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Of the 100-some features questing for a distributor at January’s Sundance Film Festival, only a handful found the holy grail: worldwide theatrical distribution with an advance minimum guarantee and back-end participation.
With an unforgiving and glutted marketplace for indie films, where the cost of prints and ads to keep a movie in theaters is punitive for everyone, there’s no appetite for risk-taking.
The key question is, when will an alternative distribution outlet for indie films emerge — an outlet that can interest enough viewers to bring in meaningful returns?
The film industry is rife with eager alternative distributors pitching their wares — but making money isn’t usually part of the equation.
“The long-range outlook for specialty film is to move more to home markets. But the marketing challenge is enormous,” says Netflix’s Ted Sarandos.
Two of the hottest pre-fest titles, 2929 Entertainment’s $20 million Robert De Niro comedy “What Just Happened?” and Groundswell’s Michael Chabon adaptation “The Mysteries of Pittsburgh” were among the many that remained unsold at the end of Sundance. But while the name titles will eventually find homes, the smaller fish could easily end up dead in the water.
Once filmmakers make the mental leap that Hollywood isn’t going to offer them a $2 million minimum guarantee, they have plenty of other distribution options, from cable and self-distribution to the Internet. The problem lies in getting the word out to sufficient viewers to convince them to download, stream or pay-per-view the pic.
“We’re in the transitional post-major studio pre-Internet era,” says Emerging Pictures CEO Ira Deutchman. “Models will be clear in the future. We’re still heading toward Web 2.0.”
Filmmakers need to get past the romance of a theatrical release, says Cinetic Media’s John Sloss. “People are so disproportionately preoccupied with getting their movies released in theaters that they’re not interested in alternatives. You make more money and get more exposure and promotion on HBO.”
Sloss says Verizon and AT&T are starting to offer $100,000 for 60-day mobile phone exclusives on indie films. “Netflix, Withoutabox and everybody else are trying to build a community. In the future, it will be about loyalty and community.”
One surprisingly aggressive player at Sundance this year was online DVD renter Netflix, which entered into the bidding for several key films through its Red Envelope Entertainment subsidiary, often in partnership with a theatrical distributor.
At fest’s end, the company had acquired domestic homevid and streaming rights to the soccer doc “Kicking It” in partnership with cabler ESPN and Liberation Entertainment, and is still negotiating for several more films.
Netflix has partnered with other theatrical distribs such as Roadside Attractions (Sundance 2005 entry “The Puffy Chair”), Magnolia Pictures (“No End in Sight”) and IFC Films (Cannes Palme d’Or winner “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”) as well as online distrib B-Side to stream films on its Watch Now site.
After a minimal release of the credit-card doc “Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders,” 65,000 people rented the DVD in its first week on Netflix, and 35,000 streamed it on their computers.
IFC Films’ First Take banner offers another model: day-and-date video-on-demand and pay-per-view through its cable and DirecTV partners, with an initial run at the IFC Center in Manhattan. Opening at the IFC Center means film reviews can help brand the title, since online-only releases aren’t likely to be reviewed in mainstream media. Terry Kinney’s 2008 Sundance drama “Diminished Capacity,” an HD two-hander starring Matthew Broderick and Alan Alda, will take that route.
Both Amazon and Netflix have the ability to “recommend” similar movies to their customers, even if the titles are utterly unknown, on the basis of having rated such genres as sports docs, Bollywood musicals or Jane Austen romances. “We can get a film to perform as if it did $1 million at the box office,” says Netflix chief content officer Sarandos, “without spending the marketing dollars to get that. Instead of a distributor recouping its dollars, that money will flow back to the filmmaker. We’re figuring out more efficient ways to get to the audience, with DVDs, streaming to laptop and PC, and eventually direct to the TV with a multidevice strategy.”
Amazon’s online self-distributor CreateSpace has already yielded a huge breakthrough seller in Matt Gannon & Michael Sarner’s sports DVD “In the Crease,” which has generated $500,000 in gross sales so far, according to Gannon. The filmmakers held on to all rights to the hockey film, which made its money back in 40 days through its rev split with Amazon. (Most Amazon filmmakers settle for about 60% of the DVD revenues and 50% of downloads.)
“About 80% of that has been through our relationship with CreateSpace, the rest through brick-and-mortar retail deals and other online channels that we’ve secured ourselves, including a sales partnership with the National Hockey League,” Gannon says.
Amazon is expected to make more inroads into the indie space, partly through its subsidiary IMDb and its acquisition of self-distribution enabler Withoutabox, which has 150,000 filmmaker members from 200 countries. “It raises an opportunity in an interesting area that we’re going to be thinking about,” Amazon Unbox exec Roy Price says.
Several Internet distribs are piggybacking on film festivals as a source of talent and content: B-Side, based in Austin, Texas; L.A.’s Withoutabox.com and Cinequest, a San Jose film fest with a 1 ½ year-old side business distributing films on the Internet that’s seeing exponential growth with competitive revenue splits.
“We try to find films missed by distributors,” says B-Side founder and CEO Chris Hyams (son of director Peter Hyams). “Tons slip through the cracks.”
These companies often work in tandem with DVD and download sellers such as Jaman, IndiePix, and Amazon. DVD-quality downloads are widely available via iKlipz, Miro, BitTorrent and other open sources; the technology is there. When easy access to conventional TVs arrives, with their larger screens and couch-based viewing, downloads should take off via Apple TV, Microsoft’s Xbox and other set-top boxes like TiVo.
“A year or two ago, selling downloads was like selling malaria,” says Gaurav Dhillon, founder and CEO of Jaman, who buys non-exclusive download rights for a modest upfront fee and shares revenue with filmmakers, many of them from foreign countries. The films that earn the best rankings from consumers move into more prominent placement on the site. But even successful filmmakers are collecting shares in the tens of thousands. And shorts far outsell longform entertainment. The download market “is going to move faster than expected this year,” Dhillon predicts.
Even established auteurs like Edward Burns and John Sayles, disdaining unsatisfactory deal terms from conventional theatrical distribs after fest launches, have taken matters into their own hands. Burns released “Purple Violets” exclusively through iTunes for four weeks at $14.99 a pop in January, hoping to spur DVD sales down the line. At January’s MacWorld, Apple CEO Steve Jobs claimed that iTunes has sold 7 million $9.99 feature downloads so far.
But most were branded titles backed by studio ad campaigns. Even with a recognizable mug and a core following, Burns faced a sizable marketing gap for what Netflix’s Sarandos calls a “cold start” on the Internet.
While many expect the studio specialty divisions to jump into this arena, they are still wedded to the old-fashioned — and still lucrative — pay TV output model. “The major studios are tied down by pre-existing HBO, Showtime and Starz pay-TV deals,” Sarandos says. “The studio specialty divisions may become the studio digital divisions, first with films that are not otherwise encumbered, black-and-white films, docs and foreign language films.”
Netflix streamed the Spanish-language “Pan’s Labyrinth,” black-and-white “Letters From Iwo Jima” and “The Good German” for 90 days post-DVD, up to the Pay TV window. All three films eventually sold non-exclusively to pay TV anyway, concurrent with Netflix’s window. “The sky didn’t fall,” Sarandos says. “The exclusivity process is breaking down. Consumers like the subscription model.”
For now, while enterprising DIY filmmakers like “Head Trauma’s” Lance Weiler are innovatively experimenting with viral online marketing to build fan bases and customers, most Internet downloads are earning filmmakers tens of thousands of dollars, not hundreds of thousands. Which means that this movement will continue to build from the bottom up with micro-indies, not from the top down with real studio investment.
While many online marketing experiments are afoot, during this transition period, we are seeing a throwback to the old roadshow exhibition pattern as filmmakers of all stripes take to the road with a film canister or DVD under their arm, looking to grab local publicity to drive filmgoers to a local theater. More digital projectors make that possible.
A movie with a niche audience or hot-button topic can score this way. When Chris Burgard’s “Border,” a scathing expose of U.S./Mexico border crossings, won prizes at small local fests around the country but failed to land a home, the California filmmaker booked screenings himself, often in tandem with local conservative radio talkshows. Some exhibitors told him that his controversial film outperformed conventional fare. Burgard connected with a DVD manufacturer and set up his own Bordermovie.com website to sell DVDs for $24.94 apiece. Why so much? “I’m trying to get my money back,” Burgard says.
So far, a large market for selling movies online has not developed. Tiny movies with microbudgets are selling online, but while Amazon, Netflix and others are expending considerable effort in building these marketplaces, this is a nascent business. “The pure online approach is not generating returns,” says B-Side’s Hyams, who has recently partnered with IFC to air five new B-Side fest pickups on “Choice Indies” each month, promoted by 30-second spots both on IFC and online. SXSW discovery “Before the Music Dies” debuts in February.
“Combining different approaches both online and offline allows us to identify things that other people are missing and get them in front of audiences,” says Hyams, who also books and invites B-side members to local screenings — more than 300 in 2007 — and sells both $7.99 high-res downloads and $12.99 DVDs, such as “Four-Eyed Monsters,” on the site.
B-Side promotes eco-horror comedy “Blood Car” on the site, but the filmmaker still owns the DVD rights and a click to “buy now” goes to Bloodcar.com/store.
But it’s probably from the genre community, already packed with fans with their fingers on the BitTorrent button, that the first online feature hit will come. Horror pics like the aforementioned “Blood Car” and fright pic “Catacombs,” with a built-in marketing community on fan websites, are seeing more downloads than are sensitive dramas. The question is when the “Blair Witch” of Internet-distributed films will arrive.


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Playtech software developer signed a multi-year contract with the studio Warner Bros, which will introduce its line of 4 new slots based on comic books (DC Comics). If you like to play online slots, as well as spend a lot of time reading or watching comics, it is your hour.
Such superheroes like Superman I (1978) and Superman II (1980), as well as the Green Lantern of the 2011 Man of Steel in 2013 with the Batman TV series from the 1960s will be used for creation new slots. Those who visited the ICE show in London, he has probably seen the original costumes from the movie “Man of Steel.” Playtech has already found a large studio, which will help in drawing and creating slots in the shortest possible time! Playtech spokesman in an interview at the conference said: «Thanks to a new contract Playtech will be able to strengthen its position in the slot machine market in the premium segment. All the online casinos that use our software will continue to receive the best slots on the market, and a contract with Warner Brothers is just the beginning of our line of games updating! “.
We want to remind that the Playtech company during its existence managed to create more than 600 different games for different platforms and devices. These games are played all over the world, for instance, they are very popular in Poland and are available almost on each site and often they are free. The developer is a leader in slots market that offer only the most interesting and original stories in games for all gamblers. Playtech games can be enjoyed both on your PC / laptop, as well as on tablets and smartphones.

domain: news


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We're more likely to make rational decisions on our smartphones, than on PCs3
While it might seem unrealistic to assume that the device we're currently using affects our choices in any way, a study published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior suggests otherwise. According to its results, people are more likely to make a rational decision when presented with a moral dilemma on their smartphone, while PC users are more likely to rely on intuition and emotions.
The researchers worked with 1,010 volunteers, and judged their reactions depending on the device they were using – either a smartphone, or a PC. Participants were presented with a number moral dilemmas, such as the classic trolley problem, involving a runaway trolley, going down its tracks. However, there are five people tied on its path, unable to move away. The participants had two choices – either do nothing and let the trolley run over the innocent people, or push a man off the bridge which would stop the trolley and save the group. What is considered to be the rational, utilitarian decision is to kill one person, saving five, and this is the choice 33.5% of smartphone users made, as opposed to 22.3% of PC users.
Participants were also given what's considered the original version of the trolley problem, once again with a trolley and five innocent people on its path. This time, however, they were given the choice to pull a lever and divert the trolley on another track, where only one person would be sacrificed, instead of five. The results of this experiment were much closer – 80.9% of smartphone users would divert the trolley, as opposed to 76.9% of PC users. However, in both cases more smartphone users made the rational decision.
The reasons behind the study were also explained by Dr. Barque-Duran. “Due to the fact that our social lives, work and even shopping takes place online,” he said, “it is important to think about how the contexts where we typically face ethical decisions and are asked to engage in moral behaviours have changed, and the impact this could have on the hundreds of millions of people who use such devices daily.”
So, next time you decide to do some online shopping, we suggest you do it on your phone. You may even save some cash that way.


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Shifting business models from ad hoc emergency response to outcomes-based service is creating a new relationship between the makers of products and consumers.
A new Deloitte report suggests that there is an ‘advice gap’ for five million people in the UK and that this could be filled by cheaper, automated online services.
Technology died in 2015, says Martin Banks. Good! That leaves more room for the rise of human-centric 'technology' in 2016.
BT CEO Gavin Patterson is calling on the UK to determine its "digital fate" in 2016; I'd settle for him determining the fate of my broadband connection, but I'm not holding my breath.
We will need to have a robust and continuing debate on digital ethics during 2016 and beyond. The world is moving too fast to let this one slip by.
Blackberry CEO John Chen's still set on trying to hit breakeven in the handset business, but it's the software arm that's showing signs of life.
As the Internet of Things heats up, so does the apps-versus-APIs debate. AnyPresence co-founder and CPO Richard Mendis weighs in - and shares nine keys to ensure your API initiative is a winner rather than a dud.
Strong digital growth and a dip in traditional outsourcing - Accenture's Q116 numbers see the firm well-placed in a market where digital disruption is now the desired norm.
After speaking to and listening to dozens of companies this year, we are beginning to notice that some digital innovators are no longer using legacy as reason not to try stuff.
The company adds another $3bn to the Watson investment pot with the launch of Watson IoT, in an all-out attempt to corner the market for cognitive tools that help exploit and direct IoT as it grows in importance


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Of Android and the Fear of Fragmentation
by Glyn Moody
Glyn Moody takes a look at the state of Android, at the worries that the platform is fragmenting and why it isn't a bad thing.
Many were sceptical when Google announced that it was launching another mobile platform. After all, some said, there are already multiple offerings out there, and Google had precisely no track record in this sector: surely it was heading for a fall? The launch of the first Android phone, the G1, seemed to confirm these doubts. Although capable enough, it was clearly not going to carry Android through into the mainstream.
How things can change in a year. The Mobile World Congress, which has just finished in Barcelona, turned into an Android orgy. Here's a typical report:
This year at the Mobile World Congress is the year of Android. Google’s operating system debuted here two years ago. Last year we expected a slew of handsets, and saw just a trickle. This year, Android is everywhere, on handsets from HTC, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and even Garmin-Asus. If this were the world of computers, Android would be in a similar position to Windows: Pretty much every manufacturer puts it on its machines.
That last sentence is extraordinary, but it's a comparison that many have made. What makes it rich in irony, of course, is the fact that purring away under the bonnet of Android is the sleek perfection of Linux.
But of course people have already started looking for flies in the ointment. In particular, many think that Android's success is of the wrong kind:
Every few days, another Google Android device is announced, as hardware makers and wireless carriers rally around the mobile operating system as the de facto smartphone platform alternative to Apple's limited-availability iPhone and RIM's limited-capability BlackBerry.
That flood of options should be a good thing -- but it's not. In fact, it's a self-destruction derby in action, as phones come out with different versions of the Android OS, with no clear upgrade strategy for either the operating system or the applications users have installed, and with inconsistent deployment of core features. In short, the Android platform is turning out not to be a platform at all, but merely a starting point for a universe of incompatible devices.
There are a number of separate issues here. It's certainly true that different versions of the Android stack are being deployed, but that's a reflection of the extremely rapid pace of development, and the fact that mobile companies are keen to use the newest version when they announce and roll out their handsets. Here's Google's view:
Keep in mind that part of the impetus for the Android foray in the first place was to get mobile OS development moving more rapidly. So here we are, with rapid iterations (multiple OS upgrades in under a year!) and yes, some growing pains.
This is also a reflection of the open source way – releasing early, and releasing often. It means that jumps between versions are smaller, and therefore easier to accommodate. Here's what happens on traditional software platforms, like Windows Mobile:
news comes out that owners of HTC HD2, a new Windows Mobile 6.5 device which seems more than capable of running the new software, won’t be able to upgrade to Windows Phone 7 software. Furthermore, according to APC, Microsoft’s General Manager for Mobile Communications Business in the Asia-Pacific region, Natasha Kwan, said that none of the current phones have what it takes.
“Because we have very specific requirements for Windows Phone 7 Series the current phones we have right now will not be upgradable,” she said.
Contrast that with this:
There has been some confusion over which phones would receive an Android 2.1 update and I am partially to blame. I authored a post way back in August that called into question the G1’s ability to receive future updates. Google eventually found a way to make Donut (Android 1.6) fit on the G1 and I was proven wrong. Since that time, I have maintained that the full version Eclair (Android 2.x) may not be possible on the T-Mobile G1.
After talking with several inside sources familiar with the matter, I would like to report that every Android phone currently released in the United States will be receiving an upgrade to Android 2.1.
Some phones could be missing features of Android 2.1 (live wallpapers), but they will all have an Android 2.1 firmware.
Now, it's true that some phones will need to be wiped to do this, and others may require – horror of horrors – a PC running Windows to carry out the upgrade. But the point is that according to the above report – which is specifically about the US market - every Android phone will be upgraded.


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Virgil Abloh named menswear artistic director at Louis Vuitton
When Kim Jones stepped down from his role as artistic director at Louis Vuitton and sashayed into his new role at Dior Homme, we asked ourselves rhetorically; "but how can you beat that Louis Vuitton x Supreme collaboration?" and Louis Vuitton listened. Just yesterday (March 26) the European fashion house announced they have whisked up serial collaborator and founder of haute streetwear label Off-White, Virgil Abloh, as the new menswear artistic director for the brand.
The announcement was rumoured on WWD early yesterday morning, and quietly confirmed by Abloh through an uncaptioned Instagram of a vintage Louis Vuitton trunk.
"Having followed with great interest Virgil's ascent since he worked with me at Fendi in 2006, I am thrilled to see how his innate creativity and disruptive approach have made him so relevant, not just in the world of fashion but in popular culture today," announced Michael Burke, Louis Vuitton Chairman and CEO via Instagram. "His sensibility towards luxury and savoir-faire will be instrumental in taking Louis Vuitton menswear into the future."
"It is an honour for me to accept the position of men's artistic director for Louis Vuitton," explained Abloh. "I find the heritage and creative integrity of the House are key inspirations and will look to reference them both while drawing parallels to modern times."
Abloh is widely regarded in the industry for knowing what will resonate with the millennial market. Before launching Off-White, Abloh worked as Kanye West's creative director and has collaborated with various brands and industries including Jimmy Choo, Nike, Byredo, Sunglass Hut and Ikea. His collaboration with Nike, "The Ten" has a resale value of almost $2,000 USD online.
Abloh will continue to run Off-White - "it is for the 17-year-old version of myself, whereas Vuitton is for the 37-year-old I am today," - the designer told The New York Times. His first collection for Louis Vuitton will show at Paris Men's Fashion Week in June.
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MESA, Ariz., July 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- CrimShield, an Arizona-based leader in the field of identity and employment verification, has announced the release of a new QR code system that allows individuals to view important information about contractors, installers, and other individuals in real-time, and before letting them into the customer's home or business.
The groundbreaking system, branded "ValidID," takes popular marketing technology and adapts it to consumer safety. With a simple smart-phone QR Code Reader, any person can take a snapshot of the QR code located on an employee badge, business card, website or e-mail and instantly verify employment status and other details.
CrimShield CEO David Pickron points out that this technology could be an important step towards preventing thefts and other forms of crime. "In the past, we have seen cases where criminals have kept items, like company shirts or employee badges, after they have left a job. They keep these items for the specific purpose of using them to gain access into peoples' homes or businesses," he says. "With our system, you can scan the badge of the person who's standing at your front door and instantly verify that they are who they say, and are currently employed by the company they claim to represent."
ValidID also offers built-in emergency features. For instance, in the event that an identity or employment can't be verified, users can contact the employer indicated on the card directly, or immediately dial 911 for assistance. Pickron adds that the technology has many other potential uses. He envisions customers using ValidID technology to verify Internet dates, door-to-door salespeople, nonprofit volunteers, and others.
"We live in a world where it is incredibly easy to falsify badges and other credentials. Luckily, technology has come to a point where we can take steps to make ourselves, our families, and our businesses safer by verifying things like identity and employment in just a few seconds," Pickron says. "CrimShield already has lots of tools that make it harder for criminals to beat the system... Now we're taking the next natural step towards keeping them out of your home or business."
For further inquiries, including photographs and interview requests, contact David Pickron, CEO of CrimShield, via telephone at 888-422-2547 or Email.
This press release was issued through eReleases® Press Release Distribution. For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.


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Peacock is strutting into the crowded field of streaming services.
The video subscription service launches Wednesday July 15 with tiered pricing that ranges from a free, ad-supported option to a $9.99 premium choice without commercials.
Maybe the service is another feather in the cap for NBCUniversal and its parent company, Comcast
Peacock will present hit television shows such as “Parks and Recreation,” episodes from the “Saturday Night Live” vault, movies including “Jurassic Park” and live sporting events. The coronavirus outbreak waylaid plans to stream the 2020 Toyko Olympics, which have been postponed until next year. But Peacock announced last week it will be offering more than 175 soccer matches in the 2020-2021 season for England’s Premier League.
It might sound like a good deal, but is Peacock flying to the front of the pack? In addition to Peacock, viewers also have AT&T’s
Experts have previously found that most families are willing to pay at most $50 a month for streaming services, typically paying for a maximum of three services.
But B.J. Pichman, research manager at market research firm Comperemedia, said the pandemic has raised a number of questions about consumer streaming habits. One thing’s for sure: the outbreak created more streaming subscribers across the industry, he said.
But with stay-at-home orders relaxing and summer in full swing, Pichman wonders how many new streaming customers will stay on. Another question is whether customers in an uncertain economy will want to pay for an array of services, he noted. “The pandemic will bring more people to streaming,” Pichman said. Some of those people will drop off, but many will stay, he said.
“Clearly, consumers are going to hit a subscription burnout point,” said James Willcox, senior electronics editors at Consumer Reports. But the pandemic could affect viewing habits two different ways, he said. Some cash-strapped subscribers might end services to save money. But others might be willing to spend a little more on other offerings because they’re not spending money going out to restaurants, concerts or movies.
So the same question remains: what to watch and what’s the best bang for the buck? Here’s a look at the pros and cons.
The pros: The new service from NBCUniversal comes in three versions. There’s a free version with ads that will offer next-day access to certain current series, news and access to original content and a back catalogue that includes “Law and Order” and the “SNL Vault.” In 2021, “The Office” will come to Peacock from Netflix. The free version of Peacock alone has 13,000 hours of content and the premium versions will have over 20,000 hours, according to NBCUniversal. The Peacock Premium version, for $4.99, will add on extra content and the $9.99 comes ad-free. Peacock Premium has the 175 Premier League matches, though the free option will include the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
Pichman said the service could be a nice beginner step for people who haven’t seen what streaming can offer. “It’s like streaming content for TV people,” he said.
The cons: Part of the Peacock service is the capacity to stream live sports. This summer, that was supposed to included the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo. But organizers pushed the games back to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. “This was going to be their big tent pole. This hurts them a lot,” Pichman said. In his view, the $9.99 price tag for the premium version could be a little steep for the ad-free content that’s offered.
Peacock also will not be available on Roku and Amazon Fire TV at the time of launch, according to the Wall Street Journal. HBO Max subscribers also currently can’t watch on those platforms.
The pros: First of all, there’s HBO Max, HBO Now and HBO Go. What’s the difference between them? HBO Max is a stand-alone streaming platform for customers, which, Pichman explained, will replace HBO Now. “If you’re a cord cutter and paying for HBO Now, now you’re paying for HBO Max,” he said. HBO Go is the streaming platform for customers who already have the channel.
For Pichman, HBO Max’s big allure is the content. Think of HBO Max as a “grown up Disney Plus,” he said. That’s because it will come right out of the gate with a range of time-tested shows, albeit some that skew darker than much of what’s on Disney. There’s the unapologetically foul-mouthed “South Park” and streaming of DC superhero movies like the “Batman” franchise. The bleak, record-breaking “Joker” will also be there. HBO Max also landed all of the “Harry Potter” movies as well.
The outlet has “huge well-known shows, arguably some of the best,” including TV icons like “The Sopranos,” and more recent hits like “Big Little Lies” and “Succession.” It will also have classic shows like “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.”
The cons: The price tag. HBO Max costs $14.99 a month. “When you look at the price across the competitive landscape, it’s most expensive one,” Pichman said.
Also, if an HBO Max subscriber wants to stream the service on their television via Roku or Amazon Fire, they’ll be out of luck for now, noted Willcox.
The pros: The Disney+ offering has everything from “Star Wars” to “Bambi.” “It’s really great for families with children,” Pichman said. The service has 7,500 episodes from various Disney shows and 500 movies — and that’s just the start, Pichman said. “They’ve got a lot of runway with those series to do a lot of spin-offs,” Pichman noted.
Earlier this month, Disney released the film version of the blockbuster Broadway musical “Hamilton.”
See also:Before you sign up for Disney+, this calculator adds up the ‘true’ cost of your streaming services
The cons: Disney has a lot of offer, that’s for sure. But it’s still just one service, Pichman noted. “They don’t have everything. It’s one house.”
The pros: “The upside is going to be completely fresh and exclusive content,” Pichman said. Not only that, it will probably look pretty slick too, he said — “typical Apple high production values.” Big names like director Steven Spielberg and actors Steve Carell and Jennifer Aniston signed on for projects, he noted. (Though come critics were pretty rough on Carrell and Aniston’s “Morning Show.”)
The video service went live Nov. 1, while a gaming service for another $4.99 a month started Sept. 19. Its monthly cost is $4.99.
The cons: There’s not really much of a back catalog of shows and movies to pick from — not yet at least. All streaming services showcasing original content will be facing challenges in the coming months because the pandemic has put a halt on productions, Pichman noted. And that could especially crimp a platform like Apple, he added.
The pros: “Hulu’s got a lot of content. They’ve got a pretty great back catalog of old television programs,” he said. That includes past hit shows like “Bob’s Burgers,” “Family Guy” and “30 Rock.” And it’s pretty quick to post current prime-time programming. “For the cord cutter, they are not really missing out on any broadcast TV,” he said.
The cons: “Original programing is pretty sparse right now,” noting that original shows like “The Handmaid’s Tale” are few and far between, in his view. And then there are the commercials that viewers have to watch on the basic plan, which could actually be a pro or a con. “If you don’t mind the commercials, it’s a very competitive price,” Pichman said.
The pros: Choice, choice, choices. There’s the catalog of Hollywood movies and televisions shows — to be filled with “Seinfeld” episodes starting next year — and all the original programming like “Stranger Things,” “Black Mirror” and “Orange is the New Black.” “Netflix still has a lot of content,” and it’s pouring money into creating even more, Pichman said.
See also: It’s not your imagination — Netflix doesn’t have as many movies as it used to
The cons: “Netflix is starting to look expensive in comparison,” Pichman said. While the Netflix basic plan is $8.99, the premium one is $15.99 a month. And some of the new programming coming out now leaves Pichman a little underwhelmed. “The content coming out now feels a little rushed,” he said.
Amazon Prime Video
The pros: “The fact you get it for free with Prime membership is fantastic,” said Pichman. And there’s also some good shows on there as well, he noted — that includes shows like “Transparent,” the “Jack Ryan” series, and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
The cons: “It feels like a benefit for Amazon Prime people that most people don’t know they have,” he said. There are certainly some hits on the programming, but there are misses too. “It feels random,” Pichman said of the array of shows and movies. And while $119-a-year Amazon Prime memberships have their perks, they aren’t for everyone.
Comcast shares are down almost 8.5% this year compared to a 6.6% loss for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
This story was updated on July 14, 2020.


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The forex markets remain in rather indecisive mode for now. Dollar buying attempted to take off yesterday, but quickly lost momentum. The greenback pares back some of yesterday’s gains in Asian session. Similarly, there was no follow through selling in Australian and New Zealand Dollar so far. Yen is firm against European majors, without taking out near term support levels. Consolidative trading might continue before weekly close.
Technically, after yesterday’s decline, EUR/USD is still holding above 1.0926 low. Outlook stays bearish in the pair but firm break of 1.0926 is needed to confirm down trend resumption. Or recent consolidations would extend. Recoveries in USD/CHF and USD/JPY dampened the near term bearish view. Focus are back on 0.9983 and 108.47 temporary top respectively. EUR/GBP is also staying in tight range. Break of 0.8894 minor resistance will confirm short term bottoming and bring stronger rebound.
In Asia, currently, Nikkei is up 0.28%. Hong Kong HSI is up 0.16%. China Shanghai SSE is down -0.73%. Singapore Strait Times is down -0.04%. Japan 10-year JGB yield is up 0.0186 at -0.239. Overnight, DOW rose 0.61%. S&P 500 rose 0.62%. NASDAQ rose 1.05%. 10-year yield rose 0.097 to 1.732.
US, Japan signed first phase trade deal, autos to be tackled later
US and Japan formally signed a “first-phase” trade agreement yesterday, covering US agricultural products as well as Japanese machine tools. The threat of auto tariffs should also be averted even though it’s not clearly written. US President Donald Trump expected the deal to open up Japanese markets to USD 7B in goods including beef, pork, wheat and cheese.
Japanese Prime Minister said at a press conference that “between President Trump and I, myself, this has been firmly confirmed that no further, additional tariffs will imposed”, referring to auto tariffs. And, “with the entry into force of our trade agreements, I believe both of our economies will be able to further grow and develop.”
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer indicated that issues of autos would be tackled in a later round of negotiations, expected to start next April.
Trump: China trade deal could happen sooner than you think
Trump indicated that US and China are “having some very good conversations” on trade. And China want to make deal “very badly” and “it could happen sooner than you think.” He added that’s “because they’re losing their jobs, because their supply chain is going to hell and companies are moving out of China and they’re moving to lots of other places, including the United States.” Additionally, China is “starting to buy our agricultural product again… starting to go with the beef and all of the different things, pork, very big on pork.”
The comments came just a day after Trump’s harsh criticism on China at the United Nations General Assembly. He said “not only has China declined to adopt promised reforms, it has embraced an economic model dependent on massive market barriers, heavy state subsidies, currency manipulation, product dumping, forced technology transfers and the theft of intellectual property and also trade secrets on a grand scale”. And, “as far as America is concerned, those days are over.”
US Pompeo announces new Iran-related sanctions on some Chinese entities
Yesterday, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced new Iran-related sanctions on some Chinese entities. He said at conference that “we’re telling China and all nations, know that we will sanction every violation of sanctionable activity.” And, “the United States will intensify our efforts to educate countries and companies on the risk of doing business with IRGC entities and we will punish them if they persist in defiance of our warnings.”
The Treasury Department said that, based on Pompeo’s determination”, it would sanction COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co. and COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Seaman & Ship Management Co., along with a few other companies and a slew of individuals. These companies are believed to have transported oil from Iran and their executive officers.
Fed Kaplan agnostic about whether more rate cuts needed
Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said Fed officials are watching whether “decelerating global growth”, “weak manufacturing” and “weak business fixed investment” in the US would spreads through the rest of the economy. He added that if it spreads enough so that in six months there were a weak job report or two, “all of a sudden consumer confidence gets a little shaky, then you could have the start of a more severe downturn”.
And that’s why Fed lowered interest rate twice to a “little accommodative” level to support spending and investment and guard against a slowdown. He’s still comfortable that US is “not going to have a recession”, as long as consumers stay strong. At this point, Kaplan is “agnostic” about whether further rate cuts will be needed.
Fed Evans said policy is well-positioned after two rate cuts
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said that monetary policy is now “well-positioned” to wait-and-see how the economy respond to the two recent rate cuts. He also described the rate cuts as mid-cycle adjustments.
He maintained that the economy was “quite solid” even though there is a lot of uncertainty due to trade tensions. US is on a good growth path but not “outrageously” strong and it could continue “until something happens.
He also believed that solid economic fundamentals could go on indefinitely even though the shape of the yield curve was a concern.
RBNZ Orr: Rates will remain low for a number of years
RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr said in a speech that some people view global low interest rates as “signs of concern”. But he added “they can also be an opportunity” as “we are confident that rates will remain low for a number of years, providing a great environment to invest.”
Orr said “the good news for New Zealand, unlike many other OECD economies, is that our government’s books are in good shape, with room to expand investment, and there is already a strong fiscal impulse underway from public spending and investment.” Also, “we have the trifecta of sound government finances, clear infrastructure demands, and low hurdle rates for investing. The same can be said for corporate balance sheets in New Zealand. With relatively low levels of debt, and ongoing demand for goods and services, our businesses are well positioned.”
ECB will release monthly bulletin in European session. US will release Q2 GDP final, goods trade balance, jobless claims, wholesale inventories, pending home sales.
EUR/USD Daily Outlook
Daily Pivots: (S1) 1.0914; (P) 1.0968; (R1) 1.0998; More…
EUR/USD recovers ahead of 1.0926 support and intraday bias remains neutral for the moment. Consolidation from 1.0926 could still extend. But in case of another rise, upside should be limited by 1.1164 resistance. On the downside, sustained break of 1.0926 will resume lager down trend from 1.2555 for 1.0813 fibonacci level next. However, decisive break of 1.1164 will be an early indication of larger reversal and target 1.1249 resistance.
In the bigger picture, down trend from 1.2555 (2018 high) is in progress. Prior rejection of 55 week EMA also maintained bearishness. Further fall should be seen to 78.6% retracement of 1.0339 to 1.2555 at 1.0813. Decisive break there will target 1.0339 (2017 low). On the upside, break of 1.1412 resistance is needed to indicate medium term bottoming. Otherwise, outlook will stay bearish in case of rebound.
Economic Indicators Update
|08:00||EUR||ECB Economic Bulletin|
|08:00||EUR||M3 Money Supply Y/Y Aug||5.00%||5.20%|
|12:30||USD||Initial Jobless Claims||212K||208K|
|12:30||USD||GDP Annualized Q2 F||2.00%||3.10%|
|12:30||USD||GDP Price Index Q/Q Q2 F||2.40%||2.50%|
|12:30||USD||Goods Trade Balance (USD) Aug||-73.3B||-72.3B|
|12:30||USD||Wholesale Inventories M/M||0.20%|
|14:00||USD||Pending Home Sales M/M Aug||1.00%||-2.50%|
|14:30||USD||Natural Gas Storage||78B||84B|


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When you set out to make an expensive purchase, whether the latest iPhone 12 or a dinner at the city’s fanciest restaurant, you check for offers for the best possible deal.
Sometimes the effort pays off, sometimes it doesn’t. However, when it comes to targeted space launches, Hyderabad-headquartered Skyroot Aerospace wants to ensure that companies, and even individuals, find the most cost-effective way to send small satellites into space.
Skyroot claims its solutions can bring down the cost of launching small satellites – weighing about 700 kilograms -- to a third. For reference, small companies charge somewhere between $30,000 per kg and $50,000 per kg for satellite launches. The price can even go up to $100,000 per kg if the mission involves smaller payloads and more complexities.
And that is just an early estimate, Pawan Kumar Chandana, the founder and CEO of Skyroot, told TechCircle. When the company is able to scale up and better optimize operations, a single mission is expected to be 40-50% cheaper than other existing players in the market.
“When we are able to reach that very low cost, everybody will be able to afford space launches, starting from companies to individuals. Whether it is for tourism or Earth observation, they will be able to access space at a very low cost,” he said.
Making space launches frugal
According to Chandana, Skyroot has optimised the architecture of its yet-to-launch ‘Vikram’ series of rockets, named after Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the father of the Indian space programme.
Instead of solely relying on liquid propulsion to lift off and deliver payloads, the vehicles rely on a unique combination of simple solid and liquid propulsion technology. The first two stages of the rocket use solid propulsion, relying on a solid propellant, while the upper stage relies on liquid fuel.
These solid propulsion systems need much less capital and time to develop, which helps the company realize cost benefits. The engines also have very few moving parts – an element that adds reliability and reduces the chances of failure.
Moreover, most of their vehicle is made carbon composite structure, one of the lightest known materials in the aerospace industry.
The advanced material, the CEO said, is about five times lighter than steel and produced with an entirely automated process using the resources available in India, further cutting down the cost of manufacturing.
Apart from Skyroot, IIT-Madras incubated Agnikul Cosmos is also building an affordable orbital-class vehicle. Other space-tech companies that have surfaced in India in the recent past include Pixxel Space and Bellatrix Aerospace.
Takeoff from ISRO
Chandana, a graduate from IIT Kharagpur, developed the plan of making space launches affordable while working as a scientist at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
He joined the agency’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in 2012 and was actively involved in the GSLV Mk-III project for five years. During this period, he met Naga Bharath Daka who worked as avionics engineer at VSSC. At the time, Daka was building hardware and firmware for onboard computer modules of launch vehicles.
By 2018, after honing their rocketry skills and taking inspiration from SpaceX, the duo decided to launch Skyroot to tap into the potential of the space launch market.
The plan was simple -- democratise space access by building affordable launch vehicles.
“Since then, we have built a fantastic team. We have like 70+ rockets scientists in one of the best teams in the world for building space vehicles,” Chandana said.
“Most of our work, including R&D and manufacturing, happens in India,” he added.
Their idea drew immediate attention from CureFit co-founders Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori, who invested $1.5 million seed funding in the company, kicking off its operations.
According to VCCEdge data, the company has raised a total of $12.5 million and counts Graph Ventures, Sutton Capital, WorldQuant Ventures, Vedanshu Capital, Solar Industries, and Greenko founders Mahesh Kolli and Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty among its investors.
The Vikram series
On the product side, Skyroot’s rocket series is set to include three key vehicles -- Vikram I, II, and III.
Vikram I is for payloads weighing 200-300kg, II for 400-500kg, and III for 600-700kg.
However, the interesting bit is, instead of being completely new rockets, Vikram II and III have been planned as upgrades over Vikram I.
Depending on the customer requirements, Vikram I could be configured with add-ons such as Cryogenic Methalox engine or strap on boosters and transformed into Vikram II or III.
“With just like 10-20% upgrade, we are able to serve customers with payloads ranging between 200 and 700 kilograms,” Chandana said, emphasizing that “No other small rocket company in the world has this kind of range.”
The CEO said that the company also plans to build a fourth, much larger vehicle in the future, with reusability capabilities. He denied sharing more information, saying that the company will have a separate announcement for it.
So, when will Vikram I lift off?
Skyroot has already tested the propulsion technologies for Vikram I and is currently engaged in full swing manufacturing of its three stages.
According to Chandana, the company will conduct a major test every two or three months, which will eventually pave the way for the first test flight of Vikram I. It is working in conjunction with ISRO for the testing and qualification of the rocket and expects to conduct the maiden flight by mid-2022.
Vikram II will follow soon after, taking off by the end of next year. Meanwhile, Vikram III would be assembled only on customer demand.
“Our focus is to get to orbit reliably and prove our vehicle in the first couple of launches. Then, once we become operational, we would be ramping up the production depending on the market demand,” Chandana said.
By 2023, the company expects to serve customers with at least one launch per month. A year or two later, depending on the demand, this could go up to one launch every week or 10 days.
“We have a good pipeline of customers who are already interested in launching next year,” the CEO said, noting that most of the clients are Earth observation, communication satellite manufacturers from the US and Europe.
He added that the company plans to conduct both dedicated and rideshare missions, and expects to clock $1 billion revenue in some six years from now. Think of rideshare missions as Uber for satellites, where payloads get dropped off one by one, instead of using a dedicated rocket for each.
“The next-generation technology Skyroot is building today will unlock potential for sustainability interventions, space-based research, data analytics and telecommunications,” investors Chalamalasetty and Kolli said in a joint statement.
“We are confident our partnership will help them accelerate towards being a leading space launch player globally,” they added.
While Skyroot shows promise, there is a big IF involved in these timelines and goals. The commercialization of Vikram I directly depends on the first flight, which is not going to be easy for Skyroot.
“It’s actually very difficult to predict but if you see international statistics, the possibility of succeeding in the first launch is very low,” Chandana said.
While he remains optimistic about reaching the orbit in one go, he did confirm that there are plans to raise more funds to support at least three to four re-attempts.
After all, even SpaceX couldn’t launch the Falcon rocket at the very first attempt!


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Deck the halls with pads and tablets! It seems the recently concluded holiday season has resulted in healthy sales figures for tablets and e-readers. This has probably lined Apple's and Amazon's pockets with enough cash to last until next Christmas. Would you believe that tablet and e-book reader ownership doubled over the past holiday season?
Tis the Season
Aside from spending time commemorating special events with loved ones, holidays are, after all, for buying gifts and gadgets. Computer companies often post strong sales figures during the run up to year end because of the gift-giving season. This time, it's the portable gadgets that are making waves in terms of revenues. More than simply biting off a big chunk of the desktop computing market, tablets and e-readers are likewise dominating people's lives to the extent that these have become the preferred email and browsing device among the tech-savvy crowd.
More and more people have been joining the tablet and e-reader bandwagon. According to Pew Internet, the uptake of tablets and e-readers has grown so big that ownership has doubled over the past Christmas and New Year season.
In a survey of 2,000 users in the U.S., tablet ownership nearly doubled from 10% to 19% from December 2011 to January 2012. In the same period, the aggregate number of people who own either a tablet or e-reader has grown from 18% to 29%.
Low Price, Big Sales?
PEW attributes this market growth to the proliferation of lower priced tablet computers and e-readers. It can be noted that Amazon launched its Kindle Fire in October, planning to undercut other tablet alternatives in terms of price. The Kindle Fire retails for US$ 199, while the iPad 2 starts at US$ 499. And while the Kindle Fire can do much less than the iPad 2 and other Android tablets in terms of specifications and computing power, Amazon more than made up for it by giving users unbridled access to Amazon content, merchandise and services.
Amazon is likewise joined by Barnes & Noble, which released its Nook Tablet at US$ 249.99 near the holiday season, and likewise marketed its device as a lower-priced alternative to the iPad and other Android devices, with focus on ebooks and magazine subscriptions. PEW says the increase in ownership was mostly among adults with household incomes in the US$ 75,000 level and above.
Is This the Future of Tablets?
Tablets were a main feature of the recently-concluded Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this month. With tablets becoming more and more powerful, are pure speed and brawn going to be the main selling factors of these portable devices? Or will tablet manufacturers be better off following Amazon's and Barnes & Noble's model, which has, to some extent, been Apple's own strategy, particularly in its focus on apps and now textbooks? Specs may rule the PC market, but with tablets, content is the name of the game.


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OnePlus is set to launch the OnePlus 3T smartphone in India on Friday, at an event in New Delhi. The launch event kicks off at 11am IST, and the company is expected to reveal India price and availability of the smartphone.
To recall, the OnePlus 3T was first unveiled last month, and so far, has been made available in the US, Europe, and the UK. In these regions, the smartphone has replaced the original OnePlus 3 (Review). However, that may not be the case in India – as OnePlus earlier confirmed to Gadgets 360 that it will “continue to sell the OnePlus 3 in India” which means both smartphones may be available in the market.
The only differences between the OnePlus 3T and OnePlus 3 are a faster SoC, increased storage, an improved front camera, and a larger battery. In the US, the 64GB model has been priced at $439 (roughly Rs. 29,800), while the 128GB model has been priced at $479 (roughly Rs. 32,500). To recall, the OnePlus 3 was launched at $399 (priced at Rs. 27,999 in India) – and it was only available in a 64GB model.
Getting to the exact differences between the OnePlus 3T and the OnePlus 3 – the newly launched smartphone sports a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 SoC (two cores clocked at 1.6GHz and two cores clocked at 2.35GHz) compared to the Snapdragon 820 SoC on the original. It comes in both 64GB and 128GB storage models, compared to just a 64GB model on the OnePlus 3.
As for the improved front camera, OnePlus has doubled the resolution of the front camera from 8-megapixel on the OnePlus 3 to 16-megapixel on the OnePlus 3T – whilst also switching sensors from the Sony IMX179 with 1.4-micron pixels to the Samsung 3P8SP with 1-micron pixels.
Finally, the OnePlus 3T gets a larger 3400mAh battery compared to the 3000mAh offering on the OnePlus 3. It once again supports Dash Charge (5V 4A) fast charging technology.
Everything else about the two smartphones is identical. The OnePlus 3T bears the same anodised aluminium metal unibody design, the same fingerprint sensor on the home button, and the same Alert Slider apart from capacitive hardware keys. It also comes with the same USB 2.0 Type-C port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It sports a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080×1920 pixels) Optic AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection. The SoC is coupled with 6GB of LPDDR4 RAM.
Connectivity options on the OnePlus 3T include 4G LTE (with support for India’s LTE bands), Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, and GPS/ A-GPS. It bears the same measurements as the OnePlus 3 at 152.7×74.7×7.35mm, and the same weight at 158 grams.


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HONG KONG, Oct. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — ONEMT, a leading mobile game developer, is celebrating the fifth anniversary of Revenge of Sultans, their hit online mobile real-time strategy game (STG). The celebration will kick off with a special TikTok challenge for the players worldwide from October 20th to 25th.
To participate in the challenge, players share their love for ROS by cosplaying their favorite game characters in short TikTok videos, using the hashtag #SultansBattleDance – with the most creative videos winning special rewards.
Designed from day 1 to immerse players in the rich history of the Middle East, Revenge of Sultans is set in medieval Arabia, featuring wonderous palaces, and a host of historically-based military units for players to command as they fortify and expand their territories. Players start their journey as a humble lord in a land filled with danger and intrigue, eventually rising to become Sultan of a vast empire.
Launched in 2015, Revenge of Sultans became an instant hit upon release, with the number of total users surpassing the 5 million mark by its first birthday. In 2016, ROS took the #1 spot on App Store for total gross revenue in Saudi Arabia, followed by the “One of the 10 Best Games in the Middle East” title on Google Play. Over the past 5 years, it has sat atop the top-grossing category on both Android and iOS, and amassed over 10 million active players and over 20 million downloads.
The massive success of Revenge of Sultans is a credit to ONEMT’s dedication to delivering an unparalleled gameplay experience that resonates with local players. With its local expertise and player-centric approach, ONEMT has also developed many other innovative and compelling multiplayer mobile STGs that have been well-received among gamers around the world, including Rise of the Kings, Days of Empire, and Frontier Justice.
Founded in 2015, ONEMT has been at the forefront of the game development industry. From its humble beginnings, ONEMT rapidly evolved into a leading mobile game developer in the Middle East and has since expanded into the global market, with an extensive game portfolio offering the global gaming community a diversified and rich experience. With its strong teams in development, operations and customer service, ONEMT is well-positioned to make a lasting impact in the mobile gaming industry for years to come.


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Comic-Con 2009 is right around the corner… The geeks (me) and non-geeks alike are eagerly anticipating new products, new ideas and super-special announcements from studios, publishing houses, toy makers and our favorite brands.
Told ya I was a geek.
OK… Back to business.
The Comic-Con International Show 2009 will be held at the San Diego Convention Center from July 23rd, 2009 through July 26th, 2009 – and Creatacor is happy to once again team up with LEGO on their 2,400 square foot exhibit (Booth #2829).
Here’s a shot from Comic-Con 2008:
The 2009 LEGO exhibit will feature everything from BIONICLE to Star Wars’ Captain Rex to SpongeBob SquarePants to characters from the upcoming 2010 Disney product lines. A LEGO Master Builder will also be on hand working with attendees to build a LEGO mosaic.
Rich (the guy meditating on our blog page) will be on-site – and he promises a full report when he returns. While the purpose of attending the event is to ensure that LEGO has a great show, Rich says he hopes to also be interviewed and embarrassed by Triumph the Insult Comic Dog


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Asia’s retail banks are catching onto the wave of interest in environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. And although they are behind their European peers, the region’s financial institutions are beginning to embrace ESG products for retail customers. Jane Cooper reports.
Europe is often heralded as the leader in environmental, social and governance (ESG) action – in part because of the raft of legislation that has driven change – and Asian banks look to their European peers as examples of best practice. While Europe’s banks are already riding the ESG wave, Asia is getting close to catching it.
The region is diverse, however, and there are pockets of banks in Asia already taking ESG action. In fact, Asian banks are catching up with their European peers in terms of ESG, says Miklos Dietz, a Senior Partner who leads Global Banking Strategy and Innovation at McKinsey. Singapore and Japan are slightly ahead of the other Asian markets, he adds. There won’t be any laggards for long however: “There is not only an investment revolution on ESG but also that will spread to other products as well – current accounts, credit cards etc – in the next wave,” says Dietz.
COP26 Asian banks: finally taking action to mirror European banks
There is still some catching up to do. A report from S&P Global Ratings, which analysed Asia-Pacific banks’ ESG strategies notes that the region’s banks are still at the evolving stage in terms of ESG, although social and environmental considerations are increasingly at the heart of banks’ strategy.
This strategy, for example with climate change, doesn’t filter down to the retail banks though. Andy Chang, a senior director at S&P Global Ratings, who is based in Taipei, explains: “The big banks in Asia, in general, view climate strategy as part of the enterprise level strategy. Many banks have established specialised units on ESG. While these units coordinate various functions and product lines, including retail banking, we don’t observe banks carving out climate strategy specifically for retail banking but from a holistic view covering the whole banking operation.”
COP26 Asian banks: ESG optimisation not yet reached a tipping point
Observers comment that there has been some ESG activity among Asian banks, although nowhere near the level of Europe. And Anton Ruddenklau, Partner, Head of Financial Services, KPMG in Singapore, comments that ESG activity in Asia has not yet reached a tipping point. He points to a major difference between Asia and Europe: European banks, for example, have to stress test their capital position for climate risk scenarios. “We don’t have that regulation here,” says Ruddenklau, who is based in Singapore. Without a comparable overarching ESG legislation, what then, are the drivers for change for Asia?
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“The biggest driver is the investor community,” says Ruddenklau. These investors, he explains, are driving expectations and in turn are having an impact on banks. There are moves in the region currently, he notes, to put mandatory ESG disclosure requirements in place, for example.
COP26 Asian banks: sustainability issues coming to the fore
Ken Yap, managing director, Asia, at Cerulli Associates comments that over the last couple of years he has seen a greater adoption of ESG investing in the region, especially against the backdrop of the pandemic, which has brought sustainability issues to the fore.
“While ESG investing used to be spearheaded by European banks, the concept has been gradually embraced by regional and local banks in the region,” says Yap. He adds that some banks in the region are also supporters of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD).
Yap comments that apart from ESG practices at an organisational level – such as reducing carbon emissions or social well-being initiatives – some retail banks in the region are also looking to provide access to sustainable investing strategies.
Standard Chartered, for example, has been involved in the sustainable investing solutions and the bank tells Retail Banker International that it offers a suite of ESG funds for its clients across 15 markets.
Aside from Standard Chartered, and HSBC, Yap says Cerulli understands that local banks such as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, as well as Chinese banks – including Bank of China – are interested in ESG. For example, Bank of China (Hong Kong) offers green bonds, green loans and green investments, and has 10 ESG funds that are approved by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission, Yap explains. Similarly, Hang Seng Bank has a suite of ESG funds onboarded on its platform, he adds. In Singapore, UOB has integrated ESG considerations into its full suite of investment solutions, including unit trusts, bonds, and structured products, says Yap.
Impact investing at scale
There has been a substantial growth in impact investing, points out McKinsey’s Dietz. And this is happening at scale, with the potential to make a big difference. This, he says, has been something of a quiet revolution of tens of millions of retail investors making investment choices based on ESG, and in turn having an impact on companies they invest in. This change is already happening, points out Dietz, but it is not getting the attention it deserves. “It has been a silent but meaningful behavioural change of retail investors,” he says.
Standard Chartered leads the way on ESG prioritisation
Standard Chartered has also been working on meaningful change. Rosalind Ng, Global Head of Client Experience and Strategic Business Enablement, Consumer, Private and Business Banking, Standard Chartered Bank, puts the bank’s strategy in the context of much wider considerations. “We see climate change as one of the greatest challenges facing the world today, with the devastating impact it has on the environment and people’s lives and livelihood, particularly in the communities and markets where Standard Chartered operates,” she says. Also, she adds, “Banks and financial institutions have an important role to play through leveraging the financial system to tackle climate change and minimise the impact of global warming.” And the bank’s vision, she explains, is to be the most sustainable and responsible bank, which puts purpose and profit on an equal footing.
Standard Chartered green retail banking initiatives
The bank already has a number of green initiatives for customers in Asia. For example, it offers sustainable time deposits, which are offered in Singapore and Indonesia. Also, it offers a green mortgage in Taiwan – with plans to offer it in other markets – where borrowers are given preferential rates for buying energy-efficient homes.
And in June 2021, Standard Chartered announced that it partnered with Sweden-based impact tech company to give clients a tool to measure and manage their impact on carbon emissions and freshwater consumption. This is based on the data from their credit and debit card transactions. This kind of product is in line with a trend also found in Europe where banks are enabling their customers to be more engaged with ESG issues, such as giving them tools to be more climate conscious, for example.
In Asia, there are other ESG-related products that have begun to emerge. Ruddenklau, for example, gives the example of wealth managers in Singapore giving their customers access to robo advisors that make ESG-related investments.
Asian investors drive change
Moving down the customer spectrum from wealth and into the mass market, there are a number of broader trends that are likely to have an ESG element in the future. Ruddenklau points to recent research by KPMG that found that people are increasingly wanting to support people who are less fortunate than themselves, which ties into an increasing interest in the ‘S’ – social and being socially responsible – in ESG and wider banks’ purpose. Also, the majority of Asian investors would like to see positive change and be socially responsible at the same time.
These themes link to potential products for retail banking, notes Ruddenklau, such as credit cards and digital wallets where loyalty points can be shared. He comments that in Asia it is more common for individuals to share their loyalty gains with family, or friends, rather than redeem them for themselves. Such an approach could be extended to donating to causes that have a positive social impact, for example.
And another trend of embedded finance – or banking as a service – where non-bank providers can offer financial services means that it is not necessarily only retail banks that can offer green financial products. Big name brands can get in on the act, potentially bypassing retail banks altogether. Ruddenklau gives the example of buy now pay later, which is popular in Asia, and also increasing in ticket size, which could be used by companies to enable customers to give at the point of sale. For example, a retailer could offer a BNPL solution, which instead of being solely about extending credit to purchase items, could also incorporate a donation to a worthy cause. Rather than banks leading this kind of initiative, we can expect to see corporates doing it instead, says Ruddenklau.
Meniga white-labelling promotes sustainability
Another wider trend is the use of data to create products for customers, and this can be given an ESG angle. One such example is the fintech firm Meniga, which provides white-label solutions, and has created a Carbon Insight product whereby individuals can track and take action against their carbon emissions based on their spending data. The fintech firm opened an office in Singapore in 2019 and has since been wooing banks in Southeast Asia with its offerings. Its data categorisation, for example, is used by Singapore’s UOB so that customers can keep track of their spending or saving in real time. Individuals can keep track of certain goals, for example by setting a limit on how much they spend in restaurants every month. And it is this kind of feature, explains Ruddenklau, that could have other applications. It has the potential to be used more widely for ethical goals and customers setting ESG challenges for themselves.
Banks offering such solutions are likely to gain a stickier relationship with the customer. Also, notes McKinsey’s Dietz, the advantage of ESG products is that they enable banks to differentiate. “It is a highly digital and highly commoditised market, and banks are desperately looking for areas of differentiation,” says Dietz. And giving customers the opportunity to do the right thing is one way to do that.
This article is part of a special series GlobalData Media is publishing in the run-up to COP26, which takes place in Glasgow from 1-12 November 2021. Our focus is on the opportunities and challenges for business of the transition to clean energy and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Other articles in this series include:
- Why success at COP26 is vital for business – Energy Monitor
- Carbon market see promise and peril from COP26 – Energy Monitor
- Weekly data: Grids largely overlooked ahead of COP26 – Energy Monitor
- Is FDI making the climate crisis worse? – Investment Monitor
- Companies need to up their climate game. Can FDI help them? – Investment Monitor
- Business professionals see greenwashing as a major issue, but genuine net-zero action doesn’t have to mean red ink – Verdict
- COP26: the three ways a decarbonising business can leave oil and gas – Offshore Technology
- How scope 3 emissions pose the biggest threat to net-zero ambitions – Mining Technology
- Food giants need to pick up pace on greenhouse gas emissions – Just Food
- COP26 – climate change and the automotive sector (1) –Just Auto
- How hospitals and the medtech sector are tackling the climate crisis – Medical Device Network
- What drinks brand owners should know about COP26 – sustainability spotlight – Just Drinks
- COP26 panel – how is apparel tackling climate change? – Just Style
- Inside Cervest’s plan to map the world’s climate risk – Verdict
- Oil rich Norway wants to get on board the COP26 train with cleantech – Verdict


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The merger of seafood processing companies Icicle Seafoods and Ocean Beauty Seafoods will mean extra bunkhouse space in Petersburg for quarantining seasonal workers if needed this summer.
The companies announced the merger of salmon and groundfish operations Friday, under a new company called OBI Seafoods. Both companies own processing plants and bunkhouses in Petersburg.
The new company’s CEO Mark Palmer said in an interview with Coastalaska radio last Friday that OBI will not use the Ocean Beauty processing plant but may use that bunkhouse this summer.
“We are going to use parts, like the bunkhouse this summer, so that we have space to quarantine employees and things like that as part of the response to COVID,” Palmer said. “So we’ll have lots of additional bunk spaces available for the Icicle Petersburg plant. That’s a big plant with lots of folks there and we want to be prepared if anything happened with any kind of an outbreak. So that would utilized, but not the facility itself.”
Palmer in that interview said the processing plant, last operated in 2016, is still for sale. Palmer later confirmed that the company has accepted an offer for the plant but the sale is not closed yet, so the sale is still pending. That was first reported last December. Ocean Beauty has not identified the buyer.
Meanwhile, both the plant and the bunkhouse remain listed with the Carlton Smith Company, a commercial real estate company in Juneau.


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New 3PL survey presented at annual CSCMP conference
The findings analyze responses from 31 large third-party logistics company CEOs across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific whose companies were responsible for generating approximately $45 billion in revenue in 2011.
in the NewsState of Logistics 2016: Pursue mutual benefit 2017 AIA Board of Directors election results announced Evan Armstrong shares views on 3PL’s expanding role in returns Top 5 Trends in Enterprise Labeling U.S. West Coast ports continue to dominate More News
A recent survey of 3PL industry leaders contained some revealing forecasting news.
According the 19th Annual Survey of Third-Party Logistics Providers, 74 percent of the North American logistics companies surveyed achieved or exceeded revenue projections in 2011. At the same time, however, companies that failed to meet their financial projections were up sharply from 14 percent in 2010, to 26 percent in 2011.
This disconnect, said survey author, Dr. Robert Lieb, can be attributed to forecasting models “that don’t work anymore.”
“We hear companies say that they want to hire again, and invest in new technology, but at the same time, remain ‘capital lite.’”
Lieb, a professor of supply chain management at Northeastern University, unveiled the survey at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Annual Global Conference in Atlanta today.
“The difficulties facing the European market today mirror the economic instability North American logistics companies faced a few years ago,” stated Lieb. “Globally, industry growth and company profitability continue to increase, but at a much slower rate. As we move forward, CEOs are being cautious, forecasting lower revenue growth projections over the next three years.”
J. Paul Dittmann, Ph.D. and executive director of the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, shared similar observations with LM in an interview.
“The economics of global outsourcing is changing due to labor cost increases, fuel volatility, and currency changes,” he said. “Companies will have to reevaluate their outsourcing models in this environment, and the transportation professional will be central to this discussion.”
Dittman added that for those global moves being made today, supply chain professionals must find ways to speed the flows to reduce inventory requirements and improve customer service.
“They must also be world class in import/export excellence, constantly finding ways to avoid cost increases,” he said.
Joe Gallick, Senior Vice President of Sales for Penske Logistics – which sponsored the survey – also participated in the CSCMP presentation.
The findings analyze responses from 31 large third-party logistics company CEOs across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific whose companies were responsible for generating approximately $45 billion in revenue in 2011. The report was co-authored by Dr. Kristin Lieb, Assistant Professor of Marketing Communications, Emerson College
Thirty-one CEOs completed surveys via an Internet-based questionnaire during the Summer of 2012. Companies participating in the annual survey included: Agility Logistics, Cardinal Logistics, Caterpillar Logistics, DHL Exel Supply Chain, DSC Logistics, Genco Supply Chain Solutions, Kuehne + Nagel Logistics, Inc., Menlo Logistics, MIQ Logistics, Penske Logistics, DB Schenker, Transplace, UPS Supply Chain Solutions, UTi Integrated Logistics, Werner Logistics, CEVA Logistics, and Rhenus Contract Logistics.
About the AuthorPatrick Burnson, Executive Editor Patrick Burnson is executive editor for Logistics Management and Supply Chain Management Review magazines and web sites. Patrick is a widely-published writer and editor who has spent most of his career covering international trade, global logistics, and supply chain management. He lives and works in San Francisco, providing readers with a Pacific Rim perspective on industry trends and forecasts. You can reach him directly at [email protected]
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Carrier Consolidation Keeps Shippers Guessing Getting Value from the Cloud View More From this Issue


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Acer Iconia Tab A500 users have to wait for the July 5, or late July to get their official Android 3.1 update and that’s only across Europe and in Japan. The Motorola XOOM and the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer have been enjoying it for a few weeks now. But still there’s no official date for it in the US.
An official looking update has been found and passed around over on XDA-Developers. This update can be flashed to unrooted or rooted devices. It seems to provide all of the benefits of Honeycomb 3.1 like resizable widgets, browser improvements, USB device support improvements, among other things.
This new version has already been rooted and custom ROMs built off this leak that augment the upgrade with superuser privileges. If you should decide to use this remember that it is a leak and it might be possible that further updates from Acer will not work. However, if you just can’t stand the idea of not having the latest and greatest then follow the link bellow give it a shot.


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Apple converted Xcode to let developers build iOS apps for macOS through Project Catalyst, something rumored to be called Marzipan. Catalyst allows iOS developers to tick Xcode to compile the app for macOS.
However, interface changes will be needed to make apps look good on macOS, including a broader interface and elements geared toward mouse and keyboard use, Apple says. The feature is included in the new version of Xcode in macOS Catalina, the new version of macOS that comes in beta Monday.
With Catalyst, Apple wants to encourage developers to create more apps for macOS. Apple had already made several apps in the current macOS version Mojave using this technique, but is now opening it up to developers for the first time. You can do that by making UIKit work on macOS. That was not possible until now.
Apple also released SwiftUI, its own UI framework for apps and games that developers write in Swift. UIKit and AppKit are based on Objective C, although Swift also works with it. That should reduce the amount of code developers have to write in some cases. There is also a live preview of the interface of the app in Xcode and the interface can be edited while showing the preview of the app on desktop or on a phone. SwiftUI apps run on all Apple operating systems, including macOS, iPadOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS.
Changes have also been made to Xcode. For example, ARKit has the ability to capture people’s movement and use it as input for augmented reality, so that an avatar in ar can imitate people’s movements. Also, Microsoft showed Minecraft in ar. Microsoft subsidiary Mojang took advantage of the new version of Xcode to create the game in augmented reality.


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Can New Hampshire’s shopping malls survive the coronavirus?
As anchor tenants declare bankruptcy and store closings continue, talk of redevelopment arises
The impact of Covid-19 has hastened the coming of the so-called “retail apocalypse,” casting a shadow over the future of state’s major shopping malls, which represent some of the state’s most valuable properties and occupy some of its most prized land.
In 2019, retailers announced 9,302 store closings, 60% more than the year before. And this year, more than 2,000 stores were shuttered before the coronavirus hit its stride. Prominent among the fallen and frail are department stores — Sears, Nieman Marcus, J.C. Penney, Macy’s, Lord & Taylor — which altogether represent 60% of the anchor space and 30% of the floor space of a typical shopping mall.
“The genre is dead,” Mark Cohen of the Columbia University Business School told The New York Times.
In April, Green Street Advisors, a research firm that watches the commercial real estate market, predicted by the end of 2021 that half the remaining department stores will be closed permanently, setting malls adrift without anchors.
“Many malls will now be faced with multiple anchor vacancies, a tough place to come back from, especially in an environment where demand for space is virtually non-existent,” Vince Tibone, an analyst at Green Street Advisors, told CNBC. “This begs many questions. What will a mall redevelopment look like post-Covid?”
Three of the four largest enclosed malls in New Hampshire — the Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester, the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua and the Mall at Rockingham Park in Salem — are owned by the Simon Property Group, the largest retail real estate investment trust (REIT) and largest operator of shopping malls in the country. Simon also owns Merrimack Premium Outlets, a strip mall with a faux village motif featuring upscale retailers.
The fourth enclosed mall — the Mall at Fox Run in Newington — is owned by investment bank and financial services company Morgan Stanley and is managed by Spinoso Real Estate Group.
A fifth enclosed mall, Steeplegate Mall in Concord, is owned by Namdar Realty Group. That mall has been troubled since the Great Recession, and has started to find some non-retail tenants, like a gym and charter school.
At both Pheasant Lane and Rockingham Park, one anchor space is empty and two are occupied by Macy’s and J.C. Penney while Lord & Taylor operates alongside them both at Rockingham Park. At the Mall at Fox Run, three of the four anchors are occupied, two by Macy’s and one by J.C. Penney.
The Macy’s stores are not among the 30 the company intends to close this year to lighten its debt load. J.C. Penney, also heavily in debt, filed for bankruptcy last week and is expected to liquidate. Lord & Taylor is reported to be preparing to liquidate its inventory, file bankruptcy and shut down. In other words, all four malls are anchored by failed or flagging chain department stores.
When anchor stores go dark or more than 20% of the mall is empty and foot traffic dwindles, the leases of other tenants commonly include provisions entitling them to lower rents as well as options to terminate their leases, leaving mall owners with less income and empty space.
Property tax valuations
Simon closed its three New Hampshire enclosed malls on March 29, and they were among the 77 of the 200 in its portfolio that reopened as of May 11. By the end of that week, 71 of the listed 120 stores at the Mall of New Hampshire, 77 of the 130 at Pheasant Lane Mall and 96 of the 134 at the Mall at Rockingham Park remained closed.
At the Merrimack Premium Outlets 10 stores were open and 91 closed. At the Mall at Fox Run in Newington, six stores were open, another six were opening soon while 39 were closed.
While some of these stores will likely reopen, others may not. Those that do reopen will incur the added costs of following public health protocols while operating at reduced capacity under the shadow of uncertain consumer confidence and straitened consumer income.
Earlier in May, Simon reported its net income dropped 20% in the first quarter and its stock price tumbled 60%. Funds from operations, the sum of net income, depreciation and amortization less gains from asset sales — a key metric for REITs — slid 9%.
Simon is suing both Manchester and Nashua to reduce the assessed valuations of their properties and has deferred $6 million in property tax payments due in June on all three of its malls. The company reported that some “key retail tenants” had failed to pay rent without disclosing details but indicated the company “fully expects its tenants to honor their lease commitments.” To reduce costs and keep liquidity the company has furloughed employees and cut executive compensation.
But Simon CEO David Simon assured shareholders the company would continue to pay its quarterly cash dividend. Noting that more than 175 companies had suspended or halved their dividends, he declared “We will not be one of those companies.”
Seritage reported first-quarter earnings were a third less than the same period a year ago as “substantially all” its tenants had closed. The company collected 54% of its rents in April and was considering requests for deferred payments on a case-by-case basis.
‘Too much retail’
The gales buffeting brick-and-mortar retail are likely to strengthen. While retail sales fell 17% in April, online sales rose 8%. Slowing and stalled wage growth has sapped the buying power of those with modest and meager means.
From 1970 to 2015, the number of malls increased at a rate more than twice that of the population while foot traffic has slowed during the past decade during and in the wake of the Great Recession.
“There is too much retail,” said Bill Norton, president of Norton Asset Management in Manchester and a regular contributor to NH Business Review, “and a reset is coming.” He explained that the owners of the malls — Simon and Seritage — “are not in the retail business. They are in the real estate business.” The ultimate value of these properties, he said, lies in the land the malls stand on.
“It’s about repurposing the real estate,” Norton said.
Instead of an enclosed shopping malls ringed by vast parking lots, he envisioned mixed-use developments, where retail would be one, but not the sole, component. He pictured “a kind of live, work and play” development with residential units, office spaces, recreational areas and some retail.
Brian Wright of Colliers International, a commercial real estate brokerage, said that he expected mall owners “to deal with their tenants, work through the crisis and get to the other side” while acknowledging it is difficult to foresee what lies on the other side.
Like Norton, he said that malls stand on “prime locations” and are suited to what he called “mixed-use, life-style developments,” like those underway at Tuscan Village in Salem and Woodmont Commons in Londonderry.
Earlier this month, an update to shareholders and investors from Seritage began, “We believe there will be an immense need to convert well-located real estate for revitalized purposes.” And the company will be, the statement continued, “continuing to expand our opportunity set beyond retail, with a focus on multi-family and mixed-use environments.”


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An ancient bread is gaining momentum, from supermarket shelves to foodservice bakeries, according to a recent Associated Press article by Tanya Bricking Leach. Ethnic flatbreads, such as Indian naan and Middle Eastern pitas, are becoming increasingly commonplace nationwide. Varieties that once were limited to pita pockets and tortillas are expanding in the bread aisle. Whole Foods has led the charge, she asserted.
According to the Mintel International Group, a Chicago-based market research firm, flatbread was featured in 12 new product launches in 2005. That number jumped to 51 in 2006.
Bakery cafe chain Panera Bread recently introduced its Crispani flatbread pizzas, a bakery product designed to appeal to evening diners and grow business in the dinner daypart. Quizno's and Arby's have both launched flatbread sandwich lines within the last several months.
Foodservice bakeries can capitalize on flatbread's versatility as a viable option for both the lunch and dinner dayparts. It can be marketed as an exotic Asian food or everyday American fare. Also, it can serve as a meal in itself as a pizza or sandwich, or as an accompaniment to a meal.


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Ram Truck announced a new commercial trucks brand (Ram Commercial) and once again confirmed a large van to be added to the lineup. The Ram ProMaster, based closely on the Fiat Ducato, has been discussed since 2009, and is to go on sale in the third quarter of 2013. The 2014 Ram ProMaster is to be a full-sized van; Ram has not announced engine choices, but did say it would be redesigned "with familiar Ram Truck styling cues, offering features and powertrains preferred by North American commercial customers." Another Ram based on the Iveco Daily has also been announced, along with a federalized and presumably renamed Fiat Doblo. The latter would have the fewest changes, according to prior statements. Daily is reportedly being reworked to be a fiercer Sprinter competitor.
The new Ram Commercial division, embodied by the Tradesman trim level available on all models, includes the Ram..
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Tonight from 4-10 pm, 4Hands Brewing Co. will host a benefit for Jordan and Dani Lake. Dani Lake was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
$2 from every draft beer sale will go to the family, as will the proceeds of a silent auction (auction items pictured below).
Upstairs, 4Hands will host a LEGO night, with a LEGO creation contest.
If you are unable to join tonight’s event, considering donating to the family: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/dm8o14


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For an interactive marketing generalist like yours truly, none of the sessions at Search Engine Strategies in New York this week was as interesting as “SEO: Where to Next?” There, several of the best and brightest in the business prognosticated on where this whole search thing is headed.
Microsoft’s Duane Forrester, a senior program manager, nailed it when he described a portrait of the SEO (define) professional of the future. “An SEO [professional] must be a programmer, social media savant, know the basics of being a Webmaster, and a developer, and it helps if you speak a number of languages, too. You have to know how to talk to the C-level executives, to marketing, to the developer and the Web designer. You’re not going to find a course that is going to teach you all of that. That is the future of us SEOs.”
Bashing Down Barriers
If there’s a trend in the air right now, it’s that search is going holistic. And search marketers want a two-way street. Jill Whalen, CEO of High Rankings, astutely points out that there’s no longer a level playing field when it comes to search. “We need marketing and PR budgets,” she insists. And if search marketers have to start speaking everyone else’s language, reciprocity is expected. “Developers need to learn the fundamentals of search. Incompetent SEO-based on myths must stop. There’s so much wasted time and money on stuff that has no effect.”
SEO professionals are getting impatient with colleagues who don’t understand the effect search is having on business, or bottom lines. “Ranking reports are not metrics, so don’t put them out there to make a business decision on,” implore the experts. Instead, get serious about metrics. And metrics, in turn, must get serious about search. “Start an attribution model: search to conversions,” insists Bill Hunt, CEO of Global Strategies International and director of Neo@Ogilvy’s global search strategy.
Marcus Tandler, CEO of Creativity in Action, calls for another kind of reality check. “Being number one is totally f*cked,” he scoffs as the primary stated objective in most organic search campaigns. “Number one in what? News? Images? Video?”
What’s the alternative? “Get the most out of Facebook and other social networks. Become more independent from Google. Everything you put into social media ends up on Google [anyway].”
Tandler is also counseling SEO professionals to think bigger. Much, much bigger. “Don’t buy links — buy whole sites. Especially in this kind of economy. It’s awesome. You can have multiple properties in the top 10 sites for your keywords.”
SEO pros are also getting impatient with technologies, new and not-so-new, that aren’t search friendly. Flash, AJAX (define), Adobe Air…they’re sick of working around these systems, so increasingly prevalent in the social media world. They just want them to work.
Last, but certainly not least, the cream of the SEO crop wants their companies and clients to realize that solid SEO comes with a price tag. As their skills and multidisciplinary approach to the practice increases, as SEO assumes a bigger and bigger role in the enterprise, their fees are rising accordingly.
Of course, if you get marketing, PR, and IT rolled into one, you’re paying for more than merely being found.
Does your company or client offer one of the best online marketing products or services? Nominate it now for one of the 2009 ClickZ Marketing Excellence Awards!
Recently, I visited my alma mater, University of Florida in Gainesville, FL, to speak with advertising students about digital marketing, analytics and how to start a career in our field.
Sandy Rubinstein is the CEO of the independently female minority-owned marketing and advertising firm DXagency. ClickZ caught up with her to find out about her role as CEO, and what advice she would give to women who want to work in the digital industry.
Effective app marketing is not about generating app page traffic, but rather about ensuring your app is discovered by targeted and relevant users who will install your app and use it regularly.
The use of psychology in marketing and sales is not new, but it may be more useful than ever in an attention economy where time is precious and focus is rare. How can you tap into a demanding consumer to check whether there is an actual interest in your product?


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Despite President Donald Trump’s assertion that America can “win” a trade war with China, a new analysis from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) makes clear there are losers on both sides of the Pacific.
Tensions remain high between the world’s two largest economies, as global markets grapple with a trade war that seems to have no end in sight.
Even as the president argues his offensive is meant to protect the U.S economy, IMF data shows that consumers in both countries are “unequivocally the losers” in a trade war.
“While the impact on global growth is relatively modest at this time, the latest escalation could significantly dent business and financial market sentiment, disrupt global supply chains, and jeopardize the projected recovery in global growth in 2019,” the fund wrote in a blog post.
“At the global level, the additional impact of the recently announced and envisaged new US-China tariffs, expected to extend to all trade between those countries, will subtract about 0.3 percent of global GDP in the short term, with half stemming from business and market confidence effects,” IMF economists added.
The fund’s data shows that most of the tariff revenue collected has been shouldered almost exclusively by U.S. importers. Some of those fees have been passed onto American consumers for goods like washing machines, while other companies have absorbed the costs, depressing margins.
Those costs could steepen if the U.S. levies additional tariffs on an extra $300 billion of Chinese goods.
“A further increase in tariffs will likely be similarly passed through to consumers,” the fund’s economists wrote. “While the direct effect on inflation may be small, it could lead to broader effects through an increase in the prices of domestic competitors.”
But the impact on producers isn’t as clear-cut, and may produce “some winners and many losers,” according to the note.
“Some US and Chinese producers of goods competing in domestic markets with imports affected by tariffs, as well as competing third country exporters, are potential winners.”
Still, producers from both countries affected by the tariffs, “as well as producers that use those goods as intermediate inputs, are potential losers,” according to the IMF.
Producers took a hit through trade diversion and also market segmentation, but also in market valuations, where companies with exposure to Chinese markets suffered losses.
Meanwhile, U.S. corporations with large exposure to China also saw their stocks fall sharply after China retaliated against the U.S.’s tariff action, IMF data showed.
If left unresolved, the IMF warned that ongoing tensions could disrupt global supply chains. Consumer goods could become less affordable, and harm low-income households disproportionately, the fund cautioned, during an already “delicate year” for the global economy.
Kristin Myers is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.


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Earth Fare closing all stores
February 3, 2020 - Earth Fare, a specialty natural and organic grocery store and full-service supermarket, said it will close all its stores and its corporate office and liquidate its inventory. In a news release, the Asheville, North Carolina-based company said "continued challenges in the retail industry impeded the company's progress as well as its ability to refinance its debt." Earth Fare has four stores in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area: 7774 113th St. N. in Seminole, 3136 Tampa Rd. in Oldsmar, and 25535 Sierra Center Blvd. in Lutz. It also has a store at 11525 FL-70 E. in Lakewood Ranch. All employees have been notified, the news release said, but Earth Fare has not yet filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) in Florida.


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Last week we wondered which new Audi model was being teased from inside a mysterious delivery truck. As it turns out, this new model which will debut next week is not the 2016 Audi TT as we previously thought, but instead appears to be a sporty variant of the Audi A1 compact hatchback that’s not sold in the U.S.
This extended teaser shows a few quick peeks at the new Audi, including a silhouette that clearly shows that this new Audi is a two-door hatchback with a greenhouse that mirrors that of the Audi A1. Other clues like the manual shift knob and sport seats we see in this video make us think that this new model will be a high-performance Audi S1 variant of the A1 that slots below the A3 in the European market. This hot hatch would give Audi a competitor for other small, high-powered hatchbacks like the Fiat 500 Abarth, the MINI Cooper S, and the Volkswagen Polo GTI.
In Europe, the standard Audi A1 is offered with a range of small four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines. We’ve previously heard that an Audi S1 was under consideration, which would use the same supercharged and turbocharged 1.4-liter gasoline four-cylinder as the Volkswagen Polo GTI. Quattro all-wheel-drive will presumably come standard, as will a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Keep an eye out for the official reveal next Wednesday, February 12 to see the Audi S1 in its entirety and just what performance tricks are in store for Audi’s subcompact hatchback.