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There is a problem in the UK’s energy market – but it’s the regulator’s fault
1 July 2014 10:21pm
OFGEM has referred the retail energy market for investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). This is the right decision, for the wrong reasons. Most of Ofgem’s concerns are insubstantial. The real source of the problem is Ofgem’s policy, described in its annual report issued the same day as “Simpler, clearer, fairer. Three words I think it is hard to argue with.” Unfortunately, Ofgem’s rules to achieve “simpler” tariffs also restrict competition, limit customer choice and deter innovation. But the deeper problem has been Ofgem’s pursuit of “fairer” prices.
Some of Ofgem’s concerns about the retail energy market are unconvincing. Certainly, there has been a loss of consumer trust. But this is easily explained by a decade of the steepest real energy price rises in living memory, with Ofgem hinting that the problem is lack of competition rather than international fuel price rises and costly environmental obligations.
Incumbent advantages that allow higher prices for “sticky” customers? But more active customers search out lower prices in all markets. Indeed, where suppliers have to recover fixed costs, competition will drive them to differentiate their prices in this way. Possible tacit coordination? But if suppliers are all subject to the same underlying cost movements, they will increase or reduce prices at about the same time. Prices that rise faster than they fall? The evidence on whether this happens is mixed, but it is found in many other markets, so does not indicate market power.
Vertical integration harming competition? It hasn’t done so in the market for larger energy customers, where Ofgem finds little evidence of harmful features. Barriers to entry? They haven’t stopped many small players entering since 2009. No evidence of operating cost reductions? Nor is there evidence that Ofgem has looked for them, or acknowledged the increasing costs on suppliers.
There are two legitimate concerns. First, customer switching between suppliers steadily increased until 2009 then started falling. Second, Ofgem calculated negative retail profit margins until 2009 then steady increases: for a dual fuel customer from minus £35 in 2008 to over £100 in 2013.
What caused all this? Did customer switching fall because suppliers stopped doorstep selling? No, that happened between 2011 and 2012.
What changed in 2009? Ofgem’s policy did. On 16 January 2008, Ofgem assured the chancellor “the market is sound”. But on 21 February 2008, it announced its Energy Supply Markets Probe. This found “unfair price differentials” between different regions and payment methods. Ofgem’s target was to remove £500m in “unfair differentials”. On 1 September 2009, it introduced two new licence conditions, banning differentials between regions and between payment methods that weren’t justified by cost differences.
The differential between in-area and out-of-area prices fell from £30 to £11. But instead of in-area prices falling, out-of-area prices rose. The saving from switching supplier halved. Fewer customers switched. Ofgem says that, from 2009 to 2012, Big Six annual domestic supply profits increased from £233m to £1,190m, by nearly £1bn. My own calculations using Ofgem’s net margins data suggest that, from 2008 to 2013, the increase in margins was more like £3bn. Ofgem has never reconciled these figures, but both of its data sources suggest that its policy has substantially increased supplier profits, at an annual cost to customers of about £30-£100 per household.
Although Ofgem discontinued its formal ban on unjustified differentials between regions in 2012, it warned suppliers that it would take action if “pricing practices which are unjustified are returning to the market”. So the consequences of Ofgem’s policy are still being felt today.
Ofgem’s ban on unjustified differentials between payment methods reduced the extra charge for a pre-payment meter (PPM) customer compared to a direct debit customer, from £140 in 2009 to around £80 now. This may seem a good thing for PPM customers. But direct debit and standard credit customers have to pay more, including the nearly half of all households in fuel poverty who pay by direct debit. This ban distorts competition too, making it less profitable for suppliers to offer new PPM tariffs and less attractive for PPM customers to move to cheaper direct debit arrangements, thereby perpetuating a difficult situation.
Ofgem’s prohibition on “unfair price differentials” in 2009 failed to appreciate that price differentials are an intrinsic feature of competition in a domestic energy market. Ofgem’s economic analysis was faulty. It then went further, imposing its own view of “fair” price differentials. But Ofgem has no statutory duty to decide what are “fair” prices and to impose them on the market. If there is a public interest in fair prices rather than competitive prices, that is a matter for Parliament.
Ofgem’s reference to the CMA is the right decision, in order to reverse its misguided pursuit of “fairer” prices that has restricted competition and cost customers dearly. The only regret is that it will take a further two years to do so.
Stephen Littlechild is fellow at the Judge Business School, emeritus professor at the University of Birmingham, and was the GB electricity regulator between 1989 and 1998.
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Deana Budgell knew from a young age that getting her own business up and running would be a lot of work.
Rather than invest in traditional public relations and marketing, the owner and founder of So What Industries, an online shop that produces custom-made clothing for men, turned to social media to launch her brand, creating a Facebook page to spread the word and generate interest.
For Ms. Budgell, social media has been the driving force of So What Industries, cultivating a community on Facebook rather than building a website.
"Facebook is the heart of my business; it's the place where I have the most conversation with clients and people interested in my products," says Ms. Budgell, a San Jose-based designer who learned basic seamstress skills as a child looking over her mother's shoulder, and started out as a dress designer and seamstress in the bridal industry.
"I continually post updates, answer questions and even run giveaways to keep people engaged. I also solicit feedback on my designs, giving clients the opportunity to contribute to the brand," adds Ms. Budgell, who was inspired by the self-reliance and tenacity of her parents, both Newfoundland fishermen, to start her own clothing business.
Facebook has provided an opportunity for past fans of her work to connect, as well as a low-cost approach to introducing her brand to their personal networks.
Ms. Budgell has also been using social media as a tool to offer promotions, helping to generate greater awareness of her brand, and Facebook giveaways have helped her grow a dedicated following.
For every twenty-fifth person to 'like' the So What Industries Facebook page, she has selected a winner and sent a free product. This Father's Day, anyone who 'likes' the Facebook page will receive a 20-per-cent discount on purchases until June 19.
Ms. Budgell also launched a storefront on Facebook using Payvment, an application designed for customers to shop within the social network.
The e-commerce tool allows storeowners to list products and complete transactions from a tab on their brand's Facebook page. Payvment, which is currently available in beta version, provides customers a one-stop shopping experience, and helps entrepreneurs like Ms. Budgell generate sales. It even has its own shopping mall, which exposes her brand to a larger community.
Having a high-quality product is key to launching a business using social media, Ms. Budgell says. She handcrafts her clothing from her home studio, and lets customers personalize each piece by adding a meaningful quote or saying to their clothing.
"Focus on product quality first and then create a Facebook page, allowing people to share their excitement for your brand," she says. "For me, that's where it all started."
Ms. Budgell plans on exploring Facebook Ads and Sponsored Stories, targeting potential clients with specific interests. Sponsored Stories help businesses create awareness through promoting regular news feeds that feature their brand to the right-hand column of Facebook.
Ms. Budgell is also considering sending products to men with strong social media followings, to further generate interest among influential people who may take a liking to her clothing. By developing a product-seeding strategy, Ms. Budgell hopes to turn key influencers into advocates for her products, and spread the word in their online communities.
Ms. Budgell's strategy has allowed her to facilitate an environment that embraces brand champions and engages consumers.
Innovative social media tools provide small business owners alternative approaches to increasing brand awareness and generating sales. As a small business owner, it's important to continue searching for new tools and developing unique strategies that, with limited budgets, will reach your target customers.
Special to The Globe and Mail
Mia Pearson is the co-founder of North Strategic . She has more than two decades of experience in creating and growing communications agencies, and her experience spans many sectors, including financial, technology, consumer and lifestyle.

domain: news


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Various companies are taking steps to halt the sale of their products at predatory prices in an effort to curb dilution of their brand equity, prevent cannibalisation of offline sales and thwart efforts to push fake products.
With this, some are entering into or strengthening direct selling arrangements with online marketplaces. Companies like Sony, Apple, LG and Eureka Forbes are intensifying these measures after Flipkart and Amazon offered heavy discounts and cashback deals during their festive sales.
It has been stated that such measures by companies return after two years. Eureka Forbes has taken legal action against 200 vendors for selling its products at deep discounts on e-commerce websites, warning them against making such unauthorised offers because the company has designated online sellers.
“The unauthorised sellers on the marketplaces pose a huge threat to consumers. Lured by lower prices, consumers may end up buying fakes or assembled products,” Eureka Forbes chief transformation officer Shashank Sinha said.
He also stated that it has brought down the over 1,100 unauthorised online sellers found at the beginning of the year through concerted action.


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Xsolla researched and found many interesting facts about Smart Communications, the pioneer of mobile payment services in the Philippines.
Xsolla had a nice chat with representatives of Opera Mobile Store — one of the biggest independent app stores in the world. Opera Mobile Store manager Viacheslav Shybaiev and Opera Mediaworks director Sandra Ilyina told us about the advantages of advertising in alternative stores and shared some insights of the successful app-promotion through Opera Mobile Store.
Brazil is rapidly becoming one of the world’s hottest spots for the gaming and mobile industries. This May, from May 10 to 18, 2014, the Centro Cultural São Paulo hosted the first Festival of Independent Games for Latin America. This event, called BIG (Brazilian Independent Games), invited game developers from around the world to present their Indie Games and also to compete in a competition called Demonight. There were prizes, parties, and lots of excitement culminating in a named awards ceremony! Xsolla was there to see it all.
— Asteroid Base (@AsteroidBase) May 20, 2014
Xsolla offers a streamlined, secure method of accepting payments for online and mobile games. It’s no surprise many companies and gaming experts would recommend Xsolla, as we pay close attention to the steps customers take to make a payment, even down to the forms they fill out in the process. Based on our expertise, we can recommend a few tips about credit card forms that we have proven to increase conversion rates.
Xsolla is proud to announce their partnership with ESTsoft! By joining forces with the leading games payment solution, ESTsoft will now be able to offer payment methods such as e-wallets, prepaid cards, credit cards, bank account linking, and more all across Europe!


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YellowPages.com & SuperPages Top IYP’s in Local Search
Here’s comScore’s recent breakdown of IYP marketshare:
Total Yellow Pages Searches 100.0%
Yahoo! Sites — 23.9%
Verizon SuperPages — 20.1%
Google Sites –12.5%
Time Warner Network –7.7%
InfoSpace Network –5.1%
Hitwise or Nielsen might have different numbers.
comScore says that a little more than 1/3 of the “local search” volume is coming through IYP sites, which are traditionally stronger leads, than the 2/3 coming via the major search engines.
Perhaps more interesting is that there’s apparently substantial overlap in the audiences doing searches on Google, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, Ask and those using IYP sites. comScore says that, overall, 63% of the US web searching population conducted a local search in July (or 105 million users). That’s a combined audience of IYP and search engine users looking for local information, using comScore’s definition of “local search.” comScore also reported that there were about 68 million IYP users in July but that of those only 13 million were not also using search engines for local searches. (There’s a research question here about why and when users differentiate).
comScore also said that the IYP user base was growing at rates that were outpacing the overall search market (46% vs. 21%).
Local search is being used as a directory-assistance substitute by 52% of users, who are looking for a business phone number or address. But the largest category of usage in Q2 (59%) was for attractions and entertainment (restaurants, bars, theaters, etc.). Another large category was for services at 41% of users, according to comScore.
Consistent with other data, the majority of local search users either contacted a local merchant or paid a visit to that local business “offline.” But 37% did make an online contact (email or visited a site).
Here’s my earlier post on a broader perspective on local search.
Greg Sterling is the founding principal of Sterling Market Intelligence, a consulting and research firm focused on online consumer and advertiser behavior and the relationship between the Internet and traditional media, with an emphasis on the local marketplace.


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Tickets to music concerts, sport events and many other things are forged. counterfeited and touted so as to an expensive un-natural price.
However now two British graduates have a new solution using the blockchain so as to counter this rampant counterfeiting and resale profiteering.
The blockchain technology would allow event organisers to give each ticket a unique identity that is tied to its owner.
Because the tickets are based on blockchain – a linked list of records where each new one contains an encrypted version of the previous one – they cannot be faked.
The software also allows event promoters to keep an easy record of who owns the ticket, which means they can control the prices.
Anyone who has ever attended, hosted, or produced a live entertainment event has been affected by counterfeit tickets or extortionate resale prices.
Using blockchain could bring a refreshing solution that could end fraudulent activity and ticket touting once and for all.


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“Raising the sales tax on the struggling working people and businesses of Milpitas trying to recover from the lockdowns is the last thing we should be doing in the middle of the pandemic,” declared Milpitas City Council candidate Suraj Viswanathan today.
The Milpitas business executive and entrepreneur said the Council’s decision to place a tax increase on the November ballot should be revised to avoid penalizing Milpitas residents. “Just as we tax tourists through the hotel tax, we should develop a way to apply any sales tax to out-of-area shoppers to the Great Mall, not to our own people who are having a hard time just feeding their families and keeping a roof over their heads.”
He said he was confident that it would be technologically feasible to develop a tracking system for sales to out-of-area consumers.
Milpitas’ sales tax is currently 9% and would rise to 9.25% if the ballot measure is approved by voters in November.
This is a sponsored post.


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Following a directive by the government to limit the number of people shopping in supermarkets at any given point. Tuskys Supermarket has gone a notch higher. They are offering home delivery services to their customers.
Here is what you need to do:
You will need to send an email or a whatsapp message with your shopping list to any of the whatsapp branch numbers or emails provided.
Include your name, contact details and your location.
Tuskys will then revert to you with the total bill and the till number for you to complete payment.
Your shopping will then be delivered to you by an authorized Sendy Rider.
Below are the branches, till numbers and email adresses of each branch.
Covid-19 has become a global eidemic with Italy as the new epicentre of the disease reporting 4,032 deaths.
So far Kenya has reported seven confirmed cases but the Health Cabinet Secretary, Mutahi Kagwe, warned that these cases might go up as we head into the second week since the confirmation of the first case.
Measures have been put into place to help curb the spread of the virus including carrying a limited number of passengers in public transport.


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The financial markets may fluctuate, but the way we think about currency, as well as the way we pay for our online goods and services has pretty much remained unchanged—until now. The technology that we've been using is about to be put to new use. Innovative payment methods and devices that we can't conceive of are about to transform e-commerce. Google Wallet launched this week, emptying wallets of cash, credit cards, gift cards, and loyalty cards in one clean sweep.
It's hard to believe now, but there was a time when there was doubt if e-commerce would take off. Back in 1995, online users were hesitant to give their credit card information to a startup retailer named Amazon. The transition to purchasing online was not a smooth one. There were missteps then, and there certainly will be now.
To create the same kind of cultural shift that was required for e-commerce to be successful, a few things are going to have to happen: some standards, some security, and force of habit. And it doesn't hurt if there's a little excitement about the whole thing.
Let's take a look at how the way we pay has changed.
1. Searching Your Pockets
2. Has Beenz
It's often said there's no reward for loyalty, but for a while there, Beenz tried to prove that wrong. The company launched in 1998, signing up customers and granting them beenz-virtual credit-for visiting certain sites. Beenz itself attracted quite a loyal following, scoring $40 million in venture capital from big names like Oracle and Sun Microsystems. Customers could spend their own beenz at e-commerce sites, including Flooz. It's not so surprising, though, that in the end, it didn't amount to a hill of, well…
3. Flooz: A Whoops for Whoopi
Remember Flooz? Whoopi Goldberg hopes you don't. In 1999, an ad campaign had her relentlessly flogging the online currency on television, radio, billboards, and the net (maybe because she was one of its largest shareholders). Flooz let users deposit money into an account that could be either used by them or gifted to purchase goods at select online merchants. But in just under three years, it shuttered with no notice, leaving its customers and retailers fleeced not Floozed.
4. Keep Me Searching for a Farm of Gold
For gold mining, go west, but for gold farming, go east. The practice of gold farminginvesting hours of time in obtaining goods in a virtual world and then selling them for real currencyis most prevalent in China and South Korea. It's often prohibited in most games' terms of service, but that hasn't done much to curb its popularity. Nor has the news that China forces prisoners, political and otherwise, to gold farm or realization that even those who choose to gold farm for a living do so under sweatshop conditions. Ironically, FarmVille may end up being one of the few games that's farming-free, since its parent company Zynga has filed a lawsuit to stop sales of its currency.
5. Your Phone Is Your Wallet
Keys, check. Phone, check. Wallet, check. Actually, you can leave that wallet behind. Near-field communication allows an exchange of information between devices and readers with just a tap, making your phone your wallet. Of course, the usual scramble that precedes a huge technology shift is taking place. Google Wallet has just opened for business. Standards are being bandied about, and mobile payment companies, credit card companies, and phone companies are aligning. And Apple is, well, no one's sure yet what Apple's going to do.
6. It's Hip to Be Square
It seems everybody wants to be Square. The mobile payment company is taking on Google Wallet with its new app Card Case, which lets users make payments without a physical credit card. And it's raking in some cash of its own-reportedly raising over $50 million in a new round of funding. The recent additions of former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and famed venture capitalist and Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla to its board of directors will help it with the federal regulation hurdles it will undoubtedly face and connect it to the vast left coast technocracy.
7. Bitcoin: The Root of All Evil, Today?
Bitcoin is the most subversive of virtual currencies. It's a decentralized, user-regulated exchange where transactions are difficult-but not impossible-to trace and value is not pinned to any governmental currency. The invention of pseudonymous programmer Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin exists across a peer-to-peer network, with about 6.5 million bitcoins in circulation and a design to top out at 21 million. A few hundred merchants accept them for everything from buying some Alpaca socks to purchasing firearms to sponsoring a hacker. Congress is taking notice of Bitcoin after it was the currency of choice in some drug activity on anonymous, online marketplace Silk Road. If you'd like to cash in your chips, exchange services, such as Mt. Gox and TradeHill, exist, but bewarelive by the hack, die by the hack.
8. PayPal Gets a Bump Up
PayPal has been the leader in online payment for quite a while now. But with the Internet getting more mobile every day, it had to get on the road, too. So last year, the company brought new functionality to its iPhone and Android apps through a partnership with Bump Technologies. Now users can simply tap two phones together to exchange money.
9. An Alarming Alternative: Biometric Wallet
The term "digital wallet" means something a little different in the luxury goods market. Dunhill has produced a biometric wallet that (for $825) will protect your cash and cards. To open the wallet, youand only youpress your fingertip against the reader inset in the wallet's carbon-fiber casing. Your credit might not be indestructible, but your wallet can be. Bluetooth ensures that should your wallet stray more than about 15 feet from your cell phone, an alarm will sound.
10. Making Some Coin
QR codes are going Dutch. The Netherlands is celebrating the Royal Dutch Mint's 100th anniversary with a QR code-stamped coin. The coins are available in two denominations; silver coins are five Euros and gold are 10. Scanning the code on either will bring you to the mint's site, with a run through the halls leading to a game. Low on the excitement side, sure, but let's see George Washington do that.
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At the dawn of rapid prototyping, a common predication was that 3D printing would transform manufacturing, spurring a consumer revolution that would put a printer in every home. That hasn’t quite happened—-and like so many emerging technologies, rapid prototyping has found its foothold in a surprisingly different field: Medicine.
An article on Motherboard suggests that 3D printers may soon be a key part of disaster relief efforts.
Personal 3D printing has been evolving at a very rapid rate over the past 3-4 years. It’s been proceeding so fast that you might find yourself equipped with a few older, obsolete models that idle powerless in the corner of your workshop.
The Suspended Deposition Project, Brian Harm’s new 3D printing concept, is built to change the way architects create and design structures.
Scott Crump, Stratasys Chairman and Chief Innovation Officer, receives the SME Rapid Technologies and Additive Manufacturing (RTAM) Industry Achievement Award from Francisco Media of the University of Texas at El Paso, at RAPID 2013. Stratasys Chairman and Chief Innovation Officer Scott Crump was invited to deliver the opening keynote address at this this week’s Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo which opens Wednesday (July 10) in Chicago. The conference explores current and future business applications of additive manufacturing and features tutorials and seminar sessions covering topics such as policy issues, art and architecture
In a recently announced partnership, the Institute of Photonics at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) and Dutch company LUXeXceL will partner together to create a photonic 3D printer. Started only a few shorts days ago, the UEF’s Institute of Phototonics has hit the ground running, grabbing its first large industrial partnership within a week of its opening. It’s partnership with optical rapid prototyping firm LUXeXceL will leverage the company’s Printoptical Technology, … See original here: Finland Looks to Enter the 3D Printing Market Read more here: Finland Looks to Enter the 3D Printing Market
Drake Plastics Ltd.
This is turning out to be the decade of 3D printing. We're seeing rapid adoption of 3D printers from both professional engineers and modeling enthusiasts alike, and now we're entering the stage of full-color 3D printing for the masses.
RedEye On Demand, a rapid prototyping and direct digital manufacturing service, and its parent company Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) today announce a collaboration with KOR EcoLogic to produce… View original post here: Fuel-Efficient Car Built Using 3D Printing Technologies 7 minute workouts See the rest here: Fuel-Efficient Car Built Using 3D Printing Technologies skin cleanser
Our industry is currently engulfed by a reality distortion field. This field will bring about many unrealistic expectations, much unfounded optimism and is causing people to misunderstand the industry, its future and its capabilities. The field came about because the industry has undergone name changes since its inception.


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The globally attended Host Milano brings together a wide range of sectors from foodservice and hospitality to highlight new products and discuss the current state of the industry.
Dipo Induction, a leading global manufacturer of induction cooking appliances for professional kitchens, has announced it will showcase two new product lines at this year’s Host Milano International Hospitality Exhibition which takes place in Milan, Italy from October 22nd through the 26th.
This year marks the 42nd iteration of the biennial exhibition dedicated to the world of foodservice and hospitality. The most recent Host Milano, held in 2019, was attended by over 200,000 visitors, from 171 countries during the five-day event.
Dipo to Showcase New Platinum and Titanium Lines
At this year’s Host Milano, Dipo Induction will showcase an innovative leap in cutting-edge cooking appliances designed for use by professional chefs in busy commercial kitchens.
The two new product lines will be marketed under the D.Pro premium sub-brand of Dipo Induction and are aimed at capitalizing on the green trend across the F&B industry that is seeing more and more high-volume kitchens turning to eco-friendly appliances in an effort to reduce the use of fossil fuels.
Slated for release in 2022, The seductively stylish Platinum Line was designed to offer greater flexibility in busy commercial kitchens with six highly customizable induction appliances that allow for a variety of combinations best suited to a kitchen’s specific needs.
The Platinum Line appliances include a Griddle, Two-Zone Cooktop, Deep Fryer, Multi-Cooker, Pasta Boiler, and a Wok, all of which can seamlessly be used side-by-side or as stand-alone units.
“We took an in-depth look at the current needs of the entire market from mom and pop operations to global hotel chains to high volume ghost kitchens,” said Martin Vermeulen, CEO of Dipo Europe.
“We created the Platinum Line with a never before seen level of interchangeability, reliability, safety, and eco-friendly efficiency to meet the needs of professional kitchens both large and small.”
Dipo’s Titanium Line is a heavy-duty high-tech-driven line designed for continuous use by large commercial kitchens in restaurants, hotels, hospitals, governmental organizations, factory operations, and more.
Also set for a 2022 release, the WiFi-connected, touch-screen controlled Titanium Line has pre-programmed and programmable smart technology built right in, making high-volume commercial cooking easier, more efficient, and more eco-friendly than ever before.
The line is made up of four product groupings with a wide range of sizes and capacities across appliances including Standing Kettles, Tilting Kettles, Bratt Pans/Skillets, and Steam Cabinets.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, commercial kitchens consume roughly 2.5 times more energy per square foot than other commercial spaces. This has created a shift towards more energy-efficient, eco-friendly cooking appliances.
A study by the UK’s Carbon Trust found that the energy requirement of an induction appliance is 40-50% less than that of conventional gas or electric appliances. The study added that as less heat and fumes are generated when using induction, further savings are also achieved through reduced ventilation requirements and a safer workplace.
“The modern, professional kitchen has evolved,” said Jinsook Hur, Founder of Dipo Induction.
“Along with increasingly progressive government regulations, consumers now expect the brands they engage with to be greener, and more eco-friendly, while also offering a safer work environment for their staff. That’s a major driver behind the F&B Industry turning to induction technology.”
Rising Energy Costs
Highly efficient induction cooking technology is also becoming an increasingly attractive option for businesses hit hard by drastically rising energy costs across Europe. Analysts have warned that the crisis will be prolonged and that the worst may yet come.
According to a recent report by Euronews, natural gas costs have risen particularly high. At the Dutch Title Transfer Facility, Europe’s leading benchmark, prices have surged by more than 360% from €16 megawatt per hour in early January to €75 by mid-September.
The crisis has caused governments across Europe to look for ways to curb energy bills to help small businesses as countries begin to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic.


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According to the most recent Small and Medium Business Trends Report, small businesses that are embracing automation are thriving, while those not embracing automation are struggling. As part of the report, Salesforce Research, a cloud computing company, surveyed 500 small business owners representing companies with less than 200 employees. The study found that small businesses automating their processes are 1.6-times more likely to be growing than those that don’t. Similarly, growing small businesses were found to be twice as likely to adopt artificial intelligence as stagnant businesses.
This report demonstrates that while automation is often heralded as a destroyer of small businesses, it can actually help them succeed. In particular, automation is a beneficial component in helping small businesses scale. Traditionally, small businesses looking to scale would have to invest in people and processes, but automation can help small businesses scale without having to hire more people or invest valuable resources in revamping processes.
Overall, automation can help small businesses digitize their enterprise by taking tasks that were previously done manually, such as customer information management and data analytics, and streamlining them. Here are three areas where automation can improve internal efficiency for small businesses.
Sales and Marketing
According to emailmonday, a marketing consultancy firm, 51 percent of companies are using marketing automation. With new technological innovations in marketing, small businesses can automate repetitive tasks, allowing them to reach a wider audience and increase sales. Marketing automation software allows small businesses to reach customers on multiple channels, including email, social media and websites. It can help small businesses generate new leads and allow them to act on leads more easily. Automation can also help small businesses more easily access information on how potential customers react to their marketing efforts. This can help small businesses adapt their marketing campaigns to better entice potential customers and convert these leads to sales.
Finance and Accounting
According to a recent report by software company Xero, 72 percent of small businesses continue to rely on human accountants despite advancements in automated accounting technology. But automation in the finance and accounting sectors is growing exponentially and for small businesses in particular, automating these processes can free up resources. Recently there have been a number of technological advancements in payment processing. These new softwares speed up processing times and reduce costs. They also eliminate the need for manual accounting as payments are tracked automatically.
Automation can be utilized by human resource departments to streamline the talent acquisition process. According to a recent report by Ideal, a recruitment automation company, the processes human resources officers would most like to see automated are interview scheduling, background and reference checking, analytics/measurement, and sourcing candidates. New software programs have been created to handle inbound talent searches. And new tech like chatbots and artificial intelligence is even being used to interact with candidates. Artificial intelligence alone is currently being used in job postings, sourcing, candidate rediscovery and resume screening. Companies are utilizing this technology to conduct interviews and evaluate candidate behavior. Automation can also help throughout the hiring process with applicant tracking.
By automating different sectors of their operations, small businesses can increase efficiency and focus valuable resources in other areas that allow them to grow and thrive.
If you’re thinking about incorporating automation into your small business, but don’t know where to start, contact TTG for a free consultation. We offer customer service automation solutions that grow with your business. Our cloud-based software, provided in partnership with Zendesk, allows small businesses to provide an exemplary customer service experience.


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Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Play at Home Initiative is coming back for a second year, giving everyone 2016’s Ratchet & Clank for PlayStation 4, as well as an extended free trial to Funimation for new subscribers to the anime streaming service.
SIE started Play at Home in April 2020, in the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shutdowns, sheltering orders, and quarantines it brought to the United States and Europe. The company then offered Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey to everyone as an incentive to stay home and maintain social distancing. SIE also set aside $10 million to help its independent development partners, struggling financially against the effects of the global pandemic.
“The past 12 months haven’t been easy,” SIE chief executive Jim Ryan said in a statement. “And I think we’re all hopeful that we may be starting to see some flickers of light at the end of this long COVID-19 tunnel thanks to the tireless work of the medical community and people around the world.”
Ryan said the game and the Funimation offer were thank-yous to the PlayStation community for doing their part. Ratchet & Clank will be available beginning March 1, and free on the PlayStation Store through June. More details will come regarding the length of the Funimation trial (called Wakanim in continental Europe), and that preview offer will begin March 25.
Ratchet & Clank is part of the 20-game PlayStation Plus Collection, so those with a PS Plus subscription already have it. It was also offered as a free game to PlayStation Plus subscribers in March 2018.


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Tyre manufacturer Ceat Ltd has opened its first Wheel Management Centre (WMC) for truck and bus radial tyres at Sankagiri, near Namakkal in the Salem district of...
Mann+Hummel India, the 100 percent affiliate of filter maker Mann+Hummel GmbH of Germany, has announced ambitious expansion plans and also opened a...
Eicher Engineering Components, a business area of Volvo Engineering Commercial Vehicles Limited has opened its state-of-the-art plant at Dewas, Madhya Pradesh.
The US-based silicones manufacturing company Momentive Performance Materials Inc has inaugurated its state-of-the-art facility in Chennai, bringing the number of...
Manesar-based M and M Auto Industries Ltd is gearing up to supply coil springs to four-wheeler manufacturers.
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Dec 09, 2017
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Savers Secondhand Retailer Brings 50 Jobs to Crestwood
One of Savers' first stores in St. Louis is scheduled to open Feb. 21. The store has chosen to pair with Vietnam Veterans of America as its charitable partner.
Updated: Jan. 28, 2013
The new Savers store in Crestwood will bring approximately 50 jobs into the city, according to a news release from the company. Those interested in remaining management and team member positions can apply on the Savers website.
The for-profit retailer of secondhand clothing and home goods is tentatively scheduled to open Feb. 21. Residents can now drop off their donations at the store.
The chain donates money to local non-profit partners for every item donated to stores. Donations to the Crestwood store will benefit Vietnam Veterans of America. The non-profit will also receive money for items donated directly to them through their home pick-up service, according to a release from Savers.
“When we open a store in a new market, we always aim to form partnerships with organizations that are strong supporters of the local community. The first St. Louis-area Savers, located in Ellisville, also partners with the Vietnam Veterans of America, so we were eager to continue this wonderful relationship and help them bring even more support to veterans in the area," District Manager Rick Sturdivant said.


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Automakers have long piggybacked on the publicity of new films, and though it doesn't always work, the new Mazda CX-5 and The Lorax seem natural bedfellows.
Read This Article
The Moscow Motor Show is happening right now, as we speak.
Our colleagues spotted a prototype for the next-gen Mazda Miata testing in our own backyard. Check out the photos here.
In the wake of the Ford Escape recall, which involves over 480,000 vehicles, Mazda is recalling its own Tribute compact SUV.


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Regarding herself to be more of a chef than an entrepreneur, Gigi Teoh (founder of Idolci Gelato) explained that her idea to start the business was simple.
She always found cooking and making desserts and pastries to be joyful activities. And by launching a gelato business, she could still keep her passion for culinary arts alive while having a constant source of income. “Why not, right?” she quipped.
“During my employment at Four Seasons Hotel (in Singapore), I was trained by Chef Cassian Tan in ice-cream making and that laid the first foundation for my frozen dessert journey,” she confided.
But after a few years of working abroad, she felt really homesick. So she decided to pack up and come back to KL to be closer with her family and friends.
Upon returning, she worked at a gelato company in KL called Selara Cindai that was owned by one Mr Alberto Ciaramicolli. Gigi told us that he was one of the pioneer gelato makers in KL.
Wanting to equip her with the right skills and knowledge in gelato-making, Mr Ciaramicolli sent her off to the birthplace of gelato, Italy. All so she could learn from the local gelato masters in the traditional Italian way.
A few years went by and Mr Ciaramicolli decided to wind down the business to retire.
“That was when I bought his gelato machines. Those machines are easily three to four decades old,” she shared. That marked the beginning of Idolci Gelato.
Expanding its horizons
The brand’s core business has been B2B, with Gigi sharing that they supply to five-star hotels and restaurants around the Klang Valley.
Currently, the brand is producing plant-based gelato for IKEA Malaysia. They’ve also recently collaborated with brands like Delfi, Van Houten, Ovaltine, Andes, and Lee Kum Kee to come up with 10 “eccentric” flavour combinations.
During the MCO, the brand adapted to the changing times by extending their business to the B2C field as well. The chef shared that B2C sales are now making up 10% of the business’s revenue.
Customers can order a pint of Idolci Gelato for direct delivery to their chosen address.
As of today, Idolci Gelato proudly boasts a menu of 182 flavours, all of which are halal-certified by JAKIM. They’re on a made-to-order basis, so customers get to enjoy fresh gelato each time.
And surprisingly, they’re still made using the brand’s classic gelato machines that she bought from Mr Ciaramicolli all those years ago. The machines have smaller capacities and churn at a slower rate than modern ones, but Gigi shared that they won’t be replaced just yet.
“These old churners make up for their ‘shortcomings’ by producing finer, smoother, and creamier gelato.”Ingredients-wise, the brand insists on using pistachio and hazelnut paste from Italy, and dairy products and frozen fruits from France.
Everyone deserves a chance to make a living
The brand was started soon after the arrival of her first child, which served to be a great decision in hindsight. Gigi explained that having her own business allowed her more freedom and flexibility to manage her time.
“It enables me to juggle family and work matters more effectively,” she stated. Which also aligns with her initial intention of moving back home to Malaysia.
It’s been said that being a mum and wife while running your own business can be a handful. But Gigi explained that her strong family support system played a vital role in Idolci Gelato’s success, along with her colleagues who are the main pillars of the business.
Interestingly, we learnt that out of her seven colleagues, three of them are deaf individuals and one has a learning disability. “They are doing well at their job and I am very proud of them,” she said.
In terms of communication, Gigi explained that there are no barriers at all because she’s actually proficient in sign language. During her younger days, she took up sign language classes at YMCA, out of an interest to learn.
So when she started Idolci Gelato, she thought, “Why don’t I hire deaf individuals? Differently abled people deserve to be given a chance to make a living just like everyone else.”
All about quality over quantity
Curious, we asked Gigi how the reception for gelato has changed over the years. To this, she shared that most people were initially unsure of the difference between ice creams and gelato when the brand first started.
“If they could get a soft serve ice cream for 50 sen, they don’t see why they need to pay more for an Italian gelato. But as time goes by, society becomes more affluent, people become more well-informed, more discerning, and health conscious.”
And with that, she shared that the brand has seen an exponential rise in demand for premium quality food. In this case, it’s frozen desserts like gelato.
This can also be seen in the number of ice cream and gelato parlours that have mushroomed over the recent years.
“This is a good sign, it means there are more choices for consumers. The more the merrier,” she quipped. “No two gelato makers can produce the exact same results, therefore there is really nothing to compete over. Personally, I dislike competing with others and putting unnecessary stress on ourselves.”
Speaking candidly, Gigi confided that she doesn’t have any super-ambitious expansion plans for Idolci Gelato. “The heart and soul of my business is to consistently produce the finest gelato for our customers. Quality is everything, nothing else should supersede that.”
Featured Image Credit: Idolci Gelato


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Railways bring milk to Mumbai as supplies fall 47% on Day 3 of farmers' stir
19 July 2018
The Railways has extended a helping hand transporting milk from Gujarat to Mumbai as the protests by dairy farmers entered the third day today and threatened to affect the milk supply to other major cities in Maharashtra as well.
Three containers of milk reached Mumbai from Gujarat today, an official said.
"The Western Railways has made special arrangements for supply of milk into Mumbai, as per the directives of railways minister Piyush Goyal. The decision is taken to counter the short supply due to the ongoing agitation called by farmers' organisation," the WR said in an official communication.
The Ahmedabad-Mumbai passenger will bring two tankers of milk to Mumbai every day in each trip. Each tanker has a capacity of 44,000 litres.
With the protest by dairy farmers intensifying on the third day of the strike, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region received 33 lakh litres of milk on Wednesday which is 47 per cent less than the average supply of about 70 lakh litres, according to dairy development department officials.
In the rest of the state, too, milk shortage was observed as only 49 lakh litres of the commodity was distributed out of the 50 lakh litres procured.
The protesters tried to stop train wagons bringing milk to Mumbai from neighbouring Gujarat at Dahanu station.
Gokul Dairy, one of the major suppliers of milk to Mumbai, distributed only half the usual quantity. “The farmers’ support for the protest is growing, and hence overall procurement is down by 50 per cent. We are trying to distribute the milk in Mumbai as well as other areas. On Wednesday, only 3.5 lakh litre milk was distributed in Mumbai against the regular supply of 8 lakh litres,’’ said Arun Narke, director of Gokul.
Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader and Lok Sabha member Raju Shetti, who is leading the protest, on Wednesday tried to stop milk wagons coming from Gujarat at Dahanu in Palghar district. “The state government seems in no mood to listen to the woes of milk-producing farmers. We will organise road blocks on major roads in the state on Thursday. There will be cattle on roads,’’ Shetti said. The dairy farmers are demanding an increase of Rs 5 per litre in procurement prices.
Meanwhile, a Western Railway official said milk supply through trains to Mumbai has been rescheduled.
In anticipation of shortage of milk due to the ongoing agitation, the consumers in Mumbai have been buying more milk than their requirements since Monday. Anjali Mantri, a consumer from Ghatkopar, said that she bought a few more packets of milk than usual as fears the strike might affect the supply in the coming days. “We require two litres of milk every day. But we have stored four litres,” she said.
A police vehicles accompany milk tankers on their way to Mumbai on a regular basis as the farmers’ stir intensified
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday announced in the assembly that cases filed against dairy farmers during the ongoing protest would be withdrawn.
Fadnavis, however, made it clear that cases filed against those who are not farmers, but were charged for indulging in violence during the stir, would not be withdrawn.
Fadnavis said the government is not opposed to “a peaceful protest”. “But some people torched tankers. Farmers would never engage in such acts.”


text: The DROID 2 is rumored to launch by the end of August. However, the launch may be sooner than previously thought, as Best Buy is already gearing up for the big day. And in preparation, Best Buy has begun selling DROID 2 accessories: specifically, cases (check out the photo above). So, for those of you preparing to purchase a DROID 2, maybe snagging one of these will hold you over until the actual launch. And the ironic part out of all this, the Droid 2 has never been officially announced by Motorola or Verizon. Let's hope we get an official word soon, as August is soon approaching.


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April 9, 2004
Publishers Settle Suit Over Course Packs
Six leading academic publishers have reached an out-of-court settlement with a copy-shop owner in Austin, Tex., whom the publishers accused of selling course materials online in violation of copyright law.
The settlement stems from a lawsuit the publishers filed in January against the shop owner, Samuel Odunsi, of Buda, Tex. A service run by Mr. Odunsi created electronic versions of course packs without the permission of the publishers or their licensing agent, the Copyright Clearance


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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is giving a formal name to the outgoing Ram "DS" half-ton pickup: Ram 1500 Classic.
The 2019 Classic will be sold alongside the redesigned 2019 Ram 1500 in Canada and the United States and will go on sale in both countries in the fourth quarter, FCA said Tuesday.
FCA's launch of the retooled 2019 Ram 1500 has been disrupted by delayed EPA approvals for key variants of the truck, thwarting the company's plan to market old and new pickups and surpass the Chevrolet Silverado in U.S. sales.
"As we launch the all-new 2019 Ram 1500, we didn't want to walk away from a key part of the light-duty truck market," Ram head Mike Manley said in a statement. "Ram will continue to produce the 1500 Classic targeted at entry and commercial buyers."
U.S. sales of the Ram pickup have dropped 8.4 per cent this year in a large-pickup market that has expanded 1.9 per cent. Sales are down 15.4 per cent in Canada.
In Canada, The Ram 1500 Classic will be offered in five trim levels — ST, Tradesman, Express, SLT and SSV (Special Services Vehicle) — and two packages — SXT Plus and Express Blackout Package. Three cabs and three bed lengths will be offered for the 2019 model year. The vehicle will be offered with four trim levels in the United States — Tradesman, Express, Big Horn/Lone Star and Special Services Vehicle — and three new packages — Chrome Plus, Tradesman SXT and Express Black Accent.
It will continue to be available with a 3.6-litre V-6 engine or optional 5.7-litre V-8. An optional 3.0-litre V-6 EcoDiesel will be available at a later date, FCA said.


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Samsung already released the first Promo Video of the Samsung Galaxy K zoom that was just announced today, the device combines between a Smartphone with a Galaxy S5 design and a professional point to shoot 20.7 MP camera with 10x optical zoom and OIS, which puts the phone to the top of the Market on Smartphone Photography corner.
The device coming Next Month to the markets with a $599 price tag (estimated). Check the Video below!
Samsung has just Officially announced the Samsung Galaxy K zoom Cameraphone, which looks exactly like the Galaxy S5 but with smaller screen and some other changes in the design. The Galaxy K zoom combines a regular smartphone functions with the hardware of a professional camera.
On the camera-side, the Galaxy K zoom has a 20.7 Megapixel 1/2.3 BSI CMOS sensor and a 10x optixal zoom, 24-240mm F3.1-6.3 zoom lens with optical image stabilization (OIS). The phone has a xenon flash with an LED autofocus assist. On the front is a relatively humble 2 megapixel camera.
On the smartphone side, the Galaxy K zoom has a 4.8-inch, 1280x720 resolution Super AMOLED display, Exynos 5 Hexa (Hexa-core) SoC with Siz CPU cores comprising of four 1.3GHz ARM Cortex A7 and two 1.7GHz ARM Cortex A15, along with a Mali-T624 GPU, 2GB RAM, 8GB internal memory with microSD support up to 64GB, LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, NFC, 2,430mAh battery and Android 4.4 KitKat.
The Galaxy K zoom will be available starting next Month (May,2014) in three colors Black, White & Blue with an estimated price tag of $599.
It's Official, Samsung has just posted #TheNextGalaxy teaser of the Galaxy K on Instagram, the device is supposed to be the camera version of the Galaxy S5. We already saw the Galaxy K live photos that was leaked few days ago. The device will pack a 20MP camera with 10x optical zoom with Xenon flash.
The Instagram video that depicts the Red Dot Design Museum where Samsung's event is scheduled to take place. During the video, the viewer is zoomed into and out of the front of the Red Dot Design Museum. Samsung also mentions in the caption that we will meet #TheNextGalaxy on April 29th (Tomorrow). We will cover the whole event, Stay tuned!
At the MWC, Samsung quietly showed off a Tizen powered handset, there wasn't any information provided as to when and where this handset would first be released. But thanks to a report published on Sunday that cites a Samsung official, we now expect that the First Tizen powered smartphone will be launched Next month in Russia.
The unnamed Samsung official reportedly said that the plan is for other Tizen powered devices to connect with the smartphone. As for what we can expect from the first Tizen driven handset, the official states that it has specs similar to the Samsung Galaxy S4.
Yoon Han-kil, senior vice president for Samsung's Product Strategy Team, earlier said that the company would release two Tizen powered smartphones during the current quarter. One would be a high-end model, while the other would be a mid-range device designed to attract buyers to the platform.
Samsung vs. Apple Ads since the S3 launch is still pretty funny to watch, but now its for the Galaxy S5 "The Next Big Thing". The latest Ad posted by Samsung Mobile US takes informative angle to the new Samsung Galaxy S5, and it throws a barb at the iPhone for good measure.
The full minute ad will certainly get edited for a slew of 30-second spots to get wider TV distribution, but what cannot be discounted is the clear bomb thrown at Apple's iPhone when it comes time to talk about the camera. Watch the Video below if you are a Samsung phone, if you're not, you better just ignore it.


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Credit Card Fraud Alert, 10/02/2013
As recently reported to us by the North Carolina Banker's Association, a bogus Florida bank is swindling consumers across the country with a fraudulent credit card scheme. It goes by the name of AmTrade International Bank and sends offers for semi-secured credit cards via the U.S. Mail. The offers instruct victims to send checks in amounts ranging from $500 to $900 in order to receive the card, which is framed as a means of rebuilding poor credit. The checks get cashed but the cards never arrive. Although the solicitations sometimes mention that Credit One Bank is associated with the credit card program, that Las Vegas company has no connection with AmTrade. AmTrade purports to be located in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.


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A significant Neighborhood Well being Methods shareholder has bought off half its inventory over the previous two months, cashing in on a worth surge that adopted an surprising incomes rebound and information that the corporate’s CEO is stepping down.
Singapore-based Shanda Group, led by billionaire investor Tianqiao Chen, bought almost $110 million value of widespread inventory within the investor-owned hospital chain throughout a collection of transactions in November and December, bringing its stake right down to 12.2% of the corporate’s excellent shares, based on the Securities and Trade Fee. That is down from 24% in November, a stake Shanda had maintained since 2018.
This week alone, Shanda bought three.three million shares for $28.5 million. In November, the corporate netted $81.2 million in a pair of transactions that lined 9.6 million shares.
Franklin, Tenn.-based CHS’ inventory worth has been on a streak since late October. The value has risen greater than 75% because it began to spike on Oct. 27, the day the corporate posted its third-quarter earnings that day, exhibiting a lot larger web revenue to shareholders than within the prior-year interval, when the corporate had misplaced cash. The corporate additionally introduced its longtime CEO, Wayne Smith, was stepping down from the CEO position on the finish of 2020.
Brian Tanquilut, an analyst with Jefferies, wrote in an e mail he thinks Shanda’s gross sales are due to the inventory’s current run. “It is profit-taking,” he stated.
For its half, Shanda spokesman Jason Reindorp stated the change in its CHS place is a part of broader portfolio changes the corporate is making.
“We proceed to imagine they’re heading in the right direction and have religion that Wayne and Tim of their new positions will do an ideal job,” Reindorp stated, referring to Smith’s future position as government chairman and incoming CEO Tim Hingtgen, presently CHS’ chief working officer.
CHS stated it doesn’t touch upon its buyers’ inventory trades.


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Local telecommunications giant Singtel has revealed a hefty 44 per cent drop in its net profits, as it posted its lowest annual profit in 16 years.
While revenue remained steady this fiscal year ended March and even grew by 1 per cent, from SGD 17.3 billion to SGD 17.4 billion, the group’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 7 per cent to SGD $4.7 billion.
Singtel’s customer base and average staff count has also plummeted. Across all its brands, Singtel’s customer base went down to 650 million customers from 706 million mobile customers year ago while the average number of staff went down to 15,478 staff from 16,354 staff in the year prior. Besides this:
- Consumer revenue rose by 1 per cent year on year, bringing in SGD $9.8 billion for the full year;
- Enterprise revenue dropped by 2.3 per cent year on year, to SGD $6.3 billion;
- The Digital Life section accumulated SGD $1.2 billion in operating revenue, constituting a 10 per cent increase year on year;
- Data and internet revenues dropped from SGD $3.4 billion to SGD $3.3 billion;
- The IT group steadily accounted for SGD $3 billion in operating revenue;
- Fixed voice dropped by 17.1 per cent, from SGD $1.1 billion to SGD $899 million;
- Digital businesses went up, from SGD $1.1 billion to SGD $1.25 billion; and
- Sale of equipment went up from SGD $2.4 billion to SGD $2.9 billion.
Meanwhile, Singtel Group’s regional associates’ pre-tax earnings dropped by a hefty 37 per cent, from SGD $2.3 billion to SGD $1.4 billion, as well. Singtel cited intense competition in its Indian and Indonesia markets as the reason for the drop in pre-tax earnings.
One of the regional associates, Airtel reported a pre-tax loss of SGD $471 million this fiscal year, compared to the SGD $231 million profit in the previous year. Similarly another regional associate, Telkomsel reported that its pre-tax earnings dropped by 17.9 per cent year on year to SGD $1.1 billion.
SingTel Group chief executive officer Chua Sock Koong said: “Intense competition has affected the markets in India and Indonesia this past year. Airtel is strengthening its balance sheet with capital raising now in progress.
“We continue to be optimistic about the growth potential of our associates’ markets, with the rate of data usage growth and the plethora of digital content and services available and carried over the mobile networks.”
Even as it struggles in India and Indonesia, Singtel is making good strides in Australia. The group’s Australian subsidiary, Optus, collected AU$9.1 billion in operating revenue constituting a 5.7 per cent increase year-on-year. Over the year, however, Optus cut 1200 jobs, from 8526 to 7326 positions.
On the mobile market share in Australia and Singapore, Mr Chua said: “We have executed well to our strategy amid tougher industry, business and economic conditions. The fundamentals of our core business remained strong. We gained market share in mobile across both Singapore and Australia led by our product innovations, content and services that were well-received by customers.”


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Amsterdam-based EVSE company EVBox has launched the Troniq High Power, its first stand-alone 400 kW charging station to be field-proven, according to EVBox. The company expects to begin fulfilling orders in September 2023 in key European markets and aims to produce up to 2,000 units this year.
The charger is available with 320 kW, 360 kW or 400 kW power output options. It underwent a testing period of five months at two locations near Amsterdam and Toulouse, logging more than 4,000 successful charging sessions and over 1,700 hours of active charging. The testing involved delivering more than 91 MWh of energy to EVs of different types under a variety of weather conditions and use cases.
EVBox CEO Remco Samuels said, “As the majority of early adopters already drive an EV, we need to make charging faster and more widespread than ever to convince the next segment of drivers to switch to electric. High-power charging and the launch of EVBox Troniq High Power is a huge stepping stone on the path to electric mobility becoming the new normal.”


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Since the launch of GEMMA in November 2017 GEMMA launched the Onfoq bil-Ghaqal Campaign. 2020’s campaign kicked off on Thursday 10th with a webinar on spending during the festive period.
The panel consisted of Mrs Denise Farrugia, Project Leader for Hiliet il-Komunita at the Agency for Community and Therapeutic Services; Ms Abigail Mamo, CEO at the Chamber of SMEs, and Mr Ben Camille a well know local actor, and Ambassador for GEMMA. The panel discussed a presentation carried out by Ms Marika Fsadni on two survey, one in 2018 and the other in 2019, carried out by M.Fsadni & Associates on Xmas and New Year spending on behalf of GEMMA. The Webinar was moderated by Mr Mario Cassar, GEMMA Team Member.
One of the key results which was consistent in both surveys was that around 95% of consumers who took advantage of Black Friday deals saved €50 or less while just over 40% save up to €100. It was noted, however, that one needs to keep sustainability in mind as unbridled consumerism impacted negatively both on the environment and favoured present consumption over savings for future needs.
Ben Camille admitted that he was not big on the whole idea of presents at Christmas and the family had come up with the idea of Secret Santa so that the gift given would be significant rather than splitting one’s budget over many small gifts. With regards to budget setting, the surveys found that at least 29% (in 2018) and as many as 47% (in 2019) do not set a budget prior to shopping for Christmas presents. Even at the lower figure, this continues to be a worry statistic and reinforces findings in the Financial Literacy Study of 2018 which found that 33% of adults’ experiences situations where their income did not cover expenses.
Christmas can be a hard time for those who may not afford presents for their children, but Denise Farrugia noted that it would be erroneous to think this a universal truth applying to all vulnerable groups. Indeed, many may be temporarily passing through a vulnerable time and find it difficult to make ends meet especially around Christmas. Mario Cassar, the webinar moderator, noted that the surveys for both 2018 and 2019 indicated that around 14% of respondents did not have enough money to buy presents which also coincided with the fact that some 16% of the population was considered to be at risk-of-poverty in 2018.
A whopping 77% to 81% claimed that they had left over food when hosting friends and family but only between 1 and 4% threw leftovers away, indicating that with more planning, households can save a substantial amount of money.
Debating the effect of the current COVID-19 pandemic on retail business, Abigail Mamo was of the belief that consumers were shifting their consumption pattern to goods for the home and “self-gifting” although overall business was low.
The following are some other interesting findings that came out during the survey:
- In 2019 presents bought by a person included immediate family members – 96%; close friends – 36%, relatives – 21%; whilst in 2018 present bought person included immediate family members – 97%; close friends – 30%, relatives – 13%.
- Both in 2018 and 2019 the overwhelming of persons did not exceed their budget when buying an expensive gift – 72% and 74% respectively.
- Of interest in 2018 and 2019 of persons did not use Black Friday to buy Xmas presents – 80% and 84% respectively.
- The number of persons who used credit cards to purchase Xmas presents was relatively low – at 17% and 15% respectively in 2018 and 2019; with the highest credit card users being the ’30-49 year old cohort’ having a tertiary level of education and are employed.
- Of those who used the credit card to buy Xmas presents 56% and 75 in 2018 and 2019 respectively did not take accounts of penalties and interests to be paid in the event that they are unable to pay their January credit card bill on time.
- A very high percentage stated that they had enough money to purchases the Xmas presents desired – 88% and 86% in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
- In 2019 53% said that they maintained the use of well being services in Xmas as the previous year; 8% less the 2019 finding (61%).
- 48% and 53% stated that they bought new clothes during the Festive season for social events / parties


text:
International Trade Daily™ provides rapid, reliable notification of the most significant developments affecting U.S. trade and international business policy, as well as the policies of major U.S....
July 8 — The U.S. will ask the World Trade Organization to sanction retaliatory trade measures on India for allegedly maintaining a ban on its poultry imports.
India is failing to comply with a 2015 WTO ruling regarding the country's ban on U.S. imports of poultry meat, eggs and live pigs, the U.S. said. That ban on U.S. exports costs U.S. producers more than $300 million per year, according to industry estimates.
The WTO dispute settlement body previously determined that India's ban was not based on international scientific standards, was more trade restrictive than necessary and unfairly discriminated against U.S. imports.
Following the decision, Indian trade officials pledged to comply with the WTO ruling but rather than ending its ban immediately, would instead enter negotiations with the U.S. to determine a sufficient time line for compliance (136 ITD, 7/16/15).
The U.S. will officially seek recourse at the next meeting of the WTO dispute settlement body, scheduled for July 19 in Geneva.
To contact the reporter on this story: Bryce Baschuk in Geneva at email@example.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jerome Ashton at firstname.lastname@example.org
Copyright © 2016 The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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text:
Afrol News | 16 December 2004
Egypt-Israel-US trade pact sparks demonstrations
By staff writers
afrol News, 15 December - As the first Arab nation, the government of Egypt yesterday signed a trade pact with its neighbour Israel that will help breaking the latter’s economic isolation. After the controversial trade agreement was made known, demonstrations broke out throughout the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
The trade deal signed on Wednesday is to establish partial free trade between the neighbours of Egypt and Israel, but also with the United States. The US government has been key to the negotiations that led to the new trade pact.
The agreement will create so-called "Qualified Industrial Zones" in greater Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said and around the Suez Canal, which will have free trade access to Israel and the US. The zones will also be open to investments from these two countries.
As the new trade pact with Israel was known in Egypt, spontaneous demonstrations broke out in Cairo and other cities. Although Egyptians mostly celebrate the formal peace with their north-eastern neighbour, the continued Israeli oppression of fellow Arab Palestinians assures the maintenance of hostile feelings.
While Israel has preferential trade deals with the US and Europe, the Arab world so far has used a trade blockade as an economic weapon against its traditional foe. Combined with political violence in Israel, this has contributed to damage the country’s otherwise strong economy. For many Egyptians, a trade deal with Israel thus means betraying the Arab pressure against Israel to negotiate a return of occupied territories with Palestinians and Syria.
Today’s demonstrations in Cairo however generally went peaceful and authorities managed to stop larger crowds from gathering. At most, several hundred protesters managed to gather at one spot. Egyptian authorities have a strong tradition in controlling potential riots.
There were however voices in Egypt welcoming the new trade deal as a new hope for economic and industrial development in Egypt. The "Qualified Industrial Zones" will be allowed to export tax free to the US given that a minimum 12 percent of the goods are manufactured in Israel. Especially the crisis-ridden textile industry sees this as a new opportunity to regain export markets.
For Israeli investors, the relatively cheap but qualified labour in neighbouring Egypt may also produce new opportunities. Critics in Egypt however fear that the country’s industry and workers will be sold out to the ex-enemy, resulting in an increasing Israeli control of the Arab industry.
The US government, on the other hand, welcomed what it called "a very important development." US State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher told the press in Washington that his government had been working on this deal for many months. "We think it is a very positive thing and offers opportunities to Israelis and Egyptians, in terms of business, jobs, exports and modernisation of their economy," Mr Boucher added.
The US government also has its proper interests in the new trade deal, apart from strengthening the economic integration between its two major allies in the region. There is a current race between the European Union (EU) and the US to establish free trade agreements with North African countries, which will bind this strategic region more closely to Brussels or to Washington.
The EU is working on its Euro-Mediterranean initiative, a slow process that is to establish an enormous free trade zone combining the EU, North Africa, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Turkey by 2010. The US, on the other hand, is promoting bilateral free trade agreements with countries in the region, such as Morocco, Israel and Egypt.


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Earlier this month Robert Courts, MP for Witney & West Oxfordshire, visited our Standlake HQ. He met with OWC Owner & Chairman Ted Sandbach and Managing Director John Chapman at John’s invitation, to discuss some of the key political issues which are impacting the independent wine retailing sector. Here’s what John had to say about the meeting:
I asked him to discuss the implications of the change in duty policy that is scheduled to change in 2025 and will result massive increases in duty on a bottle of wine coupled with an extraordinary amount of unnecessary administration resulting in huge costs to the SME businesses in our sector and how this would affect jobs, trading, and freedom of choice to the consumer. As the local MP for The Oxford Wine Company I wanted him to represent our interests in parliament by writing to the treasury to put the case for the temporary “Duty Easement” that is currently in place to be made permanent. This would offset the impending increase in Duty especially as last year we saw a 15% increase in tax which is already well ahead of inflation and the tax increases seen in other sectors.
I also raised the issues of post-Brexit labelling burdens we face as a result of the legal stance changing regarding food safety regulations.
Lastly, I highlighted that now we are no longer part of the EU we shouldn’t be shackled by the draconian laws limiting the vessel sizes that are allowed to contain alcohol. Surely it would be a benefit to society top allow smaller sized wine bottles to promote lesser consumption. This should be raised as a question in parliament to enact a course of action to review these laws and reform them for the better.


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Michigan’s farmers market season may be shorter than our southern neighbors’ — but it’s all the more cherished for it.
There really is nothing like the taste of a locally grown tomato, crisp apple or just-baked loaf of bread. The local farmers markets in this month’s Detroit 10 offer all that and more.
1. A trip to Detroit’s Eastern Market shouldn’t be missed. Every Saturday, as many as 40,000 shoppers flock to the six-block market and the adjacent food district. The culture has as much flavor as the fruits, vegetables, homemade jams and meats.
2. Weekends too crowded? Wayne State University holds its farmers market every Wednesday. It’s part of SEED, Wayne’s effort to build sustainable food systems on the university campus and in Detroit neighborhoods. The midweek market runs through Oct. 30.
3. The Dearborn Farmers & Artisan Market carefully selects 30 vendors each year to sell seasonal Michigan-produced goods, artisanal baked goods, cheeses and meats. But not all the market’s selections are edible — it also features juried art, garden décor, soap and woodwork.
4. On Thursday afternoons and early evenings, Westland residents can catch a free ride to the city’s market from one of five bus stations in the area, thanks to the Community-to-Market transportation initiative. The Westland Farmers Market is located next to City Hall.


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Posted on Monday, March 01, 2021 09:05 AM
MEDIA RELEASE SBC Ontario launches COVID-19 economic recovery network website
Small Business Centres (SBC) Ontario is pleased to announce the launch of their new website, sbcontario.ca, which serves as a hub for 54 existing Small Business & Entrepreneurship...
Posted on Monday, March 01, 2021 09:01 AM
Owner and baker Mary Draper of Mary's Mindful Bakehouse at her business in LaSalle.
A local pharmaceutical scientist turned entrepreneur has transformed her science background into a dietary conscious business with LaSalle’s newest bakery.
Mary’s Mindful BakeHouse is a family run bakery on 805 Front Rd. in LaSalle. Owner and baker Mary Draper and her family found that there was a need in the market for dietary inclusive treats.
Among the varieties of sweets and breads offered, customers won’t...
Posted on Monday, February 01, 2021 09:49 AM
Read the February 2021 newsletter to catch up on news, opportunities and events from the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Centre.
- Established small business goes digital with women-led business funding
- New businesses to check out
- News about...
Posted on Monday, February 01, 2021 09:00 AM
Sisters Jackie McCreary, Geri Maisonneuve and Paulette Kupnicki own From the Heart card and gift shop on Ottawa Street in Windsor.
Women owned small businesses are disproportionally affected by COVID-19. The pandemic has severely hampered industries such as retail, hospitality and personal services — sectors where women entrepreneurs are overrepresented. RE3: Rebuild, Reopen, Revive is a program helping women-led businesses to sustain and grow their operations during these challenging times.
Posted on Friday, January 01, 2021 11:00 AM
This report highlights business development accomplishments in the fourth quarter of 2020 and provides an overview of regional economic development interactions. Through these and other activities, the team focuses on four key areas: Business...


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Farm incomes could fall by more than a half because of post Brexit trade deals, according to a new report. / The Scottish Government have published figures revealing the impact of Free Trade Agreements the UK Government have signed with countries like Australia and New Zealand in the agricultural sector.
In this film, senior FT writers and British businesspeople examine how Brexit hit the UK economy, the political conspiracy of silence, and why there has not yet been a convincing case for a 'Brexit dividend'.
'New Zealand television is completely mystified by the amazing Brexit trade deal Liz Truss keeps boasting about.' [2 mins] 22/07/2022
New Zealand television is completely mystified by the amazing #Brexit trade deal Liz Truss keeps boasting about. They can’t understand why she would want to make British farmers poorer and theirs richer. Even the winning side can’t fathom it.
This is how New Zealand TV is reporting the Brexit trade deal with the UK / They visibly can't believe their luck that British farming has been made the "sacrificial lamb" for a deal hugely beneficial to NZ with "negligeable benefits for UK farmers who get nothing in return"
The UK's former permanent representative to the EU suggests that post-Brexit trade deals with New Zealand and Australia contribute little to the country's finances.
‘‘It raises in to question whether we should be signing a free trade agreement with a country that has demonstrated it will not necessarily honour an international agreement it has signed.’’
Philip Hammond - Tariff free trade deals would only contribute a tiny amount to our GDP... so we must quash "this myth that third country trade deals will solve all our problems"


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After recently combining Google Research’s Brain team and DeepMind as a single unit, Google still aims to take a “safe and responsible” approach to developing its AI systems, CEO Sundar Pichai told Alphabet. Call for Q1 results.
The company also adheres to its commitment to “invest responsibly and with discipline”, with machine learning being one of the main areas where it strives to operate more profitably and “with greater speed”. , according to the CEO.
“We have significant multi-year efforts underway to create efficiencies, such as improving machine utilization and finding more scalable and efficient ways to train and serve machine learning models. We’re making our data centers more efficient, redistributing workloads and equipment where servers aren’t fully utilized. This is important work as we continue to invest significantly in infrastructure to power our many AI opportunities. »
Since the company released its ‘Bard‘ Conversational AI in March, it made advances like adding its PaLM model to Bard, thanks to the consolidation of the DeepMind and Brain teams. The API allows Bard to help with programming and development related tasks, including code generation.
Pichai said on the April 25 earnings call that Google also released its PALM-API and its new MakerSuite tool for developers to enable them to access large enterprise language models and start building new generative AI applications. He added:
“A number of organizations are using our great generative AI language models on Google Cloud Platform, Google Workspace, and our cybersecurity offerings.”
Pichai said the company has added generative AI in its cloud offerings and made them available to cloud customers, noting that Google is the only cloud provider with NVIDIA’s new L4 Tensor Core GPU with its new machines. G2 virtuals, which are “specifically designed for large inference AI workloads, such as generative AI.
Alphabet recorded $7.45 billion in revenue for the Google Cloud segment in the first quarter of 2023, compared to $5.82 billion in the year-ago quarter and Pichai noted that 60% of the world’s top 1,000 companies are Google Cloud customers.
New experiences in research and beyond
The CEO said Google aims to “unlock entirely new experiences in search and beyond” as it develops its AI capabilities and as they evolve “just like camera, voice and translation have all opened up whole new categories of queries and exploration”.
Responding to a question from JPMorgan’s Douglas Anmuth about integrating Bard into search products, Pichai said the company launched Bard as a companion product to search, but expects to bring language model experiences extended (LLM) “more natively in research”.
However, he noted that the company plans to roll out such experiences “incrementally” in order to test, create and innovate.
“I think overall I think it can apply to a wide range of queries. So I think I’m excited that it can allow us to better help users in a category of queries, maybe where there wasn’t a good answer, and they’re more creative, and so on, so I think those are opportunities, but even in our existing query categories, where we have the ability to do some heavy lifting to users and we’re using AI to better guide them, I think you’ll see us exploring those directions as well. It’s just the beginning, but I think there’s a lot of innovation to come.
Pichai expressed excitement about the potential of AI to help individuals and businesses and said the company would share updates on Google I/O on how it uses AI in its products, including Pixel devices, and will also share some new developments for Android.
“We have used AI to open access to knowledge in powerful ways. We will continue to integrate advances in generative AI to improve research in thoughtful and deliberate ways. We will be guided by data and years of experience. “experiment on what people want and our high quality standards. And we’ll test and iterate as we go, because we know billions of people trust Google to deliver the right information.”


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Huntington Beach residents and businesses mobilize to help Houston hurricane victims
A cavalcade of trucks and vans will depart Huntington Beach Monday night filled with donated goods for Houston hurricane victims.
It will be led by Misty Blu and Candice Kay, two Huntington Beach residents who have been coordinating a donation effort throughout the city this week in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
Blu said they thought up the idea of driving down donations during lunch a few days ago. The effort is personal for both women, who each have family in Texas.
Since they began talking about the idea, several businesses have volunteered to become donation drop zones.
“It’s ballooned into an incredible city-wide effort,” Blu said. “Donation sites keep popping up.”
As the amount of donations grew, Blu said a local man offered to store the items in his body shop.
“We are collecting anything and everything, because people have lost everything,” Blu said.
Aside from necessities like bottled water and toiletries, people are going to need phone chargers and products to keep them safe from the rampant mold left after flood water recedes, Blu said.
The group is also raising money. Johnny’s Saloon, a bar where Blu works, is donating funds from 50% of pizza sales and from the sale of hoodies and “The Whisty,” Blu’s signature drink.
On Monday, about 20 cars will leave for Texas. Blu said some of the vehicles were donated. A Home Depot in Santa Ana donated a van and others are allowing the use of their trucks.
Blu said they’ll be stopping in Austin first, where many of the Houston evacuees are staying, then will proceed to other areas. Blu said they’re going to Texas so the donations get to the source, rather than being funneled through an agency like Red Cross.
All donations must be received by 5 p.m. Sunday to make the trip, according to an online flier.
For more information, visit unityimpact.org.
Where to drop off items in H.B.
Bee Hive: 6431 Edinger Ave.
Crandall’s Plumbing: 18291 Gothard St.
Eat at Joe’s: 7120 Edinger Ave.
Ed’s Stumble In: 8896 Warner Ave.
HB Yoga Collective: 301 Main St.
Johnny’s Saloon: 17428 Beach Blvd.
Kit’s Place: 19476 Beach Blvd.
Mama’s on 39: 21022 Beach Blvd.
O’Connell’s Sports Pub: 19047 Bushard St.
Shanghai’d Room: 16391 Beach Blvd.
Surf City Accounting: 16162 Chipper Lane
Surf Dog Grill: 5932 Warner Ave.
Tattoo Gallery: 19921 Beach Blvd.
Zach’s: 405 Pacific Coast Hwy.
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Business Bureau :
A K Gandhi TVS, one of the renowned names in the field of automobiles since 1976, has created a record of its kind. The dealership has recently delivered 51 TVS iQube electric scooters to the customers in a day. The dealership handed over the keys of electric scooters to the respective owners at a function held at A K Gandhi TVS, Shop No.30, Yeshwant Stadium Dhantoli, Nagpur.
The TVS iQube electric scooter is receiving overwhelming response from the customers. The scooters were delivered in presence of Satyajeet Balmode, TM of TVS 2Wheeler; Nidhi Achal Gandhi, Director of A K Gandhi Auto Pvt Ltd. Anil Dabli, General Manager, Amol Bele, Sales TVS IQUBE Electric Scooter, and others were also present on the occasion. AK Gandhi Auto has its presence in Nagpur, Wardha and Bhandara.


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Britvic is to reluanch its J2O juice brand with a new pack design and a £4m marketing campaign.
The soft drinks company says the new label design aims to communicate the drink’s flavour and combination of fruits, adding the new pack will give the brand “a bold, fresh, modern look” and increase the on-trade brand’s bar call.
Marketing activity, created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty, will run from April through to July and include television, press and online activity.
George Cobb, senior brand manager, says it hopes the new pack design and campaign will put the brand “front of mind” with consumers and boost sales in the on-trade.
The relaunch comes a week after Britvic announced it was splitting the media planning for its own brands between BBH, which is to handle planning for J2O, and CHI & Partners with MCHI handling media buying for all its own brands.
The move came three months after Britvic announced a restructure of its marketing team to create two separate teams for its own brands and the licensed PepsiCo brands it handles, which includes the Pepsi range, 7Up, Gatorade and V Water.


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The BuySellHodl cryptocurrency app has uncovered some interesting data around its unique Bitcoin game available on its Android app. In comparing the gender breakdown of the bitcoin game results, women are crushing men. Women have made accurate bitcoin price predictions 58 percent of the time, as opposed to their male counterparts’ success rate of just 51 percent. Note, the bitcoin game is based on very short price predictions, so we do this data with a grain of salt.
However, we will be keeping a close eye on the male and female bitcoin price predictions to see if females are truly the better forecasters. You can view the BuySellHodl real-time crypto ratings and price predictions on our Android and iPhone app.
You can read about more women crypto predictions in the original article, Women Are More Bullish And Better At Bitcoin Trading And Predictions Than Men on Investinblockchain.
BuySellHodl has a daily live bitcoin game at 9am and 9pm est where you can win real cash. Download BuySellHodl for free on android and iOS.


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The trend of non-traditional tenants taking up space in local malls continues.
The Red Door Escape Room recently opened at Short Pump Town Center, occupying a ground-level space near Dillard’s Store at the Henrico County Mall.
The Company’s Short Pump location offers six escape room concepts. These include the fairytale adventure Once Upon A Time and Captain Maniacal’s Lair-Bratorium, in which participants build a robot for a mad scientist.
Based in Fort Worth, Texas, Red Door has 13 locations in five states, with Short Pump being the first in Virginia.
Red Door CEO Nick Madden said in an interview this week that the company has invested more than $1 million in planning and expanding its Short Pump outpost.
“One thing we do differently is that we offer six different experiences. You’ll find that the experiences are appropriate for different group sizes or people interested in different topics,” he said. “We custom build every door, room and secret entrance.”
Red Door’s pricing structure varies from location to location. In Short Pump, the company charges $36 per person (and about $30 for children under 15) to participate in its adventures, which it calls episodes, according to the company’s website. The Lair Bratorium game is one of the company’s shorter minigame concepts aimed at smaller groups of two or three people, and it costs around $20 per person.
The company has a portfolio of 15 escape room concepts that vary from location to location.
Madden said the company has an interest in expanding into the Richmond area and ended up in Short Pump because it felt the area had room for an interactive entertainment brand to join the mix.
“We’re looking for places that don’t offer enough experiential entertainment. We like to think of (Red Door as) a Disney-level immersion or something, but brought to your hometown,” he said.
Red Door has a goal of opening at least 10 more locations across the country over the next two years, Madden said. He added that the company could open more locations in the Richmond area. All Red Door locations are owned by the company. The first opened in Texas in 2015.
Red Door is at least the second activity-oriented tenant to join the ranks of Short Pump mall retailers and restaurants this year. It followed the bar-and-arcade concept Draftcade, which opened in January.
The mall plans to implement an open container policy to allow its visitors to drink while shopping. Just outside the mall, a newly launched steakhouse is working at a local outpost.


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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Microsoft shares edged higher Friday, after the company raised its sales outlook and surpassed Wall Street's fiscal fourth-quarter revenue target with strong sales of its server-based software.
The world's largest software maker reported earnings late Thursday of $1.92 billion, or 18 cents a share, up from $1.53 billion, or 14 cents, in the comparable period in 2002. Excluding $533 million in after-tax charges related to its lawsuit settlement with AOL Time Warner, Microsoft earned 23 cents a share. By that measure, analysts polled by Thomson First Call had expected the company to earn 24 cents a share, on average.
"It might be only the second time the company's ever missed the earnings target, but come on, a penny here, a penny there, the company is still rock-solid and generates tons of cash, and it's the only company in the technology field with earnings visibility," said Sameer Bhasin, an analyst with Okumus Capital in New York.
John Connors, Microsoft's chief financial officer, told analysts in a conference call that he had been off on his fourth-quarter earnings assumptions, and hadn't properly planned for investments made in software sold to small and mid-size businesses, and higher-than-expected marketing expenses.
Revenue was $8.07 billion for the quarter, up 11 percent from $7.25 billion in the same period last year. Server platform sales rose 17 percent, driven by a 24 percent rise in Windows Server sales and database software sales that rose 34 percent. The company's MSN Internet unit reported 25 percent growth, aided by a 48 percent boost in advertising sales.
"The near-term outlook is positive, and overall, it was a good result," said Jason Kraft, analyst with A.G. Edwards & Sons. "Deferred revenue was up 6 percent sequentially, which was better than people thought, and the professional version of the Windows server sold better than last quarter, and higher than some analysts had expected."
For its first fiscal quarter, ending in September, Microsoft said it expects earnings of 6 cents a share, or 23 cents when excluding an after-tax equity cost related to its expensing of stock options. By that measure, analysts had been expecting earnings of 24 cents, on average. Sales are expected to be in a range of $7.9 billion to $8.1 billion, up from analysts' previous expectation of $7.89 billion.
Microsoft said it expects earnings for its full fiscal year of 85 cents to 87 cents a share, including after-tax equity compensation expenses. Excluding those charges, the company is expected to earn between $1.09 and $1.11 a share, versus analysts' expectation of $1.04 a share.
"While we did see indications that the spending environment may have stabilized during the fourth quarter, IT budgets remain tight," Connors, said in a conference call with analysts. "Our guidance does not take into account any improvement in the macro economic environment in the short term."
The company ended the period with $49 billion in cash and short-term investments, up from about $46 billion in the previous quarter, and $38.7 billion a year earlier.
Microsoft said that its decision to replace stock options with awards of company stock that vest over five-year periods will cost about $980 million in the first quarter and $3.92 billion for the full year. Those amounts do not include a program that allows employees to trade in existing stock options that are priced above the current stock price, through a program set up with banker J.P. Morgan.
The decision to expense options will not directly affect Microsoft's cash position, Connors said, other than through planned stock buybacks in 2004. The company bought back about $6.5 billion-worth of stock in fiscal 2003.
Microsoft did not announce an increased dividend -- an announcement that had been expected -- disappointing some analysts.
"The company suggested that it wants to wait until more legal issues are behind it -- a poor excuse in our mind given that a higher dividend could be funded out of cash flows and the monstrous $49 billion on the balance sheet can still be saved for a rainy day," said analysts at Friedman Billings Ramsey, in a note to clients.
In fiscal 2004, Microsoft will continue to face threats from the general economy, tight customer spending budgets, and increasing competition from Linux and other non-commercial software. In addition, Connors pointed out that Microsoft still has 12 of 17 state class-action antitrust lawsuits that remain unsettled, and an ongoing antitrust suit brought by rival Sun Microsystems.
Connors added that some factors that aided fiscal 2003 results may disappear in the current fiscal year. He said the company will benefit less from customers purchasing its Windows XP Professional operating software.
Microsoft's sales won't grow much as a result of its switch to a subscription-based licensing plan, which drove software upgrades for much of the year, according to Connors. He added that it remains to be seen whether Microsoft will get the same sales tailwind from foreign exchange rates that boosted revenue in 2003.