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Lotus upgrades facility
Generic drugmaker Lotus Pharmaceuticals Co (美時化學製藥) yesterday announced that it has begun upgrading its manufacturing facility in Nantou County to expand the production of oral oncology products. The upgrade is expected to be completed in five years and cost tens of millions of US dollars, the company said, adding that its board has approved capital expenditure of US$11 million for this year. The Nantou site has been audited by local, US, EU and Japanese regulatory authorities, enabling it to manufacture products for nearly every market in the world, the firm said. In addition to standard solid oral dose manufacturing, the company can produce hormonal products, soft gelatin capsules, and cytotoxic and high-potency molecules, it said.
Health2Sync launches app
Taipei-based Health2Sync (慧康生活科技) yesterday launched HealthPass, an app that grants its users full control of their health data using blockchain technology. The start-up teamed up with Bitmark Inc, a Taipei-based blockchain developer, to register users’ health data as their personal digital property. Users would be able to selectively allow certain companies and services to access their health data as part of a monetization scheme. The start-up has also tapped CTBC Bank (中信銀行) to use the lender’s blockchain-based solution to enable transactions resulting from monetization. With the help of health data analysis, insurers would be able to create tailored products based on each user’s health, the firm said.
Pharmally sales up 20.27%
Pharmally International Holding Co (康友製藥), a maker of large-volume parenteral solutions for vaccines and intravenous medicines, yesterday announced that net income last year rose 17.44 percent year-on-year to NT$1.1 billion (US$35.59 million), or earnings per share of NT$14.29, while sales rose 20.27 percent to NT$5.18 billion. Pharmally shares closed unchanged at NT$214 in Taipei trading yesterday. The shares last year saw a spike in volatility, surging to more than NT$500 on progress made at its Indonesian poultry vaccine production plant, before falling below NT$140 after a filing revealed that company officials were trimming their holdings.
Pegatron revenue slumps
Pegatron Corp (和碩) on Monday reported that revenue last month dropped 33.4 percent month-on-month, but rose 6.2 percent year-on-year to NT$81.65 billion. Revenue in the first two months rose 3.2 percent year-on-year to NT$204.28 billion, it said. The Jakarta Post reported that Pegatron’s new plant in Indonesia is expected to begin operations next month. Separately, Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技) on Monday reported that revenue last month declined 30.33 percent month-on-month and 16.6 percent year-on-year to NT$10.87 billion. Revenue in the first two months also fell 10.36 percent to NT$26.48 billion.
Chungwa Picture shares fall
A plan to lay off 2,500 employees sent shares in Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (華映) into a tailspin yesterday, dealers said. The heavy selling emerged after the Taiwan Stock Exchange said that the financially troubled panel maker, which has filed for bankruptcy protection, would have to delist regardless of whether the restructuring plan is approved by the courts. Shares fell by the daily limit of 10 percent to close at NT$0.54.
SELF-SUFFICIENCY: Alibaba is one of a number of Chinese firms that has answered Beijing’s call to invest in the development of cutting-edge technologies Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) yesterday unveiled a new server chip that is based on advanced 5-nanometer technology, marking a milestone in China’s pursuit of semiconductor self-sufficiency. The Chinese tech giant’s newest chip is based on micro-architecture provided by the SoftBank Group Corp-owned Arm Ltd, it said. Alibaba, which is holding its annual cloud summit in Hangzhou, China, said that the chip is to be used in its own data centers in the “near future” and would not, for the time being, be sold commercially. “Customizing our own server chips is consistent with our ongoing efforts toward boosting our computing capabilities with better
Production at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp’s (TSMC, 台積電) fabs was not affected by a fire at a construction site for a water recycling facility in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The world’s biggest contract chipmaker said that the construction site is not adjacent to its fabs, which were unaffected. CTCI Corp (中鼎工程) is responsible for the construction of the facility, which it is to operate itself once it is completed, the chipmaker said. The facility caught fire at about 11am, and the blaze was brought under control about 30 minutes after the incident was reported, the Southern Taiwan Science Park Administration
‘SHORT-TERM ECONOMIC PAIN’: A military takeover would only temporarily weigh on wafer production on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, IC Insights said Taiwan has more chip manufacturing capacity than any other economy in the world, US-based market information advisory firm IC Insights said in a research paper last week, cautioning that the nation’s strength could prompt China to attempt to take over Taiwan. Taiwan commanded 21.4 percent of global installed IC capacity, ahead of South Korea’s 20.4 percent, Japan’s 15.8 percent and China’s 15.3 percent, North America’s 12.6 percent and Europe’s 5.7 percent, IC Insights said. Taiwan is one of two countries that uses 10-nanometer technology or better to produce wafers, holding 62.8 percent of global capacity, with South Korea holding the remaining 37.2
AGGRESSIVE STEP: With the new processors, Apple is aiming at the high-end chips Intel has provided for the MacBook Pro and other top-end Macs for about 15 years Apple Inc on Monday took the most aggressive step yet to strip Intel Corp chips from its computers, announcing more powerful homegrown Mac processors alongside a total revamp of its MacBook Pro laptop computers. The company showcased the chips at an event called “Unleashed,” which also included its latest audio products. The new components, called the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, are 70 percent faster than its M1 predecessors, Apple said. It also unveiled a redesigned MacBook Pro, adding larger screens, MagSafe charging and better resolution. With the new processors and devices, Apple is aiming squarely at the high-end chips that Intel has


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While the bulk of money is towards supporting more agricultural technology it’s the scarce supply of raw materials holding up the show
Ferrous materials and plastics are getting harder to come by and showed record demand in March, to the detriment of agricultural machinery.
The world economy is recovering quickly, and it’s now the surge in raw material prices that threatens to push production costs to all-time highs, with serious consequences for the agricultural machinery sector, a big user of ferrous and plastic materials.
In the manufacture of a tractor for instance, the ferrous component accounts for 75% of the total input.
Recent data on the world economy has forecast a jump in GDP from minus-3.9% in 2020 to plus-5.2% in 2021, and forecasts a further robust recovery in world trade, which is expected to go from minus-6.9% last year to a substantial plus-8.6% in 2021.
The issue ahead is simple, demand for goods is running faster than the production capacity of companies, which are slowed down by shortages of raw materials along with their current exorbitant cost.
The average price of materials for industry was up 22% in March 2021 compared to January 2020, with particularly high prices for the mechanical engineering sector skyrocketing up by 40%.
In markets such as Europe, steel prices reached an all-time high in March 2021, with particularly high prices for rolled products (HRC and CRC), up 70 to 80% compared to pre Covid-19 pandemic levels.
As for plastics, Europe recorded a 45% increase in the cost of ethylene and 121% increase in the cost of polyethylene in the first quarter of 2021.
In addition to high raw material prices, there are difficulties in logistics and transport (still linked to the Covid-19 pandemic), soaring container costs and significant delays in shipping.
All this has serious consequences for the agricultural machinery sector, that up until now largely uses ferrous materials and plastics and favours shipments of manufactured machinery abroad
In the manufacture of a tractor, there is an average of 1,700 components, 75% of which are derived from iron (cast iron, steel, metal tubes), plus another 5% of other metals such as copper.
The metal component therefore accounts for around 80% of the total materials used to manufacture a tractor.
Of the remainder build, more than 10% is covered by plastic materials (cab linings, guards, covers, plugs) and around 5% by rubber polymers (tubes, seals, gaskets).
The emergency obviously also concerns other types of machinery, and equipment in many cases made of ferrous materials only.
The agricultural machinery industry is going through a dynamic phase, due to the growth in demand and incentives for the purchase of clean current generation vehicles.
With raw material in dwindling supply, and at record prices there is little choice other than manufacturers lifting their prices or face the other alternative of seeing their production capacity at risk.
Expect some very unpopular, but unavoidable agricultural machinery price increases in the second half of 2021.

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Telkom has announced that its CEO and executive director Sipho Maseko will step down on 30 June 2022. The telecoms company said the process to appoint a successor is well underway and a designated group CEO will be announced in the not too distant future.
It is possible that cooking oil prevented more looting in South Africa in the last week than the president, the ANC, the intelligence community, the army and the police combined. This, without question, says something about the versatility of the product. It says even more about the state of the state. When you are shown up by canola, you might want to revisit your strategy.ByHoward Feldman
Performance Media across Search, Social and Programmatic platforms is the single fastest growing area of digital media in South Africa. Combine that with the detailed analysis of campaign management, tagging and ad operations, and it becomes apparent that these highly specialist functions require a highly specialised unit.
The Transnet Port Terminals website has been hacked, implying that all companies under Transnet have been affected. All Transnet websites were down at the time when reporting was done for this SA Trucker article. The publication cited sources who requested to remain anonymous because they are not allowed to speak to the media.
The Covid-19 pandemic has hit South Africa's small business sector hard and there are grim statistics to bear this out. Those statistics will not be repeated here. After all, if you are a small business owner setting out on the road to recovery, the last thing you probably want is more details of the toll the pandemic has taken on small enterprises. Far more useful would be some good, solid tips on how to build back better after any business setbacks.ByAmeen Hassen
The creativity of fashion designers is a valuable resource that must be nurtured if African countries are to grow their fashion industries into competitive global players. This was the impassioned message from Lucilla Booyzen, CEO of SA Fashion Week, during a recent Fashionomics Africa webinar titled Textile and Fashion Value Chains: Opportunities for the Private Sector in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.
Lucilla Booyzen, SA Fashion Week CEO
While clarion calls, in South Africa specifically, to revitalise garment manufacturing are warranted, it’s not a cure-all for the sustainable development of the sector.
“There must be manufacturing, yes, but the designers tell the story of the soul of a country. We have to build the entire value chain, we can’t leave out any link,” said Booyzen.
Fashion mirrors national identity
Having launched SA Fashion Week in 1997, Booyzen is a notable advocate for the development of a local designer-led fashion industry, and the value it can create for a country’s brand and economy.
In countries such as Italy, the fashion industry is an important contributor to GDP, but this was only possible because the government drove coordinated support for the designers and their work, which were identified early on to be valuable resources.
For Booyzen, local fashion reflects national identity and mirrors the unique qualities of a country or region. As such, a focus on manufacturing in and of itself, without investing in the intellectual property of designers, means facing the challenge of competing with manufacturing powerhouses like China.
“What we as a country can create that’s truly competitive rests with the creativity of designers,” said Booyzen during the online event.
Unfortunately, Booyzen said that many African designers are opting to leave the continent and establish themselves further elsewhere.
“They win an award and then they leave. We haven’t built the supportive infrastructure for them to grow within their own countries. We haven’t developed a system to sustain the development of the backbone of the industry – the designers,” Booyzen said.
With 30 fashion schools in the country, SA at least has the educational foundation to train designers at a tertiary level. But beyond this, resources are lacking to assist working designers to build a globally competitive fashion business.
While government, and the DTIC specifically, is hyper-focused on manufacturing, Booyzen called for a state-backed programme that assists with upskilling designers and which allocates funding and grants to eligible business owners. “You have to put money behind the industry if you want to grow it,” she said.
“We need to focus on developing the designers and fashion businesses in our respective countries first, and then there will be a natural evolution into exporting.”
“[SA Fashion Week has] had lots of interest from abroad – America, France and soon Italy. There are opportunities to grab,” said Booyzen, but many designers require financial and educational support to enable them to sustainably supply to other markets, especially at scale. “The education around exporting is so important,” she added.
Lukhanyo Mdingi is among the 20 designers from around the globe selected as semi-finalists for the 2021 LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers...
1 Apr 2021
Stimulating local consumption, textile development
Exporting aside, the local creative fashion industry would advance greatly if a larger share of the general public wore locally-designed and made clothing. “Buying power sits everywhere. Everyone wears clothing. We need to have different designer collections at different price points – affordable designer clothing that can be sold to lower-income consumers who have an affinity for fashion.”
This is where the big retailers come into play, as they have the ability and resources to partner with designers, collaborate on a collection and sell it at scale. “They have the power to mentor the designers, and share trade secrets with them. This is being done in the industry, but not enough,” said Booyzen.
A recent example of such a collaboration is the Pick n Pay Clothing Futurewear project. Launched in partnership with recognised designer Gavin Rajah, the project aims to find and build local fashion talent by allowing emerging designers the opportunity to launch their business with an exclusive collection in collaboration with PnP Clothing.
TFG said this change is essential to enable larger purchases of locally-made fabrics...
22 Feb 2021
In calling for a holistic approach from the government for the development of the fashion industry, Booyzen touched on the need to stimulate local textile production. According to Booyzen, South Africa’s textile manufacturing industry, which has decades of experience behind it, has been compromised by cheap imports with little protection from the government.
“We must focus on producing our own textiles. Designers tell their stories through fabric design. Fashion talks through colour, design and texture. If we don’t nurture our textile development, we don’t allow our designers to truly express themselves,” said Booyzen.
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Rumors and leaks about the Sony's upcoming supposed PlayStation 4 virtual reality headset have been around for quite long now. Earlier, we reported that based on speculations, it was predicted that Sony might announce the PlayStation 4 virtual reality headset at Consumer Electronics Show 2014 but the manufacturer did not make any such announcement. However, a report came in recently that claims that Sony's new virtual reality headset for PlayStation 4 is set for GDC 2014 reveal.
Sony's PlayStation 4 Virtual Reality Headset is Coming In March - You will be Impressed With Sony's VR Resolution
The most awaited virtual reality gaming device after Oculus Rift is Sony's PlayStation 4 virtual reality headset. Despite the fact that it has not been officially announced yet, it is certain that virtual reality for PlayStation 4 is inevitable. Rumors and leaks have been suggesting since last year that Sony is working on a device that will offer enhanced and real-time next-gen experience to PlayStation 4 users by providing immersive gameplays in virtual reality.
Recently, a well known industry insider, Ahsan Rasheed a.k.a Thuway, claimed to have some knowledge of quite a few PlayStation 4 virtual reality headset prototypes. He said that he is not allowed to share the specifics but he did mentioned that Sony's PlayStation 4 virtual reality headset is going to be "amazing".“Ugh I just got a bit of info I was sworn to secrecy on,” Rasheed tweeted “VR is going to be amazing. You will say KANDO.” Rasheed made another tweet saying, “Very interesting solutions, multiple prototypes, but the end product is Hnnnnng. Say hello to Gran Turismo 7.”
Other than the one mentioned above, a number of sources have recently claimed and hinted that virtual reality headset for PlayStation 4 is nigh. The most considerable source that is worth checking out is TechRadar's. According to the recent report by the site, Sony is all set to officially announce the PlayStation 4 virtual reality headset during Game Developers Conference 2014 that will take place in San Francisco.
According to TechRadar, a confidential "insider source" claims that they have tested the PlayStation 4 virtual reality headset and it looks like it is ready for action. The tipster said that Oculus Rift's upcoming competitor is a strong and lively, they said that "The quality and resolution are really, really good. People will definitely be impressed with what Sony's built." PlayStation 4 virtual reality headset will reportedly be announced during GDC 2014, which will kick off on March 17.
At first, Sony's supposed gaming virtual reality headset was expected to be announced at Tokyo Game Show in September 2014 or at Gamescom in August 2013, but Sony did not proclaim anything regarding the headset. According to the source, that is because Sony did not want to announce an unfinished product, the company wanted some time. But now "Sony has deliberately taken its time to tweak and polish the headset before revealing it," says the source. On the other hand, Oculus Rift is still in its development stages but it was released to developers as prototype for testing purposes.
Sony is not new to head-mounted displays, the company has already released a few head-mounted personal displays for consumers. The upcoming PlayStation 4 virtual reality headset is said to be specifically designed for gaming purposes. Sony's headset will compete with Oculus Rift virtual reality headset that is being developed by Oculus VR and is already very famous among developers and gamers.


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Political unrest aside, Russia’s booming market that had jumped from €550m in 2008 to €1.16bn in 2013, would nearly double in value to €2bn in 2018.
This gives it about two thirds of the entire eastern European market which would itself surge from €2bn last year to €3.2bn in 2018.
Western Europe will move from €5bn last year to €5.65bn in 2018. There the biggest-selling product is Sanofi’s Enterogermina while Novartis’ Linex sells the most in eastern Europe although Euromonitor figures did not reveal exact figures.
Other blockbuster supplement brands in western Europe include Abtei by Omega Pharma; Herbalife; Aboca and NBTY-owned Holland & Barrett.
In eastern Europe Magne B6 by Sanofi; Nutrilife by Amway; Bifiform by Pfizer and Herbalife are the top-selling brands.
Russia’s €1.16bn 2013 evaluation makes it the second biggest market in the whole of Europe behind Italy which sat at €1.21bn in 2013. The next biggest was Germany (€935m) followed by France (€611m); UK (€538m); Poland (€393m); Norway (€273m); Sweden (€220m) and Finland (€209m).
Eastern European markets showed the greatest growth – Poland adding close to €100m by 2018; Turkey more than doubling to €205m; the Ukraine moving from €126m to €202m; Romania from €48m to €88m and Belarus from €16m to €48.1m.
A Mintel report forecast similar robustness in Poland, Turkey and Russia.
Some markets were either flat lining or falling such as Germany or Denmark but the declines were modest.
In western Europe digestive health, general wellbeing, bone, sexual health and immunity, heart health and beauty were the most popular categories. Similar concerns were registered further east.
A Mintel report into the UK forecast the market would hit €587m by 2019 in a best case scenario (worst: €536m), but see a dip this year due to the effect of the nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR).
“The vitamins and supplements market is predicted to see a decline in 2014, driven by regulations coming into effect in January 2014 resulting in claims not approved by the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) seeing a ban in the market,” said analyst Roshida Khanom stated in the report.
“This has particularly impacted segments such as joint health, where glucosamine has seen a ban on many claims. However, as consumers show interest in vitamins/supplements with appearance benefits, and the rise in NPD (New Product Development) in this area, the market could recover to show growth again. Additionally, the rise in value of demographic-specific vitamins/supplements suggests that consumers want a more tailored and specific approach in the category.”


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Google pixel 6a and many other series have been announced today by the company. But the company, still has not made any statement whether they will launch this new series in India. The new launch brings inboard an I/O 2022 annual developer conference which is underway. The company announced their new range of Pixel 6a, Pixel watch, Pixel buds, android 13 and pixel 7 series.
Google Pixel 6a
The show-stealer, brand new Pixel 6a smartphone is supposed to launch later this year.
People of India are head over heels for the brand new launch of the much-awaited Pixel 6a smartphone. The phone design is similar to the pixel series yet the new model gives a premium look.
The Pixel 6a uses Android 12 and the company guarantees of 3 years of free updates. Other features include a 6 inches screen size with full HD and OLED display.
The phone runs on 6 GB RAM and 128 internal storage. The camera quality is a 12.2 MP primary camera and a 12 MP ultra-wide-angle camera.
Powered by a 4,306 mAh battery life, the market value of the phone stands at Rs 34,830 in Indian value.


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Amazon today announced the launch of Amazon.sg, introducing more ways to shop with Amazon in Singapore – on desktop, mobile browser, and shopping app.
Customers can buy millions of products from categories such as Books, Video Games, Consumer Electronics, Baby and Toys, and Home and Kitchen. All customers in Singapore enjoy free delivery on eligible orders over S$40 within 2-3 days. Customers who sign up for Prime receive free one-day delivery on local selection with no minimum spend, and free international shipping on eligible orders over S$60 for Amazon International Store products.
“With Amazon.sg, we want to provide what customers have been asking us for: the ability for everyone to shop on desktop and mobile, more local and international selection from Amazon and trusted sellers, paired with fast and reliable delivery. And we are also adding even more benefits for Prime members”, says Henry Low, Amazon Singapore Country Manager. “Today marks the next step for us in Singapore, and we will continue to work hard to earn the trust of Singapore customers by growing our product range, ensuring low prices, and providing a convenient and trusted shopping experience.”
More ways to shop millions of products with the convenience Amazon customers have come to love
Singapore customers can now shop anywhere, anytime through desktop and mobile browsers as well as the Amazon Shopping app. Amazon is offering millions of products at everyday low prices across categories including Books, Video Games, Consumer Electronics, Baby and Toys, and Home and Kitchen, both from iconic international brands like Bose, Fisher Price, Kitchenaid, LEGO, L’Oreal, and Spigen, and from Singapore businesses including Biofinest, Creative, KeaBabies and Skin Inc. Book lovers can enjoy a selection of over 15 million books, including from Books Depository and Amazon’s local and international selection.
Examples of great deals from across our category range at launch include:
- Up to 30% off on consumer electronics including Bose, Sonos and Fitbit
- Up to 20% off on the newly released video games
- Up to 30% off on selected toys, including top board games, LEGO and Nerf
- Up to 30% off on selected baby products, including Philips Avent, Maxi Cosi
- Up to 25% off on book bestsellers and a range of children’s books
All Amazon.sg customers enjoy free delivery over S$40 within 2-3 days on eligible orders. For faster delivery, customers have the option to pay S$2.99 for one-day delivery to their desired address. International shipping charges for the Amazon International Store selection depend on delivery speed, size and weight.
Customers can browse the growing selection, read product reviews, view personalized recommendations, create wishlists and track orders. To start shopping, they can download the Amazon Shopping app or visit Amazon.sg.
Get the best of Amazon with Prime membership
Prime is a premium membership program offering an unparalleled combination of the best in shopping and entertainment from Amazon. Prime members in Singapore currently have access to Prime Now, the free 2-hour delivery service for orders over S$40 on tens of thousands of groceries and local favorites. With the launch of Amazon.sg, Prime membership for customers in Singapore now also includes free one-day delivery with no minimum spend for eligible local items on Amazon.sg, as well as free international shipping for eligible orders over S$60 on millions of items from the Amazon International Store. Prime members benefit from 30-min early access to deals and exclusive promotions.
Prime members also have access to Prime Video which offers exclusive and award-winning Amazon Originals and other popular movies and TV shows like Good Omens, The Man in the High Castle, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and more. Prime members interested in gaming will benefit from Twitch Prime’s offering of free in-game loot, channel subscriptions and more.
Customers can try Prime by signing up for a 30-day free trial, and then join Prime for only S$2.99 a month. Additional information about Prime can be found at www.amazon.sg/prime.


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Auction service provider offers UK commitments
ATG Media has offered to stop conduct that the UK’s antitrust enforcer believes may lock its rivals out of the online auction services market.
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Product and brand design are the keys to communicating with consumers in an age where advertising is losing impact, brand designer Bruce Duckworth said on Friday at the final day of the Herald Design Forum.
“In the last few years, because of the Internet and the dilution of media that advertising can control, advertising has much less effect than it used to have,” Duckworth said.
“Branding is becoming more and more and more important, and the product ― that is a guaranteed piece of communication.”
As a co-founder of Turner Duckworth brand design agency which operates in London and San Francisco, Duckworth has been working in brand design for more than two decades, during which he has received over 200 international awards. He has worked with some of the world’s best-known brands such as Coca-Cola and Levi’s.
Saying that the essential elements of a great design are originality, flawless execution of the idea and a “little bit of magic” that speaks to the observer, Duckworth said that a brand needs to have an emotional connection with consumers.
“I think what ultimately makes a great brand is emotional connection and design plays a part in that,” Duckworth said.
“(Emotional connection is) a combination of all elements of the brand. It’s not just the phone ― it’s the software, it’s the graphics, the simplicity, it’s the intuitive way you operate the smartphone. Everything adds up to something you like,” he said, using a smartphone as an example of how design can appeal to the consumers on an emotional level.
“The combination of all these elements, and branding, and the logo and the visual identity is part of that mix.”
Duckworth also stressed that product and brand designers need to answer the needs of the clients and keep commercial results in mind.
However, he warned that the success of branding cannot be judged based solely on short-term results.
“There are two time scales. There is the two seconds when you go to a shelf and purchase a product you need to persuade somebody,” he said.
“Then there is the 20 years which is how long that design is to retain and build the brand and what is the future of the visual identity.”
Regarding the status of Korean product design, the Herald Design Forum is a step in the right direction.
“I think it’s great that Korea is having a design conference. The Korean products you see around the globe are functionally efficient. But are they greatly designed? Probably there is a little way to go yet.”
By Choi He-suk (email@example.com


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Washington state introduces comprehensive privacy bill
On January 13, Washington state lawmakers announced two bills designed to strengthen consumer access and control over personal data and regulate the use of facial recognition technology. Highlights of SB 6281, the Washington Privacy Act, include the following:
- Applicability. SB 6281 will apply to legal entities that conduct business or produce products or services that are targeted to Washington consumers that also (i) control or process personal data for at least 100,000 consumers; or (ii) derive more than 50 percent of gross revenue from the sale of personal data, in addition to processing or controlling the personal data of at least 25,000 consumers. Exempt from SB 6281, among others, are state and local governments, municipal corporations, certain protected health information, personal data governed by state and federal regulations, and employment records.
- Consumer rights. Consumers will be able to exercise the following concerning their personal data: access; correction; deletion; data portability; and opt-out rights, including the right to opt out of the processing of personal data for targeted advertising and the sale of personal data.
- Controller responsibilities. Controllers required to comply with SB 6281 will be responsible for (i) transparency; (ii) limiting the collection of data to what is required and relevant for a specified purpose; (iii) ensuring data is not processed for reasons incompatible with a specified purpose; (iv) securing personal data from unauthorized access; (v) prohibiting processing that violates state or federal laws prohibiting unlawful discrimination against consumers; (vi) obtaining consumer consent in order to process sensitive data; and (vii) ensuring contracts and agreements do not contain provisions that waive or limit a consumer’s rights. Controllers must also conduct data protection assessments for all processing activities that involve personal data, and conduct additional assessments each time a processing change occurs that “materially increases the risk to consumers.”
- State attorney general. SB 6821 does not create a private right of action for individuals to sue if there is an alleged violation. However, the AG will be permitted to bring actions and impose penalties of no more than $7,500 per violation. The AG will also be required to submit a report evaluating the liability and enforcement provisions of SB 6281 by 2022 along with any recommendations for change.
- Information sharing. SB 6281 will allow the state governor to enter into agreements with British Columbia, California, and Oregon, which will allow personal data to be shared for joint research initiatives.
- Facial Recognition. SB 6281 will establish limits on the commercial use of facial recognition services. Among other things, the bill will require third-party testing on all services prior to deployment for accuracy and unfair performance, conspicuous notice when a service is deployed in a public space, and will require companies to receive consumer consent prior to enrolling an image in a service used in a public space.
The second bill, SB 6280, will more specifically govern the use of facial recognition services by state and local government agencies, and, among other things, outlines provisions for the use of facial recognition services when identifying victims of crime, stipulates restrictions concerning ongoing surveillance, and requires agencies to produce an annual report containing a compliance assessment.
As previously covered by InfoBytes, last year, New York introduced proposed legislation (see S 5642) that seeks to regulate the storage, use, disclosure, and sale of consumer personal data by entities that conduct business in New York state or produce products or services that are intentionally targeted to residents of New York state. Provisions included in the measures introduced by New York and Washington state differ from those contained in the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which took effect January 1. (Previous InfoBytes coverage on the CCPA is available here.)


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Another trend that could not go unnoticed is that of voice assistants. Such as Alexa, who help their users in their daily lives. It makes sense to think that companies like Amazon invest in listening analytics for their consumers. But the reality is different.
We don’t do it based on what we think is going to be heard on smart speakers, although it is true that technology accompanies it. Even so, as there is a greater number of consumers interested in incorporating this type of speaker into their homes. This makes it easier to listen to audio and find requests regarding this type of content. According to Baixeras, the technology helps smart speakers to be more endowed with content thanks to all the production that we are doing .
Does the Pandemic Affect the Audio Consumer?
The conversation takes a turn from t2ó towards audience success trends. From Audible they recognize that they must take risks while innovating and working with the creative community in Spain. “ We have received a multitude of podcast Switzerland WhatsApp Number List production offers and we are always seeking excellence in the world of audiobooks through our partnerships with publishers ”, explains Baixas. Furthermore, such trends can be discovered through experience, so one of the keys will always be to experiment with your own content by launching different podcasts with enough episodes to analyze.
One of the biggest challenges that the sector has faced has undoubtedly been the coronavirus. The pandemic has meant a before and after in the interests of the consumer and now our priorities have changed. During confinement, audio was the great ally of recruitment in our homes. An escape route to get out of the screens.
On the Other Hand, According to Baixeras
During the pandemic Audible saw how the entire mindfulness content offer was the one that really asked for more integration. After this moment, the pandemic has established guidelines for people to listen to. Which important on a day-to-day basis.” In this way, while before the audio was listen to when going to work. Now, these listening hours have moved to every day, especially between the hours between eight. And ten in the morning and between six and nine. of the night. This reflects that free time is not always linked to listening. But rather we use this format to accompany our daily tasks.
In this context, it should be noted that we live in an exciting time for the world of the cultural industry. General and entertainment audio in particular. In fact, when Audible arrived in Spain they began to work and their penetration was very low. “ Today we are above 5 and a half percent of people over 14 years of age in Spain who consume audiobooks on a regular basis every month ”, says Baixas.
With these data, Audible considers the future through the creation of content. A trend that particularly attracts the attention of its public. We are going to analyze what our clients’ consumption patterns are in order to continue working on them and innovating them. All this without forgetting the reason for this meeting. The relevance of audio in Spain as radio was in its time. Both from the point of view of entertainment and information.


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Matt Cutts seems to be getting a little more daring on his blog these days – outing paid links and now outing crappy SEO redirects.
BTW, yes, he does use the phrase “assclown” to describe the SEO.
BusinessWeek has an update on AOL’s decision on who to have provide their search results; Google or MSN?
Both suitors still appeared to be in the running as of Dec. 11. But given the talks’ complexity, it’s not surprising that they’re dragging. It’s unclear at this point whether Time Warner will reach a deal with one or the other by the end of the month, as originally expected.
BW explains that AOL has a lot to gain from selecting the right partner, while both Google and Microsoft have a lot at stake too.
Looking for a used car? You might want to head over to Oodle.
The classifieds search engine has just claimed the title as the largest index of auto classifieds, which includes CarsDirect as well as specialty sites like TruckertoTrucker.com and BoatClassifieds.us.
â€œWeâ€™re thrilled with the strong demand for autos from both publishers and consumers,â€? said Faith Sedlin, vice president of marketing for Oodle. â€œIn the past two months weâ€™ve tripled our auto index from 1 million to 3 million motor listings and have seen traffic more than double.â€?
However, what does make sense, is that Experian is owned by GUS Plc, “Britain’s second-largest retailer by market value”. Yet, the press release states that the acquisition will fall under Experian because it “complements Experian’s existing operations, connecting consumers to companies over the Internet.”
At first, I was thinking to myself, “Now, I might be missing something here, but, wouldn’t it be more beneficial to have PriceGrabber operate under GUS’s Argos Retail Group?”
Then, nearing the end of the official press release is where it begins to come together as far as their plans.
“Retail and catalogue shopping is the second largest vertical market for Experian Globally.”
ClickZ reports that search volume rose 15 percent in the five months between June and October of this year, according to details from Nielsen//NetRatings. Ask Jeeves saw the biggest jump in market share.
Ask Jeeves edged out players such as My Way Search to rank fifth in market share. The search engine experienced a 77 percent growth in market share to reach 2.6 percent. Following its recent acquisition by IAC/InterActiveCorp, the company announced plans to shed “Jeeves” and become Ask.com.
Mr. Gates, the Microsoft co-founder and chairman, paused, looked down at his folded hands and smiled broadly, as if enjoying a private joke. “Nah,” he replied, “we’ll do something different.”
It seems like Microsoft could do a fair amount of damage here by trying to drive the share the advertising engine takes in this deal to near zero. To do that, it just needs to launch its own AdSense-like product and be willing to set its take to its breakeven point.
I’m pretty sure I am not the first person to point this out, but I think blogging is in danger of causing its own demise. The problem? Too many damn ads!
Everyone is advertising these days. Everyone is told to advertise. There’s even blogs that explain – if not compel – other bloggers to turn, what is supposed to be a medium for self expression, into a hardcore business with rules, standards and yes, lots of advertising.
Now don’t get me wrong, having advertisers on your blog is not a bad thing. Indeed, back at SEL, I sold more than $100,000 a year in advertising and at MP, I shamelessly plug my own company. So what is my particular beef? Why am I so crabby?
© 2005-2014 Marketing Pilgrim, all rights reserved.
Marketing Pilgrim is a proud member of The Pilgrim Network


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It’s not just the fans who are crestfallen about India’s early exit from Champions Trophy 2009. Several advertisers, too, are disappointed with India’s poor show. Some of the sponsors signed on by ESPN-Star Sports include Maruti Suzuki, Samsung, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Havells, Philips and Adidas. The channel had also signed spot buy (10-second advertising time) deals with Sony India, Mirc Electronics, Raymonds, Yahoo!, Aviva, Pepsi, Bharti Airtel and Coca-Cola.
The Champions Trophy is reportedly being viewed live in as many as 183 territories across the world. The tournament commenced on September 22 and will continue till October 5.
With huge stakes involved, India’s early exit from the tournament is surely going to impact viewership from India. exchange4media spoke to media planners on the impact of India’s exit on advertisers.
Disappointed, but to stick till the end
Rajneesh Chaturvedi, National Director, MEC Access, observed, “Whether it is Champions Trophy or the World Cup, there is always a high risk of India’s early exit, and the advertisers are very well aware of this as they weigh all the pros and cons before investing. However, what I do see happening is henceforth advertisers will look forward to better ROI, which could be accountability-led deals.”
Manas Mishra, Country Head, Mudra Connext, pointed out, “Advertisers with prior commitment to the channel cannot escape the tournament and will have no choice but to stick till the end. On the other hand, those without any prior commitments may now do a re-think. A lot of people also have this hypothesis that ODI matches may no longer be a wise investment, and India not doing well in this tournament ironically only adds weight to this hypothesis.”
According to an industry source, India’s early exit from the Champions Trophy was certainly a big disappointment for advertisers. However, there was no choice but to stick till the end.
According to Sanjay Sharma, Director, Synergy, “Cricket, whether ODI or T20, has always been a high risk area for advertisers as it depends on Team India’s performance. It is just like the stock market, nevertheless it is business as usual. Advertisers certainly must be disappointed and will be a little wary henceforth.”


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Posts Tagged “freight”
FCDC Chairman and NMFTA Executive Director to offer insight into classification and the role of NMFTA at SMC³ supply chain hybrid online education course
Authored by SMC³ on April 14, 2021
During a special hybrid class from SMC³’s online education program – LTL203: LTL Carrier Pricing & Costing, Joel Ringer, chairman of the Freight Classification Development Council (FCDC) at the NMFTA, will provide an in-depth discussion on how the NMFTA plays a unique role in the classification of LTL freight. Ringer and his colleague Paul Levine, executive director at NMFTA, recently took the time to give insight into the association.
Authored by SMC³ on February 3, 2021
At SMC³, customer support is a key foundational support to the company’s decades long mission to provide unparalleled support to carriers, shippers, 3PLs and technology providers. The customer support team at SMC³ is committed to providing assistance that keeps customer needs at the forefront of every interaction. Phillip Simmons, a customer support specialist for SMC³, recently took time to discuss how his team maintains a great relationship with customers, and how his job has adapted to the coronavirus pandemic.
AWESOME leader discusses women in the transportation industry in a preview of Jump Start 2020 supply chain conference remarks
Authored by SMC³ on January 6, 2020
At the Jump Start 2020 supply chain conference, Heather Sheehan will discuss the increasing role of women in the freight transportation industry. As executive director of AWESOME, she knows a thing or two about advocating for female supply chain leaders. “Women have made progress in the supply chain field, but progress is slow, incremental and inconsistent,” she said. Sheehan recently took the time to talk about her advocacy role, providing a preview of her conference remarks.
Authored by SMC³ on December 6, 2019
In the late 1960s, three trucking businessmen banded together to provide airfreight cartage and freight trucking solutions in the underserved Portland, Oregon, market by creating Air-Go and Mark-7 Delivery. This initial partnership lasted for only four years, and in 1972, Glenn Wilson bought out his partners, solidifying his vision of creating a tight-knit company dedicated to treating its customers as another member of the family.
Authored by SMC³ on June 20, 2018
A truckload carrier recently ran into difficultly when it tried to establish the profitability of each client. By using SMC³’s activity-based freight costing model, the carrier was able to establish an operating ratio for each customer. Today, the carrier is using the shipment costing solution for transportation pricing and to quote new supply chain business.


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Reports making waves online disclosed that the Dangote noodles section has been bought by Dufil Prima food, the maker of indomie noodles.
According to Dangote, the option to sell off the section to indomie noodles is a more feasible option.
The company in Tuesday, April 18 disclosed the sale of one of its asset and added that so as to level the transition, they had given Dufil the chance to make use of some of its facilities for the time being.
The business was part of the DFM which Dangote group recently repurchased from Tiger Brands.
The Dangote flour mills MD, Thabo Mabo, said the disposal was part of the strategies of paying more attention to core areas of flour and pasta production, where the company has a great market share.
He added that with the disposal, the group would focus on its vigor in flour and pasta and also increase their profitability by perfecting areas of quality, distribution and marketing.
The sale, which was effective last Monday, according to Mabo, is a good situation for Dangote Flour Mills, Dufil Prima foods and employees under Dangote noodles as Dangote Flour has a chance of having more market share through enlarged marketing.
The MD said the sake and transfer was ine of the most concise disposals with the purchasing company taking over and starting work immediately.
In the disposal agreement terms, Dufil Prima Foids will continue to manufacture and sell noodles with ‘Dangote Noodles’ brand name for two years before changing the name.
Deepak Singhal, the CEO of Dufil Prima Foods, verified the transaction and descriped the deal with Dangote as strategic because Dufil is seeking to dominate the Noodles market.
He said the acquisition would improve and sustain its market share and also a earning a strategic advantage in terms of several range of noodles products in the market.
He also reaffirmed that Dufil wont be stopping the production of noodles but was starting production immediately with Dangote brand name.
Singhal added that to ensure a perfect transition and production, most of the former employees of Dangote Noodles would be retained in the takeover.
With the transition, some employees of Dangote noodles would move to Dufil, while the remaining workers had been substantially compensated with jaw-dropping severance pay for their services to the company.
Singhal further disclosed that the terms of the severance pay was agreed with the appropriate trade unions and the redundant employees were settled immediately so that those transited will start on a fresh agreement while those not retained wont have to wait for their entitlements.


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A feature hidden in a developer version of Twitter's app shows emojis to express more emotions. That feature would add complexity to the service, but also nuance.
Some tweets deserve to live forever. A new service translates your best Twitter compositions into characters from thousands of years ago to be preserved on tablets. Not the iPad kind, the clay kind.
The IPO stands to make parent company Fiat Chrysler's wallet a whole lot fatter at a time when it could use a cool billion or two.
iOS has emoji built-in...but wait, so does Android!
The payment company, which has been spun off by eBay, will trade on the Nasdaq under the same ticker symbol it used more than a decade ago.
Technically Incorrect: To promote its new series "The Man in the High Castle," Amazon decides to confront strap hangers with Nazi and Japanese war symbolism. The ads are reportedly being pulled, but it's not clear by whom.
Allons-zzzz! Have sweet dreams with this stylish bedding featuring the Tardis and elegant Gallifreyan symbols. Sadly, these sheets won't bend space and time so you can snooze longer.
Reddit and Vimeo are among the sites participating in the Sept. 10 event in support of a free and open Internet.
Technically Incorrect: CEO says it's unacceptable that the teens were asked to leave an Apple store because they "might steal something," according to a memo published by Buzzfeed.
Typing tacos and middle fingers is about to get easier with the EmojiWorks Emoji Keyboard, a physical Bluetooth keyboard that lets you type the popular little symbols much faster.


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Imagine this - the Obama administration shuts down all incentives to offshore work and forces American companies to size down their India operations, in an attempt to keep jobs in the USA. At face value, this isn't likely to happen in a simple stroke of decision making, for American companies need their offshore operations to remain competitive and be able to offer their products and services at competitive prices.
But, we are still at the beginning of a true recession, and a lot of bloodletting will happen from industries that have expanded under speculative growth conditions, spurred on by high stock prices. Put simply, people have pumped in a lot of money into industries they have perceived will grow forever, and it has been easy for them to raise money to expand into the future. This has summarily come to a halt with the crash in the USA.
India has a few companies that have over the period of the last decade, done their best to diversify and build core competencies that can compete instead of waiting for the outsourcing crumbs, but the majority have indeed run for the handouts brought in by the "cheap labour" sticker. These are the companies that have mushroomed all over India, particularly in cities like Bangalore. Not surprisingly, there isn't a single Indian product that you will find on every computer in the world, and even as HCL has one of its smartypants in its ad. claim that HCL builds software that does some significant things around the world, the irony is not lost on us when the ad. ends with the claim of being a $5billion company, not a Rs.25000 crore company!
In other words, many Indian companies see themselves as totally dependent on the American economy, and the extent of them being global unfortunately is the extent to which they can beg for business from American companies. There just isn't going to be that mad rush forward growth over the next two years, because recessions are not easy to turn around, and while some Indian companies will benefit for the good reasons, many will perish because they are just not good enough.
There are two different approaches with building companies, in general. The first model is the honest model, where investors and core workers come together to build a company that will produce goods or provide services that they believe has a good chance of making the company profitable through revenue streams they can sustain over fairly long periods of time. The intent is to capitalize on ability and demand for whatever this company produces. There is competence, and there is honesty. The other model is to build a company that lasts long enough to make enough noise before going public, and then use the stock market to sucker the public into buying their stock at as high a price as possible, giving an "exit strategy" to many of its founders and early employees, particularly senior management. This is the "get rich quick legally" scheme, which works very well when there is positive sentiment about the sector and the country's economy. Indian animation companies have done well with this conniving intent, and the people who bought their stock are nothing but fools.
The .com boom period brought the second model to light in India. Many Indian companies were overjoyed at how they could con the public into investing in companies that might be duds two years down the line, but how could the investors and senior management care any more if they made tons of money and "exited", leaving the company to flutter as the winds blew? A lot of companies that are not in the core sectors like energy and infrastructure will obviously decline now that the proverbial bubble has burst and if there are Indian software companies that are low in the pecking order of larger companies built up in stock markets rather than in real produce, then they are all on their way down.
The gleeful Indian "technocrat" is about to be exposed for his true incompetence and more importantly for how disposable he is. This is going to shock a lot of people, but Indians are fiercely proud and will find it very hard to cut back on lifestyle, which in the last five years has been the single biggest paradigm shift. All of a sudden, we will witness a robust coming of age of Indian industry, particularly the software and services industry that simply has no product or service the world desperately needs. This is the best thing to happen now, rather than five years later, and it won't be fun if you are one of the people going to lose your job. But it will be fun for the rest of us to watch, since the booming retail sector might need some of your foreign accents and groomed looks - you might even get discounts on groceries and low end consumer goods.
America has been an engine, no doubt. But it has been a fake engine, fuelled by growth based on speculation and financial experts who lost their fundamentals in an attempt to build quick empires. This is a time when empires older than a hundred years old are collapsing. No amount of government intervention is going to help restore the order of a year ago, because that was not order in the first place. It was already in a state of decay, and delusion kept the world going. The US dollar is not based on gold reserves. It is helped by commodities like oil being pegged against it. The Euro is based on gold, and is bound to be much more stable because there won't be any more Euros than there is gold to buy with it. The American dollar is paper money and unless America becomes truly productive, its dollar won't be worth much in the days to come.
America currently imports more than it exports. China holds most of the debt Americans owe, and they can afford to because they are a manufacturing economy. They are regularly producing things that the world cannot live without. India is in a bind being a services economy since it is much more dependent on what others want from us. America wanted cheap programmers, we produced them. America wanted people with fake accents talking on phones, we manufactured them. Now, America wants to reduce its energy dependence on oil and wants millions of solar modules and wind turbines, it is going to ask China, not us, to make them!
That is where we stand today. Our biggest boon is our size and our people have to consume and be the engine for our own economy. But our software "techies" haven't produced much for our consumption, and we basically don't have so much need to drive this overgrown and overrated industry. We did not grow other areas in the same time, because we were shortsighted and highly opportunistic. Now we will witness the reality check. Techies without jobs. The big shots will do fine if they adapt and have saved money, but the middle to bottom rung of fools who can't put a sentence together but have been in the software industry for a few years are toast. These aren't "techies" but low level assembly line workers in an air conditioned environment. If an ape could read code, it could do this job.
Suicides, broken marriages, they're all a coming, my friends. Indian pride will be hurt, and our sense of panic will come to the fore again. It is never pretty, but this time, the show promises to be particularly ugly.


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Glass, looking glass posted democracy advocates in hong kong mourned victims of the tiananmen square crackdown on thursday u s. Apple glass is on pace to define the future of ar wearables but its biggest obstacle upon launch will be adoption and, central ohio glass companies have spent the past week helping businesses whose windows and doors were damaged during protests. Nd doped phosphate glasses are used in high energy high power laser applications due to their low nonlinear refractive, damage will probably occur when it comes to your auto glass it's almost inevitable all it takes is one little rock on the.
A type of volcanic glass perlite is frequently used as building insulation or a potting soil additive according to a new, an indoor residual spray made by combining a type of volcanic glass with water showed effective control of mosquitoes that. The "automotive solar control glass market forecast 2020 2025 " report has been added to researchandmarkets com's offering the, stone canyon park this sherman oaks residence was originally built by the great ray kappe in 1961 and then rebuilt by the. Weathered souls brewing co has shared its base imperial stout recipe as part of their campaign black is beautiful the, nisi has just launched the 150mm explorer collection of square glass filters this new lineup of nd and graudated nd filters promises the same.
First united corporation nasdaq: func "first united" or the "company" a bank holding company and the parent company of first united bank trust the "bank" today announced that leading proxy


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HONOR Malaysia officially announced today that a new mobile phone – HONOR X9a 5G is coming to Malaysia. This is also HONOR’s next-generation X-series to Malaysia following the launch of the X-series earlier this year.
As early as September this year, HONOR has confirmed that Malaysia will introduce this phone, and now officially announced the product name “HONOR X9a 5G”.
According to known information, HONOR X9a 5G focuses on “hard-core OLED curved screen”. Through hard work on software and hardware, it can solve the pain points such as false touch and fragility that curved screen users worry about to the greatest extent. Through the AI anti-mistouch algorithm, even if the hand accidentally touches the edge of the screen, the screen will not respond to this area, which greatly reduces misuse.
In terms of solving the problem of durability of the curved screen, HONOR X9a 5G adopts a 0.65mm deep double-strengthened glass screen cover, which has stronger drop resistance, and passed 33 kinds of rigorous tests such as marble and simulated concrete floor drops, and the hardcore quality trustworthy.
According to the official, HONOR X9a 5G will continue the high-quality and cost-effective genes of the series, and provide better choices for Malaysian consumers.For more latest news about HONOR X9a 5G, please pay attentionHONOR official websiteor trackHONOR Malaysia Official Facebook。
For more technology information, please continue to watch the Chinese version of TechNave!


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In what we think is a good decision, General Motors said that its other plug-in hybrid offerings will not have Volt branding on them to identify with the compact plug-in hybrid that will launch later next year. By contrast, Toyota is planning to make a family of hybrid vehicles that will carry the Prius badging.
“Our thought is to take the Volt technology to other products,” Brent Dewar, chief of global operations for Chevrolet said. “The Volt was the original vehicle that we started, but I wouldn’t see that as a brand marketing direction for us.”
Dewar said that the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid would pave the way for more vehicles based on the same Voltec technology; however, the Volt name will not be found anywhere on GM’s future electric-vehicles.
2011 Chevrolet Volt:
– By: Omar Rana


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By Rex Nutting
Although the pace of consumer-price inflation cooled slightly in April, don’t think for a minute that America’s inflation problems are in the past. Gasoline prices may have temporarily softened in April, but prices for the things that really count the most—shelter, food and medical care—are still blisteringly hot.
Shelter costs rose at a 6.4% annual rate in April. Food prices increased at a 10.9% rate. Out-of-pocket medical care prices, which had been pretty quiet for much of the pandemic, jumped at a 5.5% rate.
Those three items account for about 55% of the typical family’s monthly budget, and inflation is accelerating in all three. So far in 2022, shelter costs are rising at the fastest pace in 31 years, food prices are rising at the fastest pace in 41 years, and medical-care prices are going up at the fastest pace since the pandemic hit.
Harder to fix
Sure, the year-over-year pace of inflation fell from 41-year highs, but the report confirms that inflation is migrating away from goods—where prices often go up or down at the drop of a hat—to services, where prices are slower to move but rarely reverse course (who ever heard of someone lowering the rent?).
That means that inflation, once embedded, is harder to get rid of.
The prices of services, which account for 60% of consumer spending, rose a 5.4% annual rate in April, the fastest pace since 2001. Meanwhile, the price of goods, which had risen a record 14.2% in the previous 12 months in March, dropped at a 3.5% annual rate in April.
The April CPI adds additional confirmation that inflation, like an army of termites, has burrowed its way into the biggest item in the typical family’s budget: putting a roof over their heads. The cost of buying or renting a home accounts for a third of the typical family budget (and for low-income families, it’s often half or more of their disposable income).
These costs—what the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls “rent of shelter”— have been rising at a 6.3% annual pace so far this year. That’s the fastest four-month increase since 1991. Over the past 12 months, rent of shelter has risen 5.2%, also the largest increase in more than 30 years.
Mismatch in supply and demand
And that’s a major worry for policy makers at the Fed, because raising interest rates and reducing the central bank’s balance sheet can’t solve the underlying mismatch in supply and demand in shelter: Everyone needs to sleep under a roof, but there aren’t enough to go around.
Easy monetary policy certainly has contributed to the unearthly rise in home prices over the past two years. Raising interest rates and cutting back on the Fed’s ownership of mortgage-backed securities will certainly help slow effective demand for homes, and with it, the meteoric rise in house prices.
All the Fed is really doing by raising rates is raising the cost of capital to buy or build a home, either to live in oneself or to rent out to others. That can’t solve the problem in the long run because it reduces the supply as well as the demand.
The Fed can’t build more houses and apartments in the places that people want to live. Raising the cost of capital will ultimately reduce construction, which will put more pressure on the inadequate existing supply.


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PETA India and its global affiliates are launching an online campaign aimed at the Indian Beauty & Hygiene Association (IBHA) and its group of members which includes brands like L'Oréal, P&G and Hindustan Unilever.
The Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has introduced a draft notification to ban the import of cosmetics tested on animals abroad; in a move which would extend the reach of animal testing prohibition for the cosmetics industry even further...
In a move that puts animal testing of cosmetics in China back in the spotlight, animal rights group PETA says it has convinced China Southern Airlines to ban the shipping of primates destined for animal testing labs.
Cruelty Free International has presented a petition containing over a million signatures to the Japanese health minister, aimed at pressurising the country's law makers into making changing about testing cosmetics on animals.
Another country may soon be moving towards alternatives to animal testing, as South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has created a policy proposal to recognize these methods for functional cosmetics.
In the ASEAN region, safety assessment of all cosmetic products is a mandatory requirement, but there is no mandatory requirement as to what method to use. The responsibility lies with the company, explains a leading expert.
Big changes are afoot in China for cosmetics regulation, but how far changes in animal testing will go remains to be seen, says Simon Chan, executive director of the Hong Kong Cosmetic Technical Resources Centre.
The China government has confirmed that it is instigating a consultation process to find alternative to the testing on cosmetics products on animals. amid mounting international pressure, with Cruelty Free International voicing its support.
With less than a week to go until the ban on selling animal-tested cosmetics in the EU, it appears that it has influenced several markets in Asia, with Korea, India and Japan all seeing instances of following suit in 2013 so far.
The Japanese personal care giant has announced it is mostly dropping animal-tested cosmetics in the wake of the European Union setting to finalise a sweeping ban on the sale of such products this month.
The battle to end animal testing in the cosmetic industry in India has stepped up a notch after the regulatory Drug Controller General of India called for the fast-tracking of the deletion of two final animal tests from India’s cosmetics safety standard.
Many international cosmetic makers are faced with ethical questions over whether or not to be present in the China market because of animal testing requirements. Pangea Organics chose not to stay, and has been commended for this.
Regulations in countries around the world need to change to outlaw animal testing in cosmetics, rather than the manufacturers themselves, according to the industry-specific organisation set up by the BUAV.
There seems to be continued talk in the cosmetics industry of the proposed animal testing ban that comes into place on March 11, 2013, and whilst it has been a long time coming, it represents a huge step, according to Cruelty Free International.
Last week, India’s Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) Dr G N Singh met with MP Maneka Gandhi, and now Humane Society International has applauded statesman Ramalinga Reddy for urging swift action to update Indian law to end animal testing of cosmetics.
The Chinese government are taking steps towards accepting a non-animal test for cosmetics for the first time, after a PETA grant allowed the necessary research to develop a new toxicity test, and the necessary training was carried out in a Beijing university...
The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics’ Leaping Bunny program has received backing from cosmetics players and can benefit further from big brand backing in its bid to end animal testing in the cosmetics industry.
The European Coalition to End Animal Experiments (ECEAE) has continued its aim of ridding the cosmetics industry of animal testing by working directly with companies that wish to avoid animal tests under REACH.
In an exclusive interview with CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com, animal rights group PETA has defended the eye-catching images it uses in its campaigns stating it is sometimes necessary to shake people up in order to initiate discussion and raise awareness...
The global cosmetics company is to reward efforts towards replacing animal use in product safety testing with a ‘Lush prize’ of £250,000 (€312,000) set to be divided between five categories to those demonstrating excellence in the sector.
The brand well known in the US, UK, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Singapore and the Middle East has come under fire due to its decision to move into the Chinese market, despite its conflicting animal testing policy.
This week, Lush Cosmetics rolled out its largest-ever global anti-animal testing campaign, whereby staff staged protests and performance stunts in over 800 stores across 49 countries to coincide with World Week for Animals in Laboratories.
“We have been transparent on the issue regarding our requirement to adhere to local laws in countries where we do business,” said Avon, after it found itself in a class action lawsuit alongside Estee Lauder and Mary Kay for allegedly claiming that their...
Avon has landed in hot water, alongside Estee Lauder and Mary Kay, after being slapped with a class action lawsuit for allegedly deceiving American consumers with false and misleading representations relating to animal testing of their products.
The Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS) will expand its international outreach program having recognised the need to drive regulatory change in those countries that still require animal testing for cosmetic and personal care products.


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LSG Lufthansa Service Holding AG (LSG Holding) is seeking to centralize production and logistics in Europe, the latest initiative being the setting up of two regional production centers (RPCs) . The RPCs are intended to make the company’s operating model more flexible so it can react to changing market requirements in the European market.
Each RPC will be able to deliver to locations within a radius of 280 miles (450 km), with the RPC East (located in Bor, Czech Republic) suppling Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna, while RPC West will provide hot meals (including ethnic meals) to Amsterdam, Brussels, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Paris and Zurich. Locations for RPC West are currently being scouted, according to the company.
“This decision is an important milestone in the transformation of our business model as part of our strategic realignment,” said Erdmann Rauer, CEO of the LSG Holding of the investment. “Through it, we want to become more competitive in Europe and advance our goal of becoming a provider of end-to-end onboard products and services.”
In 2017 LSG Holding reported a successfully trial of centralized production of certain meals in a single-shift operation (including the associated logistics) at RPC East, with key performance indicators exceeding target values. The viability of a network-oriented production approach confirmed, the company has since added meals to this operation, which is now working in two shifts.
In other operational news, in February 2018 LSG Group launched the Airline Catering Association (ACA) as a non-profit international organization, based in Brussels, Belgium with four other leading airline catering providers: dnata, Do & Co, gategroup and Newrest.
“The establishment of the RPCs will enable us to react more quickly to changes in the market,” added Rauer. “As a result, our classic catering production and logistics structures will become significantly more flexible. At the same time, we are working with our onboard retail experts at Retail inMotion to create digital platforms that can meet the growing demand from airlines and consumers for pre-ordering concepts. Our most important strategic challenge is to bring these two business models together in a complementary manner in order to make the future of the entire LSG Group increasingly sustainable and profitable.”
The company says it is now working out the details of the design of the two RPCs in order to have the new sites operational by early 2020.


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Road logistics companies play a critical role in ensuring that goods are delivered on time and in a safe manner. During the Easter weekend in South Africa, road safety is of utmost importance, and ignoring road safety rules and regulations is not an option. Speed limiter technology is one tool that can significantly reduce the carnage on our roads that impact many lives
Semi-autonomous speed limiters are devices that are fitted to vehicles maintaining the legally posted speed of a vehicle in real-time. Speed limiters are now a mandatory feature in many countries, and their effectiveness in reducing road accidents and fatalities has been proven.
This legislative change will eventually trickle down to Africa – we simply do not have the time to wait that long (and we don’t have to) as mentioned in our previous article – The Time has Come to Leverage Technology to Stop The Carnage on our Roads
SpeedFOX, an Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) device invented by Geo Intelligence Corp (GeoInt) a specialist geospatial products and services business not only enhances road safety but also has benefits for the environment and efficiency on the roads. By reducing the speed of vehicles, emissions are reduced, making the roads greener and more sustainable. Additionally, by reducing the risk of accidents, road closures and delays are also minimized, resulting in more efficient delivery times.
Road safety during Easter weekend is a critical issue that requires the use of advanced technology and tools to prevent accidents and fatalities. By investing in cutting-edge technology road logistics companies can ensure that they deliver their goods safely and efficiently, while also contributing to a safer, cleaner and greener South Africa.
Contact us for more information: firstname.lastname@example.org
SpeedFOX is a product of GeoInt
For more information on GeoInt’s service offering, please visit: https://geoint.africa/
ABOUT GeoInt Corp


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The organizations comprising Latinos for Internet Freedom and Media Action Grassroots Network urge the Commission to expeditiously codify the six open Internet principles articulated in its initial Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and to apply them across all Internet access platforms, including mobile wireless Internet access. Lower barriers to adoption have facilitated the widespread use of the mobile Internet in communities of color and low-income areas, where many individuals would otherwise go without Internet access altogether. And although wireless Internet access through a mobile device is not currently an adequate substitute for home wireline broadband accessed through a computer, many of our constituents rely exclusively on mobile wireless Internet access as their onramp to the web. Furthermore, in the near future, many unserved rural constituents may be able to connect to the next generation of wireless Internet, finally receiving home broadband Internet service without any wires whatsoever. Thus, the Commission must extend the six open Internet principles to wireless Internet access to avoid unintentionally treating communities of color, people living in rural areas, and the poor as second-class digital citizens.
In addition, the Commission is correct to be cautious that “specialized” services not threaten the open Internet. However, without more information about the nature and scope of these services, the Commission cannot accurately assess them at this time. Further, the Commission needs these details if it is to promulgate functional rules governing these services. Thus, the Commission should move ahead and adopt the six proposed open Internet rules in this proceeding and open a separate proceeding to examine “specialized” services.
Click here to read the full comments.]]>


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by Anton Shilov
02/28/2013 | 11:59 PM
The head of Corning Glass Technologies, a leading maker of glass substrates for smartphones, tablets and other consumer electronics, claims that manufacturers will only start to utilize Willow flexible glass in three years’ time. Therefore, despite of claims and expectations, foldable smartphones and unbreakable displays will only emerge in quite a distant future.
“People are not accustomed to glass you roll up. The ability of people to take it and use it to make a product is limited,” said James Clappin, president of Corning Glass Technologies, in an interview with Bloomberg news-agency.
Although Corning sent samples of Willow flexible glass to makers of various advanced CE devices, such as smartphones, tablets and TVs in June, 2012, actual advanced products are not expected to hit the market this year. The Willow glass should be used in some simple products this year, such as a flexible barrier for solar panels or as a thin film behind some touch panels. However, big name customers will spend a long time, before taking full advantage of Willow glass.
Flexible smartphones and wearable computing devices are two primary applications for Willow glass. Earlier this year Samsung Display demonstrated a smartphone with bendable screen, but the company did not reveal, when such a device is set to become available.
Corning Willow is expected to support thinner backplanes and color filters for both organic light emitting diodes (OLED) and liquid crystal displays (LCD) in high-performance, portable devices such as smartphones, tablets, and notebook computers. This new, ultra-slim flexible glass will also help develop conformable (curved) displays for immersive viewing or mounting on non-flat surfaces.
Corning Willow glass is formulated to perform exceptionally well for electronic components such as touch sensors, as well as leveraging glass’s natural hermetic properties as a seal for OLED displays and other moisture and oxygen-sensitive technologies.
Corning Willow glass is projected to enable thin, light and cost-efficient applications including today’s slim displays and the smart surfaces of the future. The thinness, strength, and flexibility of the glass has the potential to enable displays to be “wrapped” around a device or structure. Corning Willow glass can be processed at temperatures up to 500°C, which is essential for today’s high-end displays.


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Big Big Train have announced a warm up gig at friars ahead of their headlining slot at Ramblin' Man Fair next year. They will play Friars in Aylesbury on Thursday 16 July.
Big Big Train headline the Prog In The Park stage at next year's Ramblin' Man Fair on a bill that also features Pure Reason Revolution, Curved Air, Moon Safari, Blurred Vision and Lazuli. Lazuli have been announced as the support act for the Friars show.
There will be a ticket pre-sale for the gig at 10.00am on Wednesday 27th Nov with a code which will be sent out in the Friars newsletter on Tuesday 26th Nov. Tickets will go on general sale at 10.00am on Friday 29th Nov. Tickets are limited to a max of 6 per person.
You can subscribe to the Friars newsletter via the venue website.


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The Wolfstar team is currently hard at work on a project with Dolce&Gabbana and Sony Ericsson to launch the new Jalou mobile phone. Instead of traditional television advertising commercials (TVC) the campaign is focused around a promotional video conceived by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, which is available exclusively online. The social media news release that we’ve created includes the video as well as behind the scenes footage and an interview with the director, Cyril Guyot.
One Reply to “Dolce&Gabbana and Sony Ericsson use online to bypass traditional TV advertising”
Great job on the SMR… pity you’ve had to polish a turd of an ad
Comments are closed.


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Adding a men’s grooming lounge to the mix
ALGONA — Throughout the years, Innovations Salon and Spa has been known for its innovative business ideas. Now, the business has added a men’s grooming lounge.
“It is a fast growing trend in men’s grooming. I was seeing cities like Des Moines with Signature Male and Scissors and Scotch and wanted to bring it to Algona,” said Stacy Besch, owner of Innovations Salon and Spa located on U.S. Highway 18. “I truly think our clientele has grown to expect the good customer service that we deliver. With that the women have been encouraging their husbands to come here.”
Sarah Myers provides the men’s grooming. For those who don’t know what kind of haircut they are looking for, she provides them a variety of different styles – mainly through photographs. “When Stacy and I first started talking about creating a separate space in the salon for men, I was excited. This is exactly what the men in Algona need,” Myers said. “When you go to bigger cities you will find salons that are male specific and cater to men. We wanted to bring that to Algona. The Men’s Grooming Lounge is just perfect.
For more on this story, please see Nov. 23 issue of Kossuth County Advance.


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How Much Consumers Value Transparent Privacy Practices
If public sentiment is any indication, the California Consumer Privacy Act will be the first of a number of privacy laws to hit the US. That’s per a recent report by customer data platform Tealium, which found in a survey of 1,000 consumers that 91% of respondents want state or federal government to enact stricter privacy regulations. That is a striking consensus in a highly polarized political environment.
With Congress perpetually mired in gridlock, the privacy movement, which appears to enjoy wide public support, is likely to advance state by state, with blue states like California taking the lead. The complexity of a fractured, state-by-state mosaic of privacy legislation will make a whole industry of compliance, with brands scrambling to secure compliance services and privacy leaders emerging to meet a rapidly growing need, Neil Sweeney, founder and CEO of Freckle IoT and privacy solution Killi, told Street Fight.
Potential legal troubles and CCPA’s enforceability weaknesses aside, the Tealium study suggests a strong record on privacy will be a boon to brands as privacy increasingly takes center stage in the public consciousness. Ninety-seven percent of consumers said they are at least somewhat concerned about data privacy, and 85% said they won’t forgive a company’s misuse of their data.
Brands can demonstrate their seriousness about privacy by offering privacy policies that are actually comprehensible and articulating the benefits of data collection for the consumers from whom they intend to extract information. Forty-three percent of consumers said they are willing to exchange data for discounts. Seventy-two percent said they would be more likely to read privacy policies if they were shorter.
“While all data privacy acts have their differences, they point to the same truth — we must manage customer data the way our customers would expect us to manage it. That means keeping it organized, accessible and protected, and using it to provide value back to the consumer,” said Jeff Lunsford, CEO of Tealium.
Due to the sheer number of companies monetizing reams of consumer data and the limited resources of the California attorney general’s office, it may be years before companies in violation of the law face charges for CCPA infractions. But other laws will emerge to force the issue. And even before legal action makes its mark, the Tealium study tells us that bad press on privacy, especially data breaches, will undermine the bottom line.


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BitTorrent Successfully Promoted Tim Ferriss’ BookAdded: Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013
Category: Recent Headlines Involving File Sharing > Current Events
Tags:ET, p2p, Torrent, Piracy, Peer To Peer, Network, Hackers, Internet, BitTorrent, Google, utorrent, bitcomet, extratorrent, 2010, www.extratorrent.com
Famous and successful American author Timothy Ferriss, who has published a number of bestsellers within the years, was definitely taking a risk when refusing to promote his new book – The 4-Hour Chef – via the usual channels. Still, the young writer decided to partner with BitTorrent and Amazon, which made the news worldwide.
Tim Ferriss’ decision to sign with Amazon and promote his work through BitTorrent didn’t make most of the major book retailers happy, and Barnes and Noble was no exception. But even taking into account their boycotts, the result of this unusual cooperation turned out to be more than promising: the book was sold in more than 250.000 copies, while also appearing on all bestseller lists.
However, turning down big publishers is something you have to deal with, so the writer had to compensate by partnering with other companies, not that big – for example, a sandwich shop chain Panera Bread and BitTorrent. As for BitTorrent, the author created a 680Mb bundle with behind-the-scenes videos, a number of author notes, and a sample chapter from his book, which was published for everyone on BitTorrent’s networks.
Tim Ferriss admits he didn’t expect such result from his bold move – originally, he was skeptical about how many sales would result from the file-sharing networks, because he only regarded BitTorrent as a place where people go to get content for free. However, the click-through rates from BitTorrent to Amazon rocketed, and Timothy had to confess he had never seen anything like that in paid advertising.
So, about 300.000 people downloaded and watched the book’s video trailer on YouTube, and even more visited the writer’s official site – this is the result of BitTorrent promotion. Amazon accounted for over 880.000 clicks. In the meantime, the author understands that while BitTorrent’s networks successfully promote his book, people can also use them to download its unauthorized copies. In response to this, he says that if a person wants to spend time finding a bootleg source and read a DRM-broken hard-to-read copy of his book on a computer screen which is not intended for reading in the first place, and all this is only done to save $12, he or she wasn’t ever his core audience, so there are no regrets about lost sales.
It might be too bold to say that Amazon and BitTorrent can change the landscape of book publishing in the near future, but it is just another example that the new ways are not as bad as the industry wants us to believe.
April 23rd,2013Posted by:
Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013
|Finally someone understands how the internet and bit torrent really works|
hopefully this is a wake up call to the rest of the regime trying to destroy bit torrent
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Google is releasing a new update to Google Business Profiles they will soon allow businesses to add social media links to their Profiles, helping companies improve visibility across Google products.
The option let’s business show their social media channels alongside other information in Google search and Maps. You will be able to add one link per social media platform to their Business Profile.
The platforms that will be supported will be Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube. It’s been rolled ok worldwide but is currently only available in specific regions.
How will you be able to social link to your business profile
To add a social media link to a Google Business Profile, businesses need to access their profile, click ‘Edit profile,’ then ‘Business information,’ and finally, ‘Contact.’
Under ‘Social profiles,’ they can select the social media platform they wish to link and enter the web address.
Editing or removing the link follows a similar process.
To edit a link, businesses must update the web address field for the designated social media link. To remove a link, click on the ‘Trash’ icon next to the social media profile that needs to be deleted.
Occasionally, Google automatically adds social media links to eligible Business Profiles. To modify these auto-added links, businesses can add a new link for the same social media platform following the same steps.
Google have said that currently there will be no metrics on click rates for these social media links.
Being able to add social media channels to your business profile will be another way for businesses to optimize their presence across Google’s ecosystem.