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AirAsia’s entry into the aviation sector as a low-cost carrier airline did create waves at the time. But the company’s quest to rely on technology to better customer experience can set several benchmarks in the industry. Aireen Omar, Deputy Group CEO (Digital, Transformation and Corporate Services), responsible for AirAsia’s digital strategy says, “Our number of passenger traffic grows substantially every year and we need to make sure that the technology facilitates the volume and the seat for everyone in the most accurate manner as well. Hence, we’re always looking at embracing technology.”
In an exclusive with ETCIO.com, Omar explains how data helped in improving operations efficiency and AI is the most scalable option to provide personalized attention to the passenger. She also gives an insight into the recently introduced facial recognition technology at Senai International Airport in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
Tell me about the digital adoption happening in the airline industry currently. And, how do you look at it?
We always try to detect technology in ways that it could assist us in relation to how it can help us to reduce the cost even further and also to facilitate the volume that we have.
As you know, our number of passenger traffic grows substantially every year and we need to make sure that the technology facilitates the volume and the seat for everyone in the most accurate manner as well. Hence, we’re always looking at embracing technology. We started our business back in 2002, by driving people to book through our website, when we first launched our low cost carrier. Then, we introduced our mobile app, when most airlines didn’t have one and were still struggling to get traffic to their own website, which they’d just built.
On data facilitating operations efficiency.
We saw the opportunity to mine all the data that we have, the data coming from our booking system, the aircraft, engine and so forth, so that we can visualize it, consolidate and put into a cloud. We can see how it can improve the whole operation in terms of the revenue base. Also improve the conversion rate so it can become more personalized and targeted when we do our own marketing and commercial product and so forth. We can also improve the efficiency of operation because we saw how this data can provide us to be more focused in terms of how we need to scale up, and replace certain processes and tasks into something that can facilitate volume, accuracy and scalability. So it actually allows our staff to be more precise and empowered in their decision making, because they are backed by a spectrum of data to help them achieve delivery operations better. We also look at data in terms of how we can improve the whole consumer journey from the moment they book and until they return from their flight. This does not only provide a seamless experience, but also in terms of how we can provide them a one stop center for all their travel and lifestyle needs as opposed to them going on various apps before they can travel.
You’ve introduced an AI assistant AVA. Tell us about the purpose and implementation of the same.
We want to be consumer centric and improve the way we communicate with our consumers. We see volumes of passengers each year. Last year itself, as a group, we carried over 30 million passengers and we have thousands of flights per day. Of course, there are a lot of challenges in terms of day to day operations, which consumers or our guests need to understand about. We want to make sure we do this efficiently; we want to do it fast, have the best way to handle this volume of transaction and be more targeted in our explanation. So we created a chatbot backed by AI. And we want it to keep learning from the data generated.
And we want AVA to be multilingual. Currently we have eight languages that can handle up to 25,000 chats at any one time. So this could actually increase as we improve the technology behind it and as AVA understands the data that is coming to her to be able to protect it and assess it in order to be more focused. Eventually, there will be machine learning that will be enhanced on AVA too. We want to make sure that we incorporate the natural behavior of our consumer, so that it is very easy for them to ask a question or to book a transaction.
Voice activation will be something that we will be introducing very soon. Then our consumers will be able to ask to buy on the app or the website and also ask AVA about holidays. AVA would know what the consumer would want to do. As she has all the data from the customers and their preferences, she will be able to suggest something more personalized and targeted. We want the chatbot to be available 24/7 for all our consumers and that way, we will be able to get data from all the various systems and so forth. But the best way to do this is by using artificial intelligence as opposed to hiring people to answer the calls. At the end of the day, people want to have a personalized attention and the best way to get that in the most scalable manner is to use artificial intelligence.
Could you also
tell us about the facial recognition technology, and how it has benefited in saving time at the check-in gate?
It is currently available at Senai International Airport in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. It is our pilot project that we did last year and we wanted to test the technology. This technology allows Malaysians to use face to check-in and board and hopefully, at some point in the near future, you should be able to use t
his for immigration as well. So this is actually quite a big project because it also involves various stakeholders, the airport authorities is one of them, so is the civil aviation authority and also the government authorities, especially the Home Ministry and so forth.
We decided to test it in a smaller airport in Malaysia—Senai International Airport in Johor, it is a private airport and it is easier for us to do this. They like the fact that we're embracing new things and that helps them to get more traffic into the airport. We have seen in that we need the load and the capacity by at least another 30%, it means that, you know, when you have high volume of passengers, it's easier to go through rather than you line up.
So, your face eventually becomes your ID. And, and I think from there, when we roll out to all the airports in the region, then it will be become something more than just for check-in and boarding. But for now we're hoping this year we will roll this out in other countries where the airport authorities are interested, that we will see a cross border facial recognition. As you'll depart from one airport in the region using your face, and when you land in the other airport you use your face to enter the airport and the country as well. So it is an end-to-end facial recognition cross border from Asean to another country.


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has been declared to compete with WAL-MART’s Alibaba, and now get it done, but not into the Alibaba to open the store to open the line, but WAL-MART will open online business.
March 30th, from overseas media reports, the world’s largest retailer plans in China and Japan Rui e-commerce business. We are building a new technology platform. WAL-MART recently released the advertisement, also began to recruit talents for electronic commerce business.
at present, WAL-MART has opened 282 stores in China, after the report shows that in 2010 will also plan to open the store again in the mainland of the 60 stores. In Japan, WAL-MART also has 371 stores.
now, WAL-MART with its Asda.com sector, the first in the United States and the United Kingdom to develop a strong online business. The sector will also be connected to WAL-MART’s new global technology platform.
2008, WAL-MART launched e-commerce business in Brazil. In the Japanese market by the country’s largest online marketplace (Rakuten) sales of goods. The latter has just entered into an alliance with Baidu, China’s largest search engine service provider, to form a joint venture.
pay attention to the problem has been resolved. In March 17th, PayPal announced that it will cooperate with China UnionPay to allow Chinese consumers to buy and pay from overseas businesses, one of his clients is WAL-MART. But the biggest competitor in this business is Taobao and Alipay Alibaba and its subsidiary.

domain: news


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Thrilled to announce that Sprayground acquired a new distributor for Malaysia, Singapore. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. ASIA here we come! Our New Zealand distributor also reached out and hopefully we will be seeing the Kiwis wearing our brand, and that’ll be beaut mate!
Even though some artists are still working on Spring 19 styles, a good portion of the team is focused on BTS19. The artists are developing new concepts for Sprayground as well as for Space Junk. Almost all Winter 18 hangtags for all the bag orders have been finalized. The team continues to make edits for past seasons contingent on production requests. Some of this week’s designs included X-men, Sprayground original characters, plus a collection inspired by Italian handbags.
Kudos to Garrett for creating his first tech pack.
The last BTS18 has shipped this week. A total of 87 % have been received in warehouse with 12% in transit by sea. Our QC team in China started to contact the factories to schedule FALL 18 inspections. Production is in the middle of sampling for Spring19, while wrapping up last minute added items for this Fall.
The office received and reviewed the 1st round of samples for Winter 18’s accessories – neck warmers, ski masks and gloves. In addition the team received tech packs for BTS19 and plan to start the sampling phase shortly.
Xingchen modeling a neck warmer
The Licensing department met with perspective licensors this week such as Cartoon Network, Yu Gi Oh and Sesame Street. We are close to signing the Yu Gi Oh property and hope we can start development shortly. Some of the designers had the chance to sit with Cartoon Network’s creative team to brainstorming what concepts might work for the 20th anniversary, we can be creative with the Intellectual Property and use villains.
WWD, top media outlet for fashion is releasing the news for our LA pop-up.
DBD to be featured in the Financial Post, next week. Stay tuned!
We executed our first music video I AM LEGEND yesterday, and it was amazing. Next week we will be filming Jarvis Landry as well as our second music video, BOOK OF VILLAINS in LA, while planning for the LA pop-up and our second BTS 18 release.
The team sent out the company’s brand book/profile, samples and invites for our LA POP UP to REVOLVE and SHOPBOP.
Continuing to work on receiving orders and shipping them out. The team has also opened four new accounts this week. Namely, DNA in Harlem; Letank in NY and NJ; Reno beach Surf Shop in Florida; Expose in the UES, Manhattan; and Has Fashion in Lousiana.
We continue to allocate to big customers like Hibbetts, Bloomingdale’s, Footaction, Modell’s, Against All Odds & Dr. Jay’s with the NBA collection helping to drive much of the action. Also allocated some more international orders to Italy, Peru and Malaysia. By next week , we should be able to process the bulk of our boutique orders as we are expecting a big shipment at end of the week.
Great week on E-Comm. We launch the Japan collection
And NBA collection
The top performing bags from Japan collection were the dragon Shark and dragon shark cross body which is now sold out.
The top bags from NBA are the James Elysium and the Curry Elysium.
Outside these two collections the pink gummy money continues to Dominate.
Next week we launch wave 2 of back to school so expect another amazing week. Brace yourselves!
Customers are obsessed with the Youngboy N.B.A bag. We have had a lot of inquiries on stock/restock for this bag.
DBD filmed his first music video this week!
The team got united to make it happen!
Even if that meant carrying a big box to the location that was meant for LA.
And here’s a sneak for our behind the scenes:


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Mobile devices play an ever greater role in online shopping. As internet and mobile penetration rates are constantly rising around the globe and consumers worldwide pay more and more attention to a seamless shopping experience and a user-friendly access to their favorite shops on all their devices, retailers need to adapt. In countries with a very high mobile penetration, like Japan, the UK or the Netherlands, mobile transactions made up more than half of all eCommerce transactions in 2018, according to Criteo – and mobile penetration is growing in most countries. Convenient shopping apps for mobile devices have thus become a key to success in the online shopping business. Today, ecommerceDB.com presents to you the most popular eCommerce apps that were downloaded from the Google Play Store to Android devices in September 2020:
The most frequently downloaded eCommerce app on Android phones was the international fashion brand SHEIN, with a total number of 6.3 million downloads in September 2020. Rank two is taken by Indian online retailer Flipkart. The app of the all-round marketplace offering products from a variety of categories was downloaded 5.6 million times in September 2020. Wish – which was the most highly valuated unicorn from the eCommerce field this year– comes in third, with a total number of 4.8 million worldwide downloads in September. Amazon Shopping, the international app of the world’s number one online retailer by net sales, only makes 4th place, with 4.3 million downloads in total. Amazon has another app in the ranking, though, namely the Indian version of Amazon Shopping, which was designed only for the Indian market. It was downloaded 3.7 million times in September 2020 and therefore ranks 6th among the most popular Android shopping apps worldwide. Mercado Libre ranks in between. Lazada and AliExpress – two brands originally from China – make ranks 7 and 8. Lidl Plus – the app of the German discount store brand Lidl – is in 9th place. Shopee: Compre e Venda online – the Brazilian version of the Singaporean eCommerce brand Shopee, concludes the top 10 ranking, with a total number of 2.1 million downloads.
Note: Most shopping apps in the ranking are marketplaces and therefore excluded from the ecommerceDB.com net sales analyses. In case of hybrid business models, ecommerceDB.com covers first-party net sales only.
Visit our news area for additional content around the topic of eCommerce.


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Anushka Iyer, Founder and CEO of Pune-based pet care platform Wiggles, says the COVID-19 pandemic was extremely challenging for pets and pet parents. “They were confined within homes and a lot of dogs developed anxiety.”
Wiggles, which was founded in 2018 and offers a wide range of pet care products and services, was flooded with calls from pet parents.
“We were a very small team back then, and didn’t know how to manage the outpouring of calls and questions,” she says.
The entire team soon started taking phone calls and began making deliveries as demand suddenly rose.
The lockdown led to an upsurge in the at-home demand for services like veterinary and grooming care, says Anushka, adding that the pet care startup at present serves 25,000+ pets.
The brand launched a new category – pet food – during this time, converting the office into a makeshift kitchen and delivering fresh food across Pune.
“Maybe, this is what we are here for. We are here to take responsibility. This is the time we need to be most active when others are not,” Anushka says.
Anushka Iyer, Founder and CEO, Wiggles
Anushka says Wiggles has raised $2.5 million from angel investors and is now looking to raise another $3 million. The team is in talks with several institutional investors.
The founder claims the pet care startup has grown 6.5X year on year and aims to be profitable by 2023.
Wiggles recently did a pilot in Kolkata and is looking to enter into two to three more cities by the end of this year. It is also interested in creating more categories and disruptive products.
“By 2022, first quarter, I’d be operationally breakeven or say second quarter at the most,” Anushka says.
Wiggles offers products as well as services. They have 36 SKUs along with vets on call, grooming services, and dog training services. The food segment attributes to 35 percent of their revenues. “Our products are doing phenomenally well in the market,” she says.
The brand is now looking to provide options for all kinds of pets, from cats and turtles to guinea pigs. “This is under work; let’s see. Fingers crossed,” Anushka says.


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Economic Statistics for 27 Nov 12
The following US economic statistics were announced today:
In weekly retail sales, Redbook reports a big 4.5% increase from the previous year. Similarly, ICSC-Goldman reports a weekly sales increase of 3.3%, and a 4.0% increase on a year-over-year basis.
Durable goods orders were unchanged in October, though they were up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Ex-transportation, orders were actually up 1.5% for the month, but down -2.3% from last year.
Case-Shiller’s seasonally adjusted monthly home price index rose 0.4% in September, the third consecutive monthly increase.
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index improved in November to a reading of 73.7.
The FHFA House Price Index rose 0.2% for September, and was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis.
The Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index rose sharply to 9 from last month’s -7, as activity picked up in the district.
State Street’s investor confidence index for November remains "quite weak" at 81.2.


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Tata Sons, a subsidiary of the sprawling Tata Group, plans to invest over £4 billion to build a 40 GW battery cell gigafactory in the UK. The facility will produce cells for EVs and stationary storage solutions for the UK and European markets. Production is to start in 2026, and JLR and Tata Motors will be anchor customers.
Tata intends to maximize the renewable energy mix at its new gigafactory, and has announced its “ambition” to use 100% clean power. “The plant will employ innovative technologies and resource-efficient processes like battery recycling to recover and reuse all the original raw materials to deliver a truly circular economy ecosystem.”
N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, said: “The Tata group is deeply committed to a sustainable future across all of our business. Today, I am delighted to announce the Tata group will be setting up one of Europe’s largest battery cell manufacturing facilities in the UK. Our multi-billion-pound investment will bring state-of-the-art technology to the country, helping to power the automotive sector’s transition to electric mobility, anchored by our own business, Jaguar Land Rover.”
Source: Battery Tech News


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Kendall Jenner may have to cough up some major dough because an L.A. based art collective is accusing the reality star of causing confusion over pizza. According to court records obtained by The Blast, Robert Karageuzian sued Jenner and Apple over her “Pizza Boys” radio show she recently launched with Apple’s Beats 1.
A post shared by PIZZABOYS (@pizzaboys) on Apr 13, 2018 at 10:01am PDT
Karaguezian is the founder of “Pizzaboyzzz,” an art collective and online store featuring an assortment of works and merchandise. He also claims to own a trademark on “Pizzaboyzzz” and says that Jenner’s show is causing customer confusion and harming their business.
They had previously sent a cease and desist letter to immediately halt any merchandise sales and advertising of the radio show, but now Karaguezian is taking official action.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction that would prohibit Jenner and Apple from continuing to use the Pizza name, and also for any cheese they’ve already collected.


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Cloud data platform Snowflake has announced a new integration with Adobe to offer CDOs, marketers and data scientists with deeper insights of their marketing campaigns from an integrated data platform.
Analyze marketing data
The integration will be implemented using a new Federated Data Access (FDA) connector and can support any amount of marketing data from Adobe Campaign – part of Adobe Experience Cloud. This includes mobile, social, email, and offline campaigns, as well as inbound-outbound channel fusion data.
Organizations can leverage the integration to unlock deep value from their data in real-time with a single, unified platform for data analysis. As Adobe Campaign data increases, digital teams can leverage it to bring more personalized messages to their customers, allowing them to run larger and more varied campaigns to better reach their target audience.
Speaking in support of the integration is Finnish telecoms company, DNA, which has 25 Terabytes of compressed data in Snowflake. According to DNA head of data and visualization, Tuomo Kokkarinen, the integration will allow the company to deliver personalized omnichannel customer experiences.
“We’re excited that Adobe Campaign customers will now be able to utilize the full benefits of Snowflake for their marketing data. Snowflake supercharges data insights for marketers by providing a zero-management data platform that scales as marketing data increases, which allows organizations to focus on what really matters most - their customers,” said Bill Stratton, who helms media, entertainment and advertising at Snowflake.
“The combination of Adobe Campaign and Snowflake is remarkably positive for companies with huge amounts of data,” said Thomas Jordy, an Adobe Product Manager.
“This integration gives marketers easy access to their data to use how they see fit, opening new ways to personalize and thus drive better experiences for their customers, without any cumbersome platform management. Adobe Campaign users who employ the Snowflake connector will quickly see improvements to their data-driven marketing strategies,” said Jordy.
Photo credit: iStockphoto/oatawa


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Apple’s ongoing battle against the FBI concerning encryption and privacy is such a heated issue, it was inevitable other countries and governments would soon start making their feelings known. Yann Galut, a socialist MP in France, has proposed a law that will punish companies financially if they do not provide access to phone data when asked to do so, according to a report in Le Parisien.
It’s an amendment to an existing law, that would force technology companies — not just Apple, the law applies to any relevant firm including Samsung, Google, and others — to provide codes that open up locked devices for use in police investigations. Should the request be refused, or the code not provided in a reasonable amount of time, Galut suggests a fine of a million euros (just over $1 million) should be levied.
“Only money will force these extremely powerful companies to comply,” Galut is quoted as saying, adding, “They are hiding behind supposed privacy protection, but they’re quick to make commercial use of personal data they’re collecting.”
In an effort to calm fears about government surveillance, the backdoor access codes would only be used against criminals under investigation, he said. Also, the intention is only for a prosecutor or judge to have access to the code itself, and only be available to computers used in court proceedings. There will be no general code for use by law enforcement, and the police wouldn’t have the right to use it against any regular citizen.
France’s monetary punishment is an unusual approach, but it’s not the first to try and force through an anti-encryption bill that would force companies to provide backdoor access to software. In the U.K., the proposed Investigatory Powers Bill asks for the same thing, and came under fire from Apple CEO Tim Cook at the end of 2015.
There’s no indication the French legal amendment will be passed into law, but it’s further evidence of continued pressure against data encryption methods provided by technology companies.
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In a NY Times op-ed yesterday, Jason Schreier tackles the long-standing problem of crunch in the games industry and the toll it takes on developers' lives.
Among video game developers, it's called "crunch": a sudden spike in work hours, as many as 20 a day, that can last for days or weeks on end. During this time, they sleep at work, limit bathroom breaks and cut out anything that pulls their attention away from their screens, including family and even food. Crunch makes the industry roll - but it's taking a serious toll on its workers.
Schreier provides several anecdotes from developers across the industry - including emergency room visits, memory loss, and being unable to walk - and cites a 2016 survey from the IGDA where "crunch" was considered the norm in the industry.
Read more of the op-ed here.


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It is the first shrimp farm in Africa to receive ASC certification.
WWF, which has been working with Unima since 2007 to develop and implement good social and environmental practices, welcomed the announcement.
Through ASC certification, the company is being recognised for boosting community development, reforestation and for its sound management of mangrove areas, water treatment and waste management.
This certification is a major step for the shrimp sector across Africa and the export market in Madagascar. Indeed in 2014, shrimp fishing and farming represented 49 per cent of Madagascar’s fish products exports. More than 60 per cent of the farmed shrimp is produced by Aqualma.
Europe is the main consumer of Malagasy shrimps, with imports of 400,000 tons of tropical farmed shrimp per year. Most of the shrimp is exported to France, only 10 per cent goes to Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom.
“When managed responsibly, aquaculture can thrive alongside healthy wild fish populations and without harming the marine environment, including the vulnerable mangrove areas in Madagascar,” commented Dr Didier Fourgon, WWF Fisheries Programme Officer, WWF-Madagascar.
“The ASC shrimp certification is a good starting point to achieve this. It´s a proof of good industrial practices and a quality warranty for European consumers on their product choice.”
“We hope this certification of Aqualma will serve as a model for other shrimp farms and will stimulate further engagement of the broader Malagasy shrimp industry towards sustainable management,” added Nanie Ratsifandrihamanana, Country Director, WWF-Madagascar.
“We look forward to continuing our partnership with Unima and also other farms in shrimp producing countries such as Mozambique to implement better practices and help achieve ASC certification throughout the Africa region.”


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Forget about podcasts and maps, the next generation of CarPlay will take over your entire dash with an iPhone-like experience.
As part of its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple has just announced a massively updated next generation of CarPlay phone mirroring software. More than just a few apps on your SUV’s screen, the new system will let CarPlay take over your ride.
With vehicles having more screens and offering more data, Apple offers more ways to help you customize your drive and better use the internet to help you get just about anywhere.
Even better, Apple showcased it on what might be our first look at the Apple Car. OK, fine, it’s just a very generic dashboard layout, but it’s a layout unlike any other model currently on sale.
So, the layout’s cross-cabin widescreen and lower-stack infotainment unit must be something the tech giant is considering for its long-rumored and very hush-hush possible automotive development.
CarPlay Now Nearly 10 Years Old
A predecessor of Apple CarPlay first launched in 2011, but the system as we know it didn’t arrive until 2014. Before that, it used a different name and was little more than an iPod connection.
After that, it allowed you to use some of your iPhone’s best apps right on your vehicle’s infotainment screen. It uses a tiny amount of the car’s own built-in tech to help you use voice recognition to send text messages or use Apple Maps, and it was compatible with a handful of other popular apps.
Now More Than Just an iPhone Pairing App
This latest Apple CarPlay update comes with the latest iPhone operating system, iOS 16. Now, CarPlay integrates much more deeply with your vehicle’s own systems and hardware for a more immersive and customizable experience.
Apple showed off the new system with an image of a full digital dashboard created by Apple CarPlay. Even the speedometer, gear indicator, and fuel gauge were all represented in CarPlay, taking the tech far beyond what it is currently able to offer.
The demonstration display is a massive overload of information, though, such as putting a calendar, garage door status, and clocks for Tokyo and NYC with a much higher priority than the song that’s currently playing.
You can fix all of that, though. It’s the point of the system’s extensive new customization options. Put your current trip where you want it, your latest podcast where you want that, and add EV charge sites, off-road campgrounds, or any other widget they can imagine.
New backgrounds for the dashboard will be offered with the update. You’ll be able to pick modern or classic gauges, swap colors, and make loads of other small changes to help customize your vehicle. Or you can pick from included themes.
Vehicle Control Integration Within CarPlay
With these updates to CarPlay, the same natural speech commands iPhone users use to control their phone through Siri can also control the car itself. Adjust the radio, change the climate control temperature, and potentially control dozens more crucial vehicle features without looking down or away from the road.
This latest CarPlay update can handle many different sizes and ratios of the in-car screen and can tackle multiple screens. That flexibility has been a problem on older versions of CarPlay, leaving some vehicles unable to access CarPlay on higher-spec models, while offering the must-have feature on base-spec cars.
Apple says that the new CarPlay interface is controlled on your device, not in the cloud. With the work done on the phone, Apple says the new CarPlay system and its integrations are “privacy-friendly.”
Apple showed many of the big automakers onboard with this new CarPlay, including Ford, Nissan, Honda, Audi, Mercedes, and Porsche. Unlike prior CarPlay updates, this one won’t work with existing vehicles.
At least that’s how it looks for now; Apple said that the first compatible vehicles will be announced late next year. It’s a long time to wait, but Apple says it has more to tell us about the CarPlay changes between now and then.


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This is the Business Council of Australia’s submission in response to the Treasury’s consultation on the government’s response to the ACCC’s Digital Platforms Services Inquiry Report No. 5.
The BCA agrees it is worthwhile examining whether existing legislative and regulatory frameworks are suitable as technology evolves. Key to this is ensuring that we can continue to access the benefits these technologies provide. They exist and are widely used because they empower consumers, and deliver what Australians want.
If Australia is going to maintain our high standard of living, and be a high wage, high productivity economy, government regulation must ensure any new measures are proportionate and appropriately targeted. Any measures that fail this test should not proceed.
This consultation is contemplating new consumer and competition measures.
The BCA supports additional effort to ensure Australian’s have high quality consumer protection measures. This effort needs to be done in collaboration with businesses, who all remain strongly committed to addressing scams and preventing consumer harms. This is an area where substantial investments are already being made by businesses across the economy, and new measures should build on these investments.
However, the creation of a new ex ante framework for competition matters should be approached with caution. If badly formulated, it will stifle innovation, investment, and growth, while also likely inadvertently capturing operators or industries that are not of concern.
Australia is in the fortunate position of being able to observe how similar frameworks will work in overseas jurisdictions, to understand whether this type of regime is effective and delivers on the outcomes intended. Government must take this opportunity to learn from the overseas experience, to properly assess whether the frameworks are successful.


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A failure in the ignition of General Motors cars sold in Canada and the United States, and that affects 1.7 million units, may have caused 303 fatalities in the cylinder, according to a survey by Friedman Research Corporation, which provides services for American insurers.
The Spanish Seat should establish whether or not soon introduce an SUV in its range. Speaking to journalists at the Geneva Motor Show, Jurgen Stackmann, chairman of the automaker confirmed that the time to decide is near.
Emerged official images of the new model Mazda concept of the Hazumi, which will be officially unveiled this week at the Geneva show. According to information, in Japanese means connected Hazumi and despite being a concept car, it could be produced.


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Analyst Shaw Wu with Kaufman Bros. issued a note to investors Friday in which he discounted the antenna concerns as "overdone." Since the iPhone 4 launched, discussion of dropped calls from holding the device in one's left hand has grown, and Apple even publicly commented on the issue.
"We don't think the antenna issue is that big of a deal where it would warrant a product recall," Wu wrote. "The reason is that most users have a case anyway to protect their iPhone and to customize to their personal preferences. In our view, in the worst case, Apple provides a discount on the $29 iPhone 4 bumper case or includes one for free with an iPhone 4 purchase. Either way, we do not think this would have a material impact impact on our forecasts."
Apple, in a statement, said that gripping any mobile phone will affect its antenna performance. The company suggested that users avoid gripping the device in the lower left corner.
But the problem is also alleviated by using a case, which prevents the metal band around the perimeter of the device from making contact with the user's skin. The issue can reportedly be avoided when using the official "bumper" case sold by Apple.
Wu is particularly bullish on Apple's launch of the iPhone 4, predicting that the company sold between 1.5 million and 2 million units. On the high end, that would double the debut of the iPhone 3GS a year ago.


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When Apple introduced the iPhone 15 series on Tuesday as its first smartphones to feature a USB-C port, observers could be forgiven for thinking that this meant Apple had finally, officially consigned its proprietary Lightning connector to the IT office closet in the sky.
“USB-C has become a universally accepted standard,” iPhone product-marketing VP Kaiann Drance said in announcing the change. “It’s been built into Apple products for years.”
But Apple’s store continues to feature Apple products that require a Lightning cable to recharge–including all of its desktop keyboards and pointing devices, a majority of its Bluetooth headphones and one older iPad model.
And since many of those peripherals are likely to outlast the computers they serve, the need to fish out a Lightning cable to recharge an Apple product will probably persist for years following the Sept. 22 release of the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max and even after Apple stops selling older, Lightning-required iPhone models at cheaper prices.
Consider the example sitting on my desk, the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad that Apple shipped in 2022. That $179 input device and a smaller, no-number-pad $149 version represent Apple’s only options for people who want the convenience of Touch ID biometric authentication on a Mac desktop, so of course I bought one to accompany my Mac mini.
But when this keyboard’s battery runs down—or it drops the Bluetooth connection to my Mac for some never-explained reason—I have to fish out the USB-C-to-Lightning cable that came with it and that is useless for every other computing device I own.
Apple’s $79 Magic Mouse 2 and $129 Magic Trackpad 2 also require Lightning to recharge—and because that rodent has its Lightning port on its bottom, you can’t use it while it charges, a design failure that Apple has ignored since the mouse’s 2015 debut.
(The prices for the mouse, trackpad and numeric-keypad keyboard are $20 higher if you want them in black; unpacking the greedy weirdness on display there will have to wait for another post.)
And although Apple updated the AirPods Pro Tuesday with a charging case that uses USB-C, the rest of its headphone lineup remains in a Lightning limbo. The $129 2nd-generation AirPods, the $169 3rd-generation AirPods, and the $549 AirPods Max all need that now-deprecated cable.
The same goes for the $99 1st-generation Apple Pencil, the only kind supported by the 10th-gen iPad that Apple introduced last year. Until Apple updates that stylus, tablet purchasers who want the Pencil’s finer input have to use a dongle to pair and charge it via the iPad’s USB-C port.
The 9th-generation iPad, still sold by Apple starting at $329, also requires Lightning to charge. But because it’s also the only currently sold Apple tablet left with a headphone jack, it can’t be long for Apple’s world. Apple did, however, quietly drop two other Lightning-required charging accessories this week: the MagSafe Battery Pack and the MagSafe Duo Charger.
(Apple did not answer a query about possible USB-C replacements for these gadgets, not that we expected a company that doesn't comment on unannounced products to comment on unannounced products.)
And the same external force that pushed Apple to join the USB-C club with its new iPhones will force it to make the same transition on these other products no later than October of 2024. That’s when the European Union regulation requiring USB-C charging on most portable devices will go into effect. And as the EU made clear in its October 2022 announcement of this “common charger” rule, it covers not just phones, tablets, and headphones but also wireless mice and keyboards.
That regulation, however, does not require a company to put a mouse’s charging port in a spot that lets you use the thing while it charges, so the Magic Mouse’s worst feature may live on even as Lightning finally dies.


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Ever since Disney Plus first launched, the streaming service hasn’t just surpassed expectations and projections, but absolutely annihilated them. Every time we hear a new set of statistics and/or data relating to the Mouse House’s platform, it’s always above and beyond what the company were hoping for, and that hasn’t changed despite the pandemic wreaking havoc on the entire entertainment industry.
As per the latest set of numbers unveiled by Disney, in the third fiscal quarter of 2021 the streamer added an additional 12.2 million subscribers, taking the global customer base past 116 million, which is mind-boggling when you consider the service only went live in November 2019, and didn’t reach many international territories until months afterwards.
Twelve months ago D+ boasted 57.5 million subscribers, meaning that signups have doubled in the space of a year. All of the major platforms benefited from the pandemic forcing people to spend more time inside than ever before, but sending big blockbusters to Premier Access, debuting Pixar’s Soul and Luca, and rolling out high profile new content on a regular basis from Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe has evidently provided a substantial boost.
While that’s still close to 100 million subscribers behind market leaders Netflix, let’s not forget that Disney were confident they wouldn’t only catch the competition but surpass it by the end of 2022, and looking at the unstoppable rise of the platform since it first went online, it definitely can’t be discounted. Remember, we’re getting over 100 exclusives on an annual basis moving forward from some of the biggest brands in Hollywood that won’t be found anywhere else, so this time next year Disney Plus could be head of the class.


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The FMCG giant’s Q2 results are down year on year but Polman says innovation, investing in premium business and direct to consumer are all factors in why the company is “on track”.
If this year’s Cannes Lions festival is anything to go by then brand purpose is still high on the agenda. Marketers, however, would be better off focusing on something less utopian – differentiation.
Lush has only alienated consumers with its poorly judged #Spycops campaign, which has nothing to do with the brand as well as being of no benefit to society.
Catch up on all the marketing news this week including dating app Hinge’s first international marketing campaign, Nationwide’s use of comedy to get Britain saving and the first rulings on the ad regulator’s gender stereotyping rules.
Direct-to-consumer brand Beauty Pie layers data with psychology and qualitative research to gain the rich user insights that power its subscription model.
After its £2.6bn acquistion by Pepsi, SodaStream is planning rapid growth through a focus on marketing and innovation but claims it is holding onto its startup mentality.
The summer is often quieter for many marketers, so it’s the ideal time to catch up on essential reading. Marketers from Direct Line Group, Zoopla and Nationwide give their recommendations.


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Digital development has reshaped the news market over the past twenty years. Almost all produce and broadcast media outlet stores now keep websites, pod-casts and mobile phone apps. As a result, period management has become a important issue for journalists and media companies.
Journalists are often juggling multiple projects concurrently, from chasing breaking media stories to digging up activities, selecting interviewing means and making the article themselves. This competitive identity of your journalism sector demands that they manage their time effectively so they can meet program deadlines and exploration quotas.
Period control continues to be made more complicated by emergence of digital technology. For example , the emergence of videoconferencing software has allowed reporters to report reviews in web page and perform interviews with people who live thousands of kilometers away. https://cmdln.io/2021/07/05/generated-post/ Additionally , news organizations can easily post ignored news content within minutes. It has increased the speed of credit reporting and reduced the cost of posting.
Nevertheless, even though digital technology seems to have enabled fresh forms of revealing and minimizing costs, it in addition has increased the demands on media and press organizations to keep up with reader requirements and advertisers’ desires for data-driven marketing strategies. This push \ many to reposition goods as technological solutions that leverage reader data.
However , as newsrooms adopt and experiment with these kinds of technology solutions, it’s important to know how the journalistic sensibilities of a media organization will be reflected within their decisions and product design and style. To be successful, these types of processes and responsibilities should certainly remain essentially of writing, rather than simply being seen as a technology sideline, offshoot or tangential activity.


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Latest IBISWorld Stories
The industry has battled adverse market conditions caused by extreme weather patterns, volatile commodity prices and fluctuations in global sugar production.
Over the five years to 2019, savings institutions are anticipated to continue to cede deposits to commercial banks; such competition will increase pressure on savings institutions to invest in
Increasing demand and growing input costs hurt buyer power because they place upward pressure on prices.
The industry's structure is not expected to fundamentally change; however, technological innovations will facilitate connectivity between drivers and customers, potentially helping profit
The industry has also benefited from regulations that have established optometrists' role in eye care, thus insulating the industry from competition from opticians.
Revived demand will aid growth, but foreign competition will threaten profitability.
Over the five years to 2014, strong investment in research and development and an aging population have underpinned rapid growth, even during the recession; moreover, while growth is expected
Rising environmental awareness over the period has encouraged the government and large companies to promote the use of bioplastics, directly benefiting the industry.
The rising prices of raw materials and surging demand for tamper-evident labels, as a result of strengthening business activity across major downstream markets, has underpinned price growth over
Because competition is mostly price based, suppliers are motivated to lower prices to win over customers; this factor has kept prices fairly stable in the three years to 2014 despite rising input
- A small wooded valley; a dell.
- The protecting weather-shed built around the entrance to a house.
- The roofed-over space between the kitchen and the sleeping-quarters in a logging-camp, commonly used as a storeroom.


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Money smarts 101
If you’re in college or soon will be, you probably spend a lot of time thinking about costs — from schoolbooks and supplies to four years of tuition. Fortunately, there are lots of ways to manage debt and save money, say local experts.
“Conserving funds while in school starts as easy as saving money on things you buy every day,” said Aaron Chadbourne of Evisors, an online networking marketplace for college students and entrepreneurs.
|The article you requested has been archived|


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Online retailer Boxed announced Sunday that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The company, which said it will wind down its retail operations over the next several weeks, listed in its court petition $102.6 million in total assets and $190.4 million in total debts.
Boxed had been showing signs of financial distress for months. It received warnings from the New York Stock Exchange last fall after its stock price and average market capitalization fell below the listing threshold. In January, the company revealed it was weighing a sale of the business, and two months later, the company said it was considering filing for bankruptcy.Retail Dive


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DAYTONA BEACH -- Daytona Beverages, an Anheuser-Busch Inc. wholesale distributor at 2275 Mason Ave., on Monday confirmed its purchase of Quality Brands, an Anheuser-Busch wholesale distributor in DeLand.
The purchase positions Daytona Beverages as the exclusive distributor of Anheuser-Busch products in Volusia and Flagler counties as well as a portion of Putnam County. Quality Brands has 55 employees.
Daytona Beverages president Kevin Bowler did not return calls. Purchase terms were not disclosed.
"Daytona Beverages will commence sales and service to retailers in the former Quality brands area using the current DeLand facility effective immediately," according to a news release issued Monday.
The Quality Brands facility is at 1290 E. International Speedway Blvd. in DeLand, at the southeast corner of Jacobs Road. The 9-acre site has two buildings including a 20,000-square-foot climate-controlled warehouse.
Two firms, same roots
Daytona Beverages' acquisition of Quality Brands unites two beverage distribution companies with the same roots.
The Roberson family in1960 bought the Volusia, Flagler and Putnam county distribution territories for Anheuser-Busch and settled in Port Orange in 1967 as Daytona Budweiser Inc.
A satellite operation was opened later in Lake Helen to serve the fast-growing West Volusia area along with Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach and Putnam County.
In 1994, Helene Roberson split off the Lake Helen operation, selling it to Robbie Roberson, who renamed it Quality Brands. The operation was moved to DeLand in 2000.
Helene Roberson retired in 1995 and sold Daytona Budweiser back to Anheuser-Busch. The company sold it to Bowler, who moved it in early 2006 from Port Orange to Daytona Beach.
-- Bob Koslow


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The myoFX 360 system has received the 2017 National Product of the Year Award
Currently, the importance of muscle tone for a better body image and sports performance is known, but few are aware of its vital importance for general health. Increased muscle tone reduces our risk of disease and increases our life expectancy.
Medical Fitness Technology, under the brand name myoFX, has launched three high-tech products for health, sports and corporal anti-aging based on better muscle function for people of all ages and fitness levels.
To understand the components of the “myoFX 360 system”, we mentioned in the first place myoFX supplements ,an innovation with a triple effect: improving tone and muscle regeneration, reducing abdominal fat and anti-oxidant effect through a complex of vitamins, minerals and a patented probiotic.
The second component myoFX MaxForce is interactive device that measures and develops maximum strength. Based on game theory, it makes exercise a fun challenge, records user progress and allows you to share your achievements on social networks, as well as compete and compare resulte with users around the world to cslculate health levels and biological age.
The third pillar of this exciting “health system” is myoFX EMS, the most advanced method of whole body electro-stimulation: wireless, multi-user and available in renting mode, which allows easy acquisition by health profesionales all ok ver the world.
For this revolutionary initiative where health and quality of life are combined and a new business system for health professionals, myoFX receives the 2017 National Product of the Year category.
This honor accompanies the recent news of being part of the European ranking FT 1000 fastest growing companies of the Financial Times where medical fitness technology the position 2 in Europe inside the health sector and 165 over all sectors.


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Kevin O’ Leary aka Mr. Great has gone professional crypto and is selling crypto greater than ever. At present, once more the Shark Tank fame mentioned progress charge for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Polygon is phenomenal and there’s capital coming in from throughout the globe.
Bitcoin, Ethereum And Polygon Are Softwares
Earlier as we speak, Mr. Great through his twitter deal with praised Blockchains and in contrast them softwares. He has been very lively in crypto lately and is now a well-known crypto advocate.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, all these blockchains—it’s all software program. The expansion charge of those new improvements is phenomenal, and there’s capital coming in from all world wide.
— Kevin O’Leary aka Mr. Great (@kevinolearytv) March 4, 2022
He lately hosted a bi-partisan assembly to debate crypto insurance policies with US Congress senators together with Senator Cynthia Lummis. Kevin can also be backing a decentralized Finance platform referred to as Marvel.Fi and has confirmed proudly owning its token $WNDR.
An avid watch and wine collector, Kevin is all into NFT craze and he lately predicted that NFTs shall be greater than Bitcoin due to their potential to retailer possession.
Including to his predictions, Kevin believes crypto would be the twelfth sector of S&P 500 in subsequent few years.


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Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) upgraded Dick’s (DKS) Sporting Goods from Neutral to Buy off the back of the company’s first-ever Yeezy launch and strong growth in its digital and private label offerings. BAML is raising its price target to $55 from $43 per share.
The analysts also noted that Dick’s has been receiving a better selection of footwear and apparel from the likes of Nike (NKE) and Adidas (ADDYY). Aside from major retro Jordan releases, Dick’s has never been considered a go-to place for heat by sneakerheads. However, people took notice when the company executed a near-flawless launch of Yeezy 350s in September.
Best website experience with Yeezy purchase ever at Dicks this AM! You did my kid right!!— John Torrance (@JohnTrecruit) September 21, 2019
That's what we do! Glad to hear it.— DICK'S Sporting Goods (@DICKS) September 21, 2019
On the shoe’s release day, Dick’s sold out of its Yeezy inventory in a matter of hours — and most of those sales took place online, to the tune of 70%. Dicks’s overall digital growth is up 21% year over year compared with this time last quarter, according to BAML. “We believe DKS continues to receive better footwear allocations and had strong execution of its first Yeezy release,” the analysts wrote.
The sporting good giant’s buy online–pickup in-store strategy has helped drive profitability. Dick’s should also see a reduction of freight costs due to the rollout of two additional dedicated e-commerce fulfillment facilities in 3Q, the analysts noted.
BAML also cites growing strength in Dicks’s private-label business. This is especially true of the company’s CALIA by Carrie Underwood and DGS lines. The value-oriented products are Dick's answer to the expanded apparel lines of retailers such as Target (TGT) and Kohl’s (KSS).
With the 2019 holiday shopping ramping up, BAML says Dick’s is well-positioned for Q4. It expects the sporting goods retailer to see a 19% inventory growth heading into the quarter. However, the analysts warn of potential profitability pressures due to increased promotions. This could be spurred on by a shorter holiday shopping season this year — there are six fewer shopping days between Black Friday and Christmas Eve.
Reggie Wade is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @ReggieWade.


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Last week the Forbidden Root sales crew headed down to Florida, to share Fernetic, our Fernet-Branca collaboration beer. We had a blast bringing the brew to the South and judging some cocktail competitions.
We’ll be open from noon to 10pm (kitchen will close at 8pm) on Memorial Day. We’re donating $1 from every glass of beer sold to the Semper Fi Fund. In addition, all profits from the sale of our non-consumable merchandise (growlers, t-shirts, etc.) will also be donated.


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Cowlinge pub back with former owners
A couple have returned to their much-loved village pub and are looking forward to introducing its new look to the local community - at a three day beer festival later this month.
Sue and Chris Smith had run the Cowlinge pub for around eight years when they left due to illness in November 2013 and leased it out for a time.
They returned in February, in good health, and began a major refurbishment project in preparation for their official launch in two weeks’ time, opening to accommodate local people and groups in the meantime.
As well as installing a new kitchen and roof, they have redecorated the interior with warm autumnal colours and landscaped the exterior.
They have also introduced visual oak barrels in the bar area and hung black and white photographs of Cowlinge’s past on the pub’s walls.
The name of the pub has also changed - to The Three Ways - and a brand new website and phone number has been launched.
Sue said: “Since we opened in February, we’ve had a lot of customers coming back saying how wonderful it is that we’re back. We didn’t realise how many friends we’d left behind.”
The Three Ways serves two ciders, three premium lagers, including Peroni, and eight real ales.
Its £10 food offers include two pizzas on a Wednesday, an eight ounce rump steak and a pint on a Thursday and beer battered cod and chips with a pint on a Friday.
Other food items include traditional steak and ale pie, roasted vegetable lasagne, slow cooked leg of lamb, fish pie and paella, with regular traditional Spanish tapas nights being introduced from July 1.
“We’re really glad to be back, even more so because we’ve had such a wonderful welcome,” said Sue.
The revamped country pub will be showcased at a beer festival on June 19-21.
Visitors will be able to enjoy 15 real ales, as well as a hog roast, barbecue and live music.
“We’re doing it to showcase the pub and get people down to see what we’re about,” said Sue.
For more details, visit www.thethreewayspub.co.uk or call 01440 820355.


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Motion Industries, Inc. named Gates Corp. as its 2021 Supplier of the Year. The award recognizes companies that have shown exceptional commitment to Motion through quality products and services, as well as earning the highest score in the multi-faceted Supplier Stratification rating system.
“We value and appreciate the relationship that we have with the Gates team,” said Motion President Randy Breaux. “Over the past couple of years, we all have faced challenges like never before – with a pandemic, supply chain shortages, workforce issues and now inflation. Together, Motion and Gates continue to exemplify that relationships truly matter.”
Motion’s Supplier Stratification formula is a rating system that evaluates each supplier’s performance in a number of Supply Chain, Marketing and Field Support categories.


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Nissan Pathfinder Earns Top ranking as One of the Safest SUVs
A recently released study by the Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Program) ranks the new Nissan Pathfinder as one of the safest SUV vehicles in the market for adult occupant protection.
The Pathfinder scored well in all three categories tested, passenger safety, child safety and pedestrian safety, ensuring that it was ranked as one of the safest SUV vehicles available – the Pathfinder scored 32 points, while the average score for the same vehicle category is 28 points.
“Nissan is pleased to see that our commitment to product safety is reflected in the latest round of tests conducted by Euro NCAP and that the Nissan Pathfinder is included amongst the safest sports utility vehicles on the road for individuals and families” commented Tariq Danish, SUV Brand Manager at Nissan Middle East. “All Nissan vehicles are designed and engineered to meet or surpass regional and global safety regulations as well as pass our own rigorous internal safety requirements. We design all our products to provide a high-level of occupant safety in a wide range of real-world crashes” continued Danish.
The all-new Nissan Pathfinder comes equipped with a 291bhp V6 engine, seven-row seating, dynamic styling and performance, and a multi-flex high use interior. The all-new Pathfinder is currently available in all GCC markets among the largest SUV line up that Nissan has.


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Two hundred laid off
Apex Bottling Company, producer of the first bottled water, Highland Springs, appealed to Sufian Ahmed, minister of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED) last week for its enormous debt to be cancelled. The company shut down its factory as of Thursday January 12 unable to obtain a renewal of its business license from the Ministry of Trade.
The pioneer bottler has been entangled in a controversy with the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority (ERCA) since 2009, the latter claiming 60 million birr excise tax arrears. The company was unable to renew its license that expired on Monday January 9, since it did not obtain clearance from ERCA. Apex is said to owe 29 million birr in taxes, but the fines and interest calculation has caused the total amount claimed by ERCA to double.
In the past two years, Apex appealed the case to concerned government offices including to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi requesting debt cancellation but their efforts were unsuccessful. And a few days ago the company appealed to MoFED. Minister Sufian is said to have directed the letter to the legal department for assessment and opinion and is to submit the appeal to the Council of Ministers for final decision.
According to Hirut Melese, Legal Advisor of Apex, they are awaiting the decision of MoFED’s legal head, but that person is out of the country for the next two weeks. “We submitted a letter to the Ministry office a few days ago. Now we are forced to lay people off,” Hirut said.
The company officially laid off its employees’ on Thursday January 12, 2012 when all its attempt to survive from ERCA’s excise tax claim failed.
“If we continue our production without renewing our license it will be illegal, so the only option we have is to lay off our employees and close the company down,” Hirut told Capital.
Apex Bottling has over 200 employees excluding temporary staff.
She explained that the company had requested that MoFED writes to the Ministry of Trade to enable them get the renewal, but the ministry office did not accept the request.
Apex had also requested ERCA earlier in the week to allow the company to renew its license. “They told us that if the company owners promise to pay the debt within one month, the authority would allow renewal of the license,” she explained.
In 2009 the authority sent a letter to all bottling companies claiming three year’s worth of excise tax dues, which, they said, should be calculated based on their packaging costs.
However, Apex Bottling rejected the bill, while other bottling companies agreed to pay the tax in installments.
The authority’s law allows taxpayers to appeal against the authority’s claim, but taxpayers are required to pay 50 percent of the claim before the authority’s committee can investigate the complaint.
Apex instead took the case to the Federal High Court which ruled in favor of the authority. The company further appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which again upheld the decision.
Apex and the authority have divergent views as to whether packaging costs should be considered production costs. If packaging is considered part of production cost then excise tax will be levied on it.
“We understand that packaging costs are not production costs,” the legal advisor said.
“Production cost is something you incur that brings substantial alteration to the product but the authority rejected our claim.”
ERCA claimed from Apex Bottling 29 million birr excise tax dues accumulated until 2007/08, but its dues has risen since then.
The authority had claimed excise tax arrears from seven bottling companies in 2009. Among them, it claimed eight million birr from Burayu Spring Water Plc that produces Aqua Addis; four million birr from Debre Birhan Natural Spring Water Plc producer of Aqua Safe; and another four million birr from TGDM Trade Works Plc producer of Real Water. Apex owed the highest amount.
Michael Berhane, major shareholder of Apex Bottling declined to comment about the issue.
Apex Bottling Company was established in 1999 by Ermias Tekil Amelga, founder of several businesses in the country including Zemen Bank. The company was first in Ethiopia to produce bottled mineral water and also the first to launch sugar free soft drink, RC Energy Cola, nine years ago.
Two hundred laid off


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SAP and UPS Open Up On-Demand 3D Printing Services to Additional Companies Through Expanded Early Adopters Program
Some big news broke a couple of days ago when UPS announced that they would be extending their on-demand 3D printing services to Singapore with the help of their partner Fast Radius. The announcement marked the expansion of a program begun earlier in the year by UPS and supply chain company SAP, combining the former’s logistics solutions and growing additive manufacturing services with the latter’s Internet of Things expertise and extended supply chain capabilities.
The initiative is an appealing one for many companies, who can significantly reduce their inventories by taking advantage of the on-demand system. Through the program, a customer can order a part from UPS, which will 3D print it and ship it within a mere 24 hours, virtually eliminating the need for participating companies to carry back stock. UPS and SAP, which is helping to facilitate the on-demand service, have stated that they plan to make the service available in the first quarter of 2017.
Now UPS and SAP are opening up the project to multiple companies who will act as co-innovators in the early stages. These initial customers will act as beta testers of a sort, helping SAP to test, validate and improve the new system as necessary – while being the first to benefit from the reduced inventories, shorter, more cost-effective prototype and production runs, fast delivery, and 3D printing capabilities the program offers.
Companies began signing on to the project earlier this summer, with early collaborators including Fast Radius, APWorks and HP. HP has already shown themselves to be highly invested in co-innovation as a business model; when they announced the development of their Multi Jet Fusion 3D Printer earlier this year, they also revealed that they would be enlisting the help of multiple collaborators to further develop and improve the machine.
“The successful transition of 3D printing from prototyping to manufacturing requires integration with business IT systems. HP understands the importance of end-to-end integration to maximize efficiency and technology adoption and is joining the SAP co-innovation program to help bring this to life,” said Scott Schiller, vice president, 3D market development, HP. “Powered by HP Multi Jet Fusion technology, HP delivers a manufacturing-ready solution for end-part production as well as an open software platform to connect to business IT systems. With leadership from SAP and collaboration with other innovators in the industry, 3D printing will more quickly move into mainstream manufacturing and streamline supply chains.”
Additional early-stage customers include:
“SAP and UPS are leading the way with their distributed manufacturing solution,” said Rick Smith, co-founder and CEO, Fast Radius. “This is a critical component that enables Fast Radius to realize its vision of a globally distributed network for on-demand manufacturing.”
This week, at the SAP TechEd Conference, SAP announced that they are opening up the early-adopters program to other interested companies. Businesses interested in the service can find out more about its benefits – as well as how to sign up as early adopters – at a new website launched yesterday.
“SAP Distributed Manufacturing can enable unprecedented opportunities to revolutionize design, manufacturing, logistics processes and business models,” said Hans Thalbauer, senior vice president, extended supply chain, SAP. “We are bringing together the innovative power of our customers and partners with SAP in this exciting next phase of our initiative to extend our reach and enable our vision for digital manufacturing.”
Registration for the early adopters program is open until January 2017, and companies from around the globe are welcome to sign up. SAP TechEd 2016, which is currently taking place in Las Vegas, will be continuing until Friday. Discuss further in the UPS & SAP Beta 3D Printing forum over at 3DPB.com.
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FRANKFURT/ZURICH (Reuters) – Hyundai’s hydrogen-powered 18-ton trucks are ready to hit the roads in Switzerland next month as the Korean manufacturer looks to make a case for the zero-emission technology, low-carbon world.
Hyundai H2 Xcient Fuel-Cell vehicle is shown in this undated handout image. The trucks are ready to hit the roads in Switzerland next month as the Korean manufacturer looks to make a case for the zero-emission technology, low-carbon world. Hyundai/handout via REUTERS
Was invented nearly two hundred years ago, hydrogen fuel cells, first loss of the engine, and now trail the electric batteries in the push for greener transport, as they are expensive and hydrogen is hard to store, and most of it is extracted from natural gas in a process that will lead to the emission of carbon.
However, when it comes to trucks, Hyundai and its partners ‘ claim that the electric battery does not always work, because the bigger the load the bigger and heavier the battery is, and that’s a problem for crawling up the mountains of switzerland.
And, with more than half of Switzerland’s energy is from hydro-electric power, the country has the potential to address the “green” hydrogen from the electrolysis of water is energy-intensive, carbon-free process powered by renewable energy.
“It is not enough to ensure the production of a vehicle. You need to take care of the entire ecosystem, to find like-minded partners, and to show all of this will make sense to the customer,” said Mark Freymueller, chief executive of Hyundai’s Hydrogen Mobility (HHM).
“It may not be possible to do this with a holistic approach and the right attitude,” he told Reuters. To be sure, Switzerland is green, hydrogen is much more expensive than the diesel, but for now, Hyundai is hoping that the government that will clamp down on carbon dioxide emissions, and the costs incurred in the production of a clean fuel point, the numbers could begin to add to it.
McKinsey & Co said in a study released in January that the cost of hydrogen made with renewable energy could drop to 2 € /kg by 2030, 3 to 4.For 5 euros, now it is to achieve cost parity with diesel fuel for heavy-duty vehicles, where the relative efficiency of the different energy sources and the costs incurred during the operating life of a truck driver have been taken into account in the.
Although hydrogen has long been known to be a potential alternative to fossil fuels, the expectation that fuel cells will have a role to play, as the world decarbonises, has helped to push the hydrogen-linked stocks to their highest level in more than a decade.
IN NORWAY, IT IS THE NEXT ONE?
As of now, Hyundai has to rely on the government’s tax breaks for fuel-cell vehicles, and its own funds to help make them economically viable to our partners: the end-user stations and green hydrogen suppliers.
Hyundai H2 Xcient truck, a 190-kilowatt fuel cell, and seven in the high-pressure tanks holding 35 kg of hydrogen, giving them a range of over 400 miles further than the heavy-duty vehicles are powered by electric batteries on the market right now.
Hyundai declined to say how much the subsidies are. Globally, the company is betting heavily on hydrogen, plans to spend $6.7 billion on hydrogen technology by 2030, and to increase the capacity for the fuel cell to 700,000.
It started out with a 50 in H2, Xcient trucks, but plans to have around 1,600 on Swiss roads by 2025, and is on the lookout for the launch of similar projects in at least two European countries, and this year, in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway.
In Switzerland, the EU, the leasing unit was established by the Hyundai Swiss, start the H2 energy has partnered with the Hydrospider, a joint venture between the H2 can be the Energy, industrial gas-maker Linde and Swiss power utility Alpiq.
Hydrospider is about to embark on the production of hydrogen for 40 to 50 of Hyundai trucks with a 2-megawatt (MW) electrolysis plant in Goesgen. Stefan Linder, a member of the Hydrospider of the board of directors, said ” the more the H2 truck to go into service, it would have to have the capacity to be 70 MW to 100 MW, and by 2023-2025.
In preparation for the launch of hydrogen for heavy goods vehicles in Norway this year, but H2 Energy has entered into a partnership with the Show is HOW, Greenstat, and Akershus Energi for the supply of green hydrogen. Hydropower provides Norway with most of its electricity.
A SUBSIDISED MODEL
The Swiss H2 Mobility in Society, a group of more than 20 enterprises of the first user, including the country’s biggest retailer Migros, the dairy producer, Emmi, food retailer Co-op and petrol station operators, SOCAR, and Tamoil.
End-users, such as the Us, have associated with the rental of the Mystery trucks on a pay-per-use contracts, which gave them a number of miles, the warranty, service, insurance, and access to hydrogen. HHM, said the contracts will ensure Hydrospider, and fuel wise, the margins of the race.
“We do not fool ourselves, it is a subsidized business model,” said the EU’s Freymueller, adding that this was the case for the introduction of a new technology.
For more than 10 years, assuming an investment of 1,3 million Swiss francs ($1.3 million), and a pump that can be repaired like 15 trucks, and visited only for the annual fuelling needs, EU estimates. Supermarket chain Migros has been taking for three Xcients, and the plans for measuring the effectiveness of their performance at the Mercedes-Benz truck is powered by an electric battery, three -, biogas-fueled trucks from Italy’s Iveco, and diesel fuel.
At the time, Migros, says it will pay 50 million Swiss francs per year, for a heavy vehicle to environment-the work environment (LSVA) is levied on all vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, and with the help of all of the roads in the netherlands. The Hyundai cars shall be in the first instance, to be exempted from the LSVA.
Rainer Deutschmann, director corporate transportation logistics at Migros, which operates on the 900 trucks, commuting between the 22 manufacturing plants and in almost 900 stores, told Reuters that he expects to see a number of technologies have an important role to play in decarbonisation.
“We are going to see on each trip and what the power consumption will be dependent on the geography and topology,” he said.
“An electric battery, in place of the transfer of the merchandise to go around the battery. You have to have a 200-mile range, which can be used for a city, but you can’t use it in the Alps,” he said. “The H2, you can use it for anything.”
Edited by Edward Taylor and David Clarke


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Samsung exec explains 'facts' of the Galaxy Note 7 recall
Post-recall Galaxy Note 7 phones should have a green battery indicator instead of white.
Ford previews the future of self-driving vehicles
It's planning to have 'Level 4' self-driving cars on the road in 2021.
CBS delays streaming 'Star Trek' debut until May 2017
Coming exclusively to CBS All Access, it's switched places with the new 'The Good Wife.'
Sony will have an Ultra HD Blu-ray player -- next year
On the other hand, its $15,000 projector supports 4K and the latest HDR standard.
A cartoon frog is this week's presidential campaign topic
Welcome to the 2016 campaign trail Pepe.
What's on your HDTV: 'Captain America: Civil War,' 'ReCore'
Also 'The Witness' on Xbox One, remastered 'Dead Rising' and 'Don't Starve Together' on PS4.
TiVo combines its biggest, fastest DVRs to make the Bolt+
Back in black, the $499 Bolt+ has six tuners and 450 hours of HD recording space.
Action Launcher brings Google's rumored Android tweaks early
The third-party launcher takes a page from recent leaks in its newest update.
NYT: Apple car 'reboot' involves dozens of layoffs
Instead of building a whole new car, reportedly the new focus is just self-driving car tech.


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Toyota has announced that its base 2015 Scion tC coupe with a six-speed manual transmission has been listed for $19,965, including a $755 shipping fee.
The price reflects no increase compared to the 2014 model.
The confirmed price might seem like good news for Scion fans, but the 2015 model is a carryover vehicle, and only "minor upgrades" should be expected.
The base 2015 Scion tC with a six-speed transmission has been listed for $21,115, including shipping. The new price reflects a $150 increase compared to its predecessor, according to the automaker.
Interested customers can expect the vehicle to reach dealerships sometime in early June.
The 2015 Scion tC with automatic transmission now comes with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters, according to the automaker.
Two new exterior colors will be available as well: Cosmic Gray will replace Classic Silver and Super White has been replaced by Blizzard Pearl.
Toyota expect the Scion tC to compete with similar models like the 2014 Ford Fiesta ST and the Volkswagen GTI, among others.


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|Is the gig economy back? Number of jobs - and workers - at Upwork surges
|These 10 real-time charts track early indicators of recovery from the coronavirus pandemic
|1.8 million gig workers were purged from Upwork - here's why
|The gig economy is crashing: Freelance jobs at UpWork sunk 31% in past month
|As Upwork cashes in on gig economy, here are its top freelancer categories


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State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra has called India's shock clampdown on cash an "extreme" step to boost financial inclusion, tax collection and battle graft.
"To my imagination that is a very, very extreme measure," Wathra said in an interview with Bloomberg economic and financial news service in Karachi on Wednesday, after a forum which was organised by the media platform. "It's the enabling environment which has to get better in the economy," he added.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi demonetised 500 rupee and 1,000 rupee notes in a move announced on November 8, taking out 86 per cent of the nation's currency in circulation.
Stocks slide, ATMs run dry after India rupee shock
Bloomberg News pointed out that South Asian countries, including India and Pakistan, are trying to bring more people in the formal economy and stop tax evasion.
Pakistan is focusing on softer measures to boost financial inclusion, the lack of which is one of the nation's greatest challenges, Wathra was quoted as saying. Less than one per cent of the population is registered tax-filers and collection is almost the weakest in South Asia, according to a Bloomberg report.
There are both cultural issues and the tendency of evading taxes in the country, the governor said.
Alibaba backed Paytm solves the problem of card payments in India
"It is like a mindset of our populations that they like to keep money with them instead of passing it to a bank or a financial institution. This is perhaps in the DNA, which we need to change."
About a quarter of Pakistan's adult population has bank accounts and the State Bank wants that double by 2020, however, the country's more than 14,000 bank branches were not enough for this goal, according to the central bank head."That is where the digital internet technology is going to help us in achieving our objective."
State Bank maintains target rate at 5.75 per cent
The SBP governor expects the nation's growth to be just under the government's target of 5.7% for the year that started in July. The current account gap is forecast at 1.5% of gross domestic product for previous fiscal year, as overseas shipments fell to $21 billion, the lowest level since 2010.
"We have to expand and refine our export model, beyond traditional industries such as textiles, and find new countries and regions to market them to. The present model is not working well enough for us," Wathra said, shedding light on contemporary economics and its future.
He further observed that economists are researching and considering a few models which will facilitate “us to switch to inflation targeting". For this task, the SBP is working with the government and planning commission on the ranges as the central bank can't start inflation targeting in isolation.
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Red Robin profits up 11.6% in quarter
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. raised its year-over-year net income by 11.6 percent in the second quarter of 2012, the Greenwood Village-based chain announced Thursday.
The income jump — from $6.9 million in second quarter 2011 to $7.7 million in the same period in 2012 — produced an 8.3 percent jump in earnings per diluted share, which ended up being 52 cents for the quarter. Total revenues increased 3.7 percent, from $215.8 million for the quarter in 2011 to $223.7 million this year.
The results represent continuing good news for the burger chain (Nasdaq: RRGB), whose basic earnings per share fell 59 percent from 2009 to 2010 as it faced requests from shareholders for the company’s board to seek a buyout. But in early 2011, new CEO Stephen Carley introduced an initiative aimed at increasing revenues, reducing expenses and changing the way the company deploys capital, and the company’s finances began a turnaround that continues.
“During our second quarter of 2012, we achieved year-over-year gains in restaurant revenues, earnings per share and continued expansion in our operating markets, as well as a significant improvement in guest count trends from the first quarter,” Carley said in a statement. “We also feel good about the disciplines and processes we’ve put in place to strengthen our business, and the talent we’ve added to our operations and culinary teams to help us achieve our long-term strategic goals.”
Same-store restaurant revenues increased 0.8 percent year-over-year for the 331 company-owned restaurants for the second quarter, as guest counts jumped 0.9 percent and more than offset a 0.1 percent decline in average guest checks.
Ed Sealover covers government, health care, tourism, airlines and hospitality for the Denver Business Journal and writes for the "Capitol Business" blog. Phone: 303-803-9229.
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On April 14, 2022, business magnate Elon Musk offered to purchase American social media company Twitter, Inc., for $43 billion, after previously acquiring 9.1 percent of the company’s stock for $2.64 billion and becoming its largest shareholder. – Wikipedia
“Although, obviously, myself and the other investors are obviously overpaying for Twitter right now, the long-term potential for Twitter in my view is an order of magnitude greater than its current value,” the billionaire Space X and Tesla founder said after the companies quarterly results.
He referenced twitter as something ‘that has sort of languished for a long time.’
“I am excited about the Twitter situation,” he said.


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French investor CM-CIC will acquire France Distribution Group (FDG) from previous owner Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG).
French plastic medical devices manufacturer is sold to Mérieux Développement and Gimv
French VC, launched in 2017, backs French tech companies in their early-stage phases
Strategy remains unchanged, investing in profitable businesses in the DACH and Benelux regions
Second bolt-on, after the purchase of Hamburg-based Startec, since AnaCap's original acquisition


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In India, the phones are priced higher than the Western market.
"It'll have a roughly 6.1-inch screen with LCD instead of newer OLED technology". The iPhone XS will be a new and improved version of the iPhone X sporting the same 5.8-inch OLED screen but with improved cameras and a much faster processor.
With Gazelle you don't need to send your iPhone in until October 19th, which is a good deal if you are thinking about waiting for the 6.1-inch iPhone that may arrive a little bit later or if you don't plan to get up at midnight to pre-order.
A separate, but connected to the new iPhones, a report has hinted that Apple may call the iPhone with 6.1-inch the iPhone XR. For instance, Apple will use a stainless steel frame instead of an aluminium one. The report says that Apple "has considered" calling that one the "iPhone XR". If you want the higher storage tier, with 256GB, you'd have to shell out Euro 170 more, but what will Apple charge for the eventual 512 GB models, is anyone's guess at this point.
Android phones have long supported dual SIM cards.
Up until this week, I've had the new 6.1-inch iPhone mentally tagged as the iPhone XE, in reference to iPhone SE, which is the only moderately-priced phone Apple now sells.
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus set up a sales record with more than 10 million units sold during their first three days of availability. Lately, unit growth has been running at about 1 percent. The "c" in the name implies that Apple is getting serious about bringing a successor to the affordable but short-lived iPhone 5c that was launched five years ago.
Alongside that, according to the online rumour mill, will be a larger iPhone - much like the Plus models of years gone by, that offer a larger screen and bigger battery. The iPhone 8 Plus cost Apple $288 to manufacture, which means $33 more than the iPhone 8 model. The supplies of the handset will be limited at launch due to issues with assembly and display. Last year, Apple took the wraps off the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus at a Sept. 12 event, with pre-orders for those new phones starting that Friday, Sept. 15. China Telecom, on the other hand, is also state-owned and the third largest mobile network provider in China. Various analysts observation that, as a stock, Apple can also be in a sequence to suffice with low iPhone income yelp as prolonged as earnings from its corporations and products exchange - which contains Apple Tune, the App Store and Apple Pay - continues to develop. However, over the past few years, competitors like Samsung and Google have raced ahead of Apple with significant improvements with each iteration.
Last year, Apple previewed a charging mat called AirPower, but never mentioned it again.
Bloomberg reported at the time that the iPad could be released in 2018. Geared toward consumers and schools, the laptop may help Apple re-gain lost market share in the PC world. Additionally, Kuo believes that Apple will bundle an 18W USB-C charger with its 2018 iPad Pros, up from the 5W adapter it now bundles with them.
You can watch the live stream of Apple's iPhone event at the official event page, which will be updated just in time for the event.


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Bristol City football club have unveiled their new season goalkeeper jerseys and the rainbow designs have triggered some people. The club has teamed up with sports apparel company Hummel to produce the eye-catching designs. Announcing the release for the 2020/2021 season, the company said ‘both designs joyfully reflect the club’s recent trend for vibrant and eye-catching goalkeeper creations.’ Then social media took notice. “As a kit it looks dope af. but idk if it’s to support LGBTQ or nah. personally, I like watching football without these kind of society things and political stuff etc. just here to enjoy the beautiful game,” one Twitter user declared.
Others have supported the designs.“(The Club) have not even mentioned the kit being at all relevant to the LGBTQ+ community and this isn’t even the rainbow flag. If you dislike the shirts for their design that’s fine, but all of this homophobia is actually appalling,” another tweet said. “Crazy that, even in this day and age, some people are so insecure in their own sexuality or so scared of the sexuality of others, that they think the colour pink or a sort of rainbow pattern, is offensive or is going to make people gay. Truly bizarre.” reflected another tweet.
Highlighting the multiplicity of loyalties at play, Ryan Richardson tweeted “They think the colours are linked to gay pride Rainbow. I sort of see the resemblance but it doesn’t bother me at all since I support both gay pride and BCFC.”
The shirts represent a technical innovation as they take advantage of Hummel’s ZEROH20 dry-dye technology, meaning it is more sustainable than ever to produce the kit. Hummel reports that it normally takes 25 litres of fresh clean water to dye just one single t-shirt. Every two years it takes the entire volume of the Mediterranean Sea to colour the world’s textiles. However, the ground-breaking technology ensures there is zero water consumption, zero wastewater and a 50% reduction in energy consumption during the production process.
Bristol City finished 12th in the Championship league. The shirts are available to pre-order on the club`s website
Although referred to as the beautiful game, football has an ugly undercurrent of prejudice. Racism, homophobia and misogyny are often present in the abuse hurled at rival team players and supporters. Campaigns endorsed by the game`s ruling body the Football Association (FA) to combat those prejudices have included Rainbow Laces for LGBTQ+ inclusion and Kick It Out against racism.
Locally, Whitehawk FC offers a more inclusive football experience


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Nordstrom Rack was once Nordstrom's greatest asset, now analysts say it's dragging the brand down. We visited three Rack stores to find out more.
Nordstrom Rack has become a drag on Nordstrom's earnings, reporting an 8.1% drop in sales over 2019 in the most recent quarter.
People are stocking up on frozen turkeys, with one discount chain selling 1,500 a day, a report says
UK shoppers are snapping up frozen turkeys — and in the US, a supply crisis means consumers could struggle to secure their turkeys for Thanksgiving.
An heir to the Aldi and Trader Joe's empire has sued his mother and sisters, saying they embezzled millions of euros from a trust fund
Nicolay Albrecht, the grandson of one of Aldi's founders, is suing his family, claiming they took millions of euros from a family trust.
Here's why department stores like Nordstrom and Macy's are banking on deep discount models as TJ Maxx and Marshalls emerge as winners in the pandemic
Discount retailers like TJ Maxx and Ross strategically ensured their stores would not be overloaded with inventory when they reopened.


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NEW YORK — The cost of baseball tickets this year rose at twice the rate of inflation.
The average price of a major-league baseball ticket is $11.98 this season, a 7.1 percent increase.
The Boston Red Sox charge the most with a $17.69 average. The World Series champion New York Yankees are second in average ticket price at $16.27, an 11.6 percent rise.
The White Sox are the third highest at $16.12, followed by Baltimore at $15.66, Atlanta at $15.54, Toronto at $14.86 U.S. and the Cubs at $14.63.
St. Louis, which won the NL Central last season, had the highest raise this year, 24.7 percent to $12.36, according to a study released by the Team Marketing Report.
Montreal, which lowered prices by an average of 24.9 percent this year, has the lowest average price, the equivalent of $6.81 in U.S. currency.
Baseball's average ticket price has risen 38.7 percent since 1991, when it was $8.64. Since then, the average price of an NFL ticket has gone up 41.8 percent, from $25.21 to $35.74. The average price of NBA tickets has risen 46.6 percent, from $23.24 to $34.08.
In comparison, the Consumer Price Index has gone up 16.8 percent since 1991.


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Despite its denials, Johnson & Johnson’s stock continues to take a pummeling in pre-market trading this morning after a Reuters investigation charged Friday that the company had, for decades, hidden information about tests that found its talcum powder was sometimes tainted with small amounts carcinogenic asbestos.
As it has for years, J&J adamantly denied the allegations and is running an ad in major print and online news outlets today carrying the headline: “Science. Not Sensationalism.”
A J&J press release about the ad further charges that the story “misrepresented J&J, our product, our actions, and the science about talc. Reuters misled its readers by printing inaccurate statements, withholding crucial information that otherwise undermines its thesis. Reuters published this story even though it was advised that it had the facts wrong.” It also claims that Reuters omitted “substantial amounts of information” it had provided prior to publication that support its claims that talc does not cause cancer.
Reuters’ Lisa Girion wrote that nearly two decades after a lawsuit filed by 52-year-old Darlene Coker, who was dying of mesothelioma, was dismissed without J&J being ordered by the court to release internal documents, the material Coker and her lawyer sought is finally emerging.
“J&J has been compelled to share thousands of pages of company memos, internal reports and other confidential documents with lawyers for some of the 11,700 plaintiffs now claiming that the company’s talc caused their cancers -- including thousands of women with ovarian cancer,” Girion reports.
“A Reuters examination of many of those documents, as well as deposition and trial testimony, shows that from at least 1971 to the early 2000s, the company’s raw talc and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos, and that company executives, mine managers, scientists, doctors and lawyers fretted over the problem and how to address it while failing to disclose it to regulators or the public,” she continues. “The documents also depict successful efforts to influence U.S. regulators’ plans to limit asbestos in cosmetic talc products and scientific research on the health effects of talc.”
J&J first “forcefully denied” the Reuters report in a statement Friday sent to the Associated Press.
“The New Brunswick, New Jersey, company also has publicly maintained in recent years there is no science to back alleged links between its powder and cancer. J&J has won several recent court cases alleging liability and damages, and is appealing other judgments, including $4.6 billion awarded in July to 22 women who claimed its product caused their ovarian cancer,” according to a CBS News story on 4CBS Denver’s website.
J&J had also established the website http://www.factsabouttalc.com. It contains extensive information about talc’s “safety,” the studies that support its claims and the litigation it is involved with.
“You’ve probably read news stories about juries awarding large verdicts in cases alleging that Johnson’s Baby Powder can cause ovarian cancer or mesothelioma. But you may not have read or heard this: of all the verdicts against Johnson & Johnson that we have already appealed, not one has been upheld,” it says.
“I have known this company and its CEOs and senior leaders for more than thirty years, competed against them, and worked with them over a decade ago. J&J is one of the highest integrity companies in the world,” writes Bill George, the former chairman and CEO of Medtronic, who is currently a senior fellow at Harvard Business School, for CNBC.
“Its leaders -- led by current CEO Alex Gorsky, as well as predecessors Bill Weldon, Ralph Larson and Jim Burke -- put the famous J&J Credo at the forefront of every decision they make.
“Written in 1943 by then-chairman Robert Wood Johnson, the Credo states in its opening lines: ‘We believe our first responsibility is to the patients, doctors and nurses, to mothers and fathers and all others who use our products and services. In meeting their needs everything we do must be of high quality.’”
Nonetheless, J&J’s “shares extended declines in pre-market trading Monday following last week's move that lopped $40 billion in market value from the iconic consumer brands group” after the Reuters story broke, The Street’s Martin Baccardax writes this morning.
“But the hit to J&J’s reputation may be the most difficult to fix,” suggested Reuters' Robert Cyran in a “Breaking Views” column Friday.
“In the 1980s, seven people died after taking Tylenol painkillers that had been laced with cyanide. The company’s response to that tragedy -- recalling 31 million bottles, taking out advertisements warning customers, and introducing tamper-proof packaging -- became a staple business-school lesson in reputation-buffing. If the company really sat on troubling data relating to a product used on babies around the world, it might end up being taught as a counter-example.”
But if J&J’s defensive efforts continue to hold up in court, it may have an even more compelling case study for the textbooks -- and the marketplace.


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Release date: 17/02/2019
Variscite is pleased to inform about the first Debian release for Variscite’s DART-MX8M System on Module.
- Linux kernel:
Variscite imx_4.14.78_1.0.0_ga_var01 release (based on official NXP release imx_4.14.78_1.0.0_ga, which is based on Linux 4.14.78).
Variscite imx_v2018.03_4.14.78_1.0.0_ga_var01 release (based on official NXP release imx_v2018.03_4.14.78_1.0.0_ga, which is based on U-Boot v2018.03).