in this regard.
“Tourism is one of the only growth sectors in our stagnant economy – an economy with negligible GDP growth, high and growing unemployment and poverty rates, declining business confidence and very high levels of political turbulence and policy uncertainty. As such, tourism has been prioritised by government as a major contributor to future GDP growth in South Africa,” says Sheard.
In light of the above, Sheard’s presentation focussed on how the Kruger Lowveld is performing as a tourism destination in the domestic and international markets and provided some insight into how to improve performance.
“South Africa’s tourism grew in tourist volumes by 2.8%, compared to 2015, with 34.3 million tourists visiting the country. In addition, a total tourism revenue of approximately R102.1-billion was injected into the economy in 2016. This is a 11.1% increase compared to 2015. Almost 70% (R75.5-billion) was generated from international tourists,” says Sheard.
“There’s no doubt that tourism is a growth sector, two economic indicators prove this – direct contribution to the GDP and direct employment,” she adds.
The Kruger Lowveld / Ehlanzeni region is by far the most important tourism region in Mpumalanga, with a 52.1% share in the total spent by tourists in the province.
“The number of tourists to the region is increasing, with 46.7% of the total number of tourists that come to the province visiting our region. In addition, R9.4-billion was spent in the region in 2013, the highest of all spend in the province’s three districts. Not only is this an increasing trend, it’s also over 50% of the total provincial spend,” says Sheard.
What’s needed to be a successful tourism destination?
According to Sheard, tourism is a growth industry with great potential, but various things are needed to make this possible.
“These include meaningful political buy-in to the tourism sector and its potential across all levels of government and many more tourism-savvy, skilled, passionate, empowered and energetic politicians and officials who understand their respective role in tourism delivery and general economic growth at provincial, regional and local level,” says Sheard.
“Government needs to understand its role as a facilitator for tourism growth by maintaining and developing tourism infrastructure; public attractions and access; ensuring the delivery of municipal and other services; and providing a safe and secure operating environment. We need to clean up our towns and villages and provide 100% reliable services,” she adds.
One of Sheard’s proposals for the sector would be a tourism growth ‘think tank’ comprising of experts from both the public and private sectors, to build a collective structure, strategy, action agenda and resource financing plan which is measurable at all levels of government.
“In addition, bigger tourism marketing allocations and smarter marketing techniques are needed to grow our domestic and international markets,” says Sheard.
She explains that the real tourism growth opportunities lie in leveraging off of established strengths.
“In Kruger Lowveld / Ehlanzeni, we need to build on existing strengths. For example, we should be upgrading and innovating product offerings along the Panorama Route – including the villages of Mathibiti, Moremela and Leroro. In addition, finding an invigorating new model for Pilgrim’s Rest is an absolute must and needs to be done quickly!”
“We also need catalytic projects to spark cultural tourism in our rural economy; an international signature event; the identification of tourism development corridors; and to elevate Mbombela / Nelspruit into a vibrant provincial capital city,” she concludes.


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That’s what we’re trying to bring together in the stores. We spend a lot of time talking about footprints and what that means for us and I think the last thing we want to become is a suitcase banker.
SAN DIEGO-Robert and Emerald Oravec were itching to sell their condominium late last year to move closer to a favorite surfing spot, but they were stuck. They owed the bank $194,000 and figured.
Manufactured Home Loans – Associates Home Loan of Florida, Inc. · You have to own or be purchasing the lot as well as the mobile home to be eligible for a VA loan. Manufactured home must be affixed to a permanent foundation According to the VA lender’s handbook, the manufactured home can’t simply be left on the wheels it was transported on.Mortgage Tips, News, and Notes Internet Archive puts classic console games online floridamortgagelenderss.blogspot.com · It’s the end of an era for Nintendo, as the Wii Shop Channel is announced to be closing in 2019. This was the first notable store built in to a Nintendo console. Following up on the news about the closure, Nintendo published an official FAQ about the Wii Shop Channel’s end. The company comments on why it will no longer.mortgage Bonds digested the week’s busiest day of economic data, by far, today. But markets in general are only interested in data that changes the economic narrative. today’s only real candidate in that.The inflation breakeven rate is currently running at 1.68%, a low number that should draw interest in this TIPS from.
Home price gains bring sellers off the sidelines. June 30, 2013 10:42 a.m.. The region’s median home sale price hit $406,500 in May, up 21.3 percent from a year earlier amid brisk sales.
Unfortunately, the fall could bring a further fall. The price of dried cannabis has failed to gain traction as inventories rise. Compare Brokers Still, once the market stops selling off CGC, I see.
Sellers are holding back to see if things improve, leading to strained supply and stiffer competition between buyers, which is buoying prices. Like him, they are sitting on the sidelines for now. "Sellers. prices are off 8.5 per cent over the past year as a market downturn deepens. The benchmark price for detached homes, condos and.
Dark Side Blend Organic Coffee 12oz Beans – Sweetwater Coffee SHOPPING SUPER MALL Get directions, reviews and information for Supermall in Chicago, IL. Supermall 5220 S Pulaski Rd Chicago IL 60632. Reviews (773) 581-9200 Website. Menu & Reservations Make Reservations . Order Online Tickets Tickets See Availability.Quality wise it is an excellent product since they come as fresh’ coffee beans. Furthermore, it is an organic blend which is USDA certified. Thus, you don’t have to worry about it being organic or not. As for brewing methods, then keep in mind that the content of caffeine’ could vary.
The Hang Seng Index’s impact on housing prices trumps other factors such as interest rates and the flow of funds from the mainland Given the index’s sensitivity to China’s economy, a stock market sell.
Private housing resale market shines as buyers get off sidelines. By the last quarter of 2015, overall private property prices had fallen 8.4 per cent from the recent peak in the third quarter of 2013, showed URA data. This is still shy of the more than 60 per cent increase in prices after the global financial crisis,
The median price of a single family home in the U.S. rose to $186,100 in the third quarter of 2012, 7.6 percent over the median price of $173,000 one year earlier. According to the National.
Online shopping from the earth’s biggest selection of books, magazines, music, DVDs, videos, electronics, computers, software, apparel & accessories, shoes, jewelry.
They subtract these sales expenses from the sales price to determine the amount they realized from the sale. $800,000 – $80,000 = $720,000. Their home’s tax basis (original cost plus improvements) is $200,000. They subtract this from the amount realized to determine their gain from the sale.


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Nintendo announced at its E3 keynote today that its Wii U console will support two Gamepads, and not one as previously announced.
Valve has lifted the lid on a new type of controller, with a touchscreen, trackpads, and buzzing feedback.
Speculation has been flying since Apple CEO Time Cook was reportedly spotted hanging out at Valve headquarters in Washington state. Was he just playing a few games of Portal? Or will a co-developed gaming gizmo result?
Nintendo shows off a huge number of Wii U games, but still leaves us in the dark on some basic details.
It turns out your Android Ice Cream Sandwich handset will support USB gaming controllers, meaning it'll effectively become a mini console.
If you don't mind the dearth of HD graphics, the Nintendo Wii's combination of motion-sensitive controllers, included Wii Sports titles, and emphasis on fun gameplay make the ultra-affordable console hard to resist.
Windows computer maker Acer decides USB 3.0 is a better deal than Intel's high-speed communications technology. And despite notable newer fans, including Dell, HP, and Asus, Thunderbolt remains scarce.
Apple's CEO has been spotted at Valve's HQ the week the game-maker advertised for hardware specialists.
The Apple head is rumored to have had a meeting at the gaming company, which recently posted a job opening for some hardware people. Hmm...
Gametel's wireless game controller fits most Android phones, and gives your phone the gift of physical gaming buttons.


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CBR takes a deep dive into the MCU and found that some of its biggest villains, could very well be the heroes of each of their respective films!
From Wakanda's rulers to Genosha's destroyers, join CBR as we count down some of the Marvel characters who ruled, or totally destroyed a country!
Marvel's Black Panther Annual #1 reunites writers Christopher Priest, Don McGregor and Reggie Hudlin with T'Challa.
Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates will be joined by artist Daniel Acuña in May for a new Black Panther #1 from Marvel Comics.
Women have finally broken through and have stolen the spotlight in the MCU thanks to the women of Black Panther. Here's how they did it.
CBR shares some fascinating facts (and intriguing questions) about the breakout stars of Black Panther: the Dora Milaje!
In the latest Comic Book Legends Revealed, find out if Black Panther's first series was canceled to make room for Jack Kirby's Black Panther series!
In the latest Comic Book Legends Revealed, discover the surprising reason that Black Panther got this first ongoing series!
In their latest spotlight on notable comic firsts, CSBG reveals when Wakanda first opened themselves up to the outside world!
Marvel's new blockbuster film, Black Panther, is filled with references and shout outs to comics and other pieces of culture. See how many you missed!
In the latest Comic Book Legends Revealed, find out why the Watcher showed up at Black Panther and Storm's wedding
With Black Panther poised to take over the world, we look at 15 facts about the films main villain, Killmonger, to prep you for his big screen debut!
With the new Black Panther film about to make Vibranium a household name, we delve into which Marvel metal is the strongest of them all?
In their latest look at abandoned comic book plots, CSBG explains how the Black Panther briefly changed his name to 'Black Leopard'
We add even more fuel to the Black Panther hype fire with these 15 awesome-looking pieces of concept art featuring the MCU's next big thing!
Ahead of the premiere of the Black Panther movie, Marvel Comics has released a video detailing the history of Wakanda's royal family.
With Black Panther ready to hit the big screen, we take a look at 16 of the best costumes that the king (or queen) of Wakanda has ever worn!


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|Type||Date of Build||FlagValue||RegisterValue||Port of Regestry|
|Tanker for Oil||2004-10-12||India||MUMBAI|
|IMO Number||Official Number||Call Sign|
|Legnth||Breadth||Gross tonnage||Net tonnage||Deadweight tonnage|
JAG PAHEL Owner, Manager, Shipyard
Shipping & Offshore oil field service provider
Hamburg Süd christened the Polar Ecuador containership in Antwerp.The new vessel belongs to a group of four structurally identical vessels in the Polar class that have been built for Hamburg Süd by the Chinese shipyard Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding. With a total length of 230 meters and a width of 37.30 meters, the ship offers a container storage capacity of 3,800 TEU and is equipped with 1,000 reefer plugs.The Polar Ecuador is deployed in Hamburg Süd’s North Europe – Mexico/Caribbean service (EMCS), which connects Antwerp and other European ports in Ireland, Great Britain and Germany with important Mexican and Caribbean ports.
French container transportation and shipping company CMA CGM has announced the launch of a Reefer Pharma division that will focus on the temperature-controlled transportation of pharmaceutical products."For more than 40 years, preserving the integrity of shipped goods has been a top priority for the CMA CGM Group, particularly in terms of sensitive products such as medicines that directly impact public health and patients’ quality of life," said a press release from the company.For organising and closely monitoring the shipping of this highly sensitive cargo, CMA CGM provides its customers with a dedicated team of experts who ensure 24/7 monitoring from the Group's head office in Marseilles
The world's principal shipping organisation, representing around 80% of the world’s merchant tonnage, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) remains confident that shipping will improve its carbon efficiency by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 2008, in line with the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This follows important decisions made by the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 74) which met in London this week, said a press release from the world’s national shipowner association.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) on Friday agreed stricter energy efficiency targets for certain types of ships in an effort to speed up action to cut the sector's emissions.The IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee has been meeting in London this week to discuss tougher rules on sulphur emissions and other measures towards meeting a long-term goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from 2008 levels by 2050.The international shipping sector accounts for about 2% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.
Wight Shipyard Co. (WSC) debuts a hybrid patrol vessel designed to reduce both fuel costs and engine maintenance.“This ground-breaking project aims to set new standards in high speed, fuel economy and light weight vessels in the sector. Building greener vessels has been an integral focus for some time now so moving into hybrid options is the obvious next step forward,” said Peter Morton, CEO, WSC.The WSC vessel has been designed by naval architect Chartwell Marine, and is the first in the new Chasewell range of pilot and patrol boats, first unveiled at Seawork 2018.It has been designed and built in collaboration with Andy Page, naval architect and managing director of Chartwell Marine.


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Only a small proportion of people who work in Berkeley live in the city, and the percentage continues to decline in the face of high housing costs, according to the first in a newly initiated series of city reports on Berkeley's economic development.
"Only about 17.1% of the jobs in Berkeley are actually held by Berkeley residents, a proportion that has declined over time as the somewhat higher than average rents and home prices in Berkeley has caused more people employed here to look elsewhere in the region for housing," according to the report prepared for the City Council by the city's Economic Development Manager, Michael Caplan.
The 34-page document is the first in a series of quarterly reports requested by the council in December on Berkeley's economic development in 2013, Caplan said.
It focuses on employment and retail sales trends.
While many of the trends identified in the city mirror state and regional trends, some offer a marked contrast.
Berkeley appears to be a popular place for eating out, for example, with the percent of retail sales tax revenue that the city receives from restaurants ranking well above the state average.
"Restaurants now generate 20% of our retail sales tax revenue, an unusually high proportion (in California as a whole it is 14%)," the report said.
The robust performance of the food sector stands in contrast to Berkeley's overall retail trend, however. Sales tax revenues as a whole have declined in constant dollars.
"Berkeley has lost sales tax revenue since at least 1990 when our data source from the City’s sales tax auditing firm, MuniServices, begins," according to the report.
The report notes that the lagging retail sector corresponds to increased shopping on the Internet and in big-box stores in Emeryville and by the net loss of at least 4,000 jobs in recent years, despite a growth in population from 102,743 in 2000 to 112,580 in 2010, with an estimated 114,821 on January 1, 2012. Much of the population growth consists of students with limited disposable income, the report says.
The report cites March 2012 data showing 3,604 workplaces in the city employing 60,165 workers, an increase of 173 places of employment over a year earlier but a drop of 550 employees, chiefly in government and healthcare.
One striking contrast is the percent of households reporting income from self-employment, with the American Community Survey of the U.S. Census showing 21 percent of Berkeley households (9,599 out of 44,904) with some self-employment income, compared to the U.S. average of 11.6 percent.
"A lot of the energy and creativity in Berkeley comes from its many artists, craftspeople, writers, consultants, and other self-employed and the success at least some of them are enjoying helps to mitigate the discouraging employment trends discussed above," the report says.
Among the bright signs are Berkeley's relatively low unemployment rate, 7.8 percent, compared with 8.2 percent in Alameda County 9.7 percent in the state. The report attributes the difference to the residents' high education levels.
"Clearly, it is the fact that 69% of the population in Berkeley over 25 years of age has a bachelor’s degree or higher that explains why our city always has an unemployment rate below the State and County average," the report says.
The report, prepared for the March 5 council meeting, is attached to this article.


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United States President Donald Trump’s announcement, 10 May, to slap 25% additional tariffs on plastics exports to China could increase opportunities for European plastics exporters, experts have told Plastics News Europe.
Mike Boswell, managing director of UK-based plastics products supplier Plastribution, said: “Sales could increase to the US, depending on which items, as US products will become more expensive because of duty barriers.” The former British Plastics Federation president said time would tell what “could be substituted in terms of finished products.”
Trump committed to increase tariffs from 10% to 25% on products with an annual trade value of around $200/€179.6bn worth of Chinese goods and to introduce fresh ones on another $325/€292bn worth “shortly” – his officials are consulting on this proposal.
The top three US imports of Chinese goods facing the tariff increase are telecommunications equipment (annual value of imports $19.1/€17.15bn), computer circuit boards ($12.5 bn/€11.22bn) and processing units ($5.6bn/€5.03bn), according to US International Trade Commission data.
All these goods include plastics. Vinyl tile floor coverings ($2.5bn/€2.24bn) number eight on the list - are directly targeted. Other commodities affected include other plastic floor and wall coverings, tubes, hoses, boxes, bags, gloves and rain jackets, as well as plastic injection moulds and machinery for working plastics. They also cover a wide range of plasticisers and plastics waste.
According to the EU’s statistical office Eurostat, China is the world’s largest plastics producer, accounting for 29.4% of global plastics production, followed by Europe (18.5%) and NAFTA – the US, Canada and Mexico (17.7%).
The decision to put tariffs on Chinese exports of these products supplied to the US by Chinese manufacturers could increase the EU’s sales to the US as a result.
The EU exported €57.5bn worth of plastics in 2018, up from €55.8bn in 2017. And EU plastics exports to the US were worth €8.2bn in 2018 and €7.7bn in 2017, Eurostat said.
A spokesperson from European association of plastics manufacturers Plastics Europe said the European plastic industry “has a good and long-standing relationship with many countries” in terms of trade. The US is already the EU’s top destination for plastics processing products and second highest for manufactured products, the organisation notes in its ‘Plastics, the Facts 2018’ publication.
In 2017, the proportion of EU plastics processing exports sent to the US were 15% of the total, ahead of Switzerland (11%) and China (9%). Some 13% of extra-EU (trade outside the EU) plastics manufacturing exports went to the US, behind Turkey (15%) and just ahead of China (12%).
A US government statement released May 9 in the US Federal Register said the US and China had been trying to reach a trade deal since December 1, 2018.
“In the most recent negotiations, China has chosen to retreat from specific commitments agreed to in earlier rounds” and, because of the lack of progress, Trump asked the US Trade Representative “to increase the rate of additional duty to 25 percent” on a range of tariff lines.
This would be paid over and above any pre-existing duties the US may have levied on these Chinese plastic sector exports.
The new tariffs will only apply to cargoes leaving China after May 10. But, coming on top of tariffs on $250bn/€224.5bn worth of goods in December 2018, China accused the US of starting “the largest trade war in economic history”.
The world’s most populous country hit back with additional tariffs on $60/€54bn of US imports into China, which includes plastic goods such as apparel, shoes and furniture; plastics manufacturing machinery; caps; primary plastics shapes; and plasticisers. This in theory could open more China export market sales up for European producers, now that American competitors are hobbled. The EU already has a significant export trade in plastics items to China, with international trade data indicating that this was worth €6bn in 2017, of which sales of EU-made plastics tubes, pipes, hoses and fittings generated receipts of €390 million, for instance.
On 23 May, China ministry of commerce spokesperson Gao Feng said: “If the US would like to keep on negotiating it should, with sincerity, adjust its wrong actions. Only then can talks continue.”
At the time of writing, Trump showed no signs of backing down either.


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Meta enlists top fashion brands for its new Avatars Store
The store will sell digital clothing for use with people's virtual characters across Instagram, Facebook and Messenger.
June 20, 2022
The TikTok threat: YouTube and Facebook’s latest responses
TikTok reached the milestone of one billion monthly active users in 2021: a sign of the very real challenge it's presenting.
June 16, 2022
Facebook and TikTok add new ways for users to make money
There is keen interest in how the big social media platforms' systems for sharing money with creators are evolving.
May 5, 2022
Facebook audio shakeup: podcasts and Spotify integration go
In April 2021, Facebook signified its intentions to do more with audio. Just over a year later, how's that going?
May 4, 2022
Report claims Meta paid for anti-TikTok PR campaign in the US
How worried is Facebook and Instagram’s parent company about TikTok’s growth? Pretty worried, judging by the Washington Post’s latest investigation.
March 31, 2022
Meta explores using voice commands to build virtual worlds
Facebook's parent company Meta has been showing off some of the work going on in its research labs around AI and metaverse technologies.
February 24, 2022
Facebook Reels go global with more ways for creators to earn
News of Meta's grand ambitions for the Reels feature that began on Instagram, but is now crossing over to its other services - Facebook included.
February 23, 2022
Meta share price plummets after latest financial results
Meta's latest financial results went down like a lead balloon with the markets, causing a 20% fall in the company's share price last night.
February 3, 2022
Today in direct-to-fan: Audiomack Supporters, Discord Monetisation, and Facebook Stars
Another enormous shift this year was seen in artists building (and fans supporting) a robust portfolio of alternative, direct-to-fan income streams.
December 8, 2021
Facebook reportedly paying musicians to host Live Audio Rooms
Facebook's music payments take several forms. The most prominent are the licensing deals it has signed with rightsholders and collecting societies for user-generated content including music, although these deals have sparked...
November 19, 2021
Facebook reveals its latest plans for creator subscriptions
Facebook is very keen on helping 'creators' make money on its platform, and it's even keener on doing that while blowing a giant raspberry at Apple's 30% cut of iOS in-app purchases.
November 4, 2021


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ChAI leverages Artificial Intelligence techniques on Alternative Data in order to forecast commodity prices.
We use satellite imagery, freight data, economic statistics, and financial information to make accurate predictions ranging from 1 day to 1 year into the future.
We enable purchasing managers, vendors and CFOs to exercise forward-looking control of their materials price risk – bringing less price volatility, stronger business margins and better financial control.
Our team includes Manufacturing Engineers, Academics in AI, Algorithmic Traders, Supply Chain Experts, Insurance Professionals and Strategy Consultants.
Articles about ChAI:
- October 22, 2020 How can startups and SMEs cut costs in the time of the COVID-19 crisis? (Sponsored)
- October 21, 2020 Blockchers presents 4 exciting blockchain startups working in food & water (Sponsored)
- October 16, 2020 Weekly VC Overview: All 73 European funding rounds we tracked this week (Oct. 12-16, 2020)
- October 16, 2020 German deeptech peaq raises €750K to launch a full-scale blockchain platform for the automotive industry
- October 16, 2020 5 promising European startups helping your team to use automated and smart contracts
- October 14, 2020 Oporto-based Didimo, a creator of high-fidelity digital humans, announces €1 million funding
- October 13, 2020 “Everyone can become a city farmer”: Interview with iFarm’s co-founder and CEO Max Chizhov
- October 13, 2020 Meet the 20 European scaleups that made it into the finals of this year’s EIT Digital Challenge
- October 9, 2020 Weekly VC Overview: All 69 European funding rounds we tracked this week (Oct. 5-9, 2020)
- October 6, 2020 Belgian industrial IoT firm Sensolus secures €3.5 million to enhance visibility in international supply chains
- October 6, 2020 The future of agtech: wearables for cows, vertical farming & AI
- October 5, 2020 White Star Capital announces first close of €25.5 million digital asset fund for European and North American startups
- October 5, 2020 Crowdcube and Seedrs plan to merge to create one of the world’s largest private equity marketplaces
- October 2, 2020 Weekly VC Overview: All 74 European funding rounds we tracked this week (Sept. 28 – Oct. 2, 2020)
- October 2, 2020 Cambridge-based data analytics startup GeoSpock lands €4.6 million
- September 30, 2020 “Bitcoin will be a must-have asset in every investor’s portfolio in 2025”: Interview with Bitpanda’s CEO & co-founder Eric Demuth