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Digital Rights Management Industry Outlook, 2025 – ResearchAndMarkets.com
DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The “Digital Rights Management Industry Outlook – Forecast (2020-2025)” report has been added to from ResearchAndMarkets.com offer.
The global Digital Rights Management (DRM) market size is expected to reach USD 4.35 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 15.12% during 2020-2025.
The rise of web-based data has increased the need to streamline secure data access and management. DRM Technologies protects the interests of copyright holders and has become an essential tool for securing any digital content. The use of technological protection measures (TPM) and access control technologies has become unavoidable in digital content due to the growing threat of online pirates, which further creates market growth for the DRM market .
Likewise, the government of various countries are mandated to provide increased security of digital data, which further increases the demand for digital rights management solution. In addition to these technological advantages, advancements such as the blockchain platform increase the capabilities of digital rights management software and make them more secure and convenient tools for business and other industrial applications.
Application Type – Segment Analysis
The digital rights management market is likely to register a CAGR of 19.87% from media and entertainment applications. With the availability of high-speed internet and the growing popularity of subscription-based entertainment tools, the demand for digital rights management software is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period.
For example, music streaming revenue in the United States was around $7 billion in 2018, while subscription video-on-demand services were estimated at $11 billion. Revenues generated by video streaming and music streaming services together grew by more than 20% during the 2016-2018 period. Therefore, digital rights management being important tools to obtain copyright protection for these digital contents, it is expected to accelerate the growth of the market during the forecast period.
Deployment Type – Segment Analysis
The cloud-based deployment of digital rights management software is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.59% over the period 2020-2025. The growing adoption of cloud-based solutions by enterprises is increasing the volume of digital data transactions and making cloud-based software deployment more convenient. In 2019, approximately 80% of businesses worldwide used some form of cloud-based service.
The cloud computing market is expected to reach $375 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 18.45% during the period 2020-2025. It is also predicted that by 2020, 60% of enterprise software will be cloud-based. Similarly, mobile data consumption globally is expected to grow at a CAGR of 40% during the period 2016-2021, owing to the availability of high-speed internet connectivity. Cloud-based digital rights management will be the most efficient and cost-effective solution for managing these large amounts of digital content.
Geography – Segment Analysis
In 2019, the digital rights management market holds the largest market share of around 34.38%. The presence of leading national solution providers, the growing popularity of digital content, and the widespread adoption of new technologies make the North America region a lucrative market for digital rights management software.
The United States is the main country in this region to generate maximum revenue due to the growing need for digital rights solutions in the media and entertainment sector. In 2018, online video subscriptions in the United States reached approximately $180 million, with annual growth of more than 15%. Netflix subscribers in the United States increased by more than 11% between 2017 and 2019. This has led to an increased demand for digital rights management solutions in this region.
Drivers – Digital Rights Management Market
Growing volume of digital content
Digital rights management is a key tool for protecting digital content. In recent times, this particular solution is finding widespread application due to the increasing consumption of data in digital format. Since 2016, most media consumption has been in digital formats. The availability of high-speed internet connectivity and the growing adoption of smartphones are rapidly increasing the demand for digital media since 2016.
Furthermore, the upcoming deployment of 5G technology and increasing adoption of IoT-based devices are expected to increase digital content at a faster rate during the forecast period. In 2018, video and audio streaming generated approximately 80% of consumer internet data traffic globally. Similarly, in 2018, more than 85% of Americans aged 18 or older used smartphones, leading to growing digital media and data consumption in this region.
Digital Rights Management Market
The introduction of blockchain technology in the DRM solution has increased the flexibility of the software to run on a distributed system and provide a solution to the double spend problem. Therefore, this type of technology is likely to prove more beneficial for cryptocurrency and other financial transactions.
In 2018, Sony announced the development of a new blockchain-based digital rights management system. This new technology will help manage copyright information for digital content, citing educational content as a primary use case.
Challenges – Digital Rights Management Market
High cost of digital rights management solution
The cost of the Digital Right Management solution includes initial software license fees, annual maintenance fees, and development and deployment fees. In total, a typical DRM could cost between $15,000 and $22,000. For example, Adobe offers the solution with an initial license fee of $10,000, an annual maintenance fee of $1,500, and development and deployment fees of $10,000 to $15,000.
There are several other cost-effective alternatives such as password protection, watermark available to replace digital rights management solutions. Thus, the high cost of the product is likely to restrain the digital rights management market over the forecast period.
Top 10 companies in the digital rights management market include Kudelski, Intertrust Technologies Corporation, Adobe Systems Incorporated, Oracle Corporation, Apple, Microsoft Corporation, Locklizard, Vaultize Technologies, Verimatrix, OpenText, Seclore Technology, Vera Security, Vitrium Systems, Dell EMC, Fasoo, Intralinks, Nextlabs.
The digital rights management market share held by the top 5 players was estimated to be around 34.52% in 2018. Acquisition, partnership and service differentiation are the key strategies adopted by most companies in this industry. market.
In 2019, Intertrust acquired Viteos for $330 million. This acquisition will help Intertrust provide technology solutions for companies and funds.
In 2019, OpenText announced the purchase of Carbonite, a data protection and endpoint security company for $1.42 billion to expand its product offering.
Key points to remember
North America dominates the digital rights management market owing to the growing consumption of digital media in the United States.
Cloud-based deployment is expected to accelerate the digital rights management market at a faster pace due to lower initial investment.
The rapid growth of digital content globally is expected to accelerate the digital rights management market.
The growing popularity of online streaming and online gaming is expected to provide new opportunities for the digital rights management industry.
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ej1w6u


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The Joester Loria Group brokered a deal for its property Pinkalicious with Jay Franco and Kidzworld to launch a collection of bedding, room décor and furniture inspired by the New York Times best-selling children's book series “Pinkalicious.”
The Jay Franco bedding and coordinated room décor collections feature designs were inspired by all three books in the "Pinkalicious" series. The bedding collection will launch comforters, sheet sets and embellished decorative pillows in stores this spring; while an expanded assortment of towels, toothbrush holders, soap dishes, lotion pumps, waste baskets, shower curtains and shaped rugs will launch next year.
At the end of last year, Kidzworld launched a collection of Pinkalicious upholstered kid’s furniture targeting girls ages 3 to 7, and plan to expand the line this year. Current offerings include a kid's recliner, sleeper sofa, skirted rocker with matching skirted ottoman and skirted bench.

domain: news


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A northern Indiana RV-maker will add more than 400 new jobs in LaGrange County in the next two years, as the region’s mainstay industry continues to rebound.
Forest River is one of northern Indiana’s leading recreational vehicle manufacturers, employing 11,000 Hoosiers in Elkhart and LaGrange counties.
It now plans to repurpose several empty factories in the small town of LaGrange and add 425 jobs. It’s receiving tax incentives from the town and state to do so.
County economic development corporation CEO Ryne Krock says the factories Forest River is buying weren’t originally part of the RV industry, but he’s glad to see them occupied, and hopes it’ll spur new housing and other economic growth, too.
“We always would like to diversify,” Krock says. “But the way the economy is going and the way the industry is going and the demand for the product and, quite honestly, the wages that they’re paying their employees, we’re going to take it while it’s good and do whatever we can to support them.”
Of all RVs sold worldwide, more than 80 percent are made in northern Indiana. But the industry is still recovering from a major slump in the recession. In 2016, it lost factories, cut some jobs and struggled to fill others.
Krock says consolidation, low gas prices and consumers’ lifestyle changes are helping boost profits. RV sales are set to rise for the eighth year running in 2017, to a projected 161 percent above 2009 lows.


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(Adds details on results, analysts estimates)
Oct 1 (Reuters) - Plumbing parts distributor Ferguson Plc on Tuesday posted a better-than-expected 7% rise in full-year profit, as it rigorously cut costs by shedding jobs and closing some underperforming branches.
The company, formerly known as Wolseley, said trading profit rose to $1.60 billion in the year ended July 31 from $1.49 billion a year earlier. Revenue rose 6% to $22.01 billion.
Analysts on average expected ongoing trading profit of $1.57 billion and revenue of $21.87 billion, according to a company-compiled consensus.
Ferguson revealed plans last month to split off its U.K. business and said Chief Executive Officer John Martin was stepping down and being replaced by U.S. operations chief Kevin Murphy, as the company focuses more on its largest market in the United States.
The company said on Tuesday that work on the proposed demerger is "progressing well".
Ferguson, which draws about 80% of its revenue in the United States, said it was considering the "most appropriate listing structure" for the unit. Analysts expect the company's North American business to be listed in the U.S., with Wolseley UK remaining in Britain.
Ferguson has been under pressure this year as growth in the United States has slowed. It announced a $500 million share buyback programme in June after reporting third quarter sales that fell short of targets.
"The board expects to make further good progress in the year ahead. Whilst U.S. market growth is currently broadly flat, consistent with the second half of 2019, we expect to continue to outperform," the company said.
Analysts expect fiscal 2020 trading profit to rise to $1.65 billion and revenue to $22.82 billion. (Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)


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The taste of protein products is becoming an increasingly important factor for the growing number of active consumers, according to Volac’s head of marketing Mel Billows, who spoke with FoodBev’s Alex Clere at Health Ingredients Europe 2018.
Billows emphasised that protein products were no longer targeted and consumed specifically by performance consumers, with active consumers seeking high-protein, low-sugar solutions which don’t compromise on taste.
“Consumers want protein in normal, everyday foods. They want to find it in mainstream places like supermarkets, they don’t want to be looking online for it like performance consumers would… so it’s about making protein taste great in order to get that repeat purchase and satisfy a growing need from these active consumers.”
To meet the demands of these consumers, Volac showcased two solutions at this year’s HiE, Volactive Ultrawhey Velicious and ProCrisp Dark, and Volac’s business development manager Alan Johnstone talked about the benefits of both solutions with FoodBev.
Johnstone explained that Volactive Ultrawhey Velicious has a range of benefits, including the fact that it is heat stable, meaning that it can be mixed in boiling water or baked, allowing a wide range of applications.
Meanwhile, ProCrisp Dark is the latest addition to Volac’s ProCrisp range, which uses cocoa powder to create dark crispies for use in protein bars, in order to create a contrast of colours inside bars and add a crunch to provide a variety of mouthfeel in soft bars.
Presented by: Alex Clere
Edited by: Martin White
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2019
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Dutch yard Moonen has announced the sale of the fourth hull in its popular 36m semi-custom Martinique yacht series.
It comes after the yacht, also known as YN201, began construction in November 2020. The yacht remains on track for delivery this year.
"Having looked at multiple shipyards and what they had to offer, the choice to choose Moonen was simple," said the owner.
"A beautiful boat with very high build quality, smart design and layout. Add to that a great team and the decision was easy," they added.
Designed by René van der Velden and Diana Yacht Design, the fourth hull in the series will feature a sundeck and accommodation for 12 guests in five cabins. The crew accommodation meanwhile will allow for a staff of seven crew in four cabins.
The owners are working closely with interior designer Andreas Martin-Löf Arkitekter to customise the yacht to their wishes.
Construction is also underway on the third hull in the series.


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Viber offers free calls from the U.S. to the 7 countries affected by Trump travel ban
Mobile calling app Viber is the latest tech company to offer help to those affected by President Trump’s immigration and travel ban.
This morning, the company announced it would indefinitely waive the fees for calls to landlines or mobile numbers between the U.S. and the seven countries impacted by the travel ban, including Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Similar to other calling apps, direct calls between Viber users are always free, but dialing out to a landline or a mobile phone via the “Viber Out” service would cost money.
Viber typically charges a per-minute fee, which could be paid for via a calling plan or by purchasing credit to pay as you go. These rates would vary by the call’s destination.
Viber has fairly quickly rolled out support for free calling in the affected regions, and announced the move via Twitter and a simple informational website, found here.
On the site, the company offers a brief statement on the matter, which doesn’t go so far as to condemn the travel ban directly, but instead offers support to those affected. Under the heading, “We connect people. No matter who they are or where they’re from,” a statement reads:
In light of recent events in the United States, we are now offering free calls to any landline or mobile number between the United States and Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen so that those affected will now have one less barrier to cross when trying to reach their loved ones.


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Cutbacks bumpy for Air Partner
CITY spending cutbacks are hitting corporate plane charter broker Air Partner where it hurts as fewer companies come to market and so hold off jetting around Europe and the US on roadshows to woo potential investors.
Shares in Air Partner lost 70 1/2p, or almost 19%, to 307p as chairman Tony Mack warned that this year's profits will be 'significantly' reduced by 'lack of confidence and activity' in world financial markets, which is eating into the group's UK business.
'We have seen cutbacks like this before, like when the Asian economy faltered, but air charter bounces back quickly once confidence returns,' Mack said.
New offices in New York, Zurich and Vienna should make 2001 less bumpy than otherwise. Pre-tax profits rose 38% to £1.2m in the six months to 31 January on turnover 42% ahead at £46.3m, while earnings per share are 30% to the good at 7p and the interim dividend rises 0.1p to 3.7p.
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This morning Oculus revealed the timing and date for pre-orders of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. This is one of the last keys to the kingdom before the device itself is released, as all other details have already been revealed at one time or another. In similar news, the virtual reality physical handset controllers revealed last year have been pushed to a later date in 2016 for release, while the headset itself will come out this first quarter of 2016.
According to Oculus, pre-orders for the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset will begin on January 6th at 8AM Pacific Time. Pricing has not yet been made available by the company.
This is is less than two days away, and fits right in with CES 2016, the consumer electronics show, the biggest gathering of consumer-aimed electronics in the world, all year long. Oculus will be on-site at CES 2016 with what we can safely assume will be the longest lines for demos once again (as it was last year).
This Wednesday Oculus founder Palmer Luckey will also be doing a Reddit AMA at 6PM Pacific Time. There he’ll likely talk more about the games that come with Oculus Rift right out of the box: Lucky’s Tale (not related to this Luckey), and CCP’s own EVE: Valkyrie.


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Magnite agrees ACR data deal with LG Ads SolutionsTuesday, June 21st, 2022
LG Ads Solutions Enables Data-driven Planning, Activation, Measurement and Advanced Analytics for Media Buyers with Magnite
NEW YORK — Magnite (NASDAQ: MGNI), the world’s largest independent omnichannel sell-side advertising platform, today announced a multi-year deal with LG Ads Solutions, the connected TV and cross-screen advertising company. Magnite will have access to LG Ads Solutions’ audience-level automatic content recognition (ACR) data for planning, activation, measurement, and advanced analytics across its industry-leading supply-side platform (SSP). Through the agreement, audience-level ACR data from opted-in LG smart TVs in the U.S. will be made available across Magnite’s U.S. inventory footprint, and will expand to other countries starting in 2023.
Media buyers are increasingly seeking greater insights into campaign reach and frequency across platforms, and ACR data is one of the top data types used to inform CTV advertising decisions. This development marks a natural next step on the path toward scaling ACR technology and unlocks more possibilities for advertisers.
The benefits to media buyers are immediate as the companies have completed all data integrations. This multi-year deal provides unique access to data, inventory, and analytics to the buy side.
“Magnite’s vantage point as the largest independent CTV SSP make them the ideal choice for fueling our streaming and cross-screen ad business, which has already seen tremendous momentum in the past twelve months,” said Raghu Kodige, CEO of LG Ads Solutions. “As we continue to expand access to our audience data in order to support a healthy planning, activation and measurement ecosystem, Magnite helps us enable advertisers to better understand how and where their campaigns are working. We’re excited to be working with their team to bring more transparency and visibility to the industry.”
“ACR data provides key targeting and measurement capabilities to the buy side,” said Sean Buckley, Chief Revenue Officer at Magnite. “By providing secure access at scale to this valuable piece of the puzzle, we are enabling buyers to better plan, execute, and attribute their campaigns across both CTV and linear. Activation is also DSP agnostic, so buyers have the flexibility to choose the demand-side platforms they want to use.”
“We are thrilled to see two leading CTV companies coming together to make media planning, buying and measurement simpler,” said Sean Muzzy, CEO, North America, Kinesso. “Being able to apply granular audience-level ACR data at massive scale across both managed service and addressable campaigns makes CTV and cross-screen advertising far more efficient and effective.”
“Omnicom Media Group has been working with both LG Ads and Magnite to enable greater transparency and more reliable targeting capabilities across the CTV marketplace. We expect this partnership to enable us to combine the strength of Omni’s Audiences with LG’s ACR data targeting and Magnite’s scale to improve verified audience delivery across our CTV targeted campaign,” said Megan Pagliuca, Chief Activation Officer for Omnicom Media Group.
Links: Magnite; LG Ads Solutions
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The National Black McDonald’s Operators Association Celebrates 50 Years Of Black Franchise Owners During National Black Business Month
The National Black McDonald’s Operators Association (NBMOA) celebrates 50 years of Black franchise owners during National Black Business Month.
Created in 1972, the NBMOA helps Black McDonald’s franchise owners navigate McDonald’s franchise system and create a support network to assist each other, 2 Urban Girls reports.
McDonald’s, one of the biggest fast food chains in America and abroad, had more than 300 Black franchise owners as recently as 2008. According to its site, the NBMOA’s goal is to integrate its members, Black Mcdonald’s employees, and vendors into the fast food giant’s system.
Corwin Johnson, who owns several McDonald’s franchises in Southern California and is on the board of Ronald McDonald Charities, said becoming a McDonald’s franchise owner allowed him to earn a living doing something he loves while paying it forward by providing jobs and opportunities to others.
“Several of the managers I worked for set a great learning environment, something I try to emulate daily and also did throughout my college and professional career,” Johnson told 2 Urban Girls.
“Prior to becoming a franchisee, I worked as a certified public accountant and had the opportunity to see many businesses in many industries. I compared the processes, internal controls, and overall operations to my jobs dating back to my McDonald’s days. At the end of the day, I truly loved learning, people, processes, and business.”
The number of Black McDonald’s franchise owners has decreased in recent years. CNBC reported in 2008 that there were 304 Black franchise owners; however, in 2017, there were less than 250 Black franchise owners.
Despite the dwindling numbers, many McDonald’s franchise owners still speak positively about their experience. That includes the father-son duo of Larry and Dale Thornton, who both own a McDonald’s franchise in Alabama.
Larry Thornton, who purchased his first franchise in 1992, told BLACK ENTERPRISE in June how proud he was to see his son Dale become a franchise owner.
“I cannot tell you how proud I am that he chose this and I hope that he would because it gets back to this statement. I never wanted anyone to ask whatever happened to that Black man who used to own the McDonald’s?” Larry Thornton said.


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Despite Big Tobacco’s moves into the electronic cigarette market they have failed to dominate it and ecigs continue to strip away their long-term customers. Both Big T and the pharmaceutical companies have been deeply hurt by the electronic revolution and, if they can’t own it, the one thing they’d like to see is others fail to succeed. It means we are going to see a continuation of the virulent anti-vaping propaganda and political manoeuvring on a global scale.
The announcement from the Advocate General that Totally Wicked was met with bitter disappointment by advocates, vapers and companies alike. She wrote: “Hardly any EU legislation has led to such fierce legal disputes.” She believes that the: “difference in treatment is not detrimental to manufacturers and importers of e-cigarettes,” and, “the claim that Article 20 of the Directive fails to comply with the principles of equal treatment and free competition must therefore be rejected.”
The finding does not compel the judges at the Court of Justice of the European Union to agree but it does indicate the direction they are likely to go next year. Totally Wicked have no right to appeal when their ruling is made although they, or other companies, have the right to bring further legal cases based on different arguments or new evidence. As it stands, the balance of probability is that the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) and Article 20 will be implemented in May in line with the draft proposals announced in 2015.
Of vapers and potential vapers, the biggest losers are set to be smokers who have yet to try vaping as a means of quitting traditional cigarettes. The argument has often been put that the easy way to circumvent incoming restrictions will be to buy directly from China. Unfortunately this opportunity is set to contract. During 2015, China has been a powerhouse of innovation and products but the country faces its own proposed ban. The move is likely to curtail the development and supply of vaping products leading to a decline in range and quantity. The large manufacturers have been cosying up to tobacco companies and their focus looks set to become the production of cigalikes and basic Gen2-style starter kits conforming to the new 2ml tank size ruling.
As realisation dawns that regulated mods are liable to break and RDA heads may run in short supply we could see a surge in demand over the first six months for drippers, mech mods and the recently out of favour Genisis tank as a means to future-proof vape kit. Long-standing vapers will appreciate that cotton, stainless mesh, lithium-ion cells and Kanthal will continue to be available long after legislation comes into effect. This could have the benefit of breathing some life into the all-but-dead second-hand market for these items as new vapers may be seeking them out to augment their collections.
Some contend that China will continue to produce low-cost, high-quality devices for export but this relies upon the demand remaining at current levels. For those who have watched Far East manufacturing trends, production is reliant on demand. As sales fall off machine time is devoted to something else that will sell in numbers. The impact of the TPD is widely predicted to be that numbers of vapers will fall during the course of the year and into 2017 – do they have the desire or the ability to make high performing equipment that conforms to Article 20 stipulations?
What we do have in the UK is a saturated market. So many new companies have been set up over the last twelve months to meet demand, build on a hobby or grab a ride on the gravy train – could it be possible that the new challenges will clear out the worse ones and leave us with those who understand marketing and customer service better?
And what of eliquid? More than any other aspect, this aspect of ecigs will come under huge financial and administrative impositions. Companies face limits to the size of bottle they can sell, the nicotine strength contained within them and the need for a paper trail. Most will simply be unable to conform and fall away, some will chance their arm and invest while others look to see if they can come up with a creative solution to circumvent the legislation.
It has a direct relevance to the cost of a bottle of juice. While some used to be happy to pay premium prices the bulk of the market resides with the cheaper options. The States has seen a continual shift away from high price points and UK makers are going to have to consider how they can balance customer demand and financial burdens with an inability to advertise to raise sales turnover.
The UK has seen two new vape magazines launch in 2015 that (along with the imported American Vape News Monthly) all rely on advertising revenue. This will vanish overnight. Cigarette brands managed to survive such a ban but it is highly unlikely that most UK vape companies have the customer base or general level of awareness in the smoking/soon-to-quit community to do so.
Of course, this assumes that the MHRA are able to cope with the influx of applications – the New Nicotine Alliance doubts it. And some companies will simply chose to ignore the MHRA route and see if the authorities have the capacity to police the new system. Trading Standards departments struggle to keep on top of their current workload; it is difficult to imagine they could cope with the new swathe of businesses to be monitored.
According to the VIP ecig company, they say: “One company has already spent over £2 million and four years of research and development trying to create a product that would comply with possible medical regulations, as a way of future proofing their business and e-cig – but they have failed, and the time and money invested is gone.” Why continue to try to jump through an impossible and expensive hoop?
One thing remains certain, legislators are trying to control something that has continually developed and changed dramatically over the last five years – and therein lies a hope for the future: necessity is the mother of invention. While British American Tobacco and Phillip Morris develop their new (still) tobacco-based ecig products, it remains possible for the vaping community to come up with inventive and better workarounds.
Jac Vapour, another company you would assume to be a beneficiary of a collapsed home market, are also positive about the future. They announced that they will be increasing the range of approved flavours and developing products to be fully compliant with the TPD. “We can also expect a slowdown in terms of product development and innovation in the latter half of the 2016,” they write, “as the new rules brought in by the TPD begin to take affect. This may mean a flurry of new releases prior to May, as manufacturers rush to get products to market ahead of the regulations.”
Rather than an end to vaping, the coming year will be a transition to a more corporate market. Also, from an almost total ban, ecigs are creeping back into the thinking of the NHS. Five more Scottish health boards have announced that they are reviewing their policies in line with Glasgow & Clyde.
Where does it all leave us? Those of us who have watched friends start companies and flourish? We who love our juices and devices? There is cold comfort in a future that we will still have access to cigalikes and the low performing devices that fail to satisfy. Vapers in Canada and Chicago, for example, recently came together to protest against their choices and freedoms being taken from them. Will we ever reach a stage where UK vapers are similarly motivated en masse to act? Almost definitely not. The luke-warm response to a very workable BREXIT-linked petition demonstrates that most vapers will only do what they see as being in their personal, immediate self-interests.
But if you take the comments from social media into account then Clive Bates is possibly on the money when he opines: “One mistake legislators often make is to assume that everyone will comply with their laws and act in the way they expect. This is unlikely, and I expect to see the considerable ingenuity applied to subverting this directive and showing how worthless it is.”
For those of us who wish to continue to vape the way we currently do, and current vape businesses to continue to trade, then many of our forum comments appear to feature in his tick-list of subversion and civil disobedience: hoarding and freezing liquids, the illegal trade of nicotine base and homemade juices, UK companies to “move” abroad (albeit only online) and forums to relocate to foreign servers to name just a few.
No, 2016 is not going to be the year vape died. It will be the year things start to hit home, it will be a year of activity and change. And maybe if we are lucky, one that contains a couple of surprises. What do you think? How do you think vaping is going to cope with 2016?


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Adobe Inc. and Figma Inc. have received a second request for information from the US Department of Justice on Adobe’s proposed $20 billion acquisition of its startup rival, signaling stepped-up antitrust scrutiny of the purchase.
The deal, which would be one of the largest takeovers of a private software maker ever, was announced Sept. 15 with a targeted completion in 2023. Adobe, the top maker of creative software for design professionals, is looking to expand its web-based offerings to make inroads with nonprofessional customers and small businesses. That market has gravitated in recent years to web-native companies such as San Francisco-based Figma, Canva Inc. and Lightricks Ltd.
The Justice Department on Monday asked Adobe and Figma to provide additional information on the deal, known as a second request, the companies said in a regulatory filing. The action means regulatory approval for the deal can’t come until at least 30 days after Adobe and Figma fulfill the request, the DOJ ends its review, or the parties agree to an extension, the companies said. Bloomberg earlier this month reported that the Justice Department had initiated an antitrust investigation of the proposed acquisition, according to people familiar with the issue.
Read the source article at finance.yahoo.com


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Amazon will continue to sell its controversial facial recognition software to law enforcement and other entities after its shareholders shot down a proposal to reel the technology in. The vote effectively kills two initiatives brought before Amazon's board. One proposal would have required board approval to sell the software to governments, with approval only being given if the client meets certain standards of civil liberties. Another proposal called for a study on the technology's implications on rights and privacy. The exact breakdown of the vote is unclear and according to an Amazon representative it will only be made available via SEC filings later this week.
May-23-2019, 03:55:57 GMT


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|Internet of things|
Daily update ⋅ May 26, 2015
Google Inc. Could Reveal an "Internet of Things" OS Soon
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Hospitality brand Sonder is claiming unicorn status after closing a Series D round of $210 million.
Investors in the round - which puts the company at $400 million in total funding and a valuation of more than $1 billion - include Fidelity, Valor Equity Partners, Atreides Capital, ARod Corp and the Pritzker family (through Tao Capital Partners), as well as existing investors Spark Capital and Greenoaks Capital.
Sonder, which manages short-term rentals with hotel-like amenities, says an additional $15 million in investment will arrive over the coming weeks from “select developer” partners; it previously raised an $85 million Series C round in August of last year.
Sonder co-founder and CEO Francis Davidson says the capital will be used to “accelerate the amazing growth we’ve seen so far,” and the concept plans to expand to major cities across Europe, the Middle East and Latin America over the next 12 months.
In the past quarter, Davidson says Sonder has added about one new building a day, and in total, its portfolio has increased by about 3,000 spaces.
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“In just one day last month we added 560 units, which is larger than the entire portfolio of many other companies. Sixty percent of our current units are in locations where we occupy the entire building, and now we’re looking to do even larger deals,” he says.
Sonder currently has 8,500 spaces, which it leases, designs and supports, signed across 26 cities in six countries. By the end of the year, it projects $400 million in revenue, which is four times that of last year.
“Our raise and now billion-dollar valuation underscores the strength of the business and the rapid shift taking place within the accommodations industry. Our vision for travel is making beautiful, well-designed spaces accessible to everyone with technology,” Davidson says.
“We’re far more efficient than traditional hotels while also providing a unique space that’s flexible enough to meet everyone’s needs. Whether you’re traveling on your own, with your family or with friends, you’ll always have a space that accommodates to you.”
Sonder’s latest round drives it ahead of similar players in the space including business travel-focused Lyric, which raised a $160 million round led by Airbnb for a funding total of $185 million in April, and tech-forward apart-hotel brand Domio, which has $67 million in funding.


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Sir Richard Branson, the British business mogul, and the Virgin Group have announced the formation of Virgin Cruises, a new cruise line that Branson expects will shake up the cruise industry. The company will build two world class
ships to start its fleet with the backing of Bain Capital, a private equity firm.
Currently, Branson and his team own more than 4oo business worldwide, which means that this new business has great potential to succeed. Virgin Group has picked Tom McAlpin to head the management team at Virgin Cruises, Mr. McAlpin was a founding member and President of Disney Cruises and was also CEO of The World, Residence at Seat, a condo cruise ship.
However, the first sailing is not expected until after 2018 and no further details on the groups strategy was made available for competitive purposes. The Virgin Group did say that Virgin Cruises will be headquartered in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Florida area.


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Deloitte & Touche has resigned as Penn Traffic's auditors over the company's refusal to release financial reports.
We've reported previously (here and here) on the company's problems, which stem apparently from misbooking trade promotion allowances: ("The Audit Committee found that the Company had engaged in certain improper practices principally relating to the premature recognition of promotional allowances ...").
The company, which operates 112 stores in the northeast US, is being investigated by both the SEC and the Justice Department, and fired a couple top executives earlier this year as a result of an internal investigation. But they have not released financials since emerging from Chapter 11 in April 2005.
You gotta wonder what's in those reports.


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Gozney Ovens has announced that it has become one of the “few” oven suppliers to possess certification that enables wood to be burnt in ovens throughout the UK.
The commercial stone oven manufacturer said it is now DEFRA-certified for wood fired applications across its entire range.
Councils are now paying more attention to solid fuel burning in smoke controlled areas than ever before. Failure to present evidence of a DEFRA-certified oven in a commercial environment could lead to immediate shutdown, large fines and eventually oven removal, according to the Dorset-based outfit.
“We take our environmental commitment very seriously,” stated director Tom Gozney. “That’s why we ensure our ovens are developed and rigorously tested resulting in the lowest emission output.”
Gozney Ovens installs commercial stone pizza ovens in some of the UK’s leading and most iconic chains, including fast-growing Franco Manca and independent newcomers such as Homeslice of London.
“It’s essential that we support our customers with the appropriate certification and customer service,” he added.


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Chisom Sophia, a popular comedienne cum model, better known as Real Sophy or Soso, has received a lot of compliments after sharing stunning photos online.
The far-skinned diva showed off her beauty and elegance in the new photos, which she posted on her verified Instagram account a few hours ago.
In the photos, she wore a white bodycon garment that suited her great body shape. She also had a new hairstyle that complemented her facial beauty.
See photos below;
Below are some reactions gathered under her post


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Early last year, The Tata Group’s retail arm, Trent Ltd, announced that is reportedly looking to triple revenue to INR 15,000 crore over the next decade. Trent operates the Zudio Westside, Star Bazaar, Landmark, Zara and stores. To be able to achieve this ambitious target, Noel Tata, Chairman of Trent, wanted the brand’s retail presence to be well entrenched across the country, and the opening of more stores. Not wanting to lose any momentum, he set a target for his retail to open 28 Zudio stores within 28 days.
Ashley D’cruz, Head, Store Planning and Projects at Tata Trent took this as a challenging opportunity, which was also a tad intimidating, especially when one considered the number of fixtures and shop fitting that would be needed for the rollout of each store. He decided to work with InSync Shop Fittings for the execution of this ambitious project, which spanned over 1.75 lakh square feet. After all, since In Sync was associated the brand since its inception, Insync was best suited to keep pace with the retail acceleration that Tata Trent had in mind.
Due to its long-standing collaboration with the Zudio, InSync had a clear understanding of the store identity, which comprised over 35 product SKUs. Over the years, it leveraged its Forte shop fitting solution and custom built a range of floor units, browsers, trial rooms, display tables and cash desk and cashback counters. These were then replicated at the newly opened outlets with greater ease, as the Tata Trent team got rolling with the retail acceleration.
“The Forte shop fitting solution forms the structural heart of the retail identity and is used both for wall bays and floor units. Using our standardised engineering was a key factor in the success of the roll out being achieved as planned, since this solution is designed for quick and easy manufacturing and installation,” explained Salim Merchant, Managing Partner, InSync Shop Fittings. Besides Forte, InSync also built modular cash desk and cash back units that are finished with solid acrylic tops, and produced browsers and hanging rails for floor display along with stepped tables and podium for the 35 product lines.
The company was able to deliver the project within the promised deadline – a feat that was appreciated by the Trent team. Complimenting this, Ashley said, “Achieving the accomplishment of opening 28 stores within 28 days would not have been possible without the unstinted support of Insync Shop Fitting’s design and installation team. Their timely delivery of fixtures and ready team of installers ensured that all stores were handed-over on time. Despite the huge volumes of fixtures to be manufactured for 28 stores within a short span of time, there were absolutely no compromise on the quality of the materials delivered.”
Going forth, InSync plans to deliver another 15 more Zudio stores by the end of February, 2018. It promises to be in sync with the aggressive retail roll out that Tata Trent has outlined for the brand, with quick fix shop fitting solutions.


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Let's face it, reality can be scary. Maybe that's one reason why Halloween keeps becoming a bigger and bigger event each year.
More Americans than ever plan to celebrate Halloween this year, boosting expected spending on the holiday by 9 percent to $6.86 billion.
One reason for the increase is that more consumers plan on dressing up in costume, according to the survey, which was conducted by BIGResearch on behalf of the National Retail Federation trade group.
About seven in 10 plan on celebrating Halloween, according to survey, which polled 9,374 consumers in mid-September.
Spending on costumes is expected to reach $1 billion, up from $840 million last year. About 43.9 percent of those celebrating will dress up in a costume. Last year, about 40.1 percent said they would dress up.
One reason for the increase is that more Americans are attending Halloween parties. Last year, about a third of those who celebrate said they would throw or attend a party. This year, the number rose slightly to 34.3 percent.
Others will hand out candy, carve a pumpkin, or take their children trick-or-treating.
And don't forget the fake cob webs and skeletons. Spending on Halloween decorations also is on the rise. In fact, spending on Halloween decor is now second only to spending on Christmas decorations.
"Thanks to creative costumes and decor for consumers of all ages, Halloween has become one of the most anticipated holidays of the year for many people," said Pam Goodfellow, Consumer Insights Director at BIGResearch. "As a non-gift holiday, even people on the strictest budget can enjoy themselves this Halloween."
On average, consumers will spend about $72.31 on decorations, costumes, and candy, up from $66.28 last year.
But the economy is haunting some people's plans. Nearly one-third of those surveyed said the state of the economy will hurt their spending. Most of these people expect to spend less overall. But others plan to make a costume instead of buying one (18.9 percent), use last year's costume (16.6 percent) and buy less candy (40.2 percent).


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Cryptocurrency Millionaire Says Bitcoin is Dead – Details Here!
Are we to actually believe that bitcoin is dead? From what has been reported over the years, bitcoin was the path to the future of currency and commerce. But with the cryptocurrency hitting a new yearly low of $3,126, and experts speculating it will drop lower the market is alarmed. Erik Finman, who is one of the first ever cryptocurrency millionaire says the bitcoin is headed to the trash bin. In an interview with MarketWatch the cryptocurrency millionaire stated, “Bitcoin is dead, it’s too fragmented, there’s tons of infighting. I just don’t think it will last.”
He also stated, “It may have a bull market or two left in it, but long-term, it’s dead.”
That’s a nervous prognosis particular for young people whose first venture into the market has been with investments into cryptocurrencies particularly bitcoins. The only rainbow in what Erik Finman said is he just doesn’t “think it will last.” The opposite of which is, it may last. Stay tuned for any updates.
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Our homes wear siding like a winter coat, bundled up in cedar-check plaids or vinyl stripes to withstand the weather. And when that overcoat is looking tattered — whether your home is clad in 100-year-old painted pine shingles, 60-year-old asbestos-cement tiles, 50-year-old aluminum, or 30-year-old vinyl — you might entertain the idea of replacing it with new siding.
It’s a tough choice, because unlike a roof — which, when it fails, needs to be replaced pronto — “siding is more of a want than a need,’’ said John MacDonald, general manager of REI Roofing & Siding in Holbrook. And as wants go, it’s not a cheap one: The average cost to replace 1,250 square feet of vinyl siding in the Boston area is $24,626, according to Remodeling Magazine’s 2022 Cost vs. Value Report.
But few other home improvements have such a dramatic, immediate impact on curb appeal. Homeowners can expect to recoup about 80 percent of a vinyl siding project’s cost at resale, according to the same report, making it one of the most financially rewarding improvements.
It’s also one of the most confounding, because there are so many options. And as the first impression your home makes on visitors, siding is a high-stakes decision — one that, with any luck, will last for several decades. So here’s what to know before choosing a spiffy new look for your home.
In the modern marketplace, residential siding options can be simplified into two main categories, said Joseph Danz, president of Boston Exterior Remodeling in West Roxbury. “There’s synthetic siding, and there’s real wood siding.’’ Houses have worn many species of wood over the years, but the two main types of wood siding are red and white cedar, both of which are naturally rot-resistant due to the fragrant tannic acids found in their heartwood.
Red cedar, which grows out West, is a taller tree with a denser grain, so it can be used for larger shingles, clapboards (those long, horizontal strips), and shakes (similar to shingles, but with a thicker and rougher cut that gives them more texture and heft). Eastern white cedar, grown in places like Nova Scotia and Maine, is a smaller species used mostly for shingles — like the ones you see on Nantucket.
Cedar is the most sustainable siding material out there, said Phil Kaplan, principal at Kaplan Thompson Architects in Portland, Maine, and co-host of the Green Architect’s Lounge podcast — at least, if it was harvested responsibly. He recommends asking for wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. “More people should really start looking at FSC lumber,’’ he said. “The price premium is not as great as it used to be.’’ Because Eastern white cedar is grown nearby, it has the least embodied carbon — that is, the emissions resulting from its harvest, production, and transport to the job site — of any siding.
Cedar can come pre-stained or pre-treated with oils to extend its lifespan (if staining or painting, make sure to coat all sides of a shingle or clapboard before installation for maximum durability). But even left untreated, cedar is durable. “Cedar shingles will last for 20, 25 years on the wall if they’re untreated,’’ MacDonald said. “If they’re treated, you’ll get even longer out of them.’’ Red cedar tends to darken as it ages, while white cedar generally fades to gray.
The main drawback? Cedar siding is expensive, especially at the moment. Between COVID shutdowns and supply chain issues, MacDonald said it’s gotten pricier or even impossible to procure the material needed to side an entire home in cedar. “Lumber yards have had a really difficult time getting that at a good price, so it’s not something you can really quote these days,’’ he said. “Because a lumberyard will only sell you — if they even have it — a limited amount, typically not enough to do a whole home.’’
There are a handful of newer and niche wood siding options, too, including some that rely on natural treatments to extend their lifespan. Acetylated wood, for example, is treated with acetic anhydride (a much stronger relative of vinegar), and torrefied wood is basically baked at very high temperatures to strip it of its energy, making it less susceptible to pests and mold. “These effectively wood-based products are much more durable; they don’t rot,’’ Kaplan said.
When it comes to rot resistance, though, vinyl and other low-maintenance, non-natural materials have won favor with homebuilders and homeowners. In 2020, 72 percent of the new homes built in New England were sided with vinyl, according to census survey data, compared with 16 percent clad in the runner-up, wood.
And while traditional vinyl siding — the ubiquitous double-rowed panels of 4-inch clapboards, seams and all — is the most affordable siding option, “there are little tricks of the trade to really make vinyl look not like vinyl,’’ Danz said, such as taking care to put on authentic window trims. “This is not the days where Sears used to walk around the neighborhood and sell you thin vinyl siding that only came in three colors.’’
If a homeowner can afford the upgrade, Danz likes to use a product called Grayne: a cedar-look synthetic siding made from PVC. “It looks like individual cedar shingles, but it comes in a panel,’’ he said. “The other nice thing about it is it has 2 percent waste and a Class A fire rating — that’s unheard of.’’
As a vinyl upgrade, MacDonald is a fan of CertainTeed Cedar Impressions, which are made of PVC and come in a variety of textures, sizes, and colors. However, the complicated installation increases labor costs and waste. “It’s a very specific cut and nailing pattern, so instead of the 10 percent waste factor you have with wood siding or fiber cement or vinyl clapboard, it’s more like a 20 percent waste factor,’’ he said, especially when installed on an old Victorian with nooks and crannies or varied windows. “The labor is double the cost [of standard vinyl siding], and then to purchase the material is almost four times the cost,’’ he said.
Other composite siding options include TruExterior, made from polymer and fly ash (a byproduct of coal combustion); Everlast, which is about 80 percent PVC-based resin mixed with inorganic materials (such as crushed stone or fly ash) and long-lasting acrylic colorant; and SmartSide, made from strands of wood treated with zinc borate and bound with wax and a non-PVC resin.
From a practical standpoint, another reason Danz likes Grayne is that it’s easy to remove if a homeowner wants to put on a deck or addition later. “Everlast is a beautiful product, but it has this locking mechanism where they stack on top of each other, so you can’t take off a panel mid-wall,’’ he said.
Another composite material, fiber-cement siding, has grown hugely popular in the past two decades. It typically contains cellulose, cement, and either sand or fly ash. That makes the product durable if installed correctly, but also heavy and difficult for contractors to work with. Fiber cement isn’t vulnerable to insects, fire, or rot — and while it requires less maintenance than wood, it does sometimes call for a new coat of paint, which it holds well.
Some fiber-cement boards contain silica dust, however, which can be harmful to installers when they cut it to size. And homeowners have had mixed results with the product; CertainTeed paid out over $100 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging its fiber-cement siding warped and cracked prematurely.
“We don’t touch fiber-cement siding,’’ MacDonald said. “It draws a lot of dust, the product breaks easily — so at REI we just choose not to use that product.’’
“In middle America, it seems to be okay, but in New England, it just gets eaten alive,’’ Danz agreed. “I’ve taken off more cement board than I’ve ever put on.’’
“Not all fiber cement is the same,’’ countered Andrew Bella, director of sales/Northeast region for James Hardie, perhaps the best known producer of fiber-cement products in New England. “Hardie fiber-cement products have been specifically engineered for climate to stand up to harsh New England weather, resisting damage from water, pests, rot, high winds, temperature extremes, hail, and even fire.’’
It’s what’s underneath that counts
For all the attention paid to siding, it’s the stuff underneath that really does the hard work of protecting your home from the elements. “All siding is sacrificial to some extent,’’ Kaplan said. “The siding, in and of itself, is not the thing that keeps the water out.’’
That job falls on a weather barrier, such as a Tyvec or Typar home wrap, or a peel-and-stick membrane such as Vycor or BlueSkin, that’s applied over the sheathing (the boards or plywood that comprise your exterior walls). “[The siding] effectively protects the water barrier from direct exposure to the sun and rain in order to keep that water barrier in good shape,’’ Kaplan said.
That’s one reason Danz always strips off old siding instead of installing new material directly over the old. “You’re only as good as what you’re nailing something to when you do those go-overs,’’ Danz said, and the old siding could be hiding rotten sheathing or other problems. “We only have one formula, where we strip everything down, fix the rot, add Vycor.’’ (Danz prefers Vycor to BlueSkin because it’s more transparent, so he can see what’s behind the membrane. But both products are a step up from regular house wrap, providing air sealing in addition to water resistance.)
In cedar applications, in particular, there’s one last important undergarment: a rain screen. Whether it’s a mesh layer that sits behind the shingles, or a series of thin strapping boards that create an air channel behind the clapboards, it’s crucial to allow the siding to drain and dry out.
“It basically creates a gap between the siding and the water-resistant barrier that allows airflow to get behind there, so you don’t have siding pushing directly against sheathing, where it has a tendency to rot if it gets wet,’’ Kaplan said. And the openings at the top and bottom should have actual screens on them, to keep bugs out.
Time to accessorize
Anyone who’s bought a new coat knows it’s a good occasion to pick up a matching hat or scarf, if there’s room in the budget. Similarly, there are other home projects that dovetail well with new siding.
If you’re looking to upgrade windows, for example, without resorting to replacement windows (which add a frame within the existing frame, cheating you out of precious daylight), a siding project is the opportune time to do it. It’s also a great time to get insulation blown into your walls, something most Massachusetts residents can get done at a steep discount through Mass Save. “The best insulation you can have is always the stuff that goes in your walls,’’ Danz said.
After all, in New England, it doesn’t really matter how nice your new coat looks if it doesn’t keep you warm and dry on a chilly January night.
Jon Gorey blogs about homes at HouseandHammer.com. Send comments to [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @jongorey. Subscribe to our free real estate newsletter at pages.email.bostonglobe.com/AddressSignUp. Follow Address on Twitter @GlobeHomes.


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Union Finance minister Arun Jaitley, in his budget, announced a slew of schemes for the empowerment of Rural India. The minister pleased the small tax payers and startups with the announcement of tax exception schemes. Jaitely, announced several policy majors to boost its flagship initiatives like Make in India, Start up India, Digital India and Skilled India.
Aiming to encourage start ups and SMEs, Jatiley announced 100 percent deduction on profits for startups for 3 out of the first 5 years. The minister also announced incentives for new manufacturing companies and relatively small enterprise companies. He announced to lower corporate IT rates for next financial year of relatively small enterprise companies with turnovers not exceeding 5 Crore.
Jaitley proposed several policy measures to boost flagship projects of his government like Make in India, Digital India, etc. He proposed to provide and ease of doing business in the country and to boost Make In India initiative, suitable changes will make in customs and excise duty rates. In order to bring digitization in the rural India, the minister proposed to launch Digital literacy scheme to cover 6 crore additional rural households. He announced to spend 1,700 crore for 1500 multi-skill development centres.
The Finance Minister also announced to phase out corporate tax exemptions, but restricted the marginal reduction in corporate tax rates only to small companies. Addressing the house, Jaitley said that benefits of phasing out corporate tax exemptions will be available to the government only gradually, thereby justifying not lowering the tax rates for big companies this year. Jaitley lowered the corporate tax rate for companies with a turnover of Rs.5 crore or less to 29% plus surcharge and cess from 30% plus surcharge and cess. He also announced a corporate tax rate of 25% for all new manufacturing companies incorporated from 1 April, provided they do not claim any exemptions. The exemptions that are proposed to be phased out in the budget include accelerated depreciation and benefits available to special economic zones.
In a good news for common citizens, Jaitely, announced deduction for additional interests of Rs 50,000 per annum for loans up to Rs 35 lakh sanctioned in 2016-17 for first time home buyers, where house costs do not exceed Rs 50 lakh. However, unlike the last financial year, the minister did not propose any change in the tax slab. Jaitley also proposed to increase the limit of deduction of rent paid from Rs 24,000 per annum to Rs 60,000 to those who don’t own any house and live in rented accommodation. The finance minister announced to raise the ceiling of tax rebate from Rs 2000 to Rs 5000 for those earning less than Rs 5 lakh per annum, giving an additional relief of Rs 3000 in their tax liability.
Other major highlights
- Limited tax compliance window from Jun 1 – Sep 30 for declaring undisclosed income at 45% incl. surcharge and penalties
- Govt to introduce bill to amend Companies Act for ease of doing business; to enable registration of cos. in a day
- Rs 1,000 crore allocated for new EPF (Employees’ Provident Fund) scheme
- Target of disbursement under MUDRA increased to 1,80,000 crore
- Scheme to get Rs.500 cr for promoting entrepreneurship among SC/ST
- 10 public and 10 private educational institutions to be made world-class.
- Digital repository for all school leaving certificates and diplomas. Rs. 1,000 crore for higher education financing
- 62 new navodaya vidyalayas to provide quality education
- Service tax exempted for housing construction of houses less than 60 sq. m
- Excise duty raised from 10 to 15 per cent on tobacco products other than beedis
- 100 per cent FDI in marketing of food products produced and marketed in India


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China's sputtering market sends alarm bells far and wide
China has gone from growth engine to source of concern for carmakers, with BMW AG and Toyota Motor Corp. becoming the latest to warn about the world's biggest auto market slowing down.
"Things may well get worse from here," Max Warburton, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd., said in a note to investors this week. "The market continues to deteriorate."
Carmakers are struggling to adjust to what BMW has called a "normalization" of a market that has grown eightfold since 2000, pushing it past the U.S. as the world's biggest car market in 2009.
Automakers including Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG built factories in response. Ford now sees a potential annual decline in industrywide sales in China for the first time in 17 years. Volkswagen's deliveries in the country dropped for the first time in a decade in the first half.
For BMW, the lucrative new market drove profit from auto production, as a percent of sales, into "solid double-digit territory," Warburton said. The Chinese contraction probably contributed to BMW's 8.4 percent profit margin lagging behind those of competitors Audi and Mercedes-Benz and falling short of investor expectations, Warburton said.
BMW's sales in China slipped 0.1 percent in June, as the new-car market dropped for the first time in more than two years. The automaker said Tuesday it has cut production in China so far this year by 16,000 cars. Still, the Munich-based company emphasized the market's long-term potential.
"We experience that volatility in all emerging markets," BMW Chief Executive Officer Harald Krueger said on a conference call with reporters. The country is still a growth market, especially for luxury-car makers, Krueger said.
Toyota said pricing has been deteriorating in China, sapping optimism for profitability there even as it's posted a 12 percent percent gain in deliveries in the first seven months of this year. The stock fell as much as 3.2 percent in Tokyo trading.
"The sales expenses have gone up and also the sales prices have come down slightly," Tetsuya Otake, a Toyota managing officer, told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday, after the company posted quarterly operating profit that missed analyst estimates. "This is making our business in China quite difficult. The business environment is getting tougher."
Toyota said it will begin production of another new assembly line in Tianjin, China, by mid-2018. While that expansion will allow the company to make another 100,000 vehicles per year, this will be mostly offset by ending output on an existing assembly line in China.
Japanese carmakers have outpaced the industry this year, though that lead is under threat of what the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association sees as a "downward spiral" in demand.
What seems certain is that the double-digit increases that have underpinned automaker expansion won't return, said Peter Fuss, a partner at consulting company EY's German unit.
"We're unlikely to get double-digit growth again but something that's more realistic for a market of China's size and potential," Fuss said. "That would mean growth rates of more than 5 percent to as much as 8 percent."


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Samsung recently sent out invites for their Samsung Galaxy S4 launch event, which takes place in New York on the 14th of March, and now it would appear that Samsung also has something planned for Times Square for the Galaxy S4 release.
Samsung recently posted the following picture on Twitter, and as you can see it has @Times Square on the photo, which would suggest that Samsung will live stream the event in Times Square on the 14th of March.
Samsung are obviously hoping that the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be their biggest event yet, and we suspect we will be hearing more from them on the device and the event before the 14th of March.
Earlier today we heard that there will be two versions of the Samsung Galaxy S4, one for the US which is rumored to use a quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor clocked at 1.9GHz and one for Europe with an 8 Core Samsung Exynos 5 Octa processor with a clock speed of 1.8GHz.
Other rumored specifications on the Samsung Galaxy S4 include Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and a 4.99 inch full high definition display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, the handset will also feature 2GB of RAM and a choice of either 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of built in storage.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 is also rumored to come with a range of new features, which may include touchless gestures, new eye tracking technology and also Samsung Orb, which is rumored to be like Photo Sphere on Android.
When Samsung announces the Galaxy S4 on the 14th of March, we are also expecting them to announce the relesse date of the handset, which is rumored to be between the 15th and 22nd of April.
Last year when the Galaxy S3 was released it was made available in Europe initially and then launched in the US a couple of months later, we are expecting things to be different this year and suspect Samsung will make the Galaxy S4 available in the US and Europe at the same time.
Source Samsung / Twitter
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5 African banks have signed up to SWIFT’s global payments innovation (gpi) service, the new standard for cross-border payments.
Of these, four are already live – Standard Bank of South Africa, FirstRand Bank, ABSA Bank and Nedbank – and many others are preparing to go live on the service in 2018.
SWIFT gpi is the largest change in cross-border payments over the last 30 years. More than 100 billion USD in SWIFT gpi messages are being sent every day, enabling payments to be credited to end beneficiaries within minutes – many within seconds.
The service has already been adopted by more than 160 financial institutions around the world, with 55 banks already live on the service sending hundreds of thousands of payments daily across 350 international payment corridors.
Overall, nearly 50% of SWIFT gpi payments are credited to end beneficiaries within 30 minutes, and almost 100% of payments within 24 hours. Those that take longer typically involve more complex foreign exchange conversions, compliance checks or regulatory authorisations. For Africa, these numbers are even better. 70% of gpi payments leaving Africa are credited to the end beneficiary within 30 minutes.
SWIFT gpi also enables the banks to leverage new technologies such as API. African banks are embracing these opportunities and have implemented this new technology to better serve their customers. The SWIFT gpi API solution allows them to easily integrate the gpi tracker in their internet banking channels and provide better services to their customers.
Denis Kruger, head of Sub-Sahara Africa, SWIFT, said: “We are delighted that Africa’s leading banks are committed to SWIFT gpi – the new standard for cross-border payments. The performance of African banks on gpi to date clearly demonstrates the competitiveness of the African banking sector as it continues to evolve its customer offering and support African economic development.”
In addition to the 160 financial institutions that have adopted gpi, more than 50 payment market infrastructures are already exchanging gpi payments, enabling domestic exchange and tracking. Payment market infrastructures have a critical role to play in facilitating the end-to-end tracking of cross-border payments because as soon as international payments hit the destination country, they are typically cleared through local payment infrastructures.
By being able to continue to track the payments in real-time, banks and their corporate clients can optimise their funds.
“Thanks to SWIFT gpi, banks are able to credit payments within minutes and even seconds, while their customers are facing shorter supply cycles and able to ship goods faster. This is a very significant step forward for banks and for their customers” says Harry Newman, Head of Banking, SWIFT. “In addition, banks receive fewer queries and have told us their enquiry-related costs are reduced by as much as 50% when they use SWIFT gpi. This is a major service improvement to end-users and a considerable cost saving for the industry.”
“We have seen a surge in both gpi adoption rates and number of transactions, and we expect adoption of SWIFT gpi to now grow very significantly. Instead of focussing on a limited number of bilateral routes which has limited value both for banks and their customers, gpi already offers very extensive coverage across banks, markets and geographies. By adding new banks and corridors every day, SWIFT gpi ensures banks and their customers get a truly global, fast, secure, and transparent cross-border payments service.”
Larize Nel, Payments Portfolio Manager, ABSA Bank, said: “By using SWIFT gpi, we are able to increase our competitiveness in the cross-border payments space and deliver on our customers’ requirements for faster, more transparent and traceable payments.”
Indrees Kolabhai, Head of Cash Management Standard Bank South Africa, said: “As a SWIFT gpi bank we are able to offer our clients a cross-border payments service that is second to none. Some of our gpi payments have been finalised in as little as 10 seconds. As SWIFT gpi continues to establish itself as the new standard for cross-border payments, we anticipate that corporate customers will choose to have cross-border payments processed only by gpi banks.”
Dewald Smit, Corporate Shared Services GM of Nedbank CIB, said: “We are proud to be one of the first African banks live on SWIFT gpi. The service gives us the opportunity to significantly increase the quality of our cross-border payments offering and be a part of the future of correspondent banking.”
Anthony Grant, CEO Foreign Exchange, FirstRand Bank, said: “Having gone live on SWIFTgpi in March 2018, we are impressed at the efficiency of the service and the transparency that gpi payments have produced. We look forward to passing the benefits of gpi on to our customers.”


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India’s Bitcoin Industry is growing at a full pace. As the second most populated country in the world, India is now one of the biggest cryptocurrency consumer industries around the globe
India’s Bitcoin Industry is growing at a full pace. As the second most populated country in the world, India is now one of the biggest cryptocurrency consumer industries around the globe. The country financial landscape is teeming with business opportunities and many entrepreneurs are becoming aware of the incredible potential this new technology has to offer.
With the rising interest in the bitcoin technology, along came a big wave of funding and investment made into the crypto Industry. A lot of startups have been opening its doors and up until now the government and the country banks have had a friendly approach to this recent phenomenon.
Companies like Coinsecure, Zebpay, Unocoin and many others have been trying to raise bitcoin awareness; by focusing on bringing this new technology to schools, colleges and other industries, these companies are aiming to educate and inform people about digital currency across the country.
These bitcoin industry actors are connecting the country to this new technology, and finding new solutions to enable the common masses to come on-board Bitcoin and on spreading further awareness and to reduce barriers that are an impediment for Bitcoin’s progress in India.
In order to learn more about how digital currency is conquering the financial landscape in India and to know some more on the country’s current crypto panorama, NewsBTC had a chat with Benson Samuel, founder and CTO of Coinsecure, one of the oldest and most prominent bitcoin companies in India.
NewsBTC – Coinsecure works pretty much like Coinbase, and is one of the leading exchanges in India. What can you tell us about Coinsecure?
Benson – Coinsecure is an algorithmic trading platform, and a Bitcoin Wallet. We have spent a lot of time and emphasis on functionality, ease of use and security for all our users. We are a fast growing service and have been watching and working on India’s growing Bitcoin demands.
What can you tell us about the options Coinsecure provides?
We provide the most fluid and transparent Bitcoin Exchange in India. We are a peer to peer exchange, so our users discover their favored prices and execute their trades. Our Onchain wallet, is a hybrid system that uses accounts and addresses to help manage and store users Bitcoins for easy spending. We also have a comprehensive API, that literally allows others to build their own trading platforms, apart from several other features. We have 2 applications scheduled to launch for the Android Platform over the next few weeks which will enable users to access our wallet and exchange services from a native application rather than the web.
What can you tell us about the cryptocurrency ecosystem in the country?
The Ecosystem is in a quickened build up phase at the moment, Lots of recent positive events, such as the RBI positive note about Blockchain usage as well as the Zebpay funding, show that India is very involved with Bitcoin.
India is one of the countries where bitcoin is growing at a fast pace. What can you tell us about adoption in India?
It has been a bit slower than other countries though, but we are hoping to see adoption increase as merchants get onboard the system and start witnessing the power of Bitcoin. The numbers below should definitely give you a picture of the growth speed and prospect of Bitcoin in India:
January 2015 -> 4779600000, February 2015 -> 5775800000, march 2015 -> 1558200000, April 2015 -> 2571200000, may 2015 -> 10450200000, June 2015 -> 9484200000, July 2015 -> 8998400000, august 2015 -> 13551200000, September 2015 -> 32437800000, October 2015 -> 95154200000, November 2015 -> 153623400000, December 2015 -> 267698600000
With all this industry activity what has been the government reaction?
The government issued a cautionary note in 2013, post which, there has been little or no word from them in an official capacity. As advised by Nishith Desai Associates, most Bitcoin companies in India do follow strict KYC norms and ensure sufficient self-regulation to ensure growth and scalability.
A lot of digital currency-related business have been popping up in the country. What have been the major issues new companies have been facing regarding regulation?
Regulations have been better defined and allocated in recent times, We have noticed several new licenses coming in to enable payment banks, apart from others. These allow for a better entry into the Indian Payment Industry. The cost prohibitive nature of these licenses is a bit of a showstopper for a lot of the players who wish to get into the field.
Do you see a bright future for the digital currency in India? Will it have a great social impact?
Absolutely! Even the RBI Governer had mentioned the benefits of Digital currencies and the importance of the role that they will occupy in India. Most importantly, the large population of India and the need for redistributing currencies can be streamlined a lot more when digital currencies start to become the norm.
We would like to hear your view on the future of digital currency and the blockchain technology.
The future does lie in mass adoption and usage of digital currencies. There is still a long way to go before confidence can be invested by users. Blockchain technology is on the rise, either a fancy or a simple implementation, some of the largest names are looking into the integration of private Blockchains to simplify, and enable better transparency within their entities.
Source : http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/01/13/benson-samuel-from-coinsecure-speaks-about-the-bitcoin-landscape-in-india/


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Over the last year and a half, TripAdvisor has launched a series of TV advertising campaigns — its first attempts — in the U.S., Canada, France and Australia.
Company officials conceded along the way that TripAdvisor didn’t get it right at first, although more recent spots have done much better.
Many of the 15- and 30-second TV spots revolved around the theme, “Don’t just visit New York, Visit TripAdvisor New York. With millions of reviews, TripAdvisor makes any destination better.”
Here was one of the ads, which in my opinion, was a jumbled mess. All that talking at once comes off as confusing, distracting, and there is nothing memorable about the spot.
But, alas, TripAdvisor, with its 170 million reviews and opinions and 280 million monthly unique visitors, found a solution: Let its users compete to create TV ads for TripAdvisor.
Note to TripAdvisor’s latest creative agency: Uh oh.
The winner of the contest was Denver-based filmmaker Jason Graisa and his creative partner, Curt Donohue, both TripAdvisor members, and they took home a $25,000 prize for their “Fargo” submission.
The “Fargo” ad is a lot more effective than TripAdvisor’s “Split” ad. The Fargo ad borrows from TripAdvisor’s basic advertising premise, but the Fargo ad is clean, clear, funny and effective. Anyone traveling to Fargo will know exactly what to do before the trip.
TripAdvisor, which just launched a second contest, handed out $1,000 each to five runners-up. The “Fargo” ad and those from the runners-up will appear on TV in their respective countries, says TripAdvisor spokesperson Kevin Carter, although their frequencies have not been determined.
TripAdvisor’s “Don’t Just Visit” advertising campaign will continue to run in October 2014, and the company “expects to expand this channel in 2015,” Carter says.
“We’re very pleased with the early results our ‘Don’t Just Visit’ campaign,” he adds.
Here are the submissions of the runners-up:
Melody Beam (Calif., USA) – “Little Girl”
Oscar Lopez (Fla., USA) – “Pet Friendly”
Carolyn Duchene (South Australia, Australia) – “Sydney Animated”
Scott Wood (New South Wales, Australia) – “Sydney Construction”
Christopher Osmont (Marly Le Roi, France) – “Paris et sa Viennoiserie”


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Many a street artist has ascended the gallery walls, but galleries are still expensive and exclusive spaces. The Oakland Museum of California is using an outreach project to bring its walls closer within reach. We/Customize encourages everyday people to create art out of the ordinary: in this case, their once faceless, mass-produced stuff.
This journey from mass production to art entails four phases.
First, an electric truck called the Oakland Rover travelled around the Bay Area soliciting passersby to create their own art projects by modifying mass-produced ones: toys, furniture, bikes.
Next, these pieces were brought into the Oakland Museum, encouraging museumgoers to try their hands at modifying these objects under the supervision of a collaborator in residence.
Beginning in February, We/Customize will showcase the best of these creations in the same museum that houses pieces by California’s most esteemed artists.
After the show comes down, the Oakland Rover will head back out into the world for... keep reading


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If This Happens in 2020, Marijuana Stocks Could Skyrocket
Strong Marijuana Stocks Prediction for 2020
The marijuana industry is as full of potential now as at almost any other time in its history.
That’s because, with all the initial hype beginning to fade, investors who truly see the potential in the pot industry are now set to profit. Marijuana stocks are well positioned to double or triple in value in 2020 and beyond.
Why? Because the industry is going to tackle its biggest competitor: the black market.
Marijuana Stocks & the Black Market
The marijuana industry has, since its inception, had one main opponent: illicit dealers.
While regulators and red tape have made legal marijuana more expensive as time wore on, the black market has had no such restrictions. Why come into the legal market and pay taxes and licensing fees when you can remain in the black market and produce the same product for much cheaper?
The decision is made even easier when you consider that black-market dealers were operating a monopoly for years. It wasn’t until recently—the past few years in most places—that recreational pot legalization was even being discussed.
Black-market dealers had a dedicated consumer base that trusted them for decades. There was no real push to either stop or make their operations legal.
All that could change in 2020.
You see, right now, one of the biggest areas of opportunity in the marijuana industry is the black market. In California, the largest recreational marijuana market on Earth, the legal pot sector is still being outsold dramatically by the black market.
An audit by the United Cannabis Business Association found that there are about 2,835 unlicensed weed dispensaries and delivery services in California. That number easily puts to shame the 873 licensed sellers. (Source: “Nearly 3,000 illegal marijuana businesses found in California audit, dwarfing legal trade,” Los Angeles Times, September 11, 2019.)
As you’d expect, that massive disparity in availability has played itself out in a glaring revenue deficit. Another industry-backed audit found that about $8.7 billion will be spent on unregulated cannabis in California this year.
In the same period, it’s expected that there will only be about $3.1 billion spent on cannabis sold by legal operators in the state.
If all that money could be brought into the legal market, licensed marijuana sales would catapult upward. And that upward trajectory would guide marijuana stock prices higher.
Can Marijuana Stocks Get the Upper Hand?
Right now, the legal marijuana industry is primarily focused on one thing: revenue and sales.
With pot stocks now having several major markets to operate in (Canada and several large U.S. states, not to mention all the medical marijuana markets around the globe), investors and analysts aren’t interested in expansion or supply capacity at the moment.
No, they’re interested in cold, hard sales—how much product a company can sell and how much of a profit it is making.
Many analysts’ expectations were not met when the weed market was legalized in Canada, and that’s mainly because of the black market.
If the black market were even to be marginally chewed into by the legal market, pot stocks would skyrocket as millions upon millions of dollars in revenue pour into legal companies.
And with all that newfound revenue, the companies could then set their sights on expansion once again.
Whether in Canada, the U.S., or abroad, the fact is that marijuana companies will need a good bit of cash to pay for these developments. That would be made possible instantly by all the black-market cash finally coming into the legal market.
So, we know what needs to be done in 2020 to spur marijuana stock gains; the next question is how.
It’s simple, really. Marijuana companies need to use their immense popularity (poll after poll is showing that marijuana is becoming increasingly accepted by residents throughout the industrialized world) and their many political connections to focus heavily on eradicating the black market—or at least taking away a large chunk of its power.
At the end of the day, it’s going to take governments and the private sector working in tandem to clamp down on illegal marijuana sellers.
We’re already seeing a lot of progress in this area, as Canada has recently legalized marijuana edibles. Now people who enjoy marijuana edibles will be able to go into legal stores to have their needs served. Considering that these products were formerly only under the purview of illicit dealers, this is a huge win for pot stocks.
Governments can also help by cutting away some of the red tape and onerous taxes from the industry, allowing legal weed to compete price-wise with black-market weed.
Some markets, like the medical pot market in Oklahoma, have done a perfect job of this, putting little to no restrictions on things like licensing.
Finally, another big blow aimed at the black market comes by way of things like cannabis-infused beverages. These are harder to imitate than other marijuana products, making them proprietary products that legal marijuana companies can use to lure people away from the black market.
And a lot of damage will be done by the black market—to itself. The vaping health scare sweeping the nation, for instance, is largely being fanned by illegal vaping products. Legal vaping products, on the other hand, have yet to cause the adverse health effects that have scared so many.
The future of the marijuana industry has never been as bright as it is today.
All it will take for pot stocks to reach their potential is a coordinated effort from both government and law enforcement, in conjunction with the private sector, to effectively terminate the black market and cause legal pot sales to surge.


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Interest rates are rising in many of the world’s major developed economies, with one big exception: Japan.
The world’s third-biggest economy is stuck with negative interest rates and an enormous easy money program. That contrasts starkly with the United States and Europe, where central bankers are more focused on how quickly to hike rates and wind down the massive stimulus measures they introduced after the global financial crisis.
The reason for the difference is inflation. Or in Japan’s case, the persistent lack of it.
Inflation has been steadily rising in both the United States and Europe over the past couple of years. Mild price increases are seen as positive because they encourage consumers to spend, generating more economic activity.
But since Japan’s economic bubble burst in the early 1990s, prices have mostly been stagnating or falling. That’s bad news economically because declining prices encourage consumers to put off spending.
“If you’re 40 years old, you’ve spent half of your life in a world where prices tend to fall rather than increase,” said Takuji Okubo, managing director at consultancy firm Japan Macro Advisors. It’s a tough mindset for many Japanese consumers to shake off, in Okubo’s view.
Buying up the bond market
The Bank of Japan has resorted to a number of drastic measures to try and deal with the problem.
The moves were led by the central bank’s governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, who’s expected to be reappointed to the job this month as his first five-year term comes to an end.
Under Kuroda, the bank embarked on a huge buying spree of government bonds in 2013 and stunned markets by expanding it the following year. The aim is to push down borrowing rates and encourage companies to invest more.
The approach means the bank has spent a staggering amount of money: its holdings of Japanese government bonds have soared by more than 330 trillion yen ($ 3 trillion) since Kuroda launched the stimulus program.
Because of the huge purchases, the central bank now owns almost half of the entire Japanese government bond market, according to data from Japan Macro Advisors.
In early 2016, the central bank took another extreme step, moving one of its key interest rates into negative territory, an attempt to prod banks to stop hoarding cash and lend more of it out to businesses and consumers.
Things have begun to change, but only very slowly. Inflation in Japan has picked up in recent months and reached almost 1% at the end of 2017 — its highest level in years.
But it took a huge amount of effort just to get there. And Kuroda wants inflation closer to the bank’s target of 2% before he seriously considers turning off the money spigot.
The central bank left its policy unchanged Friday following a two-day meeting. Marcel Thieliant, a Japan expert at Capital Economics, said he expects the bank’s stance to remain the same “for the foreseeable future.”
The Japanese economy is in decent shape. It has now grown for eight quarters in a row, its longest expansionary streak since the 1980s.
But many experts are skeptical that it’s enough to push inflation much higher.
“Wage increases remain slack and many companies are having difficulties raising selling prices,” said Harumi Taguchi, an economist at IHS Markit.
Kuroda could have his work cut out in a second term.
According to Okubo, Japan could fall into a recession within the next couple of years if global growth cools off.
“Then they might have to do something very radical” to stimulate the economy, he said. That might include pushing rates further into negative territory or even transferring cash into the hands of citizens in a controversial policy known as “helicopter money,” something Kuroda has previously ruled out.
Government help needed
Experts say the Bank of Japan can’t solve the country’s economic problems on its own.
Economists want the Japanese government to push through big reforms, such as opening up the country’s labor market. That could include bringing more immigrant workers into the aging Japanese workforce and removing barriers that make it hard for Japanese women to build careers.
“It is difficult to create demand by monetary policy,” Taguchi said. “Structural reforms are critically important to improving Japan’s productivity.”
But Japan may have to wait a long time for those changes.
Okubo suggests Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was re-elected in October, has bigger priorities such as his desire to pursue the politically sensitive path of revamping the country’s military in response to the rise of China.
“Abe talks about economic reform, but he doesn’t really want to spend political capital on it,” Okubo said.


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Wargroove has received an updated release window. At PAX East 2018, Chucklefish’s Jay Baylis confirmed the strategy game will be released in the second half of 2018. Baylis also confirmed the ability to create custom campaigns will also be available at launch, specifically mentioning the cutscene editor that allows you to create your own story segments will be immediately available when it releases. (Thanks, PCGamesN!)
As a reminder, Wargroove is Chucklefish’s upcoming game inspired by Advance Wars. People end up having the option to go through solo campaigns, directing units around a map to complete objectives and win. It will feature couch co-op, online multiplayer and a campaign editor that will let you create your own maps or even full campaigns that can be shared with other players.
Wargroove is in development for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.