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GBP/USD Exchange Rate Ticks Up From Earlier Lows
(Updated 16:50, 15/09/2022) The Pound US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate remains weaker than its opening levels but has risen slightly above today’s lows, as Sterling investors may be cheered by the prospect of next Friday’s emergency mini-budget.
In response to escalating inflationary pressures, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng is expected to announce winter tax cuts for struggling households, which will ease the burden of the living standards crisis. The Chancellor is also expected to go into detail regarding energy support measures.
Not everyone has high hopes for the mini-budget, however. Critics have flagged that the government’s plans to reverse the national insurance tax cut will benefit the richest, handing back approximately £1,800 a year to top earners compared with a meagre £7 for the lowest earners.
Kwarteng also faces criticism for the suggestion of capping bankers’ bonuses, which would boost the profits of millionaires at a time when the poorest in society are struggling to feed their families.
Forecasts of the government’s next moves are mixed, but on the whole, persistent risk aversion in the markets keeps Sterling appeal capped.
Original article continues below:
Pound US Dollar Exchange Rate Drops to 6-Day Low
(Update 13:50, 15/09/2022) The Pound US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate has extended its downturn this afternoon as US retail data exceeds expectations, buoying the US Dollar to the detriment of the Pound.
Retail sales in August grew by 0.3% rather than remaining unchanged as expected, as lower fuel prices allowed consumers to buy other items. According to the US Census Bureau, spending increased on motor vehicles, food and drink services, building materials and general merchandise.
Gains are capped somewhat, claim Bloomberg reporters, as although lower prices at the gas pump are very welcome, widespread inflation still limits Americans’ ability to spend on other things.
Nevertheless, August’s report ‘suggests consumer spending is far from collapsing’. Apparently, the US economy can tolerate escalating interest rates, as the Federal Reserve tightens monetary policy to combat rising consumer prices.
Original article continues below:
GBP/USD Exchange Rate Tumbles as US Dollar Regains Strength
The Pound US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate is trending down this morning as the US Dollar (USD) resumes an uptrend. The currency is climbing against its peers as risk-off sentiment attracts safe-haven support.
At the time of writing, GBP/USD is trading at $1.1504, down 0.3% from today’s opening levels.
US Dollar (USD) Supported by Quiet Trading Mood
The US Dollar is attracting support today as markets are quiet amid a relatively empty docket. A scarcity of economic data exposes riskier assets to losses, while the ‘Greenback’ enjoys safe-haven tailwinds.
The US Dollar struggled through yesterday’s session as uncertainty regarding the Federal Reserve’s outlook dampened USD appeal. In the wake of a slowdown in producer price inflation, the ‘Greenback’ came under pressure.
Such headwinds appear to have eased today, as markets remain confident that the Fed will hike interest rates next week, by either 75 or 100bps. Tuesday’s consumer inflation data helped to push short-dated bond yields higher which continues to support USD.
Also bolstering USD are expectations for this afternoon’s retail sales data. Analysts at Lloyds bank expect the ‘control group’ measure to have risen strongly by 0.7% in August, as consumer incomes are supported by the recent fall in gasoline prices.
Overall, the ‘Greenback’ is expected to fare well in the near term. Rabobank strategist Michael Every says ‘I don’t think there is anything that can stop the dollar’, while Alex Wolf, Asia head of investment strategy at J.P. Morgan Private Bank corroborates: ‘We believe the dollar may continue to see near-term upside and that strength is likely to persist.’
Pound (GBP) Crashes as Risk-On Tailwinds Expire
The Pound (GBP) is tumbling against its peers today following yesterday’s broad move higher, as risk-off sentiment depresses the currency and inflation expectations are released.
Market mood has weakened this morning despite news that the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will provide more than 200 billion yuan to commercial banks as special lending funds. Recession fears linger while hawkish expectations for the Fed raise the issue of central bank policy divergence.
Furthermore, expectations for UK inflation in 2023 are at a record high, illustrating public concern regarding the living standards crisis. The quarterly survey conducted by the Bank of England (BoE) with Ipsos revealed that inflation expectations for the year ahead stand at 4.9%.
The reading is well above the BoE’s 2% inflation target; even the 5-year ahead estimate exceeds target at 3.1%. Net public confidence in the Bank of England as an institution has fallen to -7% versus -3% in May.
Members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) express concern that such expectations could prompt a vicious inflationary spiral. However, the impact of this month’s release is limited somewhat as August’s survey was conducted prior to the government’s announcement of the Energy Price Guarantee scheme.
GBP/USD Exchange Rate Forecast: US Data to Inspire Movement?
Looking ahead, a lack of UK releases leaves the Pound US Dollar exchange rate to trade on US data this afternoon. Retail statistics will likely be in the spotlight, with an increase in August’s sales lending possible support to the ‘Greenback’.
Elsewhere, trading sentiment in the UK could be affected by further announcements of business closures for the 19 September bank holiday to mark the Queen’s funeral. The mass closure of bars, restaurants, shops, entertainment venues and various health services is likely to dent UK productivity.


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Coffee ranks as one of the most popular drinks on the planet after water, alcoholic beverages, and fruit and vegetable juices. There are many reasons that people drink coffee, but most people drink the brew to improve their brain function.
In fact, research shows that moderate coffee consumption (3–5 cups per day) can enhance concentration and alertness and improve health outcomes by decreasing risk of chronic disease. In a new large-scale study, however, researchers found that drinking over six cups per day may negatively impact brain function.
The results were recently published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience by a team of researchers at the University of South Australia. To look at the association between coffee consumption and brain health, the researchers conducted a prospective analysis of data collected by the UK Biobank, which has amassed detailed health information on over half a million participants in the UK.
The scientists analyzed the data associated with 398,646 UK Biobank participants. They compared self-reported consumption of caffeinated coffee and measures of brain volume acquired via MRI and found an inverse association between coffee consumption and total brain volume (brain volume isn't associated with intelligence, though brains tend to shrink as we age). In addition, their analysis revealed that drinking more than six cups of coffee per day is associated with a 53 percent greater probability of dementia compared to drinking 1–2 cups of coffee per day.
The results build on previous research showing that drinking large amounts of coffee is associated with worsened health outcomes such as anxiety and insomnia. Luckily, because most coffee drinkers drink about three cups of coffee per day, odds are you can continue to enjoy your morning brew without worry.

domain: news


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18th HOME EXPO INDIA 2019 Begins in Noida
- The 8th edition of Home Expo India 2019 began at the India Expo Centre and Mart in Greater Noida on April 16.
- The three-day exhibition has been organized by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) and will conclude on 18 April, 2019.
- Buyers from more than 50 countries will visit the expo which covers sectors with maximum thrust and growth potential in home décor, furnishing, furniture, flooring, and textiles.
- EPCH is the nodal export promotion body for handicrafts in India with the main objective of boosting trade in handicrafts.


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4 May, 2023
If you are passionate about franchising, obtaining the CFE designation could be a game-changer.
21 April, 2023
Recently we caught up with one of our clients, Kate Coleman, founder of Raw Replenish—a plant-based café with a strong focus in wellness—to hear more about her overall journey so far with franchising and her experience working with SMB.
30 March, 2023
Entrepreneurs have created amazing franchise companies over the years with proven business models where they have built, expanded, and grown their brands.
23 March, 2023
We recently conducted an interview with Drew and Jennifer McWilliams, the founders of Ivybrook Academy—a brand focused on providing quality preschool programs for children between the ages of 2-6—and proud clients of SMB.
2 March, 2023
Check out our most recent Q&A with Jean Arellano, founder of Vanity Fur! They’re all about giving our furry friends the safest and most comfortable grooming experience.
12 February, 2023
Prepare to be inspired! We recently had a Q&A session with Michael and Amanda Valente, the dynamic power couple behind Renovation Sells, the nation’s fastest-growing presale renovation company.
3 February, 2023
IFA 2023 attendees will have the opportunity to network with close to 4,000 franchise executives and hear from the biggest players in the franchise game.
2 February, 2023
Today we interviewed one of our many astounding clients, Josh York, founder of GYMGUYZ, for an inside look to his journey in franchising and his experience working with SMB Franchising Advisors.
19 January, 2023
Get ready to dive into an exclusive Q&A with Jason Parker, co-founder of K9 Resorts. Discover the incredible journey of this cutting-edge, five-star hotel for dogs.


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It could be if the price is right, according to industry insiders across Europe.
WWD has learned from a number of well-placed sources that Change Capital Partners, which acquired Jil Sander AG from Prada SpA for an undisclosed sum in February 2006, is considering exiting its investment and has been sounding out the market regarding potential interest.
The London-based private equity fund, which is backed by the Halley family and led by former Carrefour and Marks & Spencer chairman and current Vodafone and Société Générale board member Luc Vandevelde, is said to have grown tired of waiting for Jil Sander’s bottom line to match its critical acclaim. The family is said to be open to offers for the fashion company of at least 200 million euros, or $314 million at current exchange — double what the fund is believed to have paid Prada.
A valuation closer to 150 million euros, or $235.5 million, is thought to be more reasonable, given the current economic climate, according to industry experts.
“It’s a classic case of a brand, which is adored by the fashion press but which has a question mark over its financial success. They don’t always go hand in hand,” one source said.
A spokesman for Change Capital declined to comment on the speculation Monday, in line with company policy.
For the year ended Jan. 31, Jil Sander registered operating profits of 6 million euros, or $8.3 million at average exchange, on sales of 131 million euros, or $181.4 million, a spokesman said Monday.
The company has yet to release net earnings — pending the costly delisting of the remaining 2 percent of its stock from the Frankfurt Bourse, which is expected to go through this week or next — although it is in line to just about break even, compared with net losses of 14.1 million euros, or $17.8 million at average exchange, in the previous fiscal year.
Jil Sander’s turnaround is seen widely as a case study in best practice, with chief executive officer Gian Giacomo Ferraris, chief financial officer Armin Mueller and Belgian designer Raf Simons credited with restoring to health a business that was losing in the region of 20 million euros annually. “It went from a company with no direction to a break-even operation with strong fashion identity,” one source said.
However, with the business at a crossroads and in light of the tough global economy, it would appear that Change Capital is weighing up whether to follow the lead of Texas Pacific Group, which sold Swiss fashion company Bally International to Labelux Group earlier this year, following a restructuring.
“It’s a very testing moment,” one source said. “[Jil Sander] is in an in-between phase. It’s trying to develop, but it’s still very much a question mark….Jil Sander needs additional capital to develop as it’s not very profitable at the moment. For that reason, Change Capital is looking around to see who could do the second leg.”
TPG acquired Bally in 1999, and developed it from a loss-making European high-end shoe and leather goods manufacturer into a global brand, which also offered ready-to-wear, bags and other leather goods, with double-digit growth in revenues and earnings in the last three years. TPG said in April it had reached an agreement to sell Bally to luxury goods holding company Labelux, which is owned by the Benckiser family, “to provide the company with the right guidance and resources for the next stage of expansion.”
The turnaround at Bally took longer than TPG originally expected, however, and it had tried for several years to sell the brand without success until Labelux acquired it.
Change Capital said at the time it acquired Jil Sander that it was gearing up for “a three- to five-year investment horizon” and that it was “planning for growth.”
“We think significant growth is possible for this brand, and it will continue to compete against the biggest names in the fashion business,” Change Capital managing director Steven Petrow told WWD in February 2006.
However, sources said, “development tends to take time and private equity firms aren’t that patient.”
Jil Sander founded the company in 1975 and made it a benchmark label of the minimalist Nineties. Known for her uncompromising quality, intensive fabric research and quietly elegant designs, Sander sold her company to Prada in 1999, only to spar over strategy with Prada ceo Patrizio Bertelli. She exited the company five months after selling it, but reconciled with Bertelli three years later, only to leave one more time in 2004.
Change Capital, which has 300 million euros in its funds under management, specializes in buyouts of middle-market consumer-related companies across Europe. Its investment portfolio of companies includes investments in several leading retail and consumer companies, including home improvement retailer Robert Dyas Holdings Ltd., young adult fashion retailer Republic Retail and Buksesnedkeren ApS, a Danish firm that markets the H2O and Signal brands of leisure apparel.
As one of the most recognizable models in the world, Christy Turlington Burns has an insider’s view of the fashion industry and the allegations of sexual harassment swirling around it. “I can say that harassment and mistreatment have always been widely known and tolerated in the industry. The industry is surrounded by predators who thrive on the constant rejection and loneliness so many of us have experiences at some point in our careers,” Turlington told WWD, along with her suggestions for how the modeling world should protect younger women and men. Read more on WWD.com. Link in bio. (📷: Tony Palmieri) #wwdnews
@asics America has tapped a new brand ambassador: famed DJ/record producer @steveaoki. This initiative is intended to set the tone for the new brand identity and philosophy and will include partnerships with influencers and in-store and off-line activations that will continue into next year. This is Asics’ most significant marketing effort in two decades, and is expected to attract younger consumers to the brand. #wwdfashion
24-year-old Jean Prounis is redefining the rules of jewelry. Formerly a studio assistant to Jemima Kirke and a design apprentice at Ghuran, she focuses on handcrafted subtleties and ancient goldsmithing techniques. “There was a really sterile feel in the environment and I wanted to have jewelry with character that shapes how you wear it everyday,” Prounis said. Each piece is hand made in New York, either by Prounis or three other jewelers in the district. #wwdfashion
“These collections continue to build on that vision, empowering differently abled adults to express themselves through fashion,” said @tommyhilfiger of his line of adaptive apparel, which launches today. The line consists of 37 men’s and 34 women’s styles based upon the pieces from the spring Tommy Hilfiger sportswear collection. #wwdnews
“Stranger Things” is getting a new cast member for season 2. Meet @sadiesink_, the 15-year-old who will be joining the Netflix series for its new season. You may recognize her from “The Glass Castle” with Brie Larson and Woody Harrelson, but the Texas native’s next role goes in an entirely different direction. She describes her character, Max, as “a rough and tumble skater girl [who] becomes friends with the boys at school.” The second season debuts on October 27. (📷: @jgreenery) #wwdeye
Amid the Harvey Weinstein controversy, there’s another sector that’s being put under the spotlight for sexual abuse: the modeling industry. While rumors about abuse and sexual harassment of female and male models — and the photographers, agents and others who perpetrated it — have circulated within the fashion world for years, model @cameronrussell started posting stories from models on Instagram last week about abusive situations they’ve encountered — from sexual harassment and molestation to attempted rape. Over 75 have weighed in so far. Read more on WWD.com. Link in bio. #wwdnews
To celebrate its 16th anniversary, @dylanscandybar tapped designers and celebrities to create mosaics out of candy. The mosaics will be auctioned off to support the philanthropic cause of each participant’s choice. Pictured here is the mural created by @aliceandolivia's Stacey Bendet. For a first look at some of the other artwork being unveiled tonight, go to WWD.com. #wwdeye
The annual Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic in Pacific Palisades this weekend drew Kate Hudson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Laura Dern and more. See pictures of the star-studded event on WWD.com. (📷: @chelsealaurenla) #wwdeye
In his new book “Hollywood Royale,” Andy Warhol’s Protégé Matthew Rolston celebrates the Eighties revival of Hollywood glamour. Featuring more than 100 portraits taken by Rolston from 1977 to 1993, the book contains photos of icons like Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, and @drewbarrymore, pictured here in 1991. “Hollywood Royale,” out today, will be accompanied by an exhibition opening at Los Angeles’ Fahey/Klein Gallery on March 1. #wwdeye


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If you don't want to bother with the process of updating your Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 PC to Windows 10 with its free update, Dell is ready for you. The PC company has announced that a select number of its laptops and desktops can now be pre-ordered with Windows 10 pre-installed.
Dell's Windows 10 PCs that can be ordered now include its Inspiron and XPS 8700 desktops, its Inspiron 15 laptop and its Inspiron 11 2-in-1. Pre-orders for those PCs with Windows 10 will ship on July 29, the official launch date for Microsoft's next OS. Dell says its Inspiron laptops will have Intel's RealSense cameras installed, which support the Windows Hello facial security system that comes with Windows 10.
This will likely be just the first of many announcements by PC makers who will also offer Windows 10 pre-installed on their devices for the operating system's launch date.
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
Outlook.com still down following Microsoft 365 outage
If you've hit a snag signing into Microsoft 365 services today, you're not alone. Though the Microsoft 365 outage appears to be on the mend, Outlook.com is still down according to Microsoft's Office service status.
Everything we know about Halo Infinite (so far)
Everything we know about Halo Infinite – Master Chief’s next big adventure headed to Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC.
Surface Duo bumpers in graphite, ember, and ice colors now available
If you're looking to spice up your Surface Duo, these new official protective bumpers in blue, red, or dark grey should do the job. Unfortunately, at $40, you'll have to think long and hard at which color you want.
Best Skins and Cases for Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 in 2020
The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 is one of the best convertible laptops on the market, but what type of skin or case should you get for it? Here's what we think.


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The sport has been in improvement for almost two years. It’s being constructed by a staff of over 70 worldwide artists, who embody Joshua Cairos from Sport of Thrones and Star Wars, Josu Salano from the Lord of the Rings, Andreas Rochas from Harry Potter, and Marvel’s Sandra Duchiewitcz. A collection of novels additionally assist the sport’s storyline and the distinctive universe. The primary ebook of the collection, The Chrome Spell E book, has been written by a staff of 13 writers and is already out there to obtain.
The CTA staff hopes to leverage Immutable X’s Layer 2 scalability resolution to situation a excessive variety of transactions shortly and to permit high quality story development. Immutable X’s Co-Founder Robbie Ferguson summarized the CTA’s targets by saying:
“CTA is leveraging our layer 2 expertise and cell gaming market to allow extra for gamers whereas additionally investing closely in story and character improvement.”
Cross the Ages
The CTA recreation is a free-to-play and play-to-earn mobile-first collectible card recreation that enables gamers to gather distinctive NFT playing cards by finishing the quests individually or as a staff. The playing cards range in uniqueness which displays their worth. The sport additionally has numerous ‘easter egg’ NFTs hidden in its novels for gamers to search out.
The CTA staff invests closely within the dystopian fantasy world behind the sport and the story development. The undertaking was additionally elected as the most effective GameFi undertaking of 2022 and has already captured the eye of over 500,000 group members globally.
Gaming within the winter market
Regardless that all crypto fields have been shrinking because of the coldest winter in historical past, blockchain gaming seems to be resilient to the chilly and continues its enlargement.
Based on data from July 2022, gaming exercise compensates for 52% of all distinctive lively wallets within the crypto sphere, equating to just about 1.1 million pockets addresses. Based on the numbers, blockchain gaming exercise has elevated by 232% in contrast to the second quarter of 2021.
Distinguished names from the gaming area have additionally been lively regardless of the lifeless bear market situations. The newest improvement on that entrance got here from Polygon and gaming writer Neowiz to launch a brand new Web3 gaming platform known as Intella X.
In Might 2022, Zilliqa introduced the launch of a brand new SDK to resolve the interoperability downside in blockchain gaming. With the brand new SDK, Zilliqa goals to deliver video games from completely different blockchains collectively to permit them to commerce and create a group.
Disclaimer: CryptoSlate holds a monetary place in and was given the chance to take part within the presale of this undertaking in alternate for information, evaluation, and different sorts of protection. CryptoSlate was NOT paid to publish this text.


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The big publisher and developer EA was apparently working on a major MMO in the Harry Potter universe around 20 years ago, but then discontinued it for reasons unimaginable today.
What game did EA want to make? We were talking about an MMO in the Harry Potter universe. The game should also have offline content and combine this with the online content. How this should look like in the game is not explained. Individual missions that you play alone or with a group would be conceivable, mixed with certain hub areas where you can meet several players. But that is speculative at this point.
Where does the information come from? In an interview on the YouTube channel Original Gamer Life, Kim Salzer talks about the game and her disappointment that it did not materialize. According to her LinkedIn profile, Salzer was Director of Product Marketing at EA from 2000 to 2003. So we can assume that the information about the Harry Potter game is correct.
How far has the development been? Apparently not very far. Salzer says in the video that they have already conducted surveys and had a rough plan for what the game might look like. She also says that she and her team were convinced that the title could be successful. But that EA ultimately decided to discontinue the project is a shame to this day, as she mentions in the interview.
“We didn’t think the brand would establish itself”
Why was the work stopped? At the time the MMO was being planned, the Harry Potter brand was comparatively fresh. In July 1997 the first book “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” was published. The first film adaptation of the books followed in 2001 and was a great success. However, EA apparently thought that this success would not be long-lasting and therefore decided to discontinue the MMO.
“We didn’t think that the brand could establish itself and be successful for more than a year or two,” says Salzer in an interview. That was probably EA‘s reason why the team had to stop working on the MMO.
How did the development go down? According to their own statements, Salzer’s team was very disappointed about the cancellation of the title. “We have already done surveys and also worked with children, it was really fun. I was convinced that the game could be a success. ”
She also only talks about the game when her interview partner asks which game in her career would have particularly hyped her. Salzer then says it was supposed to be a Harry Potter MMO and she was really excited about it.
“There are a lot of reasons a Harry Potter MMO could go under, but brand longevity isn’t one of them”
How is the community reacting? An excerpt from the interview with Salzer was shared in a thread on reddit, which already received 6,729 upvotes and 1,392 comments within 20 hours. These comments are mixed in nature. Many seem certain that an MMORPG would have perished during this time and the decision to kill the MMO was a good one.
Still other voices say that they are happy with EA‘s decision, otherwise Star Wars: The Old Republic might not have happened. The discussions under the post are wide-ranging into various topics. They only agree on one thing: the reason for abandoning the game. Because today, about two decades later, it is clear that the Harry Potter brand has established itself very well.
In conclusion, it can only be said with certainty that there was no need to worry about the longevity of the Harry Potter brand. The first book alone sold over 120 million copies, making it one of the best-selling books of all time.


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After the so-called HUAWEI P60 mobile phone protective case was exposed, some netizens made their own renderings of the phone, and you can feel the appearance of the new phone in advance.
Huawei P60 series KunLun editions concept #HuaweiP60Pro #HuaweiP60Series pic.twitter.com/kZduhxjItT
— Teme | 🇫🇮🇨🇳 (@RODENT950) December 27, 2022
The rear camera module of the HUAWEI P60 in the picture is a vertical rectangular design, but the main camera in the center is very prominent, and the outside is also equipped with the iconic “star ring” element, while other lenses, flashes, laser sensors, etc. Distributed at the four corners of the rectangle, the recognition is extremely high.
As the leader of the plain leather material in the mobile phone industry, the plain leather body of the P60 is essential, and there is a high probability that the plain leather + glass version will coexist.
As for the hardware, it is reported that the HUAWEI P60 will use the Snapdragon 8 Gen2 processor, but 5G will still be absent, and it will still be a 4G version specially customized by Qualcomm.
After the return of the HUAWEI Mate50 series this year, industry sources said that HUAWEI has solved the supply chain problem and will resume the plan of two generations of flagships a year. Next year, the P60 and Mate60 models will also return as scheduled.
Counting the time now, it is almost time for the HUAWEI P60 series to debut. It was previously reported that the model will be released in Q1 next year, probably in March. The above is still online news, and everything has yet to be officially announced. For more technology information, please continue to watch the Chinese version of TechNave!


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Lightyear is set to exclusively release in cinemas on June 17, 2022 – voiced by Chris Evans, Uzo Aduba and Josh Brolin.
There has been new images of upcoming Lego releases. These sets are for Disney Pixar’s Lightyear, officially revealed on the Lego site. The Lego sets are releasing on April 24.
Zurg Battle (Slide images to view more)
Buzz Lightyear and his Space Ranger Izzy Hawthorne are in battle against Emperor Zurg. This is a 261 piece Lego set
XL-15 Spaceship (slide images to view more)
A full view of Buzz Lightyear’s spaceship. This is a 497 piece lego set.
Zyclops Chase (slide images to view more)
This is a henchman called Zyclops. Buzz and Izzy are attempting take the robot down. The smallest Lego set out of the three, by only including 87 pieces.


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OnePlus 5T was launched in November last year, the phone also broke the previous launch day sales records in just 6 hours. Now OnePlus 5T promo video is setting another trend in the market by introducing a comparative speed challenge with other popular flagships in the market. OnePlus is also ready to launch new device OnePlus 6 in June according to CEO.
OnePlus 5T specifications are not discussed in the promo though, it only focuses on the speed of the device.
However, OnePlus is quite notorious due to its controversial promo campaigns, previously OnePlus launched a campaign in which OnePlus 2 (2016) was promoted as 2017 flagship killer. The new promo campaign is more or less similar to the previous one where the phone OnePlus 5T beats everyone in the speed and smashes them to the ground.
The promo compares the OnePlus 5T device with other popular smartphones in the market including iPhone X, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8 and iPhone 8. The challenge compares the unlocking speed, taking a picture, playing a music track on the devices simultaneously and guess what?
OnePlus 5T is the winner and rest of the all are losers in the game, and the one loses is slammed into the ground. The advertisement theme is not new, Samsung is quite popular in competition poking rather than focusing on the product quality.
Watch the video yourself and leave the comment below; what you think about this advertisement, what could have done better in this advertisement or anything else.
Digital marketing enthusiast and industry professional in Digital technologies, Technology News, Mobile phones, software, gadgets with vast experience in the tech industry, I have a keen interest in technology, News breaking.


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Suzy Batiz is cleaning up. Not just with her wildly successful Dallas-based brands ~Pourri and supernatural—which put her on the Forbes list of America’s richest self-made women—but through her goal of “elevating the experiences” of people’s daily routines.
“That’s always been our superpower,” Batiz told Dallas Innovates.
In 2007, the entrepreneur launched Poo~Pourri, a before-you-go toilet spray that stops bathroom odors before they begin. After selling over 100 million bottles worldwide, her company dropped the “poo” in early 2022, broadening its product line under the new name ~Pourri. The “natural odor elimination company” now aims to tackle odors everywhere. In 2018, Batiz launched Supernatural, a line of natural cleaning products made with essential oils called “Conscious Concentrates”—and Goop.com sold out of it in two hours.
Natural solutions, “zero compromise”
Today, after “working through supply chain congestion that continues to be an obstacle for us,” Batiz has big plans for both brands. “For both ~Pourri and Supernatural, we’ve committed to developing products for our customers that offer zero compromise, with natural solutions,” she said.
Supernatural has been working hard behind the scenes to improve the quality of its products and keep the brand driving to an even more sustainable direction, the founder said.
“We believe people are exploring more holistic lifestyles as we return back to healthier routines.” Batiz added. “If anything, the last few years have only made us all more conscious and careful about what we come in contact with and what we bring into our homes. So you can expect to see us continue growing, expanding, and creating nontoxic, safe products that actually work.”
For 2023, Batiz sees the importance of self-care growing significantly. From the food we eat to the products that nourish our bodies, and the products we bring into our homes, Batiz said there’s an eager interest in our communities toward a more holistic routine.
The last few years drastically changed most aspects of daily lives, she says. Remote work became a new norm and she see a continuation of the daily habits that people picked up during that shift.
Batiz says topics such as mindfulness and mental health are still at the forefront of most conversations.
“Cleaning the home and making space for more creativity and less distractions is a huge step in this,” she said. “We also see these philosophies growing outside of the home to bring this energy into other aspects of our lives as well. We are focused on bridging the gap to make it easier for consumers to bring these principles of selfcare outside of their home and will be a more focused path for Supernatural to grow towards
Master the game of life
The latest from Batiz? She’s helping others learn how to “master the game of life” with a new course based on her personal journey, called AliveOS. An 8-week program led by the entrepreneur aims to help people create the life they’ve always dreamed of by diving into “proven practices” that have led Batiz to success, according to the website. A waitlist is live.
Sandra Engelland contributed to this report.
A version of this story was originally published in Dallas Innovates 2023.
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A chef is in hot water after boasting of feeding meat to vegans without their knowledge, on social media.
According to Metro, Laura Goodman, the chef-owner of Carlini, an Italian restaurant in Shropshire, England posted on 30 December about spiking a vegan who was part of a group booked in for dinner on a Friday night: “Pious, judgmental vegan (who I spent all day cooking for) has gone to bed, still believing she’s a vegan,’ she said in the post to The Boring Group Facebook group.
When pressed about whether this meant she had put meat in a vegan customer’s meal, Goodman responded by suggesting that she had in fact spiked the whole group. “Actually I should have said “they’re” not a vegan… not “she’s”. Goodman also later posted in the group that she had “spiked a vegan.”
Goodman’s comments were met with outrage on social media, and the restaurant’s TripAdvisor and Google pages have since been flooded with one star reviews. The restaurant’s website and Facebook account have now been closed.
This reminds us of the time a young chef boasted about feeding meat to vegans and was promptly fired. Along with Goodman, one of the dumbest chefs ever, we’re sure you’ll agree.


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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has expressed support for the movement to boycott Bud Light over the woke beer brand’s decision to hire transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney to promote its product.
DeSantis noted that companies that engage in such activity will continue to do so if they never face any response. He said that while a boycott might not work against all companies, a beer company will feel the impact if conservatives boycott.
The governor suggested that there is a broader phenomenon of corporations attempting to alter U.S. policy and culture and that he believes “push back is in order across the board, including with Bud Light.”
When asked if people will ever see him imbibing a Bud Light again, DeSantis responded in the negative, saying that he does not “think so.”
DeSantis, who has not announced a presidential bid, is widely viewed as a political figure who may throw his hat into the ring in the GOP presidential primary.
Bud Light’s move to enlist Mulvaney to advertise its beverage has been met by a groundswell of negative public sentiment. Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth issued a statement last week that did not address the controversy head on but did say that the company “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people.” Shortly after the statement came out, Bud Light was majorly ratioed when it posted its first tweet since April 1.
But the beer brand has found support on the left: Several House Democrats from California staged a photo of themselves standing around with Bud Light bottles in hand.
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Experts are once again sounding the alarm on children's increase in time spent on social medial platforms since the COVID-19 pandemic. “The huge number of kids using social when they’re so young — it makes me want to cry. These social media apps are not designed for children” said an Diana Graber, the founder of Cyberwise according to an article on the New York Times.
Hours per day spent on screens for entertainment has increased significantly since pre-pandemic 2019
The disruptions to lifestyles caused by COVID lockdowns, home-based learning and reduced social activities has led to teens and tweens spending much more time at home and on their mobile phones. Assuming that the average child is awake 15 hours a day, tweens (8-12 year-old) spend >35% and teens (13-18 year-old) spend a shocking >60% of their waking hours on screens.
Data shows that children do not spend time video-calling their friends & family to replace social interactions
In the workforce, physical meetings have mainly been replaced by video calls and one could argue that the increased screen that that kids spend replaces the physical social interactions with their friends that are now restricted. However the data shows us the sobering truth. Time spent on video calls was a mere 10-20 mins per day.
Children are spending much more time watching YouTube videos, social media and gaming
With much more screen time spent watching online videos, games and social media, the reality is that children have gotten more distant from their friends. Above that they are spending time on platforms that may not be designed to be child-safe.
The trends are worrying, but the pandemic normalization will give us an opportunity to realign how children spend their time
As the world learns to live with COVID, we see an opportunity to realign how children spend their time. As Dr. Heitner said in the New York Times article, screen time is "worry(ing) if it’s replacing activities, like sleep, family time, reading, chores — other things that are positive for kids. That’s definitely a real concern.”
The Logic Coders is a coding school for kids aged 6-16 in Singapore
Locations: City Square Mall #06-05 / Parkway Centre #13-07
We offer term-time and holiday programs using the Lego EV3 Robotics platform and Python
Learn more at: https://www.thelogiccoders.com.sg/


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Branston owner Premier Foods yesterday confirmed a £460 million takeover of the UK and Ireland operations of Campbell Soup.
US giant Campbell - the world's largest soup maker - said in March it wanted to offload the division as it had not grown as quickly as expected.
The business, whose brands include Oxo, Batchelors, Homepride and Fray Bentos, generated annual sales of £263 million in the UK and Ireland.
Premier's chief executive Robert Schofield said: "The Campbell's UK business fits Premier like a glove. The acquisition will bring an excellent portfolio of powerful and iconic brands which we intend to drive forward with increased resource and innovation."
Campbell, which began manufacturing in the UK in 1959, employs 3,000 people across Europe.
Premier said it was too early to comment on its plans for the manufacturing operations of Campbell.
However, it said it expected to achieve cost savings from the combination of the two businesses worth £28 million in three years.
St Albans-based Premier, which also makes Ambrosia custard and Smash instant mash potato, said an announcement on potential changes would not be made until August.
The company said it would fund most of the deal through the issue of new shares, which it said was expected to raise around £450 million.
Last week, Premier revealed it had been rewarded for its £172 million acquisition of Quorn with a double digit percentage rise in sales of the product for the first six months to July 1.
The company has also been encouraged by the performance of Branston Baked Beans, which it said had consolidated its market share at around ten per cent as it takes on rival Heinz in a sector worth £250 million-a-year.
Premier Foods said it had not yet made any decisions about the combined structure of the two businesses.
It said in a statement it expects a number of the existing Campbell's UK team to become managers of the newly enlarged group.
Campbell's employs around 1,000 people at four sites in the UK, including King's Lynn, Worksop, Ashford and Cambourne in Cambridgeshire.
Premier has seven factories in the UK, including sites at Bury St Edmunds, Histon, Spalding, Manchester, Wisbech, Stafford and Lifton in Devon.
Premier Foods said it would finance the acquisition mainly from a fully underwritten rights issue.
It said the deal, which does not include debt, would boost profit margins in the first full year of ownership. Premier Foods is valued at about £788 million.
Finance director Paul Thomas said: "Our strategy has been acquiring iconic British brands and in the last three years we made big acquisitions and funded each one of those with debt. As a consequence we are taking this opportunity to raise additional equity to allow more flexibility in the balance sheet."
The rights issue, which will be offered at a minimum sub-scription price of 160p per new share, has been fully under-written by Merrill Lynch and Hoare Govett. Price will be announced later.
Shares closed up 20p at 329.5.


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The Hanoitimes - Hanoi tourism should focus on enhancing the propaganda and promotion of the beauty, history and traditional culture of the capital to international friends.
The information was announced by Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Ngo Van Quy on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the 16th Tourism Promotion Council of Asia (CPTA) member cities exhibition with the theme “Hanoi: Connection - Cooperation – Development” on September 8.
According to Quy, within the framework of the 16th meeting of CPTA, representatives from the 10 official member cities exchange ideas on how to promote the connection and support for joint development of tourism in Asia.
CPTA’s member cities tourism exhibition. Photo: Ha Phuong
“Hanoi tourism should focus on enhancing the propaganda and promotion of the beauty, history and traditional culture of the capital to international friends. In addition, Hanoi tourism needs to improve the quality of destination services, ensure the friendliness and hospitality, attract more foreign visitors to Hanoi,” said Hanoi's official.
The exhibition is one of the important activities of the 16th CPTA meeting. With the theme “Hanoi: Connection - Cooperation – Development”, the event attracted the participation of tourism enterprises of CPTA member cities.
Stalls run by Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Manila, Jakarta, and Hanoi, feature images of their local charm and cultural activities. Air tickets with attracting prices to these locations are also on offer.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the exhibition, Chairman of CPTA, Director General of Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Yuji Fujita said the CPTA was launched in 2001 with the aim of Asian cities cooperation Together, they will engage in activities to attract tourists from countries in the Americas and Europe to promote exchanges in Asia.
Once a year, 10 member cities join the conference to come up with ideas and conduct tourism promotion activities together. “In 2017, CPTA launched a competition to look for beautiful photos. As a result, there are many people who attend this event, there by contributing to the promotion of tourism attraction of each city,” said the chairman of CPTA.
Director of the Hanoi Tourism Department Tran Duc Hai said the exhibition fosters connectivity and experience exchanges for the development of sustainable tourism.


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The cotton market is higher Thursday on follow-through buying from Wednesday. After a wild two-side ride last Friday-to-Sunday-to-Monday, the market is right back up technically attacking its weekly high of 65.85 cents. Short-sold speculators are electing to cover; bullish slanting traders are buying breaks.
Besides the feeding off the technicals, some traders are wary of the Texas crop. The talk is of the freeze from last weekend and if it did more damage than first thought. Additionally, the portions of the Southeastern harvest, as well as the Delta will be slowed by a cold front, which is potentially bringing rainy and sloppy weather.
Generally speaking, global traders and investors are more positive this morning. The news that a successful Brexit deal has been struck has most financial and commodities markets stoking higher. The U.S. dollar hit a seven-week low overnight with slightly poorer U.S. retail sales data out late Wednesday.
Other U.S. economic data due today include the weekly jobless claims report, the Philadelphia Fed business survey, new residential construction, industrial production and capacity utilization.
As a reminder, USDA’s weekly sales and exports are delayed until Friday morning due to the Columbus Day closure Monday.
For today, close-in support for December cotton stands at 63.70 cents and 63.10 cents, with immediate overhead resistance at 65.85 cents. Overnight estimated volume is at 4,695 contracts.


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We are proud to announce that Kannaway’s back office is officially available in Vietnamese!
This remarkable achievement wouldn’t be possible without our fantastic leaders, who were ready to set up their business in Vietnam even before we could officially open in the country.
With this launch, you will be able to set your country to Vietnam in the back office and have access to the following resources:
- Business dashboard to show progress, statistics, and reports
- FAQ and support tools
- Manage and update SmartShip profile
- View commissions and commission history
- Update account details and order history
There has never been a better time to build an international business, and we invite all of our Brand Ambassadors to take advantage of this new exciting market.
Stay up-to-date with Kannaway, including news about all of our future events, new product launches, and upcoming promotions on our News Feed.


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Canada is turning 150 this year. Recently CBC.ca published an article showcasing and exploring five logos currently in development by the Federal Government for the country’s 150th anniversary, via a report prepared for the Department of Canadian Heritage.
CBC Toronto reports on The150Logo.ca from Ibraheem Youssef on Vimeo.
Ibraheem Youssef, a graphic designer who has been working in the field of design for 14 years, was appalled by the quality and standard of the designs being presented. He found that sentiment was also shared by many other designers like himself.
As cries of protest and disgust started to fill the digital airwaves via Facebook and twitter, Youssef decided to do something about it. He went forth and contacted a group of esteemed, professional and award winning Canadian graphic designers and art directors and challenged them to create something better than what is currently being circulated in the media.
The response was very positive and supportive and he’s created The150Logo.ca to showcase the culmination of their collective efforts.
“The whole purpose of this activity is to prove that good design does exist in Canada,” says Youssef. “As Canadian designers we believe that Canada deserves better than what is being offered.”
If you are a Canada designer and you’d like to contribute to the project, contact Ibraheem Youssef at firstname.lastname@example.org
view more - Creative
Some of the logos that have contributed by Canadian designers to The150Logo.ca are attached. Another set up submissions is going up next week.


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Adams states that he’s observed the recent outbreaks of E.coli in Chipotle restaurants and believes these incidences are not simply unfortunate or “random chance”. He accuses the biotech industry of “unleashing bioterrorism attacks against the only fast food company that has publicly denounced GMOs.”
He references the CDC’s admission that “some of these E.coli outbreaks involve a ‘rare genetic strain’ of E.coli not normally seen in foods”.
Adams continues in his theory, writing: “There is absolutely no question that the biotech industry will resort to ANY activity necessary to destroy food companies that oppose GMOs. And yes, this includes acts of bioterrorism against Chipotle — something that’s ridiculously easy for biotech industry operatives to carry out with simple, low-cost laboratory supplies sold online at places like Amazon.com.”
So convinced that Chipotle is under a corporate sponsored campaign of sabotage, Adams states, “I am now openly encouraging Chipotle’s management to initiate a criminal investigation with the FBI to attempt to identify the sources of this corporate sabotage campaign.”
CDC and FDA Investigations
In December 2015, the CDC press release stated that the multi-state outbreaks of “Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O26” linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurants were under investigation (2).
The more recent outbreak was different from the previous ones; it contained a “different, rare DNA fingerprint of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O26 (STEC O26).” The evidence so far pointed to the source of the outbreak likely being a “common meal item or ingredient served at Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants in several states is a likely source of this outbreak. The investigation has not identified what specific food is linked to illness.”
By December 4, 2015, the CDC reported that 52 people had been infected with the STEC 026 strain, covering nine states. 20 were hospitalized and so far, no related-deaths. The breakout states include:
–> California (3)
–> Illinois (1)
–> Maryland (1)
–> Minnesota (2)
–> New York (1)
–> Ohio (3)
–> Oregon (13)
–> Pennsylvania (1)
–> Washington (27)
One significant fact is that out of the last three reported incidences “only one ill person, whose illness started on November 10, reported eating at Chipotle Mexican Grill in the week before their illness began.”
The FDA is also investigating the E.coli illnesses suffered by Chipotle patrons that began in October 2015 and first reported in November 2015. The FDA website update states that it is working with local and state officials as well as the CDC in the investigation into the second outbreak as well as the first incidences (3).
Reuters reported in December 2015 that the total was 58 people spanning 12 states were reported sick from E.coli outbreaks that were linked to Chipotle (4).
When the first E.coli outbreaks linked to Chipotle occurred, mostly in Washington and Oregon states, the company immediately closed 43 restaurants, later to open them in November 2015.
August 2015: 200 Chipotle Customers Sick from Norovirus
On January 8, 2016, Chipotle announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was investigating the August 2015 norovirus (5) outbreak in the California Chipotle restaurant that resulted in 200 customers falling ill (6).
In December, the Central District of California served Chipotle with a “grand jury subpoena” that is part of the DOJ and FDA “criminal investigation”. Those in-the-know suggest that this is an indication that the federal government has “stepped-up enforcement of food safety laws in recent years”.
CNBC reports that “Lawyers have said a federal investigation of the Chipotle outbreak is highly unusual, because past prosecutions involving food borne illnesses have focused on food producers who were the original source of the problems such as farmers or food manufacturers, not the restaurants or stores that sold the products.”
Is this another indication of the federal government’s heightened commitment to food safety or is it something else? Chipotle and an individual(s) could possibly be charged with a felony (intention to mislead or defraud) or a misdemeanor. “Felony or misdemeanor charges” would be made “if ‘adulterated’ food that is harmful to human health or is prepared in unsanitary conditions is introduced across state lines.”
CNBC states that, “Experts say it remains unclear if the law could apply to Chipotle.’” The investigation is for only one restaurant. It could prove that the outbreak was possibly transmitted from one-person-to-another and not the result of “adulterated food”.
Could the DOJ investigation be about something more sinister as Adams suggests? The US Attorney’s LA (Los Angeles) unit investigating the outbreak is “a branch that specializes in environmental and community safety crimes.”


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Dallas, January 11, 2021 – Kainos Capital, a private equity firm specializing in acquiring and managing food and consumer businesses, today announced that Alex Stanek has joined the firm as a senior associate of supply chain, further expanding its operations management capabilities.
Andrew Rosen, Managing Partner of Kainos, said: “We are excited to officially welcome Alex to the Kainos team. We have worked with Alex over the past several years as an outside consultant and she has been a great resource in our efforts to drive efficiencies throughout our portfolio company supply chains. Alex will work directly with Kim Homa, our Director of Supply Chain and long-time member of the Kainos Operations Team. Our Operations Team plays a critical role in Kainos’ investment strategy, and the active management of our portfolio company supply chains not only results in significant profit improvement opportunities but greater reliability, especially in the current pandemic environment.”
Ms. Homa said: “Alex is a trusted partner to management teams and suppliers and will help execute our strategic purchasing initiatives and implementation of supply chain best practices across the portfolio. We look forward to her joining the Kainos Operations Team and believe she will be a great addition to the Kainos culture.”
Ms. Stanek was previously a project manager at USC Consulting Group where she oversaw internal and client project teams’ supply chain and spend management practices with a focus on food and consumer businesses.
About Kainos Capital
Kainos Capital is a middle market private equity firm with an exclusive focus on the food and consumer products sectors. The Kainos team has extensive investment and operating experience in the industry, having invested over $2 billion of equity in more than 70 transactions with a total transaction value in excess of $10 billion. The firm’s strategy is to build a diversified portfolio of growing and strategically relevant food and consumer businesses that trade buyers would like to acquire. For more information, visit Kainos Capital’s website at www.kainoscapital.com.


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Even though Windows 11 is now available, Microsoft still plans to support Windows 10 for several more years. In fact, Microsoft is gearing up to release a new feature update for Windows 10 before the end of this year that will include minor enterprise grade features and under the hood enhancements and bug fixes.
For over a year now, Microsoft has based new feature updates for Windows 10 on an older platform release known as Vibranium. This is the platform that version 2004, 20H2, and 21H1 shipped on top of, and 21H2 will follow that same path. This means 21H2 is not a major release for Windows 10, but is a continuation of the shipping release already on the market. This allows 21H2 to install like a monthly security update, and not a full build upgrade.
Here's everything you need to know about the next Windows 10 feature release, known as version 21H2.
- Public name: N/A
- Codename: N/A
- Version: 21H2
- Build: 19044
- Released: N/A
Windows 10 version 21H2: Price and availability
Just like previous versions of Windows 10, version 21H2 will be a free update for existing Windows 10 users, offered as an optional feature release that you don't immediately need to install right away. 21H2 will only be forced upon you once the version of Windows 10 you're currently running reaches its end of support date.
Currently, there is no official date for the general release of Windows 10 version 21H2, however Microsoft is already testing it publicly in the Windows Insider Release Preview channel, so if you'd like to get access to it today, joining the Release Preview ring is your best bet.
Windows 10 version 21H2: New features
Windows 10 version 21H2 does not include any new features in the traditional sense. Just like 21H2 and 20H2 before it, version 21H2 for Windows 10 includes enterprise-grade enhancements and lots of fixes and under the hood improvements designed to make Windows 10 more stable to use day-to-day.
This means that version 21H2 for Windows 10 doesn't include any notable changes that you'll have to adjust to. The user experience and feature set will remain mostly the same, which is good news for people who don't like change.
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Microsoft has already confirmed that the new Microsoft Store built for Windows 11 will also be coming to Windows 10 at some point as well, though this doesn't appear to be tied to a specific version of Windows 10. That likely means it'll be pushed out as an update for all in-support versions of Windows 10.
Here are the highlights for what's new in 21H2 for Windows 10:
- Added WPA3 H2E standards support for enhanced Wi-Fi security
- Windows Hello for Business introduces a new deployment method called cloud trust to support simplified passwordless deployments and achieve a deploy-to-run state within a few minutes
- GPU compute support in the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and Azure IoT Edge for Linux on Windows (EFLOW) deployments for machine learning and other compute intensive workflows
One big change coming to 21H2 that some users may be effected by is with the Timeline feature, which can be found in the Task View button on the Taskbar. Starting with this release, Timeline will no longer sync activities across devices. The feature still works for local files and images, but that data will no longer be synced across PCs.
Microsoft has also confirmed that the new Microsoft Store built for Windows 11 will also be coming to Windows 10 at some point, though this doesn't appear to be tied to a specific release version of Windows 10. That likely means it'll be pushed out as an update for all in-support versions of Windows 10.
Windows 10 version 21H2: Support lifecycle
Microsoft says that Windows 10 version 21H2 will be supported for 18 months on Home and Pro SKUs, and 30 months for Enterprise and Education SKUs. Microsoft is also designating Windows 10 version 21H2 an LTSC (long-term servicing channel) release, meaning it will be supported with critical updates for up to 5-years on devices running LTSC versions of Windows 10.


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Even if you’re not familiar with Parris Goebel, you’re likely a fan of her work. From the Savage X Fenty shows and Jennifer Lopez’s 2020 Super Bowl halftime performance, to Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” music video, Goebel is the creative mastermind behind some of the best choreography from your favorite pop stars. So it’s no surprise that Nike recently announced its partnership with Goebel to help bring dance to the spotlight of sport.
“It was so refreshing and inspiring to be approached by such a massive brand — the biggest sportswear brand in the world — and for them to say, ‘Hey, we want to celebrate and showcase dancers in a different light.’ It was a no-brainer to me,” Goebel tells NYLON over Zoom. She’s the latest face to join Nike and its efforts, alongside Megan Thee Stallion, who debuted her dance-focused campaign back in September, and Peloton instructor Tunde Oyeneyin.
Goebel’s debut with Nike includes a video and declaration for her fellow dancers. Directed by Christelle de Castro, Goebel performs to music from UNIIQU3 while reciting words of encouragement. “This is your moment,” she says. “You dance your story with the strength only you can command.”
“I was a little bit nervous, just because you work your whole life towards moments like this,” recalls Goebel about the video shoot. “I knew how big of a moment it was, not just for myself, but for dancers all around the world and dancers all throughout history. The whole team was amazing; filled with powerful and creative women. I just honestly gave it my all and left it all on the floor.”
Though Nike highlighting dance and its athletes has been a long time coming, the sport has garnered even more worldwide attention over the past two years, thanks to a little app called TikTok. Challenges, trend-worthy dances, and coming up with original choreography have all become a popular pastime (and growing passion) for its users. If you land on DanceTok long enough, old clips from Goebel’s former dance crew The Royal Family also continue to go viral.
“I think anyone using dance to express themselves or to have fun or to tell their story is a beautiful thing. And seeing kids dance on TikTok and seeing the joy that it brings them, it’s awesome,” says Goebel. “I want to celebrate dance as an art, as a craft, as a sport, and celebrating people that really dedicate their lives to mastering the art of dance, the same way that any other sports player trains to be great at what they do.”
See more of Parris Goebel for Nike in the campaign imagery, below.


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For much of the last decade, Google and Meta have shared a duopoly of the online advertising sector, controlling the market with a share of more than 50%. But that changed in 2022, with the two tech giants grabbing 48.4% of the US digital ad market. That’s compared to $54.7% at their 2017 peak. Their share is expected to drop further, to 44.9%, in 2023. That is of course still a lot – especially considering the vast size of the sector. However, the fall illustrates how crowded the market is becoming and a shake-up of the companies that have long dominated online advertising. The same story is playing out across the world. Google and Meta are projected to accrue about a 40% share of the worldwide total in 2023.
The challengers are diverse. They include TikTok (which arguably gets the most attention and is sucking ad dollars away from Meta), Microsoft and Apple. But possibly the biggest threat – and the one that Meta and Google are likely most worried about – comes from the Retail Media Networks (RMNs). Investment in US retail media advertising is expected to reach $28.9 billion in 2023, up from $17.4 billion in 2021.
What’s behind the meteoric growth of retail media networks?
With initiatives such as data protection legislation and Apple’s app tracking transparency, online advertising has posed more of a headache to advertisers, while simultaneously becoming more important than ever. Limits to behavioral targeting and measurement have ‘kneecapped’ the likes of Google and particularly Meta. This means that advertisers have been looking for places to invest their budgets where they have more certainty about return. They’ve woken up to the treasure trove of customer purchase data and behavior that retailers – particularly online retailers – have access to, especially now that data is more difficult to obtain. Customers are normally logged in using personal credentials when they shop online. That makes it easy to collect details about shopping habits, interests and behaviors without running up against data regulation restrictions. What’s more, the ability to reach shoppers near the point of purchase allows marketers to track the effectiveness of a particular ad more easily. That’s the ‘holy grail’ of advertising. These capabilities are even more appealing in inflationary times, when advertisers want more certainty around ROI.
The appeal of advertising on the RMNs goes even further. Consumers frequently view online advertising as annoying or even creepy. However, customers on retail websites are more likely than not in a shopping frame of mind, so ads are less likely to be seen as a distraction or nuisance. They could even be perceived as helpful.
The key retail media players
Any retailer that has a website or digital loyalty card has the potential to become a retail media network. Indeed, the loyalty cards that became popular during the 1990s are a gold mine of customer purchasing insights. But there are two players in this sector who dominate.
It will surprise no one that Amazon is by far the largest of the retail media networks. It is a distant third behind Google and Meta in the online advertising sector, but its share of the market is growing. In 2024, it is expected to account for 12.7% of all US digital ad dollars, compared to 17.9% for Meta. The fact that its ad revenues soared by 23% in Q4 of last year (vs Q4 2021) – and that this happened in an ad slowdown that is battering its rivals – demonstrates Amazon’s strength and the appeal of its product. The e-commerce giant now refers to its ad business as one of the company’s three ‘engines’, alongside retail and cloud computing. Indeed, its ad revenue is bigger than its Prime, audiobooks and digital music revenues combined. And it’s twice as high as that of its physical shops, including Whole Foods.
Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is another key player in the retail media sector. Its retail advertising revenue is significantly smaller than Amazon’s as it was relatively late to the e-commerce party. The size of its e-commerce marketplace is significantly smaller than Amazon’s – the latter’s Q4 e-commerce sales were more than Walmart’s for the entire year in 2022. 61.8% of Americans say that Amazon is the site they use most often for online shopping, versus just 8.6% for Walmart. However, the cost of advertising on Walmart is attractive. The average CPC was $0.38 in Q4 2022, compared to $0.85 for Amazon. This is largely down to the fact that Walmart has far fewer sellers than Amazon, so there is less competition for ad space. Walmart’s increased focus on its ad business created a bright spot in its otherwise gloomy Q4 results. Its ad revenue saw growth of 30% year on year, increasing to $2.7 billion in 2022.
How should advertisers approach retail advertising?
In straitened times, the appeal of the easily trackable nature of retail advertising is easy to understand. McKinsey found that around 70% of advertisers see somewhat or significantly better performance on RMNs than on other digital channels. However, it’s important to proceed carefully, and not get swept up in the hype that currently surrounds retail advertising. Because, inevitably, there are still factors that need addressing. The sector lacks a set of standards and measurement protocols. This makes it difficult for advertisers to assess the effectiveness of ads on one network versus another. Large brands such as Unilever have called for the RMNs to unite and create a framework for increased transparency. Until that happens, brands need to exercise caution, and invest only if they are looking to target consumers on their shopper journey. WARC warns that retail media is a potential ‘performance plughole’ for advertisers. It cautions against the temptation of allocating an increasing proportion of branding budgets to bottom-of-funnel channels such as retail media.
The future is retail, but buy carefully
The RMNs and other smaller online ad players like Apple don’t pose any immediate threat to Google and Meta in terms of the size of their ad revenue and the sheer quantity of ad dollars they attract in the US and globally. However, they have upended the long-standing duopoly, and that can only be a good thing. Increased competition drives innovation and decreases prices. Futhermore, the measurability of retail media will shine a light on channels that don’t deliver similar levels of sales results or business outcomes for brands.
These networks are undoubtedly a great opportunity for brands, allowing them to reach customers at the point of purchase, when they’re in a buying mindset and likely to find ads less annoying. And of course, there’s the fact that they don’t come up against the data regulation restrictions that so beset Meta. But caution is crucial. With such a challenging economic context, it’s tempting for marketers to invest more of their budgets in bottom-of-the-funnel activities, at the expense of branding campaigns that build longer-term resilience and aid post-downturn recovery. Transparency, careful planning, precision and optimization are the keys to enduring success. RMNs certainly play an important role, but they aren’t the whole story.
Header image: 13_Phunkod/Shutterstock


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Couple hope Wild Knight Vodka will capture region's spirit of adventure
PUBLISHED: 11:14 28 January 2016 | UPDATED: 11:14 28 January 2016
Marrying the spirit of an Outer Mongolian wedding with East Anglian produce has led to the launch of a new artisan vodka from a Norfolk husband-and-wife team.
Matt and Steph Brown came up with the idea for Wild Knight vodka after Mr Brown was best man at his brother’s wedding in the Asian country six years ago.
They are now looking for distributors for their small-batch “sipping vodka”, which is made with East Anglian barley and four-times-filtered water from the area’s chalk aquifers.
Mr Brown said: “Vodka plays a huge role in Mongolian social life and a traditional wedding day starts with the sharing of a bowl of vodka.
“Many bottles of Mongolian vodka were consumed during my stay, and this got me thinking about how Steph and I could produce a vodka in the UK.”
Wild Knight is based at Beachamwell near Swaffham, and the couple are hoping to follow up their first batch of 120 bottles with a larger run of 700.
They have self-financed the business and will be selling the 70cl bottles directly from their website when it goes on sale next month.
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Walmart Wants To Buy An Additional 30 Tesla Electric Semis | Feature
Reuters reports that Walmart plans on having its entire truck fleet run on alternative power by 2028. Of the 45 which the company have now ordered, 20 will be used to support its fleet in Mississauga, Ontario, while 20 will be used from Surrey, British Columbia and the remaining five will be operated in the United States.
Tesla continues to develop the all-electric Semi and intends on commencing production by 2019.
Speaking earlier this year during a quarterly conference call, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said the Semi will have a range close to 600 miles (966 km). This bold claim comes despite rival Daimler claiming in public that such a range is simply impossible.
In fact, Daimler’s truck division chief, Martin Daum, said the Semi will defy the laws of physics if it can travel so far.
“If Tesla really delivers on this promise, we’ll obviously buy two trucks – one to take it apart and one to test because, if that happens, something has passed us by. But for now, the same laws of physics apply in Germany and California.”
The range-topping Semi in question is expected to start at $180,000 but a more affordable version will also be offered. This version will have a range of approximately 300 miles (480 km) and cost approximately $30,000.
Apart from Walmart, FedEx, UPS, PepsiCo, Anheuser-Busch and others have also placed orders for the all-electric truck.


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CHICAGO (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday defended its latest monthly forecast of China’s corn imports, a figure that surprised analysts given that corn sales to China have already outpaced the USDA’s estimate.
“Keep in mind that export sales … do get canceled at times,” said Mark Jekanowski, chairman of the USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board, speaking at an online meeting for users of USDA data.
The USDA in its Oct. 9 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report left its forecast of China’s corn imports in the 2020/21 marketing year at 7 million tonnes, matching its forecast for 2019/20 and unchanged from its previous monthly report.
Weekly USDA export data shows that sales of U.S. corn to China for the 2020/21 marketing year begun Sept. 1 reached 10.5 million tonnes by Oct. 15, although actual shipments totaled only 1.7 million tonnes.
China has ramped up purchases of feed grains including U.S. corn in recent months amid tightening supplies and worries about food security, and as it rebuilds its massive hog herd following a devastating swine disease.
China’s voracious appetite for grain has been a key driver in global markets, helping to lift benchmark Chicago Board of Trade corn futures <Cv1> above $4 a bushel for the first time in a year.
On Sept. 17, China set its 2021 tariff rate quota for corn at 7.2 million tonnes, unchanged from 2020. But China’s government is expected to issue more import quotas and buy millions of tonnes of additional corn in the new crop marketing year, industry sources have told Reuters.
Yet, until China changes its quota, the analysts behind the USDA’s WASDE reports – seen by traders as the gold standard for global crop forecasts – are unwilling to speculate.
“One of the things we try not to do is forecast changes in policy, including changes in policy by foreign countries,” Jekanowski said.
(Reporting by Julie Ingwersen; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)


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Just over a decade ago, when the Porsche’s Carrera GT first began production, it got insane reviews. Journalists hailed the Carrera GT as one of the greatest supercars of all time, as it featured incredible performance in a lightweight, race-ready package that had gorgeous bodywork.
Ten years later, and it’s difficult to argue with the original assessment of the sports car. While it rocks a relatively modern design, there’s no doubt this will be a classic down the road.
The coveted car will be going to auction soon via RM Sotheby’s starting at just under $1 million.


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Whole Foods gives online Web site a facelift
Whole Foods Markets Inc. today launched a revamped and more interactive Web site as part of an effort to strengthen its relationship with customers. The new site offers recipes, videos of cooking demonstrations and its Whole Story Blog that enables users to talk to one another about everything from food safety to prices.
Whole Foods has six locations in North Texas.
“We’ve taken our passion for food and customer service and brought it online,” says Bill Tolany, global coordinator of integrated media for Whole Foods (Nasdaq: WFMI). “Our stores have long been community gathering places, and now we are extending that community even further.”
The new home page includes features on vendors, in-store brochures, recipes and the latest blog entries. Visitors are also able to access their local store’s Web pages to learn about events and store specials. The company is also now using third-party sites such as Facebook and Twitter to expand its customer reach and brand recognition.
Austin-based Whole Foods has been dealing with setbacks in recent weeks. In early August the company reported a 30 percent decline in its fiscal third-quarter profits. The weak results prompted the company to curb its new store expansion plans for next year and led to 60 job cuts in Austin. Whole Foods is also in the middle of a battle with the Federal Trade Commission over its $565 million purchase of Wild Oats Markets last year. The FTC has said the merger may have violated antitrust laws and should have been examined closer before the deal went through. To see the new site click here.
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The Bank of England, it seems, really did mean it when it said it would start selling gilts under its quantitative tightening, or QT, programme at the end of the month. OK, there will be a delay of a day because of the central banking equivalent of a TV scheduling clash – the chancellor will deliver his full medium-term fiscal plan on 31 October. But Threadneedle Street says it intends to press the QT button on 1 November.
One can understand, of course, the desire to crack on with the job, since there has already been one postponement. That occurred on 28 September when the Bank was diverted by Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-budget. Gilt yields surged, causing chaos for pension funds and creating a threat to UK financial stability. The Bank was bounced into becoming a temporary buyer of gilts – to the tune of £19bn – instead of a seller.
The promise to get back to plan A at Halloween sounded more like a hope than an expectation at the time, and one cannot call it risk-free today. It is surely premature to sound the all-clear in the gilts market just because Jeremy Hunt slayed Trussonomics in a weekend. Tuesday’s 4.3% yield on the 30-year gilt is a lot better than the 5.1% at the height of the crisis, but the rate was 3.8% before Kwarteng’s fiscal event. If there is an appearance of calm, it is of the uneasy variety.
Hunt’s end-of-the-month announcement is, potentially, a market-moving event. One key question is whether investors judge his spending cuts to be credible. This time there will (finally) be numbers from the Office for Budget Responsibility to frame thinking, but there is no guarantee that the whole thing will pass off smoothly. In pitching up with the first QT sale the following day, the Bank is adding an unnecessary risk.
Yes, it would have been mildly embarrassing to announce a longer delay. But it would also be the safety-first approach. Minimise the risk of more explosions.
CMA earns a handclap gif
Consider it a triumph for a plucky UK competition regulator against the massed legal battalions of a Silicon Valley giant. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will force Meta, the owner of Facebook, to sell Giphy in an unusual case in which a UK body was objecting to one US company buying another.
At one level, the scrap was wholly trivial because gifs, Giphy’s stock in trade, are the nonsense animations of online meme peddlers and are going out of fashion fast. Yet there was a serious competition point at the heart of it: how much control over the £7bn UK display advertising market should one company be allowed?
With Giphy onboard, said the CMA, Meta would be able to increase its “already significant market power” by cutting off the supply of gifs to rivals, or it could demand more data on users. Plus, Meta had binned Giphy’s advertising offer to corporates in the US after buying the business for $400m (£290m) in 2020, so a possible parallel UK launch was quashed before it could emerge.
In an early round of this tussle, Meta collected a £50.5m fine for breaching the CMA’s “initial enforcement order” – in effect, an instruction not to prejudice the outcome by integrating operations. Now it will have to wave goodbye to Giphy. True, it is hardly a gamechanger; Mark Zuckerberg and his underlings will be mildly irritated. But one can still applaud the implied message that UK regulators are prepared to take up hard cases in a global social media industry. So they should, but they haven’t always in the past.
The first crime committed by THG was against the English language. “QIA is an existing shareholder, having cornerstoned THG’s initial public offering …” said the online retailer, inventing verbs that should not be invented.
The second was against common sense. The purchase of shares by QIA, or the Qatar Investment Authority, “is a positive endorsement for the UK as a whole”, claimed its chief executive, Matthew Moulding. Come on, the sovereign fund is buying from SoftBank of Japan, which is crystallising a thumping loss of £450m having once been billed by THG as its great partner in online adventures. You could equally say SoftBank’s exit is a vote of no confidence in the UK.
In fact, both interpretations would be wide of the mark. Two foreign investors just have different views on THG, an oddball beauty and nutrition business with a share price that has crashed by 90% since 2020’s over-hyped flotation. THG is not UK plc, thankfully.


text: Google has just sent out invites to the media for an Android event to be held on October 29. The event will be in New York at 10:00 AM and will be streamed live on youtube.It is has been widely rumored as the day Google will unveil the LG Nexus 4. The invitations don’t explicitly state that this event is for the next Nexus product, but the familiar Google Now layout coupled with the tag line “The Playground is Open” makes it abundantly clear this is about a Nexus device.It’s already pretty much confirmed that Google has a 32GB Nexus 7 planned for the holidays. Beyond that, there’s the persistent rumor that Google will also start offering a $99 tablet. There’s also the interesting rumor that Google is working with Samsung to craft a 10-inch Nexus tablet.


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General Motors Co. will reopen its vehicle assembly plant in Oshawa, Ont., to meet rising demand for pickup trucks, spending as much as $1.3-billion to retool the factory it closed last year.
The first vehicles, GM’s best-selling GMC Sierras and Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks, will roll off the line at the plant east of Toronto in 14 months, employing as many as 2,300 people beginning next summer, said Jerry Dias, national president of the Unifor union.
GM closed the Oshawa assembly line last year, putting about 3,000 people out of work as the car maker shut down other plants in the United States and stopped making poorly selling vehicles in a push toward hybrid and electric models. The sprawling Oshawa site has remained largely empty, making after-market car parts and pandemic face masks with 300 workers.
The company said its new models of pickups are highly popular now, and refitting the plant to make more of the trucks will help it meet the increase in demand.
“We never gave up hope and neither did General Motors,” Mr. Dias said. “I know many of our members have suffered. Many have moved on. Many have not found new jobs. So today is an incredible victory for all of us.”
Most of the money will come from GM, Mr. Dias said, and there are talks with the federal and Ontario governments about taxpayer contributions similar to those announced recently for Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler’s Ontario plants.
Dan Carter, mayor of Oshawa, said he has been in frequent touch with GM executives and Unifor, lobbying government and pitching ideas in hopes the plant would see new purpose and the jobs would return. But it wasn’t until he received a cryptic text from a GM executive at 4:30 a.m. on Thursday that said he was about to become the “happiest mayor in Canada” that he realized the assembly line would reopen.
The jobs will provide an economic and psychological boost to the city and region, which has watched thousands of good-paying auto jobs move to Mexico and other low-cost areas.
“I’m just absolutely ecstatic about the announcement,” Mr. Carter said by phone. “Especially with COVID-19, a lot of people have been impacted economically. We’ve always had a great spirit of overcoming hurdles in the past, but this announcement at this time in this historical moment will play a significant role in how people feel right now, and how they see the future.”
Construction work at the factory will begin immediately, including a body shop and a flexible assembly line. “Pickups are GM’s largest and most important market segment in Canada and across the continent,” said Scott Bell, GM Canada’s president. “They also help GM fund our transition to the electric, autonomous and highly connected future we see ahead.”
The announcement is part of Unifor’s three-year collective agreement with GM, subject to ratification by members, that includes new investments at the St. Catharines and Woodstock facilities. Union members will vote on the deal on Sunday.
The news caps a round of negotiations between Unifor and the three Detroit-based car makers. It has resulted in collective agreements that secure large investments and new vehicle production for plants whose futures have been in doubt. Ford said it will spend $1.8-billion to retool its Oakville plant to build battery-electric vehicles. Fiat Chrysler will invest about $1.3-billion to make hybrid and plug-in vehicles in Windsor, Ont.
“Not bad - bargain $5-billion during a pandemic,” Mr. Dias said of the total spending commitments by the automakers. “I’ve been watching the industry and I know they are moving toward electric vehicles. We needed to get a footprint here in Canada so we can start to develop a supply base for electric vehicles. But we needed a short-term solution in Oshawa … and that’s going to be pickup trucks. Then we’ll start talking about what the future looks like.”
Brian Kingston, head of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, said recent commitments to Ontario by the three U.S.-based companies represent about $4.8-bilion in spending and 3,700 new jobs in a pandemic that has done vast economic and public health damage. This is a recognition, he said, of Ontario’s long history of making vehicles, its skilled work force, strong supply chain, access to the U.S. market and governments' willingness to spend taxpayer money to ensure auto plants provide well-paid work.
“Ontario is not going to compete with a jurisdiction like Mexico on labour costs, but we have other advantages,” Mr. Kingston said.
Flavio Volpe, head of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, credited the new auto plant investments in Ontario to provisions in the recently renegotiated North American free-trade agreement, now known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The pact, effective in July, 2020, expanded levels of tariff-free local auto content to 75 per cent from 62 per cent, which requires car makers to source more parts locally.
The old Oshawa plant made Chevrolet Impala sedans and finished pickup trucks, but the new one will completely assemble trucks, “the entire enchilada,” Mr. Dias said. “There will be government money, but those conversations are just starting,” he said by phone.
John Power, a spokesman for Industry Minister Navdeep Bains, declined to comment on federal aid for GM, but said, “we have demonstrated that we are prepared to support the future of our auto sector.”
GM said it will hire 1,400 to 1,700 hourly workers on two shifts for the new plant, on top of the 300 working on after-market parts. Mr. Dias said 175 people on layoff will be recalled, and he has been told of a possible third shift, which would add another few hundred jobs.
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September 12, 2010
Government in the way? What you can do to better your situation.
So will the economy take another turn for the worse? I’d say not right now. The government has too much money pumping into the economy that’s keeping us falsely afloat right now…the same way the credit-era gave us false growth in consumer spending and productivity. What's keeping us falsely afloat during this recession is stimulus money, bailouts, several unemployment benefit extensions, and a ridiculous jobs bill that is soon to be implemented. The problem comes when this money has to eventually be repaid back to the taxpayer…and how will the government raise revenue? Through higher taxes, of course. And starting 2011, increased taxes for individuals are definitely coming – they say it’s to pay for the government sponsored healthcare plan that won’t be implemented until 2014 – but I’m willing to bet that this money will get spent on the current deficit...and then Congress will increase our taxes again in 2014 to actually fund the government’s healthcare plan. The same way Social Security and Medicare taxes are used to fund wars…and not for our well being in retirement.
But history tells us that increasing taxes on a weak economy makes a bad situation, worse. And if history is any indication of the future…then expect a long slow path to prosperity and growth from the private sector…hopefully….depending on if the government doesn’t do any more harm than good by creating another jobs bill.
So what can you do amid the current recession and a boatload of taxes coming your way?
• Get out of debt (owe no one!)
• Save at least 8 months of expenses
• Try your hand at becoming an entrepreneur or producing other streams of income
Of course, this is against what the government would like us to do right now. They’d rather we just spend the money – which is why they’re keeping interest rates slow to discourage us from saving any paper money. Nevertheless, right now the stock market is on sale across the board and you can get a better return on your money by investing it in sound companies like HD, DTE, F, XOM, PWE, SLV, and an index fund or two like SPY. Invest on your own by using discount brokerages like Sharebuilder.com, E-trade, or Charles Schwab.
The private sector is what America is made of…and what will keep America going strong. Not the government.


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Nintendo announced games which will be let out next week on Nintendo Switch. Only 33 games leave next week...
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Shell is looking to actively recruit new retailers in a bid to grow its dealer network in 2008. Nick Adams, UK retail manager at Shell, said the oil giant was looking to get more “pro-active” in its approach. He said: “We’re very keen on expand our dealer business. “We’ve been growing it for the last two years, it was fairly stable but now it’s growing significantly. We are very keen to hear from dealers and we want to get extra dealers on board, the message is:
’come and talk to Shell’. We’re now getting pro-active, we’ve got a good quality offer and competitive deals.”
Adams says Shell is revamping its offer to provide a much better and more comprehensive food-to-go service. It has already introduced this change at 11 of its motorway sites – and most recently at its new Shell Folkstone forecourt. This is Shell’s first new build site in the UK in more than a decade and the site uses a new layout for the company – almost a third of the shop space is given over to food and drink in a separate area of the store.
It includes hot food from Bake ‘n’ Bite, freshly made baguettes and sandwiches and wraps as well as self-serve coffee and fresh orange juice.
Adams said: “Our newest layout puts a lot more emphasis on food-to-go, with new signage which is being rolled out to our motorway and dealer sites.”


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According to a new Bloomberg report, Fremont’s Tesla factory, the only car factory in California, is the most productive auto plant in North America, beating out 70 other factories.
Press play to hear a narrated version of this story, presented by AudioHopper.
In 2021, the Fremont factory produced an average of 8,550 cars a week, topping the 8,427 made weekly at Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky plant, the 8,343 produced per week at BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina factory, and the 5,564 created at Ford’s Dearborn, Michigan facility.
The announcement surprised many due to Tesla’s rapid growth and recent problems in California. Founded in 2003 by Elon Musk, Tesla first began producing vehicles in 2008. By 2012, the Fremont plant was only producing 60 cars a week. However, the boom of electric cars followed the Great Recession and consumers willingness to pay more for them. Tesla exploded in growth throughout the latter 2010’s and into the 2020’s.
During this time, the company began to get annoyed with higher taxes in California, as well as the numerous attempts to unionize the factory. The economic shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in early to mid 2020 drew the ire of Musk, who quickly scrambled to reopen the factory as soon as possible. Musk reopened early anyway and threatened to leave the state, causing Alameda County officials and state lawmakers to openly mock him.
Musk proceeded to leave California for Texas in late 2020, with Musk moving the company headquarters from Palo Alto to Austin a year later. Despite this, Musk has also renewed commitment to California projects, expanding the Fremont factory as much as possible and even building a new battery Megafactory in Lathrop.
The Fremont factory, as well as a Shanghai car factory, a Sparks, Nevada battery Gigafactory, have combined to create 936,000 vehicles this year, as well as help break more into the expanding battery market. While Tesla is still dwarfed by car companies that produce millions a year and a factory combined 30-50 thousand cars a week, Tesla may be primed to overtake many in the coming years.
In addition to the new Lathrop factory, new auto giga factories in Austin and Berlin are expected to open soon to better serve the North American and European markets, with sites for other Gigafactories currently being scouted.
In Fremont, California once again having the most productive car factory on the continent has been the result of drastic demand expanding the facility as much as possible, going past the limits that GM had utilized at the plant when they had built cars there decades ago.
“If you go to our Fremont factory it’s jammed,” said Musk last year. “When we first went in there, we were like a kid in his parent’s shoes. Now we’re like spam-in-a-can here.”
Fremont Tesla factory named most efficient auto factory
While the Austin plant is expected to alleviate the demand, output at the Fremont factory is not expected to go down. Due to strong demand for Teslas on the West Coast, as well as rising overseas demand, the Fremont facility can easily fill due to its proximity to ports in Northern California.
“Fremont has proven again and again to have been the best possible choice,” Paul Merchant, a car factory inspector from Detroit told the Globe on Wednesday. “When Tesla set up shop there at the old GM plant, car companies waved it off. They said California was expensive and all that.
“And while it is, they made it work. There are higher wages there than other places, but transportation is quite accessible for road, rail, and port, saving big on company-bound trucking costs. Plus, no one else wanted to go to Fremont, so they got a good deal.
“What was once considered an unwise place to set up a car factory, California’s only one is now the most productive in the US. They aren’t coming out and saying it, but other companies are pretty furious about this. I won’t say which company, but a representative whom I work with yelled at me all yesterday for losing to Elon Musk of all people. To losing to a California factory. That was the biggest slap in the face. They see as California bogged down in regulations and openly say that Southern states can fill in any efficiency gaps, but they just proved them wrong. It took high demand and really pushing what they can do there, but they did it. A factory in regulation and high tax heaven beat out all the others.”
“It shows Tesla’s tenacity, and seriously, the work ethic out there. Oh and they’re scared. If Musk can bring that Fremont efficiency to their Austin plant, which has the capacity to produce so many more, then we’re talking about the other companies losing market share. And they are not happy about that to say the least.”
Tesla, the tenth largest automaker in North America, is expected to grow massively during the rest of the decade.
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