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- APS Industrial
- Australian Defence
- Australian Made
- Australian manufacturing
- CAPS Australia
- carbon fibre
- Deakin University
- Federal Budget
- food and beverage
- food processing
- Geoff Crittenden
- industry 4.0
- Paddock to Plate
- Power Transmission
- Royal Australian Navy
- Thales Australia
- Weld Australia
Coverity Scan 2010 Open Source Integrity Report Reveals High Risk Software Flaws in Android
Coverity, the software integrity leader, announced today the results of the Coverity Scan 2010 Open Source Integrity Report. This report is the result of the largest public-private sector research project focused on open source software integrity, originally initiated between Coverity and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2006. The results from the 2010 edition of the Coverity Scan Open Source Integrity Report detail the findings of analyzing more than 61 million lines of open source code from 291 popular and widely-used open source projects such as Android, Linux, Apache, Samba and PHP, among others.
Pharma to get well soon
Australia’s pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, called ‘the cornerstone of the knowledge economy’, will help our economy rise from the ashes.
Safeguarding your business against supply chain disasters
Accenture gives tips on safeguarding your supply chain against the most uprooting of natural and man-made disasters. Sarah Falson writes.
MESA raises MES awareness at inaugural seminar
The first Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association (MESA) seminar was held in Australia on 7 September and, according to the MESA Australian Working Group, productivity, competitiveness and sustainability are the most significant trends for manufacturers in Australia.
More to come from Canberra
WHILE a number of manufacturers may have been upset regarding the outcome of the recent federal election, no one can deny Senator Kim Carr’s commitment to Australia’s manufacturing industry. Alan Johnson writes.
Combating the power gobbler
The guessing game around Australia’s future climate change framework has begun but regardless of whether there will be a carbon price or not, electricity costs are still set to surge.
Manufacturing back in vogue
Manufacturing, once ignored by politicians in most of the developed world, is suddenly a ‘must-have’ industry, especially for the US. Alan Johnson writes.
Manufacturing’s quantum leap
Digital manufacturing directly produces parts from CAD files. Isaac Leung writes.
Small regional manufacturers aiming high
In regional Victoria a couple of smaller manufacturers in diverse industries are demonstrating the benefits that can flow from a strong focus on customer service, lean and innovative operations, and business plans based on continuing growth.
Manufacturing lags behind in economic recovery
Australian manufacturers are lagging other industries in the economic recovery, but growth is on the way. Sarah Falson writes.
Aluminium profile that performs for Ferrari
Australis Engineering is excited to announce that we are now the exclusive Australian and New Zealand agents for ALUSIC aluminium profile and accessories.
The young worker: OH&S promise and peril
Young workers can hold much promise for your companies’ future but they can also create huge problems. In the end, it is up to you and your supervisors to determine the outcome.


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- Bitcoin (BTC) $ 3,985.25 0.32%
- Ethereum (ETH) $ 147.54 0.40%
- XRP (XRP) $ 0.327787 0.90%
- Litecoin (LTC) $ 51.16 5.67%
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 147.01 0.85%
Índice de Preços Monero
Valor de mercado
$ 868.75 M
$ 63.01 M
16.81 M XMR
Lightning Bitcoin (CURRENCY:LBTC) traded up 3.7% against the US dollar during the twenty-four hour period ending at 15:00...
LiteCoin Ultra Reaches Market Cap of $7,665.00 (LTCU) LiteCoin Ultra (CURRENCY:LTCU) traded 11% higher against the US dollar during...
Mackenzie Garrity - Wednesday, February 20th, 2019 Print | Email ...
BCH’s Market Cap Sinks below Ethereum, Displaced from Top Four Advertisement Bitcoin Cash (BCH) falls from its high pedestal to sink...
Crypto valuations experienced a slight pullback Wednesday, though a small contingency of altcoins continued to see impressive gains, a sign that the latest uptrend...
Almost half of millennial bitcoin traders in the US trust crypto exchanges more than the traditional stock market, according to a survey by cryptocurrency trading...
Bahrain is recovering its status as the Middle East’s financial hub by introducing regulation laws for crypto companies, letting them work for a trial...

domain: news


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The SCB’s Economic Intelligence Center (EIC) has reduced its growth projection for the Thai economy this year to 3.6% from a previous expectation of 3.8%.
Trade war puts brakes on exports
According to first executive vice-president Yunyong Thaicharoen, this is mainly due to the decreasing trends of the export sector affected by global economic conditions, a trade dispute between the United States and China, and the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest global economic growth projection reduced to 3.3%.
Yunyong said he believes the superpower trade dispute will not come to a conclusion at a foreseeable date, making it a long-term problem for the Thai economy, which is integrated into the supply chain of goods affected by the tariffs each country has imposed on the other.
Investments by the private sector show signs of recession
Companies are waiting for clarity on the formation of a new government, which should benefit the Q3-4 economy as soon as the new administration can take office, by raising confidence among private firms and international investors.
According to the EIC, current Thai economic growth remains good because of the strong economic foundation, complimented by government investment in infrastructure projects, and the expectation of an additional 760 billion baht in investments this year.
Tourism shows recovery
The tourism sector has shown signs of recovery with a further increase in the number of Chinese tourists.
It is expected Thailand will welcome 40.7 million international visitors this year. General income in other sectors except farming has also shown growth, which helps with consumer confidence.
As for Thailand, Yunyong predicts that the Bank of Thailand (BOT) will maintain its policy rate at 1.75 per cent throughout the year, given the internal and external risk factors facing the economy.
“Furthermore, the inflation level in the first two months has been at a low 0.7 per cent. We predict that the inflation level in 2019 will be 0.9 per cent on average. This low inflation level is another incentive for the BOT to maintain their policy rate,” he said to The Nation
Strong baht to remain
As for the strengthening of the baht, the EIC expects the currency to remain strong throughout 2019, forecasting it will close the year at between Bt31 and Bt32 to the US dollar.
Given the baht’s strength, Titinan urges exporters to not only depend on price for competitiveness but focus more on the quality of their products to compete with Thailand’s rivals in the Asean region.
BOT relaxes rules to Curb Strong Baht
the Bank of Thailand (BOT) decided to relax regulations to facilitate capital outflows to help promote capital flow balance and lessen pressure on the baht.
The Thai baht has been under pressure due to imbalanced capital flows in the current environment of highly uncertain and volatile external conditions, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) decided to relax regulations to facilitate capital outflows to help promote capital flow balance and lessen pressure on the baht.(more…)
Bank of Thailand cuts rate by 0.25% to 1.25 per cent
The latest cut brings the Bot’s policy rate to an historical low, which the bank maintained from April 2009 to July 2010 during the subprime global financial crisis.
On 6 November 2019, the MPC voted 5 to 2 to reduce the policy rate by 0.25 percentage point from 1.50 to 1.25 percent, effective immediately. Two members voted to maintain the policy rate at 1.50 percent.(more…)
Thailand’s loss of trade privileges with US is credit negative
The development is credit negative because Thailand’s export-oriented economy is in a difficult external environment given that a broad-based export slowdown and strong Thai baht are weakening the competitiveness of goods exporters and the country’s tourism industry.
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Aspire Set to Become First SME Neobank in Southeast Asia with US$32.5 Million Raise
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So you received a letter from the IRS about your bitcoin. Here’s why, and what to do next
The Internal Revenue Service has fired its loudest warning shots yet across the bows of bitcoin investors. In late July, the agency started sending letters to more than 10,000 cryptocurrency holders, warning that they may have violated federal tax laws.
This should not have come as a surprise to anyone, but it’s surely creating headaches for taxpayers and tax professionals who haven’t been sweating the details on cryptocurrency for the last few years. The good news is, it’s not too late to get up to speed. The bad news is, the days of getting a pass by claiming ignorance on the finer points of cryptocurrency tax compliance have come to an end.
At first, confusion about how to deal with the tax side of virtual currency was understandable. At the end of 2013, right when the cryptocurrency hype cycle was starting and bitcoin was valued at roughly $650, major banks, tech companies and accounting firms were convening industry summits to figure out whether cryptocurrency would be taxed as a capital asset, like a stock or a commodity, and thus subject to capital gains rates, or as a fiat currency, such as dollars, euros and yen, for which gains are generally taxed as ordinary income.
By March of 2014, though, the IRS had issued clear guidance on virtual currencies, explaining that it will tax the digital assets as property, not currency. What followed was a five-year drumbeat of announcements and actions that made it clear the IRS was getting serious about crypto. In November of 2016, the agency filed a John Doe summons to the bitcoin trading platform Coinbase, asking for names and other information of everyone who is trading bitcoin. Then, in the summer of 2018, as the price of bitcoin had climbed above the $8,000 mark, the IRS’s Large Business & International Division launched a compliance campaign into how investors who own bitcoin are filing their taxes.
It should have been clear by then that what was once the Wild West was now being carefully monitored. Still, the IRS warning letters issued last month caught many recipients off guard. The reason, of course, is that many people — even tax professionals — still don’t really understand the details of how cryptocurrency is being taxed.
Sure, the IRS categorizes cryptocurrency as property, but keeping track of the tax basis for that piece of property is not as straightforward as many other assets. For one, the price is wildly volatile. This July, the price of bitcoin topped $12,000, which is more than three times its value in December of 2018. In order to accurately calculate gain or loss, anyone selling their bitcoin needs to keep track of its value the day they received it and the day they sold it, and also factor in different tax brackets and other variables that can impact the total amount owed to the IRS. For those who are transacting with bitcoin frequently, those calculations can become exponentially complicated.
Fortunately, the IRS’ steady ramp-up in enforcement acknowledges this complexity, and even those cryptocurrency holders who have received letters still have time to get their houses in order. To help them get started, the following is a general primer on how virtual currency taxes will affect the three primary types of cryptocurrency holders.
Many cryptocurrency miners are under the mistaken impression that they are only subject to tax on the amount it costs them to mine the bitcoin. However, according to the IRS, when a bitcoin is mined, the miner is supposed to keep track of what the asset was valued at on that day, and subsequently treat that value as income.
Miners that are engaged in a trade or business are subject to ordinary income, plus self-employment tax. The value of the coin becomes the tax basis, and if you trade or use that bitcoin later, then you have to include in income the value of what you get, minus that tax basis. That requires onerous record-keeping, which many bitcoin miners are not currently set up to do, but is vital to staying compliant with the IRS.
Vendors accepting bitcoin as payment
In May, AT&T announced it would begin accepting bitcoin, which could well be a harbinger of the future of e-commerce. But not all businesses are created equal. A huge corporation like AT&T has armies of accountants and accounting firms to keep track of these transactions. Most, if not all, small businesses don’t have that luxury.
Take, for instance, a small retailer or a consultant that may begin accepting bitcoin. When that small business receives the cryptocurrency, that value is included in the business’s income. But at that moment in time, they now need to track their tax basis in the bitcoin they receive.
For example, if a company sells something for $5,000 in bitcoin, but then uses the bitcoin to buy something else a year later when the price has climbed to $10,000, they now have a reportable gain of $5,000. It’s easy to see how confusing this can get for businesses that don’t have the resources to employ a full-time accounting team to track the daily value of their digital assets.
While there are many different types of cryptocurrency investors, the principle for them all is roughly the same: Investors have to track when they acquire and how they use the bitcoin.
If an investor is in the business of selling bitcoin, it will be taxed differently than if an investor is engaged in casual tinkering in the cryptocurrency market. The gain recognized by bitcoin sellers will be taxed at ordinary income rates (with a top rate of 37 percent). However, those not in the trade or business of selling bitcoins will benefit from lower capital gains rates (with a top rate of 20 percent).
Employers could also start using bitcoin to pay employees. If they do that, it will add another layer of complexity because the bitcoin would need to be reported on W-2 wages, income tax withholding, employment taxes, etc.
Whether you’ve already received one of these letters from the IRS or you do in the future, it’s undoubtedly unsettling. Frankly, it seems threatening. Rest assured, though, that it is just part of the forced education process the IRS is introducing to the cryptocurrency marketplace. The IRS is essentially putting cryptocurrency holders on notice: We know you have this, and you’re probably treating it improperly on your taxes. That’s why it’s so vital that practitioners help their clients get their ducks in a row. Tax professionals need to change their practice to make sure they are asking and tracking all relevant data. Otherwise, eventually those IRS warning letters will become audits.


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Although the US inflation rate cooled a bit in August 2011 when compared against July 2011, consumer prices advanced for the month as Americans paid more than expected for goods and services. At the same time, US inflation over the past 12 months not only increased but the more closely watched core rate was the highest since November 2008.
The US Labor Department said consumer prices rose 0.4 percent in August after surging 0.5 percent in July. The increase was double the level of what many analysts’ expected. While gasoline prices rose at a more modest 1.9 percent rate in August versus the 4.7 percent jump in the previous month, food prices ticked up 0.5 percent after increasing 0.4 percent in July. Continue reading US Inflation Rises 3.8% on 12-Month Basis, Consumer Prices Advance 0.4% in August 2011


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With over 75,000 women signed up on the waitlist, Stitch Fix is finally ready to launch its Plus offerings to millions of women nationwide.
Tag - style
What makes you feel unstoppable? We asked female entrepreneurs what accessory made them roar, we take a peek at their fierce staple, go-to accessory.
The Leung Twins, Emily and Jessica, were tired of suffering from “shoe hangovers” as a result of wearing trendy stilettos. Here's what they did.
Are you a woman creating innovation at the intersection of fashion and technology? NY Fashion Tech Lab is taking applications for their 2016 accelerator.


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From paper beer bottles to stay-fresh fruit stickers, we gather the latest innovations in the world of packaging
The world of packaging is going through one of its greatest ever period of changes. The need for brands and products to stand out in an increasingly crowded market coupled with a much greater focus on sustainability is compelling marketing departments and design companies to look closely at every aspect of product packaging to make it as attractive, functional and environmentally friendly as possible.
Here are five of the most recent innovations that caught our eye:
The drinks industry has been under scrutiny for a while now regarding the plastic rings used to hold together multipacks of cans – particularly beer – but Heineken have announced that they are replacing the plastic with recyclable cardboard. Having invested £22m in new technology and production facilities, the move will lead to 517m tonnes of plastic being removed from Heineken’s packaging by the end of 2021.
In other booze news, Carlsberg has revealed two prototypes of its ‘Green Fibre Bottle’, the first ever paper beer bottles. The bottles are made of sustainably sourced wood fibre with an inner barrier, and are fully recyclable.
Because you’re worth it
Stora Enso have launched a new paper-based packaging tube for cosmetics that will cut down the amount of plastic in a traditional tube by 70%. Made from a barrier-coated, grease-resistant paperboard, the tube is suitable for the primary packaging of a range of cosmetics and beauty products such as skin cream. The company is also developing biocomposite materials to replace the cap and shoulder of the tube, which will further reduce the plastic content.
Meanwhile, Colgate have launched a new toothbrush made with 100% biodegradable and sustainably grown bamboo. Presented in recycled cardboard packaging, the Bamboo Charcoal Toothbrush has been coated with beeswax to minimise water absorption and improve durability.
Bags for life
There’s been a flurry of activity in recyclable food-safe packaging, with Smurfit Kappa and Mitsubishi HiTec Paper announcing the development of their inner bag solution that offers protection against moisture and grease, as well as heat-sealing capability. Coupled with outer packaging that has built-in adsorption properties which protect against aromas and migration of substances, the complete solution is fully recyclable.
“Using an FSC-certified paper bag sealed with wax, the packaging produces 65% less CO2 than conventional film bags”
On a similar theme, the Gold winner at the recent German Packaging Awards was paper packaging developed for Alb Gold pasta. Using an FSC-certified paper bag sealed with wax, the packaging produces 65% less CO2 than conventional film bags, and impressed the judges with the excellent recyclability of the untreated paper and conservation of resources.
Have a break…
To reduce the four million-plus plastic KitKat wrappers that end up in Japanese landfills every day, KitKat Japan developed bespoke recyclable paper packaging to replace its plastic wrapping. Japan is the world’s biggest market for KitKats and its makers, Nestlé, estimate that this new packaging will help to reduce the brand’s plastic waste by around 380 tonnes a year.
In addition, to encourage KitKat fans not to throw the packaging away in the first place, each part of the packaging comes inscribed with instructions on how to transform it into an origami crane. Creating engagement, talk-ability and increased sustainability, this campaign is a giant leap forward for confectionery packaging.
A new sticker has been developed by Seattle-based startup Stixfresh that claims it can keep fruit fresh for up to two weeks longer. Just by placing a single small sticker on a piece of fruit, such as an apple, pear, avocado, kiwi, mango or orange, the fruit will stay fresh while unstickered fruits become over-ripe and inedible.
According to the company, the sticker’s all-natural coating is made up of specially sourced beeswax and other natural ingredients, which creates a protective layer around the fruit, slowing down the ripening process while increasing sweetness, retaining moisture and inhibiting the fruit’s cellular structure from breaking down.
Article by Sam Upton


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The scene was subdued as Christie's fell short of its pre-sale estimate at its May 6 sale of Impressionist and modern art. The auction house sold off $277 million worth of artworks in New York — more than $10 million shy of its of $287 million to $405 million estimate — in a disappointing sale that revealed further evidence of a weakening U.S. art market. –Kurt Wilberding
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David Lammy 10am - 1pm
'Have your face scanned or fingerprint taken to buy a drink': New plans for digital IDs for drinkers in pubs and bars
25 January 2024, 10:01 | Updated: 25 January 2024, 10:32
Drinkers face having their faces scanned or fingerprints taken when buying alcohol in pubs, bars and shops, under new government proposals.
Listen to this article
As well as being used in physical shops, people could also use the digital ID system online, the Mirror reported.
The plans are part of a Home Office consultation on how "digital identities, age estimation and other technology" could be used to verify people's ages.
Currently, if challenged, people have to show ID with a photograph, their date of birth and a holographic or ultraviolet mark.
"In practice this means that currently only physical identity documents are permitted," the government said.
No one would be required to have a digital ID - which is defined as "a digital representation of your identity information, like your name and age".
Home Office minister Chris Philp said: "The Government is keen to enable the secure and appropriate use of new technologies that can improve the experience of consumers and retailers.
"We are therefore consulting on whether to amend the act so as to allow digital identities and technology to play a role in age verification."
The Home Office said in a statement: "Discussions with stakeholders in the hospitality, retail and licensing sectors, as well as policing, suggest that there could be considerable support for the use of digital identities as well as technology to help to establish if an individual is old enough to purchase alcohol
Several supermarkets - Asda, Co-op, Tesco and Morrisons - have already trialled an AI face-scanning technology that aims to check if someone is over 25.
If the system thinks someone is under 25, they have to do a standard age check with a physical ID.
The Home Office consultation added: "The need for robust national standards for digital identities and technology remains paramount in order to provide confidence to retailers and consumers alike that they are fit for purpose.
"Any change would reflect the wider cross-government position on the use of digital identities and technology for the sale of age-restricted products and will only take effect once there are government approved national standards in place.
"We are also considering whether the act adequately covers transactions that do not take place face to face.
"Currently the act only sets out a requirement to verify age at the point of sale or appropriation to a contract, not at the point of delivery. We are reviewing whether this is still right and whether there should additionally be checks at the point of delivery and / or service. We are consulting on whether to amend the act so that it is explicit about when age verification must take place."


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You end up embroiled in a legal battle with the debt collector who has regaled everyone under the sun — your mother, your boss, your ex — with embarrassing details of your supposed financial messiness — and he ends up paying.
A mere revenge fantasy? Not necessarily, thanks to new attention being paid to a law that forces collectors who break the rules to pay the fees of consumers’ lawyers.
Because of the recession, big changes in the debt-collection industry, and a consumer-friendly provision in the law that puts boundaries on bill collectors’ conduct, Minnesota consumers who have suffered harassment are suing in federal court in record numbers. Local attorneys say they can barely file the suits fast enough to keep up with demand.
Lawsuits against debt collectors rising steadily
According to preliminary data obtained from U.S. District Court in Minnesota, the number of suits filed against third-party debt collectors has risen steadily during the last five years, from 116 in 2004 to 163 last year. And those aren’t even the debts people stopped paying when the recession hit: During the first quarter of 2009 alone, 104 lawsuits were filed.
Court statisticians in Minnesota don’t know how many similar suits are being filed in other jurisdictions, but Peter Barry, a Minneapolis attorney who represents consumers and who teaches “boot camps” on suing collectors for lawyers here and around the country, said filings are up nationwide.
“It’s clear to me that the recent uptick in FDCPA case filings is the result of three principal causes,” said Barry. “First, there’s a whole new group of well-educated and formerly well-heeled consumers who have become recently unemployed and understand their rights with regard to debt collectors. Second, there has been serious work done in the United States to educate attorneys in properly selecting and bringing these cases in federal court. Thirdly, paying for lawsuits brought by abused consumers is seen as the cost of doing business in the collection industry.
“The combination has resulted in some phenomenal and well-deserved jury verdicts against debt collectors,” Barry added.
None of the plaintiffs contacted by MinnPost wanted to discuss their debts publicly. And those whose cases have been resolved out of court explain that their settlements bar them from disclosing the outcome.
‘Turning tables’ relatively new phenomenon
Complaints about bill collectors go back as far as the concept of currency itself, but the phenomenon of debtors turning the tables on creditors who resort to unscrupulous tactics is relatively new.
In 1977, Congress outlawed all kinds of collection tactics, including calling debtors at odd hours, harassing them at work, disclosing their debts to others and threatening dramatic, if made-up, consequences, such as arrest or jail. To encourage private enforcement of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), lawmakers included a provision designed to make it attractive for lawyers to take on clients who have been harassed but may not be entitled to big monetary damages.
Consumers who win their suits are entitled to collect $1,000 in damages for each violation of the law they can document — ordinarily, not enough of a potential payday for an attorney to make harassed debtors into desirable plaintiffs. So the FDCPA contains a so-called fee-shifting provision: There’s some fine print, but in general the law says that regardless of the size of the plaintiff’s award, their lawyer is entitled to recover the cost of pursuing the suit as well as fees for the time spent on it.
“The FDCPA levels the playing field for consumers and allows them to retain world-class counsel to litigate what would otherwise be a nearly insurmountable claim,” said Barry. “This was as Congress intended.”
For the first couple of decades after the law was passed, filing such suits on behalf of consumers remained a sleepy legal specialty. Typically, creditors dealt with bad accounts by hiring an agency to collect as much as it could on a commission basis. Some collectors used ugly tactics, but most played by the new rules.
1990s S&L scandal spawns a new industry
In the wake of the savings and loan scandal of the early 1990s, the federal government sold off assets from failed financial institutions. Contrary to the common wisdom of the time, the buyers made money — enough of it to spark the birth of an entire industry. In 1995, debt buyers bought $12 billion in consumer debt; by 2004, the amount had grown to $77 billion, according to industry publications.
Because the companies pay pennies on the dollar for the delinquent accounts, they don’t have to collect much to turn a large profit. After a credit card company or another creditor makes an initial attempt to get consumers to pay, it bundles up the accounts and sells them. The buyer may keep them just a few months, passing the accounts they can’t collect on to another buyer. Many of the buyers are law firms that have figured out that collections are more profitable than pursuing debtors in court on behalf of creditors.
As it has grown, the industry has branched out, with agencies specializing in the collection of medical debt and even debts incurred by the dead. (Survivors usually have no legal obligation to pay a deceased loved one’s bills, but that doesn’t stop collectors from asking.)
As an unpaid debt travels down the food chain, the chance that a collector will break the rules goes up. Often the debts in question never existed, were paid or settled, or were discharged in bankruptcy. Collectors often don’t have enough information to weed out the debtors they should not call, or they just don’t care.
“Debt collectors no longer must use individually typed letters and manually dialed telephone calls to contact consumers,” the Federal Trade Commission, which regulates the industry, noted in a February report. “Collectors now are able to easily and relatively inexpensively mass-produce and send letters to debtors.”
At the same time, “Changes in database technologies have dramatically enhanced the ability of debt collectors to aggregate disparate pieces of information about consumers, thus making it cheaper and easier to locate and contact consumers,” the FTC found.
Frequently, collectors in possession of an aging account can’t meet one of the law’s most basic requirements: The ability to respond when a consumer asks them to “verify” the origin and status of the debt.
“If a consumer disputes a debt, the collector is required to obtain verification of the debt and provide it to the consumer before renewing its collection efforts,” the FTC reported. “Many collectors currently do little more to verify debts than confirm that their information accurately reflects what they received from the creditor. This is not likely to reveal whether collectors are trying to collect from the wrong consumer or collect the wrong amount.”
Add to this the fact that the recession means more people are hard-pressed to pay anything.
With recession, complaints against collectors mushrooming
In 2005, the FTC received more than 58,000 complaints about collectors. In 2008, the agency fielded nearly 79,000. The majority of cases involve collectors who push the envelope when it comes to telling debtors their rights or calling their workplaces when they’ve been asked not to, but the number of complaints for truly egregious tactics has mushroomed.
Last year, the FTC heard complaints from consumers who were threatened with arrest, the seizure of their assets or even with violence.
A review of cases filed in Minnesota courts include instances of collectors taking money electronically from accounts belonging to debtors’ children, calling debtors’ aging parents to demand that they pay, leaving detailed messages on office-wide voicemail systems, and threatening consumers with jail time.
The ACA International (the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals), headquartered in Edina, has 3,500 members nationwide. The vast majority of collectors obey the rules, according to spokesman John Nemo. “We estimate there are close to a billion contacts a year between debt collection agencies and consumers,” said Nemo. “One complaint is too many — we’re not trying to excuse unethical behavior. [But] the bad actions are always going to get the lion’s share of the attention.”
Filings in cases that ended up in Minnesota courtrooms show attorneys’ fees can range from a couple of thousand dollars to tens of thousands. In 2000, a judge awarded a consumer $1,000, the maximum damages she was entitled to, but awarded her attorney, Thomas Lyons Jr., more than $44,000, noting that the case required so many hours of legal work because the law firm defendant chose to argue that the obligations arising from writing a bad check did not constitute a debt under the FDCPA. A year earlier, a judge awarded the attorneys in a class-action case more than $98,000.
In the past, the ACA has lobbied Congress to put limits on the fees plaintiffs’ attorneys can charge.
The FTC also has suggested that the law needs updating. In its February report, the agency recommended increasing the damages laid out in the 32-year-old law to keep pace with inflation. The fee-shifting provision, the agency noted, is working the way Congress meant it to.
“This is not some radical or totally unusual idea at all,” said Ann Juergens, a professor at William Mitchell College of Law (and in the interest of full disclosure, the spouse of MinnPost writer Jay Weiner). Many consumer protection laws contain such fee-shifting provisions, she added. “The idea that private parties should be able to enforce [them] is a good one.”
Beth Hawkins writes about schools, criminal justice and other topics. She can be reached at bhawkins [at] minnpost [dot] com.


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“The Expanse” has officially been picked up at Amazon for a fourth season. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos made the announcement at the National Space Society’s International Space Development Conference in Los Angeles Friday night. “The Expanse” is currently airing its third season on Syfy, with the cable networking having cancelled the series earlier this month. Shortly after it was cancelled,... See more »
Get planning: Find out when new and returning shows hit the small screen this month.
Explore popular and recently added TV series available to stream now with Prime Video.


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Corona Extra has signed on as the new premier sponsor for the ATP World Tour. The Grupo Modelo-owned brand succeeds Mercedes-Benz, whose sponsorship deal ended in 2008. The terms of the 5½-year pact were not made public.
Austin, Texas-based LatinWorks won AdWeek's Multicultural Agency of the Year through creative, strategic efforts to reach the Hispanic market such as a playful Domino's Pizza spot depicting a game of telephone and a Starburst campaign featuring a llama. The Omnicom agency focused on building emotional connections to develop brand loyalty.
Publicis' Zenith Optimedia is expanding its branded entertainment division, Newcast, into a global entity, to produce video, digital and print content and manage sponsorships and nontraditional marketing through 18 offices around the world. Newcast U.K. opened more than two years ago, and will now be joined by offices in New York, Canada, Mexico, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
"Think about ..." is the theme of a new multiplatform campaign from Saks Fifth Avenue that is intended to be more in keeping with current economic concerns than the upscale department store's previous "Want it" effort. The campaign takes its inspiration from a lighthearted Harper's Bazaar column penned by legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland during the Great Depression.
The glut of iPhone applications, totaling more than 140,000, means that marketers of branded apps must spend $50,000 to get the same results they would have gotten with a $15,000 spend one year ago, AdMob Managing Director Jason Spero says. While some marketers are spending more on mobile ad bursts to push their apps, others expend their efforts on lobbying Apple for a featured listing.


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The new year brings with it up-and-coming destinations worth keeping on your travel radar as you begin to plan your vacations for 2006. From destinations in the U.S. to those in Europe and even farther afield, several factors influenced our choices, including cultural events, political changes, increasing popularity, and major rebuilding.
Albuquerque is celebrating its tricentennial on April 23 and will host a series of special events January through October. Each month has a theme, including Theatre Arts Month in March, History and Education Month in April, and Cuisine Specialties and Albuquerque’s Future Path in August.
In addition, the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History is hosting three exhibitions of Spanish art featuring artists that include Dali, Miro, and Picasso. The exhibits run through April 23.
Albuquerque will also host its 34th annual International Balloon Fiesta October 6 through 15, the largest balloon event in the world. This nine-day festival features a 400- to 500-balloon nighttime “Balloon Glow,” “Balloon-Shape Rodeo,” and balloon race.
Albuquerque is always a relatively affordable destination, with most of the major airlines, as well as low-fare carriers Frontier and Southwest, offering service to its airport.
China has long been a [%249861 | | popular travel destination %], with more than 30 UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the Great Wall. In coming years, however, tourism is expected to rapidly increase, with the 2008 Summer Olympics and several other factors.
The Olympics will be held in and around Beijing, and will attract thousands of visitors from all corners of the globe. In addition, business travel to China has been rapidly increasing for several years, with major hotel chains constructing huge new hotels catering to business travelers. As China emerges as an economic powerhouse, tourism is expected to keep up with the pace.
The World Travel and Tourism Council estimates that tourism spending in China will increase about 3.5 times by 2014, from $87 billion to more than $300 billion. And, a New York Times report stated that Internet sites offering bilingual searches will begin to make planning travel inside China less daunting.
Planning a vacation to China can be as easy as planning one to Europe or the Caribbean. U.S.-based package tour providers including Go-today, Gate1Travel, and Pleasant Holidays have begun offering a wide variety of China vacations, giving travelers plenty of package options from which to choose.
Croatia is the latest country in Europe with “hidden gem” status. However, according to the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA), Croatia began experiencing a boom in tourism in 2005, one that is likely to increase even more over the next few years. This Mediterranean country has plenty of things to offer visitors, from its capital city, Zagreb, to the islands scattered along the Dalmatian Coast, and the old city of Dubrovnik, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
At the time of publication, mainstream vacation-package providers had not yet begun offering many Croatia packages. However, booking airfare and accommodations separately allows for greater freedom in traveling the country and selecting hotels. As an added benefit, Croatia is not in the European Union, so prices in the Croatian kuna may not be as expensive the prices listed in euros in other European countries.
A little more than a year after the tsunami disaster, Thailand is continuing to encourage visitors to return. Not surprisingly, tourism in 2005 was sluggish, but began increasing toward the end of the year. Tourism in 2006 is expected to compete with pre-tsunami levels by November 2006. Therefore, visiting Thailand before November will give tourists the advantage of fewer crowds and lower prices, particularly at beach resorts.
Thailand is still rebuilding, however, as inhabitants re-create what was destroyed in December 2004. Fewer hotel rooms are available to tourists in some areas, and evidence of the devastation leaves a reminder of the tsunami. One of the most important ways to help Thailand is to visit, helping to pump dollars into its tourist infrastructure so it can successfully rebuild sooner rather than later.
The year 2006 is being dubbed “Rembrandt 400” in the Netherlands. 2006 marks the anniversary of the Dutch artist’s 400th birthday, and year-long celebrations will take place around the country. The exhibitions are expected to draw about 1.5 million visitors from around the Netherlands and abroad.
Amsterdam is hosting the bulk of the exhibitions, with special shows featuring Rembrandt at the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum, the Rembrandt House Museum, and others; a Rembrandt musical at the Royal Theatre Carre; and a Rembrandt walking route.
Leiden, Rembrandt’s childhood hometown, is also partaking in the events, with several major exhibitions and another Rembrandt walking route. The Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague is also featuring a Rembrandt exhibit that boasts 10 of the artist’s most famous works.
Several vacation providers are currently offering deals on Amsterdam vacations, including EuropeASAP, Gate1Travel, and Go-today. Gate1Travel is also offering a special Rembrandt 400 package that includes airfare, accommodations, and admission to the Rijksmuseum.
As Turkey’s attempts to join the European Union are met with resistance by some Europeans, its leaders are planning to strengthen the country’s image by increasing the promotion of tourism in 2006. Although Turkey is already popular with European visitors (out of the 22 million visitors to Turkey in 2005, 12 million were Europeans), Americans have been slower in their eagerness to visit (more than 334,000 visitors in 2005).
However, Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism reports approximately 555,000 Americans are expected to visit the country in 2006, and it’s not hard to imagine the numbers will climb in the years to come.
Turkey’s location gives it a unique blend of Eastern and Western influences making it appealing to tourists. It is home to no less than nine UNESCO World Heritage sites, including Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the cavetowns of Cappodocia, and the archeological site of Troy. To meet the increased demand from tourists, a new international airport terminal is being planned, along with 10 new resorts in key tourist areas.
If you decide to visit Turkey, it’s smart to strike while the iron is hot. Because tourism is just now beginning to significantly increase, you’re still likely to find relatively inexpensive in-country rates for accommodations and activities. However, it’s conceivable that Turkey’s relatively undiscovered status will be fleeting, and the country will experience an increase in both tourism and prices.
Although we chose to highlight these six destinations, keep in mind that there are dozens of other destinations worthy of your travel dollars in 2006—look for more destinations coverage on [% 277706 | | SmarterTravel.com %] throughout the year.
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Carbon-measurement and removal API Pledge raises $4.5m seed round from Visionaries Club, Chris Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital, Breyer Capital and Guillaume Pousaz’s Zinal Growth
Founded by former Revolut and Freetrade executives, Pledge empowers companies to quickly and easily deploy the software infrastructure and tools to make their products and services carbon neutral with high-quality offsets and CO2 removals.
London, UK , October 22nd, 2021 – Pledge, the platform building the tools and software infrastructure to help scale greenhouse gas emissions measurement, reduction and removal, has today announced a $4.5m seed round. The business was founded by early Revolut employees David de Picciotto and Thomas Lucas, as well as Freetrade’s co-founder and former CTO André Mohamed. The round was led by Visionaries Club with participation from Lowercarbon Capital, Breyer Capital and Zinal Growth, the investment vehicle of Guillaume Pousaz (founder & CEO of Checkout.com). The funding will support Pledge in the roll-out of their product. Starting with the $9.6 trillion global logistics and transportation market, Pledge has been operating in closed beta until now, with customers active across freight, e-commerce, travel, last-mile and ride-hailing.
“Currently, no easy and scalable way exists for companies of any size to understand and remove their emissions. Traditional carbon measurement and offsetting solutions are costly and difficult to implement and so only accessible to a restricted group of larger companies. We started Pledge to enable any company to launch high quality and verified climate products in the easiest and fastest way possible. Our mission is to raise climate awareness and empower businesses to accelerate their net zero transition, becoming a positive contributor to the current crisis.” said David de Picciotto, co-founder and CEO of Pledge.
By focusing on specific use cases, starting with logistics and transportation, Pledge is taking a bottom-up and data-driven approach, helping companies measure and mitigate their shipments, rides, deliveries or travels to reach carbon neutrality by integrating the Pledge API. The platform aims to provide customers with detailed analytics and insights as well as recommendations on how to reduce their emissions over time. Pledge’s emissions calculations follow globally recognized and trusted standards, including the GHG protocol, the GLEC framework as well as the ICAO methodology while complying with ISO standards.
Similarly, the carbon removals market is opaque with credits bearing a high cost per ton and minimum volume purchase. Pledge is building a marketplace of verified offsetting and removal solutions that allows companies to purchase a fraction of a carbon credit (similar to retail investors purchasing a fraction of a stock) while offering access to balanced portfolios encompassing different methodologies and geographies (similar to an ETF).
Pledge’s co-founder André Mohamed previously built Freetrade, a zero commission stock broker in the UK. He then went on to launch Europe’s first fractional and commission-free stock trading platform at Revolut.
“Pledge will apply a similar approach to carbon credits as we did to stocks at Freetrade and Revolut, fractionalising them and allowing businesses to only buy what they need as well as to offer portfolios in a similar fashion to how ETFs are constructed. That way, anyone can have access to the same quality of carbon credits as large, multinational companies but without the friction” said Mohamed.
Climate change cannot be ignored and all companies must adapt.
“Pledge is building pipes for any business to launch applications to measure and mitigate their environmental impact. Similar to the flurry of financial infrastructure providers allowing any company to become a fintech, Pledge will become the enabler of climate initiatives by providing the relevant tools and software infrastructure to build on top of.” said Robert Lacher, Co-founder and Partner of Visionaries Club.”
Clay Dumas, Partner at Lowercarbon Capital added,
“The biggest bottleneck to scaling carbon removal will be connecting supply with demand. The team at Pledge is applying what they learned building the world’s top financial products to unlock euros, dollars, and pounds to suck carbon out of the sky.”
Pledge makes it simple for businesses to understand and manage the climate impact of their products. By providing tools and infrastructure, Pledge automates the delivery of climate solutions – such as footprint measurement, reduction and offsetting – into customer journeys. Pledge was founded in 2021 by early employees of Revolut and the co-founder of Freetrade.
About Visionaries Club:
Visionaries Club is a $170M Berlin-based early stage VC fund focused on B2B. It unites the strongest network of successful digital entrepreneurs such as the founders of Flixbus, Skype, Spotify and UiPath and family businesses like Swarovski, Mittal and Oetker, in a venture capital fund to invest in the next generation of founders. The $85M Visionaries Club Seed Fund and $85M Visionaries Club Growth Fund leverage its founder LP network for very early and exclusive access to the most promising entrepreneurs across Europe and subsequently add significant unique, non-replicable value by giving its portfolio companies access to the experience and network of the fund’s unicorn founders as well as to the market insights, contacts and sales opportunities stemming from its industrial LP network.
About Lowercarbon Capital:
Lowercarbon Capital is an $800M early-stage venture capital fund led by Chris and Crystal Sacca to fund research and invest in technologies to reduce greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. To that end, Lowercarbon invests in planet-healing technologies to (1) reduce greenhouse emissions, (2) remove CO2 from the atmosphere, and relieve the worst impacts of climate change in case (1) and (2) take longer than we hope.


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Whole Foods Market Mobile Kitchen rolls to Asheville
Whole Foods Market Kenilworth opens officially at 4 Tunnel Road on August 26. Before the doors open, Whole Foods will roll its mobile kitchen into the parking lot and sell some a few dishes from the store's menu of to-go items.
The Whole Foods Mobile Kitchen, a contraption outfitted from a cargo container the company salvaged from a landfill, will be open Aug. 18-25, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., and 4-7 p.m. at 4 South Tunnel Road. The first day's sales will benefit Asheville nonprofit Brother Wolf Animal Rescue.
The newest Whole Foods will open its doors Tuesday, Aug. 26, at 9 a.m. The grocery store will span 35,000 square feet, with an upper level beer garden called the Tunnel Road Tap Haus.
Get an early look at the new store Friday, Aug. 22, and Saturday, Aug. 23 by signing up for a guided tour. Register here.


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Ministries and agencies in Vietnam are to probe the implementation of prices, tax and competition between foreign-invested companies producing and trading feed for shrimp and fish.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh has asked the Minister of Finance (MoF) to co-operate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), police and other relevant offices to investigate whether these companies have indulged in pricing transfers.
The MoF and relevant offices in cities and provinces will inspect companies that account for a large share of the local market for shrimp and fish feed and investigate violations on price, and tax. The MoIT will also inspect the competitive norms of those companies.
Authorities in the provinces and cities will inspect the declaration and listing of the selling price at provinces and cities.
The deputy prime minister acted after suggestions from members of the National Assembly that foreign-invested enterprises were dominating the local feed market.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in recent years some of these enterprises have violated price regulations by failing to declare prices in accordance with regulations and by selling items for amounts that differ from the declared price. Enterprises that hold large market shares are not on the list of enterprises that must declare price under existing regulations.
However, agencies have not found any deal between foreign-invested companies to control the price of feed for shrimp and fish.
For many years, the domestic fishery industry needed an annual average rate of 3.53 million tonnes of feed for shrimp and fish and foreign firms accounted for 80 per cent of the supply.
In the past five years, prices of foreign feed for shrimp and fish have increased 6 to 7 times compared with previous years, because companies claimed they would have suffered losses due to high input prices.
Source: Vietnam News. Read the full article here.


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A bunch of big retailers including Wal-Mart, Target, 7-Eleven, and Sunoco are supposedly getting together to launch a joint mobile payment system called Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), the WSJ is reporting. But seriously, why another network? Google Wallet is promising, but it's not on many devices, nor is it available at many places. Why can't we just settle on some kind of mobile payment standard? [WSJ]
Kinja is in read-only mode. We are working to restore service.


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The relentless pursuit of doing away with bezels has led to manufacturers launching smartphones with some innovative form factors, with Oppo Find X arguably being the most interesting of the lot. In fact, many other Android OEMs have decided to use Oppo s sliding smartphone as the blueprint for their own upcoming all-screen smartphones. However, it seems the first (after Oppo) to come with a mechanical slider-toting smartphone of its own will be Lenovo. Also Read - Samsung and LG confirm presence at in-person CES 2022Also Read - Lenovo Legion gaming laptops with updated Intel 11th Gen H series processors launched
According to a report by GSMArena, Lenovo will launch its all-screen Z5 Pro smartphone on October 1. The information surfaced on Chinese social networking website Weibo, with the company also confirming it on its official Weibo channel. Also Read - Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon Review: Stylish, Slim, Super Performer
Interestingly, Lenovo s VP Liu Jun had recently showcased the upcoming Z5 Pro during a press conference in Beijing, China.
It s worth mentioning that a video allegedly showing Lenovo Z5 Pro s slider mechanism in action surfaced online, earlier this month. The 12-second long video also shows the soon-to-be-launched sporting an under-display fingerprint sensor. Previous reports have said that the Z5 Pro could come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 or 710 chipset. However, no other information is available about the smartphone as of now.
Lenovo isn t the only Android OEM planning an all-screen smartphone. Earlier this month, Xiaomi president posted a render of the company s upcoming Mi Mix 3, confirming that it ll have a sliding mechanism like Oppo s Find X. A video showing the yet-to-be-launched Mi Mix 3 had also surfaced online, showcasing its manual slider. The smartphone was rumored to launch on September 15, but that didn t happen.


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Yahoo targeting Emap: claim
Shares in media group Emap shot up more than 14% today amid rumours that US online company Yahoo was planning to launch a bid for the company, dealers said.
The shares closed 136p higher at £11.03, although they were still well below the year's highest price of £17.90. An Emap spokesman could not comment on the rumours but sources close to the company said it was not in talks with anyone.
'There are some vicious rumours around,' said one dealer, who also pointed out that trading volumes were low, with little under 900,000 shares changing hands.
The company launched Emap Digital in November and has links with 42 revenue generating Websites.
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Apple is hosting an event March 8. Will it unveil a new budget iPhone?
Mark your calendars, Apple fans.
On Wednesday, the tech giant confirmed it will host an online event March 8, where it is expected the company will unveil a new budget iPhone and iPad Air.
According to a media invitation sent to USA TODAY, the event includes the phrase "Peek performance." The event will be broadcast on Apple's website March 8 at 1 p.m. ET.
It has been widely reported Apple will likely unveil a new model of the iPhone SE, its budget-friendly smartphone. According to Bloomberg, Apple will not only reveal a new SE but an updated iPad Air.
Bloomberg also reports Apple could unveil a new Mac model during the event.
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FITBIT RECALL:Fitbit recalls 1 million Ionic smartwatches for burn risk
At Apple's last tech event in September, the company introduced the iPhone 13, which features improvements to cameras and performance.
Despite supply shortages, Apple turned in another set of blockbuster quarterly results, reporting iPhone sales of $71.6 billion.
iPhone rival: Samsung Galaxy S22 available
Details of the Apple event follow a big month for electronics giant Samsung, which launched the Galaxy S22, considered the top rival to the iPhone.
The Galaxy S22 is available in three types: the standard model, the S22+, which boasts a larger screen, and the S22 Ultra.
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.


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* Marriott earnings/share $0.52 vs est. $0.45
* Sees 2014 systemwide RevPAR increasing 4 to 6 percent
* Hyatt adjusted earnings/share $0.23 vs est $0.21
* Hyatt's U.S. full-service hotel RevPAR rises 7.6 pct
Oct 30 (Reuters) - Hotels chains Marriott International Inc and Hyatt Hotels Corp reportedstronger-than-expected quarterly profits as a rebound in U.S.business travel boosted both hotel occupancy and room rates.
At Marriott, comparable systemwide revenue per availableroom, or RevPAR, in North America rose 5.2 percent in the thirdquarter ended Sept. 30.
Hyatt's U.S. full-service hotel RevPAR rose 7.6 percent inthe same period.
RevPAR is a metric of hotel health, calculated bymultiplying a hotel's average daily room rate by its occupancyrate.
Marriott said short-term group bookings picked up in NorthAmerica, while the average daily rate in the region increased3.9 percent.
"For 2014, we expect North America systemwide RevPAR andworldwide systemwide RevPAR to increase 4 to 6 percent,"Marriott Chief Executive Arne Sorenson said in a statement.
Marriott's North American group bookings for next year arestrengthening, and are up over 4 percent compared to a gain of 2percent three months earlier.
Revenue reported total revenue of $3.16 billion for thethree months ended Sept. 30, up from $2.73 billion it reportedfor the 86-day quarter ended Sept. 7, 2012. The company ismoving to a calendar reporting cycle starting this year.
Third quarter net income totaled $160 million, or 52 centsper share, compared with $143 million, or 44 cents, in theyear-earlier period.
Analysts on average had expected earnings of 45 cents pershare on revenue of $3.04 billion, according to Thomson ReutersI/B/E/S.
INTERNATIONAL DRAGS HYATT
Hyatt revenue rose 4 percent to $1.02 billion in the thirdquarter. Net income rose to $55 million, or 35 cents per share,from $23 million, or 14 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, the company reported adjustedearnings of 23 cents per share, ahead of Wall Street's estimateof 21 cents.
Marriott said the strength seen in North American wasreplicated elsewhere but Hyatt's average room prices at itsinternational hotels fell, offsetting some of the U.S. growth.
RevPAR fell 3 percent at Hyatt's managed and franchisehotels in the Asia-Pacific region, hurt mainly by China.
"A lack of demand in China, increased supply growth in Chinaand tougher Olympic-related comparisons in Europe in the thirdquarter were mainly the culprits," FBR Capital Markets & Coanalyst Nikhil Bhalla said.
Average daily room rates at managed properties fell 4.5percent across the Asia-Pacific region and 2.4 percent acrossthe Europe, Africa and Middle East.
The company also said its board on Tuesday authorized ashare repurchase program of up to an additional $200 million.
Hyatt shares, which had risen about 19 percent this year,closed down marginally at $46.62 on the New York Stock Exchangeon Wednesday.
Shares of Marriott, which reported after the market close,were trading flat in extended trade after closing at $44.20 onthe Nasdaq.
- Professional Services
- Company Earnings


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Chevron Products Company, a Chevron U.S.A. Inc. division, maker of the Delo brand of technologically advanced engine oils, lubricants and coolants, released a case study demonstrating the performance of Delo 400 Multigrade SAE 15W-40 and Delo Extended Life Coolant in a CAT C-15 engine used by New Holland, Pennsylvania’s Sindall Transport. The two products played a key role in the CAT engine reaching 1.1 million miles with minimal wear.
“The cam shaft – there was no sign of wear”
Don M. Sindall founded Sindall Companies in the 1950s, hauling hay and balers between the sale barns of New Holland, PA, and Ontario, Canada. Now under the leadership of Don’s son Doug, Sindall Transport has used Chevron Delo lubricants and coolants for its fleet for over 16 years.
Nearly a fifth of the engines in the company’s fleet have more than a million miles of service. “They stay on the road in top condition thanks to Delo,” said Doug Sindall. “We have 29 trucks, many with 1 million miles plus without an overhaul,” Sindall said.
In order to demonstrate, Sindall mechanics disassembled one of the company’s oldest CAT C-15 engines to see how it was holding up after 1.1 million miles on the road using Delo 400 Multigrade SAE 15W-40 and Delo Extended Life Coolant. Mechanics found the engine in “incredible” condition, said Sindall Master Mechanic Harry Kline.
After removing the cylinder head and valves, the team found that the engine had only minor carbon deposits inside the cylinders and on the valves themselves.“The cam shaft – there was no sign of wear,” Kline said. “We’re going to reinstall it back in the engine.”
Sindall Fleet Manager Dave Troop said that the condition of the engine Kline’s team inspected is seen across the board in all the company’s trucks, including five other vehicles each with more than a million miles on their engines. “I’ve got five or six trucks with over a million miles on them, and with the Delo products in them, I certainly hope we can try to get 2 million miles out of them,” Troop said. “I’m pretty confident that we can get close to that.”
The success with Delo engine oil has led Sindall Transportation to switch to Delo’s full line of engine products, including Delo gear lubricant and Delo Extended Life Coolant. Sindall Transportation has used Delo Extended Life Coolant since 2003 and has seen it help put a stop to liner pitting and cavitation, with engine liners staying clean and in good condition with no deposits.
In summing up his experience with Chevron Delo products, Sindal said “We use Delo 400 oil, because it extends the lives of our engines.”


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And now, for a little midday silliness courtesy of Whit Hiler, a creative at Lexington, KY-based Cornett Integrated Marketing Solutions who’s perhaps better known as one of the parties involved with the ongoing grassroots tourism campaign, “Kentucky Kicks Ass.” Hiler, who’s also been prone to shock and amuse on Reddit in recent months with his array of fliers, has now reteamed with his Cornett IMS crew to launch the patent-pending “Beardvertising,” which he dubs “the real native advertising.”
To be honest, we’re surprised we haven’t seen something this ridiculous before, though ad folks have ventured into “beard-selling” in the past. Anyhow, inspired by stats saying that 55 percent of males worldwide now have facial hair, Hiler and company are now seeking out men with beards that want to make money hosting, yes, “BeardBoards,” patent-pending miniature billboards that clip onto a beard. As you can see, this pretty much only applies to those in the ZZ Top/Williamsburg realm of beard growth, so it looks like we’re out the running (and from the looks of it, thank heavens). Along with brave participants, Cornett IMS is also looking for partners to advertise on BeardBoards (and we’ll be damned, they already have two). We’re just wondering why they didn’t think of this ahead of winter.


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Tech giants push Congress for K-12 computer science education
No coder left behind.
Tim Cook starts today's Apple event with some words for the FBI
"We will not shrink from this responsibility."
Zuckerberg is the most known, liked and disliked tech CEO
Jeff Bezos is the most popular tech chief, while Uber's Travis Kalanick is least favored.
Apple and FBI to testify at Congressional encryption hearing
FBI director James Comey and Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell are set to testify.
Tim Cook wants the US to reform its intelligence policies
The Apple CEO shoots back at the suggestion the San Bernadino iPhone case is a one-off incident.
Twitter, Facebook support Apple in its fight with the FBI
Other tech companies are speaking up about the potential downside of being forced to weaken security.
What you need to know about Apple's fight with the FBI
Allowing the government to unlock a single device will have huge implications for the future of privacy.
Google CEO: FBI's request of Apple could set a 'troubling precedent'
Sundar Pichai has some concerns about user privacy.
Slow down, Apple: Perfect your iOS apps before moving to Android
Android fans might appreciate using Apple apps, but they don't need the same old Apple kinks.


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Change is coming
- May 15, 2018
- Posted by: Simon Wait
- Category: IBIS News
David O’Connor, head of aftersales, KIA Motors Ireland told IBIS Ireland 2018 delegates that the 2020 climate and energy agreement is a key driving force for vehicle manufacturers’ development programmes.
Highlighting a number of EV developments and models, David suggested the demand for KIA’s Niro plug in hybrid exceeded all expectations – ‘consumer demand is changing’ said David as he discussed the increasing awareness and infrastructure available.
Asking if the product line-up is ready – David pointed to how technology is evolving rapidly via connected services. He suggested that by the end of 2019, KIA could have three fully electric vehicles available along with a variety of introductions from other manufacturers – ‘in the next 18 months, the supply of electric vehicles is set to explode’ said David.
David pointed to how the total automotive market will be valued at $7.8tn by 2030 with established vehicle manufacturer brands share of that overall value decreasing from circa 70% in 2015 to around 40% by that time. He referenced brands such as Dyson, iCar and Uber as being challenger brands likely to absorb 60% of the marketshare. A key change in the make up of the market value will be digital services making up 20% of the value and shared moblity a further four per cent whilst vehicle sales values will reduce from 41% to 29%.
Aftersales is another area expected to decrease in total market value terms from 16% in 2015 to 10% in 2030 – ‘filling the aftersales gap is a real concern at European and global level – and that is a huge challenge for dealerships too’ said David.
Highlighting the megatrends according to KIA, David pointed to autonomous driving, mobility services, electrification and connectivity were all critical to future success yet all presented their own challenges for all stakeholders.
In closing the session, David commented, ‘How much change will we see and when? Who knows. But we need to be prepared for change.’
IBIS Ireland is supported by lead partner AkzoNobel and partners Audatex, Fix Auto and Synergy.


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14th November 2019 Unusual Pain From Mercedes
14th November 2019 Cyber Security Big Threat To Automotive Industry
What must the automotive industry do about the threat from cyber security?
30th September 2019 Volkswagen Facing Mass Lawsuit
The diesel emissions scandal has already cost Volkswagen 30 billion euros.BusinessRiskTV
Volkswagen is already managing the civil costs of the diesel emissions scandal in USA and Australia. Volkswagen has agreed to buy back 500000 cars in the USA. In Australia Volkswagen will pay 127 million Australian dollars to compensate car owners.
24th September 2019 Three Current and Former Volkswagen Executives Charged with Market Manipulation in Connection with Diesel Emissions Scandal.
Volkswagen admitted in 2015 using illegal software to cheat on emissions tests. Millions of Volkswagen cars around the world were sold with devices to defeat emissions testing.BusinessRiskTV
Volkswagen tried to cover up the emissions scandal.
9th July 2019 New Electric Mini Will Start Production In Cowley UK In November.
You can take delivery of your new UK electric mini in March 2020.
1st April 2019 Investigation Of Car Fires
USA automotive safety regulator the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA will open an investigation into Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp vehicles after reviewing reports of more than 3000 fires that injured over 100 people.
The Center for Auto Safety CAS has been investigating Hyundai and Kia vehicles for fire risks and has asked the regulator to investigate their car fires.
27th March 2019 Ford Motor Cos Russian Joint Venture Ford Sollers To Close Two Assembly Plants Plus Engine Factory In Russia
A restructured Ford Sollers will focus on commercial vehicles. Passenger vehicle production will cease by the end of June 2019.
In 2011 Ford Motor Co set up a joint venture with Sollers in which Ford and Sollers each hold a 50 percent stake.
5th March 2019 InvestIndustrial To Buy Morgan
InvestIndustrial is an Italian venture capitalist firm. The Morgan family and the management team will retain minority stakes in the carmaker.
25th February 2019 BMW Fined 8 Million Euros
BMW have been fined 8 million euros in Germany for administrative lapses surrounding the wrong engine management software as part of the ongoing emissions scandal currently impacting on lower car sales and a slowdown in the German and global economy.
31st January 2019 British Car Production Fell By 9 percent In 2018
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders SMMT the UK suffered its biggest fall in car production since the 2009 global recession.
Britain’s biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover is a good example of a carmaker hit by reduction in demand from China and diesel models. Most of Jaguar Land Rover model are diesel.
15th January 2019 New Ford and Volkswagen Collaboration
Ford and Volkswagen to collaborate to cut costs of technological development. The companies will work together on the development of commercial vans mid size pickups driverless vehicles and electric vehicles.
1oth January 2019 There Is Nothing Inherently Wrong With Diesel Power
What is wrong is leading global vehicle manufacturers cheating on vehicle emissions testing by state regulatory bodies.
Diesel engine technical like most technology continues to progress. New developments in diesel engines make some diesel engines better for the environment than petrol engines.
Not only did the diesel engine emission scandal cheat regulatory levels of pollution but they cheated further faster diesel engine development. By making out everything was good with emissions they was less need for innovation. Since discovering that the biggest manufacturers were really polluting the world at much higher levels than thought automotive manufacturers have doubled down on research and development to make diesel engines that do work well.
The trouble is that the cheaters have now tainted diesel engines. As a result people are losing their jobs. Other by products of poor corporate governance and risk management have flowed from the cheaters emissions scandal.
What needs to happen is that punishment for cheating society needs to be greater. Those personally responsible should have been punished severely to deter similar but different failure of risk management.
We continue to throw the baby out with the bath water post significant loss. Diesel power is being sidelined when it has much to offer society. In addition to more severely punishing wrongdoers businesses need to more proactively manage enterprise risks more holistically.
22nd November 2018 Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors Are Being Investigated By USA Prosecutors Over Whether Vehicle Product Recalls Were Conducted Properly
Hyundai and affiliate company Kia together are the world’s fifth biggest automaker. They recalled recalled nearly 1.7 million vehicles in 2015 and 2017 in the United States in one of their biggest recalls in America for concerns about an engine failure that increases the risk of a crash.
The investigation could lead to criminal charges and more vehicle product recalls.
11th October 2018 BMW To Take Control Of Its Car Making In China
BMW will pay 3.6 billion euros to take control of its main joint venture in China. China has reversed its protectionist policy on foreign ownership to try to increase investment and economic growth in China.
China relaxing company ownership rules makes BMW invest more in China
BMW says it will increase its stake in its venture with Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd 75 percent from 50 percent with the deal closing in 2022 when rules capping foreign ownership for all auto ventures are lifted. BMW may shift more production to China in future.
8th October 2018 Jaguar Land Rover JLR To Close Solihull Plant For 2 Weeks This Month
Jaguar Land Rover will close its Solihull plant for two weeks later this month after it reported a nearly 50 percent fall in sales to China. Chinese consumers fear the impact of Chinas trade war with USA.
The second main reason for slump in demand is the fact that around half of JLRs car sales are diesel and there has been a global kickback at diesel engine powered vehicles around the world due to environmental concerns.
— Risk Manager (@ERMuk) October 5, 2018
13th September 2018 General Motors Co Recalling 1 million Pickup Trucks and Sport Utility Vehicles United States USA
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the vehicles are being recalled due to issues with a temporary loss of power steering. A defect may cause difficulty steering the vehicle especially at low speeds increasing the risk of a crash.
Product Recall for specific 2015 Chevrolet GMC and Cadillac pickup trucks and SUVs.
GM dealers will update the power steering module software free of charge for owners of the affected vehicles.
7th September 2018 Ford Motor Co Recalls 2 Million F150 pickup Trucks in North America
A seat belt problem could generate excessive sparks and cause fires following 17 reports of smoke or fire in the United States and six in Canada. Ford will fix the problem for free. The product recall will cost Ford 140 million dollars.
The recall covers 2015-2018 Ford F-150 Regular Cab and SuperCrew Cab vehicles in North America for driver and front passenger seat belt pretensioners.
5th September 2018 UK New Car Sales Jump In August 2018
- British new car registrations jumped by an annual 23.1 percent in August.
Demand for electric and alternatively fuelled vehicles nearly doubled. New car sales hit 94094 units in August according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders SMMT.
6th June 2018 Product Recall Announcement For Audi A6 and A7 Models
German motor authority KBA has ordered a recall of Audi A6 and A7 models with 3.0 litre Euro 6 diesel engines after finding illegal emissions software in them according to Germanys Transport Ministry.
Around 60,000 vehicles worldwide are affected by the product recall announcement.
24th April 2018 Volkswagen Group Profit On Course In 2018
We had a very positive start into 2018 group Chief Executive Herbert Diess said at the Beijing auto show. Positive profit growth is expected in all automotive marketplaces.
Volkswagen group wide deliveries expanded 7.4 percent in the first quarter to 2.7 million vehicles
28th March 2018 Daimler and BMW Team Up
Daimler and BMW joined forces to cooperate on developing new services including car sharing and ride hailing services. Each company has a 50 percent stake in the projects.
28th March 2018 Jaguar and Google Driverless Car Project
Jaguar car manufacturer and Google’s autonomous tech company Waymo have agreed to pool resources to develop 20000 driverless I-Pace SUVs in a new car-hailing service project.
In future, instead of asking Uber to send you a taxi you ask Google to pick you up and take you to your chosen destination in a Jaguar I Pace without a driver.
Google has been developing an autonomous system that can be fitted to luxury cars as part of Google’s plan to offer a premium electric self driving vehicle car hailing service called Google Self Driving Car Project.
6th March 2018 Car Tariffs By USA Would Result In USA Job Losses According To BMW
BMW’s CEO is reported as saying that if the USA imposed tariffs on car imports in the United States, it would reduce job opportunities in the USA marketplace. BMW has a car plant in South Carolina.
President Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on car imports to USA if the European Union EU retaliates against Trump’s threat of imposing tariffs on aluminium and steel.
15th February 2018 Volkswagen VW and Apple Partnership
Volkswagen is seeking to work with Apple to style its new generation of electric cars.
31st January 2018 UK Car Production Falls In 2017 But Should Hold Steady In 2018
2017 car production fell 10 percent according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders SMMT. 1.67 million cars were produced in the UK last year.
2017 was still the second highest car production in UK since the year 2000.
80 percent of all cars produced in UK are exported. Over half of cars produced go to European market.
£1.1 billion was invested in the car industry in 2017 down from £1.6 billion in 2016.
The SMMT is forecasting car production will be roughly the same in 2018 as it was in 2017.
18th January 2018 Peugeot SA on Alliance In Latin America
Peugeot SA is very open to a potential alliance in Latin America according to its CEO, Carlos Tavares.
9th January 2018 Ford Partnering Plans With Software and Technology Firms
Ford plans to partner with logistics company Postmates for autonomous delivery services. The companies will conduct pilot services throughout 2018 to evaluate the utility of self-driving technology.
Ford will also work with transportation software company Autonomic to build a cloud-based platform for base processes, such payment methods or identity verification. Ford made an investment in Autonomic last year.
Ford will expand its self-driving technology development with a growing fleet of Argo AI test vehicles in a new city, which will be the first where Ford plans to deploy an autonomous vehicle business. It did not name the city.
The company also announced a partnership with navigation software maker Waze which will allow users to access the real time traffic and navigation services projected onto the Ford’s SYNC 3 touch screen and by voice commands
8th January 2018 New Working Future. Old Meets New
Automotive partnerships between carmakers and digital firms continue with Volkswagen and Nvidia. Nvidia is providing artificial intelligence AI capabilities for Volkswagen’s future models. Every new vehicle will have features like AI assistants for voice, gesture and facial recognition, as well as augmented reality. Further product enhancements will include autonomous driving capabilities.
8th January 2018 Jaguar Land Rover Record Sales In 2017
For 2018 Jaguar Land Rover expects both domestic and international sales to increase. In 2017 Jaguar Land Rover started work on its new £200 million design and engineering centre in Warwickshire.
JLR key risks in 2018
- Rapid currency fluctuations find new markets or expand existing international markets further
- Diesels and environmental impact diversity product range and expand international market
- Cyber Risk adopt cyber risk management principles and practices
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5th January 2018 Chinese Government’s Vision For AI In Cars
China’s government has set a target for incorporating artificial intelligence into cars. The Chinese government wants AI in at least half of all new cars it produces by 2020.
To support this goal for the future, the Chinese government will provide 90 percent wireless network coverage across the China or at least its biggest cities and major roads. It will also cut corporate tax to encourage smart car innovation to become the producer of quality smart cars to the world.
21st December 2017 UK Car Production Falls In November
UK car production in November for UK domestic market fell by 28 percent compared to same period last year according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders SMMT. Exports rose by 1.3 percent.
However, in November 2016, the number of cars sold into the UK domestic market was particularly high in comparison to previous years.
16th October 2017 Mercedes-Benz Recalls 400,000 Cars In UK For Airbag Fault
Reports have surfaced that airbags have been deploying prematurely. The vehicles affected include A-Class B-Class C Class E Class and CLA models built between November 2011 and July 2017.
Car owners have been advised that if the red airbag warning light comes on the dashboard to contact their car dealer immediately. Under normal conditions the vehicles are safe to drive.
26th August 2017 VW Emissions Scandal. Former VW Engineer Sentenced To 40 Months In Prison
VW made cars that were producing more pollution than USA clean air regulations allowed. A VW engineer who was partly responsible for the deception has been put in jail by an American judge. In addition he was fined $200,000. The 63 year old VW engineer plead guilty to charges against him that he mislead USA regulators.
How can the new and existing automotive industry risks be managed better?
In a swiftly changing automotive industry, how can business leaders manage strategic, operational and project risks better? What are the key risks to tackle first with limited resources and how could you improve your automotive related business decision making to become more resilient and more productive?
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It will NOT just be car MANUFACTURING that change
Strategic and operational risks require different types of collaboration and cooperation. The auto industry is being turned upside down. What will shake out is not entirely clear. What is certain is that nothing will be the same again for investors in the automotive industry automakers employees suppliers or the consumer.
How automotive products and people are moved around locally and globally is about to make exponential gear shift away from traditional ways of moving from A to B.
Read more about technology changes
Pigs can’t fly but cars might! Companies like Tesla and Uber are exploring new ways for moving people from A to B faster. Flying cars might seem like a thing of fantasy but leading industry minds are increasingly thinking about making SCIFI reality. For example Uber plans to design airborne taxis that will travel up to 100 miles making the commute easier and even cheaper. When could this start to become real? In the next couple of years?
Read more about technology changes
Automotive Industry Risk Management Overview
What are the key business risks in automotive industry? Overview of all risks involved the design development manufacturingmarketing and selling of motor vehicles.Take control of risk factors in the automotive industry.
Understand corporate business risk management in automotive industry.
Develop the skills and techniques to manage automotive industry risks better. Seize automotive new business opportunities arising from changes in technology, the marketplace, regulations and global trading environment.
Take part or listen to liv online automotive industry events, conferences, roundtables and webcasts keeping you up to date with latest automotive news, opinions and product or service reviews. The next decade is unlikely to be anything like the last 10 decades with the 4th industrial revolution picking up pace including new partnerships and new automotive industry entrants with the likes of Tesla, Dyson and Google entering and expanding in the automotive marketplace.
New risks will play a bigger role in decision-making including cyber attacks on companies and individual vehicles.
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Automotive Industry Risk Analysis
What are the threats and opportunities in future?
What are the risks and opportunities in the automotive industry? What are the emerging risks for automakers? What are the existing risks that are changing? How do business leaders manage these risks more productively and profitably?
The global automotive industry is on the edge of a cliff. Driverless technology and technology companies are moving from valuable partners to potential survival threats. The ways things have been done for decades is about to change unrecognisably. Users like Uber are going to change demand for manufactured vehicles, as is the impending jump in oil prices brought about by the economic recovery and falling investment in oil production.
Oil producers have slashed their exploration budgets and this will feed into much higher oil prices in the near future. Higher oil prices will change the demand for automotive products and vehicles.
How can carmakers reduce the threats from their suppliers and more successfully collaborate with suppliers for mutual benefit?
The automotive industry has such a large net positive impact on the global society via employment and income generation. How should government’s support the automotive industry better for societal benefits?
How is the traditional vehicle maker threatened by technology and how can they embrace the benefits of new technological developments? The world is entering a new auto industry period that creates existential threats and totally new income stream opportunities for not auto makers but tech companies. This is not futuristic. It is right on our doorstep right now!
Fleet and Driver Risk Management
Motor fleet risk management can prevent the waste of bundles of cash. It does require a commitment of time but not necessarily a lot of money. It therefore can boost the profitability of your business.
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