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CORONA, Italy — Sergio and Pier Luigi Loro Piana, the brothers who head Italian cashmere clothier Loro Piana SpA, have emerged as billionaires after agreeing to sell 80 percent of the family-owned company to LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA.
LVMH’s 2 billion euro ($2.57 billion) purchase is subject to approval by competition authorities, the Paris-based company said yesterday in a statement. The deal gives Quarona, Italy- based Loro Piana an enterprise value of 2.7 billion euros. Enterprise value is defined as market capitalization plus cash minus debt. The Loro Piana brothers will retain 20 percent of the business, LVMH said.
“LVMH has proved that it respects and nurtures family businesses and is most likely to respect the values and traditions of our maison,” the brothers said in the statement.
Each brother has a net worth of at least $1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, based on their respective 10 percent stakes in Loro Piana and after-tax proceeds from the sale.
A spokeswoman for Loro Piana confirmed the company was entirely family-owned before the LVMH purchase, and declined to comment on individual holdings. Each of the brothers owned 38 percent of the company, according to a 2007 article published in Milan newspaper Corriere della Serra. The balance was held by their sister, Lucia, and mother, Ellen Nathan.
Orbis, a database of company information published by Bureau van Dijk, showed Pier Luigi, Sergio and Lucia, as shareholders.
The Loro Piana family has been trading wool and fabrics since the early 1800s, according to the company’s website. The current company was founded in 1924 by Pietro Loro Piana in Italy’s Piedmont region. Pietro’s nephew Franco -- Pier Luigi and Sergio’s father -- began exporting fine fabrics to international markets in the 1940s. Pier Luigi, 61, and Sergio, 65, took over in the 1970s, and developed the brand and expanded into luxury retail.
The brothers alternate the roles of president and vice president at Loro Piana, and will continue to run the company, said LVMH.
The company is the biggest western producer of cashmere and the largest single purchaser of the extra-fine merino wools in Australia and New Zealand, according to LVMH. In 1994, Loro Piana was awarded the exclusive rights to reintroduce vicuna fiber, made from the silky wool of an animal found only in the Andes.
Loro Piana, which sells deerskin jackets for $5,680 and cashmere sweaters for $1,594, is expected to have revenues of 700 million euros this year from 631 million euros in 2012, according to LVMH.
The brothers join another Italian knitwear billionaire, Brunello Cucinelli, founder of Solomeo-based Brunello Cucinelli SpA, whose shares have jumped almost 80 percent in the past year on demand for its luxurious garments, such as cashmere cardigans and $4,530 suede jackets.
By: Devon Pendleton, Tom Metcalf with assistance from Andrew Roberts in Paris; Editors: Peter Newcomb, Matthew G. Miller


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Even in steady six- to nine-footers, this Jersey-built battlewagon beat back the breakers.
Last summer, Volvo Penta invited about a dozen American journalists and me to Gothenburg for the unveiling of its new D-275, the D-3, the D-4, and D-6 diesel...
Our Sightlines columnist, boat designer Michael Peters, is not above the occasional perusal of the Internet. Will the result be delight or disappointment?
He explains here. ▶
Thinking of a unique name for your new boat can be tough, that's why we created a Boat Name Generator. Try it here. ▶

domain: news


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Nissan has unveiled the 2019 Leaf e+, which includes a new powertrain and additional power and a range of up to 226 miles, and will be available along with the existing model.
A new version of the Leaf's electric powertrain allows it to reach the longer range, according to the automaker. A high-capacity battery and more powerful, 160 kW motor in the Leaf e+ combine to produce 45% more power and 250 lb.-ft. of torque. Meanwhile, accelerating from 50 mph to 75 mph is nearly 13% quicker.
Also, a new 70 kW Quick Charging system allows the Leaf e+ to charge with a 100 kW charger at a similar rate that the standard Leaf does when using a 50 kW chargers, despite it having larger battery storage, said Nissan. The physical size of the new battery in the Leaf e+ is nearly the same as the one found in the standard Leaf.
Meanwhile, the Leaf’s existing e-Pedal technology, which allows the driver to start, accelerate, decelerate and stop using only the accelerator pedal, has been reprogrammed for the e+ for smoother operation and enhanced pedal feedback, said Nissan.
Also new for the Leaf e+ is a larger, thin-film transistor, full-color 8-inch display, with an updated navigation system that can be linked to a compatible smartphone.
The Nissan Leaf Plus Series is scheduled to be available at Nissan dealerships in Japan in January 2019. U.S. sales are expected to begin in spring 2019 and European sales to commence in mid-2019, the automaker said. Pricing will be announced closer to on-sale date.


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After Maggi blows over, will food get any safer?
Given the manner in which various state governments have banned the sale of Maggi 2-minute noodles, the army has issued an advisory against it to its soldiers, and some large supermarkets have pulled the product off their shelves, you would think the Maggi noodles’ lead and MSG levels was the biggest food safety crisis India has ever had. So much so that, while the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has yet to come out with its report, the central government has taken the unprecedented step of complaining to the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) using Section 12(1)(d) of the Consumer Protection Act—this is the first time this section, which empowers the government to file a complaint as a representative of the people, has ever been used. Though the FSSAI has yet to come to a conclusion, and there are differing reports from various states—while Delhi, Uttarakhand and Gujarat claim Maggi has lead levels beyond permissible levels, Goa, Maharashtra and
Kerala’s tests find no problem—consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan has said “it is about selling substandard products and making false claims in advertisements, thereby misleading consumers”.
While Nestle needs to be punished harshly if its products are found to be failing standards, the controversy throws up issues that show up India’s food safety regulations in very poor light. For one, what kind of testing norms are in place if they throw up wildly different results across the country? And how has Maggi been selling in the country for so many decades without being caught till now? And, more important, how many more such cases are there in the shadows? There have been reports of excessive lead in paints, pesticides in milk, antibiotics in poultry … the list is a long one. But the most damming evidence comes from the FSSAI’s annual report. The apex food safety organisation had a budget of R56 crore—the original approval was for R85 crore—of which a princely R9.8 crore was spent on salaries in FY14; not surprisingly, the annual report for FY14 says ‘enforcement of the FSS Act is difficult in the absence of a network of accredited food testing laboratories’. There are a total of 82 accredited laboratories across the country—of which, a mere 5 test the food in all of eastern India. Perhaps why, in a country the size of India, FSSAI managed to examine just 64,593 samples in FY12, found 8,247 to be ‘non-conforming’, launched 6,845 prosecutions and got just 764 convictions. By FY15, the number of samples was down to 49,290—to be fair, reports had not been got from all states—the number of non-conforming samples was up to 8,469, as was the number of convictions at 2,701. The penalties, involved, were under R7 crore, telling you just how ineffective the FSSAI is. None of this takes away from Nestle’s culpability in case the final tests confirm the UP FDA’s fears, but it is difficult to shrug off the feeling that the Maggi controversy is a bit of overkill, an attempt to show up the country’s food safety system as robust when it is anything but that.


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Taiwan's Awakening News (醒報新聞) today carries a translation of a Reuters' report from Monday. Following are some of the original points, (the full English article is here).
The world is running out of time to make sure there is enough food, water and energy to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population and to avoid sending up to 3 billion people into poverty, a U.N. report warned on Monday.
As the world's population looks set to grow to nearly 9 billion by 2040 from 7 billion now, and the number of middle-class consumers increases by 3 billion over the next 20 years, the demand for resources will rise exponentially.
Even by 2030, the world will need at least 50 percent more food, 45 percent more energy and 30 percent more water, according to U.N. estimates, at a time when a changing environment is creating new limits to supply.
And if the world fails to tackle these problems, it risks condemning up to 3 billion people into poverty, the report said.
Efforts towards sustainable development are neither fast enough nor deep enough, as well as suffering from a lack of political will, the United Nations' high-level panel on global sustainability said.
"The current global development model is unsustainable. To achieve sustainability, a transformation of the global economy is required," the report said.
"Tinkering on the margins will not do the job. The current global economic crisis ... offers an opportunity for significant reforms."


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- California Pizza Kitchen Inc. cpki after Tuesday's closing bell raised its outlook for third-quarter per-share earnings to a range of 33 cents to 34 cents, compared with its prior view of 32 cents to 33 cents. The company said quarterly same-restaurant sales rose 5.6% from the same period in the prior year, while the company had previously expected growth of 4% to 5%. California Pizza added that third-quarter revenue rose 14.7% to $142.8 million from $124.5 million in the prior year.
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Sovereign Yachts development at Hobsonville
Hon Jim Anderton Speech Notes
Mayor Bob Harvey
Ministerial colleague Laila Harre, and other Parliamentary colleagues,
About a year ago the new Labour-Alliance Coalition Government launched the Ministry of Economic Development.
We said then that the New Zealand economy needs to be transformed.
We needed to broaden and deepen the export base of New Zealand. Create more successful exporting companies.
We needed to export more high-tech, high-skill, high-value products that the rest of the world wants to buy.
At the moment, among all developed countries, we are the lowest exporter of high-tech manufactured products.
Even Greece, which is the next lowest, exports three times more high-tech manufactured product than we do, as a proportion of its export base.
Hands-off wasn't working. Our economy wasn't changing fast enough to deliver the jobs and rising incomes New Zealanders need in the future. Our relative decline in the world has been felt especially in the regions of New Zealand.
We need more high-value products that rely on the creative skill of New Zealanders.
This country has enormous natural advantages. But we can't rely on our sunshine and rainfall alone. We need to create new advantages for ourselves. That is the future that the Jobs Machine has set out to create.
The Labour-Alliance Coalition Government set up the Jobs Machine to take a partnership approach. To work across the whole of government, in partnership with local authorities and the private sector. To seize opportunities.
Around the middle of last year, Tradenz heard about Sovereign Yachts.
Here was a high-tech export company owned by New Zealanders. It had a full order book and the next America’s Cup looming. If we could get that investment here, it would mean export orders worth hundreds of millions of dollars. More employment opportunities in a valuable high-skill industry.
There were one or two obstacles to overcome. The time required for the disposal of Defence Department land is often as much as five to ten years. Resource consents. The Public Works Act. The availability of sufficiently trained workers. And they had to fix all this in about six months.
Tradenz put this one in the hands of my Ministry of Economic Development.
We’ve worked flat out ever since. Defence made sure that the open process required by the Public Works Act was followed.
No special rights were conferred on Sovereign Yachts. Any other company could have come to the arrangement that it did. The Government's role was to open up the process and give it some urgency to ensure we took advantage of the opporutnity.
I want to pay tribute to Waitakere City for playing its part. Today's announcement affects only a small proportion of the Hobsonville Base area. I understand there will be an extensive consultation exercise over the future of the rest of the Base, in the best traditions of good local government.
As for this announcement, the Council ensured there was thorough consultation through the mayoral taskforce on Hobsonville. It has been meeting since last April to discuss ways to promote a boat-building cluster at Hobsonville, in an excellent example of a region focusing on its economic development potential.
The result is today’s announcement.
It’s a triumph for the Jobs Machine and for the partnership approach.
Today’s announcement is important for two reasons.
First, because hundreds of new jobs and export earnings of more than a hundred million dollars a year will be good for Waitakere.
It’ll be good for New Zealand.
Downstream benefits in increased demand for local services will multiply the overall benefit of this investment.
The commitment to develop and grow this business means the economic development benefits will come to New Zealand. Not go somewhere overseas.
The world market for super-yachts is rapidly expanding.
New Zealand's abilities in the industry are being showcased by Sovereign Yachts, as they are also being showcased by last year's decision by New Zealand Yachts Limited to invest in Whangarei.
The second reason this announcement is important is that it is an example of kiwis coming home – coming home to rebuild this country.
I would like to pay tribute to Bill Lloyd who went to Canada to build his business. Now he’s coming home. He’s bringing his success and his expertise with him. New Zealand needs that.
On behalf of the Government, I want to express my gratitude.
I can tell you that Industry New Zealand will continue to work with Sovereign Yachts and other New Zealand boatbuilders to expand this industry still further. It is a very high value export industry.
We have the America’s Cup, the Kendalls, the Hamilton Jet boat engine, Peter Blake and Grant Dalton, Sovereign Yachts. New Zealand has a future as the world’s leader in marine recreational equipment.
It’s an exciting future. High value, high-skill, job rich and export earning.
The Government will play our part in partnerhsip to help it grow.
I wish Waitakere City and Sovereign Yachts all the best with this venture. I know it promises a great future for all of you.


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Mesa Targets Convenience Store Crime
Politicians in Mesa say the city’s convenience stores have a crime problem.
The city council is about to pass an ordinance requiring store owners to crank up security. It’s bad news for beer thieves. But as KJZZ’s Peter O’Dowd reports, the business community doesn’t like it either.
Mike Rahall owns Fiesta Liquors in Mesa. He's worried what the new law will mean for his business.
Photo Credit: Peter O'Dowd


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The next big hurdle for virtual reality is obvious to anyone who’s put on a headset: Getting rid of all of those wires. We’ve seen cordless solutions from TPCast and Intel, but now Amimon, a company best known for developing wireless video technology, is getting into the ring. Its spin on wireless VR uses the 5GHz spectrum, instead of the 60GHz band used by competitors. That allows it to work through walls and without direct line of sight, something the 60GHz frequency range can’t do. Most importantly, Amimon promises a lag-free experience. According to the company, it could even support up to 10 VR or AR headsets in the same room (either with their own computers, or a souped-up gaming server).
Amimon, which will be debuting the technology at the VRX conference in San Francisco today, says its solution has advantages over the WiGig-powered alternatives. Since it doesn’t need to be in view of a receiver, you can step outside with a pair of augmented reality glasses and still be able to connect to a computer in your home. It’ll also be able to work in a variety of spaces, from crowded rooms to huge open environments. The main reason companies are eyeing 60GHz/WiGig for VR is due to its low latency and massive data throughput, but Amimon claims its patented technology can do the same in the 5GHz spectrum.


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Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G enters South Korea as the most affordable 5G device on the market
Xiaomi is operating in many parts of the world and now the company is entering one of the most developed 5G markets - South Korea. The Mi 10 Lite 5G is the company’s first 5G phone on the Korean market and in typical Xiaomi fashion is betting big on aggressive pricing, undercutting offerings from the two main 5G players in the region - Samsung and LG.
With a base price of KRW 451,000 ($374), the Mi 10 Lite 5G is half the price of LG’s Velvet and nearly KRW 120,000 ($100) cheaper than Samsung’s Galaxy A51 5G. The Mi 10 Lite 5G brings a 6.57-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a waterdrop notch for its 16MP selfie cam.
Around the back, it packs a 48MP primary shooter alongside an 8MP ultrawide snapper and two 2 MP modules - one for macro shots and another for depth data. The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 765G and comes with 6/8GB RAM and up to 256GB storage. The battery comes in at 4,160 mAh and offers 20W fast wired charging.
The Mi 10 Lite 5G will be offered solely online through Xiaomi's official website as well as several South Korean online retailers.
We recently published our Mi 10 Lite 5G written review which you can check out here.
- 21 Jul 2020
This is a really great device especially at this price range. Just hope they keep launching at different market.
- 20 Jul 2020
Well it doesnt matter xiaomi is equal in quality to samsung nowdays. In past they werent that good and anyway most people use their phones for likely 2 yeras on contract from their network carrier and then buy a new one so f this phone for a half o...
- 18 Jul 2020
Generic designs are timeless LG Velvet got curves of a typical samsung, camera arrangement like 2015 generic chinese androids all it has is those awful color schemes from 2000s electronics. Well it's typical LG, features ahead of time ...


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Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Wrong Yesterday Wrong Today Wrong Tomorrow
I just got through watching a segment on the Today Show on NBC highlighting the launch of the Microsoft Zune.
First of all, I thought journalists were suppose to reveal their affiliations with any product if such an affiliation exists. Microsoft owns a stake in NBC ie MSNBC News Network.
* The Today show also hosts its content on the MSNBC website
* A comment corrected me with a link to a YouTube video showing that Matt Lauer DID in fact mention the Microsoft NBC affiliation - I think my local news interupted right as he said that so I didn't see it. I still see the piece as biased and unethically reported, particularly with the 4G iPod
Second, all the side by side product comparisons showed 4th Gen iPods with monochrome screens with no song selected or playing, while the Zune was playing a video.
The other product comparison was to an iPod Mini.
I know that NBC has "OTHER" stock iPod footage to show - what about the Oprah/Bono press event showing off the (PRODUCT) red iPod Nano?
This isn't the first time NBC has misled its morning viewers with puff pieces about the Zune.
The only advantage offered for the iPod in this quasi press release was that the iPod had 1.5 million more titles in it's song library. What they failed to mention is that the iPod's advantage is getting those additional 1.5 million titles in a much better software interface with less restrictions- the iTunes Music Store.
Louderback: The Louder Mouth On The Today Show
Engadget: Installing The Zune Sucked!
* It was also mentioned that the iPod had sold 67 million units ... but didn't mention that Apple is expected to sell 20 million this holiday season, whereas the Zune is expected to sell less than 2 million IN A 1 YEAR PERIOD!


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For the first time in its 115-year history Barcelona will cease to wear a striped shirt and will adopt a hooped home jersey next season.
The move, revealed by Spanish newspaper Sport with the headline "The new Barcelona shirt is the bomb!", has not gone down well with some of fans of the Catalan club.
"Horizontal stripes are for rugby teams. For Barca they must be vertical," said one comment. Another criticised the dubious fashion taste of the club's board:
"It is best left up to the partners? Because this seems like a bad joke..."
It is not the first time a club has caused controversy by changing the historic design of their kit.
Cardiff fans were up in arms after owner Vincent Tan changed their traditional blue colours to red - many still attend matches with blue and white scarves - while Southampton fans were equally opposed to their club's decision to abandon their traditional stripes in favour of an all-red kit. They subsequently reverted to their old kit.
Barca's predominantly yellow away strip will retain stripes.


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01 September 1999
MAFF pins calf hopes on pink veal
by Johann Tasker
FARMERS should investigate the market for pink veal before deciding whether to shoot new-born dairy bull calves, the Ministry of Agriculture has claimed.
The slump in farm prices has seen dairy producers abandon week-old dairy bull calves in phone boxes and even shoot the animals during the past month.
Values have plummeted close to zero since the governments calf processing aid scheme which guaranteed about 40 for each calf was withdrawn on 31 July.
But a MAFF spokesman said he believed there was a still market for the animals despite farmers claims that they are only ditching the animals as a last resort.
Much of the veal imported into the country is white veal, produced by keeping calves in dark, restricted conditions and feeding them on milk.
Although producing white veal is banned in the UK, the production of lower-quality pink veal, reared under better animal welfare conditions, is allowed.
Dairy bull calves produce low quality veal, but the MAFF spokesman suggested they could be reared to help reduce the amount of white veal imported into the UK.
While appreciating that you cannot turn dairy bull calves into fully grown beef animals, the fact remains that there is some room for attacking that import gap.
The MAFF spokesman suggested that restaurants should stop serving white veal and should instead serve British reared pink veal, also known as ros veal.
We have a restaurant trade in this country that continues to believe that veal must be white, he said.
What we now have to do is say to the British restaurant trade: You should be providing the veal that your customers have said they want.
The spokesman claimed British consumers would be willing to eat pink veal if they knew it was produced under Britains very tough animal welfare regulations.
We believe that is what the British consumer wants and we believe the restaurant trade is a little bit out of step with the people they are serving, he said.
Dairy producers are likely to see the statement as proof that the government has failed to grasp the seriousness of the plight afflicting the sector.
Farmers leaders are in talks with MAFF to discuss how to increase the marketing opportunities and demand for dairy calves.
But even if some of the calves were reared for pink veal there would still be many more animals coming onto the market without an outlet.
Britains 28,000 farmers could have produced more than 600,000 worthless bull calves by next March, according to some reports.
But UK veal consumption has fallen over recent years and only a small amount is now imported into the country, said the Meat and Livestock Commission.
Dennis Chapple, of the farm consultants ADAS, said farmers should be wary of rearing dairy calves for veal unless they were absolutely sure a market existed.
The only way the market will sell it is if its quality veal and if its quality veal then its generally from a continental heifer, not from a Friesian bull, he said.


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Trading standards officers say that consumers are being tricked into buying fake goods on the internet by companies pretending to be based in the UK.
The websites are often based in China, but use "co.uk" as part of their domain name, giving shoppers a false sense of security, they say.
It is thought that there could be as many as 480,000 websites which carry "co.uk", but which are not UK based.
The sites sell a range of goods from trainers to hair straighteners.
Matthew Brown was taken in by a website called trainers9.co.uk.
"As soon as I opened the box I realised they were fake trainers," he said.
There doesn't need to be a UK link
Paul Miloseski-Reid, trading standards officer
But the fact that delivery was promised in less than three days, together with the apparently British address, convinced him that the site was genuine.
"It also had the safe purchase certificates at the bottom. So I was taken in by all that really."
Open to abuse
Trading standards officer believe the "co.uk" suffix is lulling consumers into a sense of false security.
In fact it offers no protection whatsoever, and certainly does not mean the site is operated by a UK company.
Internet security expert Tom Ilube said the methods fraudsters used to set up false websites and confuse people were getting more focused and professional.
He advised people to reduce the risks of being duped by:
• Searching for any user reviews of the site;
• Double clicking on the padlock symbol in the corner to reveal details about the company that registered the site; and
• Trying to connect the site to the real world by finding phone numbers or UK addresses.
Anyone prepared to give their name and address, and pay £5, can buy a co.uk domain name for a two-year period.
In total about 6% of registrations for "co.uk" domain names come from foreign companies, mostly based in China.
"There doesn't need to be a UK link," says Paul Miloseski-Reid, a trading standards officer based in Richmond, Surrey.
"So it's really open to abuse by criminals who want to pretend they're local, when they're selling unsafe, counterfeit goods."
In a survey of 52 countries, trading standards found that most countries have far tougher rules than the UK.
Usually they demand some sort of link with the country whose domain name they are adopting.
Nominet, which is responsible for giving out domain names in the UK, is unrepentant.
It is proud of the fact that eight million "co.uk" addresses are now in existence, and that the UK operates one of the most liberal internet regimes in the world.
We ask Nick Wenban-Smith, the legal counsel for Nominet, whether consumers are being hood-winked by the "co.uk" name.
"Maybe," he replies tentatively. "People need to be vigilant."
If consumers are unsure about the origins of a website, the advice is to use the "Whois" tool, on Nominet's website .
Using that tool, we traced Matthew Brown's fake Nike trainers to Fuzhou, in Western China.
When we contacted the company, trainers9.co.uk, they did promise to carry out an internal investigation.
But practically speaking, Matthew has few options.
Neither Paypal nor his credit card company are prepared to accept any responsibility.
His only option is to post his trainers back to China, and ask for a refund.
But he does not think that option is worth trying.
No responsibility can be taken for the content of external Internet sites.
Return to internet news headlines
View Internet News Archive


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FICO announced a new solution in FICO Fraud Manager that utilizes behavioral analysis and other signals to prevent P2P fraud. Fintechs have been doing this for years.
Mastercard acquired NuData, LexiNexis acquired Threatmetrix, while BioCatch and others continue to go it alone. The Fintechs have been in market for several years and have used that time to hone their machine learning algorithms.
For example, BioCatch claims to detect 5 different unique forms of criminal mule activity that impact accounts. It will be interesting to see if the FICO solution is equal to the Fintech solutions from the perspective of price/performance:
“Alternatively, should a consumer use her bank’s mobile app on her own phone, but sends funds to a new account, the likelihood is 10 times greater that she is falling victim to an APP scam, Zoldi adds. When it comes to consumer’s favorite devices, the Scam Detection Score identifies 24 times more scams than the standard fraud score, FICO says.
What makes APP scams more difficult to detect is that they use social-engineering techniques to trick consumers into sending money from a personal account to an account controlled by the criminal for what consumers believe is a legitimate reason. “This means that the model must look for subtle patterns that point to … what legitimate customers do when being misled by criminals,” Zoldi says. “The typical hallmarks of third-party fraud that look out-of-pattern don’t necessarily exist for APP scams.”
Criminals enacting a push-payment scam may reach out to victims through mobile games, online shopping sites, and social media. Online gaming users, for example, may believe they are paying for a rare item. Or online shoppers may believe they are buying a legitimate product. With social-media scams, criminals have been known to spend months grooming victims through online conversations, developing a relationship with the target before asking for money to deal with a fictional emergency.
“Whatever the platform, victims believe they are receiving a legitimate service, product, or benefit,” Zoldi says.”
Overview by Tim Sloane, VP, Payments Innovation at Mercator Advisory Group


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Needham Bank announced that Emma Lindsay has joined the Retail team as Vice President Retail Market Administration. Ms. Lindsay brings over 20 years of retail banking experience to this new role. She will be responsible for leading the Retail Administration team and overseeing their professional development and training.
Most recently, she was a Vice President, Branch Manager in Boston for Eastern Bank, where she supported a region of 21 offices during a merger. Before her work at Eastern Bank, Ms. Lindsay worked as a Vice President, Senior Office Manager for Cambridge Trust.
“As Needham Bank grows, it’s important to strengthen the retail policies and procedures within the branches,” commented Carrie Vargas, Senior Vice President—Director of Retail Banking. “In addition to many other responsibilities, Emma will serve as a subject matter expert in this area, driving efficient operations and ensuring compliance.”
“I am excited to join Needham Bank in a new role that combines my strengths from previous jobs,” said Ms. Lindsay. “This is an incredible opportunity and I am looking forward to working with the retail team to bring positive change.”
Ms. Lindsay received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Connecticut.


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Hacked Japanese exchange issued business improvement order
Tech Bureau Corp, the Japanese cryptocurrency firm whose Zaif exchange was hacked earlier this month, losing $62m in digital tokens, has been rapped by authorities for failing to provide adequate details on the theft.
Japan’s Financial Services Agency issued a business improvement order to Tech Bureau on Tuesday, mandating the company to provide details on the hack, how it intends to compensate its clients, and to explain its delay in reporting the theft.
The only details provided so far are that the Osaka-based Zaif exchange, wholly-owned by Tech Bureau, was hacked on 14 September over a two-hour period and around Y7bn, or $62m, stolen – mostly in bitcoin and bitcoin cash. The exchange detected server problems on the 17th and confirmed the theft the next day.
“We have not received enough explanation on what exactly happened. What they told us is an employee’s PC was hacked,” said an official at the financial regulator.
Tech Bureau had previously been issued two business improvement orders – one in March demanding the Zaif exchange establish “an effective risk management system”.
While it is believed the hack on the Zaif exchange targeted an employee’s PC, the company has not confirmed this – although such targeting by hackers is becoming increasingly common.
The FSA official added: “It is extremely regrettable that such an incident happened when the company was given two business improvement orders.”


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In the aftermath of the Jordyn Woods and Tristan Thompson cheating scandal in February 2019, the internet concluded that Jordyn would be completely broke without the financial assistance of her former BFF Kylie Jenner. However, the model’s net worth is actually quite impressive minus any help from the Kardashians star, following their surprising 2023 reunion.
What Is Jordyn Woods’ Net Worth?
Between her modeling, countless brand deals and howning multiple clothing brands, Jordyn’s net worth is estimated to be a whopping $6 million in 2023, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
How Does Jordyn Woods Make Money?
Jordyn’s most recent career highlight was the June 2023 launch of her clothing line Woods by Jordyn. The brand sells trendy dresses filled with color and mesmerizing designs.
She also owns, FrstPlace, which sells exclusive workout plans for at-home and gym fitness.
In 2019, the former reality TV personality made her acting debut in an episode of Grown-ish. She went on to star in the BET film Sacrifice in 2020. Later that year, she fooled fans for quite a while on season 3 of The Masked Singer, but she was eliminated during episode 11.
Her second film, Trigger, was released in October 2020. The starlet has also appeared in music videos for Bella Thorne, Rick Ross and Megan Thee Stallion — and all of these projects had solid paychecks attached.
Additionally, Jordyn is a popular social media influencer. With more than 12 million Instagram followers alone, her reach affords her the opportunity to work with brands on paid sponsored posts — which can be very lucrative for Jordyn based on that follower count.
Aside from her own massive bank account, the entrepreneur’s family also has money. Jordyn’s mom, Elizabeth Woods, happens to run a successful talent, brand management and PR company through which she actually manages her daughter’s career.
In June 2022, Jordyn shared an exciting new opportunity with fans! “Excited to announce my newest partnership with @playboycenterfold @playboy,” she wrote via Instagram, along with a Playboy photo.


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Scott is recalling Speedster 30 and 40 bikes and Contessa Speedster 25 and 35 women’s bikes because the steerer tube can break. Scott USA has received one report of a fork breaking, but no injuries have been reported, the company says. Anyone with one of these 2014 model year bikes should stop riding it immediately and contact Scott through their local dealer.
About 2,000 of these bikes were sold this year in the United States for between $1,000 and $1,300.
The Speedster 30 and 40 bikes and the Contessa Speedster 25 and 35 women’s bikes were sold in black and white with blue, green, purple or teal accents. To identify the bike, check the serial number on the bottom of the down tube near the bottom bracket shell. The following serial number ranges are included in the recall: AS30500001–AS30504930, AS30700001–AS30704651, AS30900001–AS30903278, AS31100001–AS31103744 and AS40101604–AS40105463.
Scott USA can be contacted toll-free at (888) 607-8365 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or via email at email@example.com.


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Like millions of people, Christina Robinson of Lorton felt the excitement of the May 18 Powerball drawing, with its record-setting $590.5 million jackpot. She was already in an office pool at work, but while shopping at the grocery store before the drawing, she decided to buy a few tickets on her own.
"It was on a whim," she later told Virginia Lottery officials.
One of those tickets matched the first five numbers to win $1 million.
"I was shocked," she said. "It was kind of freaky. I thought, 'this might be real!'"
She bought the ticket at Food Lion, 7760 Gunston Plaza in Lorton. On May 24, she returned to the store to receive her prize from Virginia Lottery Executive Director Paula Otto. The store received a $10,000 bonus from the Lottery for selling the winning ticket.
The winning numbers were 10-13-14-22-52 and Powerball number was 11. She used Easy Pick and let the computer randomly select the numbers on her ticket. If she had matched just one more number, the Powerball number, she would have won a share of that record-setting jackpot.
Ms. Robinson, who works in a lobbying firm, said she has no immediate plans for her winnings, although there may be a nice vacation in future.
This press release is mirrored from http://www.powerball.com/. We do not own a copyright on it and we are not the original press contact.


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“It’s a good practice to question where your products are coming from and where they will eventually end up. As far as possible, look for products that come with biodegradable or no packaging at all, like choosing shampoo bars instead of shampoo bottles,” suggests Renata Millett and Shreya Kothari, Founding Partners, Verth, a brand that curates plastic-free, reusable and biodegradable products from homegrown brands and artisans. Their zero-waste boxes help you make an easy switch in the kitchen and bathroom, two places where the most waste is generated. You can also make your own home cleaners, often used peels from what would end up being kitchen waste. Switching to menstrual cups can reduce sanitary waste in landfills significantly.
LBB recommends the Verth Box. They say, 'I love subscription boxes because they’re like sending yourself a gift. Not knowing what’s inside the box really ups the anticipation and the surprise is always welcome (those 9 other deliveries this week were definitely not a surprise, though.) Verth is a new subscription box service that sends specially curated, sustainable products to make it a little easier for us to make the switch to a green and clean life."
The quest for the perfect gift – the shining box with just the right bow, just the right packaging, and just the most useful, intentional, sustainable, fashionable, affordable, and loveable item inside – is still on and by the looks of it, with the innumerable permutations and combinations, is going to be on for a little while.
Homegrown shares an exclusive list of 100 Indian brands that can be considered while gifting. Verth is placed under the category of sustainable gifts and they say this list will help you pick just the right gift calling it the century’s biggest gifting guide.
When we talk about sustainable living, most people assume it to be an expensive affair, when in reality it is just the opposite. Conscious consumption not only saves you money, but it can also expand your horizons too. Simply put, when you live a sustainable life, you minimise your impact on the natural world. The practice begins right in your homes with small switches and mindful consumption. Verth and Indian Express share some simple ways in which this is possible.
The call for adoption of sustainable development has been happening since the late 1990s. Since the United Nations’ call for a cut in global carbon emissions and adoption of Sustainable Development Goals, the increased awareness of climate change and plastic pollution have led to the creation of conscious consumption. However, it is still insignificant compared to mass consumerist culture that is being practised by a major part of the world’s population. Eco-conscious consumers are increasingly making the shift from mass produced to eco-friendly goods in order to reduce the harm caused to the environment. However, anyone who has tried to make a switch to a more sustainable lifestyle has often hit the ‘affordability’ roadblock.
Verth, a brand inspired by the "We Are Earth" phrase, is a unique venture that is very relevant to the current scenario. The world is slowly becoming more aware about the benefits of sustainable living, and this is exactly what Verth wants to deliver to its audience- easy and affordable access to an eco-friendly way of life. For this, it has curated a product list, that ranges from accessories to daily essentials, all put into what they call 'The Verth Box.'
The box is the first zero-plastic and eco-friendly subscription box and has five to six handpicked eco-friendly products, which they will deliver to your home. This subscription box will allow you to practice a healthier, more mindful lifestyle, and also help contribute to saving the earth. For instance, this month's Verth Box includes 'An Artisan Bamboo Toothbrush,' 'Surprise Elements Body Butter,' 'The Switch Fix Shampoo Bar,' 'Artisan Tote Bag,' and 'Minimo Metal Straw Hat.' Priced at just Rs 699, the contents of the box keep changing from month to month.
Climate change is a real threat to our planet and to the existence of humanity. Sitting in our homes, we may not be able to make a significant contribution to the fight against climate change, but we can do something. In 2020, sustainable living is the need of the hour, and that is something we can all do from the comfort of our homes. And it’s not even tough to do anymore.
There are several brands, including Indian, which promote sustainable living through their products and services. While the motivation of doing your bit to save the planet should be enough, there’s more to tempt you towards choosing such brands. Their products are always unique, and the concept attached to the brand is always interesting and memorable.
All About Eve recently started a unique movement to promote small businesses in the wake of the economic fallout of COVID-19. As part of this campaign, we’ve been trying to help small businesses in India, who will feel the brunt of the slowdown the most. And we’ve discovered some real gems, including brands that promote a sustainable lifestyle. Check out some of our favourites.
The Verth box is a bi-monthly curation of four to five handpicked, eco-conscious products that are delivered right to your doorstep. The brand is India’s first sustainable subscription box, and their aim is to make sustainable lifestyle fun and affordable.
Verth has a zero plastic policy which includes their packaging. The brand claims to be the most affordable sustainable and eco-friendly brand out there, with 5 products priced at INR 699 only.
Impulsive shopping & irresistible discounts, let’s agree to the fact that most of us are guilty hoarders. Imagine a world where people first considered reusing things, before every new purchase. This year, when UNESCO declared that the theme for ‘World Education Day’ would focus on Education for the People, Planet & Peace, Verth India, a sustainable lifestyle brand organised ‘Access to Excess’- a week long sustainable swap in collaboration with Café Quaint at Jawahar Kala Kendra. Here people could visit and drop by books, stationary and accessories they no longer use or have never used and pick something interesting from the collection in exchange.
The event witnessed an overwhelming response, as people dropped in from various corners of the pink city. Around 100 books, 60 stationery items and 35 accessories were successfully collected & swapped through the drive. The book collection box was an assortment of famous authors including Agatha Christie, Rupi Kaur, Paulo Choehlo, along with study material and encyclopedias. The accessory box was a colourful palate of handbags, clutches, earrings, beauty products, crayons, oil pastels, bathing salts and unused clothes.
Verth India, as a brand believes and stands for living a sustainable lifestyle with minimum impact to the planet Earth. “We chose to collaborate with Café Quaint as our ethos & vision mirror each other. Our efforts are driven towards making sustainable living the only way of living, reducing the waste we create and the impact we leave through our actions”, said the founders of Verth India. Café Quaint is a one of a kind café in Jaipur, known for its organic and zero waste approach.
The swap drive was organized from 18th January to 25th January to celebrate World Education Day. The event did not involve any commercials or tickets to participate and had just one motive, to bring people to give and pick something useful from what’s otherwise ‘excess’, with a plea to Reuse, Reduce, Recycle and evolve.


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Diesel, the iconic Italian fashion brand, is making waves in the digital realm by offering exclusive access to its Milan Fashion Week show through a unique NFT drop. This merger of fashion and technology is not unprecedented and shows once again that fashion brands are looking to create more engagement with their fanbase.
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Diesel’s new NFT drop
Diesel’s runway shows at Milan Fashion Week have always been the talk of the town. Remember the unforgettable backdrop of 200,000 co-branded Durex condoms from last season? This year, the brand doesn’t want to lag behind and will showcase yet another initiative.
Come September 20, when the Spring 2024 collection is unveiled, the runway will welcome up to 300 additional guests, all thanks to the magic of NFTs.
Diesel, the iconic Italian fashion brand, is making waves in the digital realm by offering exclusive access to its Milan Fashion Week show through a unique NFT drop.
Bridging the gap with the digital communities
Under the visionary leadership of creative director Glenn Martens, the brand has joined forces with the Web3 culture and music platform Public Pressure. Resulting from the partnership is Metamorph, a limited edition series of 300 digital collectibles available on both the Polkadot and Polygon networks.
The Metamorph NFTs offer holders the unparalleled experience of attending Diesel’s upcoming show, rubbing shoulders with the crème de la crème of the fashion world. The digital collectibles are inspired by one of Diesel’s watch models.
Holders will get privileged access to purchase one of the 300 limited edition Metamorph watches, masterfully designed by Martens, which will also feature a digital component.
And that’s not all. An exclusive soundtrack by the renowned Senjan Jansen, invitations to elite music events by Public Pressure, and a mesmerizing virtual experience crafted by media-tech artists Artificial Rome, set to launch on November 2, are all part of the package.
Each NFT comes with a $60 price tag
For those eager to be a part of this revolutionary fashion-tech crossover, the Metamorph collectibles, priced at a reasonable $60 each, will be up for grabs on Public Pressure’s marketplace. The allowlist sale kickstarted at 12pm ET on Tuesday, with the public sale following suit today.
To cater to diverse user preferences, the Italian brand has chosen to mint the NFTs on Polkadot and the Ethereum scaling network Polygon. This thoughtful strategy allows users to select their preferred ecosystem, enhancing their overall experience.
“Diesel aims to be at the forefront of the intersection between fashion and technology,” says Stefano Rosso of Diesel’s parent OTB Group. Public Pressure, with its vision to revolutionize the music industry using blockchain, makes for the perfect partner. Their ongoing collaboration with Diesel has already seen two successful drops earlier this year, both of which sold out in record time.
Diesel’s foray into the Web3 space began in spring 2022 with the launch of the NFT platform D:VERSE. This was soon followed by a collaboration with streetwear collective HAPE, which saw the release of a limited edition NFT collection, each accompanied by a tangible crossbody bag.
In a world where fashion and technology are increasingly intertwined, Diesel’s latest NFT drop is a shining example of how brands can innovate to offer unparalleled experiences to their community. The future of fashion is here, and it’s digital.


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Fresh thinking at the helm of the MPA
In addition to overseeing the world’s second-largest container port, busiest port shipping by shipping tonnage, and the largest bunkering port, the new head of the MPA must roll out an ambition vision based on cultivating innovation and securing next generation talent
Quah Ley Hoon was chief editor at Singapore broadcaster MediaCorp before she took over from Andrew Tan, as chief executive of the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore
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The World's Largest EV Battery Maker CATL is in the Final Stages of Vetting Sites in the U.S. to Build a New Factory
【Summary】China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL), which is the world's largest producer of electric vehicle batteries, is in the final stages of vetting sites in the United States to build a battery factory that would supply automakers, two people with knowledge of the plans told Reuters on Thursday.
China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL), which is the world's largest producer of electric vehicle batteries, is in the final stages of vetting sites in the United States to build a battery factory that would supply automakers, two people with knowledge of the plans told Reuters on Thursday.
The plant would be CATL's first battery production facility in the U.S.
CATL is in talks to supply both Ford Motor Co and BMW with batteries, so the potential factory sites include South Carolina, where BMW's U.S. assembly is located, and in Kentucky, where Ford operates two assembly plants, according to the two people that spoke with Reuters. The people asked not to be identified because the talks are ongoing and private.
Automaker BMW is already a customer of CATL. The company also supplies batteries to Tesla for the China-made Model 3, Honda Motor Co, Volkswagen, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz.
CATL also aims to expand its partnership with Tesla and eventually become its biggest battery supplier globally. The company is aiming to supply half of the battery cells Tesla uses for its electric vehicles and energy storage systems, a senior source at the Chinese company said last year.
If CATL selects South Carolina for its first U.S. factory, the company aims to have it operational by 2026.
Chairman Zeng Yuqun said on Thursday that CATL is looking to lock in its standing as the major battery supplier to automakers overseas "in the next round of supplier sourcing," which he said would begin from 2026, Reuters reported.
In a statement to Reuters, BMW said it was "intensively examining the possibility of establishing a battery factory" in North America and buying battery materials in the region. "We are in talks with several partners about this," the company wrote.
All of BMW's X Series SUV models, including the X3, X4, X5 and X6, are built in the U.S. at the automaker's factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The vehicles will soon be offered with electrified powertrains.
BMW's aims to reach sales of 2 million fully-electric vehicles by 2025 and have EVs account for at least half of global deliveries by 2030. BMW Chief Executive Oliver Zipse said the most important factor for EV production is having local suppliers.
BMW's factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina set a new production record last year, assembling a total of 433,810 BMW X Series vehicles. The record number represents a 20% increase from 2020, which was largely disrupted by the global pandemic. The production total also surpassed the previous record of 411,620 X Series vehicles produced at the plant in 2019.
A supply deal between CATL and Ford would help ensure the company has the batteries it needs as its electrifies its model lineup.
Ford's global battery electric vehicle (BEV) plan calls for at least 240 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery cell capacity by 2030. The automaker said that approximately 140 GWh will be required in North America, with the balance dedicated to other key regions, including Europe and China.
In May 2021, Ford and South Korea-based SK Innovation signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to create a joint venture EV battery company called "BlueOvalSK" to produce approximately 60 GWh annually in battery cells and array modules in the U.S. Battery production is scheduled to begin by mid-decade, with potential to expand as Ford introduces new electric models. However, the planned production is still 80 GWh short of Ford's North America goal of 140 GWh.
"This MoU is just the start. It's a key part of our plan to vertically integrate key capabilities that will differentiate Ford far into the future," said Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO last year when the deal was struck. "We will not cede our future to anyone else."
General Motors has also formed a joint venture named Ultium Cells LLC for EV battery production in the U.S. with LG Energy Solution. In April 2021, GM announced a $2.3 billion investment to build a second EV battery cell manufacturing plant in the U.S. in Tennessee.
CATL will also open its first battery plant outside of China later this year in Arnstadt, Germany. The plant will supply batteries to BMW, as well as other automakers. CATL will invest 1.8 billion euros ($1.89 billion) in that factory, which will have an initial annual capacity of 8 GWh of batteries, the company has said.
It was not immediately clear what incentives CATL will receive from the states its considering for its U.S. factory, or if the company will enter into a joint-venture with an automaker.
Last month, CATL reported that its net income for 2021 more than doubled to 15.93 billion yuan ($2.47 billion), easily beating analyst estimates of 13.51 billion yuan ($2.1 billion). However the battery maker scrapped its dividend and reported weaker profitability due to surging raw-materials costs.
CATL's soaring net income is a result of growing demand for its electric vehicle batteries from global automakers. In 2021, CATL's lithium-ion battery sales were 133.4 GWh, up 184.8% year-on-year, with power battery system sales of 116.7 GWh, up 162.5% year-on-year.
120 GWh is enough to power around 1.2 million electric vehicles.
In December, CATL started phase 1 production at its new EV battery factory in China. Once completed, the plant will be the world's largest EV battery factory, with an annual production of 120 GWh. It will be more than three times the size of Tesla's gigafactory in Nevada.
The first phase of operations will have an annual capacity of 60 GWh and the additional 60 GWh for phase 2. The annual output of 120 GWh is enough to power around 1.2 million EVs.
CATL is investing 17 billion yuan (US$2.6 billion) in the plant and said it will create about 10,000 jobs once fully operational.
In March, China-based battery manufacturer Sichuan Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL-SC), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CATL, received the internationally recognized specification for carbon neutrality ("PAS 2060" certification) for its new electric vehicle battery plant in China. The recent PAS 2060 certification makes the plant the world's first zero-carbon factory in the new energy industry.
The certification marks a significant milestone for CATL towards its carbon neutrality goals. As the world's first zero-carbon battery plant, CATL's Sichuan plant sets an example of how EV battery production can be carbon neutral.
Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.
Ford is Testing a New Robotic Charging Station to Assist Drivers of EVs With Disabilities
Ford Raises the Prices of the F-150 Lightning Electric Pickup Due to Rising Raw Material Costs
The BMW 7-Series to Feature HD Live Maps From HERE Technologies for Hands-Free Highway Driving in North America at Speeds up to 80 MPH
AutoX to Use the 'Eyeonic Vision Sensor' from California-based SiLC Technologies for its Robotaxi Fleet in China
LG Develops ‘Invisible’ Speaker Sound Technology That Could Revolutionize In-Vehicle Audio
Researchers at South Korea’s Chung-Ang University Develop a ‘Meta-Reinforcement’ Machine Learning Algorithm for Traffic Lights to Improve Vehicle Throughput
Zeekr’s New 009 Electric Passenger Van is the World’s First EV to Feature CATL’s Advanced ‘Qilin’ Battery With a Range of 510 Miles
Redwood Materials is Building an Electric Vehicle Battery Recycling Facility in South Carolina
- Valeo Signs Major Deal with BMW to Supply Advanced Driver Assist Hardware for the Automaker's Forthcoming 'Neue Klasse' EV Platform
- Panasonic Announces Multi-Year Agreement to Supply Electric Vehicle Batteries to Lucid Group
- Hyundai and Michelin to Develop Next-Gen Tires for EVs
- China’s New Intelligent EV company JIDU Launches its Limited-Edition Robocar Called the ‘ROBO-01 Lunar Edition’
- Honda's New EV Friendly Retail Plans Hint at the End of Mega Dealerships
- Hyundai to Launch Autonomous Ride-Hailing Service in South Korea
- Tesla Challenger NIO Inc Reports its Highest-Ever Monthly Sales in June
- Baidu CEO Believes That SAE Level-4 Autonomous Driving Systems Will the First to Enter Commercial Use After L2, Skipping Over L3
- Report Claims Nissan Leaf Will Be Discontinued by 2025
- Ford Motor Co Selects its Plant in Spain to Build 'Breakthrough' EVs for the European Market on a Next-Gen Architecture


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The company said that its stores in Mexico and Asia are not included in the bankruptcy filing.
“These steps are the culmination of a thorough process intended to drive maximum value for our stakeholders,” Joe Magnacca, RadioShack’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.
The writing had been on the wall for the storied electronics chain: It hadn’t turned a quarterly profit since 2011. It had tried to close 1,100 stores last year, only to be blocked by creditors. This week brought the clearest sign yet of its struggles: With RadioShack’s stock trading for mere pennies, the New York Stock Exchange delisted it.
RadioShack had tried one thing after another to turn its struggling business around. In the early 2000’s, as cellphones were on their way to becoming ubiquitous, it focused its strategy on selling the devices. When the market for them become saturated, RadioShack tried a host of other things, including store redesigns and a renewed marketing push around its “do-it-yourself” roots. But none of those efforts could help sufficiently stanch the profit losses.
Standard General had given RadioShack a $120 million financing lifeline last year.


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Slowly, but surely, the social news reader app Flipboard is making its way to Android — officially, this time. Today the company opened up its Android beta program to all, allowing anyone with an Android device to sign up and get their hands on the app.
But it’s not like Flipboard had much choice in the matter. The announcement follows a leak of the Flipboard Android app from earlier this month — which satisfied the Flipboard urge for eager Android users, but didn’t do much to help the company test its app on the platform. Now with an official beta, Flipboard can actually learn from all of the issues the beta testers will inevitably come across. (You can also download the beta installation file from Droid Life, instead of waiting for the beta process.)
We learned earlier this month that Flipboard will be making its official debut on Android via Samsung’s Galaxy S III. But with that earlier leak, and now this beta program, it seems that Samsung’s exclusive coup isn’t worth much in the end.
From the impressions I’m seeing around the web, it looks like the Flipboard beta runs fine on most new phones, but Android devices older than a year have various crashing issues.
Like the iPhone version, the app allows you to follow news from topics you’re interested in, as well as news posted to your social media streams. Flipboard has long been one of the prime examples of well-designed mobile apps on iOS, so just like Instagram finally heading to Google’s mobile platform, it’s something Android users have long been waiting for.
Design is determining the winners in everything mobile. The most successful players are focusing on one thing: How to make products, services, and devices as compelling and delightful as possible – visually, and experientially. MobileBeat 2012, July 10-11 in San Francisco , is assembling the most elite minds to debate how UI/UX is transforming every aspect of the mobile economy, and where the opportunities lie. Register here.


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Microsoft have made some notable progress this year with Windows 8.1 hardware, and several new models are now available for purchase at different price points.
Chromebooks, however, have remained an exceedingly dangerous threat. No longer are these affordable devices confined to the education sector — this year has seen adaption of these Chrome OS devices in the business sector.
But if you thought that Chromebooks only offered middling performance because of the Celeron processors, then think again. Acer has become the first company to launch an Intel Core i3 solution.
The Acer C720 is now official, and is the first of device of its kind to offer such a strong processor option. Other elements mostly stay the same, including an 11.6-inch screen and a battery that offers solid usage of up to 8.5 hours on a single charge.
Two memory options are available — the 2GB RAM model retails for $350, while the one equipped with a solid 4GB RAM will set buyers back a few bucks more, at $380.
Since these are powered by Core i3 processors, an Intel HD 4400 graphics chips powers the 1366 by 768 pixel resolution screen. The chip is dual-core and runs at 1.7GHz. 32GB of SSD space, along with the usual splattering of connectivity options make for a rather attractive package.
Although, Google Chromebook Pixel came with a third generation Core i5 processor, it cost almost three times as much as this Acer C720. With the release of this model, things really are heating up.


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MovieTickets.com announced Tuesday that it will provide online movie ticketing services for MTV Networks. Through the deal, MTV.com and VH1.com users will have access to the MovieTickets.com's
ticketing inventory, representing more than 30 theater chains and half of the top-grossing screens in North America. The online ticketing service via MovieTickets.com debuts today with the launch of
http://www.mtv.com/movies. The service debuts on VH1.com when the site opens its own movies section on Tuesday, December 7 at http://www.vh1.com/movies. CMT.com will launch the service during the
first half of 2005.


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We’ve all heard of breakfast pizza, but a new pizza topping craze took the news feeds by storm this week that takes traditional morning fare to a new level: Fruit Loops.
Perhaps topping — no pun intended — the “does pineapple belong on pizza” argument originates from a trending news story this week out of Iowa-based Fong’s Pizza. The New York Post, among many others, reports that the “Loopy Fruits Pizza,” which customers can find on the breakfast section of the menu, features the popular cereal with sweet cream cheese sauce and mozzarella cheese. Gwen Page, Fong’s co-founder, told the Post that the eatery loves “doing things that are just off-the-wall.” The restaurant strives for a truly unique experience, and it certainly has succeeded in one aspect: social media debate.
The LloydPans innovation team found both positive and negative comments. A Twitter user called the pizza “a sacrilege and an affront to every Italian.” Another stressed that pizza and Fruit Loops should be enjoyed separately. But, another user said, “if it’s on a regular pepperoni, cheese and sauce pizza, that’s disgusting. However, that sounds like a great idea for a dessert pizza!” The bottom line? Many skeptics were at least willing to try the fruity concoction, which is great news for Fong’s business.
What do you think? Do Fruit Loops — or any other breakfast cereal for that matter — belong on pizza? While you’re debating whether to add something similar to your menu, don’t forget to stock up on LloydPans pizza pans to help sweeten the deal.


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For an export nation like New Zealand, being "clean and green" is not enough any more, Oritain Global chief executive Dr Helen Darling says.
'We actually need to be clean, green and clever," Dr Darling said yesterday, while referring to the increasing instances of global food fraud.
Food fraud was an emerging risk for both consumers and producers worldwide, with the OECD estimating it cost legitimate producers about $US250 billion every year and that figure was growing, she said.
Oritain Global, which is based at AgResearch Invermay, is a company that scientifically certifies the origin of food products. It was believed to be the only company in the world offering such a service.
It used an "origin"-based system, rather than a traceability system, and it identified the geochemistry of the environment to determine specifications of origin for meat, dairy, orchard fruits, vegetables, honey and seed products.
The company collected baseline data and conducted analysis to certify the product.
The company then audited the production process and supply chain to ensure origin claims remained true "from farm to fork".
Dr Darling recently returned from a visit to one of the four largest dairy companies in China, as part of a global food safety network that Oritain Global was part of.
She was impressed with what she saw, saying it was clear high-end Chinese processors were not waiting for international standards to be set. They knew the cost of scandal and were doing everything they could to avoid one.
She believed both producers and governments needed to be more proactive in protecting their primary industries and their national brands.
Although Oritain Global was offering a solution to a problem that would "keep raising its head", producers needed to take action and protect themselves in advance.
One of the company's frustrations was talking to people who had good products and who expected the rest of the world was "going to love and care and nurture" those products when they went offshore, she said.
But they were competing in "a really nasty world" and if someone could use New Zealand's brand to exploit and get a better advantage in a market, then they would. Infant milk formula was a "classic example", she said.
"I think we've spent a lot of time and energy developing that wonderful brand 'New Zealand', but it could go in a flash if we don't protect it."
While models had been done on what would happen if New Zealand got an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, what would happen if the country's markets closed had not been modelled, she said.
The company did not have commercial solutions for all products yet but was working in some key areas such as infant milk formula, meat, honey, fruit and seeds, where producers could get a commercial solution that would protect them in a market.
Oritain Global was receiving an increasing numbers of calls, as its reputation spread, both from New Zealand and offshore clients, she said.
If staff were working for other countries, then their ability to do work for New Zealand producers became more diluted "We're getting interest from other countries that says to us our overseas markets are also really interested in what we're doing. As an exporting nation, we should be listening to our markets," Dr Darling said.
Dr Rebecca McLeod, whose role is science liaison, said the company was preparing for a busy forthcoming production season.


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Industry analysts have suspected that adding Google+ to the social networking mix would force Facebook to up its game. And it looks like that prediction is coming true.
While Facebook and Google+ may grab most of the headlines these days, social networking pioneer LinkedIn has been quietly establishing itself as the place for professionals to meet, converse and exchange information.
Despite Google+'s making a huge splash in the social networking world, rivals Facebook and Twitter continue to grow at dramatic rates.
Facebook announced Tuesday that it will be introducing a handful of privacy changes to their 750 million users. AllthingsD reports that the new privacy features will go into effect on August 25, initially to only one percent of all Facebook users.
Facebook isn't just rolling out new sharing features similar to Googe+, the company is altering its location-based check-in service, Places.
The Google +1 button just got a lot more useful -- and a lot more like Facebook's "Like" button -- by adding the ability to share +1 recommendations with other people on Google+.
Privacy advocates and security experts have given Facebook a preliminary thumbs-up on the upcoming changes designed to improve privacy controls on its site.
Facebook Tuesday announced changes to its user interface that are designed to improve user privacy and make the social network's privacy options easier to find.
Just moments after a 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit the East Coast on Tuesday afternoon, Twitter and Facebook lit up with the news.
Facebook is making a series of design changes to the site to make it clearer to users who can see the content that they post, an issue Google has been criticizing Facebook about since it launched its own social network, Google+, in June.
A German privacy protection authority is calling on organizations there to close their Facebook fan pages and remove the social networking site's "Like" button from their websites, arguing that Facebook harvests data in violation of German and Europe...
Special episodes of the popular motoring-cum-light-entertainment TV show Top Gear are to be made available to watch through Facebook in Australia and New Zealand, as well as internationally in the US, Europe and Canada.
Google+ users can now have a video-watching party on YouTube.
Facebook has published a free, 20-page guide aimed at teens, their parents and teachers that explains best practices for protecting their safety and privacy on the site.
Facebook has revamped the interface of the console that its external developers use to manage their applications for the social networking site.
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A fiercely fought competition to land an opportunity to trade on the world famous Portobello Market has seen three young entrepreneurs grab the chance to launch their products after they were named winners of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s Market Enterprise Launch Pad (MELP) 2013.
Shani Grant, 22, who is starting a ‘tomboy’ fashion label called ‘Studz UK’, Remaro Hibbert, 25, owner of a positive message fashion label called ‘Point of View’ and Medina Mukhayer, 19, owner of ‘Mandola’ a company selling East African food and cultural goods.
Each have won: a £1,000 in start-up funds, six month rent-free market stall space on Portobello Market, a comprehensive support package from the Enterprise Lab and free business insurance. The Project was run by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
May 20, 2014 0A NEW weekly market is to be opened in the refurbished historic Market Square at Midhurst.
May 16, 2014 0
Mar 26, 2014 0


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Talisma (now Moxie) Powers Over 10 Million Chats Per Month With Astounding Results
Growing Preference for Chat Drives Large Interaction Volumes
Bellevue, WA – July 1, 2008 – Talisma® Corporation (www.talisma.com), an nGenera company and the leading Customer Interaction Management (CIM) software solution provider, today announced Talisma Chat now powers more than 10 Million chats per month with some customers reporting astounding results including:
- 30% increase in online sales volume
- 300% increase in repeat buyers
- 400% increase in agent productivity
“Talisma Chat now powers 4 of the largest commercial chat implementations in the world,” said Dan Vetras, President and CEO, Talisma Corporation. “The results being reported by our customers are truly impressive. These results are driven by the online consumer’s growing preference for chat as a communication channel.”
When a Fortune 100 company introduced Talisma Chat, a post‐chat survey of their customers found that prior to their chat interaction, greater than 75% of respondents listed the phone as their preferred contact method. After their chat interaction, over 70% listed chat as their preferred channel, while the phone fell to 20%.
According to Forrester’s March 2008 report The Design Of Chat Interactions by Adele Sage, customers appreciate the immediacy of chat interactions. When North American consumers who have used online chat were asked what they liked about chat interactions, consumers cited the following:
- I was able to speak to someone immediately (49%)
- The information I received from my rep was personalized to my situation (32%)
- I had a simple question that would have been a waste to call about over the phone (27%)
- It allowed me to get my product research done faster (19%)
- I did not need to tie up my phone line to get my questions answered (17%)
Chat is not just for large companies – small and medium size businesses are reaping benefits from this interaction channel as well. By simply placing a ‘Chat Now’ button on web pages customers frequently visit, companies can provide immediate assistance before, during, and following the buying process.


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Lil Nas X Reacts To Nike Lawsuit Against “Satan’s Shoe”
Lil Nas X Reacts To Nike Lawsuit Against “Satan’s Shoe”: Nike has officially launched a lawsuit against MSCHF for trademark infringement.
The Lil Nas X‘s “Satan Shoe” with MSCHF has been catching a lot of heat over the last couple of days. While the shoe itself is a Nike Air Max 97, MSCHF has taken the sneaker and turned it into a shoe from hell. The mid-sole has a drop of blood inside of it and there are various references to the devil. Today, the sneaker was sold for a whopping $1,018 USD and 666 pairs were created.
Now, however, Nike is suing MSCHF for trademark infringement, and they are seeking damages, according to TMZ. Nike has stated they have no affiliation with the footwear and they believe MSCHF is misleading people into thinking it is a certified Nike collab.
As for the 21-year-old Texas music star, he is keeping the mood light, as he took to Twitter with a couple of Squidward memes about what it’s like being sued by Nike. Clearly, Nas X prefers to laugh through the pain.
The Nike legal eagles have never messed around when it comes to copyright infringement and they aren’t stopping now. Intellectual property has always been important to the brand and whether it is Sketchers or MSCHF, they have no problems going forward with a lawsuit.


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Open-loop prepaid cards are expanding into new segments such as millennials and the gig economy in Canada. Robin Arnfield reports.
Fintechs such as Koho, Mogo Finance Technology, Marqeta, and Instant Financial have tapped into the demand from younger Canadians and gig economy workers to have quicker access to their money via prepaid cards.
Koho and Mogo offer instant spending accounts, while Instant Financial enables hourly-paid workers to receive their daily pay directly on prepaid cards. Another innovative Canadian prepaid card company is Payment Source, whose technology enables consumers to reload their prepaid cards at Canada Post locations across Canada.
Canada open loop growth
According to Payments Canada’s 2017 Canadian Payments Methods and Trends report prepaid cards are the fastest growing POS transaction type in Canada, growing 7% year-on-year in value to around C$20bn in 2016. This includes open- and closed-loop prepaid cards as well as virtual prepaid products purchased through mobile app stores.
However, prepaid transactions only accounted for 1.2% of total transactions by volume and 0.2% by value in 2016, Payments Canada says. Formerly known as the Canadian Payments Association, Payments Canada runs the country’s core payments infrastructure.
“Benchmarking Canada against the US prepaid card market reveals a lot of room for growth here,” says Peter Read, president of Peoples Card Services, which is owned by Vancouver-based Peoples Trust. “Our prepaid card market hasn’t developed as fast as the US, as we lagged behind them in getting our market going. Also, we have far fewer unbanked consumers than the US. But, when US prepaid program managers enter the Canadian market, they find they pick up an extra 10% of their business by providing the same products such as GPR (general-purpose reloadable) cards here as they do in the US.”
Read says that the Canadian GPR prepaid card market is being boosted by the rollout of apps that let people manage their spending and set savings goals and by issuers adding cheque-capture to their prepaid cards. “Two other segments that are growing fast in Canada are open-loop gift cards, and business incentive prepaid cards,” he says. “An area of potential growth is businesses issuing their staff with prepaid cards that can only be used for specific purchases, like the prepaid cards issued via Marqeta to delivery drivers to pay for items they are collecting.”
“Canadian Open-Loop Prepaid Market: 2016,” a report compiled for the Canadian Prepaid Providers Organization (CPPO) by Mercator Advisory Group, reveals 17% growth in the Canadian open-loop prepaid card market between 2015 and 2016. “Growth in all nine active segments of consumer-, corporate- and government-funded prepaid cards drove the market to C$3.6bn in total dollars loaded onto cards,” the CPPO says.
The study found that in 2016:
- GPR card loads totalled C$1.8bn, and the average load onto consumer-funded cards was C$649;
- Open-loop gift card loads totalled C$1bn;
- The corporate incentive category had C$189m in total loads. This segment remains small versus the US market, showing strong potential for growth, the CPPO says;
- The average load onto corporate-funded prepaid cards grew 11% from CAD$125 to CAD$140, reflecting increased adoption by Canadian businesses to move cheque payments to prepaid cards.
“We’re definitely seeing prepaid card activity in the gig economy,” David Eason, the CPPO’s chairman, says. “Prepaid is becoming more popular, as gig economy workers want to be paid daily rather than weekly, and using prepaid cards is a great way to do that. But currently deposits on Canadian prepaid cards are not covered by CDIC insurance. Admittedly, most people using prepaid cards don’t hold significant amounts of money on them.”
Eason says that the Canadian banking community and regulators need to update their perspective on whether prepaid cards are deposit-taking accounts. “To date, prepaid cards are only partially considered as deposit-accepting accounts,” he says. “Regulators don’t like prepaid cards being marketed as bank account replacements as they don’t have all the attributes of bank accounts like CDIC insurance. As more and more Canadians start to use prepaid cards for deposits, the regulators and the Department of Finance will start to have discussions on providing CDIC insurance.”
Eason says more and more millennials are using prepaid cards as an alternative to credit products. “Once prepaid cards can have CDIC insurance, they will become more mainstream and prepaid card transactions will grow,” he notes.
Koho and Mogo
Koho’s prepaid Visa card, which is linked to a mobile personal financial management (PFM) app, is issued by Vancouver-based Peoples Trust, a federally-chartered financial institution. Mogo’s prepaid Visa card is issued by Home Trust, a subsidiary of Canadian mortgage lender Home Capital.
Mogo says that between August 2016 and November 2017 its user base doubled to over 500,000 Mogo members. “Since 2014, the number of members on Mogo’s platform has grown annually at an average rate of 114%,” it says. Mogo offers free credit monitoring, the MogoMortgage digital mortgage account, the MogoCard prepaid Visa card and digital spending account, and the MogoMoney loan account, whose “Level-up” programme rewards consumers for consistent payments.
Koho launched its Smart Spending Account and linked prepaid Visa card in April 2017, and has since added cashback rewards and bonuses for referrals. In September 2017, it secured an additional C$8m in funding from its existing investors, having previously received C$2.5m in funding.
“We’ve been growing very quickly and have doubled (our user numbers) in the last two months,” Dan Eberhard, Koho’s CEO, says. “The majority of our transaction volume comes from people using their Koho card as their primary spending account. Customers can open accounts electronically with Koho in four minutes. They need an existing account with a Canadian financial institution, but we don’t rely on their bank for KYC. We do our own KYC based on credit files.”
Eberhard says Koho acquires new customers for 10% of what it costs banks to acquire customers. “We’re ramping up our marketing,” he says. “We will be adding support for Apple Pay in the near future – the tokenisation provided by Apple Pay is a very important security feature. In Q2 2018, we’ll launch a merchant network where Koho cardholders will receive rewards for using their cards at participating retailers. During 2018 we also intend to offer credit products to our customers.”
One of Canada’s top five banks, Scotiabank offers gift cards and reloadable prepaid Visa cards to its retail customers, and also has a corporate prepaid card business.
Scotiabank issues prepaid cards with two companies: the North West Company which runs a network of retail stores in Canada’s sparsely-populated Northwest Territories; and Berkeley Payment Solutions. With North-West Company, Scotiabank issues the We Financial Visa Prepaid card, which is designed for people unable to easily get to traditional bank branches.
“Berkeley manages several hundred prepaid incentive and reward card program on behalf of Canadian corporate clients,” says Michel Cardinal, Director, Commercial Cards at Scotiabank. “Its business is rock steady and continues to grow.”
Scotiabank is working with Berkeley to launch prepaid cards for the business relocation market, says Cardinal. “We’re now starting to see businesses issue prepaid cards to employees to cover their relocation expenses, instead of asking them to supply an invoice for their costs,” he notes.


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— by Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
The world's largest ground package sorting facility doesn't seem all that imposing from the road leading into the suburban Chicago complex. Known as the Chicago Area Consolidation Hub (CACH), the mostly one-story United Parcel Service (UPS) facility appears to resemble a conventional distribution center or warehouse.
But a bird's-eye view of the 240-acre complex from the hub's employment office on a nearby hill reveals a gargantuan central building and 10 long and narrow "spokes" that house a seemingly endless row of overhead doors. Overall, the complex — which opened in 1995 and is large enough to be located in both Hodgkins and Willow Springs, Ill. — totals 1.5 million square feet.
Some facts about the CACH (pronounced "catch") are just as impressive as its size:
On a typical day, the hub sorts, consolidates and distributes 1.3 million to 1.5 million packages. During the peak season — from late September through the holidays — the CACH processes 2.5 million to 2.7 million packages daily and employs as many as 6,300 people.
Ten percent of UPS' entire volume nationwide is handled at the hub, which processes packages that are sent to more than 90 percent of the company's 1,160 domestic facilities and touch every U.S. address. It's an understatement to say the CACH is a vital facility for the world's largest package delivery company, which processes 16.3 million parcels each day using more than 96,000 vehicles, and employs 323,000 people in the United States and 76,000 overseas.
It's also no exaggeration to say the hub's managers have their hands full ensuring the enormous facility can handle an overwhelming volume of incoming and outgoing packages in a fashion that meets each parcel's time-sensitive transit requirement. To help ensure packages arrive at CACH and are delivered on time, the managers rely heavily on rail.
Half of the hub's incoming and outgoing volume is moved by rail, with the other half transported by trucks. In the Chicago area, UPS relies on BNSF Railway Co., CN, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway and Union Pacific Railroad to accommodate its transportation needs, while some long-distance traffic is assisted in other areas by connecting carriers Kansas City Southern and Florida East Coast Railway. Typically, UPS uses rail if a shipment is traveling 400 or more miles.
"Rail is a 24/7 operation for us. We depend on our transportation partners," says Keith Hargarten, CACH's dispatch manager/feeder, adding that the hub requires 92 trains per day, and moves 5,000 inbound and 6,000 outbound shipments by rail per week at 13 intermodal ramps.
The coordination, communication and collaboration required between UPS and the railroads to meet CACH's stringent rail needs is akin to a ballet, says Ken Buenker, vice president of UPS' corporate transportation services, who is responsible for rail transport company-wide.
Inbound loads need to arrive at the hub in time to meet the beginning of a four-hour day, twilight or nighttime sort, while outbound volumes have to get to a yard, be loaded quickly on a train, depart as scheduled and travel in an expedited fashion to their destination.
"Time is an opportunity to do what we promised we would do for customers," says Buenker. "We hold the railroads to high standards."
Sorts are planned based on agreed-upon railroad availability, a measure that ignores a train's arrival time and primarily determines if UPS is provided the opportunity to bring loads to destinations for timely sorting within the company's integrated network, says Buenker. Each railroad's goal is 95 percent availability.
"When a train misses availability, it can cause chaos in the sortation process with the distribution of packages not lining up with the operating plan for the facility," says Buenker. "A typical sort will have three or four full lines of trailers and containers to unload. If the rail loads are planned on the first unload line, when they are not available we have to either move something else into that sortation position or push the volume to a later slot, which causes a multitude of issues due to an imbalance in the operating plan."
Typically, UPS tries to plan a smoothed-out, four-hour flow to a sort, especially at the CACH. However, when there are kinks in available loads to process, packages might flow poorly in the first hour, and then have to either flow to an area not designed for them or hold up the network so the hub can process the work later — "scenarios that aren't ideal for us to ensure we live up to our promise to our customers," says Buenker.
The past four decades have been a period of constant adjustment with railroads to create schedules and premium services that best serve UPS' needs, especially in Chicago, he says.
"The premium schedules developed by railroads are ours," says Buenker, adding that the railroads essentially designed their networks "around us."
UPS is generally satisfied with railroads' availability in and around the Windy City, he says. But there's always room for improvement. If a train is late, a railroad only disappoints one of its customers — UPS — while the parcel company literally disappoints thousands of customers, says Buenker.
To help boost rail efficiency and limit disappointments, UPS over the past several years has emphasized a transition to more containers instead of trailers on all North American railroads because containers can be more efficiently double stacked. The company purchased 5,000 53-foot containers in 2011 and 2012 to increase its container usage, says Hargarten.
UPS uses a mix of its own containers, railroad assets and some trailer-on-flat-car equipment due to network configurations or physical requirements of origin/destination facilities, says Buenker.
"Many of the railroads have their own assets, so we utilize their equipment, and then they have other customers who will use the same piece of equipment coming out of a market that we went into," he says.
UPS has tried to become more aggressive with moving containers on double-stack trains for many of the same reasons railroads are creating more double-stack lanes: less highway congestion, better velocity, fewer emissions and reduced gas usage, says Buenker.
"A double-stack train in essence replaces the need for another train," he says.
BNSF's Willow Springs yard, which is adjacent to the CACH, has tried to keep up with UPS' transition to containers and double-stack trains. Prior to 2011, all the yard's UPS cargo moved in trailers; now, about 40 percent of the yard's 500,000 annual lifts involve UPS freight. The parcel company is the facility's top customer as measured by total annual lifts, which last year exceeded 196,000.
"UPS represents approximately 20 percent of our trailer-on-flat-car business after their conversion to containers," says Gregg Zody, BNSF's director of UPS marketing-consumer products. "Prior to containerization, they were approximately 42 percent of our trailer business."
Overall, trailers on flat cars represent 80 percent of the terminal's operations, with containers on flat cars accounting for the remainder.
Trucks need less than two minutes to travel from the CACH to BNSF's facility via a private connecting roadway. The 186-acre terminal features nine tracks, eight overhead cranes and double concrete ramps so trains can be loaded or unloaded from either side. The yard handles about 1,400 UPS loads per day, and averages 12 outbound and 11 inbound trains daily.
"If a train is available, we come and get it — there's no dwell time," says Buenker.
The yard currently averages 96 percent availability for UPS. Next year, BNSF plans to add 300 parking spaces at the yard to further boost service capacity.
Yard managers work very closely with the UPS team on a daily basis to ensure service is planned and executed according to the CACH's needs and expectations, says Zody.
"For years, we have appreciated their trust in allowing us to be a part of their transportation solutions," he says.
The disciplined service BNSF tries to provide UPS in Willow Springs recently helped the Class I land business for perishables — such as shredded lettuce — that needs to be transported in refrigerated cars and in an expedited fashion, says Zody.
UPS' business also is nurtured at CSX's Bedford Park intermodal terminal, which is located about seven miles from the CACH. UPS' former Chicago-area consolidation facility is adjacent to the terminal; in 1995, the complex — which is about one-quarter CACH's size — became a sorting hub for local parcels.
About 52 percent of CSX's entire UPS business is "touched" at the Bedford Park terminal, which features 10 processing and 12 storage tracks, says Terminal Manager Matthew Hiller. The largest intermodal facility in CSX's network, the 300-acre Bedford Park terminal registered 1.05 million lifts in 2012. The 24/7 facility, which opened in 1984 as CSX's primary Chicago terminal, retains storage capacity for 6,000 53-foot wheeled containers and 5,000 stacked containers.
The terminal's average availability for UPS is 98 percent while the core average in CSX's network is 91 percent, says Terminal Superintendent Doug Daun. To bolster service performance for the parcel company, terminal managers try to keep chassis supply in balance and stay in constant contact with CACH executives, as well as officials at other railroads, he says.
"We communicate with BNSF and try to help each other recover, if necessary," says Daun. "We reach out if there's a service disruption."
CSX also provides UPS the sole use of an expedited gate at the terminal and a special area for storing its equipment. In addition, the facility has assigned a coordinator who's tasked with managing and troubleshooting all UPS traffic at the terminal.
To help UPS, as well as all terminal customers, CSX tries to keep traffic flowing at the facility, in part by employing an automated gate system (AGS) that helps trucks enter and depart the facility more quickly.
The system verifies driver information (using thumbprint and optical character recognition software), prevents unauthorized access and alerts terminal staff to unsafe equipment conditions by generating digital images of equipment as it arrives at the facility. The AGS gate features 13 inbound and nine outbound lanes, and the terminal averages more than 4,000 gate moves daily.
Consistent and reliable traffic flow is vital to the CACH since the hub is designed to handle 3.1 million packages daily — a figure that might not take the facility all that long to reach. When the hub opened on March 31, 1995, it handled 200,000 packages per day, a volume that since has increased about eightfold.
UPS' collaborative relationship with railroads — which Buenker characterizes as a partnership — will help the company reach its growth goals, as well as better participate in global commerce, he says. After all, both UPS and railroads have the same ultimate goals, says Buenker.
"Faster, quicker and smarter is important to both of us," he says. "It's all about connectivity. We're all in this effort together to make it work."


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Regional Capital hosted IV Russian-Japanese business dialogue
The event was organized by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Government of Khabarovsk Krai, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, as well as Export Support and Development Center of Khabarovsk Krai and Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).
Participants of the event became more than 130 businessmen and officials from 11 Russian regions and 7 Japanese prefectures. 18 SMEs from Japan and Russia participated in roundtable discussions in the fields of agriculture, fish processing and wood industry. The dialogue also consisted of panel discussions, where representatives of both countries had a chance to share they experience about SME support, development of electronic trading platforms and services for businessmen.
The discussion panels were followed by B2B meetings, where entrepreneurs of both countries could discuss concrete projects and contracts. The participants reached agreements in the fields of forest industry, fish industry and agriculture.
During the second day of the event businessmen of both countries had a chance to meet again and visit investment project sites of Avangard Industrial Park, where Japanese JGC Evergreen has been implementing a greenhouse project. Businessmen for the forest industry went to Amursk to visit wood processing facilities of RFP Group.
The Business Dialogue takes place based on an MOU in the field of SME support between the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. The first dialogue occurred in Tokyo in March 2014, second — in December 2014 in Ulyanovsk, and last year Tokyo hosted the event again.