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T-Mobile USA will begin distributing Apple Inc.'s iPhone next year but will not subsidize the device.
The Wall Street Journal reports that T-Mobile, the nation's fourth-largest wireless carrier, will require customers either to pay the full price beginning at about $650, to provide their own phone, or to buy one on an installment plan.
T-Mobile is the only major carrier in the country that does not offer Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone, and company executives have cited that as a reason for losing customers.
The decision not to subsidize the phones comes as carriers around the world are moving away from phone subsidies.
Read more at the Wall Street Journal.


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Date Posted: Tuesday 26th April 2022
Vogue has announced the launch of Vogue Phillippines and appointed Bea Valdes (pictured, here) as editor-in-chief. The publisher has also appointed Pam Quiñones as fashion director, Trina Epilepsia Boutain as digital editor, and Rhoda Campos-Aldanese as publisher.
Vogue Philippines will be published across print, digital and social platforms under a licence agreement between Condé Nast and Mega Global Licensing, a local publishing house with over 30 years of experience in the prestige publishing market. It marks a further move for Condé Nast into the Southeast Asia region, where it already has editions in Thailand, since 2013, and Singapore, as of 2020.
Vogue Philippines will launch in September 2022.
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Unreal Engine Marketplace says it will take less developer revenue
|Richard Harris in Game Development Wednesday, July 18, 2018|
Epic Games has announced that their Unreal Engine Marketplace will be paying devs back the difference between their previous percentage of cut per transaction and their new rate of just 12%.
Epic Games has just made a sweeping change to the Unreal Engine Marketplace, whereby creators on the store will now receive 88% of their product sales, "an increase from the common 70% / 30% split of other digital stores."
The Unreal Engine Marketplace is a store targeting the Unreal Engine community, and enabling game developers to purchase digital content sold by 3D modellers, digital artists, sound designers, programmers, and animators, and use those assets in their own projects. Many UE4-powered games, such as ARK: Survival Evolved and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds made use of Marketplace content in their development.
This new 88% (developer) / 12% (store) revenue split applies to all Unreal Engine Marketplace transactions past, present, and future. In addition to implementing the policy for future sales, Epic is paying out all Marketplace sellers retroactively, applying the more creator-friendly 88% rate to previous transactions dating back to the store’s 2014 launch.
“Thanks to both the Marketplace’s growth and the success of Fortnite, Epic now conducts a huge volume of digital commerce,” said Tim Sweeney, founder and CEO of Epic. “The resulting economies of scale enable us to pass the savings along to the Unreal Engine Marketplace community, while also making a healthy profit for Epic.”
In addition, Unreal Engine has released some new developer statstics:
- As of July 2018, more than 6.3 million users have chosen Unreal Engine 4, an increase of more than 1 million users since March.
- In the first half of 2018, the Unreal Engine Marketplace experienced 30% growth in active sellers. There are now over 1,500 creators offering more than 5,000 curated products on the Marketplace.
- There have been nearly 8 million downloads from the Marketplace since the store’s launch in 2014.
- There have been more than 1 million downloads of the free Paragon assets to date, representing $300 billion in total value to the development community.
Love Is Like Pi Never Ending T-Shirt Math Pi day Gift Shirt. Perfect Shirt to celebrate Pi Day 2019. Great gift whether you just love Math or you are a Math Student, Teacher or similar.
Are you paying more taxes than you have to as a developer or freelancer? The IRS is certainly not going to tell you about a deduction you failed to take, and your accountant is not likely to take the time to ask you about every deduction you’re entitled to. As former IRS Commissioner Mark Everson admitted, “If you don’t claim it, you don’t get it.
Get hands-on experience in performing simple to complex mobile forensics techniques Retrieve and analyze data stored not only on mobile devices but also through the cloud and other connected mediums A practical guide to leveraging the power of mobile forensics on popular mobile platforms with lots of tips, tricks, and caveats.
The Chirp GPS app is a top-ranked location sharing app available for Apple and Android that is super easy to use, and most of all, it's reliable.
Write and run code every step of the way, using Android Studio to create apps that integrate with other apps, download and display pictures from the web, play sounds, and more. Each chapter and app has been designed and tested to provide the knowledge and experience you need to get started in Android development.


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All but one of the 27 stores tested in Workington, Maryport and Cockermouth refused to serve a teenage volunteer with alcohol and fireworks.
Police officer Alison St Quinten said: "The message seems to be getting across. People are asking for identification. It is in the forefront of people's minds to ask customers' ages. It was a good result.
"We did the exercise as we were receiving complaints about youngsters getting alcohol."
John Greenbank from Trading Standards added: "Two or three years ago there was a 20% fail rate in test purchases. Now it is more like 5%, so there has been a big improvement."
The news reflects ACS chief executive James Lowman's claim that c-stores are leading a change in attitude towards ID checks for age-related purchases.
Questioned by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, Lowman said: "We are bringing about a culture change in the trade here, where you are increasingly seeing people being challenged for proof of age."
The Retail Alcohol Standards Group, of which ACS is a member, has announced its members will adopt a Challenge 25 policy from 2009.


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According to Atari Inc's annual 10-K report filed with the SEC yesterday, former CEO Bruno Bonnell received EUR 3 million (USD 4.75 million) to resign his duties as director and CEO of Infogrames Entertainment SA.
The agreement - reached on April 4 of 2007 - was apparently done without the knowledge of Atari Inc, which stated that neither its board of directors nor any member of its management was consulted about the deal. The company did not receive a copy until two months after it was signed.
Infogrames - Atari Inc's majority shareholder - removed five of the company's seven directors in October 2007. It re-acquired Atari for USD 11 million through an offer it made in March of 2008.
The annual report confirmed that the company had sold its studios by the end of fiscal 2007 and has stopped developing games - even through third-party developers. Infogrames licensed the development and distribution rights for the Test Drive franchise for seven years, allowing Atari to distribute any versions of those games in North America.
Atari Inc reported that it has a significant library of well-known properties licensed from Infogrames including Dragon Ball Z, Alone in the Dark, Asteroids, Pong, Missile Command, Centipede, Dungeons and Dragons, Earthworm Jim, RollerCoaster Tycoon and Godzilla.
The Dragon Ball Z franchise in particular generated 45.7 per cent of the company's publishing net revenues in fiscal 2007 and 49.1 per cent of its publishing net revenues in fiscal 2008.
The company also maintains North American distribution operations and systems that reach in excess of approximately 30,000 retail outlets throughout the US.


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Will they, won’t they
Earlier today, we reported that Netflix may not be coming to the Nintendo Switch for the time being; this was based on a tweet, since deleted, made by a customer service representative for the company, and at the time, we cautioned that customer service reps are neither privy to, nor authorized to share, internal R&D at a company like Netflix, so it may not be entirely accurate.
And indeed, after deleting the tweet, Netflix has confirmed to Polygon that it is still “exploring” bringing an app to the Switch. Now, there’s another important angle here- the clarified response says nothing the older tweet didn’t. We still don’t have a Netflix app on Switch, nor an ETA- but it changes the context from “it’s not coming for now” to “we’re considering bringing it over”. I suppose that reframing matters.
For now, the Switch continues to remain a machine that plays games, and- well, yeah, that’s it.


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Christopher Nolan's Tenet Delayed for the Third Time
Jacob Blazewicz, 20 July 2020, 22:39
Warner Bros. has decided to postpone the release of Christopher Nolan's Tenet once again. No new premiere date was given.
Monument Valley Devs Announce New Game, Also on PC and Consoles
Agnes Adamus, 20 July 2020, 22:37
Studio ustwo (responsible for the creation of Monument Valley), announced a new game - Alba: A Wildlife Adventure. On this occasion a short trailer was presented. The title is to hit the market this winter on PCs, Apple devices and unspecified consoles.
12-month Xbox Live Gold Subscription Disappears From Microsoft's Offer
Bart Woldanski, 20 July 2020, 22:31
Microsoft has officially stopped selling a one-year Xbox Live Gold subscription in its store. The reasons for this decision were not provided.
Spider-Man Miles Morales With Optional 4k / 60 FPS Mode
Jacob Blazewicz, 20 July 2020, 22:27
The creators of Spider-Man: Miles Morales revealed an optional feature called Performance Mode. It will enable us to play in 4K resolution and, although there is no certainty on the latter, 60 fps.
Number of Sea of Thieves Players Exceeded 15 Million
Agnes Adamus, 20 July 2020, 22:23
Studio Rare and Microsoft boasted of the sales of Sea of Thieves. The companies show that the title has reached 15 million people. In addition, it was reported that the game's sales on Steam exceeded one million copies.
Metacritic Claims The Last of Us 2 Didn't Change Website's Review System
Jacob Blazewicz, 20 July 2020, 22:03
Metacritic commented on recent changes in the user rating system. It was confirmed how long we have to wait to be able to rate a game. At the same time, it was denied that this was related to any particular game in the vein of The Last of Us: Part II.
17 Minutes of Bloody Slaughter on New Shadow Warrior 3 Gameplay
Bart Woldanski, 20 July 2020, 17:47
We've got a gameplay from Shadow Warrior 3, a game developed by Flying Wild Hog. It promises to deliver even faster and more bloody gameplay than in the previous installments.
$20,000 Spent on Streamers; Underage Player Wastes His Mother's Savings
Paul Wozniak, 20 July 2020, 17:30
The mother of an underage Fortnite fan shared a story online, describing how her son spent her entire life's savings in just over 2 weeks. The teenager spent almost $20,000 on donations and subscriptions to various streamers.
Animal Transformers May Return as Netflix Teases Reboot of Beast Wars
Milosz Szubert, 20 July 2020, 17:19
It is possible that Netflix is planning to prepare a reboot of Beast Wars, an animated series belonging to the popular Transformers franchise. It would be part of the upcoming Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy.
Star Leaves Star Wars, Possibly for Good
Bart Swiatek, 20 July 2020, 17:08
John Boyega - an actor known for his role of Finn in the latest Star Wars movie trilogy - stated in a comment published on Instagram that he does not intend to return to the franchise.
Store's Code Suggests PS5 Pre-orders Will Allow Only One Unit per Account?
Arkadiusz Strzala, 20 July 2020, 16:26
The source code of PlayStation Direct contains a message that only one PS5 unit can be purchased. Does Sony intend to introduce limits on pre-orders of the device?
Also Spider-Man and Iron Man Support Heroic Boy
Karol Laska, 20 July 2020, 16:18
More and more MCU stars congratulate Bridger Walker - a six-year-old who saved his sister from attacking dog. The young hero was contacted by Tom Holland and Robert Downey Jr.
RDNA 2-based Radeon May be 225% Faster Than RX 5700 XT
Bart Swiatek, 20 July 2020, 16:01
According to reports from youtuber Moore's Law is Dead, AMD's new GPU, the so-called Big Navi, may be from 195 to 225% faster than the Radeon RX 5700 XT.
Fencing Duels in Game From Witcher's Animation Maker
Dameredet, 20 July 2020, 15:36
If you are a fan of fencing, love realistic animation or just historical correctness, we have good news for you. Hellish Quart, a fighting game worthy of 17th century, is being created.
Morrowind Rebirth Version 5.2 Goes Live - NPCs May Stop Talking to Us
Damian Gacek, 20 July 2020, 15:23
Morrowind Rebirth, one of the biggest mods for the iconic installment of The Elder Scrolls, lived to see version 5.2. It introduced numerous changes and improvements, mainly those that affect immersion.
Death Stranding Conquers Steam
Adrian Werner, 20 July 2020, 15:14
Death Stranding was the biggest bestseller last week on Steam. The port of last year's console hit also achieved very good activity results.
Minecraft - Mystery of Title Screen Finally Solved
Bart Swiatek, 20 July 2020, 14:05
Members of Minecraft@Home, a research group that solves various mysteries related to Minecraft, have found the so-called seed from which the original title screen of Mojang Studios' game comes.


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In an attempt to keep its stars happy, YouTube has announced the addition of a new talent option that will allow content creators with more than 100,000 subscribers to sell memberships to their fans.
For consumers, 3D printing has failed to become the must-have technology that many predicted.
Xiaomi, China’s biggest consumer electronics unicorn, has started taking orders ahead of its proposed initial public offering (IPO) in July.
Aside from its ecommerce business, Amazon has spent years crafting plenty of proprietary technology.
Global sales of industrial robots are at an all-time high, climbing 29% between 2016 and 2017.
3D renders that give the impression of living the perfect Instagram life, virtual influencers are the latest addition to the world of brand marketing.
South Korea’s Bithumb has become the latest cryptocurrency exchange to have been hit by hackers, with 35bn South Korean won ($31.5m) reported to have been stolen.
With numbers expected to reach 17 million by 2030, the presence of electric vehicles on UK roads is here to stay.
Financial trade body UK Finance has reported that credit and debit card spending overtook cash payments in the country last year for the first time ever.
Anything you can do, AI can do better.
The internet is all aflutter today over the vote on ‘Article 13’ by the EU parliament.
It’s World Refugee Day on 20 June, a day that ‘commemorates the strength, courage, and perseverance of millions of refugees’.
Tesla founder Elon Musk has accused one employee of conducting “extensive and damaging sabotage” to the electric car manufacturer in a company-wide email sent yesterday.
AI has arrived in the data centre, accompanied by machine learning, forming a diversified team bridging all data centre platforms together through analytics technologies.
The internet of things encompasses many everyday objects, and cars are no exception.
Six former or current Fitbit employees are accused of violating confidentiality agreements with their former employer, Jawbone, after they were found to be in possession of trade secrets belonging to the failed technology company.
Einstein once said that if he had one hour to save the world, he’d spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem and just five minutes finding the solution.
Advancements in electricity grid technology have opened the door to devastating smart grid cyberattacks, the head of Europe’s leading cybersecurity non-profit has warned.
In the future, every form of record, value storage and transaction will be tokenised, according to a leading technologist and blockchain expert.
The cause of the Dixons Carphone data breach announced earlier today has not yet been confirmed, but one possible route the attackers could have taken into the company’s systems is via an email attack.
Dixons Carphone’s handling of the data breach has drawn criticism from the cybersecurity community for demonstrating a poor attitude towards data protection.
London has been named the artificial intelligence (AI) capital of Europe, despite Paris overtaking it as the most attractive European city for investors.
Mobile network operator Vodafone has reported that data usage in the United Kingdom increased by 60% in 2017, as users increasingly utilised their smartphones to stream high-definition videos and play resource-heavy online games.
BT Group’s announcement on Friday that chief executive officer Gavin Patterson will be stepping down from his position has prompted a 5G-focused restructuring within the business.
The construction industry is set for significant disruption with the introduction of brick-laying robots.
Many organisations are already looking at utilising artificial intelligence (AI) and if they haven’t, then it’s time to consider how an AI strategy can benefit the business.
Technological change is inescapable.
Meet CIMON (or Crew Interactive Mobile Companion) ─ the first space-flying artificial intelligence robot to join astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS).
Which nation has the largest economy in 2018, and where is the fastest growth projected?
Autonomous cars have seemingly been on the brink of commercialisation for several years.


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eCommerce Industry News
Tech news and industry hot topics - this section has got it all for staying on top of ecommerce strategy and marketing trends. Share tips and best practices, show what you've created and inspire others
- 39 Topics
- 4 Replies
85% of consumers worldwide rely heavily on video when they purchase goods and services online
According to a study by Brightcove, almost half of consumers worldwide (48%) say that video increases their confidence to shop online, and 71% say videos with interactive features – such as links to purchase – are essential when making an online purchase. In addition, 64% of consumers worldwide say they won’t wait more than five seconds for a video to load on a retailer’s website. More than half of livestream event attendees say they made a purchase as a result of a live virtual shopping experience. Millennials feel strongly about the impact video has in the post-purchase stages of a B2B buying journey. Nearly all (97%) professionals in this age group agree that video content and communication is useful in the post-purchase stages of their buying journey. https://www.marketingtechnews.net/news/2022/jun/28/vast-majority-of-consumers-rely-on-video-when-shopping-online/
75% of DTC brands may offer subscriptions by 2023
Interesting news! Check :D As subscription services shift their strategies, a new report from PipeCandy and Rodeo predicts that as many as 75% of DTC brands will have a subscription-based offering by 2023. However, among the risks they face in doing so are customer acquisition cost, churning and cancellation, funding and subscription fatigue. The report estimates that the U.S. comprises 47% of DTC subscriptions, followed by Europe (21%) and China (14%). The report attributes the DTC subscription boom to Gen Z and millennial shoppers who have begun earning money, especially affluent consumers in urban areas that prefer automated purchasing. More here:https://www.retaildive.com/news/75-percent-dtc-brands-subscriptions-2023-report/625348/
82% of B2B marketing leaders agree creative confidence is growing
59% of B2B marketing leaders in the UK agree creative confidence is growing, the lowest figure amongst the 13 countries included in the study. Globally, the figure is on average 82%. According to the study, 39% of marketers globally believe B2B brands are increasingly harnessing storytelling, emotion and humour to help feed the lasting power of their creative campaigns. More than two thirds (69%) of this global sample agree B2B purchasing decisions are just as emotionally driven as B2C. Furthermore, the majority of B2B marketers (81%) say their brands are now producing creative campaigns that rival consumer brands. More here
Social Commerce Soars As 61% Of 25-34-year-olds Buy On Social Media
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated consumer adoption of online shopping, including shopping on social media as more than a third (39%) of all US consumers say they have made a purchase on social media and would do so again. With 90% of consumers aware of brand pages/accounts on social media—and only 10% who say they avoid brands’ social media pages—the opportunity for engagement is huge. While consumers are increasingly curious about social commerce, barriers such as data security and shipping hold some back from participating. Two in five (38%) consumers say they haven’t made a purchase directly on a social media platform due to the lack of trust in the security of their payment information, while 23% say it’s because they are worried they will never receive their purchase. You can find more info here: https://martechseries.com/social/social-media-marketing/social-commerce-soars-as-61-of-25-34-year-olds-buy-on-social-media/
Trends that could transform your 2022 marketing strategy
Hi everybody, As you already know pandemic-induced consumer behaviours are here to stay. Over the past year, most of us have been forced to adapt to change and uncertainty more than ever before. With many of our daily interactions going solely digital, we should expect the gap between brands that meaningfully engage audiences online and those who don’t to grow significantly. If you spend a time wondering how to improve your marketing strategy and update a communication due to new requirements, there you can find helpful tips. More information you can find there: https://www.marketingweek.com/five-trends-transform-2022-marketing-strategy/
Consumer confidence for brands plunges to lowest ever level!
Hello everyone!Consumer confidence has plummeted again, with more “bad news” expected as inflation rockets and UK unemployment hits a 50-year low. The latest GfK Consumer Confidence Barometer recorded a headline score of -40 in May, the worst since records began in 1974, and a 2% fall on last month. This means consumer confidence is lower now than during the “darkest days” of the global banking crisis. The lowest score previously was -39, which was recorded in July 2008. All but one of the five measures that make up the GfK index score dropped in May. See more information below:https://www.marketingweek.com/consumer-confidence-plunges-worse-to-come/
As we know gaming industry is growing fast year by year. There are many ideas on how to implement solutions from single-player and online games in marketing. Read the blog article and learn new solutions for gamification in eCommerce and see how you can implement them in your case.https://blog.salesmanago.com/marketing-and-business/customers-attention-is-getting-thin-and-gamification-is-a-way-to-win-it-5-trends-shaping-gamified-ecommerce/
Farewell to cookies
The end of third-party cookies is a revolution that opens up possibilities for renewing healthy relationships with consumers and developing close ties between companies and their customers. The best way to prepare for the upcoming changes is to start collecting your own customer data that can be analyzed and used to personalize advertisements.And how are you preparing yourselves for this transformation? 💪
The Secret to a Great Ecommerce Experience? Collaboration!
Forrester reports that a lack of cooperation is the most significant obstacle to improving an organization’s customer experience. Lack of collaboration consistently outranked budget, culture, and data as the biggest obstacle three years running. Customer experience isn’t anyone’s responsibility – it’s everyone’s.
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The stock is down 7.3% at midday following the book chain’s warning last night that there’s bad news ahead regarding its NOOK e-readers and tablets. It now forecasts that NOOK revenues for the fiscal year that ends in April will come in below $3B, with a cash-flow (EBITDA) loss that will be “greater than it was in fiscal 2012.” That contradicts Barnes & Noble‘s assurance last month that the NOOK unit would generate revenues of about $3B, with a cash flow loss “at a comparable level to fiscal year 2012.” And it makes 2013 the third straight year that Barnes & Noble will miss its guidance, Maxim Group analyst John Tinker notes. The NOOK business “is proving to be expensive — and with slowing revenues makes spinning it off to tech investors harder,” he says. “At some point the company has to quantify the amount it is prepared to lose.” The company says it will report earnings for the three months ending in January on February 28, later than it tentatively planned. B&N owns about 78.2% of the NOOK Media subsidiary, while Microsoft controls 16.8% and Pearson has 5%.
So much for the hope that price cuts and favorable reviews would enable Barnes & Noble‘s NOOK tablets and e-readers to keep up with comparable products from Apple, Amazon, and Google. The No. 1 book retail chain says that NOOKs underperformed over the nine-week holiday season while revenues at the overall retail business fell 10.9% to $1.2B. “NOOK device sales got off to a good start over the Black Friday period, but then fell short of expectations for the balance of holiday,” CEO William Lynch says. “We are examining the root cause of the December shortfall in sales, and will adjust our strategies accordingly going forward.” The one saving grace of the numbers is that investors expected them to be worse. B&N shares are up 1.9% in early trading Thursday, after falling 3.9% yesterday. The company says that core sales — not including NOOK products — fell 3.1% over the nine-week holiday period at stores open at least a year. That was better than B&N expected, and means the results for the basic business should be down by low- to mid-single digits for the fiscal year that ends in April. The holiday season decline rises to 8.2% when you factor in the fact that B&N has fewer stores, and had lower online sales.
The stock is down about 6.5% in early trading following the leading bookstore chain’s earnings report that left open questions about whether it can keep up with online rivals led by Amazon that continue to take market share. Helped by $2.8M in dividends received from preferred shares, Barnes & Noble reported net income of $2.2M for the quarter ending in October — up from a $6.6M loss a year ago — on revenues of $1.88B, -0.4%. The revenue figure is slightly lower than the $1.91B that analysts expected. But excluding the dividend, the net loss attributable to B&N of 4 cents a share beat the Street’s forecast of a 6 cent loss. At the retail unit, which includes the bookstores and book sales at BN.com, revenues fell 2.9% to $996M. The company says that last year’s numbers were helped after Borders liquidated. But in stores open at least a year, sales (not including its NOOK eReaders and tablets) were up 1.8%. In college textbooks B&N revenues were up 0.4% to $773M. Meanwhile the NOOK operation — which includes the hardware as well as digital content — remains a mixed story: Revenues were up 5.6% to $160.3M but it still generates a cash flow loss as B&N invests in new products and overseas expansion. The company says that NOOK unit sales doubled in last week’s four day Black Friday period vs last year — which matches Amazon’s experience with its Kindles.
NBC Universal and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will supply standard definition and HD movies and TV shows to the NOOK Video download and rental service — just as Barnes & Noble prepares this week to ship its NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ tablets and offer them in its stores. The bookstore retailer’s release skimps on details about the agreements, including how much content the studios will provide, how much titles might cost, and what other devices might be able to handle Nook Video streams and downloads. But it says that titles include Snow White And The Huntsman, Battleship, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, Ice Age: Continental Drift, and Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days. Along with its previous deals with HBO, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, STARZ, Viacom, Warner Bros, and Disney, Barnes & Noble says it will offer “thousands of movies and TV shows for all ages and interests.” The new agreements, and tablets, also are designed to make it easy for NOOK owners to stream videos from their UltraViolet accounts.
The “sophisticated criminal effort” captured consumers’ credit and debit card numbers after conspirators planted bugs in PIN pads at 63 Barnes & Noble stores, the company says this morning. The scheme didn’t affect Barnes & Noble’s Nook tablets or mobile apps, the chain’s member database, or any Barnes & Noble College Bookstores. B&N says it caught the problem in mid-September, and that it’s safe now to use credit and debit cards at its stores. It pulled all of the PIN pads in nearly 700 outlets. Still, the company urges consumers at the stores that were hit — listed in the press release below — to change their PIN numbers and check their accounts to be sure that they don’ t include phony transactions.
Here’s the release:
Shares rose 8.3% to $14.96 this afternoon after CEO William Lynch vigorously argued at a Liberty Media investors’ meeting that stock buyers aren’t giving the book retail chain its due. With a market price of about $884M, the company that generated $7.2B in revenues last year “is undervalued,” he says. There’s a “strong, profitable and vibrant business” in its traditional bookstores, especially as rivals including Borders have closed. Lynch also urged investors to take a closer look at its new Nookmedia LLC partnership with Microsoft. The operation was valued at $1.7B this year when the computer giant invested $300M for a 17.6% stake in an operation that includes B&N’s Nook e-readers and tablets, e-Books, and college-targeted software. B&N’s stock price suggests that “investors are getting Nookmedia for free,” Lynch says. That overlooks the opportunities for the company as it builds its eBook sales, digital subscriptions, and eLearning — which he says has “big plans and announcements coming.” Lynch also talked up the new Nook HD and Nook HD+ tablets, which have won encouraging reviews ahead of the October 25 ship date. Nookmedia is “a big and growing company in an exploding space,” Lynch says. Liberty owns 17% of B&N.
That’s hard to say: Even Barnes & Noble can’t articulate why consumers might favor its planned digital video purchase and rental service over its more established rivals. There’s no word on how much movies and TV shows will cost. It’ll be “incredibly competitive,” says B&N General Manager of Emerging Digital Content Jonathan Shar. We don’t know how many movies and TV shows B&N will offer, or how recent most titles will be. We don’t even know whether it will work with all flavors of Apple and Android powered devices. “As one of the world’s largest retailers of physical video discs and digital copyrighted content, our new NOOK Video service will give our customers another way to be entertained with a vast and growing digital video collection, as part of our expansive NOOK Store,” CEO William Lynch says.
Shares in Barnes & Noble were trading up ahead of the opening bell today as the company reported fiscal 2013 Q1 results. The bookseller’s consolidated Q1 net loss narrowed 28% to $41M as compared to a loss of $56.6M a year ago. Consolidated revenues were $1.5B, up 2.5% from the year prior. Digital content sales were up 46% while bookstores saw growth thanks in part to market consolidation, but also to the best-selling Fifty Shades Of Grey series. Retail, which includes bricks & mortar outlets and BN.com, was up 2% over the same period in 2011 with $1.1B in revenues. Overall, the Nook business unit was essentially flat compared to last year with $192M in revenues. On Monday, Barnes & Noble said it would begin offering the Nook e-readers and digital content in the UK. Products will be available through new online storefront www.nook.co.uk beginning in mid-October, and also through partnerships with leading retailers.
Barnes & Noble shares are up more than 70% in pre-market trading following the announcement. The computer software giant will own 17.6% of the Nook subsidiary, valuing it at $1.7B, and provide a Nook application in its new Windows 8 operating system, the companies said this morning. Barnes & Noble will own the remaining 82.4% of the venture. The agreement also settles the patent infringement complaint that Barnes & Noble raised against Microsoft last year. The bookseller and its Nook subsidiary “will have a royalty-bearing license under Microsoft’s patents for its NOOK eReader and Tablet products,” the companies said. Barnes & Noble is throwing its College books business into the subsidiary. Its Nook Study software “will provide students and educators the preeminent technology platform for the distribution and management of digital education materials in the market.” Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch says that Microsoft’s investment will help “bring world-class digital reading technologies and content to the Windows platform and its hundreds of millions of users, (and) will allow us to significantly expand the business.” Barnes & Noble said in January that it was considering a spin off of its Nook business. The book chain says in an SEC filing that Microsoft will pay the Nook subsidiary $60M a year in the first three years after it launches Windows 8, as well as $25M a year for five years to help the enterprise acquire digital reading content and develop technology.
The stock is down 25% in early trading following the book store chain’s announcement that it may unload or spin off its Nook operation. “We see substantial value in what we’ve built with our Nook business in only two years, and we believe it’s the right time to investigate our options to unlock that value,” CEO William Lynch said. The company added that it’s talking to ”strategic partners including publishers, retailers and technology companies in international markets that may lead to expansion of the Nook business abroad.” There’s no timetable for the review of the Nook business, and Barnes & Noble says that it doesn’t plan to comment on the process “unless and until a decision is made.”
Barnes & Noble says that during the nine-week holiday season total sales for the Nook line were up 70% vs the same period last year. But while demand for its new Nook Tablet was strong, sales for its Nook Simple Touch “lagged expectations, indicating a stronger customer preference for color devices.” B&N updated its earnings guidance saying that it now expects cash flow of as much as $180M in the fiscal year that ends in April — down from its forecast in December for as much as $250M. “The change in guidance is due primarily to a shortfall in the expected sales of Nook Simple Touch, as well as additional investments in growing the Nook business, such as advertising to support new products and international expansion …
The trading day ended with a thud. The benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 wound up -2.1% as word spread that Germany might balk at a proposal to help bail out debt-laden members of the European Union including Greece and Portugal. That affected media stocks; the Dow Jones U.S. Media Index fell 3%. Disney was the hardest hit among the Big Guns, with shares off 3.2%. It was followed by News Corp (-3.1%), CBS (-3%), Comcast (-2.9%), Time Warner (-2.7%), Viacom (-2.3%), and Sony (-2.1%). Newspaper companies were big losers led by McClatchy (-10%), New York Times (-7.3%), E.W. Scripps (-6.5%), and Gannett (-6.3%). But others weren’t far behind: Cablevision (-6.1%) hit a 52-week low. The losers list also included Crown Media (-6.6%), AOL (-5.9%), DirecTV (-4.7%), Live Nation (-4.4%), Barnes & Noble (-4.3%), TiVo (-4.2%), Sirius XM (-4.2%) and Dish Network (-4.2%). Today’s few gainers were led by Coinstar, up 7.8% on a report that its Redbox unit will team up with Verizon to offer an online video service. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia was up 1.7% the day after J.C. Penney said it bought 16.6% of the company. And Madison Square Garden was up 1.7%, hitting a 52-week high, after Morgan Stanley’s Benjamin Swinburne changed his recommendation to “overweight” from “underweight” following the resolution of the NBA lockout.
The federal government will have to slash $1.2T in spending, mostly beginning in 2013, if the 12-member congressional Super Committee can’t strike a deficit reduction deal soon. They still appear split — even though, as a practical matter, they have to reach an agreement by midnight in order to have something ready for the official Wednesday deadline. That drove most company shares down, with a late uptick possibly softening the blow. The Dow’s U.S. Media Index was down 1.2% about 20 minutes before the end of the trading day. Disney was hardest hit among the industry’s biggest players: Its shares were -3.5%, followed by Sony (-3.4%), CBS (-2.3%), Viacom(-2%), and Time Warner (-1%). Comcast was up about 0.5%. Among other media companies, Cinedigm (-8.8%) and RealD (-7.2%) took the worst beatings. Others down at least 4% include E.W. Scripps, Entercom, Crown Media, Netflix, National CineMedia, Live Nation, LIN TV, and Dish Network. Gainers include Westwood One, Barnes & Noble, Sirius XM, Radio One, McClatchy, and McGraw Hill.
Investors seemed to like what they heard at today’s annual confab for John Malone’s Liberty Media. Shares of the hodge-podge of companies it either owns or controls were up on a day when the market was shaken by new fears that the European debt crisis will widen. Liberty Starz ended the day +1% and Liberty Capital was +0.5% after their parent said it will combine the two tracking stocks into a single asset-based security. But Live Nation was +6.7%, Barnes & Noble was +5%, and Sirius XM was +4.8% following CEO presentations to the Street.
Malone was more subdued than usual. But the executive who became a billionaire on the back of his devilishly complex deals — often to help him avoid paying taxes — got a chuckle in his response to a question about whether the changes in his tracking stocks will make their businesses confusing for investors. “We’ll get as complicated as we need to get to highlight value.” he said.
Sirius XM’s Mel Karmazin won the biggest laughs, though, with
Amazon stoked the hype around its new Kindle Fire tablet by shipping it a day ahead of schedule, the company announced today. That’s a smart move: In addition to the extra PR and customer goodwill it generates, the decision gives the online retailer one more day to sell videos, music, and books that will “offset the weaker margins (or even losses)” it may see this quarter by selling the tablet below cost, Caris & Co analyst Scott Tilghman says. Research firm iSuppli estimates that Amazon spends about $210 to make each Kindle Fire that it sells for $199. No wonder the promotion machine is in high gear: Hulu Plus — which is available on the iPad and Barnes & Noble’s new Nook Tablet — today joined the parade of content companies crowing about their Kindle Fire apps. A Hulu Plus subscription costs $7.99 a month, and can be used on any device that accommodates it. Hulu’s “never-ending mission is to bring you the world’s premium content when, where and how you want,” senior product manager Lonn Lee says in a blog post.
The tablet wars are intensifying as the holiday shopping season approaches: Amazon kicked things up today by announcing that Kindle Fire customers will only have to fill out one form to register for multiple media services including Netflix, Rhapsody, Pandora, Facebook, and The Weather Channel — and games from companies such as Zynga, EA, Gameloft, PopCap, and Rovio. What’s more, people who go through Amazon to buy the apps for their tablet will also be able to access them on other Android devices including mobile phones. The company will start to ship Kindle Fire tablets on November 15. The announcement follows Barnes & Noble’s announcement on Monday that it’s new Nook Tablet will include apps for Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Pandora.
Barnes & Noble today unveiled its new Nook Tablet, which comes preloaded with apps from Netflix, Hulu Plus and Pandora. The boost in entertainment options compared with previous versions signals the company’s intention to compete in the space against the likes of Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Apple’s iPad. And it is throwing down the gauntlet just in time for the holiday buying season: Nook Tablet is set to begin selling around November 17 for $249. Billed as an update to its e-reader Nook Color, the new incarnation has a 7-inch screen, Web browsing and email in addition to “access to the world’s largest digital bookstore via Wi-Fi.” It plans to offer Flixster and UltraViolet soon. The device has 16 gigabytes of storage and a battery life that will enable 11.5 hours of reading time or nine hours of watching videos in a single charge. Barnes & Noble also said today that it is lowering the price of its Nook Simple Touch (to $99) and Nook Color ($199).
Media stocks suffered along with just about everyone else today after the Federal Reserve stirred recession fears by reporting “significant downside risks to the economic outlook” — and World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned that global economies are in a “danger zone.” The Dow Jones U.S. Media Index fell 3.9%, slightly more than the 3.5% drop in the DJ Industrial Average. Companies most exposed to advertising were hard hit. CBS led the pack among the industry’s Big Guns with shares down 7.2%. It was followed by Viacom (-6.6%), Disney (-5.5%), Comcast (-3.8%), Time Warner (-3.6%), News Corp (-3.3%), and Sony (-2.7%). Others falling at least 7% include Nielsen and Sirius XM. Those dropping at least 6% include Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, The New York Times, Coinstar, IMAX, and Cumulus Media. Even in the battered market, a few media companies were up on the day including Live Nation (+2.1%), Barnes & Noble (+3.1%), Scholastic (+6.8%) and Westwood One (+20.8%).
It’s “more likely than not” that new online video streaming providers such as Amazon will offer some programming on a premium tier — a contrast with Netflix’s single-price package – Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said this morning at the Goldman Sachs Communicopia conference. He broadly hinted that his company’s desire to charge extra for Starz was a big reason why the premium channel recently ended negotiations to extend its carriage deal with Netflix. The current arrangement, he says, is “inconsistent” with the way consumers receive Starz on pay TV.
More broadly, Maffei says that Liberty is on track to split off its Liberty Capital and Liberty Starz tracking stocks by tomorrow now that it has beat back a court challenge by bondholders. The deal transfers some assets to the spun-off companies, violating some bond agreements. But the Delaware Supreme Court yesterday upheld a lower court decision that said the split-off is OK because it isn’t part of what it called an “overall scheme” to hurt bondholders. That likely won’t change the overall strategy for the company that’s controlled by the famously tax-averse former cable titan John Malone — and that some analysts say is little more than a portfolio of stock holdings. “Finding things to buy at attractive prices is the biggest chalenge we have today,” Maffei says.
In May, John Malone’s Liberty offered to buy all of Barnes & Noble for $1B. But the offer stalled and the book retailer said Thursday that the takeover talks had been ditched in light of the $204M investment agreement. Under the terms of the deal, Liberty Media bought preferred stock convertible into about 12 million Barnes & Noble shares at $17 apiece, giving it about a 17% stake in the company. The preferred shares will pay an annual dividend of 7.75%. Liberty will also get two seats on the company’s board of directors, which is being expanded to 11 members. It has nominated Greg Maffei, its president and CEO, and Mark Carleton, a senior vice president, to take the seats.
Barnes & Noble put itself up for sale last year in response to pressure from billionaire shareholder Ron Burkle, but the company didn’t strike a deal. Burkle, who has since stepped back and cut his stake, said Thursday in a statement that he had “grave concerns about the pricing and process.” Meanwhile, Barnes & Noble has continued to struggle along with other traditional book sellers — longtime rival Borders Group recently went out of business — facing tough competition from online retailers like Amazon.com and discounters like Wal-Mart. Leonard Riggio, chairman of Barnes & Noble, said the capital injection from Liberty will go toward expanding the company’s digital business.
Maffei said Liberty Media is …


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AG punishes energy companies for misleading customers
Feb 25, 2019 1:45 pm
Amanda Purcell is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media two energy service companies will pay out more than $2 million for overcharging and misleading customers, according to the state Attorney General’s Office. Energy Plus issued $700,000 in payments to current and former customers following a 2017 settlement. Ambit Energy, which serves Greene and Columbia counties, must now change its business practices and pay $1.5 million in penalties for deceptive practices, state Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement last week. According to the AG, the two energy companies used deceptive practices that “resulted in consumers paying more for energy services when they were promised savings.” Both companies purchased energy on the open market and sold it to consumers on behalf of utility companies. Customers were promised lower rates, but the company failed to deliver on that promise in many cases. “Thousands of New Yorkers will get their money back after they were deceived into paying for more expensive energy services,” James said in the statement. “...We have zero tolerance for companies seeking to defraud New Yorkers out of their hard-earned money.” Ambit Energy serves gas and electric companies all over the state, including Greene and Columbia counties. Energy Plus serves customers in the state, but is no longer accepting new customers in New York. It is unclear how many customers from Columbia and Greene counties will receive refunds. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.


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Facebook just keeps growing and growing and growing.... They've reached the milestone of 250 million members. That's a global number, but it's still very impressive - even more so considering it took just a year to double their numbers.
I was thinking just yesterday about Google Connect versus Facebook Connect and how the latter probably makes more sense. A greater percentage of my friends use Facebook than either Google or Twitter (Google Connect supports Twitter). So many of my friends use non-GMail emails such as Yahoo!, Hotmail or their work account.
With Facebook continuing to grow at skyrocketing numbers, it's funny that they feel the need to compete with Twitter. But it's also a smart thing, doing things like experimenting with search for the live feed. Staying ahead of the game is something that has failed other social networks (er, hmmm, MySpace, cough cough, Friendster). But it looks like for now, Facebook is steady as she goes.
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Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington:
As the coronavirus lockdown enters its third month, some states are starting to reopen their economies. As of this writing, 23 states were partially reopening May 1. Every state is different, of course, and no state has reopened all businesses.
Manufacturing continues to take tremendous hits. Auto producers are shut down and may not resume production until mid-May, if then.
While demand for raw materials and components is on hold, producers are cutting back, waiting for demand to rebound. Industrial production is off by double digits—and workers are being laid off not just here, but all over the world.
As reopening begins, we can see glimpses of what the post-pandemic world may look like. There is still a great deal we do not know, but it is becoming clear that things—many things—will change.
Companies and governments are beginning to examine domestic and global supply chains. The pandemic upended a lot of assumptions for workers, employers and government about the costs and benefits of globalization. Today, while it is still important to keep costs low, the prospect of further supply disruptions has companies exploring ways to keep their supply options open. A single supplier business model does not look as attractive as it did only a few months ago.
A couple of examples from the past couple of weeks: In Mexico, which is just now seeing a peak of new cases, several weeks behind the United States, Mexican governors are shutting down operations, including many that supply critical materials to U.S. companies. Baja California is particularly affected by this, but factory closures are happening all over Mexico.
Some companies in Mexico supply components for ventilators—without the components, the ventilators can’t be made in the U.S. This could lead to shortages at U.S. hospitals. Governors in Mexico have declared these suppliers “non-essential” businesses and forced them to shut down, rejecting pleas from U.S. companies to stay open because the components are essential to United States customers. The Mexican governors are not so quick to see American production as worth the risk to Mexican workers. These issues remain largely unresolved.
News reports surfaced this week concerning efforts to keep prices up and factories operating in the United States by steering government purchases to domestic sources. Buy America laws incentivize companies to produce for government customers by promising higher prices. How government will manage to pay more while spending so much during the lockdown is a major problem vexing the states and the federal government.
Companies that manufacture personal protective equipment (PPE) for hospital workers and first responders want to beef up “Buy America” requirements, incentivizing customers to buy domestic by giving domestic firms a price premium over foreign firms. However, critics argue that increasing prices during a supply emergency is counterproductive.
Buy America is an important subject, because it aims to increase American production and jobs, but does so imperfectly (as much of government, and indeed much of the private sector, does). The point of Buy American legislation is to make government purchasers of materials for maintenance, construction, clothing and other products look to domestic suppliers. But the rules are necessarily complex and give companies numerous avenues to keep costs down by using some foreign components and materials. It’s hard to draw the right lines and be fair to everyone without getting complicated.
Buy America rules are designed to make products more expensive than they would otherwise be. Governments must operate on budgets, so more Buy America means fewer and smaller government projects. On the other hand, when there is a major global pandemic, the usual foreign sources may not be reliable or even available. When demand spikes for products like PPE and ventilators, the presence of a domestic industry able to fill the need can be very important.
Governments both state and federal need to be able to plan for emergencies, but they also need to be sure they are paying a fair price. If they pay too much for one product, they have less money to buy other products.
Another initiative we are seeing recently is a push to have private companies “reshore” their supply chains. This first took shape in the trade war with China. When the China tariffs first were applied, product exclusions encouraged companies to reshape their supply chains away from China. Now, advisors like Peter Navarro are urging companies to reshape their supply chains toward the United States. The future may see “urging” replaced by compulsion.
One wonders how long it will take to remake supply chains created over decades. Economist, logistics firms and efficiency experts know that reshaping supply chains is a formidable task, requiring years. Incentives like Buy America, which until now has been directed at government procurement, have never been very successful at forcing businesses to pay more for raw materials and components—they will find a way around tariffs and other trade restrictions. The complexity of the rules provides opportunities to take advantage of quirks in the rules.
A successful strategy will require consistent pressure on companies and the government to be fair. Americans have never liked being imprisoned by high taxes—and tariffs, of course, are taxes. Quotas for necessary raw materials are also difficult to maintain over the long run—companies figure out the rules and adapt to them so that quotas won’t really change conduct for long.
Antidumping duties, safeguards, and national security measures also begin to show leaks after a relatively short time. Companies have ways of adapting to them too.
In an emergency like we are in right now, government can move the needle through incentives and commands (like the Defense Production Act), but not too far. Successful long-term measures have a sound mixture of carrots and sticks, not all one or the other. Right now, all we’re hearing about are the sticks.
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This week, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference convenes in Abu Dhabi, UAE. There are many issues on the WTO’s plate. The question is whether any resolution of these matters is likely or even possible. One of the most important issues is the future of the dispute settlement system, which has been rendered impotent […]
Leibowitz: Could change at the ITC keep Weirton tin mill open?
The International Trade Commission (ITC) voted earlier this month against imposing antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of tin mill products from four countries. When Cliffs filed trade cases on tin mill products in early 2023, the company claimed that the failure to get massive duties on imports would result in the closure of its mill in Weirton, W.Va. We don’t know the reasoning behind this decision, only that all four sitting Commissioners voted not to impose duties. We do know that Cliffs plans to close Weirton.
Cliffs to idle Weirton mill after tinplate trade case decision
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Leibowitz on trade: Consumers win one at the ITC
Last week, steel consumers prevailed in a rare victory over US petitioners in trade cases on tin mill steel products. The US International Trade Commission (ITC) voted 4—0 that Cleveland-Cliffs, the sole remaining domestic producer of tin mill products (used to make containers such as “tin cans”) was neither injured nor threatened with injury by imports of competing products from Canada, China, and Germany. Imports from South Korea were found to be “negligible,” and the investigation on Korean imports was terminated.
ITC votes not to impose duties on tin mill product imports
At the final hour, the trade case investigating unfairly traded imports of tin mill products has been terminated.


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Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brand, Skims, is expanding. And it has a new high-fashion partner in crime. Launching on Nov. 9, Fendi X Skims is the new collab everyone will be wearing through the end of the year. The collaboration was initially revealed in WSJ Magazine’s latest Innovator Awards issue that hit newsstands on Monday.
With everything from tops and mini dresses to tights and puffers, it will be a capsule, to be sure, but it will live in the ready-to-wear department with a much larger span than the brand has debuted before. For the first time ever, Skims will offer shoes with the Fendi collab, debuting a version of Fendi’s signature Peekaboo bag and F-shaped First heel alongside a shearling sandal. And, of course, it’ll also include the shapewear that launched the business in the first place, all with a Fendi twist.
The brand debuted a glamorous ad campaign, shot by Steven Meisel, featuring Kim Kardashian alongside models Precious Lee, Jessie Li, Tianna St. Louis, and Grace Valentine.
Of the conception, Kardashian shared with WWD, “Both Fendi and Skims have a cultural power very different from each other, but equally as strong. We share a desire to push boundaries, think differently and challenge convention which is why we found so much common ground collaborating on this collection together.”
Similarly, Fendi Creative Director Kim Jones explained, “My Fendi is about creating something for every woman, every different shape — and that’s something at the heart of Skims, too.”
Read on for everything to know about the new Fendi X Skims collab.
How Much Is Fendi X Skims? Here’s The Price Point
Prices will range from $950 to $4,200. Leggings will ring in at $1,100, and the puffer jacket that’s already getting attention on social retails for $2,950. The most expensive item is a leather wrap dress which will cost shoppers $4,200.
When Is The Fendi Skims Collection Launch?
Mark your calendars, this capsule is sure to sell out nearly immediately. On 6am PST on Nov. 9, head to fendiskims.com to shop. The collab will also be available to shop at select Fendi flagship stores and other retailers around the world.
This article was originally published on


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A local court in the Guangdong province of China has apparently ruled against Apple in its ongoing case against Proview over the iPad trademark, with the decision that distributors should stop selling iPad tablets in China.
The news is a step in the opposite direction from last week, when it looked like Apple was gaining the upper hand over Proview, with a court ruling in Apple’s favor, and documents detailing a brand-name transaction between the two companies. Apple’s legal representatives are now also threatening legal action against Proview for defamation.
But while that Apple China story continues to remain murky, another one is getting more light shed on it: amid the saga around working conditions at the Foxconn plants that make Apple devices like the iPad comes a new video of what life is like inside one of the plants that make them.
In the Proview trademark dispute, a lawyer for Proview, Xie Xianghui, told the Associated Press (via CNBC) that the Intermediate People’s Court in Huizhou, in the Guangdong province, had ruled against Apple and that “distributors should stop selling iPads in China.”
But it appears that the bureaucratic Chinese legal system is playing a role here, too: Proview has lodged cases in different municipalities, and so this decision, even if it is put in place, may not have much of an impact on a national level. AP notes that Proview has taken its case to no less than 40 cities to request blocks on sales.
The situation is all the more confusing because last week, Apple actually appeared to get a favorable ruling over the same trademark issues. In arguing that case, it also emerged that Apple had documentation proving their ownership of the trademark, which Proview had originally registered in 2001 but Apple bought for $55,000. (One court in China in December ruled that Proview was not bound by that agreement.)
Apple’s case is still pending in mainland China, while it has also lodged an appeal against a separate Proview ruling in the same province.
Update: More intrigue in this trademark dispute. It has also emerged that Apple’s legal representatives have sent a letter (first reported by PC World) to Proview outlining the story as it sees it, and ending it with a threat that they “reserve all rights to take further legal action” against those who make defamatory statements or interfere with Apple’s business as a result.
Meanwhile, the Foxconn video, which will be broadcast on “Nightline” on ABC on Tuesday, is the first time that a news organization has been able to film inside the factories that assemble Apple products. In the video preview posted at the link above, the lighting is bright, the workers diligent and the environment almost hospital-like.
That ABC needed Apple and Foxconn’s permission to film may raise questions over whether there is still a story that is not being told — although to be fair we are getting to see more here than ever before, and for those who are always on the search for more information, that can only be a good thing.


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Dominic Pollard, director of content and communication at City Road Communications, looks at what technology startups and scaleups can learn about PR from this year’s Winter Olympics.
On Sunday, the 23rd Winter Olympics draws to a close. But despite the huge number of broadcast hours, column inches and online articles dedicated to the Games, new research shows that very few people in the UK were actually bothered by the events taking place in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Across 17 days of competition 2,925 athletes will have competed for 102 medals in 15 disciplines. Meanwhile, UK Sport – the Government’s organisation for sporting development – and the BBC have both invested significantly in enhancing the performance and coverage of the country’s athletes.
And yet, in spite of all this, the majority of the UK public has struggled to muster any interest in this year’s Winter Olympics. In fact, an independent survey of more than 2,000 UK adults commissioned by City Road Communications has revealed that 64% of people couldn’t name a single member of the Team GB squad in South Korea. What’s more, 16% admitted the only reason they tune into the TV coverage is for the chance to see athletes crash or fall at high speed.
‘So what?’ you will quite rightly be asking. After all, UKTN is not the platform for discourse regarding the relative merits of different sporting events. But there is an important message here when it comes to effective PR – one that is particularly apt for tech startups.
How to make your product relevant
The message is that a tech startup must make its product, brand or business relevant. That may seem obvious, but when it comes to early-stage tech businesses this can often be one of the biggest challenges that hinders the success of their PR, marketing and communication efforts.
In many cases, tech entrepreneurs can become fixated on the inner workings of their startups; they believe it is the tech itself that makes them newsworthy. It’s not. Or, at least, it very rarely is.
Beyond a select number of journalists and publications, there is little appetite for discussing the actual technology that a tech startup has developed. There’s simply too small an audience who want to read about the intuitive user interface, multi-layered data encryption or proprietary machine-learning engine that makes a startup’s offering so unique.
What a tech startup must do is make that technology relevant. In other words, its PR must focus on why, and not who, what, where or how.
To develop an effective PR strategy, a tech business must discuss the problems it is solving – the ways in which it is going to make the lives of consumers or businesses that much easier, cheaper or better. How they will empower people to do new things, or how they will disrupt traditional, out-dated practices. That is what makes a business relevant, and exactly how their tech achieves this must come secondary.
As they attempt to build PR campaigns around these points, it is also beneficial if a startup is able to provide evidence of the real-world problems they are solving. They can do this through quantitative research, qualitative insights or case studies. This extra step helps turn rhetoric into something meaningful and, importantly, relatable.
A brand people can relate to
To return to snow-covered South Korea where we began this article. Ultimately, the general disinterest in the Winter Olympics is quite understandable; the UK simply does not have the climate or facilities (ski slopes, mountain ranges, ice rinks) readily available to encourage people to participate and therefore become interested in winter sports.
Indeed, 41% of the respondents to the aforementioned City Road Communications survey pointed to this being the main barrier stopping them caring about the Games, with 37% saying they find winter sports prohibitively expensive to partake in.
Evidently, if we take the findings of the survey to be fair, then it would suggest that UK Sport and the BBC have failed to inspire a great deal of engagement or enthusiasm around the Winter Olympics. As such, the legacy of the competition, and indeed the ROI on their outlay on the Games, is likely to be somewhat questionable.
For tech startups, when it comes to investing time, money and effort into PR, they cannot afford to make the same mistake. They must understand what it is that makes them relevant before they begin shouting about their amazing new product or service. And to do so, they must ensure they focus on issues, trends, barriers or opportunities that are easily and obviously relatable to their specific audience, whoever that may be.


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Despite Intel announcing the technology, it did not think that it could get the 3-D transistors in the shops before 2012.
But according to a report circulated by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), TSMC’s projected delivery of 3-D chips matches that of Intel.
The report hints that there is a race on between TSMC and Chipzilla to produce the first 3-D chips.
However, according to Electronic Times, the technologies being talked about are different. TSMC and others have been developing technology for chips with 3-D interconnect for ages. It is called Through Silicon Vias (TSVs) and creates vertical connections that pass through die to connect different layers of a chip within the same package.
Chipzilla’s tri-gates are actually 3-D transistors and are known as a FinFets, because the silicon channel is akin to a fin jutting up from the semiconductor substrate.
TAITRA claims that the new technology is expected to override a number of difficulties posed by traditional “planar” transistors, which can only move electrons across two dimensions.
It quoted Shang-Yi Chiang, senior vice president for R&D at TSMC saying that his outfit has been working closely with chip packagers and providers of design auto software to commercialize 3-D chip technology.


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During EA’s investor call earlier this week, some very interesting news was revealed. CEO Andrew Wilson stated that Star Wars Battlefront 2 will be significantly bigger than the first instalment in the Battlefront franchise.
“When we say we believe the game is three times the size in terms of content, we’re very serious about that. Our expectation is that the large, engaged, passionate fanbase of Star Wars fans around the world are going to love everything that we’re doing.”
If there really is that much content at launch, fans of the game will certainly be in for a treat.
If you’re worried about season passes, EA reiterated that Star Wars Battlefront 2 will NOT have one. This is great news for gamers as you won’t have to shell out extra money for content this time around.
Andrew also mentioned that “We have a very, very robust live services plan that we’re going to be talking about in the coming weeks and months, particularly around EA PLAY and E3 in just a few weeks time.”
With total sales of the first title hitting 14 million, EA is striving for the same if not better with the sequel. Perfectly timed before the upcoming movie, Star Wars Battlefront 2 releases this year on 17 November, 2017.
Star Wars fans will have plenty to keep themselves occupied with over the next few years. After all, both Visceral and Respawn have titles of their own coming.
Here’s a look back at E3 2016 and EA’s Star Wars project trailer:
Real Game Media will have a few team members at EA PLAY this year as well as the main events at E3. As soon as we know about anything Star Wars related, you’ll know! Be sure to bookmark us and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest gaming news from E3 2017!


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The Clean Energy Council (CEC) has introduced new initiatives that it says will “substantially lift the bar” on the quality of solar power products sold in Australia, including a performance testing program for solar panels and inverters.
CEC Chief Executive Kane Thornton said the changes were the latest in a series of steps by the industry to ensure the “absolute highest standards” for people buying solar power systems. “Solar panels and inverters already need to be independently tested and demonstrate their compliance with Australian Standards before they can be sold here, which is an appropriate protection for consumers,” Mr Thornton said.
“These products are then included on lists of approved solar power modules and inverters, which are available from the Clean Energy Council’s Solar Accreditation website. “An independent testing program is being introduced for solar panels and inverters to ensure that the actual performance of products being sold in Australia lives up to the marketing claims. Products that are not up to standard will be removed from the Clean Energy Council lists of approved products. “Likewise, products can now be de-listed if suppliers breach consumer law – such as a failure to honour warranties – effectively removing their eligibility for government incentives.
“These changes will improve overall product quality in the solar industry by making sure customers get what they pay for when buying panels and inverters, and by penalising companies that do the wrong thing. Protecting consumers is our highest priority.”
The changes to the panel listing process are as follows:
- New terms and conditions will allow products to be de-listed from the registers of approved modules and inverters if suppliers breach consumer law – such as a failure to honour warranties.
- An independent testing program will be introduced to ensure the alignment of marketing claims, product performance and safety. Products that fail this program will be removed from the CEC’s list of approved products.
- An independent Product Listing Review panel has been appointed.


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New Acquisition Expected to Accelerate Market Launch, with Brazil Anticipated to be Live in First Half of 2023
Following a successful introduction of its digital banking offering in Europe in February 2022, Western Union is gearing up to launch in Latin America. The Company announced the acquisition of Te Enviei, a Brazil-based digital wallet that will accelerate the time to market of Western Union’s financial ecosystem offerings in Brazil.
„By introducing its digital wallet in Brazil, Western Union plans to enable its customers to store funds, send money overseas and domestically, and pay their bills; all from the convenience of their phones,” the company says.
“We are changing the way we interact with our customers today, moving from a transactional business to a customer-centric, relationship-based approach,” said Thomas Mazzaferro, Chief Innovation & Data Officer at Western Union. “Offering our Brazilian customers an integrated digital banking and money transfer solution will be a key milestone in this effort. We believe this acquisition will allow us to significantly accelerate our planned technology build, allowing for the faster roll out of our digital wallet in Brazil,” Mazzaferro added.
“Brazil is a strategically important market where we already hold a banking license, and it is a highly digitized banking market. Additionally, our internal research indicates that many Brazilians are looking for financial products that can address their needs in a global economy,” explained Ricardo Amaral, President of Western Union Brazil.
Banking 4.0 – „how was the experience for you”
„So many people are coming here to Bucharest, people that I see and interact on linkedin and now I get the change to meet them in person. It was like being to the Football World Cup but this was the World Cup on linkedin in payments and open banking.”
Many more interesting quotes in the video below:


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|By Business Wire||
|June 23, 2014 01:26 PM EDT||
Press Kit Materials are Available at: http://www.tradeshownews.com/events/CE-Week-2014/SnowLizard-Gear/
|Company:||Snow Lizard Products|
CE Week 2014
About Snow Lizard Products
Snow Lizard Products was formed to create mobile accessories that protect, power and enhance usability of the portable smart devices in the great outdoors, The SLXtreme line is the world's only line of cases that combines both PROTECTION and POWER for iPhones and iPads. They are WATERPROOF, RUGGED and BATTERY-BOOSTING. The SLXtreme for iPhone also has a solar panel for emergency trickle charging when away from power. The SLXtreme for iPad is VESA mount compatible for boaters and outdoor commercial use. A line of SLPower portable charges are universal for all USB-powered devices. Snow Lizard prides itself on bringing test-proven solutions to market. Learn more about Snow Lizard Products at www.snowlizardproducts.com, www.facebook.com/snowlizardproducts and @SnowLizard_Gear.
The Internet of Everything is re-shaping technology trends–moving away from “request/response” architecture to an “always-on” Streaming Web where data is in constant motion and secure, reliable communication is an absolute necessity. As more and more THINGS go online, the challenges that developers will need to address will only increase exponentially. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Todd Greene, Founder & CEO of PubNub, exploreed the current state of IoT connectivity and review key trends and t...
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In today's enterprise, digital transformation represents organizational change even more so than technology change, as customer preferences and behavior drive end-to-end transformation across lines of business as well as IT. To capitalize on the ubiquitous disruption driving this transformation, companies must be able to innovate at an increasingly rapid pace. Traditional approaches for driving innovation are now woefully inadequate for keeping up with the breadth of disruption and change facin...
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Google Android phone on display at the Google conference in San Francisco, Thursday, May 20, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Not everyone is remembering Steve Jobs in a classy manner.
Despite the poor taste of the ad it is highly unlikely it was full sanctioned by Google considering the homage the company and its leaders paid to Jobs Thursday.
Apple shareholders also didn't seem to share the sentiment about why one would want an Apple product now. Apple shares held steady in trading Thursday.


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Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has put the brakes on cultivation of cannabis for medicine. After much debate in the Georgia General Assembly and five hearings on the matter, Gov. Deal derailed house bill 1 that would have allowed for in-state cultivation.
Instead, Deal has forced the bill’s sponsor Rep. Allen Peake to draft what is being called an “immunity from prosecution” bill that would decriminalize certain forms of cannabis extracts for certain patients if they can smuggle the product into Georgia from other states. Instead of allowing in-state cultivation of marijuana in Georgia, Deal wants more studies, postponing the availability of the medicine for at least one more year.
Deal is also seeking to add $4 to $8 million of tax dollars to the 2015 budget to allow GW Pharmaceutical (GWP) to conduct vary limited trials on a few dozen patients in Georgia.
GWP has a product called Epidiolex, an extract of the cannabis plant called CBD or cannabidiol containing no THC, the compound that creates marijuana’s euphoric effect.
Many believe the move by governor Deal to stall the cultivation of cannabis was to give time for GWP time to finish clinical trials and get approval from the FDA, allowing them to market their product.
Critics are asking why are taxpayers being asked to fund trials for a company that is worth billions.
Patients who have obtained the legal products from other states are claiming benefit from the product. But what is not being said is that most of the patients, mostly children, are receiving a combination of CBD and THC and even whole plant medicine, not just CBD only.
Now a report from North Carolina claims that the enacted law is not working. This report should have Georgia lawmakers asking “why should we not allow in-state cultivation and whole plant therapy in Georgia?”.


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Apple has announced at todays World Developer Conference that it will be launching version 2.0 of its Swift programing language, as well as the huge announcement that Apple will be making Swift open source.
Apple launched Swift, a programming language of its own design, at the 2014 World Wide Developers Conference as a proprietary language for mobile app development on both the iOS and OS X platforms. Swift was designed to be a next step and an improvement upon ‘Objective C’ and provide a programming language that was more resistant to error.
Swift was built at Apple borrowing ideas “from Objective-C, Rust, Haskell, Ruby, Python, C#, CLU, and far too many others to list.” It was originally available only for development use on Apple’s Cocao and Cocoa Touch API’s. Now however with Apple making Swift open source, developers will have the brand new opportunity to develop applications on Linux based operating systems outside of Apple’s product lineup.
More importantly than non-Apple development, Swift being made open source will drastically speed up its development. The goal of Swift was to provide an easier, quicker, and more intuitive programming language not only to iOS and OS X developers, but to the world. “We think Swift is the next big programming language,” said Apple’s Craig Federighi, “We think Swift should be everywhere and used by everyone.”
This marks an important step forward in the developer community as it signals a strong message to developers that Apple is invested in growth of the language and the support of their work.
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What is the world to do with the graveyards of dockless bicycles left over after China’s bike sharing startups retreated from global markets?
One man has come up with the best idea to date: donate them to students who need them.
Entrepreneur Mike Than Tun Win has bought 10,000 bikes from bike-sharing companies which he plans to provide to school children across Myanmar, many of who walk miles to school and, more broadly, lack transportation for their families.
“It’s a common sight to see lines and lines of students walking long distances from home to school in rural villages,” Than explained. “Some students can walk up to one hour from home to school and the families can hardly afford a simple form of transport like bicycle or motorcycle… a school bus is almost unheard of to the students in rural villages.”
To bridge the gap, Than — whose companies include tech entrepreneurship project 8bod.com and travel startup flymya.com — created a non-profit organization called LessWalk which is buying up the bikes and making them suitable for students.
That means fitting them with a second seat, switching the QR code-scan lock for a regular key lock and then shipping them to Myanmar. Many of the bikes have been bought from liquidators — who took control of oBike’s shuttered business in Singapore and inherited Ofo’s abandoned fleets — which makes their acquisition cheaper than regular bikes. But still, the fixes and shipping costs are estimated at around $35-$40 per bike.
Than described those prices as “a rare once in a lifetime opportunity” to make a positive impact, but there’s still a significant cost attached to the project.
Than told TechCrunch that the project is funded with around $400,000 in capital, half of which has come from donations and sponsors with Than himself providing the rest.
“Suddenly, there was an opportunity to buy [these bikes] at fraction of price,” he said in an interview. “The benefit it can develop is well beyond that cost.”
Right now, Than said that he has received around 4,000 bikes, which are currently warehoused in Myanmar. Rather than sad, well-used or damaged cycles, LessWalk has bought itself unused, new-generation products that hadn’t been deployed to the streets. Once sitting in a warehouse awaiting a rollout with startups, the adapted bikes will be distributed to students this year.
But giving out thousands of bicycles is no easy feat given that Myanmar has a population of over 50 million people and more than nine million students.
Than said he’s currently in contact with government organizations and civic groups in Myanmar to identify potential beneficiaries. The primary focus is students aged 13-16 who walk 2km or more to school each day and part of families without transport. He envisages that bikes will be given out in batches every two weeks for two or three months with support from volunteer groups and the government, but a lot of the operational approach is still to be defined.
“I’m only halfway through the journey. The remaining 50 percent is making sure we have an impact,” Than told TechCrunch.
Further down the line, he is hopeful that he can inspire “global friends” to follow his lead and set up similar donation programs that will put the hundreds of thousands of abandoned bikes to work, instead of creating yet more urban trash. Already, Than said he is fielding interest from Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.
Donations aren’t the only sustainable future for fleets of former Mobike and Ofo bikes, in some cases the people who ran the services are taking control. Indeed, a number of Mobike executives got together to buy out the company’s European business from Meituan — the on-demand giant that owns Mobike — for $20 million. That deal is scheduled to close this month.
Apple Q1 2022 winners & losers: iPhone up, iPad down in bumper holiday
Apple has released the earnings report for its first fiscal quarter of 2022, announcing yet another all-time record with revenue hitting $123.9 billion. The company credits a “very strong customer response” toward its latest and greatest products for the growth, noting its earnings ultimately jumped 11-percent compared to the previous year.
Apple’s most recent fiscal quarter ended on December 25, 2021, raking in growth across the services, wearables, Mac, and iPhone products lines. The iPad was the only notable exception to the records, with the overall trend hinting at a bright future despite pandemic-related disruptions.
The company hasn’t provided forward guidance since the start of the pandemic and the most recent quarterly earnings report is no exception. Despite that, Apple CEO Tim Cook did offer some insight into the company’s expectations for the next quarter in a statement to CNBC, revealing Apple expects to see “solid year-over-year revenue growth” during its March quarter.
As with many other companies in the industry, Apple has been hit hard by supply chain disruptions. Though this issue won’t disappear overnight, Cook said Apple expects these “constraints” to be less of a problem in its next quarter compared to the December quarter.
Apple introduced its iPhone 13 series in September 2021, paving the way for typically high sales over the holiday period. As of October, the company warned that supply shortages may end up hitting the iPhone and iPad lines, potentially impacting holiday sales. This reality was reflected in consumers’ struggle to find the iPhone 13 Pro, at least in their desired configurations, for weeks after its launch.
Though the December quarter ended up exceeding analysts’ expectations, the struggle isn’t quite over. Cook explained that Apple’s “biggest issue” involves supply chain constraints related to legacy nodes, a problem we’ve heard before. However, Apple’s CEO did reveal the company is “doing okay” when it comes to acquiring leading-edge chips, which refers to the powerful hardware powering many of the smart devices used in everyday life.
The constraints aside, Cook also mentioned Apple’s ongoing environmental and social efforts as part of the company’s earnings announcement, stating:
We are gratified to see the response from customers around the world at a time when staying connected has never been more important. We are doing all we can to help build a better world — making progress toward our goal of becoming carbon neutral across our supply chain and products by 2030, and pushing forward with our work in education and racial equity and justice.
Facebook Messenger will tell you if someone screenshots your disappearing message
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a major new feature for Facebook Messenger, one that will significantly improve privacy on the platform: Notifications when someone screenshots your disappearing messages in a Secret Conversation secured with end-to-end encryption.
“New update for end-to-end encrypted Messenger chats so you get a notification if someone screenshots a disappearing message,” Zuckerberg wrote on January 27, 2022. “We’re also adding GIFs, stickers, and reactions to encrypted chats too.”
Facebook first introduced disappearing messages in November 2020, in both Messenger and Instagram. The move was part of a larger effort to provide additional protection across the company’s messaging platforms, with WhatsApp receiving a similar feature just weeks before.
From the very beginning, Messenger would notify users when someone took a screenshot of a disappearing message, making this latest announcement seem redundant. There’s one very important difference, however.
Facebook’s end-to-end encryption push
Facebook has been working to roll out end-to-end encryption (E2EE) across its messaging platforms. E2EE is a significant upgrade from server-side encryption and is considered the gold standard of privacy and security. In the case of server-side encryption, the service provider has the key that can be used to decrypt your data. As a result, you can never truly be sure who is accessing your data and messages.
With E2EE, however, your data is encrypted in such a way that only you and the person you’re communicating with can read your message. Not even the provider, whose service you’re using, can intercept and read your messages. Needless to say, while E2EE offers unrivaled security, it can be more difficult to add features that are commonplace in non-E2EE services.
That distinction is what makes Zuckerberg’s latest announcement different. Facebook is now providing screenshot notifications within E2EE chats, adding an additional layer of privacy and security to such messages. The addition of reactions, GIFs, and stickers to these chats, meanwhile, will make private conversations a bit more exciting. The new features are rolling out now.
Your iPhone could accept contactless payments in the future
Apple is working on a service that will let you accept payments directly through your iPhone, according to a new report from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg. Gurman’s sources say that the tech giant has been working on the feature since 2020, when it purchased Mobeewave, the Canadian startup behind new tech for smartphones that lets them accept contactless payments from credit cards.
Gurman reports that the payment system will probably rely on the iPhone’s near field communications chip (NFC). The iPhone already uses the NFC chip to process payments using Apple Pay, so it would make sense to build off of that usage with the new service.
Currently, users accepting payments via their iPhone have to rely on third-party hardware from companies like Square. With this new tech, though, businesses would be able to accept card payments by simply letting the customer tap their card against their iPhone. It’s an interesting concept, and one that could turn the world of handheld sales on its head depending on how Apple pushes it.
Apple could announce a new iPhone SE, too
While Apple hasn’t shared any real details about the plan, or indeed any official news at all, it is something to keep an eye on. Additionally, Gurman says that the tech may debut later this year, alongside some other announcements that people are expecting from Apple. Chief among these other announcements is a new iPhone SE model, as well as an iPad Air that offers 5G connectivity. Gurman says those devices are expected to debut in March or April, and we’ve already seen previous reports about a new Mac that uses Apple’s custom-built processors, too.
Apple pushing towards accepting payments directly on its devices isn’t exactly a surprise. The company has slowly been expanding its payment options in the past, with the launch of the Apple Card, as well as a push to get Apple Pay in more stores around the world. The company also launched the Apple Cash Card, which allows you to send payments directly peer-to-peer, similarly to services like PayPal or Venmo. All we need to do now is wait and see how Apple pushes this new service, and exactly what it means for current payment providers like Square.
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TORONTO – Two major chocolate manufacturers claim that the world is at risk of facing a chocolate shortage.
Bloomberg reported that Mars Inc. and Barry Callebaut AG (BARN), the world’s largest chocolate maker, predict that by 2030, the global demand for cocoa will outpace supply.
“Because of disease, drought, rapacious new markets and the displacement of cacao by more-productive crops such as corn and rubber, demand is expected to outstrip supply by an additional 1 million tons every decade for the foreseeable future,” said the report.
Similar predictions have been made in previous years. In 2010, John Mason, the executive director and founder of the Ghana-based Nature Conservation Research Council said that in 20 years, chocolate will be like caviar as “it will become so rare and so expensive that the average Joe just won’t be able to afford it.”
Chocolate isn’t the only luxury food item to reportedly face a shortage in recent years.
In October 2013, a single report from the Australian research division of the investment bank Morgan Stanley said the latest figures indicated a shortfall of 300 million cases of wine in 2012.
The report was widely communicated by global media and caused frenzy among those of us who enjoy a nice glass of Merlot, Pinot Grigio or Shiraz. A few days after the release of the initial report, Reuters finance blogger Felix Salmon noticed the company only used data up to 2012, despite the fact that information for the 2013 was available and showed that wine supplies were bouncing back.
Salmon also noticed that the report “was promoting an Australian wine company as a top stock pick to buy.”
“What you do in investment banking – you come up with a thesis and argue it as strongly as you can,” he said. “The whole idea is that you make a headline, and if you can say a big attention-grabbing headline like, ‘There’s a global wine shortage’ then that’s going to get you lots of press.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, almonds are now California’s largest agricultural export and were valued at nearly $4 billion in 2011.
This year, California struggled with one of its worst droughts ever and the price of almonds was at an estimated nine-year high. The state’s farmers, estimated to grow around 80 per cent of the world’s almonds, have been accused of pumping groundwater from underground reserves in hopes of nourishing their almond trees, orchards and vineyards.
According to a recent report from the University of California, the task has resulted in farmers spending an extra $500 million in pumping extra water to cope with the drought, while the total cost to the state reached $2.2 billion.
In September, trade magazine The Grocer reported that scorching summer conditions in Spain, the world’s No. 1 producer of olive oil, hampered the country’s olive crop so severely that olive oil bottlers reported they were paying 20 to 40 per cent more for olives than they were in May.
“Above-average dry and warm weather throughout the Mediterranean olive-growing belt in May and June adversely affected olive trees during the blooming period,” said a spokesperson for food industry analyst Mintec in an interview with The Telegraph. “This is on top of the stress the record output seen in 2013/14 had put on the Spanish trees.”
Two years ago, a heatwave wiped out 80 per of the crops in Spain and pushed the prices of olive oil products up as much as 30 per cent, causing the price of olive oil in shops to rise by as much 13 per cent in the last quarter of 2012.
In January 2014, restaurants in the UK and Europe reported a goat cheese shortage as producers reported they were experiencing difficulty accessing supplies of goat milk. Experts said the growing demand of goat’s cheese meant more producers were getting into the sector “but were finding it hard to get milk as established producers have the supply sewn up.”
Production this year was down across Europe as many goat farmers quit the industry due to low prices and many have yet to recover from a 2010 cull of goats that occurred in order to prevent the spread of Q fever—an infectious disease that spread from animals like cattle, sheep and goats to humans.
While the shortage only reportedly lasted a few months, a consumer group in the UK found fake goats’ cheese in supermarkets following the shortage. According to the watchdog, nine out of the 76 samples tested across the UK were positive for sheep’s milk.


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The 4.4 million tons of fresh fruit China imported in 2017 constituted a rise of 12%. This result is in sharp contrast with that of 2016, when fresh fruit imports dropped by 2.5%.
Thailand reclaimed its place from Chile as China’s top fruit supplier. Indeed, it was a good year for the Thais, with their fresh fruit exports to all countries rising by 41%. Particularly strong growth was recorded in exports of longan, durian and mangosteen. Shipments of Thai fresh fruit sent to China were worth US$1.2 billion – 21% of China’s fruit imports.
In contrast, imports of Chilean fruit to China fell from US$1.18 billion (24% of total) in 2016 to just over US$1 billion in 2017. Behind Chile came Vietnam (US$658 million), the Philippines (US$531 million), the United States (US$420 million), New Zealand (US$354 million), Australia (US$276 million), South Africa (US$227 million), Peru (US$220 million), and Ecuador (US$100 million).
In terms of value, China’s most popular imported fruit remained the cherry. This was followed by table grapes and durian. The overall share of these three leading fruits shrunk this year, suggesting the Chinese palate is becoming more diversified. The fruits which have made the most in-roads are orange, longan and bananas, which increased their shares of total import volumes by 61%, 52% and 17% respectively.