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In Search of Market Signals in the $450 Million Da Vinci
Price contains information, but how much does an outlier art sale say about stocks or the economy?
Bloomberg, November 20, 2017
Economist Friedrich Hayek wrote that “price contains information.” So what information is contained in the almost a half billion-dollar price for a painting?
The Last da Vinci, as the “Salvator Mundi“ has been called, sold at auction last week for $450 million, a record and blowing past the previous high of $179 million paid for Picasso’s “Les Femmes d’Algers” in 2015.
But before we debate just what this does mean, let’s quickly dispatch with what is does not: This isn’t a sign of a bubble economy or a top in equities. Why? As we discussed last time out, a single outlier transaction is merely an anecdote, and not a market. Anecdotes tell us what a tiny subset of investors is doing with their money; it doesn’t measure the emotional state of the crowd. Bubbles reflect a collective madness, when the masses go crazy with greed. As noted previously:
They are…one-off transactions in a ludicrously small market dominated by a ludicrously wealthy clientele. Given the choice between quantifiable data or anecdotal tidbits, you should always choose the data. So no, these sales are not proof of anything other than the simple truth that some people have very large bank accounts that they are unable to exhaust through normal profligacy or by paying insane prices for a handful of unique objects of art.
Still, I spent the weekend mulling over what this transaction could mean. I came up with a few ideas and theories (some of which may be quickly disproven as more information about the mysterious buyer comes to light).
- Scarcity: Consider, if you will, what comes up for auction on the art market. Modern artists (Picasso, Rothko, Warhol, Basquiat, etc.) are staples of the auction world. Impressionists (Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, et. al.) come up fairlyregularly. Da Vinci doesn’t come up all that often for auction — the rest of his works are in museums (Tuscany, Louvre in Paris, Florence, Milan, Hermitage in St. Petersburg, National Gallery of Art in Washington). The lack of supply explains a lot. Fewer than 20 of da Vinci’s works have survived and they aren’t making anymore of them. Combine that with the demand by Renaissance collectors or museums or rank and file billionaires seeking bragging rights.
- Salesmanship: Did this price reflect brilliant hype? Some have made that case rather strongly. Jerry Saltz, art critic for New York magazine, was scathing in his appraisal of the painting before it went up for auction. But he leveled even more vitriol at this particular auction as a price-discovery mechanism, which he characterized as “an irresponsible knowing flimflam that defrauds a mass audience into thinking it is ‘appreciating’ an old master when it’s all smoky spectacle and mirrors.”
Art adviser Todd Levin took a more benign view of Christie’s salesmanship. “I have to take my hat off to them,” he told Artnet news. “They have done the most brilliant marketing job with this Leonardo.”
Given the very short list of potential buyers for a work like this, it could be less a case of inefficient markets and more a case of slick retailing. Of the final price tag, $50 million went to Christie’s — perhaps the most deserved commission, ever.
- Wealth Disparity: Forget the 1 percent or even the 0.1 percent; you need to be a member of the 0.001 percent to be able to throw around that type of money. Many observers have noted that these vast sums of cash can only come about when there is enormous wealth inequality. The website Artsy observed last month that a new billionaire is minted in Asia every other day, and “they have a serious appetite for art.” Earlier this year, the site reported on a study that suggested growing inequality was “endangering the art market,” by driving out collectors of more modest means who support lesser known or emerging artists.
“The Salvator Mundi auction feels like a staged mockery confirming this infinite gap between the rich and poor,” Deutsche Welle, Germany’s public international broadcaster, editorialized, adding that a painting of Jesus that breaks all price records serves as symbol of a world and wealth gone awry.
- Psychology: Finally, there are issues of ego and individual investor psychology at play. One could have purchased 10 paintings for $45 million each instead. But as Artnet wrote, “a single $450 million da Vinci simply makes more of a statement to one’s peers than ten $45 million” paintings by anyone else. That makes this purchase a record ego stroke as well.
Perhaps this one sale tees up the art world for the next record auction. It might even make Congress think twice about passing tax cuts that favor the top 1 percent. But what it doesn’t tell us is much of anything about the health of the economy or whether stocks are fairly priced.


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While there have been some signs that the housing market is improving, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) pointed to recent manufacturing and unemployment data as signs that the economy is grinding to a halt.
“The rest of the economy is slowing. It’s not heading downward, but it is not growing at a rate it was earlier,” Buffett said.
Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company for a diversified group of companies, including BNSF Railway, Fruit of the Loom, GEICO Auto Insurance, International Dairy Queen, Justin Brands and Star Furniture.
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If you love Diane von Furstenberg's aesthetic, you'll be excited to know that the fashion doyenne is creating an all-new fragrance and color cosmetics line. This isn't brand-new news — two years ago, she spoke of collaborating with former YSL Beauté President Chantal Roos — but now, the products are almost ready.
Diane said that she decided to give makeup and fragrance another try because, as she told WWD, "all I want is to make women feel like they can be the women they want to be. That message is so strong that now we have to put it in a bottle, in a tube, in a spray, in a jar and in a color." The fragrance is supposed to hit stores sometime in the next couple of months, to be followed thereafter by makeup and skin care products. Will you take a look?


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Car brands are adapting their marketing strategies to reach millennials who now make up the biggest part of the automotive market. To engage those tech-savvy consumers — who in the past decade were notably ambivalent toward car ownership — more automotive marketers are embracing social media and other mobile-powered platforms.
Livestreamed events, digital content partnerships and augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) experiences are among the ways car brands are showcasing their latest models. As they work through the ongoing disruptions of the pandemic, they'll continue to rely on these promotional strategies to engage consumers who spend more time with connected devices like smartphones. More than 80% of auto brands on Twitter have hosted a virtual vehicle launch or planned to do so this year, according to the social media company.
"Model launches typically have this grandiose experiential marketing plan behind it — those days are all but gone," said Lauren Donalson, senior director of national accounts at PureCars, a provider of marketing automation and business intelligence software for the automotive industry. "The way to move forward in a more effective way is via digital advertising, specifically in social and in video on channels like YouTube and connected TV."
Car culture lives
This shift to digital reflects the habits of millennials who grew up using the internet to shop. They were among the earliest adopters of smartphones, social media, streaming services and mobile payments. Millennials initially had shown a greater reluctance than older generations to buy cars, helping to support growth of app-based companies like Uber and Lyft that made ride-hailing more feasible.
However, claims that millennials "killed car culture" started to fade as the cohort matured, built careers, started families and needed transportation. Their growing spending power — combined with the sheer size of the generation, which last year was estimated at 72.1 million people in the U.S. — has made them key targets for car brands. Millennials last year made up about 29% of car buyers and are predicted to become the biggest segment of the auto market at more than 30% this year, per Experian Automotive.
"The way to move forward in a more effective way is via digital advertising, specifically in social and in video on channels like YouTube and connected TV."
Senior director of national accounts, PureCars
Experian's data show that the younger Generation Z currently comprises about 4% of car buyers, making them less of a priority for dealers. However, as Gen Z gets older and more of the cohort starts shopping for cars, brands may continue to shift their activities to social media like Snapchat and TikTok that are more popular with younger consumers.
The current focus on millennials comes as they drive the cord-cutting trend that makes it more difficult for marketers to reach them through traditional channels like linear TV. The pandemic hastened the trend as households hooked up their TVs directly to the internet to watch streaming video. Google's YouTube was among the platforms that benefited from the trend, with ad revenue that surged 49% to $19.8 billion last year.
"One in three millennials are cord-cutters, so there's unparalleled viewability or reach within platforms like YouTube and for digital advertising in general," Donalson said.
Because digital platforms provide almost instantaneous viewing metrics, automotive marketers can make quicker adjustments to their campaigns based on real-time performance.
"With digital, you can get the instant gratification of knowing what that ad spend is doing," Donalson said. "You're going to see an influx of traffic to your website, or an influx of leads that are the pulse of how a dealership is performing. In the case of manufacturers, they're going to see an influx of pre-orders for a model that they're launching."
Among the more recent automotive campaigns, Hyundai last month collaborated with National Geographic on its first co-branded AR series to promote the carmaker's electric and hybrid vehicles. The series, titled "Outside Academy," urges people to explore national parks virtually and physically while showcasing more environmentally friendly models like the 2021 Santa Fe HEV, Tucson PHEV and Ioniq 5.
Earlier in the year, Toyota worked with four creators to develop original content for social media platform Pinterest to showcase its 2021 Sienna minivan. The campaign sought to change attitudes about minivans, positioning the Sienna as a "third space" between home and the office amid the pandemic's ongoing disruption to daily life.
These campaigns seek to engage prospective car buyers who want the same conveniences from dealerships that they've come to expect from e-commerce sites. The surge in online shopping during the pandemic may have a lasting effect on consumer behavior, challenging dealers to engage people on mobile and digital platforms where they're already spending time.
"The pandemic forced dealerships to move toward the customer, which is something that the customer has wanted for years," Donalson said. "More of the transaction can be conducted and facilitated online, while less of the transaction requires interfacing with folks in the dealership."


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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)’s long-delayed prepaid card rule has been delayed once again—and further delays may lie ahead, as the CFPB considers whether to make additional changes. The additional time gives prepaid providers and other stakeholders another bite at the apple to advocate for changes to this regulation.
On April 20, the CFPB issued a final rule officially delaying the prepaid rule’s effective date by six months, to April 1, 2018, after proposing that delay in light of calls from the industry for the need for more time to implement compliance. Along with announcing the delay, the CFPB stated that it also has “decided to revisit at least two substantive issues in the prepaid accounts rule through a separate notice and comment rulemaking process. We expect to release that proposal in the coming weeks.” Those two issues are “the linking of credit cards to digital wallets that are capable of storing funds” and “error resolution and limitations on liability for prepaid accounts that cannot be registered, have not yet been registered, or for which consumers have attempted but have not successfully completed the registration process.”
The CFPB also stated that it “may address a limited number of other topics in the proposal as well.” For now, it is unclear which those might be. Possibilities include overdraft features, which consumer advocates have long urged the CFPB to ban on prepaid cards, but which some industry proponents have argued give important flexibility to consumers. The proposal also could include a new look at the way fees must be disclosed, another point of contention in the rulemaking.
But at this point, it should not be presumed that any aspect of the rule is off limits for comment—including whether the rule should go into effect at all. The prepaid card rulemaking was not mandated by law, and so the CFPB could choose to withdraw it without risk of contravening any Congressional mandate.
While the CFPB has not indicated an intention to withdraw the rule, the uncertainty surrounding the CFPB’s future continues and industry participants opposing some or all of the rule have some support in Washington these days. Some legislators have made efforts to block the rule, including a bill in February 2017 aiming to use the Congressional Review Act to prevent the rule’s implementation. The House Financial Services Committee also held a hearing on April 26 discussing the Financial CHOICE Act, the legislation to replace the Dodd-Frank Act introduced by Committee Chair Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX); depending on its ultimate content, this legislation, if enacted, could curtail the CFPB’s power and inhibit its ability to issue rules.
But even if the rule never goes into effect, it is important to keep in mind for compliance purposes that a number of existing laws and regulations continue to apply to prepaid cards. For instance, while the prepaid rule specifically addresses deposit insurance disclosures, FDIC regulations already restrict the use of terms relating to FDIC insurance. If a product does not provide FDIC insurance, its advertisements should not use the official FDIC advertising statement (“Member FDIC”), or any other statement or symbol that implies or suggests the existence of FDIC insurance. And the broad federal prohibition on unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP) should be considered in connection with any consumer financial product. To mitigate UDAAP risk, it is important to be sure, for instance, that any disclosures around the features of the product are accurate and clear. Regulators have taken actions against entities involved in providing prepaid cards for alleged UDAAP violations. In a November 2016 action, for example, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charged that prepaid card provider NetSpend engaged in deceptive practices by making misleading or untrue statements about its prepaid cards, including that the cards would offer immediate access to funds, that consumers were “guaranteed approval” for a card, and that provisional credit on the card would be provided while cardholders’ disputes were investigated. Last month, NetSpend agreed to settle the action with the FTC.
We will continue to monitor developments regarding the CFPB prepaid rule, and provide key updates in this space. Providers of prepaid products and others potentially affected by the CFPB’s prepaid rule should watch for these updates, monitor related issuances from the CFPB, and prepare to submit comments on any aspect of the rule when the proposal opens for comment.


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Navistar International Corp.'s
The company also plans to repurchase of up to $175 million, or about 5%, of its common stock in the upcoming months.
The maker of commercial and military trucks has seen its profit improve as demand rebounded from a severe slump that started in 2007. But growing concerns about the global economy and the latest turmoil in the markets are weighing on business confidence.
Navistar said last month it would close truck and chassis assembly plants in Canada and Indiana and scale back production of recreational vehicles at an Oregon plant. The company is also working to increase revenue by expanding into new geographic markets such as India and China, and adding new products such as smaller trucks and buses.
For the quarter ended July 31, Navistar reported a profit of $1.4 billion, or $18.24 a share, up from $117 million, or $1.56, a year earlier. Excluding items such as restructuring and engineering integration costs, earnings fell to 79 cents from $1.44. The most-recent quarter also includes a $1.46 billion income tax benefit while the year-earlier includes a $19 million income tax expense. Revenue jumped 9.8% to $3.54 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast earnings of $1.35 on revenue of $3.49 billion.
The company's truck segment, its largest by revenue, swung to a loss of $75 million due to charges for restructuring its North American manufacturing operations and $11 million of engineering integration charges. Strong intercompany sales and South America demand helped the engine business swung to a profit, while the parts business delivered a 35% profit increase.
Shares of the company, which also backed its full-year earnings estimate, closed Tuesday at $38.80 and were inactive premarket. The stock has fallen 13% over the past year.


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THE FIRST EDITION of Lighting Show will take place in parallel to Latin American Electronics, the largest B2B fair of consumer electronics in Latin America. The trade show already starts with the differential of receiving more than 32 thousand qualified professionals, IN 2023 EDITION and an exhibition area of 36 thousand square meters including all Halls of exhibition.
The world is undergoing to an economic development challenge, the consumer is concerned about
sustainability looking for product that's meets their new way of seeing the day-by-day consumer
habits. The lighting sector is one of the sectors showing these trends and are moving to a
completely new era.
Lighting Show will bring all these industry moves by exposing new products and trends to visitors that will improve the lives not only of consumers but also the corporate sector and governments.
Brazil represents South America's largest energy consumer, and the Brazilian government has made several initiatives to increase energy efficiency in the lighting Industry. For instance, in its national policy framework, the government has committed to increase energy efficiency in the country by 10% by 2030. This is expected to drive the demand of LED lighting products in Brazil.
The Hosted Buyers Program sponsors with flight tickets and hotel accommodations, the visit of buyers of retail chains that don't have headquarters in São Paulo and also from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Retail of all sizes ∙ Distributors ∙ Manufactures
Wholesalers ∙ Home centers ∙ Department stores
E-commerce ∙ Marketplace ∙ Corporate Market
Buyers ∙ Product Managers ∙ Directors
Owners ∙ CEO'S ∙ Sales Representatives
Supervisors ∙ Press ∙ Service Representatives
Gathered together to do business, networking and see new products, trends and future technologies.
Have a project in mind that you think we'd be a great fit for it?
We'd love to know what you're thinking


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Rario, an NFT platform dedicated to cricket, said on Thursday it had raised $120 million in series A funding. The round was led by the venture capital arm of Indian fantasy sports firm Dream Sports.
With the new funding, and a partnership with Dream, the firm will now offer cricket-themed NFTs to Dream Sports’ 140 million users in India. Given regulatory scrutiny towards cryptocurrencies in India, the platform will only accept fiat, not crypto, it said in a blog post.
Previous investors in Rario include venture capital firms Presight and Kingsway, as well as blockchain gaming major Animoca Brands.
Rario corners the cricket NFT market
The Singapore-based company claims to have the largest share of cricket NFT rights globally. It recently signed a multi-year, exclusive partnership with Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association.
The firm also has exclusive partnerships with 6 international cricket leagues, along with the rights to over 900 cricketers.
Rario said it has sold over 50,000 tokens since its launch, with the United States, UK, Australia and India being its top-four markets.
Ankit Wadhwa, co-founder of Rario, said that cricket is the second-largest sport in the world, with over 1.5 billion fans.
Cricket an untapped market?
While sports tokens are not a novel concept, the space has been largely dominated by basketball or football. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is one of the largest players in the sports NFT market, with its Top Shot NFT marketplace seeing sales of nearly $1 billion since its 2021 launch.
The NBA has also ventured into creating dynamic NFTs, although the project has met its own set of problems.
Several European football clubs also capitalized on the growing popularity of NFTs. English Liverpool recently launched a collection of hero-themed NFTs.
But cricket has not seen similar forays, despite the sport having massive followings across Asia, Australia and Africa. Rario could be poised to capitalize on this untapped market by offering cricket-themed collectibles.
The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.


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Ok, yes, I'm a bit far behind on this news -- I spent the winter in the states and I've been really busy lately with not much time for polish. But it turns out that Eyeko has had a rebrand -- and that rebrand, apparently, has no room for polish in it.
This is so disappointing for me - Eyeko Rain is still a go-to one-coater of mine, but that tiny little bottle will only last so long. I've really enjoyed wearing their Vintage and Pastel polishes, too, and was eager to try more of their polish.
Apparently Eyeko is focusing on the 'eye' in their name* - and only making eye products; eyeliner and mascara. Even their popular Eyeko Cream and Fat Balm lines have been discontinued. On their Facebook Eyeko has said they will consider bringing back the cream, but they are out of the polish business for good.
*Nevermind that their name originally comes from the Japanese personal name 'Aiko'
Eyeko has effectively crossed me entirely out of their customer audience. I don't use eyeliner, and I don't wear black mascara -- they don't offer any shades of brown. It sounds like they are expanding to the US and trying to market themselves as a more upscale brand than they did previously - no more fun cute characters, no more nice cheap prices. Well, thanks to the polish, Eyeko... it was fun while it lasted.


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Leading Edinburgh department store Jenners has appointed Glasgow consultancy Ferguson Orr to redesign its china and glass department and entrances.
The consultancy has already designed interiors for the store’s Grand Hall, men’s department and first-floor women’s department. It has worked for Jenners since 1994, when it won a credentials pitch to become its “primary design agency”, according to Jenners deputy managing director Robbie Douglas Miller.
The 2440m2 china and glass section includes 13 concessions. “We’re refurbishing the whole department, from floor and gondolas through to ceilings and lighting,” comments consultancy account executive Gillian Plant, adding that Jenners intends the redesigned department to “provide a very high quality ambience” for customers.
The new-look department will be unveiled in April 1997. Ferguson Orr’s sister firm, Seriously Visual, will be designing graphics for the entrances, which will go on-site the following year.


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Elie Tahari and Arthur S. Levine have completed a deal to invest in Catherine Malandrino with plans to help the designer grow her brand both at retail and wholesale, as well as with new categories and global expansion. As part of the strategic partnership, Malandrino will benefit from Tahari and Levine’s resources in both Asia and Europe, as well as their business expertise to help strengthen the company’s infrastructure.
WWD first reported on a deal between Tahari and Malandrino on Oct. 4.
“A year ago, we knew that after 12 years as a designer in New York, we were looking for the right partner to grow as a brand,” Malandrino said on Tuesday, sitting with Tahari and Levine in her West 39th Street showroom here. “Of course, when you get to this process, it’s a long one, because you want to make sure you are going to make the right choice for the long term.”
After exploring several potential options, she found suitable partners in Tahari and Levine.
“We have been looking for a brand to partner with,” Levine said. “I think Catherine has a distinct look and personality. I think the designs are so good that it should be expanded into other categories. Overall, I feel that Catherine Malandrino has the potential to become a major designer brand.”
“We admire her talent immensely,” Tahari added. “We feel that her aesthetic, which is feminine and elegant, and soft and sexy, is a category of product that the consumer is hungry for, and the stores are searching for this type of design.”
The value and size of the stake was not disclosed. According to sources, the Catherine Malandrino business has an estimated total sales volume of $20 million to $30 million. The executives referred to it as “an equal partnership.”
“For me, it was not only a financial decision but a strategic one that I value a lot for the long term,” Malandrino said. “We feel it’s a real partnership to which we all bring our best. This was very important for me. Yes, there is a financial investment, but at the same time, there are strategic strengths in the deal that make it unique as partners.”
Tahari and Levine have a business relationship that dates back to 2001 when they launched the Tahari ASL business, which includes the Tahari Arthur S. Levine brand of suits and dresses, as well as a private label division. Levine, a longtime Seventh Avenue executive, was previously the chairman of Kasper ASL and, before that, principal and chief executive officer of Anne Klein and president and ceo of Kasper.
The duo owns factories in Asia as well as in Italy, and Malandrino will be able to utilize those resources. The two executives will also help the designer build an infrastructure to strengthen the back end of her operation.
“In China, we have 900 people working for us in our factory, which will be a unique advantage for Catherine, especially considering that embroidery and beading have always been a major part of our collection,” Levine said. “We will give Catherine the ability and access to production.”
Tahari and Levine said there are currently no plans to make further acquisitions, and the plan is to focus on building the Malandrino brand.
Malandrino has been looking for an investor since late last year and, as reported, held talks with Kellwood Co. Dan Gardenswartz, managing director at Sage LLC, which represented Malandrino, said, “Catherine Malandrino is a designer with a fabulous brand that’s universally well regarded by consumers and the trade. The business over the last several years has expanded rapidly beyond the firm’s infrastructure [capability], and Tahari brings the know-how, resources and infrastructure to enable Malandrino to take the business to the next level.”
According to Gardenswartz, that next level includes expanding the Malandrino brand’s product categories, distribution and global presence. “Her business globally has been very strong; there’s demand for her products in the emerging markets in Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe where consumers love the brand and luxury products,” he said.
Ron Frasch, president and chief merchandising officer of Saks Inc., welcomed the partnership, saying that “Catherine’s talent and I think his organization can provide the kind of support to allow her to design and be very successful. I don’t think she has had the support around her that she needs, and having Elie and his organization, manufacturing and merchandising capabilities, and just savvy, will be a big plus to her.”
Jim Gold, president of specialty retail at Neiman Marcus Inc., echoed the sentiments. “Elie has got phenomenal sourcing and merchandising capabilities, and so he will be able to dramatically improve the price architecture of her line, and he also will help her build the collection, classification by classification.”
Eventually, there are plans for a secondary line targeting a wider retail segment, but initially, Tahari will work closely with Malandrino on building the designer line, while Levine will concentrate on licensing and other categories. “As far as licensing, we will go slowly, and be very selective, and do the right thing to grow the brand,” Levine said. “Everything has to reflect perfectly on Catherine, on the product and on who we are.”
Breaking News: @louisvuitton's men's artistic director @mrkimjones is leaving the French fashion house after nearly 7 years. Jones joined Louis Vuitton in 2011, following a three year tenure as creative director of British luxury goods brand Alfred Dunhill. Jones is to exit Louis Vuitton after showing his fall 2018 collection for the brand in Paris on Thursday. Read the full exclusive story on WWD.com. Link in bio. #wwdnews #wwdfashion
For men’s fall 2018, @giuseppezanotti drew on elements from streetwear, sport, biker, combat and rock ‘n’ roll. Pictured here are a pair of shoes from the collection, featuring zippers, rhinestones, and silver hardware. Head to WWD.com to see a roundup of the accessories from Milan’s men’s fall 2018 shows. #wwdfashion (📷: Andrea Delb)
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of @ralphlauren’s snowboarding collection, the brand is mining its archives. The iconic brand is reintroducing vintage styles and dropping new designs for a color capsule that will be available in Ralph Lauren stores and @openingceremony on January 25. The capsule will consist of 10 pieces, including the Snow Beach Pullover, pictured here, which is a collector’s item that rapper Raekwon wore in Wu-Tang Clan’s “Can It Be All So Simple” video. #wwdfashion (📷: Tom Gould)
For @rochasofficial’s pre-fall 2018 collection, creative director Alessandro Dell’Acqua channeled the sophisticated and intriguing Catherine Denevue in the film “Belle de Jour.” Polished collarless coats, midi skirts, suits and ’60s graphic motifs were all featured in the collection, adding a sense of discreet luxury. See the rest of the photos on WWD.com #wwdfashion
“We tried to produce clothing of that couture quality, but the most daunting part was that we only had a matter of days [to do it],” said costume designer Lou Eyrich, who recreated Gianni Versace’s iconic looks for @americancrimestoryfx. Eyrich searched online retailers and vintage shops for original pieces from the design house and for @penelopecruzoficial, who plays Donatella Versace. Head to WWD.com to read how she created the Versace world. #wwdfashion
Only three months after her stellar debut catwalk season, @kaiagerber has inked her first big design collaboration –– with @karllagerfeld. The collection blends Lagerfeld’s Parisian chic aesthetic and the model’s signature West Coast casual style via RTW, accessories, footwear and more. The #KarlLagerfeldxKaia collection will launch in September with a series of events. Get all the details on WWD.com. #wwdnews #wwdfashion
Harrods plans to remove the famous statue of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed from the bottom of the Egyptian escalators and hand it back to Mohamed Al-Fayed. “We are very proud to have played our role in celebrating the lives of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed at Harrods and to have welcomed people from around the world to visit the memorial for the past 20 years,” said Michael Ward, Harrods managing director. “With the announcement of the new official memorial statue to Diana, Princess of Wales at Kensington Palace, we feel that the time is right to return this memorial to Mr. Al Fayed and for the public to be invited to pay their respects at the palace.” More on the news, with reporting by @loreleimarfil, at WWD.com. #wwdnews


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It’s the unofficial summer drink of summer holidays - these relatively cheap, low calorie, low alcohol bottled and canned cocktail have overtaken the world low alcohol drinks market... and the growth in popularity continues.
To put this into perspective: the global hard seltzer market is expected to be worth US$49.4 billion (R778 billion) by 2028, according to analysis firm Grand View Research (Alice Brooker published in The Spirits Business)
The report cites a shift in consumer preferences and lifestyle choices as the reason for the projected growth of the category, with millennials and the ‘working-class population’ increasingly turning to low- and no-alcohol beverages. Consumers are now opting for lower-alcohol seltzers and Ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages due to rising health consciousness.
What is hard seltzer?
In short: it's alcoholic seltzer, which is really carbonated water (seltzer) with alcohol. Its meteoric rise over the past two years needs little investigation: soft seltzer has been very popular for decades, and now we have seltzer with a kick!
It's a beverage of which the existence makes so much sense for many reasons: colourful cans which are unbreakable in you backpack, convenient for picnics and beach days, with a wide choice of flavours and combinations to choose from. The future for hard seltzer is indeed bright, with consumers continuing their enthusiasm and appreciation!
The Grand View Research report notes that countries such as China, Australia, New Zealand, India and United Arab Emirates are expected to see a rapid surge in consumption of hard seltzer during the next seven years.
- As part of its research, Grand View profiled brands including Coca-Cola, Mark Anthony Brands International, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Coca-Cola, Diageo and more.


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New business research reveals that 33 per cent of financial services organisations don’t offer customers a secure channel for all their online payments.
That is despite the fact that 62 per cent have noticed a significant rise in customers making online financial transactions and 50 per cent believe online financial fraud is increasing.
The Kaspersky Lab survey involving more than 5500 company representatives, found that banks and payment companies are struggling to fully protect themselves and their customers from financial fraud.
But this is at a time when customers are using an ever-wider range of devices to conduct a growing number of financial transactions online.
“The study shows that banks and payment organisations are finding it difficult to manage online financial fraud in today’s connected, omni-channel consumer landscape,” says Ross Hogan, Head of SafeMoney Business Development, Kaspersky Fraud Prevention.
“38 percent of the organisations we spoke to admit that it is increasingly difficult to tell whether a transaction is fraudulent or genuine, with a worrying one in three opting for a ‘we’ll deal with it as it happens’ approach to fraud protection.”
Findings show that two-thirds (65 per cent) say that customers are increasingly using different devices to make online payments, however 53 per cent have implemented two-factor authentication while 50 per cent have introduced a specialised, real-time anti-fraud solution - even though 22 per cent believe this is the most effective form of protection available.
In addition, 42 per cent extend such a solution to customer devices and 67 per cent implement a secure connection for all online payments.
Not surprisingly, Hogan says 48 per cent accept that they are only mitigating risk rather than removing it altogether; and 29 per cent say it is cheaper to deal with online financial fraud incidents as they arise rather than to try to prevent them from happening.
“If you consider that our own research uncovered 22.9 million financial malware attacks in 2014, targeting 2.7 million customers worldwide, it is clear that dealing with each incident individually is not a viable, long-term option,” Hogan adds.
“Customers deserve better and so does the financial services organisation.”
Hogan says the study found that general Internet-security software solutions are not widely regarded as an effective method for preventing the increasingly well-disguised phishing and malware attacks that can lead to financial fraud.
“Less than 10 per cent of respondents favoured this option,” he adds. “The preferred option is a specialist solution.”


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The record sales Galaxy S3 reached a record high, confirming the success ofSamsung in themarket of mobile telephony.
Design and functionality with system Android , have been vital to the achievement variables accommodated in consumer tastes.
Samsung is planning a tax year will reach 8.1 trillion won, equivalent to 7.282 million dollars. The record confirms the dominance of its star device, the Samsung Galaxy S3 , who has managed to amalgamate in consumer tastes.
The Samsung would represent an increase of 91% year achieved only Samsung Galaxy S3.Samsung should feel extremely proud of the sales results of your device, especially when we highlight the achievement within an extremely competitive market, with Apple and the iPhone 5 as his main rival. Reports on its website Mashable .
Samsung is valued at 197,000 million. At the beginning of the year were estimated to achieve total sales of $ 4.643 million, but as of July-September quarter have surpassed this figure to 4,670 million dollars.
According to the numbers given by the consultant Korean Saishin Securities , Samsung managed to sell 57.1 million smartphones during the third quarter. The figure is a new record for the industry, and yet to see the level of sales achieved in the last quarter with the holiday season, you will surely reach new levels.
The company Samsung released until September 6, had achieved 20 millionth sale of Samsung Galaxy S3, a figure achieved in just 100 days after its official launch.


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The E.U commission has set out plans for a common charger port for all mobile telephones, drugs and headphones, inside the face of resistance from US tech massive Apple.
An 18-web page directive released on Thursday said a not unusual charger for all manufacturers “might benefit consumers and decrease electronic waste”. It estimates that it'll keep ecu purchasers €250m (£214m) a yr.
The directive will impose the use of USB-C ports, currently used by Android telephones, for all gadgets. It'd pressure Apple devices, which use lightning cables, to offer USB-C ports on its devices in ecu nations.
As soon as the law comes into force there will be a transitional length of two years for the duration of which manufacturers need to transfer their devices to the not unusual fashionable.
Apple has objected. In a declaration it stated: “We continue to be involved that strict law mandating simply one form of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in flip will harm clients in Europe and round the arena.”
It also expressed worries approximately the two-12 months transition period for agencies to comply.
The commission vice-president, Margrethe Vestager, defended the plan. She stated: “We gave enterprise masses of time to come up with their very own answers, now time is ripe for legislative motion for a common charger. This is an essential win for our customers and surroundings and in step with our inexperienced and digital objectives.”
The modern system permits Apple to apply “proprietary charging interfaces”. The brand new directive complains that this prevents complete interoperability. It says it additionally ignores the “environmental issues bobbing up from the continuing life of those special charging interfaces.”
The directive says Apple’s “proprietary solutions” are “no longer justified in view of the technical benefits furnished via the creation of the USB-C interface”.
Without mentioning Apple via name, it makes clear that the agency has resisted the trade. It says: “those producers which have invested closely in proprietary charging era seem much less eager, for the reason that excessive charging overall performance in their bundled phones and EPS [external power supply] is an vital a part of their advertising and marketing approach.”
It provides: “This directive pursuits to reduce the e-waste generated via the sale of radio gadget and to lessen the extraction of uncooked materials and the CO2 emissions generated via the manufacturing, transportation and disposal of chargers, thereby selling a round financial system.”
Half of the chargers bought with mobile phones in 2018 had a USB micro-B connector, while 29% had a USB-C connector and 21% a lightning connector, in keeping with a 2019 fee have a look at.


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10 Top Performing Mutual Funds in First Half of 2015: Morningstar
Certain sectors have been on a tear, which has benefited a select group of mutual funds recently, says Morningstar's Russel Kinnel.
Investor Optimism Falls on Retirees’ Worries
Most Americans say the markets are a "fair" or "poor" way for average investors to grow wealth, a Wells Fargo/Gallup study found.
Moving to a New BD or Custodian? Ask These 5 Tech Questions First
Captive technology can trip up an advisor, despite the attractive bells and whistles of your new BD or custodian’s platform.
3 Reasons Advisors Should Jump on iPad Bandwagon
The new iPad, and the growing use of such tablets, is part of a trend that every business owner and advisor should be keeping a close eye on in order to continue to grow their business.


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25 August 2009 | Allie Anderson
Debenhams has lengthened payment times for a number of its smaller suppliers.
According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, the department store chain has requested an additional five days' grace, which takes payment periods from 60 to 65 days.
A Debenhams spokesman refused to confirm the figures but told supplymanagement.com there was a "very small number" of its SME vendors who currently get paid more quickly than others. These organisations were informed last month that payment terms were going to be standardised.
Debenhams said in a statement: "We have written to a minority of suppliers who do not comply with the company's minimum standard payment terms to ask them to do so. Payment terms remain the same for the majority of suppliers."
It is the latest in a long line of retailers to demand improved terms from suppliers during the economic downturn.
In the past two weeks, Carlsberg UK extended payment times from 62 to 95 days (Web news, 14 August) and the Co-op Group apparently asked suppliers to slash prices by up to 10 per cent (Web news, 18 August).


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Category Archives: News
We continue to discover interesting new features in iOS 7 thanks to the developers who were seeded the first beta version earlier in the week.
Here are some of the changes that have been discovered in iOS 7:
iOS 7 comes with a completely redesigned Weather app, which is powered by Yahoo. reddit user astraphobiczeus reports that the Weather app also shows the time of the sunrise, which is a nice touch.
The news may be dominated by the hardware coming out of Apple, Microsoft and Sony right now but that doesn’t mean that we can’t get excited by software anymore, and that includes websites, social networking websites to be more precise.
Arguably the biggest website of the all is Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook, and the planet’s most popular social network has today invited media to an event scheduled for June 20th at the company’s Menlo Park headquarters in California.
During the event a new product will apparently be discussed.
iOS 7 beta has spent the past five days firmly in the public eye, and although opinion is divided as to whether the changes are for better or in fact for worse, the consensus seems to be that the icons are a tad on the bright side.
However, it now looks as though the Cupertino company has been tweaking things behind the scenes, with the official iOS 7 beta page on Apple.com showing altered, altogether more subtly toned icons. Details after the break.
Most were expecting iOS 7 to bring a plethora of changes to the fold, and so Monday’s announcement proved. The tech world was clearly not, however, braced for how generally bright the new OS would be, and as such, there has been quite a fuss kicked up following the opening day of WWDC.
Twitter announced last week it was redesigning TweetDeck and giving it a fresh look and feel. Today, those changes hit the OS X version of the social networking app.
The latest version of TweetDeck has a powerful, new sidebar that gives you quick access to items like your columns, your lists and the settings. You can also create a new tweet and search from this sidebar.
Search is more powerful, too, with the ability to filter column search results by the minimum number of retweets, favorites, and replies.
Microsoft has released a new Windows 8 tablet ad featuring Dell XPS 10, which pokes fun at Apple’s iPad. The ad is part of the company’s Windows 8 tablet vs iPad campaign, which started in May.
It is being widely speculated that the ad campaign is the reason Microsoft hasn’t released an iPad app for “Office Mobile for Office 365 subscribers” that hit the App Store earlier today.


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Mon, Aug. 11, 2:55 AM
- Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has halted some preorders of Disney (NYSE:DIS) movies, such as Maleficent and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, in what appears to be yet another contract disagreement.
- A similar tactic has been in use on the Hachette Book Group (OTCPK:LGDDF) for the past four months. Amazon has blocked customers' preorders and delayed shipments of the publisher due to a dispute over e-book pricing.
Apr. 16, 2013, 3:54 PMDaimler (DDAIF.PK +3.3%) looks to follow in Lagardere's (LGDDF.PK) footsteps and unload its stake in European Aeronautic (EADSF.PK -4.2%), a company it helped found. Daimler's stake (around 61.1M shares) is valued at €2.28B assuming it gets a similar price to that Lagardere fetched (€37.35) for its shares last week. EADS will repurchase around €600M of the shares. | Comment!
Apr. 9, 2013, 4:16 AM
Nov. 13, 2012, 3:55 PMLagardere (LGDDF.PK) may be looking to sell its 7.41% stake in EADS (EADSY.PK) as soon as 2013, if certain conditions are met. The company hasn't detailed what these conditions are, but Lagardere CEO Arnaud Lagardere has repeatedly said it plans to sell the stake it still owns as part of a strategy to exit from the companies it doesn't control. In the past, the company has said it would be willing to sell when the jet maker's A350 commercial airplane, which is currently in development, was ready. | Comment!
Oct. 14, 2012, 7:17 AMKindle (AMZN) owners could be in line for refunds of $0.30-$1.32 for each e-book they purchased between April 2010 and May 2012 if a court approves a legal settlement with publishers over alleged price fixing. The publishers, News Corp's (NWS) HarperCollins, CBS's (CBS) Simon & Schuster and Lagardere's Hachette, would pay for the refunds. A hearing is due in February. | 6 Comments
Sep. 7, 2012, 4:34 AMDistrict Judge Denise Cote yesterday approved an antitrust settlement in which major publishers - Lagardere's Hachette, CBS's (CBS) Simon & Schuster and News Corp.'s (NWS) HarperCollins - agreed to end alleged price-fixing e-book deals with Apple (AAPL). It's a major win for Amazon (AMZN), while Pearson's (PSO) Penguin, Macmillan and Apple are going to take their chances in a trial. | 5 Comments
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Mitsubishi Motors, the third partner in the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, announced today that the company’s board has ousted Carlos Ghosn as chairman of the company. Company CEO Osamu Masuko has stepped in as temporary chairman.
The dismissal from Mitsubishi follows in the footsteps of Nissan, who on Thursday removed Ghosn as chairman following his arrest in Japan over financial misconduct.
As per reports, Ghosn’s ousting from Mitsubishi has come at a time of discontent between the partners over Renault’s role in the alliance, which had formed back in 1999 and expanded in 2016 to include Mitsubishi. Nissan is currently a junior partner in the alliance. Renault holds a 43 percent stake in Nissan, which holds a 15 percent non-voting stake in the former, despite the Japanese brand’s rapid growth after it was saved from bankruptcy in the 90s.
In an official statement, Mitsubishi said that as Ghosn had lost the confidence of Nissan, and it was currently difficult for him to fulfil his duties, they have decided to remove him as chairman. Nissan holds a 34 percent share in Mitsubishi, along with having two executives on the company’s board.
Mitsubishi has said that they will be launching their own investigation into possible wrongdoings by Ghosn and reveal its findings next month.
Later this week, top alliance executives from all three alliance members are set to meet in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in a bid to shield the alliance from the fallout from Ghosn’s arrest and a possible power struggle between Renault and Nissan.
Following today’s decision, Ghosn now remains chairman of only the French brand, Renault, who have chosen to stand by his appointment and have asked Nissan to share the findings of the Japanese automaker’s internal investigation.


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While Groupon is popular at the moment, the company’s business model may not be sustainable over the long term, says a marketing expert at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.
“The only way for businesses to justify the ‘loss leader’ promotion that Groupon uses to acquire new customers is to hope that the acquired customers return to the business in the future and pay regular, profitable prices,” says Seethu Seetharaman, PhD, the W. Patrick McGinnis Professor of Marketing.
“I doubt very much if this is happening,” he says.
A Groupon promotion is not profitable for a business unless it drives repeat traffic, as Groupon takes 50 percent of the money collected from Groupon sales, Seetharaman says.
“I suspect for the vast majority of businesses, Groupon is a money-losing proposition,” he says.
A report released this week by Rice University finds that only 19.9 percent of Groupon buyers returned for a full-price purchase.
“Groupon has not invested much in customizing deals to individual customers, so there is no ‘stickiness’ built in to the customer relationship, unlike Amazon or Netflix, which have built customer loyalty for the long haul,” he says.
Seetharaman also argues that employee morale in service establishments, like restaurants and hair salons, may be hurt if Groupon traffic makes the employees’ work life tough with the sudden spurt in traffic from Groupon shoppers.
“Those shoppers are probably more price-conscious, less courteous to employees and may not tip well,” Seetharaman says.
In other words, the business owners’ incentives are not necessarily well-aligned with the employees’ in offering Groupon promotions.
Seetharaman says that Groupon is onto a money-making model for now, “even if their clients have nothing to show for it.”
“As long as businesses keep fooling themselves that the Groupon promotion works, Groupon will keep doing well,” he says. “Since there are far more businesses in a large U.S. city than available promotion slots on Groupon per year, this model seems sustainable for a few years.”


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The British Ports Association is calling on the ports industry to enter the inaugural Maritime UK Awards.
A brand-new, national awards programme celebrating the breadth of the UK’s £37.4bn maritime sector was set to be launched by Maritime UK.
The Maritime UK Awards will be the first truly national maritime awards in the UK, organised by industry, for the benefit of industry. They will be open to companies from across the whole maritime sector, embracing the shipping, ports, services, engineering, and leisure marine industries.
In a unique twist, the awards evenings will be held in a different UK maritime region each year. The first awards ceremony will take place in the Solent, where the maritime sector represents a significant 20 per cent of the economy, supports 120,000 jobs and facilitates trade worth £77.5bn.
British Ports Association Chief Executive, Richard Ballantyne said:
“We welcome the Maritime UK Awards as a new way of recognising and rewarding achievements in the maritime sector. They will also promote the value of the industry more widely and we are keen ports are well represented. This is an excellent opportunity for UK port operators to highlight what they have been doing in terms of diversity, sustainability and innovation and we are activity encouraging them to participate in the initiative.”
Harry Theochari, Maritime UK Chair, said:
“We are excited about this inaugural event that will not only shine a spotlight on the most exciting and dynamic activity across our sector, but will also champion each of our great maritime regions by rotating each year.
We are delighted to hold the inaugural awards in Southampton during the city’s international boat show, Britain’s biggest festival of boating.”


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Despite recent releases of new products such as the Samsung Galaxy S5 at the beginning of April, Samsung Electronics has reported a recent drop of 4% in its mobile sales. The company’s sales have fallen lower than usual recently, and this has been the first time in five quarters that Samsung has seen this type of a dip.
Samsung’s line of Galaxy Smartphones has been one of the leading key factors that has helped to drive the company’s monetary growth in the past few years. The Galaxy phones helped Samsung to knock Nokia out of the top spot as the world’s biggest mobile phone maker as demand for the new Samsung phones skyrocketed, and Samsung became the biggest mobile phone maker themselves – holding on to that position to this day.
However, competition in the sector has been increasing, and this is forcing manufacturers to lower their prices, which in turn hurts their overall profits. Technology analysts speculate that the decrease in sales, however, may not be an all bad thing. This new report shows that the demand for smartphones in developed markets has clearly begun to slow down. So far the developed markets have been the key players in aiding in the smartphone growth sector. Samsung mobile sales falling lower than usual, despite the recent releases of new products, especially high-tech ones like the Galaxy S5, shows that the global market for smartphones has really begun to develop and started to fully mature. This is evidenced by the fact that a huge company such as Samsung, one of the largest suppliers of cutting edge mobile phone technology, is seeing a decline in sales and not having quite the peak growth pace that it has in the recent past.
Another thing to consider is that Samsung may also be losing out to Chinese phone makers in emerging markets, who are creating new devices packed with features for only a portion of what Samsung charges for its devices. This is the first time in Samsung’s history that it is primarily dependent on its mobile phone earnings for its business profit. According to Business Weekly, Samsung phones account for about 76% of the company’s total income currently. Main Samsung competitor, Apple, is also looking to boost its sales to get ahead of Samsung and compete with its Galaxy line of phones. Apple is increasing sales of its ever-popular iPhone through China Mobile Ltd., giving Samsung some tough competition. Additionally, other overseas companies are offering cheaper phones that still have all the features for customers who are not looking to spend an arm and a leg for their mobile device.
Samsung is famous for its phones’ larger screens, and Apple is looking to compete with this too by releasing a phone the next time around with a bigger screen, since bigger seems to be better as far as phones go these days. Still, even with the Samsung mobile sales falling lower than usual despite new product releases, Samsung said that it still expects its newest addition, the Galaxy S5 to outperform its predecessor, the Galaxy 4, in sales.
By Laura Clark


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Gamers who were disappointed that final boss Galactus was not a playable character in Marvel vs Capcom 3: The Fate of Two Worlds will be pleased to learn that Ulimate Marvel vs. Capcom will allow them to play as their favorite world-eater.
Capcom has announced at New York Comic Con 2011 that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Street Fighter X Tekken will be on shelves on the 9th of March. Capcom also confirmed that a PC version of the game is in the works.
There's been precious little information about Team Ninja's upcoming fighting game Dead or Alive 5 save a few scraps of alpha gameplay footage. Well, the developer has started tweeting some new info on their feed on it.
Publisher Crave Games has announced that the console version of the popular Nintendo 3DS Super Smash Bros.-styled beat'em up Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion, will be coming on November 8.
PDP has announced the officially licensed Mortal Kombat Klassic Fight Stick for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The stick faithfully recreates the coin-op design and graphics, and even comes with a code to download the Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection for free. The Kollection comes with the first three Mortal Kombat games..
UK publisher Rising Star Games has announced King of Fighters XIII will be releasing in the PAL market November 25th, wowing fans with "notable differences".
KOF XIII is the Ash Saga "final chapter", and there's been "huge developments" for the game's online play. Over 30 playable fighters to fully customise.
Promotional nine-part Web series 'Mortal Kombat: Legacy', directed by Kevin Tancharoen, has awakened Warner Bros. to the Mortal Kombat franchise.
Tancharoen has been tapped to direct the 2013 bound movie, being scribed by his pal Oren Uziel. They "hadn't been actively thinking about" it until Legacy.
The King of Fighters XIII has been delayed from its October launch to November 22nd for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
There's been a scintillating exchange on Twitter, as Netherrealm's Ed Boon and Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski want Marcus Fenix, the bulky space marine of Gears of War fame, to be a fighter in the ultra-gory beat-em-up Mortal Kombat, as the Xbox 360 counterpart to the God of War fighter on the PlayStation 3, Kratos.
A major new update has come to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Mortal Kombat, and the biggest, most welcome fix is the removal of the bug that caused the game to drop out of multiplayer when certain DLC and alternate costumes were selected. Joystiq reports that the costumes now work properly in multiplayer.
Rising Star Games has given us details on the content for the UK pre-order package for King of Fighters XIII.
The pre-order package will include a limited edition 4-CD soundtrack from the history of The King of Fighters.
505 Games has announced that developer Kung Fu Factory's mixed-martial arts game Supremacy MMA will hit the UK this coming Friday, September 23, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Grasshopper Manufacture has released the official Lollipop Chainsaw trailer from Tokyo Game Show onto the interwebs.
Hardware producer Razer, known mostly for their PC mouse and keyboard peripherals, has announced that they will be releasing a new fight stick for the Xbox 360.
The Razer Fight Stick is undergoing heavy testing, as Razer has instituted a closed beta, giving sticks to over 200 professional Street Fighter IV players in North America and Japan.
Warner Bros. Interactive has announced that Netherrealm's graphically gory fighter Mortal Kombat has sold over 3M units worldwide across the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms.
During Namco's Tokyo Game Show presentation, Namco Bandai producer Hisaharu Tago showed off the highly anticipated fighting game Soul Calibur V and imparted a few interesting details, such as the game's outsourcing to various developers.
However, the most salient item Tago revealed was Soul Calibur V's release window, which would be Q1 2012 worldwide, meaning the game will be released before the end of March 2012.
Publisher Tecmo announced at Tokyo Game Show 2011 the next chapter in Team Ninja's iconic fightning series, Dead or Alive 5, which will be released in 2012 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition for Xbox 360 has just got it's 'Color Pack 1' DLC released on Xbox Live, which lets fans alter costume colours.
However the DLC "contained incorrect files," and Capcom asked Microsoft to remove it. They've got staff "working diligently" to get it back up soon.
Street Fighter's Yoshinori Ono of Capcom has discussed a little about their upcoming Street Fighter x Tekken project, calling it a "truly challenging task".
However Tekken was "influenced by SFII" when it began so it can "translate well" to Street Fighter. They have a rule set that will "make sense to fans of both".
Capcom has announced in a blog post that Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition will be receiving a few DLC packs.
The initial DLC will be "Color Pack 1", which will add seven new colors for every fighter. However, only people who also own the pack will be able to see the new colors you've painted on your fighter. The Color Pack 1 will be released on September 6 for $2.99 USD.


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Tourmaline by the Ton: Maine Museum Celebrates ‘The Big Find’ 50 Years Later
Twelve artists are crafting jewels set with gems from the historic 1970s discovery that will debut at the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum.
In October 1972, four men unearthed a huge source of tourmaline crystals at the Dunton Mine on Plumbago Mountain in Newry, Maine, according to the museum.
The discovery came to be known as “The Big Find.”
It resulted in more than a ton of gem tourmaline produced between 1972 and 1974 and revived gemstone mining in Maine, the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum said. The discovery included everything from green to red to watermelon tourmaline.
The museum already has several specimens from the find in its permanent exhibitions, including a 100-carat tourmaline and the “Newry Necklace,” comprised solely of tourmaline from the Dunton Mine, the largest of which weighs 40.82 carats.
Since 2022 marks 50 years since the big discovery, the team wanted to find a special new way to tell the story.
“The Big Find: A Legend Continues” does just that, celebrating the material through the lens of modern artists and their jewelry creations using historic tourmalines found during that two-year period.
Watch: An MMGM Video Discussing the Newry Find
The artists chosen for the project were: Andy Lucas, Nick Noyes, Derek Katzenbach, Paula Crevoshay, Naomi Sarna, Matt and Lauren Tuggle, Matt Fischer, Gerardo Gonzalez, Stephen and Tamberlaine Zeh, Patty Daunis Dunning, Steven Manchini, and Eric Stewart.
About two weeks later, the museum held a Facebook Live event for a random selection of which gemstones each of the 12 would work with for the exhibition.
The stones range from 9 carats to 45 carats, from pink and green to bicolor and watermelon tourmalines.
The designers have a budget of $5,000, for which the museum will reimburse them, and total artistic control over their jewels.
They have until Sept. 1 to complete it.
“I was delighted to be a gem recipient of the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum’s ‘The Big Find’ exhibition. Many people are unaware of the gem richness in Maine; supporting regional museums that celebrate local gem treasure is so important and I’m happy to participate in this endeavor,” Sarna said.
“The jewel I will create from my green tourmaline will be a challenge for me as I almost never design jewels with emerald-cut stones and straight lines. I have some ideas how to use my signature curves to embrace the tourmaline, and of course, there will be colored diamonds and sapphires. Making a jewel that will be sold is a perfect way for us to support the museum.”
The event will serve as a fundraising opportunity for the museum, which hasn’t had the chance to fundraise or even celebrate its opening since the pandemic hit right after its grand opening.
The pieces will be exhibited in the Museum Store after The Big Reveal event and then will be available to the public via a fundraising auction, the details of which will be announced at a later date.
Until then, the museum is handing over its Instagram to the artists, who are giving followers a behind-the-scenes look at their process.
Follow the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum Instagram account to see their takeovers and get updates on the fall exhibition.
Its updated book for mountings is also now available.
With Ho Brothers, you can unlock your brand's true potential and offer customers the personalized jewelry experiences they desire.
Joyce’s Jewelry sued the bank after cybercriminals drained its accounts of nearly $1.6 million through a series of wire transfers.
He is remembered by loved ones for his loyalty, integrity, and kindness.
Hosted by Freeman’s | Hindman, the sale will take place May 7-8.
For over 30 years, JA has advocated for the industry, fought against harmful legislation and backed measures that help jewelry businesses.
The auction house said all 24 timepieces offered in its underground sale of rare and avant-garde watches quickly found buyers.
The charm is a modern rendition of the evil eye amulet that has been worn for thousands of years.
Ahead of its trade show next month, TJS awarded free registration and accommodations to one jewelry professional and three students.
Members can still sell lab-grown stones, it said, but only natural gems are allowed on the show floor.
He is remembered for his charisma, passion, integrity, kindness, and wit.
The bridal collection consists of 35 engagement rings and seven wedding bands.
The program, now live in Europe, will roll out to the U.S. this summer.
The point-of-sale software can now prompt customers to round up their credit card purchases as a donation to Jewelers for Children.
The zone’s modernization will enhance and increase India’s jewelry manufacturing capabilities while aiding small and mid-sized businesses.
Select independent jewelers and retailers can now purchase moissanite through Charles & Colvard Direct.


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NEW DELHI (Reuters) - U.S. retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) is studying the conditions attached to India's decision to open its supermarket sector to foreign investors before finalizing a decision to invest, a government statement said on Thursday.
India threw its doors open to foreign supermarket chains last year in the teeth of fierce domestic opposition, but attached strict conditions, including on sourcing, in the policy.
The CEO of Wal-Mart International, Doug McMillon, told Trade Minister Anand Sharma at a meeting in Davos that the firm was "excited about India" but studying the conditions before making an investment announcement, the statement said.
Sharma said the firm should not be "unduly concerned" about the prospect of a policy reversal.
(Reporting by Arup Roychoudhury)
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Online giving to charitable organizations has doubled over last year, but several non-profits are turning online for their year-end push for contributions.
“Given that the Internet is a great one-to-one marketing tool for consumers, it’s not surprising that — if non-profits do their jobs well — people are happy to donate online,” Harry Gruber, CEO of Kintera, an online technology provider for non-profits, told ClickZ News.
A mix of last-minute tax planning and generous holiday spirit has long led many Americans to make donations in December, Gruber said. Over the past several years, up to 40 percent of giving has occurred during the month of December, with the final days accounting for the heaviest donations, according to a 2004 Network For Good survey of non-profit organizations.
That pattern is continuing online, according to Bill Strathmann, CEO of Network for Good. Network for Good was founded in 2001 by AOL, Cisco Systems and Yahoo, as a way to make contributing to charities online as fast, easy, safe and convenient as shopping online, Strathmann said. Network for Good does this by offering its payment transaction services to non-profits for a 3 percent fee to cover bank fees, or for a small fee for a private-label version.
“We expect to process in the last two days of the year as much as we typically process in a month,” Strathmann told ClickZ News. To illustrate, he pointed to August and September 2003 monthly totals of $460,000 and $470,000 — compared with December 30, 2003’s single-day total of $420,000 processed, and December 31’s $700,000.
In a year that saw a tsunami, several major hurricanes and earthquakes, there has been an increase in donations to disaster-relief organizations. But charities in other categories are finding it increasingly difficult to reach their goals, leading many to re-think their outreach efforts and consider online marketing.
“It really requires a savvy marketing approach, which is stereotypically something that non-profits have not done well,” Strathmann said.
Some Web-savvy companies are stepping into the void. In particular, Yahoo has launched a “Cyber Giving Week” initiative, in partnership with Network For Good, to provide donation links and resources on a microsite. Yahoo will promote the site throughout its network, giving it front-page play on December 25 and December 30.
One message that many charities are highlighting is Congress’ passage of the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005, which increases the amount of charitable contributions that can be deducted from personal income tax, creating more of an incentive for donors to contribute beyond what they may have already given to disaster relief efforts.
Beyond that, the messages often center on compassion, with healthy doses of viral marketing designed to spread the word. Heifer International, an organization that provides livestock to families in impoverished areas, created whimsical email cards for donors to share with friends and family, in whose honor they make a donation. One features a cow, goat, pig and duck riding together in a sleigh and singing “Jingle Bells,” with a link to Heifer’s gift catalog.
Network for Good ran its own viral campaign, created pro bono by St. Louis-based creative shop Rodgers Townsend. In it, users are encouraged to see how easy it is to donate online, by helping a Flash-based character get a piece of lettuce out of their teeth — and pulling out a whole leaf, for example.
“Philanthropy is entertainment with a purpose,” Gruber said. “For the consumer, giving online is all about emotion — they expect to feel as good or better than when they go to eBay or Amazon. That means the non-profit’s site needs to offer engaging stories, compelling artwork, and powerful viral marketing tools.”
Online donations grew by nearly 60 percent from 2003 to 2004, compared to traditional giving’s 1 to 2 percent year-to-year growth, according to a June 2005 Kintera/Luth Nonprofit Trend Report. The report found that U.S. households donated more than $3 billion online in 2004, and the same study finds that the Internet played a role in influencing more than 65 percent of donors, with the majority of those who receive a direct mail piece going online to learn more before making a donation.
Network for Good is on track to double its online donations for the year, reaching nearly $29 million so far. “We’ve already done $3.9 million from December 1 to 27, compared to $2.2 million in the same period last year,” Strathmann said.
A lot of cool stuff is happening with email today. As an email marketer doing your job day in and day out, ... read more
Despite the fact that it faces growing competition from Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, Google-owned YouTube is still one of the most popular ... read more


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INEOS Inovyn produces 60,000 tonnes of low-carbon hydrogen annually across multiple sites with its electrolysis technology. It has now secured a new ISCC certification, reflecting its ambition to reduce carbon emissions. From June 2023, hydrogen production at the group’s Antwerp site is now certified under ISCC PLUS – a global voluntary certification programme for bio-based, circular and renewable raw materials across all markets.
“This demonstrates our commitment to providing industry leadership and strengthening Europe’s renewable hydrogen production” said Wouter Bleukx, Business Director Hydrogen at INEOS Inovyn. “It allows our customers to calculate their own product footprints, enabling them to market lower carbon products. We use renewable electricity from existing and local Power Purchase Agreements to produce renewable hydrogen. I’m proud that our hydrogen is now labelled renewable-energy-derived material and hope this drives the market towards greater sustainability. Hydrogen produced from the Chlor-Alkali industry is vital as the European hydrogen market grows, this ISCC PLUS certification means there is only one product on the market today with robust and transparent sustainability credentials.”
The certification makes INEOS Inovyn the first certified company in Europe to have its required greenhouse gas data fully audited, providing added value to customers by enabling the traceability of sustainable materials along supply chains. Customers using its renewable hydrogen will now be able to develop sustainable downstream products which benefit from this certification – along with reducing their Scope 3 emissions.
The INEOS Antwerp site produces hydrogen through Chlor-Alkali electrolysis – the electrolysis of brine producing chlorine, caustic soda/potash, sodium hypochlorite and hydrogen. The electricity used to produce this hydrogen comes directly from wind turbines off Belgium’s North Coast.
For additional information:


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Microsoft requested European Union antitrust regulators to probe Motorola Mobility on claims that the United States phone manufacturer is blocking sales of Windows and Xbox products.
“Earlier today, Microsoft filed a formal competition law complaint with the European Commission (EC) against Motorola Mobility and Google,” wrote Microsoft’s Vice President and Deputy General Counsel David Heiner in a blog post this morning. “We have taken this step because Motorola is attempting to block sales of Windows PCs, our Xbox game console and other products.”
Microsoft’s post, “Google: Please Don’t Kill Video on the Web,” lambasted Motorola Mobility for not making industry standard patents available on reasonable and fair terms, and for using those patents to block competitors from shipping products.
The industry apparently agreed many years ago to define common technical standards for everyone to use and build compatible Wi-Fi and video products. However, Heiner contended, Motorola is backtracking on its word and attempting to use standard patents for “killing video on the Web.”
More information is available below.
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“The late Steve Jobs, who for all his genius as the man behind the iPhone, iTunes and the iPod, was regarded by many shareholders as iScrooge,” Lou Carlozo writes for U.S. News & World Report. “The reason: He famously hated and refused to award dividends, even when the company he co-founded soared into stratospheric wealth in triple-digit billions.”
“‘The long stretch during which Apple paid no dividend probably reflected Jobs’ searing experience rescuing the company from near death,’ says Barry Randall, chief investment officer at Crabtree Asset Management and manager of the Crabtree technology portfolio for Interactive Brokers Asset Management,” Carlozo writes. “Once Apple was out of the weeds for good, current CEO Tim Cook ushered it into the dividend era on March 19, 2012 — the first time the company had awarded such a payout since 1995. And it was definitely, positively about time, as Apple today is on the verge of becoming the first $1 trillion company in history. ”
“‘What Steve Jobs did with beautiful design work Tim Cook is doing with free cash flow,’ says Ryan Krueger of Krueger & Catalano Capital Partners in Houston,” Carlozo writes. “As for what to expect in the years to come, think of it as Apple’s ripening, a Golden Delicious period — with the ever-so-slight chance of rot. ‘Investors should expect the dividend to slowly increase over time, reflecting Apple’s maturation into a slower-growing but more highly profitable company,’ Randall says. ‘A higher percentage of Apple’s revenue will come from recurring services such as iTunes, giving Apple’s management more confidence in raising the dividend and increasing the yield.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Certainly, Jobs’ experiences with – and without – Apple affected his views on such shareholder niceties as dividends.


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Skype users can have their voice mail messages delivered to their e-mail and SMS addresses starting Monday through a voice-mail-to-text service offered by SimulScribe.
Utilizing its proprietary voice-recognition algorithms that transcribe voice mail to text, the service works with wireless, networked, and voice-over-IP services, SimulScribe says, adding that the feature typically can save a user three hours a month in wasted time that would be spent listening to voice mail.
"Carriers are already set up to provide" the service, says David Gerzof, SimulScribe's chief marketing officer. "We don't need to do deals with carriers." Gerzof cites a typical application in which a businessperson attending a meeting couldn't answer a phone, but would be able to read incoming calls via e-mail or SMS without interrupting the meeting.
The system's transcription accuracy is more than 90%, and text messages are delivered in "near real time" with the caller's phone number in the subject line, Gerzof says. The transcribed voice message is held in the e-mail body, while the original audio is contained in an attached .wav file.
The technology was developed by SimulScribe in 2003 and operates with many carriers and operators, according to James Siminoff, founder and CEO of the company. "Combining SimulScribe with a Skype account benefits everyone, especially people doing business on eBay," Siminoff said in a statement. Skype is owned by eBay.


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Belgian food chain adopts voluntary code of practice
The voluntary code, published by food industry association Fevia in collaboration with other industry groups, will serve as the basis for a sustainable relationship between suppliers and purchasers.
The initiative comes in response to recent price pressures affecting the industry, as manufacturers became squeezed between higher raw material costs and a market demand for lower prices on the shelves, said Fevia.
Although competition in the market is a healthy driver, excessive price fluctuations cause tension between stakeholders in the food chain and can threaten the viability of a number of operators, said the group.
The new code of conduct hopes to harmonise the food production chain and ensure sustainable growth along three pillars: economic, ecological and social. Signatories include agricultural groups (ABS, Boerenbond, FWA) and distributors (FEDIS), as well as food producers. The organisations said the voluntary code is starting out as a national initiative, but they hope it will ultimately extend to other European countries.
As part of the recommendations, suppliers and purchasers in the food chain will agree to exchange information on market trends in order to allow suppliers to adapt and diversify their offering according to demand.
Purchasers also agree to source local products that are competitively positioned – both in terms of price and quality – and to ensure careful handling of these.
Buyers also commit to promote and respect agreed payment terms as part of a wider agreement on supply terms. In the event of disagreements, both parties agree to cooperate on mediation strategies to resolve disputes.
The Belgian initiative follows a general call from the European Commission for harmonisation in the food supply chain, which it believes must undergo fundamental reform, said Fevia.
The new common agricultural policy and the progressive reduction in agricultural price supports have shaken relations between actors in the food chain, creating tension and uncertainty.
In a communication last year, the Commission identified that food chain relations were sub-optimal, that there was a lack of transparency in prices, and competition was weakening in all sectors.
In particular, the Commission feared that the price of food at the consumption end was increasing faster than could be addressed by economic factors. Improvement in the supervision of food prices was said to be necessary, as well as a reinforcement of the position of farmers in the negotiations through the support of producer organisations.


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WWD reported that the National Retail Federation (NRF) is expecting strong sales based on findings from their annual back-to-school (b-t-s) survey. The NRF projects that spending for kindergarten through high school will increase by 12.5% from 2022 and back-to-college spending will jump 27% year-over-year.
“Back-to-class shopping is one of the most important consumer shopping occasions of the year. Our research for 2023 shows American consumers are eager to jump-start their back-to-school and college purchases early,” NRF president and chief executive officer Matthew Shay said in a statement.
The WWD article noted a more pessimistic outlook from Deloitte whose survey indicated more than 2/3rds of respondents “would spend the same or less than a year ago” due to pressure on disposable income. “However, 57 percent of those surveyed said they are willing to splurge on clothing/accessories” according to Deloitte’s findings.
One factor apparel retailers could benefit from this back-to-school and early fall shopping season is a more favorable weather environment. August 2022 was the 8th warmest on record followed by the 5th warmest September, conditions that delayed the consumer’s shift to fall season purchasing. Planalytics is projecting positive Weather-Driven Demand (a measure of how much changes in the weather affect sales) versus last year with cooler temperatures supporting categories including fleece, boots, outerwear, and sweaters.
Western markets are in line to record strong comp performance numbers – with weather impacts up to +15% for some of these categories – due to the warmer, less favorable weather experienced across the Southwest, Northwest, and Rocky Mountain regions last August and September.
“Each year since 2003 the NRF has conducted a survey on back-to-class shopping trends. Its survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points. Back-to-school shopping typically peaks in mid- to late July and continues steady through August until tapering off by mid-September.”
For more b-t-s insights, register for the NRF’s July 24th Webinar. The association’s Chief Economist, Jack Kleinhenz, and Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights, Katherine Cullen, will discuss the latest data on consumers’ shopping and spending plans for the upcoming back-to-school season.


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CLAREMONT - Third Man Records, the record label started by Detroit musician Jack White, will make a stop with its rolling record store this afternoon in the parking lot of Rhino Records.
The rolling store will stop from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Rhino Records parking lot, 235 Yale Ave.
Available inside the mobile store will be new and rare releases from Third Man Records, according to a Rhino Records news release.
There was no indication in the release if White, a member of The White Stripes, The Dead Weather and other bands, will make an appearance.
Rhino Records will have 10 percent off its purchases all day. Store hours are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The rolling store stop is considered a pre-event to Record Store Day, which is when independently owned record stores celebrate music with special vinyl and CD releases and promotional products on April 20.
For more information, contact Rhino Records at 909-626-7774 or its website at www.rhinorecords.cc.


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Drought Now Covers 100 Percent of California - Alexis Madrigal - The Atlantic Cities
Geege Schuman stashed this in Climate Change
And the state's hydrological conditions might be worse than they look here. Snowpack serves as a natural reservoir, allowing humans to capture the runoff during the long California dry season. If it's warmer, though, more precipitation falls as rain, instead of snow, eliminating the storage in the mountains.
And that's what's happening this year. While precipitation in the northern Sierras is running at 60 percent of normal, the snowpack is sitting at 13 percent of normal in the northern Sierras and 22 percent statewide. It's melting quickly, too, thanks to hotter than normal temperatures.
California's drought has finished its conquest of the state: 100 percent of the land here is now in a drought condition, and 96 percent of it is in a severe, extreme, or exceptional drought.
"This week marks the first time in the 15-year history of the USDM that 100 percent of California was in moderate to exceptional drought," writes NOAA's Richard Heim in a drought monitoring report.
It's gotten this bad, despite March's decent rains.
It's really bad here, Geege. And since we produce so much produce... We affect everyone.
Americans will have to do a work-around.
- California is having a drought, in case you didn’t hear. For decades, most grocery stores and restaurants have relied on what has been the nation’s most productive agricultural region to grow much of the country’s produce. But the state isn’t just having a dry year. It’s having a mostly dry decade, as forecast by climate change models. Water is scarce for irrigation and fruit and vegetable production is down.
The situation isn’t likely to get better in the next few years. So it’s time to increase fruit and vegetable production in other regions along with the processing and distribution companies to support it. Florida, Maryland, Michigan, the Carolinas and many other states are rapidly seeing their food industry’s suddenly become players in national markets as the smartest companies start to spread their bets, and purchase orders, outside of California.
- We are facing a choice about what to grow on millions of acres of farmland, thanks to government action, just not the farm bill. Most farmland in the US has been used to grow corn and soybeans. But the market for both is disappearing. The upcoming decision to eliminate remaining trans fats will eliminate the market for about 4 million acres of soybeans used to make fats and oils. The reduction in the federal biofuels mandate also takes away the market for about 3 million acres of soy. And the decision by China and other countries not to import GMO corn and soy from the US eliminates a $6 billion export market.
That’s far more farmland than we need to grow all the fruits and vegetables are country needs to eat, according to a recent study by Jeffrey O’Hara from the Union of Concerned Scientists, who will join me at the roundtable.
"Most farmland in the US has been used to grow corn and soybeans." <--- Why?!
Are we finally in a year where we can consider stopping that?


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If you need to add to your Lord of the Rings collection so you can tell your own awesome stories (or dioramas, or simply make your desk look cool), Diamond Select Toys released Boromir of Gondor this week.
Fanhome, the creators of the subscription model program, has announced its latest addition – The Millennium Falcon.
Hasbro unveiled the NERF Fortnite Blue Shock blaster, inspired by the equipment used in the super popular Fortnite game.
Of all the life-size prop and model companies, EFX Collectibles continues to impress with its line of Star Wars items. The latest is Rey’s Dark Side Lightsaber from The Rise of Skywalker.
The Baroness has a new statue for G.I. Joe fans to add to your Nerd Room of Doom, and we have the details, along with new AEW statues, action figures, and more from Diamond Select Toys.
Diamond Select Toys revealed a new lineup of toys, statues, and action figures headed our way in the coming months.
During its product reveal at the San Diego Comic-Con, Hasbro unveiled new toys from the G.I. Joe line.
During the San Diego Comic-Con, Hasbro revealed new Star Wars toys and action figures headed our way.
Hasbro shared even more news about its Marvel toys, including figures inspired by the X-Men ’97 animated series.
The worlds of Transformers and Stranger Things are colliding in a new figure from Hasbro!
Hasbro showed off new Star Wars toys at the San Diego Comic-Con including new figures from the Droidables line.
At the San Diego Comic-Con, Hasbro unveiled new Marvel toys coming our way in the near future!
At the San Diego Comic-Con, Hasbro unveiled new toys from the Transformers line, and we have a giant gallery of the new figures coming our way.
If you aren’t at the San Diego Comic-Con, you aren’t getting those sweet, sweet exclusives the toy companies are bringing to the show. However, Diamond Select Toys has you covered with a slew of new action figures and busts arriving in stores this week!


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The global toy store chain Toys”R”Us has been facing financial woes around the world these past few months – just a few days ago we reported that US stores may be shuttering soon. That worst case scenario is already underway elsewhere, however.
Sky News reports that all 105 stores across the United Kingdom will be shuttering after the company entered administration at the end of February. Over 3000 jobs are expected to be lost.
PA sources: Toys R Us is to shut all 100 of its UK stores after administrators failed to find a buyer for the collapsed retailer resulting in the loss of 3,000 jobs
— Sky News Breaking (@SkyNewsBreak) March 14, 2018
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Our best wishes go out to everyone affected by the closures in the weeks to come.


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Kyriba Appoints Julie Norquist Roy as Chief Marketing Officer
Former Cornerstone OnDemand executive to accelerate growth of treasury and risk cloud software leader
San Diego, CA – July 24, 2012 – Kyriba, the leader in cloud-based treasury management solutions, today announced the appointment of Julie Norquist Roy as chief marketing officer (CMO). A seasoned technology marketing executive, Roy will oversee global marketing and communications as Kyriba continues its fast-paced growth trajectory.
“With our market potential and accelerated pace of growth, we are thrilled to have Julie on board to spearhead brand awareness, demand for Kyriba’s offerings and expansion into new markets. Her deep understanding of what it takes to grow a business and leading cloud technologies are essential to our success”, said Jean-Luc Robert, CEO of Kyriba.
Today, Kyriba is an uncontested leader in the space with one of the largest roster of clients running their SaaS treasury, risk, payment and cash applications. The company counts over 700 global clients with 150+ clients implementing the company’s SaaS-based solutions in the last 12 months. Kyriba continues to rank among the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. on respected lists such as Deloitte Technology 500, the Red Herring Global 100 and Inc. 5000.
“I am thrilled to be joining such an exciting and innovative company in a rapidly growing market,” said Julie Roy. “We have an amazing track record of working with some of the world’s leading organizations, and I’m looking forward to expanding our footprint and bringing even more value to our clients”.
Prior to joining Kyriba, Roy served as VP Marketing and member of the executive team at Cornerstone OnDemand, a SaaS talent management vendor, where she built the marketing department from the ground up and contributed to the ten-fold growth that led to the company’s highly successful IPO in March 2011. Before Cornerstone, Roy built and ran EMEA marketing at InStranet, a spin-off of Business Objects that was acquired by Salesforce in 2008.