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IPhone manufacturer rumored to be looking for more stateside factories
Foxconn Technologies, the Taiwanese manufacturer that makes Apple's iPhones and iPads, is reportedly shopping for factories in the United States.
According to tech industry news site Digitimes, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd (which does business as Foxcon) is scouting locations in Los Angeles and Detroit. The site sources market researchers who claim the rumored factories will focus on LCD TV production.
Foxconn has also announced plans to train U.S. engineers. It is working with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the program.
Foxconn currently has locations in the U.S. including in Santa Clara. The company has been making headlines lately, both for reports of bad working conditions and production delays due to iPhone demand.
Shana Lynch is managing editor at the Business Journal.
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with the development of China’s e-commerce market, the number of cases of infringement of intellectual property rights also showed an upward trend. Attention should be paid to the issue of intellectual property rights, especially in the field of electronic commerce. This year NPC and CPPCC "counterfeiting network" for the first time into the government work report on the scope of the NPC and CPPCC, many deputies and CPPCC members have put forward relevant proposals. Premier Wen Jiabao’s government work report made it clear that in 2011 to the positive development of e-commerce, online shopping, geographic information services and other new formats, carry out special operations against IPR infringement and selling counterfeit and shoddy goods". In the network environment, the traditional system of intellectual property protection by hitherto unknown impact, and the network of intellectual property protection of the new system is not perfect, such as the legal confirmation of the scope of protection, etc. there are disputes, forensic technical constraints, there are conflicts and contradictions between the reality of social networks and social ethics, to build the whole network behavior the anomie of social reality, many law-abiding Internet users become anonymous online infringement law.
since last year, the state launched a crackdown on IPR infringement and selling fake and shoddy goods crime "sword" special action, nine ministries jointly issued "on the issuance of the fight against IPR infringement and selling counterfeit and shoddy goods online shopping areas implementation plan of the notice", launched the field of online shopping to combat IPR infringement and selling counterfeit and shoddy goods action. Now the problem of fake online shopping and online for the first time in NPC and CPPCC during the Prime Minister of the government work report to give guidance and attitude clear, indicating that the network tort has touched the party leaders in the heart, can not be ignored has arrived.
for the protection of intellectual property rights, representatives and members of the two sessions have said. Wang Meizhen has been concerned about the e-commerce market this year, the National People’s Congress, the motion is to increase support for the network to promote social entrepreneurship employment proposal". In the field of network intellectual property rights, China has promulgated in 2006 "Information Network Transmission Right Protection Ordinance", and promised to join the "performances and Phonograms Treaty WIPO Copyright Treaty" and the "World Intellectual Property Organization when conditions are ripe". Last July, the Ministry of public security, the Ministry of industry jointly launched a special treatment to combat Internet piracy Jian Wang action". Recently, the Supreme People’s court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security jointly issued the opinions on the application of the law on criminal cases of infringement of intellectual property rights. Wang Meizhen said that last year, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce issued the "Interim Measures" of the network behavior of commodity trading and related services management, requirements for real name authentication to the network seller, the key is the electronic commerce market "real name system" implemented, all domestic large online shopping platform should take the lead in the implementation, especially the taobao.com, "online real name system" has been published for nearly a year, has been to Taobao as the representative of the online shopping platform is still without any action, it is contempt and defiance, Providence will not forgive.
online payment is a development direction, is the world trend. Like the next line, online trading is inevitable in development

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HTC - dooh campaign
DIGITAL CAMPAIGN TO BRING “BEAUTIFUL” CROWDSOURCED PHOTOS TO TIMES SQUARE
Consumers Worldwide Submit Over 60,000 Images in a Multi-Faceted Times Square Photo Sweepstakes for a Chance to Win a 24K Gold Plated HTC One®
HTC needed a solution for integrating social media and user-generated content into their cross-channel marketing campaign for the top-rated HTC One during the holiday season. Using the theme of “beautiful”, the campaign prompted participants to submit their photo through digital and social channels to be shown on a prominent Times Square digital billboard. HTC needed a software platform that could aggregate the user-generated content from various social and digital channels, moderate the content, power the digital billboard and seamlessly deliver the digital keepsake photo back to the proper submitter commemorating the experience.
To power this campaign, HTC chose Aerva, a leading cloud-based consumer engagement platform for powering digital screen networks, to provide the back- end integration and execution of this highly successful, global social and digital media campaign.
Working in conjunction with HTC’s media agency, Aerva powered the 11-week campaign with participants ranging from the US, UK, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Over the course of the campaign, users submitted over 60,000 “Beautiful” photos via social media (Twitter, Weibo and WeChat), email and through HTC’s website. Once moderated, approved photos were displayed on a Times Square billboard and posted to HTC.com, while a digital keepsake (digital image of the consumer’s photo displayed on the billboard) was sent back to the submitter for social sharing and extended the campaign’s reach immensely.
The campaign covered such high-traffic times as the holiday season, including New Year’s Eve, and Super-Bowl festivities in New York City.
“This campaign gave us a very unique and visible way to engage consumers directly while highlighting what we believe is the most beautiful smartphone on the market today,” said Ben Ho, Chief Marketing Officer of HTC.
“Aerva’s platform enabled us to harness consumer enthusiasm for the HTC One across five key markets in an interactive and innovative way.”
Aerva’s reporting and analytics platform allowed HTC to grant prizes based on geography and provided HTC with valuable insight on its customers and the campaign’s activity.


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It was Paul Keating who said that Australia needs to realise that we get our security in Asia not from Asia.
But what about our economic security?
It is true that Asia matters in terms of our economic security. Asia is important in terms of trade and increasingly important in terms of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) but less so in terms of outward Investment. Asia accounts for 83 per cent of our total merchandise trade (compared to just under 33 per cent 50 years ago when Geoffrey Blainey wrote his famous book “the tyranny of distance” which maybe we can now say has been replaced by the “power of proximity ”
But despite these trade patterns information flows are still Anglo American in nature and we are more moved by what the Fed does than the Bank of China. This is partly for historical reasons and party due to how much transparency we feel there is in economic institutions in our different trading partners.
In Asia we need to look at the big 3 engines of China, India and the ASEAN bloc.
Of course we need to look at China first as Australia’s number one trading partner especially given the market jitters already this year and concern about debt levels.
But despite some of the doomsday predictions China is still growing but it is undertaking one of the most significant economic transformations in world economic history. China’s decade long double digit economic growth has ended well and truly as the great Chinese export engine (“the world’s factory”) left it with “Too many shippers not enough shoppers”.
As a result Beijing is trying to wean itself off its Export led growth model to more focus on domestic consumption and investment. And there has been some success with the Tertiary sector already 50 per cent of its Chinese Economy with less reliance on manufacturing.
In addition China is still being boosted by Back end spending in what the Chinese call the “little country towns” like Chengdu Chongqing and Qingdao (the deemed second and third tier cities ) of 10 to 20 million plus each in population that provide great markers for Australian architects urban planners landscape Gardeners and other exporters of professional services
So as the World Bank expects China may grow by 6.5 percent per annum instead of 7 plus. And if there’s concern about the stock market remember the Shanghai exchange is not London or Tokyo as The Chinese Stock market still only 11 per cent of household income and has much smaller impact than in other more mature economies.
India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Modi mania” is now getting a more favourable press. India was slower to modernise than China in terms of recent late 20th century globalisation having started its reform process in the 1990s was Deng Xiao Ping got China going in 1978.
But it could be said that if China is a test match then India is a 20/20 game with a quick fire catch up in terms of growth and trade links with Australia. The World Bank regards India as a bright spot in its forecasts this year anticipating 7.8 per cent well above 6.5 per cent for China.
The third economic engine for Australia in Asia after China and India is the association of south East Asian nations – Asian. The ASEAN grouping which was originally a defence pact is now a full-fledged economic community of 622 million consumers representing a market worth 3 trillion Australian dollars which is the Third largest economy in Asia and the seventh largest in the world.
ASEAN is an economically diverse from OECD like Singapore to the poorer nations in the Mekong delta like Laos Cambodia and Myanmar but many commentators rate Vietnam highly as hot spot to watch this year along with a high risk high return market like Indonesia.
Some medium term tail winds in the trade sphere will help ASEAN with The Trans pacific partnership TPP expected to raise Vietnam’s economy by 10 per cent by 2030 through market access for its textile clothing and footwear trade and benefit Malaysia ICT sector.
Whilst north east ASIA economies like Japan and South Korea are more advanced and don’t grow as rapidly as ASEAN the FTAs in place in 2016 are forecast by the DHL Export Barometer to significantly increase opportunities for Australian exporters in Seoul and Tokyo.
Outside of Asia Janet Yellen has got the us labour market back on track as the USA recovers, Europe is still suffering from Europhobia and is looking for some Eurovision and the Middle East contains some bright spots like UAE and Qatar who suffer from being the best house in a bad neighbourhood. In South America there is a bit of “Trading places” going on with Argentina on the rise thanks to the new “Macri economics” under new President Macri but former economic poster boy Brazil about to go through impeachment of its president.
The World Bank expects that Brazilian economy will contract by 2.5 per cent this year and the authorities can hardly “blame it on Rio” – in fact the Rio Olympic Games represents one of the few bright spots on the economic calendar for Brazil in 2016.
In fact it’s hard times ahead for the “BRIC economies “with the exception of India with the world bank concerned about Brazil Russia China and South Africa all representing a drag on world economic growth.
So what does this all mean for us in Australia? We have to adjust to lower commodity prices and some movement from the “Mining boom to the dining boom” with more emphasis on agribusiness and demand for food security in Asia. The falling dollar is helping export competitiveness although 80 per cent of exporters now also import. The Rise of professional services in our export profile is also helping us survive the drop in commodity prices although the terms of trade are still healthy in terms of our economic history.
All in all for Australian our geographic position in the 21st century is in sync with our economic links as the power of proximity has replaced the tyranny of distance. And even if 2016 is a tough year for the world economy Australia is still in the right place at the right time in the Asian century.


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Apple is making college students’ wallets somewhat lighter. The firm introduced that it’s increasing contactless student ID cards to more than 12 universities within the coming college year, successfully giving more than 100,000 college students the power to use their iPhone as their college ID, moderately than a bodily ID card.
Using the tech, college students can merely maintain their iPhone or Apple Watch to a reader, the place bodily student IDs is perhaps accepted, each on and off campus. That’s as a substitute of getting to pull out their bodily ID card. ID cards may be seen straight within the Apple Wallet and can enable entry to issues like dorms, cafeterias, and so forth. Users can shield the cardboard behind Touch ID or Face ID, however there’s additionally an optionally available Express Mode, with which customers don’t want to authenticate earlier than utilizing their ID.
“We’re happy to add to the growing number of schools that are making getting around campus easier than ever with iPhone and Apple Watch,” Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vp of Internet Services, stated in a weblog put up. “We know students love this feature. Our university partners tell us that since launch, students across the country have purchased 1.25 million meals and opened more than 4 million doors across campuses by just tapping their iPhone and Apple Watch.”
New universities in this system embody the likes of Clemson University, Georgetown University, University of Tennessee, University of Kentucky, University of San Francisco, University of Vermont, Arkansas State University, South Dakota State University, Norfolk State University, Louisburg College, University of North Alabama and Chowan University. A lot of different universities already adopted the tech final year, together with the likes of Duke University, University of Oklahoma, University of Alabama, Temple University, Johns Hopkins University, Marshall University, and Mercer University. It’s anticipated more will comply with over the subsequent few years.
In basic, digital IDs are doubtless to change into more and more well-liked over the subsequent few years. A lot of states have began testing cell drivers licenses. They even have benefits over bodily cards, like the truth that shoppers can restrict the data that’s shared on a case-by-case foundation — in any case, the bartender most likely doesn’t want to know your tackle simply to discern whether or not or not you’re over the age of 21.


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Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius – Featured Summon: FFVII
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius has some featured summons to celebrate the Final Fantasy VII Remake news. Don’t miss out on these FFVII summons!
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So we heard various pricing rumours, and we even saw the smartphone up for pre-order but today we finally have confirmation that the Nokia 808 PureView will be arriving in India on the 6th of June.
The confirmation comes from Nokia itself as they have put up a website (PureView.in) to tease you with a countdown that currently shows about 108 hours to go.
The page doesn’t show much, only a really cool concept, “Story within a Story”. A small area of a picture is shown, and if you answer what the whole picture is, then it opens up to reveal you the full sized image.
The 41MP boasting smartphone is one of the most awaited smartphones this year as it has blown away every smartphone camera out there, and yes we can’t wait to start clicking with the 808 PureView. Let’s just hope it isn’t priced like the S III.


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PHILADELPHIA-Dairy processors have an opportunity to win back some of the calcium franchise thanks to a new study reinforcing milk's position as a superior source of the bone builder.
A study published last month in Nutrition Today finds milk is the most reliable source of calcium, superior to calcium-fortified soy and rice beverages and many orange juice brands. The study reveals that much of the calcium settles to the bottom of fortified soy and rice beverage containers, even after vigorous shaking. Researchers say that simply adding calcium to beverages does not make them nutritional substitutes for milk.
"The calcium that you'll find added to many soy beverages will have settled to the bottom of the container," said Robert P. Heaney, of the Osteoporosis Research Center at Creighton University, Omaha, Neb. "Hand shaking wasn't enough; we found that really vigorous shaking, such as with a hardware store paint shaker, would have been needed to suspend the calcium in these beverages so you can put them in the glass and drink them."
In this study, milk scored higher than all four soy or rice beverages, and eight of 10 orange juice products. Scores comparing calcium liquid suspension for two of the orange juice products were nearly the same as milk.


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Market research firm Gartner has released its latest report on quarterly smartphone market share, revealing a major drop in Windows Phone's share - from 3% in Q3 2014 to 1.7% in Q3 this year.
In terms of number of units, the Redmond, Washington-based company shipped 5.87 million units in the third quarter this year, down from 9.033 million units it shipped in Q3 last year.
It's worth mentioning that Microsoft - in its earnings report for Q3 2015 - revealed that it shipped 5.8 million Lumia phones in the quarter, effectively suggesting that only 70,000 Windows Phone units were shipped by other OEMs in that period.
"Despite the announcement of Windows 10, we expect Windows smartphone market share will continue to be a small portion of the overall smartphone OS market as consumers remain attracted by competing ecosystems," said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner. "Microsoft smartphones will mainly focus on driving value for enterprise users."
As for smartphone manufacturers, while Samsung and Apple retained the first two spots in the quarter, China's Huawei - which came in at number three - recorded the highest growth in mobile phone and smartphone sales in Q3, with market share increasing from 5.2% last year to 7.7% this year.
The total does make 100%. In 2015 column it adds up to 100.1 because they have obviously used round figures. (If you add 2.5 & 2.5 it's 5. But the addition of their round figures is 6). The quantity of phones even if increased by 20 millions, the...
All manufacturers are selling more than before, but MS have a smaller increase than others do, thats why % go down and millions go up.
there numbers seem bogus , first off they dont total an even 100% and how could a market share go up 10 million phones and % go down? so obviously there using funny math.
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The first employer to land in Warren County’s Kentucky Transpark is continuing to pay dividends, as is the economic development strategy of building speculative buildings ready for industrial prospects to occupy.
Canada-based Nova Steel on Thursday announced plans to locate an automobile-parts manufacturing facility in the Transpark that could grow to 110 employees, and the company’s top executives said the presence of business client Bowling Green Metalforming and the ease of moving into an existing “spec” building made the decision much easier.
“We’ll have a very good customer next to us,” said Scott Jones, president and chief executive of Nova Steel. “We’ve worked with Magna (BG Metalforming parent Magna International) for many years.”
BG Metalforming, a supplier for the automotive industry that now occupies a 1 million-square-foot plant, was the first company to set up shop in the Transpark in 2012.
Nova Steel, which will be the industrial park’s 17th private-sector employer, will start much smaller. The company is moving into a 108,000-square-foot building on 17 acres it purchased from the Bowling Green Area Economic Development Authority and plans to invest $20 million in getting the plant ready for a summer 2021 opening.
For a company that was looking to start production quickly, having an existing building was a good selling point, Nova Steel Vice President Tom Stearns said.
“In this (coronavirus) pandemic environment, we’re aware that building projects can be delayed,” Stearns said. “Having that spec building in place was a very good fit for us.”
Ron Bunch, president and chief executive of the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce, said having a building ready to be occupied is part of his economic development strategy.
“We always have products that are ready or nearly ready to be occupied,” Bunch said. “About 70 percent of clients are looking for an existing building. Very few are looking for a greenfield site.”
Nova has big plans for the building that will allow the company to better support customers throughout the South and central regions of the country.
A news release said the company is planning two expansions within the next three to five years that would grow the operation to 325,000 square feet, bringing the total investment to $70 million and total jobs to 110.
Another factor in the company’s decision was Warren Fiscal Court’s approval Oct. 13 of industrial revenue bonds up to $80 million as an inducement for Nova Steel to locate a plant in Warren County.
Founded in Montreal in 1979, Nova Steel has grown to include 20 locations in North America. The company manufactures products for automotive, construction, mining, agriculture, transportation and other related industries.
Needing to continue that expansion to meet the needs of automotive customers, Nova Steel looked at various sites before deciding that Bowling Green was the place to be.
“I’ve never worked with a group that tried so hard to get us,” Stearns said. “We’re really excited about the location. The state of Kentucky welcomed us with open arms. It became clear that the Bowling Green area had everything we were looking for.”
Incentives from the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority helped sway Nova.
KEDFA has approved a 10-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $2 million in tax incentives based on the company’s investment of $70 million and targets of creating 110 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 10 years and paying an average hourly wage of $31, including benefits, across those jobs.
By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates.
KEDFA also approved Nova for up to $550,000 in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act. KEIA allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing.
– Follow business reporter Don Sergent on Twitter @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdaily news.com.


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NetEnt will during ICE Totally Gaming 2014 reveal and present their newest branded slot game.
ICE Totally Gaming takes place in London every year and is the biggest gaming expo in Europe.
We do not know anything about this new game yet other than that it is a branded slot.
NetEnt has this year released two branded games – Creature from the Black Lagoon (Universal) and South Park (South Park Digital Studios).
Some of you may remember that NetEnt’s CEO Per Ericsson presented South Park at this year’s ICE back in February (image below).
In 2012 they revealed Scarface (Universal) during ICE, so it has become an annual event.
NetEnt has for the last three years released one branded Universal game each year.
Frankenstein went live in 2011 followed by Scarface (2012) and most recently Creature from the Black Lagoon earlier this month.
So yeah – it may be that they are planning on revealing a new Universal game in February or…not.
Time will tell and we will keep you updated of course.
You can find more information about ICE Totally Gaming by visiting their homepage here.


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Vodafone has attempted to hose down concern about alleged data leaks by sending an e-mail to its customers stating their information, including credit card details, remains encrypted and secure.
Around 9000 Vodafone users have registered their interest in suing the telco for call drop-outs and poor service according to law firm, Piper Alderman.
Numerous exclusions to the unlimited calls advertised as part of Vodafone’s “Infinite” plans raises questions of whether customers are being misled, the Federal Court heard this week.
Almost three weeks after its rivals launched Samsung’s hyped Galaxy Tab Android tablet on Australian shores, the nation’s biggest telco Telstra has come to the party, launching the same device on a range of monthly plans.
Vodafone this afternoon released pricing details for Samsung's Galaxy Tab Android tablet, which will go on sale tomorrow.
Taiwanese mobile phone manufacturer HTC announced yesterday that its hotly anticipated Desire HD smartphone, the successor to the HTC Desire, will be available from early November exclusively through VHA (Vodafone Hutchison Australia).
Japanese mobile operator NTT is finally moving to invest in Africa's lucrative telecom market, completing the buyout of South Africa's Dimension Data.
Mobile telco VHA has secured an exclusive deal with HTC to launch the Asian manufacturer's new Android-based HTC Desire HD handset in Australia, one-upping Telstra’s existing control of the original Desire.
Telecommunications management company Stratatel has released a discussion paper revealing that companies and organisations are being overcharged for phone services, often unintentionally.
The latest shot in Australia’s mobile price war has been fired — and it’s not a good one for Telstra and Optus.
Mobile telco VHA today cut the price of its prepaid mobile broadband starter pack from $79 to $49, including 1GB of data.
Apple's iPhone 4 arrived in style overnight, and VHA's Sydney customers were treated to a swanky party at The Ivy.
In this video provided by Vodafone, the telco takes us on a tour through its iPhone 4 launch in Sydney last night — including its party for customers at the famous Ivy bar in the Sydney central business district. There are Vodafone dancing girls, ban...
Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) today launched of the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Mini Pro Android smartphone. VHA will also offer 1GB of mobile Internet data per month free for the first 12 months to new and existing customers with Android smartphon...
Vodafone today increased the data quota and cut excess fees (on capped plans) on its mobile broadband plans, with four new postpaid and one new prepaid options.
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Man drives off in luxury vehicle
A car thief drove off with a brand-new luxury vehicle on Sunday afternoon in Quezon City.
The still unidentified man is now being sought for stealing a Range Rover worth P8.8 million from a car dealer’s shop on Katipunan Avenue.
Case investigator SPO1 Rogelio Basbas said an employee of the car dealer, Jonathan Menina, said the man had introduced himself as Kenneth Ocampo, expressed interest in buying a Range Rover and handed over a check for 2.5 million.
On Sunday, the man took the car for a test drive, accompanied by another employee, Antonio Idanan. However, the suspect gave Idanan the slip and sped off in the vehicle.—Julie M. Aurelio
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Friday, December 11th, 2020
Did Honda cancel the Civic Coupe for 2021?
The class of 2021 Honda models is starting to arrive in larger numbers at the Meridian Honda showroom. Even with everything that is available in terms of new models, there is still a noticeable gap that more customers are beginning to notice. Did Honda cancel the Civic Coupe for 2021? Unfortunately, yes, they did. As much as the two-door version of the Civic was loved by the people who took it home, our manufacturing partner made the tough call to shut down the production line. We know this might be a sore spot for some people, but there is good news on the horizon for fans of the Civic family. Let’s take a closer look at what we can expect to see. (more…)
Friday, November 20th, 2020
How much passenger and cargo space does the 2021 Honda Civic Hatchback have?
The latest available version of the Honda Civic Hatchback has started to arrive at the Meridian Honda showroom. As more people learn about the new hatchback’s arrival, more of them are reaching out to our product experts to ask, ‘How much passenger and cargo space does the 2021 Honda Civic Hatchback have?’ Now that we’ve been able to get inside the vehicle and look around, our team is able to give a pretty good picture of what all four trims (LX, Sport, EX and Sport Touring) have to offer. Basically, the 2021 Civic Hatchback does what it is designed by providing a flexible interior for people and their cargo. Let’s take a closer look at what you can expect to see when you visit Meridian Honda. (more…)
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020
What does the 2021 Honda Civic Hatchback look like?
The product experts working at the Meridian Honda showroom have been patiently waiting for the next crop of 2021 Honda vehicles to arrive. So far, we have received the 2021 versions of the 2021 Honda Insight and the 2021 Honda Pilot. According to some news recently released by our manufacturing partner, it looks like the latest Honda Civic Hatchback will be among the next new models to be delivered. So, what does the 2021 Honda Civic Hatchback look like? If you’ve been wondering about this as we have, you’re in luck. We’re still waiting on some details to be released, but we do know that the 2021 Civic Hatchback will be available in four trim grades, LX, Sport, EX, and Sport Touring. Our team got their hands on some new photos and they have been very excited to share them with potential customers. If you want to start the pre-ordering process, make an appointment with one of our product experts today. (more…)
Wednesday, February 26th, 2020
2020 Honda Vehicle Review Videos
The 2020 model year is shaping up to be very interesting for people shopping at the Meridian Honda showroom. One of the models that continues to lead the way for the automaker in the crossover SUV class is the 2020 Honda CR-V and its hybrid variant. The 2020 CR-V has arrived at our showroom but we’re still waiting for the gas/electric hybrid to get here. Our team of product experts have come across our 2020 Honda vehicle review videos that provide some insights that might be useful to future buyers. In addition to the 2020 CR-V and the 2020 CR-V Hybrid, we also found a 2020 Civic Hatchback video that caught our attention. If you like what you’ve seen, make an appointment with Meridian Honda today. (more…)
Wednesday, January 15th, 2020
How much cargo space does the 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback have?
In a world where crossover SUVs rule the road, the Honda Civic Hatchback continues to offer owners an efficient platform that also has several trim grades outfitted with the automaker’s latest connectivity options and, of course, plenty of cargo and passenger room. If you’re looking for an answer to the question, ‘How much cargo space does the 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback have,’ the team of product experts working in the Meridian Honda showroom has the information you need. The 2020 Civic Hatchback has finally arrived at our facility. Our sales staff has been excited to show potential buyers what they’re going to see when they visit our showroom. (more…)
Monday, October 14th, 2019
Which version of the 2020 Honda Civic has the most passenger/cargo room?
The Honda Civic is a unique model within the automaker’s inventory available to buyers at dealerships around the country. Before the latest version of the compact vehicle arrives at Meridian Honda, our team of product experts wanted to get ahead of what will almost certainly be a common question. So, which version of the 2020 Honda Civic has the most passenger/cargo room? Eventually, people will be able to choose among sedan, hatchback and coupe iterations of the 2020 Honda Civic. We have detailed information about each version and we’re finally in a position to take a closer look what potential buyers can expect to see. (more…)
Friday, August 30th, 2019
What does the 2020 Honda Civic Si look like?
We are only a few hours away from starting our Labor Day weekend. Hopefully, you have plans that will keep you busy and/or relaxed for all three days. Before we head to the door, we wanted to share something with all of you. There is a segment of Meridian Honda customers who are looking for something different; something a bit more compelling. Those people have been calling the showroom to ask, ‘What does the 2020 Honda Civic Si look like?’ If there was ever a Honda vehicle that would be a strong option to take on a long drive over a three-day weekend, it would be the 2020 Civic Si. Take a look at these photos before the high-performing Civic Si is delivered to our showroom. (more…)
Wednesday, August 21st, 2019
Performance Specs and Features for the 2020 Honda Civic Si
We’ve officially entered the time of year where Honda is starting to tease its next model year of vehicles. The automaker has already let us know what will be available with the 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback. Now we’re getting a look at the nameplate’s high-performance variant. For yet another model year, the performance specs and features for the 2020 Honda Civic Si will place it at, or near the top of its class. When the 2020 Civic Si is available for sale or lease at dealerships like Meridian Honda, it will feature a restyled exterior, revised transmission gear ratios and it will make the Honda Sensing® suite standard equipment. Let’s take a look at what we can expect to see. (more…)
Tuesday, January 23rd, 2018
2018 Honda Civic Hatchback Configurations and Performance Specs
There are many reasons to get excited about the 2018 Honda Civic Hatchback, as it comes with a number of configurations that will help you get the exact performance specs you want and the exact amenities you desire in your new vehicle. After all, the Civic Hatchback is all about performance (and a little about practicality too), so if you’re one of the many driving enthusiasts out there that love this model you’ll want to be sure you maximize its performance capabilities. We’re here to explain those to you today.


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Google T-Mobile G1 Phone Sold Out
by David Brooks | 07.10.2008
According to Business Week, the first batch of T-Mobile G1 Google Phones have sold out in the preorder stage. Customers can expect to get their hands on their G1’s as early as October 22nd. Could this be the start of a new Mobile Phenomenon?? I guess we’ll see soon enough!!


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Walmart Car Seat Exchange Comes To Early End
WALMART'S CAR SEAT RECYCLING EVENT WAS SO SUCCESSFUL THE COMPANY HAD TO END THE PROGRAM EARLY
(CNN) – Walmart’s new car seat recycling program was so successful, the event is ending early.
The company was offering a $30.00 gift card to anyone who brought in an old car seat.
It was part of a recycling effort with terracycle to keep plastic out of landfills.
The event started September 16th and was supposed to end September 30th.
But the store ended the program after nearly a million car seats were collected.
That’s according to a statement it made to USA Today.
It also said that’s the equivalent of diverting 200 million plastic bottles from landfills.


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McDonald’s Is Testing a Happy Meal For Breakfast
McDonald’s (MCD) could be adding a new Happy Meal for the first time in three decades.
The fast-food chain has just started testing a breakfast version of the kids’ meal. A spokesperson for the company told Fortune that the test began on Sept. 26 and is taking place at 73 locations in Tulsa, Okla., the same market where McDonald’s tested its “All Day Breakfast: Bigger Menu.”
The new kids meal will consist of either two McGriddle cakes (240 calories) or an Egg McMuffin sans Canadian bacon and butter (260 calories). According to USA Today, it also comes with a choice of two sides. Apples, yogurt, and fries will be available everywhere, though the last will only be an option after traditional breakfast hours. Hash browns will also be offered at certain locations.
If the test goes well, the breakfast Happy Meal could roll out nationally sometime in 2017. If that happens, it would be the first time since 1983 that McDonald’s has offered a new Happy Meal entree.
This is the company’s latest modification to its all-day breakfast, which officially launched last October and has been CEO Steve Easterbrook’s most notable turnaround move since he took the helm in March 2015. What started out as a limited menu has recently expanded to incorporate all the McDonald’s breakfast favorites. The new Happy Meal would join the all-day menu.


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Dish was the only television industry player with real news at CES this year. Their new V-POP, SlingTV, made its debut there with a considerably smaller channel line-up than many were expecting.
I think many people are looking at Sling the wrong way though, in that they see it as a substitute for a pay TV subscription.
It’s a competitor for Netflix or Hulu or even Spotify with a higher price point. The audience for Sling is not viewing it as a way to rid themselves of a bloated cable package, because they don't have a cable package, bloated or otherwise. For them, it's going to be a way to supplement their pre-existing online-only options, like Netflix, with some live TV.
So success will boil down to whether or not the target audience feels that they’ll watch enough live ESPN, Bloomberg and Disney Channel to justify paying $20 a month for it. It’s a curious proposition because if you’re comparing SlingTV to Netflix, which is $8/month (and has no commercials) you’d have to feel that SlingTV was more than twice as valuable as Netflix to be worth the outlay.
That's worth watching because the key value proposition of Sling is that it provides viewers with live TV. The sports and news offerings are adequate: ESPN doesn’t run every NFL or NBA game, and Bloomberg and CNN Headline news are just two voices. So the question becomes how badly does the millennial target want a live TV option?
It's an interesting question because realistically, many of the shows on Disney Channel and ABC Family are also available via Hulu and Netflix, though not, granted, their current season. So again, it comes down to the question of whether, say, the current season of The Fosters is worth $20/month or if it's okay to wait 6 months for it.
(There's also option C, which is to buy the current season of The Fosters on iTunes or Amazon for about $20-$30, a one-time outlay.)
There’s also the advertising conundrum: Sling.TV is going to have advertising on it and Amazon, Netflix and iTunes don’t. Which makes paying $20 a month for the service an even tougher sell. There’s an interesting paradox there too: most of the programming on Netflix and Amazon got made because the first run versions appeared on linear network TV and were funded by the revenue from said commercials. If we start devaluing commercials and don’t come up with an adequate replacement, that deep well of programming the streaming services rely on is going to dry up in a hurry.
There's one other important thing to note about Sling: it makes V-POPs real. Charlie Ergen did the industry a huge favor by going first, which is the one thing most people (in any industry) don’t want to do. So now that the gauntlet’s been thrown down, look for more V-POPs to emerge. Some of which may actually try to be an alternative to a full-on cable package.


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La Sportiva now has its own Stormin¹ Norman.
Starting Jan., 2004, Norman Pitts became the company¹s new Southeastern sales rep.
Pitts will now be traipsing around the states of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina and Florida, spreading the love for La Sportiva.
For the past quarter of a century, Pitts has been working in the outdoor industry. Pitts has been working the Southeast for the past decade as a sales rep, most recently with Five Ten.
³We¹re happy to have Norman. He¹s a very hard worker, he¹s got a reputation for being honest and he¹s well-liked by all,² said Mark Day, sales manager for La Sportiva.
What¹s more, Pitts has worked to grow the participation numbers of climbing in the Southeastern area and has a climbing team in his territory that he personally sponsors.


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A new term to learn, surge parking. Chicago has begun taking advantage of times of high demand for parking by doubling their meter rate to 4 dollars an hour up to 7 hours. This will be in effect around Wrigley Field during games and concert events.
"Yet Chicago's Wrigley Field parking gambit is only the latest example of a growing movement toward surge pricing — the practice of making customers pay more during times of heavy or peak demand. Already, airlines and hotels are veterans at charging premium rates during busy times, but now — as high-tech sensors and pricing algorithms make it easier to anticipate demand and boost prices — many other industries are exploring surge pricing, including retail, ride-sharing, sports and entertainment venues, and maybe even health care."
This means we're about to be looking at higher parking costs even during peak times of the day for doctor visits. Look for more cities to follow suit. Not only are ticket prices, health care costs etc going up but now it will be costing twice as much or more to park to get to these places.


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Summer in Minnesota means an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables in every farmer’s market and grocery store. HealthPartners and Cub Foods have teamed up to make sure those healthy foods appear on children’s plates with a fruit and vegetable “prescription” program for families.
HealthPartners has given families $10 coupons for fresh food at Cubs across the Twin Cities metro every summer for around seven years, according to Marina Olson, a communications consultant with HealthPartners. A child’s yearly wellness check, which often happens during the summer when students are available for daytime appointments, is the ideal time to hand out the coupons and start a conversation about nutrition, she added.
“It starts up a conversation with the parents and children about what healthy eating looks like,” said Dr. Alice Macdonald, a family medicine doctor and medical weight management expert at HealthPartners’ Eden Prairie clinic.
Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables every day helps prevent diabetes, obesity and other long-term health impacts, she said.
It’s important to make the conversation accessible for both children and parents, Macdonald said. She often leads with questions like, “What does a family meal look like for you?” and “What tastes good to you?” and suggests that the child come along with the parent to the grocery store to pick out a new fruit or vegetable that looks interesting to them. Oftentimes, it’s just as tasty as the packaged food marketed toward children, Macdonald said.
“There’s a lot of things on the market that are heavily packaged, processed fruit products,” she said, but a basket of strawberries or blueberries is just as delicious and has the important fiber and vitamins that make them a healthy choice.
Most of all, the fruit and vegetable prescription program aims to support parents and help children build healthy habits, Olson said.
“We want to be a resource, we don’t want to just tell them what to do,” she explained. “Starting off young gives kids the tools they need to thrive.”
A pamphlet that comes with the coupon lays out several strategies that parents can use to help picky eaters appreciate healthy foods. Macdonald also gives suggestions about recipes and behaviors during wellness checks.
“At the moment, I’m telling people about smoothies,” she said, which parents can use to mix greens like kale and spinach with sweet fruits like bananas and strawberries to turn a healthy meal into a treat.
Above all, parents should join their children in culinary adventures, Macdonald said.
“As a parent, you’re modeling behavior for your children,” she said. “It’s so powerful, what your children observe you doing.”
The fruit and vegetable prescription program is available during children’s wellness checks at HealthPartners clinics throughout the Twin Cities, including the Eden Prairie location at 8455 Flying Cloud Drive.


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AMD debuts power-saving processors
U.S. processor maker AMD Wednesday unveiled two low-power processors for high-end embedded customers seeking ways to cut energy consumption.
The AMD64 processors are based on AMD's mobile products and can run low-power, 32-amnd-64-bit performance suitable for use in rugged personal computers and low-airflow blade servers.
AMD said at Wednesday's Embedded Systems Conference in Boston that the processors are part of its AMD64 Longevity program that guarantees that designers of embedded products will have the processors available to them for up to 5 years.
The new products will be available this fall.
“AMD has long had a commitment to delivering customers the right balance of power and performance,” said David Rich, director of 64-bit embedded markets at AMD. “For several years now, our high-end embedded customers have called on us because of the variety of processors that AMD offers in terms of leading power/performance ratios. The high-end embedded design community continues to embrace the AMD64 Longevity Program and today we are responding to their requests for additional AMD64 low-power solutions that offer the longevity they seek.”
“Themis' high-performance products based on AMD’s low power 32- and 64-bit capable parts give our customers in the advanced communications and defense markets high processing power and system reliability for demanding application environments, while achieving a net reduction in total cost of ownership,” said William E. Kehret, president of Themis Computer. “These systems are both easy for us to design and easy for customers to incorporate into their overall IT infrastructure because they offer exceptional performance and low power, on an industry-standard x86 platform.”
Copyright 2005 by United Press International


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One of Oakland County’s best-known pizzerias has crossed over to the east side and opened its first Macomb County location, bringing some excitement to a long-empty building.
Green Lantern Lounge formally opened on New Year’s Day on 15 Mile Road between Hayes and Utica roads in Clinton Township after a couple of soft openings to give the staff and kitchen a chance to perfect their operations.
Long known for its old-school pizza covered with spicy cheese and crowned by crunchy New York-style pepperoni, it’s the third Green Lantern in the Detroit area. The original is on John R Road in Madison Heights and the second one opened on Rochester Road in Royal Oak.
At 6,000 square feet, it’s the largest of the three, according to T.J. Spreitzer, general manager of the Madison Heights location. Spreitzer is teaming with his brother John as owners of the new eatery in their first partnership.
“Our research shows this is a good area for a new casual pizza restaurant and we were able to arrive at a workable rent, so we decided to open on 15 Mile Road,” Spreitzer said.
Gone is the city landscape exterior design of the former tenant, City Pub Sports Grill, as the new owners have given the two-story building a dramatic metallic green paint job highlighted by a burgundy awning over the outdoor patio.
Green Lantern’s arrival in the Clinton Township-Sterling Heights area has been a hot topic among local sports bars enthusiasts in recent months as it will offer a new spot for food and entertainment.
The Green Lantern brand has come a long way from its modest beginnings on John R as one of the busiest pizzerias in south Oakland County for several decades.
The Green Lantern recipe is a family tradition that goes back 55 years when Thomas and Irene Vettraino had an old farmhouse bar along with a green lantern, according to their website. The couple passed the pizza recipe to their daughter Marlene, owner of the Madison Heights store.
Green Lantern has been named “Best Pizza” by readers of the Daily Tribune newspaper of Royal Oak for more than two decades.
“We’re going to have the same lounge feel that our 12 Mile store has,” Spreitzer said. “You can come in feeling comfortable dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. We have a lot of our old family photos on the wall just like our 12 Mile location and we sealed the cement floor so it has a real 1920s feel.”
The focal point of the place is a 25-foot-long booth that dominates the floor. Menu choices are fairly consistent with the other locations, although John Spreitzer has been coming up with an expanded selection of appetizers, salads and sandwiches including corned beef and their trademark Reuben.
A sports bar with plenty of TV monitors, Green Lantern will have other activities such as trivia night on Thursdays. Plans are in the works for special St. Valentine and St. Patrick’s Day parties.
Spreitzer, a resident of Rochester Hills, said more Green Lanterns could be in the works elsewhere in Macomb.
“Once we get settled here, we are looking to expand,” he said. “We never want to be a franchise operation ... We’re always going to be family oriented.”
Green Lantern is located at 15505 15 Mile Road, Clinton Township. Hours are 11 a.m.-midnight Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Thursday-Saturday, and noon-midnight on Sunday. For more information, call 586-859-0500 or visit them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Green-Lantern-Pizza/212651292089850?ref=ts&fref=ts.


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Apple has taken legal action against Russia's anti-trust regulator.
That's according to the country's RIA news agency.
Russian authorities have accused the U.S. tech giant of failing to allow app developers to tell customers about different payment options when using its App Store.
The case was opened in late October.
Legal documents published on December 1 showed Apple as a claimant against Russia's Federal Anti-monopoly Service.
Forbes Russia quoted a FAS representative who said the proceedings related to a warning it issued to Apple on the matter in late August.
Neither Apple nor the FAS immediately responded to a Reuters request for comment.
It is not the first time Apple has faced pushback over its App Store rules.
In the United States in September a federal judge issued a ruling against the company.
That forced Apple to allow developers to send their users to other payment systems.


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Hasbro Investor Day 2011 is now over but there was a few new things announced at this event. Battleship will be the next Hasbro Property to receive the Kre-O treatment.
What is KRE-O?
KRE-O is a new construction brand from Hasbro. The KRE-O brand provides builders ages 6 and up with the unique opportunity to enjoy popular Hasbro brands, like TRANSFORMERS and BATTLESHIP, in a construction play pattern.
How does KRE-O compare to other construction brands currently on the market?
We are proud of the quality and innovation the KRE-O brand brings to the construction aisle. KRE-O products feature the level of quality consumers have come to expect, and enhance construction play as only Hasbro can with the addition of favorite characters, unique accessories, and action figure-inspired KREON mini figures. KRE-O bricks are compatible with other major brick-based construction sets currently on the market.


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German Investor Confidence Unexpectedly Drops for First Time Since October
German investor confidence unexpectedly fell for the first time in five months in March after the European Central Bank said it may raise interest rates and Japan’s biggest earthquake on record caused a slump in global stocks.
The ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim said its index of investor and analyst expectations, which aims to predict developments six months in advance, declined to 14.1 from 15.7 in February. Economists had expected a gain to 15.9, according to the median of 38 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.
Germany’s DAX Index (DAX) extended its drop today, taking losses in the past month to more than 11 percent, on concern about the global economic impact of the disaster in Japan. The prospect of higher ECB rates is also weighing on investor sentiment, ZEW said. Still, German companies are increasing investment and hiring to meet booming export orders, fueling domestic spending and putting the economic recovery on a firmer footing.
“The recovery is not in danger yet, but the risks have increased,” said Ulrike Rondorf, an economist at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. “The full scale of the catastrophe in Japan and its economic impact can’t be estimated yet.”
The euro was little changed after the report at $1.3874. ZEW’s indicator measuring current economic conditions rose to 85.4 in March from 85.2 the previous month.
ECB, Quake Impact
ZEW said survey responses that came in after an 8.9- magnitude earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11 were significantly more pessimistic than those received beforehand.
Based on post-quake responses, the index would have dropped to 9.1, ZEW said. The ECB’s surprise announcement on March 3 that it may raise borrowing costs in April to curb inflation also damped sentiment. Responses received between March 4 and March 10 yielded an index reading of 12.6, while those before March 3 showed a jump in confidence with a reading of 22.5.
“I would suspect the figures would have deteriorated further if we had conducted the survey Monday and Tuesday” this week, said Michael Schroeder, head of ZEW’s financial markets department. “Seeing the news out of Japan, the indicator is likely to drop further next month.”
Slower growth in Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, may hurt its trading and business partners. Germany’s Metro AG, the world’s third-largest retailer, said all of its stores in Japan were damaged.
Risks for Europe
“It’s difficult to gauge the impact of the Japanese earthquake on the various economies,” said Joerg Lueschow, an economist at WestLB AG in Dusseldorf. “Parts of the country are so destroyed that there won’t be any production any time soon. The Japanese economy will probably shrink this quarter and next and that will also have an effect on trading partners. Certainly, the risks for the euro area’s economic outlook have increased.”
The Bundesbank expects Germany’s economy to expand 2.5 percent this year after record growth of 3.6 percent in 2010.
German carmakers are forecasting sales gains this year on higher spending in the U.S. and growing wealth in China. Volkswagen AG is adding shifts to meet demand, Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said on March 10. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world’s largest maker of luxury vehicles, said today it aims to increase profit in 2011 after record results last year.
The improving outlook has fueled hiring, pushing the German jobless rate down to 7.3 percent last month, the lowest since December 1991. Factory orders jumped 2.9 percent in January and manufacturing growth accelerated in February.
ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet signaled on March 3 that the bank is ready to raise interest rates next month after inflation in the 17-nation euro region accelerated to 2.4 percent in February, breaching the ECB’s 2 percent limit for a third month.
“The prospect of higher interest rates is not exactly inspiring markets,” said Andreas Moeller, an economist at WGZ Bank in Dusseldorf. “While an increase is not going to kill off the recovery, it’s enough to slow it down in some periphery countries.”
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at firstname.lastname@example.org


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The Crew has clocked up 30 million players since the franchise first launched back in 2014.
“This year has been an incredibly intense one for The Crew 2 and everybody at Ivory Tower,” the team explains on the official website.
Oli reviewed The Crew 2 when it first released back in 2018.
Buy The Crew from Amazon [?]
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|Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)
According to the article, Vietnam faced a range of difficulties in the fight against the pandemic last year due to the spread of the Delta variant. However, the Southeast Asian nation has fully opened and shifted to living safely with the pandemic despite Omicron waves this year.
The country’s export-import value hit a record 67.37 billion USD in March, of which 34.71 billion USD came from exports, surpassing the previous record in July 2021.
The article cited a forecast by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as saying that Vietnam’s economy will expand about 6.5 percent this year.
It also highlighted Vietnam’s export of electronic products, especially mobile phones, garments-textiles and timber products.
Tim Lee Lahaphan, an economist from Standard Chartered Bank, said more and more foreign firms have planned to move their supply chains to Vietnam that is dubbed as a centre of electronics, garments-textile and footwear in the region, the article noted.
Apart from production and trade, the domestic tourism is also bouncing back, the article said, adding that since mid-March, Vietnam announced its complete resumption of tourism activities.
Tourism has significantly contributed to Vietnam’s economy, making up 9.2 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP) last year, the article said.


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Lowe's is experiencing some revenue woes at present, a combination of mitigating factors has served to lower the company's total net worth.
As the weather gets nicer outside, consumers are planting more flowers and plants in their yards and gardens and looking for options for outdoor furniture. You would think this would mean increased sales for hardware and other items at outdoor mega-chains like Lowe’s but after first-quarter numbers have tallied, they are experiencing the exact opposite. Early market share numbers are reflecting $3.51 compared to the expected $3.22 per Wall Street for the first quarter, with a revenue of $23.66 billion dollars compared to the $23.76 billion dollars that were projected.
According to CNBC, the underlying factors that are impacting the home improvement industry are the shortage of available homes, aging housing stock, and appreciating real estate values. So while that is giving customers renowned confidence to update kitchen appliances or redo a bathroom, despite the ever-increasing inflation costs, the sales were not great for the first quarter of the year. Sales are expected to start jumping up as of May this year but it is slow going and cannot change the numbers already sealed for the first part of this year.
The majority of Lowe’s sales, which is about 75%, come from ‘do it yourself’ or DIY customers, whereas Home Depot gets half of its sales from contractors or business professionals like plumbers, home-builders, and electricians. That puts Lowe’s in jeopardy of fluctuations in consumer demands if homeowners decide to skip on a big landscaping or painting project due to budget constraints because of the current rate of inflation.
Lowe’s reported net income for the first quarter increased slightly to $2.33 billion, or $3.51 per market share, from $2.32 billion or $3.21 per share, compared to the same time frame from a year ago. The bad news is Lowe’s net sales fell to $23.66 billion dollars from $24.42 billion dollars last year and completely missed the stated expectations of $23.76 billion dollars. Lowe’s same-store sales declined over 4% compared to a year ago which is a decrease of 2.5% compared to what wall street analysts had predicted. This week’s closing reflected Lowe’s market shares down by 25% so far this year, with numbers at $194.03 per share, which brings Lowes’s total market value down to $128.27 billion dollars.
The colder than average weather piled more pressure on U.S. home improvement chains like Lowes to get creative in order to boost revenue following the double-digit quarterly sales growth seen during the early stages of the pandemic. This is problematic because seasonal products account for 35% or more of Lowe’s total profit and sales. This means the cooler weather will impact the near 2,000-store chain more than it affected Home Depot. Zachary Farm, a Wells Fargo analyst stated “We’re mindful that Lowe’s second-quarter could potentially see a bigger spring/outdoor lift versus Home Depot.” Yet, despite the first-quarter numbers, Lowe’s is not letting the lower than anticipated numbers get the best of them. They are forecasting a surprise increase in the next quarterly sales and are optimistic about a continued pattern for the rest of the year.


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In a new note to investors obtained by Business Insider, Jefferies analyst Tim O’Shea predicts Apple will charge consumers $15 USD per month (approximately $19.86 CAD at the time of writing) for access to its upcoming video streaming platform.
To put that number in perspective, in the U.S. Netflix prices its three streaming tiers at $9, $13 and $16 USD per month, respectively. Meanwhile, in Canada, the company charges $16.99 per month for access to its premium tier, which is to say if and when Apple’s new streaming platform were to come here, the company could adopt a regional pricing strategy that echoes the price of Netflix.
Moreover, whatever the price of entry O’Shea says he believes Apple will face an uphill battle convincing even dyed-in-the-wool iOS users to subscribe. To date, the company has spent a small fraction of the money Netflix invests in original content, and Apple’s insistence on a rumoured 30 percent revenue split is causing friction with major production houses like HBO.
“There are only a handful of players that make content that matters,” O’Shea writes. “If you lose one or two of them, it makes your service much less attractive.”
Those issues could be exacerbated in Canada if regional rights holders are unwilling to license their content to Apple.
Another interesting point brought up by O’Shea is that even if the platform were to become a runaway success, it would do little to offset declining iPhone sales.
In a best-case scenario in which Apple was able to accumulate 250 million subscribers by 2023, the service would only account for approximately five percent of the company’s revenue that year. Netflix, for perspective, has 139 million subscribers after 12 years in the streaming business.
A recent report from Bloomberg suggests Apple will announce the video platform, as well as its news subscription service, on March 25th. Bloomberg says it expects Apple will launch the former sometime this summer.


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Participate now for Forbes CryptoAsset & Blockchain Advisor And successfully navigate the bitcoin and cryptocurrency market
Bitcoin price has struggled to break above $40k per bitcoin this year, while ethereum price has failed to stabilize above $3,000 per ether. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum are down about 20% through April. Meanwhile, the continued popularity of blockchain-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has helped the growth of the new cryptocurrency apecoin, linked to the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT group, into a $7 billion coin.
Now, a survey of cryptocurrency experts presents a bullish prediction for Apecoin prices, with the price of Apecoin increasing by 50% in the past week as the coin developer prepares for a fresh NFT sale.
Do you want to stay ahead of the market and understand the latest cryptocurrency news? Subscribe now for free Codex–Daily newsletter for cryptocurrency investors and the curious
Apecoin launched last month and is up hundreds of percent since it began trading, with an average price forecast of $27 by the end of 2022, according to a panel of crypto experts compiled by price comparison site Finder, compared to about $24 per Apecoin currently. The panel of nine experts predicts that the price of Apecoin will reach $35 by the end of 2030.
Apecoin was launched by Yuga Labs, VC-backed creators of Andreessen Horowitz’s Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, and is gearing up to launch another Yuga Labs NFT this weekend. NFT “actions” for up to 55,000 virtual plots in the metaverse Otherside are set to begin Saturday and are expected to raise up to $300 million, according to financial times mathematical calculations.
The other, a type of 3D virtual world that has become known as the metaverse, will bring together several NFT projects, including Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, Meebits, Cool Cats, and other groups developed by Yuga Labs. The official Otherside Twitter account revealed this week that those who want to buy new NFTs will need to pay with apecoins.
“Mint will be exclusive to apecoin, although you will need ethereum for gas,” Otheride account mail.
In addition to the apecoin price hike, Yuga Labs NFT is also trading at record levels, with the ground price of Bored Ape NFTs up more than 30% during April to over 140 Ethereum.
“Apecoin could be very massive,” Thomson Reuters panelist Joseph Raczynski and technology expert and futurist, Joseph Raczynski, said in a statement.
“Yuga Labs is the blue chip of the NFTs, now that they have bought CryptoPunks. Their ecosystem, using apecoin, has the potential to be a game-changer in the metaverse. They are all community driven and this person is doing everything right right now.”
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Other panelists are more optimistic about the price of apecoin, with one predicting that it could nearly double to $45 per apecoin by the end of 2022, but warn that it will drop in the coming years.
“The current NFT noise is affecting the price of apecoin,” said Dimitrios Salambasis, Professor of Financial Technology at Swinburne University of Technology. “I am of the opinion that all these overvalued crypto assets will gradually fade and lose value because the potential for their usefulness is insignificant.”
However, NFTs and crypto skeptics on the panel cautioned against people buying apecoins or NFTs in the hope that their prices will go up.
“This is a clearer case of a speculative bubble than Bitcoin and Ethereum,” said John Hawkins, a senior lecturer at the University of Canberra. “It doesn’t even claim to have any benefit.”


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Cyber Security and Threat Intelligence
Source: Hacking News
The iOS Bug That Crashes Apple Devices Upon Typing “Taiwan”
Sometimes, technology unintentionally becomes a part of world politics. The same happened to Apple lately. Due to China’s dominant approach
The iOS Bug That Crashes Apple Devices Upon Typing “Taiwan” on Latest Hacking News.
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When the “cutting edge” in automotive is electrification, what do you do if you’re Maserati and your brand is wrapped up tight with the appeal of gasoline engines? That’s the challenge facing the Italian automaker as it continues to carve out a space in the luxury performance high-end, and the question I posed to Reid Bigland, Head of Maserati and Alfa Romeo, this week at the LA Auto Show 2017. As you might expect, the answer is complicated.
What you might be surprised by, however, is that it’s not so much a technical complication but an emotional one. As Bigland puts it, a significant part of Maserati’s appeal is its engines, and their unusual origin.
“We’ve had a unique affiliation with Ferrari where the primary engine provider for Maserati is Ferrari,” Bigland explained. “And that differentiates within the marketplace, because you’re not going to find a Ferrari engine in anything other than a Ferrari.”
Even with Ferrari spinning off from FCA as its own, independent concern, that partnership with Maserati continues. However, Bigland conceded, there’s no denying that internal combustion faces significant challenges as environmental requirements evolve, potentially squeezing niche automakers which once could count on the emotional appeal of a big capacity, roaring gas engine.
“With respect to how the regulation is changing around the world, more towards electrification, we’ve definitely spent a lot of time discussing that,” Bigland told me, “and how – if – we were to bring an electric, full-on battery-electric Maserati to market, would it still be a Maserati?”
Power or driving dynamics certainly needn’t be the limiting factor. We’ve seen fully-electric and hybrid sports cars set records for performance after all; most recently, Tesla shook the supercar world with the promise of the new Tesla Roadster doing 0-60 mph in under two seconds. According to Bigland, it comes down to one big question.
“We concluded that yes, it still could be a Maserati. It could still have all of the great performance of a Maserati, all of the great handling of a Maserati, all of the blend of features and benefits that make a Maserati unique,” he explained. “But clearly the aspect of sound that is coming from the combustion engine is the one we’ve discussed a lot about.”
“So does this then have to have a unique Maserati electric sound?” Bigland speculated. “Does it not have any sound at all? What do we do about that sound question? But I think on all of those other attributes there’s no question that we could do it.”
The “right” soundtrack to electric vehicles is a tricky challenge. On the one hand there’s the emotional connection that many drivers have with the noise a V8, V10, or V12 makes. That could be artificially created, of course, though enthusiasts have generally reacted negatively to “enhanced” engine noise even in actual gasoline vehicles, never mind fake ICE sounds being piped into an EV’s cabin.
Meanwhile there are also safety concerns. Since they’re generally so much quieter than ICE vehicles, electric cars can creep up unexpectedly on pedestrians or other road users. Right now, in the US, the NHTSA requires all hybrid or fully-electric vehicles to make a noise of some sort when traveling at speeds under around 19 mph.
While a switch from Ferrari engines to near-silent electrification would be a big change for Maserati, it’s not like the automaker hasn’t had to evolve in recent years as the industry changes. The company launched its Levante SUV recently, after all, helping it hit a 2016 sales record overall, and Bigland says it’s currently on track to beat that again in 2017. An electric Maserati might be a break with a tradition, but if it ends up looking like the Alfieri that has already been connected with the automaker’s EV plans, it could end up being a financially rewarding one.


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More than 900 million people use Facebook’s Messenger mobile app each month to connect with friends and family. Now the company wants them to chat with businesses, too.
The social network announced today that companies can set up on Messenger. Some are already experimenting with using the platform for customer service, or to offer automated, interactive “bots” that can be used to browse online stores or request information such as news and weather. Burger King's bot can take food orders, for example. The Dutch airline KLM provides boarding passes and customer service via Messenger. Facebook announced its new approach at a conference for developers in San Francisco on Tuesday.
Facebook claims that talking with businesses and their bots offers a smoother way to get information and services that must otherwise be hunted down on the Web or in a mobile app store. “I don’t necessarily want to download a separate app for every business or service I interact with,” says Seth Rosenberg, a product manager for Messenger. He predicts businesses will flock to Messenger because the service provides a ready-made connection to almost a billion people.
Messenger is offered for free and doesn’t generate revenue for Facebook. But Asia’s largest messaging services, such as China’s WeChat and Japan’s LINE, have built substantial businesses by letting companies build on top of their services to offer things like shoe shopping, medical appointments, and banking services. One logical option for Facebook would be to let businesses operate online checkouts inside Messenger, as they already can inside Facebook’s main service.
Rosenberg said companies might one day be able to pay to promote their presence on Messenger. But today businesses are banned from sending ads inside the service, and he says Facebook is wary of letting the service become too commercial. “We’re not going to let it be like e-mail and become spammy,” says Rosenberg.
Businesses cannot send messages to you on Messenger unless you have opted into a conversation. Chats with businesses will feature a prominent “Block” button so people can easily shut down bots or businesses they don’t like, and Facebook will screen what companies build before allowing them to let it loose on Messenger.
When Facebook has opened up its platform to businesses in the past, for example by allowing third-party games into its main service, it has produced big shifts in online business practices, and spawned successful startups.
Alexander Taussig, a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, says that opening up Messenger could have similar effects. Messaging services now attract more users than social networks, and companies need to shift to follow consumers, he says.
Taussig guesses that e-commerce services could be particularly successful inside Messenger. “Shopping conversationally brings service back to the transaction—whether you're interacting with a human or a bot,” he says. “The thing you used to do by tracking down a sales associate at your favorite store isn't really executed well on the Internet today.” Facebook could make money by taking a cut of sales, says Taussig.
Some businesses are trying to use Facebook’s platform to create chatbots designed to engage in simple conversation. One service launched today on Messenger is a weather app called Poncho that manifests as a talking cat. Businesses can also create services with more intelligence by creating what Rosenberg calls “cyborgs,” which combine human customer service agents and automated messages. A startup called Spring used the tools announced today to create a personal shopping service operated that way. Facebook is already experimenting inside Messenger with a virtual assistant called M, built on that model.
DeepMind’s cofounder: Generative AI is just a phase. What’s next is interactive AI.
“This is a profound moment in the history of technology,” says Mustafa Suleyman.
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Next slide, please: A brief history of the corporate presentation
From million-dollar slide shows to Steve Jobs’s introduction of the iPhone, a bit of show business never hurt plain old business.
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Giant Foods has begun collecting signatures at its Cleona store in support of a referendum that would drop the borough’s 70+ year status as a dry town.
“We support the initiative to change the Cleona Borough ordinance from dry to wet and would welcome the opportunity to pursue a license in order to offer a Beer and Wine Eatery in our Cleona store,” said Giant Foods spokesperson Ashley Flower.
The petition is able to be signed through March 12, 2019.
The signature process comes after news first broke earlier this month regarding Giant’s need to get a referendum.


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Amnesty International targets Sun, Nortel, Cisco and Yahoo!
By Simon Aughton
Posted on 20 Jul 2006 at 15:59
Human rights group Amnesty International has launched global campaign against internet repression, targeting companies including Sun Microsystems, Nortel Networks, Cisco Systems, Yahoo! and Google which it says are among those implicated in helping governments censor the Internet or track down individual users.
The campaign aims to claim back the Web as a force for change in the face of what the campaign group describes as increasing willingness on the part of technology companies to aid censorship and repression.
'From Iran to the Maldives and Cuba to Vietnam, governments are both cracking down on those who use the Internet to communicate their views and denying their citizens access to its wealth of information,' Amnesty said. 'Web users are locked up, Internet cafes are shut down, chat rooms are policed and blogs deleted. Websites are blocked, foreign news banned, and search engines filter out sensitive results.'
By contrast, the Web could and can be used to promote human rights, with activists able to tell the world about abuses in their country at the click of a mouse.
'We are calling on Internet users across the world to go to irrepressible.info and sign a pledge calling on all governments and companies to respect Internet freedom,' Amnesty International said.
The online pledges will be collected and presented to a United Nations meeting on the future of the Internet in November 2006.
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Family Dollar Stores Price Target Increased to $62.00 by Analysts at Sterne Agee (FDO)
Analysts at Sterne Agee lifted their price target on shares of Family Dollar Stores (NYSE:FDO) from $61.00 to $62.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Analyst Ratings Network reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Sterne Agee’s target price points to a potential downside of 11.06% from the company’s current price.
Shares of Family Dollar Stores (NYSE:FDO) traded up 0.16% on Friday, hitting $69.71. 1,078,208 shares of the company’s stock traded hands. Family Dollar Stores has a one year low of $54.06 and a one year high of $75.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $72.01 and its 200-day moving average is $66.23. The company has a market cap of $8.017 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14.
Family Dollar Stores (NYSE:FDO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 9th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Family Dollar Stores will post $4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which is scheduled for Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th.
Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Analysts at Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Family Dollar Stores from $59.00 to $62.00 in a research note to investors on Thursday. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock. Separately, analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut their price target on shares of Family Dollar Stores from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research note to investors on Thursday. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, analysts at Citigroup Inc. cut their price target on shares of Family Dollar Stores from $77.00 to $76.00 in a research note to investors on Thursday. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-one have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.11.
Family Dollar Stores, Inc operates a chain of more than 7,400 general merchandise retail discount stores in 45 states, providing consumers with a selection of merchandise in neighborhood stores.
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New data from the OECD shows savings for the average Briton are in minus figures. Reviewing data from 30 countries and cross referencing average income with average household savings, the data shows which countries were best (and worst) off.
Over a twelve month period the average UK household loses £57.62, which equates to one penny every single hour. It doesn’t sound like much, but as Tesco reminds us ‘every little helps’.
It appears the British salary just cannot keep up with the lifestyle, as inflation creeps up yet again to 0.6%. Skyrocketing house prices are in conflict with faltering salaries, proving that people just cannot afford to live in the UK for much longer.
We’re better off in Mexico
The average household salary for Mexico sits at £11,436.15, that equates to just over ⅓ of the average household salary for United Kingdom residents (£31,833.85). Despite this, workers in Mexico save on average £612.86 every year, due to lower costs of living.
The top saver award goes to Switzerland, with a massive average annual household saving of £8,545.45 or £0.98 every hour. The cost of living in Switzerland came out top in all countries reviewed, yet a high average income of £58,389 rendered this irrelevant.
Other countries excelling at saving include Sweden saving £6,340.49 annually, Norway saving £4,638.23 and Australia saving £4,627.91.
Other countries that join the United Kingdom in negatives include Finland, Japan, Poland, Ireland, Portugal, Latvia and Greece. Greece came in with the lowest average saving of -£4,355.45 annually, which equates to a loss of 50p every single hour.See full data table below.
|Country||Average Annual Income||Average Household Savings||Annual Savings||Monthly Savings||Daily Savings||Hourly Savings|
Average annual income data OECD 2015
Average household savings data OECD most recent available data.


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Equities analysts expect WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC) to post earnings per share of $0.98 for the current quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Seven analysts have made estimates for WESCO International’s earnings. The highest EPS estimate is $1.01 and the lowest is $0.95. WESCO International reported earnings per share of $0.96 in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year-over-year growth rate of 2.1%. The company is expected to announce its next earnings results on Thursday, January 25th.
On average, analysts expect that WESCO International will report full-year earnings of $3.88 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $3.85 to $3.91. For the next year, analysts forecast that the company will report earnings of $4.32 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $4.20 to $4.40. Zacks Investment Research’s earnings per share averages are an average based on a survey of sell-side analysts that follow WESCO International.
WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The technology company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. WESCO International had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 9.11%. WESCO International’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 EPS.
In other WESCO International news, Director James Louis Singleton sold 3,288 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.25, for a total transaction of $211,254.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,251,397.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investec Asset Management LTD increased its position in shares of WESCO International by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter. Investec Asset Management LTD now owns 1,103,602 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $63,236,000 after purchasing an additional 217,004 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of WESCO International by 22.7% during the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 31,130 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 5,765 shares during the last quarter. Piedmont Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WESCO International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,683,000. Investec Asset Management North America Inc. increased its position in shares of WESCO International by 28.4% during the 2nd quarter. Investec Asset Management North America Inc. now owns 19,938 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 4,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of WESCO International by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 208,454 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,944,000 after purchasing an additional 19,953 shares during the last quarter. 98.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Shares of WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) traded down $1.35 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.80. 416,400 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 420,800. The company has a market cap of $3,203.19, a PE ratio of 17.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.95. WESCO International has a 52 week low of $48.95 and a 52 week high of $76.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.
WESCO International declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
WESCO International Company Profile
WESCO International, Inc is a distributor of products and provider of supply chain management and logistics services used in industrial, construction, utility and commercial, institutional and government (CIG) markets. The Company is a provider of electrical, industrial and communications maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) products, construction materials, and supply chain management and logistics services.
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Netflix’s global head Bela Bajaria was in the country recently and it was expected that there will be some new announcements post her visit. The OTT platform has managed to barely survive in India as other channels like Amazon Prime, Disney Plus Hotstar, and Zee5 are giving it tough competition. Moreover, the digital platform has also lost a good number of subscribers in the last few months.
And, that is why the channel has decided to drop 90% of its content and is now looking for fresh ideas, concepts, and stories. That means, that even sequels with decent earlier seasons will have to fulfill the parameters of good content and fresh presentation if they want to get a nod from the Netflix officials.
The first season of Delhi Crime did quite well on Netflix and that is why it was given an extension for the second season. However, now reports indicate that the officials of the digital channel are not quite happy with the way the content has been shot for the second season of Delhi Crime. And that is why, it is being delayed. Netflix has reportedly asked the makers to reshoot some part of the upcoming season and only then they will allow Delhi Crime 2 to stream on its platform.
This stand by the leading global OTT channel can bring a good transformation in the OTT industry of the country because nowadays, even trash content is being streamed by digital mediums thereby making a big impact on the quality of entertainment that is dished out to the audience.
The insistence to accept only the best stories and concepts can bring about a welcome change in the way series and movies on OTT platforms are created. So even though Netflix has been forced to take this stand for losing its subscribers, this decision can be a big game-changer.


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Wireless Data Usage in Canada Remains Lowest in OECD Countries: CRTC
The CRTC recently released its 2018 Communications Monitoring Report and once again, wireless data usage in Canada has remained the lowest as compared to subscribers in most other OECD countries, which according to Michael Geist, is the result of Canada’s uncompetitive wireless sector.
Looking at the latest CRTC data, it seems clear that pricing has a significant impact as data usage, as higher priced data from Canada’s Big three carriers is considerably higher compared to other countries.
Moreover, overage charges remain another major source of massive consumer wireless spending with the CRTC reporting over $1.2 billion in revenue generated from mobile data overages this year.
As Geist writes:
Unfortunately, Canadian consumers are being hit with the worst of both worlds: less data use per month than the vast majority of OECD countries alongside over a billion dollars in overage fees. For Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains, the CRTC report is further evidence that “steps in the right direction” have not resulted in significant change, suggesting it is the government’s wireless policy that is in dire need of refresh.
Do you ‘ration’ your wireless data? How much is your data bucket per month?


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Rancho Dominguez, CA • November, 2014 –Kawai, one of world’s largest and most successful makers of acoustic and digital pianos, has received two prestigious “Excellence Awards” from Music Inc. – one of the top trade magazines in the music products industry. Announced annually, the Excellence Awards recognize the top industry products, suppliers and retailers as identified by a survey of industry people across North America. Based on music dealer responses, Music Inc. named Kawai America Corporation one of ten recipients of the 2014 Supplier Excellence Award and chose the Kawai CN Series Digital Pianos as one of 20 industry products to receive the 2014 Product Excellence Award.
“It’s humbling to be chosen one of the top ten suppliers in this industry,” said Brian Chung, Kawai senior vice president. “We strive every day to be people who treat our dealers and retail customers the way we would want to be treated. When you combine that high level of customer service with great products, it creates a winning combination that customers recognize and appreciate.”
While Kawai digital pianos have won many awards over the years, the 2014 Product Excellence Award is the first for Kawai’s CN Series Digital Pianos. “I’m thrilled that the CN Series is finally receiving well-deserved recognition as a leader in its class,” said Tom Love, Kawai’s senior director for electronics. “Our CN models are extremely popular, not only with home pianists and hobbyists, but also with churches and schools. They represent the perfect blend of high performance and outstanding value.”
Kawai is no stranger to awards from Music Inc. having won six previous Supplier and Product Excellence Awards over the past decade. “We’re grateful to Music Inc. for creating a way for our instruments and our company to receive special recognition for quality and innovation,” said Chung. “With the addition of these two Excellence Awards, I’m pleased to say that Kawai has now won a total of 37 major international awards over the past 16 years—and every one of them means the world to us.”


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by Donna Martinez
Former Senior Writer and Editor, John Locke Foundation
Right now my pantry is stocked with more Clorox wipes than I could possibly use this year — or next. At least one of the containers has been there for about six months. I’ve also got a few extra rolls of paper towels. Come on, don’t deny that you’ve got some ‘extra’ stuff, too.
But deny is exactly what North Carolinians did when responding to High Point University pollsters. I’m having trouble believing these results.
Despite news reports of pandemic purchasing and supply shortages of some items, most North Carolinians said that they didn’t think they bought too much of nonperishable foods (77%), bottled water (75%), paper towels (74%), toilet paper (73%) disinfectant wipes and cleaning products (69%) or hand sanitizer (66%).
And I guess we haven’t eaten too many Krispy Kremes, either. To that point, the pollsters tried to get an idea of what we’ve been buying — besides Clorox wipes — during the pandemic.
The HPU Poll asked North Carolinians if they have made certain purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Just over one-quarter (26%) said that they purchased work out equipment, in addition to a bicycle (15%), camping or hiking gear (14%), and water sport equipment (13%).
My personal follow-up question: Of those of you who bought work out equipment, how many of you used it for more than a week? D’oh.