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Protecting and Enforcing Your High Technology Intellectual Property - Webinar Replay
Are websites legally responsible for content posted by their users?
Do I need permission to use images from Google on my website?
Patent Infringement Defense Leveraging Contested Proceedings
Implementing a Counterfeit Enforcement Program
Design Patents: New Implications from the Hague Agreement
Patent Litigation and the Proposed Innovation Act of 2013
Developing a Business Strategy that Deters Counterfeiters
Protecting Trade Secrets When Employees Depart
Polsinelli Podcast - Conducting Business in China
Are there going to be new generic top level domains available in the future?
Beastie Boys Sue; Law Prof's 'Head Spins'
Polsinelli Podcast - Generic Drugs to Market - What's the Climate in 2014?
The Building Blocks of a Technology Deal
Emerging Strategies for Protecting Global IP Rights
Starting a new business? Intellectual Property 101 Presented by Prof. Islam & PA Thomas Lewry
Warranty vs. Indemnity
What should my company be aware of when launching a new website?
Demonstratives in Post-Grant Proceedings
Recent disputes and controversies involving Chinese subsidiaries of foreign pharmaceutical companies have sounded warning bells on legal and ethical issues regarding participation in China’s rapidly growing and evolving...more
On 4 December 2013, the High Court of Australia handed down a decision confirming that methods of medical treatment can fall within the scope of patentable subject-matter....more
Last month, in a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Michael Froman, Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) President and CEO James Greenwood expressed support for the efforts of the Obama Administration to...more
Developing countries face significant medical challenges. ...more
Breast Cancer – Patents
Introduction: Breast cancer is a malignancy that effects women across the world and is most prevalent among various types of cancers. Patents are jurisdiction specific exclusive rights that are...more
Originally published in Olivares & Cia. on March 4, 2013.
In January, the Mexican Senate published a Bill adding article 23 bis to the Industrial Property Law (IP Law). This Bill intends to establish a "special" life...more
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) on European Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC) for Further Medical Uses: With a remarkable ruling from July 2012 (Neurim Pharmaceuticals, C-130/11), the European Court of Justice...more
The China Trade Marks Office (CTMO) recently announced that from 1 January 2013 it is accepting applications to register trade marks in relation to retail or wholesale services for pharmaceutical, veterinary and sanitary...more
Those seeking to conduct research involving human genetic material within the People’s Republic of China or to import into China such material should review China’s recently issued draft regulations (“Draft”) for the...more
Skadden recently welcomed Sharis A. Pozen, former Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, as a new partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Sharis discusses her DOJ...more
On August 22, 2012, the World Trade Organization welcomed Russia as its 156th member. As a result, Russia will lower its tariffs on imports of goods across all sectors of the economy and will reduce trade barriers. This will...more
In This Issue:
- Measures to Supervise Overseas Investments of Central Enterprises
- Provisions Governing Overseas Manufacturers of Imported Food
- China to Amend Measures for Foreign Invested Medical...more
In This Issue:
- 58 U.S. Supreme Court Cases to Watch
- 59 Securities Litigation: Recent Supreme Court Decisions and Future Trends
- 66 Continued Step-up in Government Investigations and White Collar Crime...more
Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will create opportunities to increase exports of pharmaceutical products and medical devices. On 16 December 2011, WTO Members accepted the terms of the Russian...more
Medical device cases are being filed with increasing frequency at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to combat infringing imports. In particular, owners of intellectual property rights on medical devices regularly...more
Therefore, as may be seen, the two-stage patent opposition process has particularly affected the pharmaceutical industry, as the patent applicants are now vulnerable to multiple pre-grant oppositions filed by competitors, or...more
In recent weeks, the pharmaceutical industry has been in the crosshairs of antitrust enforcers in the U.S. and in Europe. Specifically, patent litigation settlements in which a brand pharmaceutical manufacturer makes a...more
On November 28, 2008, the European Commission published its preliminary report and findings in connection with the sector inquiry it launched late last year on competition in the pharmaceutical sector. The Commission...more
It has long been established that second (and further) medical uses of a known medicament may be patented at the European Patent Office (EPO) and in the UK, provided that appropriate claim formats are used, including those...more
On January 16, 2008, the European Commission launched a sector inquiry into the pharmaceuticals industry by carrying out a series of unannounced inspections of
innovative and generic pharmaceutical companies. The targeted...more
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We have just spent four days at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show 2019 and it is time to recap our experience at what used to be Europe’s most important auto show.
Fewer manufacturers, smaller stands and gaps filled with used cars and carpet. It doesn’t take long to see the 2019 IAA Frankfurt Motor Show is no longer what it used to be. But the pace at which the downfall of the IAA has taken place is shocking to see.
Clearly the cancellation of many car manufacturers in the run-up to the IAA this year posed challenges for the VDA, the organizer of the IAA. But the way the challenges have been handled seems to have an accelerating effect on the downfall of the show.
To make matters worse it is not just the absence of the likes of Aston Martin and Ferrari that makes the IAA so unattractive for visitors and journalists alike. But the decision from German groups to leave their top brands at home; including Bentley, Bugatti and Rolls-Royce, is something I can’t wrap my head around.
Where are the visitor highlights?
Clearly those manufacturers present at this year’s IAA want to present electric models and show that they are ready to face the challenges ahead. But the reality is the green naysayers that dominate the political discussion in Germany are not visiting the IAA. The visitors that still come to IAA are interested in cars and want to see the latest and greatest there is on the market. That they can’t see the new Ferrari is a shame but that the Volkswagen Group is withholding the IAA audience from recent highlights like the Bugatti Centodieci or the Bentley EXP 100 GT gives visitors all the more reason not to come back in two years. Turning the further downfall of the IAA into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Experience vs Display
Motor shows around the world are struggling so what is happening to the IAA should not come as a surprise. But the decline is about more than just the lack of halo cars but also the visitor experience. 20 years ago visitors didn’t know much about the cars they were presented. Today the average visitor knows a lot about the cars shown at the IAA when he walks through the door thanks to the plethora of information and content available online. Motor shows and manufacturers have to adapt to this new reality that just putting a car on display is no longer enough to appeal to visitors and satisfy them. Visitors should be offered experiences and interactions that they cannot get online or at a dealership.
At the same time online also offers manufacturers an alternative to the expensive motor shows, which served the key purpose of getting the word out about new models for decades. I love motor shows for the opportunity to see many different models, meet key people in the industry, get an overview of trends and see where the journey is going. I would be sad to see them go but clearly most motor shows are reluctant to change or have no answer to the changed market dynamics.
There are exceptions
Where some brands decide to pass on the IAA altogether and others like BMW significantly downsized their presence from 11,000 m2 to 3,000 m2, Mercedes-Benz holds on to their prominent and extensive display in the festive hall and adjacent pavilion of the Frankfurt Exhibition center. In the front pavilion you will find a large number of new models on display as it used to be. But continue into the Festive Hall and a new approach concept awaits: few cars, more brand and theme experiences. Neatly integrated in the Daimler IAA presence is also the MeConvention – a future lab’ for exploring major issues and promising ideas for society, business, science and our planet. Combining new with old Mercedes-Benz hopes to satisfy both returning visitors as well as appeal to a new tech-savvy audience. However with the rest of the IAA in such an appalling state we doubt Daimler can justify their current efforts and investment for the next edition.
On the other side of the IAA grounds we find some first-time exhibitors from China. Seemingly unaware of the ongoing decline so obvious to returning visitors of the IAA they bring a positive vibe and new inspiring products to Hall 8. The sad reality remains that the IAA this year has nowhere near the density of products, brands and innovations as it used to have.
The e-mobility push
One thing that nearly all manufacturers present at this year’s IAA have in common is the seemingly endless range of electric cars in the limelight. These range from a 1,400hp Chinese hypercar called the Hongqi S9 to a modest Volkswagen e-Up. On Thursday we accompanied German Chancellor Angela Merkel through the IAA halls as she was brought up to speed about the latest innovations and products by the CEOs of major German manufacturers and suppliers. All were doing their best to show the latest and greatest electric car; from the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQS to VW ID.3 and Porsche Taycan.
Just before the end of the IAA tour Merkel unintentionally put the finger on the main issue for mass-adoption of electric cars. She asked the Opel CEO about the price difference between the new Corsa and the e-Corsa; the answer: the combustion Corsa is around 15,000 euro and the e-Corsa 30,000 euro. In the mass market segment prices will have to come down to the same level as combustion cars and even than it will be a tough sell to consumers. Until that happens e-mobility will not become mainstream and primarily a tool for the rich to buy a clean conscience and pretend they are saving the environment by driving an over-sized and over-weight electric car powered by coal power plants.
IAA 2019 Highlights
In the past we struggled to pick the 10 best cars of the IAA. This year we struggle to even fill a Top 10 at all. So we have reduced our highlights to the Top 5 cars of the IAA 2019 in random order.
The first all-electric Porsche Taycan is celebrating its world premiere in Frankfurt. Hailed for using 800V technology and setting a new benchmark for electric driving dynamics it is without a doubt one of the few highlights in Frankfurt. Personally I’m sceptical whether or not electric (sports)cars are really a satisfying replacement for combustion cars but with 30,000 pre-orders Porsche cannot complain.
The first Lamborghini with a hybrid system and what a stunner the new Sian is. Just ignore the fact that it is still based on the eight year old Aventador platform and the 2 million euro price tag.
Mercedes-Benz Vision EQS
Mercedes-Benz said they want to sell 50% full electric cars by 2030. A very ambitious goal which requires appealing full electric cars in their line-up. The Mercedes-Benz Vision EQS is their take on a full-electric version of the S-Class flagship limousine.
Land Rover Defender
The Defender is back! We like the functional design of the interior but the quality of the materials used is not the best. It suffers from an issue BMW had a while ago where parts designed to be aluminum or steel have been replaced with plastics.
At the Audi stand you can find a full-electric off-road vehicle that looks like a moon buggy. But our attention was drawn by the world premiere of the new Audi RS7. Equipped with a new version of Audi’s 4.0 liter V8 it is even faster and more luxurious than the previous generation.
Read more about the IAA at our IAA Frankfurt Motor Show 2019 news channel.

domain: news


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Malayalam Motors in Kerala has released a few Tata Nexon SUVs that have been painted in the country colours of different participating teams in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The already popular SUV was earlier seen in the sport team colours during the 2018 Indian Premier League. Tata’s link-up with the sports goes way back and they even roped in football legend Lionel Messi for the promotion of the Tata Tiago.
The video shows how the newly minted Tata Nexon SUVs are being used for marketing promotions. There are quite a few brandings on the car including Unibic Cookies, Tata Motors, OTTO Clothing and Coca-Cola. The video shows various people booking app-based taxi services and the Nexon arriving to pick them up instead of regular cars. However, the Nexon SUVs shown in the video do not get the commercial number plate.
There are a total of three Tata Nexon SUVs that can be seen in the video. There is a red one that sports the Russian team livery, a blue one that gets the Argentina official team livery and a yellow that supports Brazil. People in Kerala can expect to spot these three cars on the road for the duration of the world cup.
While it gets a lot of visual modifications, mechanically it remains identical to the stock car. The Nexon has become third largest selling sub-4-meter compact SUV in India and takes on the likes of highly competitive Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and Ford EcoSport. The car gets both petrol and diesel engine options. There is a 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine that generates a maximum of 108 Bhp and 170 Nm. It also gets a four-cylinder diesel engine that generates a maximum of 108 Bhp and 260 Nm. Both get 6-speed manual transmission and 6-speed AMT automatic transmission. Tata Motors has also introduced a range of accessories that can be officially installed on the vehicle, including a sunroof.


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Toyota has suspended shipments of some of its models including the Hilux and Land Cruiser 300 after irregularities were found in certification tests for diesel engines developed by affiliate Toyota Industries.
A special investigative committee had found irregularities during horsepower output testing for the certification of three diesel engine models. Toyota announced in a statement that Toyota Industries had been tasked with developing the engines. Toyota Industries President Koichi Ito said at a press conference:
“There was a lack of communication with Toyota Motor and not enough coordination about testing processes and procedures that should have been followed.”
Toyota Industries said it sold about 84,000 affected automobile diesel engines during the financial year to 31st March 2023. A Toyota spokesperson could not immediately say how many affected vehicles the automaker had sold over the years but confirmed that the investigation had found that electronic control units used during horsepower output testing were different from those used during engine production.
The Japanese automaker said it sought to thoroughly explain the matter to authorities and would take measures such as running new engine certification tests in the presence of regulators as needed. Toyota said that nearly 10 models use the affected engines globally, including 6 in Japan. These models in addition to the aforementioned Hilux and LC 300, include the Hiace van, Fortuner SUV, Innova MPV, and Lexus-branded LX500D SUV.
Japan’s transport ministry said it would shortly conduct an on-site investigation of Toyota Industries’ Hekinan plant in central Aichi prefecture where the company makes automotive and industrial engines. Toyota’s investigation initially focused on certification regulations relating to the emissions performance of forklift and construction machinery engines, which the special investigative committee also confirmed misdoing.
The automaker holds a nearly 25% stake in Toyota Industries, which is a key Toyota group company. The supplier in turn owns about 8% of Toyota shares itself. Shares in Toyota Industries sank 6% shortly after the news.
This is another blow to Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker by sales, which has been separately seeking to resolve a case of misconduct related to rigged collision safety tests at its wholly-owned company Daihatsu. Toyota also found itself caught in hot waters when another of its company Hino was found falsifying emissions data for over 20 years.
Responsible for delivering local & international automotive news.


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Epic Games have just released a parody game on the Call of Duty franchise, dubbed Duty Calls. As ridiculous the game is, it does point out some of the exaggeration the series has headed to. Download the game for yourself or you can watch the video for some good laughs.
Also, Josh Ollin letting the fans out there know that this weekend is going to be great!
“Double-XP will run this weekend on all platforms, starting 10:00AM PST on Friday, ending Monday morning. Prestige!”


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FARMINGTON MI - You can now sample McClary Bros. beverages at its new tasting room. The company, as seen on "Shark Tank," has opened a pub-style room to showcase its drinking vinegars.
The colonial-themed pub, located at 32621 Grand River Ave. in Farmington, gives patrons a chance to sample and purchase its drinks. People can either drink them straight out of the bottle, or mix them in cocktails and other drinks.
Since "Shark Tank:"
McClary Bros. failed to score a deal with the sharks on the hit ABC show "Shark Tank," but since appearing on the show in September 2015, owner Jess Sanchez McClary says business has been good. The drinks are now on store shelves at more than 120 Meijer stores throughout Michigan and in other states. The drinks are also sold on the company's website and at its new tasting room.
There are numerous flavors to choose from. Michigan Apple Pie is the company's most popular and signature flavor. McClary Bros. also features Michigan Beet and Carrot, Michigan Cranberry, Pineapple and Fennel Seed, and Lemon and Ginger.
The Grand opening celebration at the new tasting room runs until 6pm on Saturday, December 5, 2015. It will be open everyday from 9am - 5pm.
Here is a clip from McClary's on "Shark Tank" with guest shark Ashton Kutcher and Kevin O'Leary arguing during McClary's pitch.
Edward Pevos is the entertainment reporter for Mlive covering Detroit and Southeast Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter @PaparazzoPevos


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Ingrid Jackel named as brand's new CEO
Natural beauty brand Yes To has announced its new CEO – Ingrid Jackel, who joins the company from Physicians Formula, where she previously worked as CEO, President and Chairwoman.
Jackel will oversee Yes To's expansion across North America and other international markets. She will work closely with the company's management team to further the brand's journey into becoming a significant beauty line in the mass category. She commented: "How could I not say 'Yes To' this tremendous opportunity to nurture and expand such a unique and forward thinking brand? Yes To is a natural, on trend, relevant yet irreverent platform that will be the ideal stage for first-to-market concepts and best in class innovation. I am extremely excited to share my passion for innovation and 20 years of experience with the entire Yes To team."
Scott Potter, Chairman of Yes To, said: "Ingrid's impressive track record as an innovator in the beauty category makes her the ideal leader for Yes To as we embark on the next phase of growth for the brand." Ido Leffler, Co-Founder of the Yes To brand, added: "We are lucky to welcome Ingrid to our Yes To family. I very much look forward to working with Ingrid to continue to build one of the most fun, dynamic, natural beauty brands in the market."
Yes To creates beauty products using fruits and vegetables, leaving out parabens, SLS and phthalates. It launched in the UK in 2014 and is currently stocked in Waitrose, Boots, Holland & Barrett and Whole Foods, as well as a number of online retailers. The company expects sales to double in the UK this year.


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The South Korean government has moved to eliminate more than half of all registered domestic lubricants manufacturers in an effort to weed out non-operating and illegitimate businesses. Blenders pegged for closure were given 90 days from the November notice to verify their legitimacy and remain open.
Koreas Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced an administrative measure to shut down 165 lubricants blenders in November unless they file objection within 90 days of the announcement - a deadline which is approaching soon.
Kim Gi-dong, the ministry official in charge of the policy, told Lube Report Asia last week that the measure was takento overhaul the industrys deadweight. The administrative disposition falls under the Petroleum and Petroleum Substitute Fuel Business Act, which mandates that a manufacturer of petroleum products such as lubricants that has suspended operations for more than a year, or that has not started business after reporting its commencement to authorities, shall be officially closed.
Klean Korea Corp., Bardahl Oil Korea, and Chemtech Korea Co. are among blenders on the list slated to be shut. Locations of listed businesses extend nationwide, but Gyeonggi province is home to more than any other, with 60 companies.
The ministrys action began in April 2016 when it issued a preliminary notice that listed 177 blenders subject to closure. Twelve companies - including Mega Lube and Mobil Korea Lube Oil Inc. - were allowed to continue business after verifying operation.
The number of companies registered in the country as lube blenders had doubled since 1998, whengovernment deregulated the industry, switching from a licensing system to a reporting system, according to Korea Lubricating Oil Association. However, many registered lubricant manufacturers have not been in operation in recent years. Some were rented, and some were used to produce counterfeit lubricants.
Kim said the measure came afteran investigation into more than 300 lube manufacturers in the country by Korea Institute of Petroleum Management (K-Petro). With this measure, there [would be] 120 lubricants blenders left in business, Park Ji-Seo, a K-Petro official, told Lube Report Asia last week. Companies on the list of those to be shut down are mostly small-scale blenders that have ceased or suspended business due to financial or managerial problems.


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One week ago today, Jack Fincham and Dani Dyer – daughter of Eastenders actor Danny Dyer – won the nation’s hearts and became this years Love Island winners and each walked away with £25,000 in their pockets. As they and their fellow islanders return back from the villa to the UK, they can expect to make up to hundreds of thousands of pounds in TV deals and endorsements. However, they aren’t they only ones who are set to make big money. This year, ITV increased their official sponsors of Love Island from an already crowded 5 up to a staggering 10 – citing Love Island to be their biggest commercial property ever. Superdrug, the show’s main sponsor, returned this year along with Primark and The Ministry Of Sound. The Ministry Of Sound also returned and made a cameo appearance on one of the episodes along with Leeds music producer Tom Zanetti, whilst also offering a Love Island Summer Party album based around the programme. Some of the brands joining these big names include Jet2, Samsung, Rimmel London, Missguided, Kellogg’s and Lucozade Zero. Primark created several clothing items based around famous phrases from this years series, such as t-shirts displaying one this year’s most recognisable sayings – “#Loyal”. But with 10 brands competing for attention at the villa, just how loyal can the show be to any of them?
In trying to turn the heads of potential customers, some of the sponsorships have gone much further than simple product placement but have become integral to Love Island’s entire set up. Samsung in particular is one brand that has managed to successfully embed itself in the lives of the islanders and become part of the show, rather than an extension of it. By tying itself to one of the shows most recognisable elements, “I’ve got a text!”. Every episode, we see the contestants receive text messages and use their phones to communicate with each other as well as take pictures. These are all done with the use of Samsung’s latest mobile phone model, and uploaded to their social channels – something we all do every day, it feels normal and despite a little bit of branding is fairly seamless. The pictures taken by the islanders throughout the series are also uploaded to the Love Island app, to further demonstrate the products camera capabilities and fuel conversation by viewers being able to comment and share the images across their own social media channels.
The show has seen a year on year sharp increase in viewers tuning in daily to see which of the islanders is going to stay loyal, get mugged off or have their heads turned. This is all thanks to the attraction the show has towards the 16-34 age bracket. This age group more than any other are most likely to watch their viewing material online or through subscription services such as Netflix or Amazon Prime. This makes the fact that Love Island attracts 16-34 year olds in their millions extremely attractive to potential sponsors. The show by its very nature encourages engagement amongst its audience through in-app voting polls to save viewers’ favourite couple. It therefore encourages engagement amongst the sponsors own target market by making them discuss the products seen within the programme. For example, Superdrug, reported a 112% year-on-year rise in suncare sales and a huge increase in conversation around Solait when islander Charlie sprayed himself with Solait Shimmering Oil Spray.
Reality TV stars today are most definitely not in short supply with a conveyor belt of similar shows, nor are brand partnerships or products on the market. Therefore, it’s important that brands recognise the potential short life span of interest amongst those who have exitted the villa. Striking whilst the iron is hot and when public interest is at its highest is the best sure way for a brands sponsorship to be most effective. However, brands must be wary that their sponsorship is authentic and that the contestant they are partnering up with pair up well their company’s core values. The pairing needs to feel authentic to be successful. If it’s ineffective, it has the potential to be detrimental to the brand as consumers will see right through it.
With this series being the highest in sponsorships so far, looking into next year brands will need to be keep up the pace and create unmissable experiences for not only the villa and the contestants, but also the doting public. It’s important now, more so than ever for brands to have more than just a presence. Customers want an experience that they can connect with as we start to declutter and simplify our lives, we come to the realisation of what’s important and creating relationships that ultimately last.


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|By Business Wire||
|November 28, 2012 03:00 PM EST||
BitYota, a new Silicon Valley-based start-up, today emerged from stealth mode by unveiling its data warehouse-as-a-service on Amazon Web Services (AWS) at the inaugural AWS re:Invent Conference. Hand selected by AWS to be spotlighted at the conference, BitYota is designed to run on cloud infrastructure without compromising functionality or scalability. BitYota’s service will first be available on Amazon Web Services (AWS) with expansion plans in the future.
Built from the ground up, BitYota unites the feature-rich functionality of a full-scale data warehouse with the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of Amazon’s cloud infrastructure empowering any company to unleash the value of their data to gain insights and make better business decisions.
“Companies across every spectrum have an undeniable need to use data to unlock new sources of economic value but relatively few companies have invested sufficient time, money or people to do this right,” said Dev Patel, CEO, BitYota. “We believe that data and analytics should be broadly accessible to everyone inside the company and it shouldn’t take a fortune to analyze data. I’m proud to say today BitYota launched a data warehouse as-a-service that allows just that. We are a cost-effective, self-managing and intuitive service that empowers users to work with their own data in familiar ways, with little retooling or disruption.”
BitYota offers a fundamentally improved approach for those looking to harness the power of Big Data analytics. Key features include:
- Affordable SaaS: Customers no longer have headaches about hardware provisioning, maintaining homogeneous configurations; software versions, upgrades and installations; database administrators to manage and maintain the throughput of workloads; advance planning for growth and burst needs; and concurrent users.
- One-Click Data Integration: Customers can load data from varied data sources such as S3, NoSQL stores and RDBMS, allowing them to easily and quickly combine all their data including event logs, user profiles, transactions, etc., in a single place in the Cloud. BitYota auto-detects varying data formats and schemas; understands the rate of arrival/change of new data and seamlessly loads it on a pre-determined schedule.
- Fast Analytics at Scale using Familiar Tools: BitYota’s patent-pending massively parallel analytics engine enables analysis over the “fresh,” full-detail data. It works within the existing ecosystem of programming languages and BI tools; supports SQL92 natively and also integrates via an industry-standard ODBC API with popular Business Intelligence tools and dashboards to visualize results. Access is via industry standard languages and tools to analyze data without needing an intermediary or new language skills.
“A key focus area for AWS is to help companies get started by offering a technology infrastructure with no capital expense and low pay as you go pricing, and providing a technology platform with a broad functionality and global scale,” said Ariel Kelman, Head of Worldwide Marketing, AWS. “This year, at the first AWS re:Invent conference, we have pushed ‘getting started’ to a new level by creating a dynamic, live stage environment for start-up companies to launch publicly for the first time. We’re excited to have BitYota participate and launch their next generation data warehouse-as-a-service on AWS.”
“Agnitus' gaming model consists of multiple games that are tailored to the individual learning habits of each child. Before BitYota, it was incredibly challenging to extract meaningful data to understand how children are progressing as they play,” said Lance Vikaros, Executive Director of Education at Agnitus, a leading developer of touch enabled learning apps for children. “BitYota enables us to fully customize data queries directly, making it easy to generate reports anytime and anywhere the company needs. Fast, customized reporting means that I can focus less on data management and more on understanding how to improve our games to better support children's success in school.”
For more information, visit www.bityota.com and follow us on Twitter at @bityota.
BitYota delivers a warehouse-as-a-service for Big Data Analytics. SaaS takes away both Big Cost and Big Headache making Big Data analytics accessible in the fastest, affordable way to the most number of users, with no compromise on functionality or service levels.
BitYota was founded by data experts Dev Patel, Harmeek Bedi and Soren Riise. Its core team has 35+ years of big data experience at Yahoo, Oracle, Veritas/Symantec, Informix, BMC, Kabira/Tibco, and Twitter. It has raised $12M through Seed and Series A funding from Globespan Capital, The Social+Capital Partnership, Dawn Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Crosslink Capital, Morado Ventures, and individual investors Maynard Webb, Graham Summers, Jerry Yang and Sharmila Mulligan.
The Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF), sponsor of the IoTivity open source project, and AllSeen Alliance, which provides the AllJoyn® open source IoT framework, today announced that the two organizations’ boards have approved a merger under the OCF name and bylaws. This merger will advance interoperability between connected devices from both groups, enabling the full operating potential of IoT and representing a significant step towards a connected ecosystem.
Oct. 21, 2016 11:15 PM EDT Reads: 1,117
You think you know what’s in your data. But do you? Most organizations are now aware of the business intelligence represented by their data. Data science stands to take this to a level you never thought of – literally. The techniques of data science, when used with the capabilities of Big Data technologies, can make connections you had not yet imagined, helping you discover new insights and ask new questions of your data. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Sarbjit Sarkaria, data science team lead ...
Oct. 21, 2016 10:00 PM EDT Reads: 4,206
A completely new computing platform is on the horizon. They’re called Microservers by some, ARM Servers by others, and sometimes even ARM-based Servers. No matter what you call them, Microservers will have a huge impact on the data center and on server computing in general. Although few people are familiar with Microservers today, their impact will be felt very soon. This is a new category of computing platform that is available today and is predicted to have triple-digit growth rates for some ...
Oct. 21, 2016 10:00 PM EDT Reads: 33,889
SYS-CON Events announced today that Roundee / LinearHub will exhibit at the WebRTC Summit at @ThingsExpo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. LinearHub provides Roundee Service, a smart platform for enterprise video conferencing with enhanced features such as automatic recording and transcription service. Slack users can integrate Roundee to their team via Slack’s App Directory, and '/roundee' command lets your video conference ...
Oct. 21, 2016 09:15 PM EDT Reads: 1,979
SYS-CON Events announced today that Enzu will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Enzu’s mission is to be the leading provider of enterprise cloud solutions worldwide. Enzu enables online businesses to use its IT infrastructure to their competitive advantage. By offering a suite of proven hosting and management services, Enzu wants companies to focus on the core of their online busine...
Oct. 21, 2016 09:15 PM EDT Reads: 1,193
SYS-CON Events announced today that SoftNet Solutions will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. SoftNet Solutions specializes in Enterprise Solutions for Hadoop and Big Data. It offers customers the most open, robust, and value-conscious portfolio of solutions, services, and tools for the shortest route to success with Big Data. The unique differentiator is the ability to architect and...
Oct. 21, 2016 08:15 PM EDT Reads: 341
In past @ThingsExpo presentations, Joseph di Paolantonio has explored how various Internet of Things (IoT) and data management and analytics (DMA) solution spaces will come together as sensor analytics ecosystems. This year, in his session at @ThingsExpo, Joseph di Paolantonio from DataArchon, will be adding the numerous Transportation areas, from autonomous vehicles to “Uber for containers.” While IoT data in any one area of Transportation will have a huge impact in that area, combining senso...
Oct. 21, 2016 07:15 PM EDT Reads: 254
Why do your mobile transformations need to happen today? Mobile is the strategy that enterprise transformation centers on to drive customer engagement. In his general session at @ThingsExpo, Roger Woods, Director, Mobile Product & Strategy – Adobe Marketing Cloud, covered key IoT and mobile trends that are forcing mobile transformation, key components of a solid mobile strategy and explored how brands are effectively driving mobile change throughout the enterprise.
Oct. 21, 2016 07:15 PM EDT Reads: 1,613
@ThingsExpo has been named the Top 5 Most Influential Internet of Things Brand by Onalytica in the ‘The Internet of Things Landscape 2015: Top 100 Individuals and Brands.' Onalytica analyzed Twitter conversations around the #IoT debate to uncover the most influential brands and individuals driving the conversation. Onalytica captured data from 56,224 users. The PageRank based methodology they use to extract influencers on a particular topic (tweets mentioning #InternetofThings or #IoT in this ...
Oct. 21, 2016 07:00 PM EDT Reads: 8,109
"Matrix is an ambitious open standard and implementation that's set up to break down the fragmentation problems that exist in IP messaging and VoIP communication," explained John Woolf, Technical Evangelist at Matrix, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held Nov 4–6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Oct. 21, 2016 07:00 PM EDT Reads: 8,929
The IoT has the potential to create a renaissance of manufacturing in the US and elsewhere. In his session at 18th Cloud Expo, Florent Solt, CTO and chief architect of Netvibes, discussed how the expected exponential increase in the amount of data that will be processed, transported, stored, and accessed means there will be a huge demand for smart technologies to deliver it. Florent Solt is the CTO and chief architect of Netvibes. Prior to joining Netvibes in 2007, he co-founded Rift Technologi...
Oct. 21, 2016 06:45 PM EDT Reads: 2,815
For basic one-to-one voice or video calling solutions, WebRTC has proven to be a very powerful technology. Although WebRTC’s core functionality is to provide secure, real-time p2p media streaming, leveraging native platform features and server-side components brings up new communication capabilities for web and native mobile applications, allowing for advanced multi-user use cases such as video broadcasting, conferencing, and media recording.
Oct. 21, 2016 06:15 PM EDT Reads: 3,019
Established in 1998, Calsoft is a leading software product engineering Services Company specializing in Storage, Networking, Virtualization and Cloud business verticals. Calsoft provides End-to-End Product Development, Quality Assurance Sustenance, Solution Engineering and Professional Services expertise to assist customers in achieving their product development and business goals. The company's deep domain knowledge of Storage, Virtualization, Networking and Cloud verticals helps in delivering ...
Oct. 21, 2016 04:15 PM EDT Reads: 926
24Notion is full-service global creative digital marketing, technology and lifestyle agency that combines strategic ideas with customized tactical execution. With a broad understand of the art of traditional marketing, new media, communications and social influence, 24Notion uniquely understands how to connect your brand strategy with the right consumer. 24Notion ranked #12 on Corporate Social Responsibility - Book of List.
Oct. 21, 2016 04:15 PM EDT Reads: 1,488
More and more brands have jumped on the IoT bandwagon. We have an excess of wearables – activity trackers, smartwatches, smart glasses and sneakers, and more that track seemingly endless datapoints. However, most consumers have no idea what “IoT” means. Creating more wearables that track data shouldn't be the aim of brands; delivering meaningful, tangible relevance to their users should be. We're in a period in which the IoT pendulum is still swinging. Initially, it swung toward "smart for smar...
Oct. 21, 2016 03:15 PM EDT Reads: 320
Cognitive Computing is becoming the foundation for a new generation of solutions that have the potential to transform business. Unlike traditional approaches to building solutions, a cognitive computing approach allows the data to help determine the way applications are designed. This contrasts with conventional software development that begins with defining logic based on the current way a business operates. In her session at 18th Cloud Expo, Judith S. Hurwitz, President and CEO of Hurwitz & ...
Oct. 21, 2016 03:00 PM EDT Reads: 4,375
@ThingsExpo has been named the Top 5 Most Influential M2M Brand by Onalytica in the ‘Machine to Machine: Top 100 Influencers and Brands.' Onalytica analyzed the online debate on M2M by looking at over 85,000 tweets to provide the most influential individuals and brands that drive the discussion. According to Onalytica the "analysis showed a very engaged community with a lot of interactive tweets. The M2M discussion seems to be more fragmented and driven by some of the major brands present in the...
Oct. 21, 2016 03:00 PM EDT Reads: 11,169
In the next five to ten years, millions, if not billions of things will become smarter. This smartness goes beyond connected things in our homes like the fridge, thermostat and fancy lighting, and into heavily regulated industries including aerospace, pharmaceutical/medical devices and energy. “Smartness” will embed itself within individual products that are part of our daily lives. We will engage with smart products - learning from them, informing them, and communicating with them. Smart produc...
Oct. 21, 2016 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 1,415
In his keynote at 19th Cloud Expo, Sheng Liang, co-founder and CEO of Rancher Labs, will discuss the technological advances and new business opportunities created by the rapid adoption of containers. With the success of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and various open source technologies used to build private clouds, cloud computing has become an essential component of IT strategy. However, users continue to face challenges in implementing clouds, as older technologies evolve and newer ones like Docke...
Oct. 21, 2016 02:15 PM EDT Reads: 2,212
As ridesharing competitors and enhanced services increase, notable changes are occurring in the transportation model. Despite the cost-effective means and flexibility of ridesharing, both drivers and users will need to be aware of the connected environment and how it will impact the ridesharing experience. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Timothy Evavold, Executive Director Automotive at Covisint, will discuss key challenges and solutions to powering a ride sharing and/or multimodal model in the a...
Oct. 21, 2016 02:15 PM EDT Reads: 1,435


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The company, in an interaction with the Reuters, said that the bottleneck in the global supply chain had not left Bosch unscathed
Semiconductor chip shortage has probably hurt the car industry more than any other. Now in an interaction with the Reuters, Bosch’s Chief Executive Officer Volkmar Denner has pointed towards the car industry in 2021. The company has noted that despite the improvements in pandemic, only around 85 million vehicles will roll off the manufacturing lines this year.
This number, last year stood at around 78 million, while the same was 92 million in 2019. The highest during the last five years or more was in 2017 when around 98 million units were rolled of manufacturing facilities.
Apart from the pandemic, Bosch feels that developments such as Brexit and trade tensions between China and the USA might also imapact economic developments.
GM extends productions cuts
General Motors (GM), owing to the chips shortage, has extended production cuts at three of its facilities in North America. Reuters report that customers stocking on electronics like gaming consoles and laptops has led to the deificit in the global supply of chips.
Renault and Stellantis, as reported earier, had both suspended car production at several factories as were dealing with a worldwide shortage of crucial semiconductors. Carmakers around the world have been hit by the shortage of chips used in engine management and driver-assistance systems, which mainly come from Asia and especially Taiwan.
A Ford India spokesperson, in a statement, had said that the global semiconductor shortage will impact vehicle production at Ford”s Chennai and Sanand plant in the coming months. The spokesperson further said that In Chennai, the company has pulled ahead a down week to this week due to a supplier part shortage connected to the global semiconductor shortage.
Phil Amsrud, senior principal analyst-ADAS, Semiconductors and Components, IHS Markit had earlier said that because of the cause of these constraints is the result of increasing demand from OEMs and limited supply of semiconductors, it will not be resolved until both forces are aligned. China will be the most hit in the first quarter at nearly 250,000 units, as per IHS.


text: SOURCE: Motor1 With the popularity of crossovers and SUVs on the market today, all automakers are rushing to keep their offerings fresh and to bring new rides to market. One of the freshened SUVs for the 2019 model year will be the 2019 Mercedes GLE, which is going to be all-new. A bunch of spy shots have turned up over the months and now the GLE has been spied on video. The GLE, which was originally called the ML when it launched back in 2011, has a completely new exterior that is much more rounded than predecessors. The new video shows an admittedly blurry look at the interior of the vehicle and one thing that is clear is a new infotainment system.That new infotainment system appears to be the MBUX unit that has so far only been officially confirmed for compact cars. In A-class vehicles, the MBUX system packs a 10.25-inch fully digital display, but it’s not clear if the larger SUVs like the GLE will use the same exact system.A larger screen would be likely in larger and more luxurious vehicles. The E-class, CLS, and S-Class all use dual 12.3-inch screens. Other things we know about the 2019 GLE include that it will be on the MRA platform used by the E-Class/CLS. Power is expected to come from an inline-six.The tach is seen in the video of the car and has an 8,000 rpm redline. That is much higher than you expect on a diesel engine meaning this prototype is likely using a gas engine. The earliest official look at the GLE will likely come at the Geneva Auto Show.


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Coronavirus has impacted many restaurants, and even worse, shut them down. But what are the conditions of covid-19 and how does this impact the re-opening of restaurants and how they can effectively run?
Coronavirus has influenced many restaurants. The article, “3 Charts That Show the U.S. Industry’s Coronavirus Recovery” suggests, “The NPD Group, which tracks transactions for 70 quick-service, fast-casual and full-service restaurant chains, found that transactions declined just 18% during the week ended May 24.” This shows how Coronavirus has dramatically impacted restaurant profits and have caused budget cuts in dine-in places.
Many restaurants have restrictions. For instance, the McDonald’s in Tampa, Florida only serves take-out and serves food from the drive-thru. This can impact restaurants because they are having less customers due to a global pandemic. Having less customers equals less profit, which in some cases, can hurt businesses and potentially cause them to go under.
In addition to that, not only has Covid-19 impacted profits in restaurants, it has also impacted how restaurants can effectively function. For instance, because of coronavirus restaurants have had to alter how to run their businesses. This means these dine-in places may have had to serve food once at a time, seat people differently as they were seated before (for example, restaurants may move tables 6 feet away from each other), and make food carefully without touching it to prevent the spread of germs.


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Harris Teeter Store Coming to Columbia
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Harris Teeter Inc. plans to begin constructing a store at Kings Contrivance Village Center in Columbia this summer, becoming the first upscale supermarket chain to break into Howard County.
The North Carolina-based chain, which is aggressively expanding in the Washington suburbs, has signed a deal to build a store in Kings Contrivance once the lease for a Safeway store there expires at the end of June. The Safeway and an adjacent vacant building will be torn down to construct the new supermarket, which could encompass up to 56,000 square feet.
"It will be an enormous improvement, a real draw for the village center," said Phil Marcus, who represents Kings Contrivance, near Routes 29 and 32, on the Columbia Association board.
The adjacent building, which once housed a Friendly's restaurant, has been vacant for nearly three years, he said.
The center is owned by Kimco Realty Corp., which revealed its plans to the village board last Wednesday. Kimco officials could not be reached for comment this week.
"Columbia seemed like a great market and a great location. The demographics of the community are important to us," said Jennifer Panetta, a spokeswoman for Harris Teeter. "We're looking forward to bringing Columbia its first Harris Teeter."
Marcus said the new store could draw shoppers from other village centers in Columbia, including customers of the upscale Giant Food stores in River Hill and Dorsey's Search. "It certainly will draw from Owen Brown. Owen Brown's Giant will be hurt," he said.
He said the new supermarket will boost business for other stores in Kings Contrivance. "Harris Teeter's assumption is they can substantially increase the traffic, and that traffic will eventually spill off to other parts of the shopping center," he said.
Construction is expected to begin this summer with the demolition of the Safeway, Marcus said. That could cause disruptions for neighboring retailers. Stores such as Michael's Pub, CVS and Kings Contrivance Liquor and Smoke Shop are expected to remain open, he said.
Harris Teeter is known for full-service supermarkets with coffee bars and sushi stations. Its offerings at the Columbia store have not been determined, Panetta said.
The chain, with nine stores in the Washington area, plans to open its first in Maryland this summer, in Darnestown in Montgomery County.
The company is the latest entrant in the region's fast-changing grocery market, which was once firmly dominated by Giant Food LLC and Safeway Inc.
A spokesman for Safeway said the chain had wanted to remain in Kings Contrivance. "The lease was up for renewal, and we were outbid by a competitor," Greg TenEyck said. "We would have preferred to stay."
Kimco, which is known for revitalizing small shopping centers nationwide, owns six of Columbia's nine village centers. Last year it sold Oakland Mills Village Center to Cedar Shopping Centers Inc. for $8 million after revamping retail there.
The once-languishing Oakland Mills, one of the oldest village centers in Columbia, was plagued by vacancies until Kimco purchased it from Rouse Co. in February 2002.
In 2001, the center lost a 42,000-square-foot Metro Food Market and Exxon station. Attempts to attract a new grocery chain -- including Giant, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods -- had failed. Under Kimco, the center has been fully leased, anchored by a Food Lion grocery.


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iPhone in relation to China is in the news again. Stan Abrams of China Hearsay wrote about the alleged looming problems with Apple's iPhone trademark in China, see here. And then I was interviewed by Sophie Pilgrim of France 24, the French BBC so to say, about a video by MacMedics and about iPhones, counterfeiting and what you can do about it.
However, the third point I make about what to do against counterfeiting was not: "Get a strong legal team. This isn’t very useful in China, though, where foreign companies are afraid of saying anything because they want to continue investing in the country, since it’s very cheap to manufacture there."
It must be:
"Register your IPR's (or so you will get a strong legal team). But you need to be willing to litigate. Some foreign companies are afraid of saying anything because they don't want to jeopardise their investments in the country, and they want to keep on manufacturing there, since it is still relatively cheap."
You can check out the interview here.


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SINGAPORE -- In the nine years since Alibaba Group Holding held its first Singles Day shopping promotion in China, the annual event has grown from a gimmicky marketing campaign to the world's biggest online sales extravaganza.
Now, the festival dedicated to the glory of consumerism, held on Nov. 11, is spreading from China to South Korea, Southeast Asia and beyond, setting off a battle royal among e-commerce retailers for global customers.
The shopping celebration, which grew out of a day for single young people in China, developed slowly: In 2009, Alibaba recorded gross sales on its platform of less than 100 million yuan ($14.4 million at the current exchange rate). But by last year, the figure soared to more than $25 billion, making Singles Day nearly four times as large as Cyber Monday, the hyped-up pre-Christmas online retail campaign in the U.S. that follows the Thanksgiving Day holiday in late November.
For the Chinese e-commerce conglomerate and other retailers, Singles Day in China is evolving as online and offline shopping begin to merge. Alibaba's Tmall shopping site has tie-ups with 200,000 brick-and-mortar shops, offering 180,000 brands, up 30% from last year.
JD.com, another major Chinese internet retailer, also works with affiliated stores, as well as big foreign retailers such as Walmart of the U.S. and France's Carrefour. The company rang up $19.1 billion in sales during its 11-day event last year, which began on Nov. 1. It has also launched its own promotional campaign in June.
Chinese companies have inspired their peers in neighboring countries, where online shopping remains underdeveloped due to difficulties with internet infrastructure and logistics. According to a recent report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, online sales account for less than 4% of total retail sales in Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries. That translates to "significant room for growth for e-commerce," despite a strong shopping-mall culture in the region, the report said.
Despite the annual craze of Singles Day, online shopping is still in its infancy in Southeast Asia. "I'm a firm believer that e-commerce will not replace physical stores anytime soon," said Tan Hai Hsin of Retail Group Malaysia, a consultancy. "In fact, in recent years, both [online and offline] ... are crossing into each other's territory, and I believe this trend will continue."
This year's Singles Day, on Sunday, will be crucial for Alibaba -- it will either shore up investor confidence on the union of online and offline retail or add to the challenges for chairman-in-waiting Daniel Zhang Yong. Alibaba's founder, Jack Ma Yun, in September said that he will step down next year and hand over the reins to Zhang, the company's CEO and key architect of the Singles Day event.
But the company has hit a rough patch, disappointing investors earlier this month with its latest quarterly earnings report and cutting its full-year forecast. The New York-listed company reported sales of 85.15 billion yuan for the three months ending September. Although that was a 54% increase from the previous year, it fell short of the consensus forecast of 86.51 billion yuan. Alibaba said the lower-than-expected results were due largely to weaker sales growth in its online business, which accounts for about 85% of its revenue.
The company is accelerating its global expansion in an effort to lift its bottom line. To attract more overseas shoppers, including in Europe and North America, to this year's Singles Day event, Alibaba has developed an artificial intelligence-powered tool that provides instant translations from English to Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian. AliExpress, Alibaba's global retail platform, also offers an artificial intelligence translation tool that allows English speakers to communicate with those who speak Chinese, Russian, Spanish, French, Arabic and Turkish.
Singapore-based online shopping platform Lazada, a subsidiary of Alibaba that operates in six markets in Southeast Asia, is expected to handle 400,000 brands and more than 50 million deals on Singles Day, hoping to encourage shoppers to splurge on items ranging from food to baby products to cosmetics. Last year, Lazada handled merchandise with a gross value of $123 million, up 191% from 2016.
Pierre Poignant, executive president of Lazada, noted that Singles Day has seen record sales every year, indicating the "increasing popularity" of the event for consumers in the region. "We aim to always be the No. 1 online shopping and selling platform in Southeast Asia for the long haul," he told the Nikkei Asian Review.
Singles Day -- held on Nov. 11 because the numerals "11/11" resemble single individuals -- is spawning similar retail events. Lazada's Nov. 11 sale will be followed by another on Dec. 12 (12/12), and it also held a promotion on Sept. 9 (9/9).
"It is no longer enough for businesses to focus on Singles Day alone," said Alban Villani, managing director for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan at online marketing specialist Criteo. "To ensure that a retailer's content [aimed at] shoppers is not ... overlooked, engagement should start early," Villani said.
Christina Tay, a 29-year-old account executive in Singapore, said she was excited for this year's Singles Day sale. "I have already put the items I want to buy in my shopping cart, and hopefully I can see further discounts for them," she said.
E-commerce companies in Indonesia have joined the party, designating Dec. 12 a day for big discounts. Dubbed National Online Shopping Day, 254 marketplaces took part in 2017, with the value of transactions reaching 4.7 trillion rupiah ($320 million), a 42% increase compared with the previous year, according to local media.
Dendi Ramdani, department head of industry and regional research at Indonesia's Bank Mandiri, noted that the Singles Day event "does not yet affect significantly offline retailers," because online sales make up only a small portion of total retail sale in the country, and because "most offline retailers usually also have online outlets."
Three of Indonesia's top five e-commerce sites -- Shopee, Lazada and Blibli -- are expected to offer huge discounts on Sunday. And Thai fashion e-commerce site Pomelo on Friday got a jump on Singles Day with promotions on roughly 3,000 products.
In the Philippines, where Lazada is the leader in the country's $1.2 billion e-commerce sector, mobile payment companies are eager to ride the Singles Day wave.
PayMaya, the mobile wallet of telecom company PLDT, this week launched discount and cashback promotions for purchases made on Nov. 11. PayMaya is owned Voyager Innovations, which is the process of receiving an investment from Chinese conglomerate Tencent Holdings. It competes with GCash, which is backed by Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial Services Group.
The outlook is less rosy for South Korean online retailers. Online shopping sites are losing visitors, according to recent industry data, with traffic falling about 14% over the past two years. Visitors to the country's six major online shopping malls, including Tmon, totaled 77.97 million in September, down from 83.86 million in the same month last year, according to the Korean Herald.
To drum up sales, Tmon and WeMakePrice, another big online shopping site, this month launched their own separate campaigns. November has become the biggest month for shopping in South Korea. According to government data, 7.6 trillion won ($6.8 billion) worth of goods were sold on online platforms in November 2017, up sharply from 5 trillion won in 2015 and 6.1 trillion won in 2016.
McKinsey & Company said in a recent report that traditional brick-and-mortar stores "should reflect on the shopping trends we see in other parts of the world," as only 6% of global retail customers are purely offline. "Offline Indonesian retailers should prepare for increases in both online sales and online engagement with their customers," the report said.
Nikkei staff writers Shotaro Tani in Jakarta, Kim Jaewon in Seoul, CK Tan in Kuala Lumpur, Cliff Venzon in Manila and Coco Liu in Hong Kong contributed to this report.


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City’s mug program boosts reduction of waste
In February 1996, Clifton, N.J., expanded its source reduction/pollution prevention programs and launched a city-wide reusable mug program. The city’s Environmental Protective Commission and Recycling cling Office is implementing the mug program to educate the public about the need to control street litter, reduce solid waste, lower source and non-point source pollution and increase wise use of natural resources.
The members of the commission wanted to learn how much tonnage might be diverted from the solid waste stream, so they collected various types of disposable coffee cups and lids from area stores and determined that 26 cups and lids would weigh approximately one pound. Therefore, they figured, someone who drinks two cups of coffee a day, six days a week, would throw away about 624 cups a year, generating 24 pounds of solid waste. Currently, the costs in Clifton are $35 per ton for collection of solid waste and $113.04 per ton for disposal.
Eight-hundred reusable mugs and brochures explaining the program, were purchased by the commission with a grant from the Environmental Endowment for New Jersey, which supports local projects near the N.Y./N.J. harbor estuary. The commission received $2,000 to implement an educational program informing the public about pollution in waterways. The mugs and brochures are given out free in several “mom-and-pop” stores throughout the city to citizens who purchase coffee fee and are willing to participate in the program. Most store owners have agreed to sell a cup of coffee a discount count each time a citizen returns with a mug. Many have also agreed to accept any other clean, reusable mugs that customers bring in.
In addition to reducing solid waste, the partnership between citizens businesses and government aims to keep floatable litter from entering catch basins and polluting waterways. The Federal Clean Water Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection have stated that floatables are a major cause of non-point source pollution in the area. Also, floatables such as coffee cups and lids can endanger marine life as they flow down the Passaic River into the harbor estuary, eventually ending up in the Atlantic Ocean.
One month after the reusable mug program began, a survey taken at each of the stores that received mugs showed that about 30 percent of the 600 mugs initially distributed are being reused on a regular basis. Some citizens are reusing mugs twice a day for their morning and lunch breaks.
In addition to the reusable mug program, Clifton has also encouraged citizens in recent years to adopt activities such as:
* donating or reselling old appliances and home furnishings to thrift stores or organizations in need;
* buying less packaging and making preferences known to merchants
* buying in bulk and shopping for durable products;
* buying reusable items like pens, razors, cloth diapers, rechargeable batteries and beverages sold in returnable containers;
* shopping with reusable bags; and
* purchasing products made from recycled materials.
Clifton’s 75,000 residents are currently required to separate and recycle about 22 different types of materials. In 1995, the city achieved an overall recycling rate of 71 percent of its solid waste, reduced by more than 7,000 tons the amount of waste collected and transported to landfills and earned more than $535,000 from the sale of recylables.
Other on-going programs in Clifton include. Adopt-A-spot, Adopt-A-Storefront and Public Lands Cleanup Day. During the past four years, these programs and others like them have involved more than 6,000 students from 25 schools each year, 25 civic and youth organization and 175 local businesses.


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Sears Holdings Corp. has begun a pilot program in the Chicago area that allows local merchants to sell and ship their wares through Sears' Web site.
The test, which began quietly late last month, is aimed at independent retailers in the Chicago area that have unique merchandise typically unavailable at Sears or Kmart and who are eager to reach the millions of shoppers that visit Sears' Web site.
The Hoffman Estates-based retailer began selling goods from third-party vendors nationwide through Sears.com last year. The Chicago test is the retailer's first foray into local selling. Shoppers can search by ZIP code to find a merchant in their neighborhood carrying items such as apparel, food, pet supplies and beauty products.
"We are going to take customer feedback and make refinements as we increase the number of sellers that do business," said Imran Jooma, president of Sears' Internet division. "This is a great way for a family-owned chain or a local chain to market their products."
Since taking control of Sears five years ago, Edward Lampert, its chairman and majority stakeholder, has been working to turn one of America's oldest department stores into one of the nation's biggest online general stores. Even as Lampert dramatically cut back investment in Sears and Kmart physical stores, he has been pouring money into its Internet businesses.
Sears has added hundreds of thousands of products to its Web site that it typically doesn't sell in stores, including books, music and software. It created MyGofer, a drive-through concept that allows shoppers to purchase online and pick up at the store without getting out of their cars. And this summer it began testing home delivery of groceries purchased online.
The latest Chicago pilot allows shoppers to search for items at many retailers, consolidate the purchases in one location and pick them up at a Sears or Kmart store. Sears also offers to deliver the purchase for a fee, as quickly as the same day the purchase is made.
Beth Staley, owner of Happy Dog Barkery in Downers Grove, is one of the first retailers in the pilot. She has one item on the site so far — Cat Man Doo Bonito Flakes for $8.75 — and is in the process of uploading 20 more items. Staley plans to eventually offer half of the merchandise in her store at Sears.com, including baked goods she makes herself. She hasn't made a sale yet but says she expects that to change as she expands. She has been online only two weeks.
"Some of the items we have in the store are things you can't find anywhere else and it's not something Sears would carry," Staley said.
By focusing on local merchants that don't distribute nationally, Sears is hoping to stand out from the increasingly competitive market for Web portals.
Rival Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, launched an online marketplace last year that carries outside vendors, but as yet doesn't have a local offering. Amazon.com Inc. and eBay Inc. both host outside sellers on their sites, but don't focus on regional marketplaces.
To entice local merchants onto the site, Sears is waiving the $39.99 monthly flat fee and additional warehousing and shipping fees that national outside vendors must pay to sell through Sears' Web site. The local merchants will still have to pay Sears a commission on each sale, typically 7 percent to 20 percent.
Similar tests, on a smaller scale, are under way in Boston, New York and Washington.


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Childress Klein Gets Into Hoarding
Childress Klein—best known for suburban office projects, including the iconic Galleria and Preston Ridge Commons—is getting into a whole new area: self storage.
Childress Klein is pursuing a rezoning near Stone Mountain to turn a former Target into a climate-controlled self-storage facility for stuff and vehicles. (Most of our unneeded "stuff" comes from Target, so this may not work out.) “We see a lot of opportunity in the area. It's a good mix of income and demographics,” says Childress Klein's Chris Poholek, who heads the company's brand new self-storage division. Here, he's with son Jacob on a recent fishing trip to the Florida Keys.
It had already built and sold two of them to Uncle Bob's Self Storage a few years ago. But the new ones under construction—2910 North Decatur Rd and 680 14th St—will be under the company's own retail storage moniker, SpaceMax Self Storage, Chris says. The company is also developing a facility off Camp Creek Parkway and it just got a land disturbance permit for one at the corner of Powers Ferry Road and Windy Ridge Parkway.
The Gwinnett facility—620 storage units with 120 indoor vehicle storage bays, as it's proposed—just got approved by the Gwinnett County Commission. Chris says the vehicle storage allows SpaceMax to pull customers from a larger-than-typical radius and for longer terms.


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Indian multinational conglomerate, Tata Group, is reportedly in talks to acquire a 49% stake of the US-based retailer Walmart’s Indian wholesale cash-and-carry operations.
According to ET, Judith McKenna, president and CEO of Walmart International, was expected to announce this transaction during his recent visit to Delhi. However, McKenna avoided any such announcement as the deal wasn’t finalised, according to ET.
Moreover, with Cyrus Mistry taking over as the chairman of Tata Sons, which was reinstated by a recent order from the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), the transaction might be further slowed down because of the uncertainties within the Tata Group.
According to the media report, Tata group’s discussions with Walmart, earlier in 2019, even reached to the possibility of a joint venture.
As of now, Walmart operates close to 28 retail stores under the brand name ‘Best Price’ across the country. Last year, the company has also invested in ecommerce major Flipkart for a majority stake.
Recently, to continue its focus on India and ensuring deeper access to the B2B market, Walmart tied up with HDFC Bank to launch a co-branded credit card exclusively for members of its Best Price Modern Wholesale “B2B Cash and Carry” stores.


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The offices of the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) in 2015 supported business estimated at over 3 billion patacas (US$375 million) between mainland China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, according to information from the institute.
IPIM has Liaison Offices in the provinces of Zhejiang (Hangzhou), Sichuan (Chengdu), Guangdong (Jieyang), Liaoning (Shenyang) and Fujian (Fuzhou).
IPIM, in a published statement, pointed out that investments in 2015 were carried out in high-tech sectors, tourism and real estate, biomedicine, new energy, logistics and storage and environmental protection, among others.
In the high-tech area IPIM highlighted the decision of the Newland Hi-Tech Group of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, to set up a company in Macau to develop intelligent systems for transport and environmental technologies.
The Director-General of Newland Hi-Tech Group, Liu Jindong said that, in 2015, the group had created the Macao Newland Tech Co., Ltd which initially will invest 1 billion patacas (US$125 million) to use Macau as a business platform for the Portuguese-speaking countries and the regions of Guangzhou and Shenzhen. (macauhub/CN/MO)


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A boom in food processing could save Australia's manufacturing sector, the federal government says.
Trade Minister Craig Emerson said growth in food processing, spurred on by burgeoning Asian demand, could offset a long-term decline in the local manufacturing industry.
"We will not be a low-cost producer of food ... and here we have manufacturing struggling with a stubbornly high Australian dollar," Dr Emerson told a global food conference in Melbourne on Thursday.
"But if we go up the value chain, producing premium, green produce, we can see a revitalisation of manufacturing in this country."
Dr Emerson said high quality food could draw a high price from customers in Asia.
Packaging company Visy's chairman Anthony Pratt told the conference Australia should aim to feed 200 million people within a few decades.
But Mr Pratt says Australia's aim to become a food bowl for Asia can only happen if agriculture is made a national priority.
"Helping to feed a hungry world is Australia's greatest responsibility and opportunity in the 21st century," he said.
"Australia already feeds 50 million people each year beyond our own needs, but we can quadruple our exports to feed 200 million people."
© AAP 2018


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Books left in limbo after Phoenix Books abruptly closed in April now have a new home. Heidegger’s Glasses and 51/50 have both been acquired by Counterpoint.
Agent Diana Finch sold Thaisa Frank's debut novel, Heidegger's Glasses, which was to be one the books Phoenix planned to promote heavily at BEA (and for which Phoenix sold foreign rights to in a number of countries). Publication is now set for November 2010. 51/50, a book about author Kristen McGuiness’s social experiment to find the ideal guy in 50 weeks, will be published under Counterpoint’s Soft Skull imprint in September 2010. Michael Broussard of ISB New Media made the deal.
While these two former Phoenix titles have landed at a new house, there are a number of titles still in limbo as a result of the closing of the California. Jason Anthony, an agent at Lippincott Massie McQuilkin, is, for example, about to start shopping Aris Winger’s PhD’s Do The Math, which he sold to Phoenix in October 2009. Winger, who teaches math at Emory & Henry College and has a PhD on the subject from Carnegie Mellon, pulls from sports, hip hop culture and politics in teaching math skills. Anthony likened the title to former actress Danica McKellar’s series of bestselling math books. Now, Anthony said, after adding some new material to the proposal, he’s going to begin re-shopping the book in July, this time expanding the potential buyers' pool to YA imprints.


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THQ today announced that it plans to stop selling kids' licensed video games, focusing instead on its own core video game franchises and digital initiatives.
"As part of the alignment, THQ is in the process of exiting its relationships with kids’ licensed entertainment companies but will continue to sell certain previously released titles," the company said.
The company's kids games include titles based on SpongeBob and other TV properties; movies like Puss and Boots and Megamind, and of course the must-0wn game Barbie: Jet, Set and Style. (Among others.)
The Street seems unimpressed with the new strategy: THQI is down 3.9 cents, or 5.3%, to 70.1 cents.


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Microsoft at E3! Revamped games, Xbox Music and SmartGlass announced
For the past 5 years, Microsoft has been the star at E3 gaming event. Hence, it was only natural to think that they wouldn’t disappoint this year either. Oh, we were mistaken. The lack of a big surprise and a relative dearth of brand new titles stopped this from being a great conference. Even Usher couldn’t bring the crowd off their seats.
The event started out with a loud and action-filled (obviously) trailer of Halo 4, which was followed by Don A. Mattrick, President of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft taking over the stage and announcing “We’re on a mission to make entertainment even more amazing”. How we wish.
Cut to footage of Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Ubisoft Toronto’s first announced title, developed under the stewardship of Jade Raymond. Seems Splinter Cell has morphed into a cross between Ghost Recon and Black Ops. However, an interesting feature was the use of the Kinect Mic to attract the attention of your enemies.
Andrew Wilson, Head of EA SPORTS at Electronic Arts, took to the stage and announced that Kinect support will be coming to Madden 13 and FIFA 13. A Video showed players making subsititutions and adjustments to team formation by shouting at Kinect, just like a real manager probably. Though I’m not sure my neighbor wants to hear me yelling “get Mario off the pitch he’s a liability!”
Microsoft then turned their attention to their first party franchises. Fable The Journey had a brief trailer. Seems like last year’s lukewarm reception to the game made an impact, it looks much better. However, that was only in terms of visuals, with no gameplay showed, so quite how the game has developed in the past 12 months remains a mystery. In a quickfire volley of trailers, Gears of War Judgment got its first airing, apparently casting Baird in the lead role which came as a shock as nobody quite liked Baird. Again, no gameplay but it will be interesting to see how new developer People Can Fly (Bulletstorm) bring their unique attitude to shooters, and how they can make Baird less of a jerk. Forza Horizon and a whopping dollop of dubstep rounded out the trailer, taking the detailed visuals and handling of Forza and transplanting it into open road racing and motor festivals. Resident Evil 6 and Tomb Raider too made blink and you miss appearances.
What turned out to be the most interesting announcement of the event was the announcement of Xbox Music and SmartGlass. Microsoft revealed the details of the two concepts at their pre-E3 press conference. Xbox Music will go up against popular music streaming services like Spotify, Apple’s iTunes etc. to bring music to your Xbox console as well as Windows tablets and smartphones. There was no indication of the release date, but Microsoft insisted that while Xbox Music will replace their not-so-successful Zune, it will be more than a simple revamp of that application. The teaser video showed users being able to queue up music and share what they are listening to with friends, much in the same way Spotify does. However, Microsoft said that the unique features for the service will be detailed in the coming weeks.
Xbox SmartGlass allows users to interact with their Xbox console and television screen using their tablet computers –including Apple’s iPad– and smartphones. The concepts on display included being able to watch a movie on your tablet computer and then transfer it directly to your Xbox and television to pick up where you left off. Interestingly, while you are watching a television show or playing a game on your television with Xbox SmartGlass enabled on your tablet device, the two screens will interact with each other in different ways. For games, there was a concept demo of a player of American football game Madden 13 choosing plays on their tablet while playing the main game on the television, and a concept for FPS Halo where the player could examine weaponry and interact with friends over the Xbox Live service on their tablet. This seems similar to Nintendo’s Wii U console, which comes with a tablet style controller. Microsoft also revealed that Internet Explorer would be making it’s way into Xbox and would be compatible with Kinect and SmartGlass.
The show was rounded off by a Call of Duty Black Ops II trailer which nearly brought the whole center down by sheer volume. It showcased some interesting gadgets, with the player controlling a small drone to wipe out enemies and a sniper rifle that can see through walls. It was classic Call of Duty gameplay, though the near future twist and vehicles add flavour to this most ubiquitous of series.


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Popular international Bitcoin exchangess include Bitsquare, Coinbase, and Kraken. HOW DO I STORE BITCOINS? Bitcoins can be transferred from a bitcoin .
Bitcoin price is showing bullish signs above $8,800 and $8,520 against the US Dollar. BTC is likely to accelerate higher once.
Toronto-based investment manager 3iQ Corp. has completed a $48 million offering in its Bitcoin Fund (QBTC.U), trading on the.
Coinbase: the simple, safe way to buy, manage and sell your cryptocurrency. We' re the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, with over 25 million users.
So what is the halving, and what do Bitcoin owners need to know about it? Read on. Bitcoin’s network is run by miners, users.
24 Apr 2020.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has released a price oracle that allows anyone to.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons.
Bitcoin King Maker Manga The Tower Of God Season 2 anime has the potential to be the first of many Kami no Tou anime seasons by Crunchyroll. How To Send My All Bitcoin From My Blockchain Wallet? I Have Multi WMG’s head of innovation, recorded music, Scott Cohen told Music Ally that he was interested in the ways that
You can buy bitcoin through exchanges and stockbrokers, or from other owners.
Coinbase charges a spread (an adjustment in the purchase or sale price of.
27 Jun 2019.
After the Bitcoin price surged to its highest level since December 2017 on.
to an outage on popular cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase.
Among Bitcoin- and blockchain-related stocks, Riot Blockchain (RIOT) tumbled.
Bitcoin and digital currencies used for day trading on Coinbase.
cryptocurrency prices, and won't look too dissimilar from your usual online stock tracker.


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Initially, the Association of Exporters estimated that this year the volume of exports of the new record will not be reached. The main reason for the growth of this year's export is according to Dawn that the crown did not go up as expected. For example, in the middle of the year, the crown weakened the euro by more than 26 crores, which has reached the lowest value since this July. The dollar weakened to 23.01 CZK / USD. The bad crown brings back the exporters.
So far, the largest volume of exports of Czech taxpayers came this year, despite the fact that they are now facing a significant shortage of workers. "Over the past two years, we have suffered because of a lack of workforce," he said. He estimated that companies currently lack up to 400,000 workers. The competitiveness of Czech products abroad, according to tax, also reduces the rapid growth of wages behind which productivity growth is lagging behind. "Some exporters are in trouble with the profitability of their products," he said.
Czech exports have been gradually increasing since 2009. Since then, exports have almost doubled, with an increase of 12 percent on average on average. This year's growth of two percent, according to the association, shows a significant slowdown in the stagnation of demand for Czech products abroad. The main signal of the future stagnation of exports in the next year to the Taxes is given to the automotive industry, where the Czech economy is highly dependent.
"Sales of passenger cars fell 4.7 percent, spare parts 3.6 percent, and trucks by 15.5 percent," the Association said. "The economic cycle is not at its peak or is at its peak," said Danek.
He pointed out that the main subscribers countries Germany and Slovakia are stagnating. "Only Poland and France are growing from the five largest buyer countries," he said. According to him, in the following period, the disruption, tariff barriers created by US President Donald Trump, sanctions between the EU and Russia, the weakening of the Chinese economy and the turbulent situation in Turkey. Exporters also expect the crown to strengthen in the next year.
The exporter according to the Dan next year will guess the planned cancellation of the retention period, ie return to compensation for the first three days of the illness. "Decrease reduction will further aggravate labor shortages," says Danek.


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Transport Corporation of India Ltd., India's leading integrated supply chain and logistics solutions provider, commented on TCI's position on government announcing infrastructure status to the Logistics Industry.
Logistics infrastructure has been a most important aspect for economic development and urbanization. To enable this, huge investment is required. The government recognizing its pivotal role has recently granted infrastructure status to the logistics sector.
Commenting on the move, Mr. Vineet Agarwal, M D, Transport Corporation of India Ltd. (TCI Ltd.) mentioned, "It is commendable that this Government has acted on granting infrastructure status to our industry, a recommendation our company has been making for several years. Not only will FDI increase in this sector but infrastructure finance will be easily accessible to build state of the art infrastructure for managing complex supply chains. We also expect upcoming Industrial parks to dedicate space for logistics services and more impetus to sectoral skill development".
TCI as a company has been in the forefront of creating required infrastructurc for its customers across India. These investments are not restricted only to the main metros and cities but in tier 1 & 2 cities and even in remote locations. A testimony to this is that TCI through its 800 offices and 11 million sq. ft. warehousing space manages 2.5% of India's GDP by value.
In the last 5 years, TCI has invested more than Rs. 500 Crs in creating world class cold storages, warehouses Hubs and multi modal network. These facilities are equipped with investments in latest MHE (material handling equipment) and M H S (material handling storage systems) for industry segments like e-commerce, retail, FMCG, automotive and others.
TCI, has also done investments in rail and coastal multimodal logistics. In continuation to these investments TCI was part of the signatories in June 2017 with NHAI for development and furthering of Multi-modal logistics parks.
Shares of TRANSPORT CORPORATION OF INDIA LTD. was last trading in BSE at Rs.287.5 as compared to the previous close of Rs. 291.8. The total number of shares traded during the day was 34314 in over 823 trades.
The stock hit an intraday high of Rs. 304.5 and intraday low of 286. The net turnover during the day was Rs. 10200978.


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Latest posts by TheStartupMojo (see all)
- Why Major Financial Companies Avoid the Crypto Market - November 12, 2018
- Kaspersky Lab Reveals Scary Truths About Cybercrime and Cryptocurrency - September 21, 2018
- Startup Founders topped in Linkedin Power Profiles List. - August 24, 2018
One of the cricket marvel and leading cricketing icon Yuvraj Singh invested FoodTech Platform in Gurugram which does online reservation, EazyDiner raised $4.5 Mn (INR 30 Cr) in a Series B funding round. The list of investors includes Saama Capital and DSG Consumer Partners, Singapore-based VC firm Beenext and a Middle Eastern family office.The funding was secured with a pre investment valuation of the Startup pegged at $38.2 Million.
The Startup aims to expand overseas and is looking forward to foray into more stable and technically advanced Tech Stack to support its operations. Commenting on the development, EazyDiner CEO Rohit Dasgupta said, “We will be focusing on improving our technology stack, and expanding our footprints within and outside the country’s borders.”
Yuvraj Singh has been actively participating in the Startups. One of his recent Startup includes Co-Working Space Startup Gurukul, which is trying to bring needed Infrastructure, including coworking space for Indian Entrepreneurs at an affordable price.
Eazy Diner lists some of the eminent hoteliers and chefs which includes Sachin Pabreja, Shruti Kaul, Ruchika Dhamija, and Manish Kutula as founders. Apart from the list of founders on the advisory council it has advisors like Oberoi Group Joint MD Vikram Oberoi, The Leela Palaces MD Dinesh Nair, Speciality Restaurants founder & CEO Anjan Chatterjee, amongst others.
The Foodtech industry seems to be getting its charm back with Zomato becoming unicorn again . Read the full Story


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If I made acquisitions for Microsoft, I would not spend my time adding LinkedIn to the stable but instead focus on the acquisition of a company like GrubHub which offers the best combination of sustainability and growth out of all the new tech companies that have arisen in the social media era.
There are four things I like about GrubHub that distinguish from many of its industry peers: (1) it actually earns a profit; (2) that profit is growing at a very high rate; (3) the expected share count dilution over the coming years is not obscene; and (4) the business model doesn’t exploit an illusory faddish concept.
GrubHub makes it money by setting up the online software and creating a platform app that permits people to make take-out and pick-up orders at restaurants that are traditionally sit-down. GrubHub has a tremendous first mover advantage in the drive-thru-ification of the $9 to $16 meal market, and also earns referral/affiliate income through its sites allmenus.com and the eponymous grubhub.com.
Today, GrubHub announced that it earned a profit of $0.15 per share for the quarter, an increase of 37% compared to its reported profits for the second quarter of 2015. Usually, GrubHub’s growth comes in at a solid clip for the first three quarters, and then experiences a significant pop during the fourth-quarter Christmas season when people eat out more. I would estimate its current earnings power for the 2016 year to be somewhere around $58 million in net profits, or $0.70 per share.
The current rise to $38 per share gives it a real-time P/E ratio of 54, which is probably fair given that the business is still small enough that it seems to offer a fair possibility of continuing its high growth rate. The margins at GrubHub are absolutely crazy–it only has 1,000 employees churning out those $58 million in net-of-tax profits. The operating margins were 25% last year.
The share count of 84 million is only expected to rise to 90 million over the next three years, and the business has no debt. I also think the business model at GrubHub has a promising long-term future, as more and more local pizza chops and mom-and-pop restaurants will want to offer a functioning take-out option to boost traffic.
What separates GrubHub from many of the other companies that have arisen in the social media generation is that there is a connection between restaurants and customers that is the result of a clear business purpose–order online, and pick up quickly. Customers have a need for convenience, and businesses have a need to purchase services from GrubHub so that they can participate in the trend in favor of take-out-and-go.
In the past, I’ve poked at the Global X Social Media Index Fund (SOCL) for owning businesses that generate no profits and trade at astronomical valuations compared to projected cash flows. There’s another reason why I don’t like many of their holdings–most social media companies lack that privity between another business and a customer that would make the social media company’s interjection into the relationship essential over the long term.
One of Global X’s holdings is Angie’s List. It is perfectly understandable why customers want to check out site reviews. But what incentive is there for a business to become a participant? How would you get a business to become linked to Angie’s List in an integral, long-term fashion for the long haul? You can’t. If anything, it is a pest to small and local businesses who don’t want to be publicly accountable for every single error, can’t convey to readers that the dissatisfied customer may be crazy, and plus there is the overall human nature aspect that we are more likely to go out of our way to document a bad experience than a good one as a way of nursing grievances.
What makes me think that GrubHub has a fair shot of achieving staying power is that its services require a fair moment of technology sophistication mixed with security expertise. Considering that there is a fair amount of security needed because people use their credit cards to make their transactions, there is minimal risk of an app destroying GrubHub’s business. You don’t want to be analogous to a Garmin shareholder during the advent of Google and Apple maps.
The reason why GrubHub has less of a risk from Google and Apple is the result of ongoing security maintenance concerns. The hands-on requirement of providing ongoing security maintenance, plus operating on an industry where there is an incentive to steal data for a personal benefit, makes it unlikely that a Google side project would introduce a technology that would hijack the economics of the GrubHub business model.
The valuation of GrubHub has been wildly inconsistent since its IPO in 2014. If you are someone who is susceptible to thinking that the wisdom of an investment sharply correlates to the latest sentiment surrounding the stock, you should definitely stay away. GrubHub traded between $29 and $45 during its IPO year, traded between $22 and $47 last year, and has traded between $17 and $38 per share this year. Part of the volatility is at least understandable–whether you expect 15%, 20%, or 25% annual earnings growth for the next five years will lead to very different values of what ought to be considered a fair price for the stock today.
GrubHub is the rare social media era company that has caught my attention. There are real profits that are growing quickly, the demand for its services is likely to grow in the coming years, and the company seems like an ideal buyout candidate for firms like Google somewhere down the road. Usually, trendy tech stocks going up 24% in a day is a signal of a bubble, but GrubHub is one of the rare exceptions. I would classify the odds of GrubHub beating the S&P 500 over the next five years as “more likely than not”, and it also comes with a much higher total return ceiling under a “What if things go right?” scenario compared to most of the companies that I cover here.
Originally posted 2016-07-28 21:01:27.


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Tare Market: Going Green in South Minneapolis
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We are extremely excited to announce that Dunkin’ Donuts, one of the world’s leading baked goods and coffee chains, has selected our agency as its lead marketing and creative partner in the UK, to assist Dunkin’ Donuts with their creative strategy in the UK as they aim to raise the residual awareness of the brand.
With more than 10,500 restaurants in 31 countries worldwide, Dunkin’ Donuts is one of the world’s most iconic brands for quick service restaurants, known for being America’s favourite all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods.
“Dunkin’ Donuts is an innovative and successful brand, renowned for its coffee heritage, going back more than 60 years – we feel something no other leading restaurant brand can match.”
- Tom Poynter, Managing Director.
“We’re really excited about this new venture with Dunkin’ Brands and are looking forward to helping to launch Dunkin’ Donuts in the UK whilst adding something fresh to this well-established, competitive market.”
“Our growth is testimony to the fact that people around the world appreciate what Dunkin’ Donuts has to offer: high-quality food and beverages served all day in a friendly, fast environment at a great value,” said Clare Starling, Marketing Manager, UK, Dunkin’ Brands. “Having the agency as our marketing partner in the UK will be a key component to our launch success in the country.”
Our first fully integrated campaign with Dunkin’ Donuts will debut this November and will be followed by marketing activities in the UK, which will develop across key media throughout 2014, with a strategic emphasis on digital, social and in-store marketing channels.