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Growth seen as modest,
but it sets off optimism
>b Buying optimism in the retail sector helped boost the nation's economy by a modest 2 percent in the first three months of 1992.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. economy grew at a modest 2 percent annual rate during the first three months of the year, boosted by the return of buyers to auto showrooms and department stores, the government said today.
Economists warned that the growth in the gross domestic product, which followed a near economic standstill in the fourth quarter of last year, was not vigorous enough to budge the nation's unemployment rate from a 61/2-year high of 7.3 percent in March.
Separately, the Commerce Department reported a worrisome 14.8 percent seasonally adjusted drop in new home sales in March -- the steepest in 10 years. It followed a 7 percent decline in February.
President Bush welcomed the news about the growth in the GDP. Asked if the recession was over, he said, "Most people would say that 2 percent growth is not recessionary."
"There are some areas that are still hurting. But clearly this is a good sign and there are a lot of other good signs," said Bush at a meeting with Republican lawmakers. "Most people that I talk to ... feel that things are getting better. I just hope it continues."
The GDP growth, though modest, was still the best since the economy expanded at a 2.5 percent rate during the first three months of the Bush administration, the Commerce Department said.
"Thank God. It's taken a long time," said economist Mark Zandi of Regional Financial Associates in West Chester, Pa. "Two percent is nothing to jump up and down about but it's better than we've seen in a long time."
In a third report today, the Labor Department said American workers' wages, salaries and benefits rose 4 percent in the year ended March 31, slightly less than the 4.6 percent gain during the previous 12-month period.
Lackluster growth and rising unemployment have created a major problem for President Bush in this election year, with opponents criticizing him for failing to manage the economy more effectively.
Economic growth slowed in 1989 as Bush took office. Then in July 1990, just before the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the economy lapsed into a recession. It has been struggling to shake off the effects since.
In the first quarter, growth was propelled by a healthy 5.3 percent increase in consumer spending, the best since the fourth quarter of 1987. Spending rose an especially strong 18.3 percent for durable goods such as automobiles, home furnishings and appliances.
Consumer spending is the most important sector of the economy, representing two-thirds of the nation's output of goods and services.
The January-March rise was aided by a boom in mortgage refinancings, which put hundreds of dollars in many consumers' pockets, and by an increase in early federal tax refunds, the result of a rise in computerized filing.
However, analysts warned that the economic upturn won't last unless employers have enough confidence in the future to start rehiring laid-off workers.
"If businesses are too cautious about their hiring plans, they won't give people the income necessary to keep growth going," said economist Robert G. Dederick of Northern Trust Co. in Chicago.
He said the rise in consumer spending should bolster long-depressed corporate profits and give businesses the wherewithal to add to payrolls.
In a revision of a previous report, the department said after-tax corporate profits sagged 4.6 percent last year, the third consecutive annual decline.
But individual corporate earnings reports for the first quarter of this year show a profit rebound, with large companies such as IBM and Citicorp reporting increases. The official government report on corporate profits is due out next month.
First quarter economic growth also was helped by a 15.8 percent surge in housing construction, which took off at the start of the year when mortgage rates hit a 19-year low.
It was the biggest construction increase since the second quarter of 1986, but the sales declines in February and March raise the question of whether the new homes will sit vacant after they're built.
Overall, the GDP was right in line with most economists' predictions, including the nation's chief forecaster, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.
Commercial construction was a drag on the economy in the first quarter, declining at a 8.5 percent annual rate. Investment by businesses in new equipment inched 1.6 percent higher after an identical decrease in the fourth quarter.
Trade was slightly positive, with imports falling 1.5 percent and exports growing 1 percent.
Also, business inventories held on shelves and backlots fell by $33.7 billion. Although that detracted from first quarter GDP, economists took it as a hopeful sign for the future.
If the surge in consumer spending holds, factories will be forced to increase production to replenish inventories.
Government spending rose at a 2.8 percent rate, with increases in civilian spending offsetting a decline in military spending.
The various changes translated into a GDP increase at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $23.9 billion with the total GDP standing at $4.89 trillion after adjusting for inflation.
The modest rise in first quarter GDP followed a barely perceptible 0.4 percent gain in the fourth quarter. The economy grew at a 1.8 percent rate in the third quarter and a 1.4 percent rate in the second. Economic output shrank in both the first quarter of 1991 and the last quarter of 1990.


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After a lackluster summer in which retail sales were mediocre at best, leading some major retailers to bring down overall projections for the year, customers are slowly starting to return to the stores. Driven by the lure of updated merchandise and the need to stock up for back-to-school, retailers are finally getting some traction on early fall. As a result, their outlook for the remainder of the year — including the all-important holiday period — has improved marginally, and they’re hopeful the trend will continue as they finish up their spring buying at the trade shows in Las Vegas this week.
Hermès is launching a Laundromat pop-up shop in NYC - dubbed Hermèsmatic - where customers can bring their old scarves to be dip-dyed by an expert. Get all the details on WWD.com. #wwdnews (📷: @donstahl)

domain: news


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SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 2, 2006–Acer America Corporation, one of the leading worldwide suppliers of IT solutions, today announced availability of the 19-inch AL1951D flat panel display. Acer’s newest 19-inch display is a member of Acer’s Gamers line of LCD’s and supports such innovative features as 2 millisecond response rates, 1000:1 contrast ratio and a digital (DVI) interface. The AL1951D display offers a refined and stylish “silver” bezel while offering the performance required of today’s desktop publishers, high-tech gamers and media lovers.
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- Sep 20, 2018
- 323 (0.52/day)
Yah, they are far behind in the desecrate graphics business. So investing more in console hardware makes sense from a return on investment.Development of new CPU and GPU costs money. Huge money.
Not only that AMD is not developing those gaming consoles chips "for free", but it is covering a big chunk of the development costs needed to keep making new CPU and GPU designs. Without consoles' sales, AMD would be closed today.
Go to the steam hardware GPU charts, you will see nvidia dominate the first 17 positions. AMD comes in the 18th place for the number of people playing on AMD gpu


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Artificial intelligence is changing the way we search the web, listen to music and how we define art—and if Xunjie Zhang has his way, A.I. technology will even make us walk a lot faster.
Zhang, the founder of Shift Robotics, has designed special shoes that pair A.I. with sensors and wheels to boost a person’s walking speed by up to 250%.
The shoes look a bit like roller skates, but they are not for skating. The wheels lock up when you’re standing still, and the Moonwalkers—as the shoes are called—are designed for a person to walk with the same heel-to-toe motion that they normally would.
With every stride a person takes, the shoes’ A.I. processes information from the body, adapting the motorized wheels to the user’s gait and providing a natural-feeling acceleration. One early test user describes it as similar to strolling on the moving walkway at an airport, but with a speed that can reach 7 miles per hour.
The shoes are expected to go on sale in limited quantities this summer, though the $1,399 price tag means they’re not for everyone. But even if the Moonwalkers don’t immediately become standard footwear for the masses, they offer a peek of a future that is quickly being reimagined as a result of progress in A.I. technology.
The idea came after he narrowly avoided a car crash
Zhang came up with the idea after he was nearly crushed by a car while riding his scooter to work in the streets of Pittsburgh, where he graduated from Carnegie Mellon’s Robotic Institute. Recounting the harrowing experience to friends and colleagues, Zhang discovered how common such incidents have become as e-bikes and scooters have gained in popularity.
Whether it’s a crash or a brake malfunction, “pretty much everyone I know” has had a scary experience on an electric “micromobility” vehicle, he says. Scooters and e-bikes provide a fast and efficient mode of urban transportation, but sharing the road with two-ton cars is inherently dangerous.
“That really got me thinking, Why do we have to be stuck with slow walking?” Zhang told Fortune in an interview. “Is there any way that we can make the sidewalk more effective?”
He found his answer by starting Shift Robotics and formed a team of engineers and sneaker designers to create Moonwalkers. The six-person startup, based in Pittsburgh, has raised more than $329,000 on Kickstarter so far, and plans to seek funding from other avenues in the future.
Bumps and cracks are no issue. #Moonwalkers https://t.co/kaGeqzcNVV pic.twitter.com/XY4gCOS1NK— Shift Robotics (@shiftrobotics) October 28, 2022
Shift designed the shoes with an adaptive A.I. drivetrain that powers the 4 urethane wheels on each shoe and boosts the wearer’s walking speed. Each pair comes fit with custom control modules and can communicate to the other by passing acceleration and data, which is then passed through a neuromuscular model. (explained at about 2:20 here) To climb stairs, a user lifts their heel to switch into a full lock mode.
The shoes have a range of 5 to 7 miles and take an hour and a half to charge. And they’ve been designed to handle tough terrain, like the cracked sidewalks that plague Pittsburgh when the concrete freezes in the wintertime. By making shoes that can function there, Zhang believes the Moonwalkers will be able to handle most of the sidewalks across the country and worldwide.
While an e-bike can go a longer distance on a charge than a pair of Moonwalkers, Zhang thinks the compact size and light weight of his A.I.-powered footwear will appeal to many people.
“You can tuck that into the backpack. You can be super seamless. It is just way more convenient to use and carry everywhere that we think in terms of the value, the size, the benefit we bring—we are in the range of a premium bike.”
The shoes can be pre-ordered on the Shift Robotics website, but Zhang isn’t aiming for scale right away. The company is planning to ship hundreds of pairs to its Kickstarter backers in the coming months, which it hopes will help validate the product and identify areas where features can be added. Beyond those orders, Zhang says Shift has received pre-orders around 1,000 pairs. Shift is also currently carrying out regulation compliance tests to eventually make the shoes available in Europe and South America.
While Zhang says the company will initially lose money on the Moonwalkers, even at the $1,399 price, the company is banking on winning over loyal customers who will help spread the word and spur demand for later versions of the shoes.
For now, the shoes are one size fits all and fit people who wear a men’s size of 8 to 11 especially well, but he hopes that later versions can have more size customization. Zhang said that future versions of the Moonwalkers could potentially be integrated directly into sneakers, depending on advances in motor and battery pack technology.
“We’re in this challenge of production hell, production ramp up,” Zhang said. “But these are the things that we will be doing—more testing in different various user cases, various scenarios, a lot more than what we are doing just on the street right now.”
To keep up with all the latest artificial intelligence news, subscribe to Fortune’s free, weekly Eye on A.I. newsletter.


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[AI] Talking TV?!
pradeepsocialwork at gmail.com
Thu Jul 1 10:22:52 EDT 2010
World's first talking TV now a reality
June 8th, 2010 - 13:36 UTC
by Andy Sennitt.
TVs that can talk to their owners are now a reality thanks to British high-tech company, Ocean Blue Software. Expected in UK stores by the end of the summer, the company's low cost text-to-speech technology, dubbed "Talk at TV", is being built into set top boxes from Korean company, Arion Technology, which will be branded and distributed by major retailers in the UK from August.
The new set top boxes are like regular Freeview or satellite boxes, but will be able to talk to their blind or partially-sighted owners - advising, via speech technology, the TV programming schedule, for example what's on and when. Owners will be able to adjust the speed and verbosity of the voice to suit their needs, choose to enlarge or reduce font sizes and change background and text colours. A re-designed and easy to use remote control will also be included.
The technology has been developed in partnership with digital TV chip giant, STMicroelectronics, whose processors lie at the heart of most TVs and set top boxes. Phase two of the development will introduce voice activation technology to allow owners to talk back to their TV sets - "channel up", "channel down", "volume up".
"The digital switchover has multiplied the number of channels to 40 plus, for UK consumers, making navigation very difficult for the visually impaired," said Ken Helps, CEO of Ocean Blue Software. "This technology is a step forward to making digital TV accessible to all sectors of the community".
Ocean Blue's Talk at TV will be available in different languages and dialects; the UK version supports both the Scottish Gaelic and Welsh language for example. The technology behind Talk at TV is a derivative of the pioneering work and development between the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) and Ocean Blue over the last three years. The development won an IABM Award for Excellence in Design and Innovation, was nominated for a Royal Television Society award and shortlisted for an IMS TV Innovation award in the USA.
The Arion Talking set top box will be available in a number of UK retailers.
(Source: Ocean Blue Software/Arion Technology)
More information about the AccessIndia


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Google has purchased Episodic, a San Francisco-based startup offering a platform for delivering live and on-demand video via the web. Episodic trumpeted the deal on Friday with a post to its blog. The startup says that in joining Google, it will continue its work to deliver video to desktops and notebooks, mobiles, and IPTV …
YouTube, but it's also worth noting that Episodic mentions IPTV devices.
could be any new device catagory such as the new iTablets from various venders. The iPad is not the end of new iTablet devices.
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Samsung Electronics has been facing a lot of changes since 2010. Galaxy S series took the firm’s prosperity to another level since its announcement in 2009, and its other popular products such as televisions, application processors, and semiconductors are still holding top positions in their respective markets. However, a new era for Samsung is close. The new Galaxy S7 was launched on March 11th of this year. The firm’s expectation of the product is noticeably higher than usual; S7 is geared up with numerous improvements and has eliminated all the major disadvantages of the previous model. Aside from the consumers, even Samsung’s competitors are impressed.
Among all the changes, the group’s decision on its new successor may probably be the largest transformation for Samsung. Lee Kun-hee, the current chairman, was hospitalized following a heart attack two years ago, and he has announced the vice chairman of the group and his son, Lee Jae-yong, as the heir apparent. He is already showing his resolution to innovate in the group by presenting new strategies and modulations in diverse ways. With all these changes, what could we expect from the new Samsung Empire?
Samsung Electronics’ phone division is its main source of revenue. The Galaxy series is Samsung’s core product that dominates the global smartphone market, competing against Apple’s iPhone. Its previous model, S6, was considered the best phone of the year in 2015, along with the iPhone 6, in terms of screen, camera, design, and durability. However, it performed poorly in technical parts. Complaints were raised after the S6 abandoned the expandable memory and the water-resistance that its predecessor, S5, had in the past. Additionally, the company’s mismanagement of the launch of S6 hampered the firm’s profits by 4%.
However, Samsung Electronics’ new Galaxy S7 readopted these two features that were missing in the previous model. Other advantageous features such as its edge design and dual pixel technology (which improves autofocus and night photography of camera) are attracting a vast number of consumers. Even the consumers in North America, where Apple is the most popular brand, are leaning more towards the new Galaxy S. “Samsung Galaxy S7 Smartphones are dominating the market in North America”, said Consumer Reports, the largest consumer products magazine in America. Samsung is anticipated to have shipped nearly 10 million Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge handsets in the first quarter of 2016, 3 million more than the initial estimate. Although iPhone 7 will not be available until fall, considering Galaxy S7 series’ current sales performance and its entry into the market before the iPhone 7, the winner in this year’s competition is seems to be Samsung; a good number future Apple consumers already made their expenditures on Galaxy S7 instead of incoming iPhone 7, as S7 is the trend this year.
The Vice-Chairman Lee Jae-yong has emphasized his commitment to changes in the group’s old, rigid culture. “We aim to reform our internal culture, execute as quickly as a startup company and push towards open communication and continuously innovate,” he said. The original working atmosphere of Samsung has been ruthless since the company has seriously expanded its operations abroad. Working at least 80 hours per week is a norm for most of Samsung’s employees. Other working conventions in South Korea, such as complicated reporting procedures, hierarchic atmosphere, and after-work drinking sessions, have been main issues of corporate life in Korea for the past decades. Samsung’s commitment to reinvent the corporate culture is also expected to eliminate all the unnecessary norms that negatively affect the group’s performance. By reducing the stress level of employees as an encouragement, a more efficient productivity is prospected for all the subsidiaries in the group, including Samsung Electronics.
Structure of The Group
The last factor that we should consider is the business structure of Samsung group. A chaebol is the most common form of business conglomerates in South Korea, including Samsung. Unlike the structure of most western businesses, chaebols are family-controlled business groups. Family-oriented businesses have been a long tradition of the Samsung group, and this facilitates internal aids or loans between the subsidiaries of the group far more flexible than its counterparts. The group consists of numerous other industries other than the electronics subsidiary, such as heavy industry, chemical, entertainment and financial services. These subsidiaries can potentially aid its electronics department in times of need.
However, despite these benefits, the chaebols have some disadvantages too: an internal dispute in Lee’s family could cause a potential of result mismanagement or a lack of cooperation between subsidiaries in group, including its electronics industry. More individual level analysis may be needed to predict the prospection of Samsung Electronics’ performance. However, the chance of this kind of circumstance occurring seems to be quite low, as there has been no major family scandal so far.
No one can make a perfect prediction about all the technology companies’ futures. The environment of the technology industry is constantly developing. However, we can still forecast the prospection. Samsung has been and is still presenting copious amount of innovative technologies for longer than a decade; it is plausible that Galaxy S7 be a very successful product for the firm. However, the ability to present brilliant ideas is probably one of the most crucial parts in technological industry today. Lee Jae-yong’s new ideas are especially anticipated to give substantial changes, not only for the electronics industry, but also for all the subsidiaries in the group. Although the changes to Samsung’s corporate culture have not been implemented yet, a majority of firm’s employees and key executives have positive expectations about the decision. With all these factors combined, the potential of group this year in particular is expected to be significantly positive.


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Everyone is losing weight— we all want to look like cover girls of fashion magazines or supermodels walking the runways.
The latest person to join the weight loss gang is Moesha.
Sharing her journey so far with her Instagram friends, Moe says she has lost so much weight that she is already feeling brand new and the trolls immediately came for her.
A few days ago, Moesha revealed that she has found love.
She is so much in love that, she says her man is the best in this entire world.
We are still waiting to see who this man.


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Nikola is an electric truck startup that has virtually no revenue and a highly questionable former founder, and one that seems to be collapsing in slow-motion. Nonetheless, it is still here and announced its first-quarter results Friday. Analysts were impressed that it was nothing earth-shattering.
Nikola is also currently being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice, the former of which issued subpoenas after Hindenburg Research published a damaging article about Nikola in September.
But that is all just old bad news. The good news, today, is that Nikola only lost 14-cents-per-share in the first quarter of this year, or half of what analysts had been expecting, according to Bloomberg. It counts as praise that today’s release was somewhat boring.
The stock rose 12% to $11.37 as of 11:06 a.m. in New York. It had fallen about 33% this year as of the close on Thursday.
“It’s a relief rally after no major negative news, although the chip shortage remains a headwind for Nikola and others,” Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said in an email. He has a neutral rating on the stock. “The Street was fearing some elephant in the room to come out on the call.”
And maybe only about a company like Nikola could the following two paragraphs appear back-to-back:
The company also disclosed that it paid $3 million in legal fees in the first quarter for Trevor Milton, its founder and former executive chairman, who resigned in September. The payments were made under the terms of an indemnification agreement.
“We believe the details given were relatively positive,” said Evercore ISI analyst Chris McNally, who has a hold equivalent rating on the stock, in a note to clients. “SEC and DOJ investigations also remain with unclear timeline resolution.”
Nikola isn’t making the Badger anymore, now that it’s partnership with GM has also been walked back. It would appear now that it is almost all in on the Tre, a hydrogen fuel cell electric semi truck that the company said Friday it was close to having built a second batch of nine betas. The company also said it was making progress on its manufacturing facilities in Germany and Arizona.
The company also hopes to begin deliveries of battery-electric trucks next year and hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks in 2023. You know, we’ll see.


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Cyber security experts have warned smartphone owners about a notorious Android Malware that overloads your smartphone and causes it to burst open! Researchers at Kaspersky Lab have described the malware as a jack of all trades that can carry out a plethora of nefarious actions such as overload your Android phone with adverts, spam contacts with texts and use the android device’s computing power to even mine cryptocurrencies!
Kaspersky Lab also revealed that the Android Malware thus far does not spy or monitor an infected phone’s activities. However, what’s more shocking is that the malware was discovered in 20 adverts claiming to promote porn or antivirus apps!
To figure out the strength of the malware, researchers at Kaspersky intentionally infected an Android phone with the malware and witnessed that after 2 days of infection the deadly malware overloaded the phone’s battery causing it to physically warp and bulge.
According to Kaspersky: “These days, it’s too easy to end up with malicious apps on your smartphone, even if you’re using the official Google Play app store. The situation gets even worse when you go somewhere other than the official store – fake applications, limited security checks, and so on…”
Incidentally, in May 2017 cyber security experts at Check Point had discovered over 41 malicious apps on Google Play Store that were downloaded up to 18 million times and were rapidly spreading the trojan.
Those apps were a part of the notorious Judy malware campaign labelled as “possibly the largest Android malware campaign ever to have been discovered on Google Play.”Luckily those apps were removed after Check Point intimated Google about the threat.
According to security firm Check Point: “In order to generate revenues for the makers of the malware, the Judy malware campaign produced fake advertising clicks.”


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The rumors circulating in the last couple of weeks are now officially true: we will finally be able to purchase fresh pasteurized milk in Thimphu! The Ministry of Agriculture posted about the inauguration of the mini-plant in Wangchutaba on their website:
"Thimphu city will now have the supply of processed pasteurized milk in 500 ml poly pack. The packed milk is now available for sale at Yoghurt Plant, Chubachu and other retail outlets in Thimphu town. The plant has the capacity of processing 2000 liters per day using the HTST method of pasteurization. It is currently operated by the National Livestock Breeding Programme, Department of Livestock."here). In contrast, pasteurization which heats the milk at lower temperatures for short durations, only kills bacteria and enzymes but not the vitamins.
For those who have been opting for boxed UHT milk (Zimdra, Amul Taaza, and the like) for shelf life reasons, pasteurized milk offers a better alternative, and it keeps longer than fresh milk (a few days in refrigeration). Moving from imported milk to locally-produced milk is good not only for us consumers (healthier and tastes better), but also for Bhutan's industry. Here's a great chance to support the local daily industry and fight the causes of the Rupee Crunch!


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State Farm’s settlements, Ford’s patent wins, shop lawsuits among industry court cases
By John Yoswick
From what parts are legal, to insurers’ role in how vehicles are repaired, and whether a paint company knew about alleged product defects, there have been some interesting court cases involving various segments of the industry this past year.
Here is Automotive Report’s annual look at recent and ongoing legal battles, and what they could mean for the industry.
Insurer’s role in judges’ election
State Farm reached settlements in the latter half of last year in two significant lawsuits, preventing either dispute from further airing in the courtroom.
For example, on the day a trial was set to begin in the racketeering lawsuit alleging State Farm secretly worked to elect a Illinois Supreme Court judge who later helped overturn a 1999 judgment against the insurer related to non-OEM parts, the nation’s largest auto insurer agreed to settle the class-action lawsuit for $250 million.
In a written statement, State Farm attorney Ronald Safer said the company “firmly believes that all claims” in the lawsuit were “factually and legally without merit,” and that it would have prevailed at trial. “But this case has already gone on for six years,” he wrote. “There are uncertainties in any litigation, especially class litigation.”
Law professor David Logan of Roger Williams University in Rhode Island told Bloomberg News that given that the settlement came after a jury was selected and just prior to opening arguments, State Farm may have had “a really negative vibe from the jury that was impaneled.”
The litigation originated in the 1990s, when a jury found State Farm’s use of “inferior” non-OEM parts failed to restore damaged vehicles to their pre-accident condition, and awarded $1.05 billion to an estimated 4.7 million vehicle owners represented in the original class action lawsuit.
The 1999 decision in the Avery v. State Farm non-OEM parts case was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2005. Justice Lloyd Karmeier had been elected to that court in 2004, and attorneys representing the vehicle owners in the Avery lawsuit had argued Karmeier should recuse himself from participating in the review of the case because of what they saw as State Farm’s significant role in Karmeier’s election. They argued State Farm had secretly channeled money to the campaign through advocacy groups that didn’t disclose donors. But Karmeier did not recuse himself.
The litigation that was settled last July was brought in 2011 after the Avery lawyers said they had found new evidence of State Farm’s involvement in Karmeier’s election. They had sought triple damages from the Avery suit plus 19 years of interest, which could have resulted in a judgment approaching $10 billion. They say the settlement reached last summer will finally result in monetary payments to the vehicle owners.
Some have wondered if given the lawsuit’s ties to State Farm’s use of non-OEM parts if the settlement would lead to change in State Farm’s position related to the use of such parts. To date, there’s been little sign that it has. One industry observer, with decades of experience in the auto insurance industry, said he saw little connection with the settlement and State Farm’s stance on non-OEM parts. State Farm could have resumed calling for use of aftermarket parts back in 2005 when the Avery lawsuit was overturned, he said. The Karmeier lawsuit wasn’t even filed until six years later, he pointed out, so “I’m not sure it was a case of, ‘Let’s settle so we can get back into aftermarket parts.’”
But industry consultant and former insurance executive Roger Wright of Vector Squared said last fall that he thought State Farm had already started to adjust its role in crash parts selection largely by giving large MSOs more autonomy on part choice.
“They are allowing the MSO to make the ‘best decision’ for the vehicle and consumer on how to repair the vehicle and which parts to use,” Wright said. “These changes began even before the settlement, and I would expect [even more] expanded use of certified non-OEM parts by State Farm.”
State Farm settles with injured couple
Within months of the settlement in the Karemeier-related lawsuit, State Farm had settled another lawsuit being closely watched by the collision repair industry. Last fall, Matthew and Marcia Seebachan, the Texas couple who successfully sued John Eagle Collision Center for faulty repairs the dealership made to a Honda Fit in which the Seebachans were injured in a subsequent accident, reached a settlement in their lawsuit against State Farm. That lawsuit argued that the insurer had influenced how the shop had repaired the vehicle.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. A State Farm spokesperson said the company did not wish to comment. Texas attorney Todd Tracy, who represented the Seebachans in both lawsuits, said only that, “The case was resolved to the satisfaction of all parties involved.”
Ford defends its parts patents
The aftermarket parts industry has largely come up empty-handed in the past year in its efforts to curtail automakers’ use of design patents to limit the production and sale of some non-OEM parts.
Last summer, the Automotive Body Parts Association (ABPA) appealed a U.S. federal court’s dismissal of its lawsuit regarding Ford’s design patents. The ABPA, which represents manufacturers and distributors of non-OEM parts, argued that the design of the hood and headlamp for the Ford F-150 (the two patents at stake in the lawsuit) is functional rather than ornamental, and therefore design patents are invalid.
Ford counter-argued that “extensive artistic work goes into designing automobiles and their component parts” and that the Supreme Court has held for more than a century that component parts are patentable.
The automaker prevailed. A federal court of appeals this past July upheld the lower court’s dismissal of the ABPA lawsuit.
Ford also has prevailed — so far — in its lawsuit against a non-OEM parts distributor that Ford says sold parts that violated 13 of Ford’s design patents. Following a jury trial in a U.S. District Court in Texas last November, non-OEM parts distributor New World International was ordered to pay Ford $493,057, the estimated profit New World made selling particular non-OEM parts that infringe on 13 of Ford’s design patents. The jury ruled that those patents, contrary to New World’s argument, were valid, and that New World’s violation of them was “willful.”
New World is seeking a new trial in the dispute, arguing the U.S. District Court in Texas used improper rulings and jury instructions in the original trial.
Shops duke it out with insurers, paint company
Body shops, too, have been involved in a variety of lawsuits this past year. One shop owner, for example, lost a lawsuit over a 2012 repair even though he no longer owns the shop.
A customer sued the shop’s former owner following a post-repair inspection of the customer’s 2010 Nissan Maxima, alleging fraud and “unfair, deceptive and unconscionable acts in connection with a consumer transaction.” Expert witnesses at the trial said some needed aspects of the repair had not been completed (or were not done properly) by the shop, including improper use of adhesive bonding.
The jury called for an $8,079 verdict against the shop in 2016, but more recently, an appeals court denied the shop’s effort to fight its responsibility for diminished value, triple damages and attorney expenses. That means the judgment against the shop owner rose dramatically, to $105,462.
Also in the summer of 2018, three other Ohio body shops settled their tortious interference and civil conspiracy lawsuit against Progressive Insurance, just as the suit was scheduled to go to trial. The shops’ suit alleged that Progressive had interfered with the shops’ businesses by steering consumers to other shops and dictating what labor rates, services and parts the insurer was willing to pay for, limiting the shops’ ability to return vehicles to pre-loss condition. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Earlier this year, a federal appeals court restored a $2.8 million judgment that the owner of three California shops had won in a lawsuit against Sherwin-Williams but that an appeals court had overturned. The dispute stemmed from John Tyczki’s use of the paint company’s AWX waterborne brand at his three San Diego area shops. Sherwin-Williams first sued Tyczki’s company for breach of contract, claiming Tyczki halted use of Sherwin-Williams’ product before meeting purchase level agreements in his contract with the paint company. Tyczki counter-sued, claiming the AWX line was defective, that Sherwin-Williams knew it, and that problems with the product forced the shops to rebuff and repaint dozens of vehicles (and potentially many more).
A jury back in 2015 found both sides were in the wrong, agreeing that Tyczki’s business owed Sherwin-Williams about $374,000 for breach of contract, but that the paint company owed the shop $3.25 million for fraud and misrepresentation — thus a $2.8 million net judgment for Tyczki. The judge in the case, however, overruled the jury, saying the evidence supported a maximum verdict of $634,000 for Tyczki’s fraud claims (meaning he would net just $260,000). There was insufficient evidence, the judge ruled, of the harm Tyczki’s reputation had suffered, nor was it clear what portion of the 10,000 vehicles Tyczki said his company painted with the AWX product would have to be repainted.
But this past spring an appeals court reinstated the $2.8 million jury verdict, saying a reasonable juror could have found Tyczki’s business had legitimate prospective damages in terms of repainting more vehicles. That court also found that Tyczki and his company manager had adequately expressed that they were “embarrassed,” “upset,” and “really nervous and worried about what the future holds” that a reasonable juror could have included emotional distress in a calculation of damages suffered.
Though siding with Tyczki, the appeals also sent the case back to the lower court to review Sherwin-Williams’ earlier motion for a new trial. That court recently ordered both sides to submit settlement terms they would accept. •
John Yoswick, a freelance writer based in Portland, Ore., who has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988, is also the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (www.CrashNetwork.com). He can be contacted by email at john@CrashNetwork.com.


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Worksop residents will no longer be able to get their Steak Bake fix as the savoury pastie bakers announce that both Worksop stores will close their doors next week.
Worksop has been known as the pasty capital of England with obesity levels on the rise and residents loving to snack on the famous pasties, sausage rolls and cakes. The baker has now acknowledged this trend and no longer wishes to be associated with this lifestyle as it now models it show much more around the 21st century coffee shop experience. Bosses fear that this sophistication re-branding no longer aligns with expectations of the savoury loving Worksop residents.
We spoke to residents on Friday on a busy Bridge Street who made their angry feelings quite clear that the baker was abandoning them. ” They can take away our colourful fag packets but no more sausage rolls is a step too far duck” said one distressed shopper. Another added “Argos gone, Greggs going, don’t tell we will get a Waitrose next for those fancy out of town types. These shops are part of our heritage along with Vape shops and Pound stores!!”
A spokesman for Greggs said” Times are changing and we can no longer contribute to the Worksop taste buds and we want to be seen as a healthier option”.
Rumours that Buger King and Subway are also about to follow this changing trend and quit Worksop, could not be substantiated as we went to press.


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The annual FashionWare fashion show featured the convergence of clothes and technology.
Technology has touched so many industries, but fashion tech is woefully behind. Today’s modern woman (and man) is yearning for technology that is both stylish and functional. Why can’t handbags be designed that hold today’s electronics? Why can’t new nano fabrics and LED lights create a fashion statement that stands out from the crowd? The answer is that it can. At CES 2013, Living in Digital Times hosted FashionWare 2013, a look at the intersection of fashion and technology.
“We’re about to see an entire new industry take off based on high tech fashion,” said Robin Raskin, founder, Living in Digital Times. “Fashion is soon to become personalized, elegant and useful and will remain a constant couture. In anticipation, we created an event that celebrates this renaissance and technology as an integral part of apparel design.”
Emceeing the show is actress and model Kelly LeBrock. In addition to gracing thousands of magazine covers and fashion spreads, LeBrock made her debut in films including Weird Science and TheWoman in Red, which still generate followers today. She’s passionate about fashion, technology, but most of all charitable works with women’s and kids’ causes.
“I am passionate about raising the bar on high tech fashion, and FashionWare is the perfect place to start that journey,” said LeBrock. “I plan on influencing this industry right into New York fashion week.”


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Airports / Duty Free
At Dubai Duty Free, category wise, perfumes ended the year in the No 1 spot as sales reached $96 million, which represents a 28 per cent increase over 2005.
Liquor came in second with a 20 per cent increase while gold was third, 19 per cent up over last year. Notable increases were also seen in the sale of cosmetics and souvenirs.
In quantity terms, DDF sold close to 53 million units of merchandise over the past year which involved the movement of around 228 pallets of goods per day.


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The European Commission is to announce next week that it has settled an antitrust dispute with Microsoft over the company’s Internet Explorer (IE) web browser.
The settlement is expected to include a commitment from Microsoft that users of its Windows operating system will have the possibility to disable Internet Explorer and will be offered a ballot screen to select other web browsers that they want to install. Microsoft is also expected to give assurances that it will not retaliate against computer manufacturers that decide to pre-install computers with browsers other than IE.
The Commission in January accused Microsoft of abusing its dominant position on the browser market by bundling IE with Windows. It said that the practice “harms competition between web browsers, undermines product innovation and ultimately reduces consumer choice”.


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Japanese gaming conglomerate Sega Sammy Holdings has revised up its forecast for the financial year ending 31 March 2022 after reporting a significant increase in sales and income for the nine months to 31 December 2021.
Releasing its results through the December quarter on Thursday, Sega Sammy said net sales for the nine-month period had grown 12.6% year-on-year to JPY236.75 billion (US$2.04 billion), with profit attributable to owners of the parent of JPY29.46 billion (US$254 million). This reversed a loss of JPY6.24 billion (US$54 million) during the same period a year earlier.
As such, the company now anticipates net sales of JPY315.0 billion (US$2.72 billion) for FY23, revised up from a previous forecast of JPY305.0 billion (US$2.63 billion), with profit also revised from JPY15.0 billion (US$129 million) to JPY26.5 billion (US$229 million).
The primary reasons for the improvement have been strong results in each of its Entertainment Contents Business and pachislot and pachinko segments, offset by the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its resorts segment. Sega Sammy is a joint venture partner in Korean integrated resort Paradise City in Incheon and also operates non-gaming resort Phoenix Seagaia Resort in Miyazaki, Japan.
The company said that total table drop at Paradise City during the nine months to 31 December 2021 reached just 47.8% of the prior year’s level and the number of guests just 58.4%. Guest numbers at Phoneix Seagaia Resort grew by 114% year-on-year however, pushing segment sales to a 36.8% increase to JPY6.68 billion (US$58 million). Segment loss for the period was JPY4.65 billion (US$40 million).
In the pachinko and pachislot segment, net sales grew 38.7% year-on-year to JPY51.85 billion (US$447 million) with ordinary income of JPY6.03 billion (US$52 million) compared with a prior year loss of JPY8.77 billion (US$76 million).
“For pachinko machines, the replacement is progressing well with multiple titles of new regulation machines gaining popularity to meet the deadline for removing the [old] machines based on former regulations, scheduled for the end of January 2022,” the company said.
“For pachislot machines, although the performance has been relatively sluggish, it is hoped that new titles expected to become popular among users [as a result of a wider range of game elements will be introduced]. Meanwhile, the supply system has been unstable due to the global shortage of semiconductors and logistics disruption, requiring continuous monitoring.”
In the Entertainment Contents Business, comprising games for PCs and gaming consoles, net sales grew 6.1% to JPY177.85 billion (US$1.53 billion) while ordinary income increased 11.0% to JPY36.85 billion (US$318 million).


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During the last couple of years, regulators have been making serious efforts to end the greenwashing era.
Greenwashing misleads market actors and downgrades the efforts of the companies that truly want to green their products and activities. It poses several risks to consumers, businesses, and the environment. While companies engage in greenwashing to create a positive public image and attract environmentally conscious consumers, the deceptive practices can have significant negative consequences.
The IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards
The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) issued its first two IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards in June 2023. The new ISSB’s rules are backed by the G20 and aim to increase the pressure on companies to disclose their environmental impact. The disclosure requirements have been designed with anti-greenwashing prospects.
The Green Claims Directive
Earlier this year, the European Commission presented a new legislation: the Green Claims Directive. It aims to establish the first set of detailed EU rules for the substantiation of voluntary green claims and regulate the use of environmental claims in marketing communications in Europe.
The proposed requirements find application to the vast majority of EU operating companies, from SMEs to large public companies. Companies based outside the EU that target EU consumers are also included.
The Green Guides by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
The US FTC has turned its focus on greenwashing. In December 2022, it launched a review of the “Guides for the Use of Environmental Claims” (“Green Guides”). The Green Guides were first issued about 30 years ago, but new rules are expected to be in place by the year’s end.
UK CMA’s Green Claims Code
The UK’s Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has already taken its first action against greenwashing in 2021 with the Green Claims Code. In January 2022, it additionally launched a sector‑by‑sector review of misleading environmental claims, starting from the fashion. In the beginning of 2023, the CMA expanded its investigation to more sectors.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) priorities
Greenwashing is the new area of focus for ASIC. In May, the commission published a report, indicating its intention on surveilling possible greenwashing activities. The four core areas of concern were:
- net zero’ statements and targets
- use of terms such as ‘carbon neutral’, ‘clean’ or ‘green’
- fund labels
- scope and application of investment exclusions and screens
Moreover, the ASIC published an information sheet last year, providing a detailed guide of principles to follow when making, offering or promoting sustainability-related products.
From “carbon neutral” to “nature positive” and “environmentally friendly”, companies and agencies are now in the spotlight of unspecific claims. Particularly, climate-related claims are prone to being unclear and ambiguous.
Online Certificate on Green (Sustainable) Marketing
To address all the latest green claims issues, the Sustainability Academy has introduced a brand-new course, the Online Certificate on Green (Sustainable) Marketing. The course provides an overview of key issues and challenges involved in green marketing. It is designed to provide you with the necessary skills to implement a successful marketing strategy according to the latest sustainability frameworks and standards.
Additionally, the course will help you identify and combat greenwashing through real case examples from a variety of sectors.
Explore the opportunity to learn as a team with our special discount packages.
Group registrations allow you to attend our certified courses as a team at the same time. Our group courses are created to tackle present-day problems as well as prepare your company for the future.
Discounts can be applied to a group that registers either to the same course or in a combination of courses. Request more information at [email protected].
Why choose Sustainability Academy Certified Courses?
- Offer a unique Certification accredited by CPD in an affordable manner trusted by global Fortune 500 companies and global accounting firms for their staff education
- Content created by Sustainability thought leaders, professors and trainers with practical experience in the field of sustainability
- Self-paced Courses that can be completed anytime within 45 days
- Up-to-date content revised on annual basis that includes new legislations and trends based in field research
- Joined by thousands of learners from 90 countries, including Sustainability professionals, graduates and entrepreneurs from various sectors


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Today Walmart employees at a number of Southern California stores walked out, striking in opposition to the retailer’s attempts to suppress unionization. This is the first time in Walmart’s history that employees at multiple stores are striking at the same time.
Protesters are citing Walmart, the world’s largest private employer, for mistreatment, including OUR Walmart, a labor group that is responsible for attempts to organize Walmart employees nationwide.
In response to Walmart’s treatment of workers, Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angelese County Federation of Labor, Maria Elena Durazo, said, “We cannot stand by while the country’s largest employer tries to silence workers who stand up for a better future for their families.”
Earlier this week, current employees of Walmart’s Tennessee stores announced a class-action lawsuit against the corporation on grounds of sex discrimination. The most recent suit, Phipps, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., is similar to two other local class action gender discrimination cases filed recently against the retail company in California and Texas.
Media Resources: Salon 10/04/12; Warehouse Workers for Justice; Our Walmart; Bloomberg 10/04/12; Feminist Newswire 10/03/12; Feminist Newswire 09/25/12; Feminist Newswire 02/21/12


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Apple says the company is mindful of the concerns of the regulator in blocking spam, and the latest operating system provides ways to report them. The company’s method to block spam gives control in the hands of the users in line with its focus on ensuring privacy of customers.
Google's first Chrome operating system (OS) based tablet "Pixel Slate" may support dual-booting Windows 10 -- allowing two operating systems to run on one device, the media reported.
Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus has announced rolling out the Android Pie 9.0 -- the ninth major update and the 16th version of the Android operating system (OS) -- for its OnePlus 6.
Homegrown smartphone maker Jivi Mobiles on Wednesday launched three new smartphones under its new "XTREME Series" that come with a "Full View" display at an affordable range.
BlackBerry has unveiled BlackBerry Spark, the only Enterprise of Things (EoT) platform designed and built for ultra-secure hyperconnectivity from the kernel to the edge.
Huawei's sub-brand Honor on Tuesday launched its affordable smartphone Honor 7S in India for Rs 6,999
KaiOS, which powers JioPhone, is slowly taking over the iOS market in India, where it currently occupies the No. 2 position in the segment.
Lower smartphone and data costs, and technology platforms like Aadhaar and UPI are making it viable for entrepreneurs to offer more products and services to tier 2 and 3 cities, and lower income groups
The country's indigenous smartphone operating system Indus OS on Thursday announced a multi-year partnership with US-based mobile platform company Digital Turbine, Inc.
For Mumbai based Indus, Apple and Microsoft's OS products are small fry. In a short time span the company has out run these two global giants.
A new report from Gartner Inc. highlights the top ten Internet of Things (IoT) technologies that organisations need to focus on for the next two years.
In an interaction with ET, McMaster talks about the future of operating systems, Cyanogen’s expansion plans and product roadmap
The QNX OS 6.6 offers a wealth of new graphics, UI, multimedia, security, and power management capabilities, enabling developers to create highly differentiated products for markets such as healthcare, heavy machinery, consumer white goods, energy production, industrial automation, automotive telematics, and marine and in-flight entertainment.


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Rebuilding America: Business owners navigate uncertainty while eyeing re-opening
FARMINGTON — Uncertainty continues to weigh on small business owners as they navigate state regulations to relaunch and reopen stores in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Mark Garcia has owned and operated Garcia & Co. Jewelers for 30 years in Farmington.
"When our showroom is closed, it's drastic difference in what people can do because people need to see, feel and touch our product before they buy it," he said.
The family-owned fine jewelry store closed in March and the pandemic hit during the lucrative time when people shop for engagements and anniversaries.
Garcia furloughed the five-member staff and implemented online retail and abbreviated store hours, mainly to answer calls from customers while the doors remain shut.
Recently, the business started curbside service after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the easing of some restrictions on May 13.
"We've had a few sales but nothing close to closing the gap," Garcia said about online transactions. He added that compared to last year, his business lost 70 percent in revenue in April and is edging toward a 60 percent loss for May.
If this decline continues into July, Garcia will have to take further action to stay afloat.
Tara Taylor operates the Studio Bake Shoppe inside Artifacts Gallery/Artifacts 302, the business her family owns in downtown Farmington.
The doors have been closed since March, but Taylor unlocks the bake shop on Saturday mornings, so customers can pick up cinnamon rolls, cookies or muffins ordered by telephone or on the Studio Bake Shoppe Facebook page.
"It's been working pretty good. It's a little bit of revenue versus none," she said.
Garcia and Taylor anticipate the time when their locations can reopen – despite being on opposite ends of the retail spectrum, both miss seeing customers, have implemented ways to keep patrons safe and want to move forward.
Both have been reviewing regulations for businesses from the state, but it feels like navigating an endless maze.
"Every time the mandates are updated, we try to adjust and see what we can do to be proactive and still be respectful of those mandates. In our business, it's been trying to sell online, calling customers and seeing if we can help them," Garcia said, adding that 95% of his business' cash flow comes from customers visiting the store.
Taylor said small businesses were hit first by closures, now the worry is compliance and enforcement of state regulations, which could lead customers to go elsewhere.
"It deters people from the small businesses because of what we now have to ask them. Yes, I want to open. Yes, I follow the rules but sometimes the rules seem a little excessive. I'll do it because I want to open my doors again and hopefully people will come," Taylor said.
Noel Lyn Smith covers the Navajo Nation for The Daily Times. She can be reached at 505-564-4636 or by email at email@example.com.
Support local journalism with a digital subscription to The Daily Times.


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Van Guard will be returning for their third Tool Fair & Elex show at Coventry this September. This follows a successful year attending several Tool Fairs across the country, including one on their home turf.
On Thursday 20th and Friday 21st September, the latest hand tools, power tools and equipment will be on show for Builders & Electricians at the Ricoh Arena. Van Guard will be at stand D49 offering 40% off all products, with special pricing on Seat Covers and Ladder Clamps.
The ULTI Rack will be on display on a VW Transporter T6, alongside a range of aluminium Pipe Carriers. It doesn’t stop there though, the interior of the van will be fully kitted out with Van Guard’s new Trade Van Racking and Accessories, designed to be hardwearing and easy to install!
While you’re visiting Van Guard at their stand why not take part in a chance to win a £250 Screwfix Gift Card? All you have to do is guess how many plastic components are in the specially designed Tool Store.
Registration to the Coventry Toolfair is FREE, with a number of FREE goodies, including a FREE bacon roll. What more could you want? Register here.


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Welcome to the Value Added Resource ecommerce news week in review!
Authentication workers at eBay-owned TCGPlayer are celebrating multiple wins this week as the National Labor Relations Board rejected eBay's appeal to overturn their union vote, forcing the company to finally acknowledge TCGUnion-CWA and agree to come to the bargaining table.
eBay's latest testing of a new View Item Page design alarms sellers by moving descriptions to a separate tab, requiring buyers to make an additional click in order to see important seller-provided item details.
It appears eBay may be feeling the heat from increasing user complaints about glitches on the platform, prompting Chief of Staff Seller Experience, Valeri Yee, to stop by the eBay for Business podcast to discuss how eBay handles new feature rollouts and technical issues on the site.
Curiously, Valeri chose to focus on a very small technical issue that impacted a limited number of users over Memorial Day weekend instead of the widespread and significantly more disruptive malfunction that randomly increased seller inventory causing massive out of stock cancellations that same weekend.
Sellers were stymied by an odd bug that resulted in a page not found error when using search filters due to a URL coding error from the Seller Hub Overview page.
Ironically, it fell to a savvy seller in the eBay community to test and identify the source of the problem, contradicting Valeri's assurances of how seriously eBay takes finding and fixing coding bugs.
It's disappointing but not surprising eBay has still not corrected the simple coding error, despite being given a free step by step guide showing them exactly what they need to do.
Sellers have also still had no remedy for a glitch that is causing markdown sale promotions not to work on some listings, leading to buyer complaints when the proper discount is not applied at checkout.
UPDATE: eBay has finally officially acknowledged they were performing testing that would have impacted Impressions and the "user experience" from July 18 - 28.
Other Ecommerce News
TikTok is building up it's ecommerce operations, aiming to take significant market share in pre-owned luxury goods, sneakers and collectibles in the US - should eBay be worried?
Amazon has officially announced there will be another Prime Deals event in October, confirming seller reports from June.
Some longtime Amazon sellers were startled this week by what appeared to be a glitch mass gating most of their products and preventing them from sending new inventory in to FBA.
As Amazon starts to extend Delivery Date Based Reserve policies, sellers in the UK and Europe are worried about cash flow crunch - will media and regulatory scrutiny cause them to reverse course?
Amazon leadership including Jeff Bezos and 20 members of the board and management have been hit with an investor lawsuit over "massive losses" and expansion that has exposed the company to increasing regulatory scrutiny.
Etsy is updating child safety rules and prohibited content policies for listing images that feature minors, effective September 8.
And finally, Depop has announced an update to their seller protection policies that will require sellers to use shipping labels purchased from the platform, leaving sellers wondering if Etsy will follow suit.
Value Added Resource is proudly reader supported - learn more about our commitment to an ad-free user experience.


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New fast food joint set to open in St. Louis
St. Louis is set to get a new fast food restaurant. This was hinted at by a poster that read ‘Coming soon – Chicago. Fish. Chicken. Grill.’ The poster was put up on the wall of the previously owned Imo’s Pizza location. In other words, this marks a change from Italian pizza to a Chicago grill. Clearly, where one chain restaurant failed, another believes they can do better and make it work. It is not known when the new venture will open or if they will do Chicago-style pizzas and hotdogs. Nonetheless, this sign indicates that it will be coming soon.
In fact, this may be coming sooner than you think. As Imo’s previously owned the spot, there’s a chance that it could still be fitted with relevant catering equipment and other fittings such as tables and chairs for customers. The announcement of the new venue drew a mixed response from St. Louis locals, with some favoring Imo’s. Others claimed that this may not be authentic Chicago food either. The good news is that if you are a fan of Imo’s pizza, is that St. Louis still has a few shops dotted around other parts of the city. Nonetheless, time will tell if this new venture will do better than the one of its predecessors.


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Ever since President Barack Obama took over as President of the United States of America, he has been working nonstop to provide American’s with new jobs in order to resurrect the economy of the United States. One criticism of the job market over the last year is that even though jobs are being created, the jobs are not being created fast enough to satisfy every last struggling American.
Obama got a little bit of help from an unlikely source on Tuesday.
Often times when people tell the unemployed to get a job, McDonald’s is used as the last resort that everyone should at the very least apply for. Oddly enough, that is exactly who was hiring on Tuesday.
Tuesday, McDonald’s held its first ever national hiring day. The company as a whole looked to hire 50,000 new employees in an effort to stimulate the American economy and get Americans out of the unemployment line.
Individual McDonald’s locations reported having hundreds of people come in throughout the day to fill out an application in hopes of regaining a steady income.
Those who came into the fast food restaurants located at every corner of the United States represented Americans young and old. From teenagers in high school looking to earn a bit of pocket cash to middle age Americans looking to make a bit of income after being unemployed in order to feed their families, it seemed like everyone was taking up McDonald’s on their offer.
John DeCarrier, a McDonald’s franchise owner from the Chicago area, said that just being a part of the McDonald’s crew could lead to much better things to those applying on Tuesday. DeCarrier, who along with his wife began as regular crew members, said, “People who start as crew members can work their way into any number of positions, including general manager, supervisor, positions in marketing, construction and real estate, or as owner-operators.”
All McDonald’s locations took applications both in their stores and on their website. They offer pay based on which location the employee works at and how much experience they have. Some people make as little as minimum wage while managers can make as much as $50,000 per year.
While a job at McDonald’s is not going to provide a former executive with the same salary he or she once had, it would give them a source of income, which in this economy is hard to come by.


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Apple might be growing in the US thanks to brisk sales of the MacBook Air and the expansion of the iPhone 4 to Verizon Wireless, but in Asia-Pacific, the Cupertino company is exploding. Over the past five years, Apple's revenue has climbed from US$14 billion in 2005 to $64 billion in 2010. During that time, international revenue grew a staggering 727%, while US revenue grew 268%. Profit showed a similar trend with Asia-Pacific increasing by a whopping 2,991% in the last five years. US profit also grew, but only at a comparatively small rate of 682%.
This upward trend is expected to continue in the current 2011 fiscal year. Last year, Apple reported $8.25 billion in sales to the Asia-Pacific region. We are half way through this year and Apple has already reached $5 billion in sales. Its sales are expected to quadruple year-over-year, and Apple hasn't even tapped into China's lucrative mobile phone market.
Apple sells the iPhone through China Unicom, which has 170 million subscribers (a number that pales in comparison with 600 million subscribers on China Mobile). Overall, China has over 900 million mobile phone users. If Apple could produce an iPhone for China Mobile and China Telecom, its resulting revenue and profits could go off the charts.


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During the past two weeks, these companies have acquired five engineering services and digital technology focused firms, including Wipro’s acquisition of (ITI), Hexaware’s acquisition of Mobiquity for $182 million, and Cognizant buying Zenith Technologies for an undisclosed amount.
While ITI should add value to Wipro’s digital engineering and manufacturing services, Mobiquity — which counts Amazon Web Services, Philips, Wawa, Backbase and Rabobank as clients — specialises in experience design and product engineering.
Engineering services has become one of the fastest growing segments for the large tech services companies, said Peter Bendor-Samuel, chief executive, Everest Group.
“The engineering services market is one of the most attractive segments of the services space...There is a great deal of interest in acquiring engineering services firms. Most of these firms (large IT companies) have had small practices, but have lacked the scale and depth of talent to become strategic partners in this fast growth market,” said Bendor-Samuel.
Engineering services exports stood at $24 billion in fiscal 2019, with over 1,500 engineering R&D companies employing over half a million people, according to data from industry lobby group Nasscom. Indian companies have more than 28% market share of the global ER&D space.
Tech services companies such as HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and others have bagged crucial deals in niche digital areas through such acquisitions. HCL Tech acquired Geometric and Butler Aerospace a couple of years ago for $285 million to drive growth in the engineering services business.
In fact, Tech Mahindra’s acquisition of Inter Informatics, a cabin design engineering firm in the Czech Republic last year may have helped in winning a multi-year aerospace engineering deal from Airbus, said Pareekh Jain, founder of Pareekh Consulting. “These small firms bring in niche skills in emerging areas of digital and engineering services. They also give access to a client base,” said Jain.
"We have seen fundamental shifts in life sciences manufacturing as a result of the industry focus on specialty drugs and biologics; these require smaller batch sizes, tighter control and increased agility in manufacturing operations. Our clients are looking to address these shifts by embracing Industry 4.0 and adopting smart factory digital technology solutions. The Zenith Technologies acquisition expands Cognizant’s IoT portfolio and extends our life sciences domain expertise by positioning Cognizant as a single-source provider of end-to-end smart factory capabilities," said Srinivas Shankar, Global Head, Life Sciences, Cognizant.
Wednesday, 29 Nov, 2023
- For More Capital, Byju’s Must Pass a Tough Test
Top shareholders at Byju’s have demanded the company meet certain conditions before they consider any future capital infusion into the beleaguered edtech firm that is battling a deepening fund crunch, people in the know of the matter said.Virtual Influencers Now Making Real Money? AI, AI, Sir!
As social media influencers, Kyra and Naina have hit the big time. Only thing is, they’re not actually real — not entirely anyway. Titan, Realme, MG Motors and Boat are paying a premium to advertise through 3D-animated humans, or virtual influences, who have become quite the phenomenon on Instagram with views of up to 21 million for their reels.Timing of Burmans’ Open Offer Fishy: Religare Ind Director Ahmed
Hamid Ahmed, an independent member on the Religare Enterprises board, has described the timing of the Burman family open offer to buy more shares as ‘fishy’ in the first such media comments by any of the independent directors at the financial services company the founder-promoters of Dabur are seeking to control.


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Police searching for shopping bag robber
Some robbers wear ski masks, others wear pantyhose over their heads, and then there’s this guy.
Police are searching for a man who wore a shopping bag on his head, body, hands, and feet while robbing three stores in one day.
The man took $300 from the first store and two packs of Newport cigarettes from the second, and more money from the third, according to police.
Man breaks into soda machine, leads police on car chase
A Pennsylvania man is behind bars after police said he broke into a soda machine and then led officers on a car chase.
Raymond Birch eventually crashed into a parked car but still didn’t stop. He got out of the truck and started running and eventually was tackled and placed in handcuffs.
Birch was drunk and had an open can of beer in the front cup holder of his truck.
© Copyright 2019 WBBH/WZVN (Waterman Broadcasting). All rights reserved.


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Growth of liquid cartons cannot be contained
JOHANNESBURG - Changing dynamics within the food and beverage industry, coupled with the growth of the retail sector and increasing awareness around sustainability, has driven new growth and innovation in the packaging industry, says Quinton Swart, Managing Director for Paper and Eastern Africa, Nampak.
Raising awareness about safe and secure liquid packaging cartons solutions in developing countries is a factor expected to contribute significantly to the growth of the global liquid packaging cartons market, according to the Market Research’s ‘Global Liquid Packaging Cartons Market Trends, Applications, Analysis, Growth, and Forecast: 2018 to 2027’ report.
The growth of liquid cartons in emerging markets is set to influence global business, impacting the bottom-line and larger landscape in South Africa, so much so that the market has the potential to present many opportunities for South Africa, from boosting GDP growth to opportunities for employment.
The economic value and employment opportunities of the market could be realised through recycling, increased manufacturing capacity, increased exports, as well as a rise in consumer spending. Indirect benefits such as job creation and cost savings from redirecting recyclable waste away from landfills could add further value.
Demand is high
As the world becomes more environmentally conscious, liquid cartons are fast becoming a favourite amongst consumers and manufacturers alike due to the recyclable nature, maneuverability, aesthetic appeal, convenience, and eco-friendly attributes.
Emerging markets such as China and India are expected to show the greatest increase in demand for environmental liquid carton packaging. So, there is real potential for countries such as South Africa to cater to this growing demand for liquid cartons and reap the benefits in turn.
The liquid carton packaging market accounted for revenue of $14 310 million in 2017 and is anticipated to reach $20 747 million by 2025, according to the ‘Liquid Packaging Carton Market Outlook – 2025’.
The market shows no signs of slowing down, as an increase in the consumption of soft drinks, demand for sustainably packaged water, as well as a demand for smaller, ready-to-drink packs is expected to boost the growth of the liquid cartons packaging market.
Sustainability boosts benefits
Retailers and brand owners’ primary sustainability strategy has been to reduce packaging materials, making use of more lightweight options in order to minimise waste and their carbon footprint, as well as reduce transport costs.
Reducing the weight and thickness of packaging is often the best way to minimise the impact on the environment while keeping costs down, according to the ‘Comparison of Carton and Plastic Packaging Sustainability report’. Using less packaging provides an economic benefit, not only in material costs but also in transportation and disposal, helping companies reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and operate more efficiently.
The market is poised for take-off. However, innovation is key to its growth, something companies such as Nampak Liquid Cartons continuously work on, providing new packaging options that are geared towards sustainability for clients.
Legislation is a driver
There are also legal drivers behind businesses primary sustainability strategy, such as South Africa’s Carbon Tax Act, which aims to incentivise companies to become more energy efficient by taxing them on the use of carbon offsets for primary greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).
Creating a circular economy
The European Commission has adopted a Circular Economy Package to stimulate Europe’s transition towards a circular economy in a bid to boost global competitiveness, foster sustainable economic growth, and generate new jobs.
According to the Commission, in a circular economy, the value of products and materials is maintained for as long as possible; waste and resource use are minimised, and resources are kept within the economy when a product has reached the end of its life, to be used over and over again to create further value.
Public perception is powerful
Living in today’s digital era, with empowered consumers making use of online platforms to raise their concerns, brands are more vulnerable than ever to negative publicity. This is helping shape customer preferences, including that for sustainable packaging alternatives, according to Plastic Planet.
Packaging that is not recycled has far-reaching waste-related environmental impacts, which pose an increasing risk to brands through tightening of waste legislation in addition to negative public perception.
Liquid cartons, on the other hand, that are easy to recycle and reuse, making them a positive packaging choice for the circular economy.
Drivers of change
Growing urbanisation and industrialisation are prompting further advancements and innovative solutions being seen in the packaging processes.
With the rising demand for liquid cartons, Nampak Liquid Cartons opened a new Technical Hub in 2019 to better maintain and service the growing pool of liquid carton machines for the food and beverage industry.
The liquid carton packaging market shows no signs of slowing down as the world becomes more and more environmentally aware, with businesses heeding the call while enjoying the benefits this form of sustainable packaging brings, from extended shelf life to a revitilised look and feel of their products.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE


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Breaking News: Two people dead after planes collide mid-air in Nairobi
What you need to know:
- Kenya’s dairy industry has an estimated value of four per cent of the gross domestic product .
- Farmers continue to receive payments despite the impact of Covid-19.
While many economic sectors are losing millions of shillings in the wake of Covid-19, the dairy industry is shaking off the turmoil, with milk prices remaining firm.
Stakeholders and economists have attributed the sector’s success to interventions put in place even before the outbreak of coronavirus.
Unlike sectors such as floriculture, tea and coffee, which depend on exports to survive, the dairy sector business is almost normal.
Industry experts said availability of local demand and elaborate plans laid down to empower farmers on best practices and adoption of modern farming practices are keeping the sector robust.
Although dairy farming is known to contribute to food security, it is the sub-sector’s role in incomes that is coming to the fore at this time, as farmers strive to maintain cash-flows necessary for financing family needs amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
Kenya’s dairy industry has an estimated value of four per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
It’s “one of the few enterprises that guarantee income for our families at this time when the other value chains are experiencing depressed performance especially when it comes to returns for farmers,” said Mr Edwin Sing’oei, who sells his raw milk to leading processor in the country Brookside Dairy through the Elburgon Progressive Dairy society in Nakuru county.
“Marketing of raw milk through the formal channels, such as those facilitated by Brookside Dairy assures farmers of payments for their produce, unlike in other sub-sectors of the agriculture economy,” added Mr Sing’oei, who supplies 350 litres of milk to the processor daily.
Farmers continue to receive payments despite the impact of Covid-19.
“Major processors like Brookside have continued to make regular payments for deliveries in spite of the unique challenges in the supply chain brought about by the pandemic. However, farmers who were selling their milk through hawkers in the informal market have not been as lucky,” revealed Mr Sing’oei.
In April, just after the announcement of coronavirus containment measures in the country, Brookside Dairy, which controls 40 per cent of the country’s raw milk market, adjusted farm-gate prices upwards, with an incentive of an extra shilling per kilogramme of raw milk to cushion farmers from the effects of the Covid-19 disease.
The increase has seen the processor’s 160,000 farmers benefit from a price of over Sh36 per kilo of raw milk.
The move was a big relief for farmers at a time businesses are re-evaluating their strategies to survive the virus.
“As the country implements far-reaching measures to contain the coronavirus and its threats onto the economy, and especially agriculture, we decided to increase farm-gate prices of milk in order to minimise the financial impacts of the current situation on our farmers,” said Mr John Gethi, Brookside’s director of milk procurement and manufacturing.
The New Kenya Cooperative Creameries (New KCC) Nixon Sigey said the favourable weather condition at the beginning of the year coupled with intensive training on feeding regime has helped thousands of New KCC farmers reap maximum benefits.
The MD revealed that before the Covid-19 outbreak, the processor was planning to launch a pilot on quality-based payment system.
He said all their farmers had been paid, which motivated them to boost their production.
However, he noted, all the processors have been affected as the purchasing power of their customers has gone down due to many job cuts. “Our big sales in schools and hotels have been affected as these two outlets have been closed down and it is hurting many processors,” Mr Sigey said.
Mr Gethi said Brookside, which pioneered the use of milk supply contracts with farmers, buys all contractual volumes of milk from its suppliers, even in times of difficulty and uncertainty such as the current crisis.
“Our contracts are unique in that they guarantee to buy 100 per cent of all produce from our farmers. During this difficult time due to Covid-19 on the economy, we have remained true to this promise,” Mr Gethi told Smart Company.


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Thursday 21 May 2009
Aston Business School held the third in its successful series of ‘Challenging Times’ events recently which saw Midlands businesses and entrepreneurs come together to discuss the future of business in the region.
The event, Entrepreneurship, innovation and business growth, led by Professor Mark Hart, looked at the trends and the opportunities for those individuals who are more likely to be entrepreneurial and adopt innovation as a strategy to ensure business survival and growth.
Mark drew on his work over a number of years with the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), including the launch of the eagerly awaited 2008 UK report, which was carried out between May and September, to look at the shifting patterns of Entrepreneurship.
Professor Hart said: “Early stage entrepreneurial activity is up slightly on the last report which is good news. Even last summer, when the credit crisis was coming into effect, there were people who were actively engaged in setting up a new business which in a way is very encouraging.“
If you missed the event, listen to podcasts or watch it now:
Challenging Times Introduction by Dr David Hardman, Chief Operating Officer, Aston Science Park >>
Challenging Times with Professor Mark Hart >>
Innovation at Aston Business School. Listen to presentations from our key schemes, EREBUS, CPMP and Innovations Vouchers (formerly INDEX) to see how your business could gain knowledge and work with the school on key projects that will benefit your business.
Innovation Vouchers >>


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And the sweetest thing is the market size. At Rs 8,000 crore and rapidly growing, the branded mango products market rivals that for chocolates of all kinds put together.
Starbucks made a pleasant discovery on the extent to which Indians can be mango people. The US-headquartered beverages chain put alphonso puree in tea and also created an Alphonso Mango Frappuccino. Tea with mango — yuck? No, it’s yum. Starbucks’ mango offering was a huge hit with Indian consumers and the global beverages chain is now exporting the Made-in-India frappuccino to other Asian markets.
Mango frappuccino is one of several new examples that have transformed the mango-based product basket dominated by ice candies and soft drinks flavoured with the fruit.
“Mango is to India what strawberry is for most parts of the western world,” said Nadia Chauhan, joint managing director at Parle Agro. “Mangoes are available only for three months…anything with a short supply attracts big demand,” said Harish Bijoor, a brand expert. Whatever the explanation, the mango stories are remarkable.
Consider this: Manpasand Beverages is not exactly an FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) giant with a storied brand portfolio.
But this Gujarat-based company had a rollicking initial public offering — oversubscribed 1.4 times — based on the success of a single, mango-based drink, named, with striking literalness, Mango Sip.
Manpasand now has nearly Rs 2,600 crore in market capitalisation, despite annual revenues of just Rs 350 crore.
And the old mango drink fights are getting tougher, where Parle Agro’s Frooti vies with Pepsi’s Slice and Coca-Cola’s Maaza. Not unsurprisingly, Aam Ras is the best-selling product in Paper Boat’s portfolio.
Here’s another mango success that came from nowhere. DS Foods’ raw mango-flavoured candy Pulse reported sales of Rs 150 crore in the first nine months. With a 50p price tag, that’s nearly 3 billion candies.
“Pulse’s offtake has surpassed our expectations. The flavour we created through in-house R&D (research and development) is what set it apart,” said Shashank Surana, vice-president, new product development, at DS Foods, the company that makes Rajnigandha pan masala and Pass Pass mouth freshener.
Mango variants account for half the overall candy segment now, compared with caramel’s contribution at 20%, say industry officials. For Parle, Mango Bite candy has topped Rs 300 crore in yearly sales. “While chocolates have a ‘kids-only’ affinity, mango’s likeability is age-neutral,” said Parle’s marketing head Mayank Shah.
Naturally, new global players are also going aam. Danone has mango yogurt, Kellogg’s sells mango corn flakes.
There’s mango in booze — United Sports Bar and Grill sells a cocktail called Mango Surprise (rum and mango purée). There’s mango in ayurvedic jams — Dabur sells mango-flavoured chyawanprash. And there’s mango in doughnuts — Mad Over Donuts’ mango-flavoured line has acquired a loyal client base, the company says. So, what’s the next delightful surprise for India’s mango people?


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Fed’s Dudley: Quit Whining About Food Prices, Buy an iPad2
William C. Dudley is the amazingly out-of-touch President of the New York Fed. Speaking in Queens today, he said the economy has improved, but a long way from improved employment and price stability.
The audience pressed Dudley about higher food prices, wherein Reuters reports “people forget that even as the price of food is rising, other prices are falling. He mentioned the price of the iPad 2, prompting guffaws from the audience.”
This whole commodity price thing is temporary he said. “While rising commodity prices may be giving some of you a bad headache, they are not likely to lead to a sustained rise in inflation to levels inconsistent with our dual mandate,” Dudley said.
After earning his PhD at the University of California, Dudley worked for the Fed. Then he went to work at Goldman Sachs where he was the firm’s Chief Economist for a decade. The is was back the New York branch of the Fed in 2007 and was made CEO in 2009.
Mr. Dudley has plenty of tools over there in the Fed garage that will keep inflation in check. “We are very, very confident that those tools will be completely effective at keeping inflation in check,” he said late last year defending the Fed’s QE2 policy. “We are completely willing to use those tools, when the time comes, to prevent an inflation problem. Higher inflation is not a way out. It is not a solution.”
“The problem with a price-level target is that it’s difficult to explain what you’re doing in a way that doesn’t create larger anxiety about the long-term inflation target,” he said. “We clearly want people to understand that we are committed to price stability over the long run.”
The Fed is committed and prices are stable. If you don’t believe it because the price of your groceries are going up, then the guys running the Fed would say these price movements are just too difficult for you to understand.


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Vector Capital Announces Successful Restructuring of Funds II and III and Affiliated Vehicles for Approximately $450 Million
Vector Capital, a leading private equity firm specializing in transformational investments in established technology businesses, today announced it has successfully completed a restructuring of Vector Capital II, L.P., a 1999 vintage fund, Vector Capital III, L.P., a 2005 vintage fund, and affiliated vehicles held by existing LPs (collectively, the “Funds”), for approximately $450 million. Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Vintage Funds and GIC led the transaction, and collectively, are now the largest LPs in the Funds.
Corel Acquires ClearSlide: Sales Engagement Platform Leader Poised for Growth
Corel Corporation today announced that it has acquired ClearSlide Inc., the sales engagement platform leader that enables sales, marketing, and service teams to drive more successful customer interactions. With this acquisition, Corel will make significant investment into the development of ClearSlide's cloud-based platform, fueling its technology leadership and enabling ClearSlide to grow its business in new markets.
ChyronHego Names Boromy Ung as Chief Product Officer
ChyronHego today announced the appointment of Boromy Ung as chief product officer, reporting to President and CEO Johan Apel. As leader of ChyronHego’s global product management division, Ung has taken charge of the vision and roadmap for the company’s award-winning family of solutions for live television, news, and sports production.
CloudSense Raises $77 Million from Vector Capital
CloudSense, a leading Salesforce-native, industry-specific cloud company, today announced a $77 million growth investment from Vector Capital. The funding will be used to accelerate CloudSense’s rapid global expansion, especially in the North American markets, and to accelerate product innovation and development of enterprise focused vertical solutions.
Sizmek Completes Acquisition of Rocket Fuel; Creates World’s Largest Independent Buy-Side Platform Built for Agencies and Brands
Sizmek Inc., the largest people-based creative optimization and data activation platform delivering impressions that inspire, today announced the completion of the acquisition of Rocket Fuel Inc., an industry leading predictive marketing platform. The acquisition creates the largest independent buy-side platform, offering agencies and brands a richer set of products at a global scale.
IPVALUE Appoints John Lindgren as President and Chief Executive Officer
IPVALUE Management, a global leader in corporate licensing and patent monetization today announced the appointment of John Lindgren, a distinguished executive with experience at growing intellectual property monetization businesses, as the company’s new President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Lindgren will also join the company’s board of directors.
CollabNet and VersionOne Merge to Accelerate Innovation Across Enterprise Software Development and Delivery
CollabNet, a global leader in enterprise software development and DevOps solutions, and VersionOne, the leader in enterprise Agile software solutions and services, today announced the two companies have merged. The combined company will offer the industry’s most complete Enterprise Agile, ALM Collaboration, Version Control and DevOps solutions that power application development and delivery for many of the world’s leading businesses and government institutions.
Sizmek to Acquire Rocket Fuel, Creating Industry’s First Predictive Omni-Channel Marketing Platform Serving Agencies and Brands
Sizmek Inc., the largest people-based creative optimization and data activation platform delivering impressions that inspire, today announced it has entered into a definitive acquisition agreement with Rocket Fuel Inc., an industry leading predictive marketing platform that uses AI to anticipate optimal consumer response to messaging.
Cheetah Digital Emerges to Usher in New Era of Cross-Channel Marketing
Cheetah Digital, a global enterprise cross-channel marketing solutions provider, today launched as an independent marketing technology company. Formerly Experian Cross-Channel Marketing (CCM), the newly established Cheetah Digital is committed to driving exceptional results for enterprise marketers at scale through an unrelenting focus on product innovation and expert services.
Saba Completes Acquisition of Halogen Software
Saba Software Inc., today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Halogen Software, Inc. Saba, Vector Capital and its affiliates, and Michael Slaunwhite, Halogen’s co-founder, executive chairman and largest shareholder, have acquired Halogen for CAD$12.50 in cash per share.


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Ontario – The COVID pandemic has changed people's spending habits and some companies have done better than others. Of course, many purchases have also moved to online. Cannabis shops could aid economic recovery after or during the pandemic, says Kingston expert Jannawae McLean.
The cannabis industry was one of the few sectors that did not suffer during the pandemic, as cannabis stores are seen as essential. “For us, even during the pandemic, we were able to sell number one in a city like Kingston, which is not as big as other cities,” said Jannawae McLean of Calyx & Trichomes. “I think we did well, and I think we are prepared for anything.
17 cannabis shops and 27.000 employees
With 17 cannabis stores in the city of Kingston, Ontario, some may worry that the market is starting to become oversaturated, but McLean says it isn't. “It's not much,” she says. “If you consider how many places alcohol is sold, it's not much.”
McLean says the key to the cannabis market is accessibility. Kingston is still working on making cannabis more accessible. She says Kingston doesn't have the same problems as some other larger cities.
“In Toronto you see more clustering of shops in specific areas. The nice thing about a free market is that they usually manage themselves.” The cannabis industry is a significant contributor to the local economy, and McLean says cannabis stores can also help nationally with the recovery after the pandemic.
“Not only financially and economically, we also contributed to the labor market. More than 27.000 employees work in the stores alone. That doesn't even include production facilities and everything the cannabis industry offers.”
Read more globalnews.ca (Source, EN)


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“to fix sweatshop conditions in factories, we must increase productivity, and factories in developing countries and in the thousands of sweatshops in new. How nike solved its sweatshop problem max nisen may 10, 2013 nike establishes a department tasked with working to improve the lives of factory. How not to help sweatshop workers call on the government to improve wages and working banning sweatshops pushes poor people into worse alternatives and slows. How you can help put an end to sweatshop labor if your clothing doesnÍt come at a financial cost, it comes at a human cost by kim hunt may 15, 2015 5 minute read.
In this webpage we are trying to come up with a solution to sweatshop labor what apple did could be explained as ¨if you do not improve working conditions. Sweatshops in china (sacom) to empower migrant workers and improve working conditions in the guangdong province established in 2003. Are you supporting sweatshops the nike company has taken steps to improve conditions at its overseas factories during the past ten years. If you're wearing anything from nike, adidas, puma, fila or even some of our well-loved australian brands like bonds or just jeans, then it's highly likely your clothes were made in places. Third world sweatshops benefit workers much the way factories in great britain and the us did during the industrial revolution.
Everything we knew about sweatshops was wrong by christopher blattman a booming sector tends to improve labor conditions and bid up wages as more. 7 ways to avoid sweatshops and still dress like a boss photo: bobbie vie tylea richard aug 18, 2015 when i first started learning about sweatshops.
Complex participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means complex gets paid commissions on purchases made through our links to retailer sites. So does this all mean that anti-sweatshop campaigners will soon be looking for other jobs sadly no, as groups such as war on want and playfair 2012 attest.
Initial efforts to correct or improve sweatshops in the united states began in 1884 with legislation in the state of new york to eliminate the production of tobacco. Bringing respect for people to the world’s sweatshops of low-wage factories that squander their workers’ labor by making no effort to improve.
Consumer boycotts don't stop sweatshops any more china has passed tons of legislation the past few years to improve working conditions and even requires. Sweatshop (or sweat factory this leads to a situation where states often don't try to increase wages for sweatshop workers for fear of losing investment and. Guest commentary curated by forbes opinion avik roy, opinion editor full bio sweatshops in bangladesh improve the lives of their workers. How can sweatshop conditions be improved but one way i think you could improve them is by convincing the consumers of the said company that runs the sweatshops to.
Sweatshops: improving lives and economic growth the author argues that much of what the anti-sweatshop movement has agitated for would actually harm the very. Apple still shamed by china's ipod sweatshops six years after which found that apple’s pledges to improve its safety record and working practices. Economists critical of sweatshops have responded that sweatshops and third world living standards: are the find that multinational firms improve the lives. Sweatshops are the norm in the global apparel industry and often impede efforts to improve national labor justice and inspections systems (eg.


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Maybe I'm courting disaster, but my cheapskate approach to security has paid off so far. Here's my secret.
Privacy campaigners have developed an app that scans your computer for surveillance spyware.
Music's bedrock business will be selling access to streams, not ownership of tunes. So what does that mean for the artists you love? It should be music to their ears.
Mozilla says the new Firefox ad initiative takes a kinder, gentler approach to pitching you products.
Danae Ringelmann believes crowdfunding lets entrepreneurs find out what works and what doesn't without having to bet their life savings on being right.
Adding to its antitrust problems in China, the chipmaker says it's now under investigation by US and European government agencies.
The startup has developed a novel way to help audiences give musicians their undivided attention: a locking smartphone case that must be used while at a show.
Whenever I set up a new PC, these are the first programs I install.
The tablet industry's slowing sales have hit Apple's results. Can the company's newest device reverse that trend?
Apple, which will show off its newest iPad on Thursday, has to wrestle with the truth that consumers just aren't buying tablets as frequently as smartphones.