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In the last three months, the increasing success of social networking in Italy, mainly Facebook, is creating a wide debate.
From 1 million of users in May Italy reached 4,2 millions of users in September (Nielsen Netview).
Every day newspapers, magazines, online news never miss to talk about benefits or risks arising from this media.
Somebody even considers Facebook as a danger for couples, and families!
Most users are far from consider Facebook and social networking as a useful working tool.
Using Facebook is mainly considered as something ‘in’, but just for entertainment.
That’s why many companies start forbidding Facebook’s access to the employees, as they believe is just a waste of time.
Word-of-mouth, buzz, social media as a service or marketing tools are just words, especially in public companies.
And it’s very hard to change this trend in many manager’s (and also users’ mind!)
So … what do you think about it? Should companies forbid Facebook’s access to their employees? How can we try to ‘fill a hole’ and change this trend?


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Virtual Reality News Roundup: VR Flakes September 17, 2022
Welcome to this week's issue of the VR Flakes Newsletter. Our goal is to deliver the best virtual reality news from this week, all in one place. Get this delivered to your inbox every Saturday along with a surprise inside. Subscribe below on mobile or on the right if you’re on a desktop.
The VR news round-up for this week is a feast for all of you AR and VR gamers. We'll get a sneak glimpse at PSVR 2 and its features now that PlayStation VR 2 generated so much hype last week with its fantastic news. Not to mention the PSVR's assurances that the new gadget will support a never-ending supply of thrilling games. Discover more about them and more in this week's VR news roundup. Let's get rolling.
PlayStation VR 2 Hands-on
Hands-on videos of the new PlayStation VR 2 are now out in the wild. PlayStation VR 2 is one of the most anticipated VR headsets today. The new device is not a standalone device like the Meta Quest 2, but is lightweight and has pretty interesting built quality and features that works remarkably well with Sony's high-quality games. Some of the features include passthrough technology, eye tracking, VR haptics, and more.
The headset is expected to be released next year. There could still be some changes to the prototype shown by Sony PlayStation last week for any improvements they see fit. For now, we see what it can do and anticipate better VR gaming enjoyment using the PSVR 2.
Announced Games for PSVR 2
Alongside the hype of the first look at PSVR 2, many may want to know which games are confirmed to be enjoyed with this next-generation PlayStation VR headset. And here’s the list of announced games that you can play on a PSVR 2.
Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge
Resident Evil Village
Resident Evil 4
No Man’s Sky
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners Chapter 2
Among Us VR
Samurai Slaughter House
Horizon Call of the Mountain
Pico 4 launch date revealed
Taobao has released a live preorder listing of Pico 4 VR. After the Pico Neo 3 release, many are expecting the next device teased by ByteDance. Although they did not officially announce Pico 4, it was nevertheless expected to come. Pico 4 is believed to be released globally unlike the Pico Neo 3 which was released in the Asian market and has limited offerings in the European market.
The price on the live preorder page states ¥9999 but they have indicated that the true price will be announced on September 27th. Pico 4 VR has two variants: 128GB and 256GB similar to the offering of Meta Quest 2
Real-world 3D scanner peel 3 and peel 3.CAD launched
Meanwhile, new tech launched by the company peel 3D redefines hyper-realistic capture of the real-world environment into 3D models for VR and AR. Peel 3D is a company focused on creating professional-grade 3D scanners. The company has decided to develop easy-to-use scanners called peel 3 and peel 3.CAD.
The 3D scanners are supported with scan to CAD technology. No matter the user's level of expertise, it has an ergonomic design and uses haptics to produce high-resolution scans. It scans the real-world environment to translate exact images and measurements into a 3D model that can then be utilized in VR and AR.
Peel 3 is priced at $8490 and peel 3.CAD is priced at $11,990. Learn more about the products here.
AR/VR games and Game mods to check out this weekend
NFL PRO ERA
Available on Quest 2 & PS VR
Drop Dead: The Cabin
Upcoming on Quest 2
Marvel World Of Heroes
Upcoming AR mobile game on Android and iOS
Stray VR Mod
Available on PC VR
That concludes another installment of VR Flakes. That is entertaining! We hope you enjoyed learning about the latest AR/VR developments this week. Any thoughts about this week’s VR happenings? Just comment down below. Next week, you may expect more exciting news that the VR community cares about. Next week's roundup will be posted here. See you here again. Ciao VR friends!

domain: news


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The second unit of the Gujarat plant will be commissioned soon.,
Low utilisation could crimp margins as the cost of production there is higher than in the Haryana plant.,
The stock is trading at 21 times its forecast earnings for FY20, which is on a par with the five year average.,
ET Intelligence Group: For five years, Maruti Suzuki has led India’s consumption drive, rolling out more models than rivals and establishing its credentials as an SUV maker, stepping out of its identity as a compactcar specialist. That ride is now turning bumpy as tepid overall demand and rising input costs finally take their toll on the undisputed industry leader.
So, the Street has to reset its expectations of volume growth and profitability. Maruti’s projected EPS could be trimmed 5-10 per cent, and the Street may ascribe lower PE multiples due to the moderation in earnings growth.
Demand is low and volume growth has dissipated in the past two quarters after a robust start to FY19. Maruti has guided for passenger vehicle growth of 4.5 per cent for the current fiscal year from an earlier projection of double-digit growth.
In the December quarter, volumes fell 0.6 per cent and monthly sales volume run-rate fell to 142,000 from 156,000 units in the last nine months.
The inventory pile led Maruti to undertake major corrections. Inventory days dropped to just two weeks from an average of 4-5 weeks, explaining higher retail sales — to the customer from the dealer — than wholesale, or sales to the dealer from the company. Average discount per vehicle reached Rs 24,500 per unit (equivalent to 5.7 per cent of the average realisation), or a high for 30 quarters.
Shrinking demand for passenger cars would result in lower volume growth in the current and next fiscal years, at 6 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. To achieve 6 per cent volume growth, Maruti’s monthly run-rate must increase to 160,000 units in the March quarter, which is 12 per cent higher sequentially. Separately, adverse foreign exchange movement, higher sales and marketing expenses, and increased fixed expenses per unit raised the pressure on costs.
That pushed operating profit margin down by 660 basis points YoY to 9.8 per cent in the December quarter, and operating profit fell 31 per cent YoY, 26 per cent lower than the estimates. Although margins might revive, they are unlikely to reach the 15-16 per cent level in the near-term.
The second unit of the Gujarat plant will be commissioned soon. Low utilisation could crimp margins as the cost of production there is higher than in the Haryana plant due to lower levels of localisation at the new unit.
The stock is trading at 21 times its forecast earnings for FY20, which is on a par with the five year average.
We are extremely saddened to inform the untimely demise of Vikram S Kirloskar, Vice Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor on 29th November 2022. At this time of grief, we request everyone to pray that his soul rests in peace. Last respect can be paid at Hebbal Crematorium, Bengaluru, at 1 pm on Wednesday, Toyota said.
According to ETAuto sources, the raid began at the company’s Corporate office in Gurgaon around 3:00 PM and continued till the story is filed. The latest development comes in light of heightened scrutiny by law-enforcement agencies on companies operating in India which have links with neighboring country, China.


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In terms of business performance, video games are putting up some high scores. Last year, the industry saw record revenue of $43.8 billion in the U.S., up 18 percent, while the global market is expected to top $180.1 billion by 2021. That prodigious growth has in turn help create a massive market for competitive esports and related properties like livestreaming website Twitch, which boasts more than 15 million daily active users.
The growth of video game culture has also opened the doors for beverage brands able to supply the demand for functional drinks that appeal to the specific needs of gamers. While major brands such as Mountain Dew and Monster Energy have paid attention to the space — tailoring product innovation around gamers and sponsoring esports leagues — a handful of smaller innovative energy drink brands have seized on the space to offer authentic, better-for-you options tailored for long, intensive gaming sessions.
G Fuel Launches RTD, Aims to Bring Gaming Drinks Mainstream
Founded in 2004, Gamma Labs is no stranger to building brands for competition-minded consumer bases. According to founder and CEO Cliff Morgan, the brand initially launched with a “micro niche” testosterone booster product for athletes seeking a legal performance enhancing supplement.
The company’s direction first changed course six years later when Gamma Labs released PTF (or Pre-Training Formula), a powder pre-workout beverage. But it was in 2012 when a marketing partner recommended to Morgan that the brand sample its products to gamers waiting outside GameStop stores for the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. According to Morgan, the demo covered just 11 Los Angeles area GameStop locations, but the event created such strong word-of-mouth that Gamma Labs’ fledgling ecommerce sales jumped from single digits to more than 300 purchases overnight.
“These kids believe in each other,” Morgan told BevNET. “None of them were influencers, so to speak. They did not have big online followings, they were just an authentic part of the gaming community. Twitter was like one big long text message for them and just on their word other people came to our site and bought the product. Immediately within the next two weeks we hired 19 YouTubers and influencers and we started cutting the athletes and influencers.”
Shortly thereafter G Fuel launched as a powdered product in three flavors available exclusively through ecommerce on its website and Amazon. According to Morgan, the name was chosen to be purposefully vague; “the G could be for Gamma, or it could be for Gamer,” he said. Recognizing the growth of the gaming industry, Morgan also registered several trademarks, including the phrases “The Official Energy Drink of eSports” and “The Official Energy Drink of Drone Racing,” even though at the time the brand had no official ties to any gaming or drone racing leagues.
Last month, the brand launched its first RTD line with four flavors: Blue Ice, Sour Cherry, Rainbow Sherbert, and FaZeberry (developed in partnership with eSports organization FaZe Clan). Six more flavors are expected to be announced in the next 90 days, Morgan said. In addition to 300 mg of caffeine, each 16 oz can contains L-theanine, L-tyrosine, B vitamins, ketone body goBHB, and S7, a specialty blend of plant-based ingredients that the brand says can increase nitric oxide by 230%. The line contains zero sugar and zero calories.
According to Morgan, the flavors were developed in part based on consumer feedback. While the RTD product is currently only available online, G Fuel plans to roll both lines out into convenience and independent retail accounts before the end of the year. While he hopes a brick-and-mortar presence will help expand the brand’s consumer base — noting that the rise of performance energy brands like Bang have shown consumers are willing to embrace new brands — Morgan said he intends to continue marketing toward the gamer community, including through influencer partnerships with high profile YouTubers like PewDiePie and Roman Atwoods.
“The industry is growing so big,” Morgan said, noting that the popularity of events such as the Fortnite World Cup have brought more spectators into the esports market. In recent years, dedicated esports arenas have opened across the country, and professional sports leagues have sought to partner with esports organizations.
“Unlike a lot of other companies, I feel like my brand is really strong and I want to take my time breaking into retail and get the best relationships possible,” he said. “If that means going into a bunch of independence until we find somebody we’re comfortable marrying, then we’re okay with that. I’m not in any huge rush, I don’t need to take over the world tomorrow. I just need to take over the world.”
Tech Co. Turns to Beverage with RESPAWN
Technology company Razer has modeled itself as a “leading lifestyle brand for gamers,” producing specialty laptops, keyboards, and performance-boosting applications to create smoother gaming experiences. But since 2010, the company has repeatedly joked (usually on April Fool’s Day) about releasing a nanobot-infused energy drink that would be injected directly into the consumer’s bloodstream to allow gamers to keep playing for hours on end without needing to take a break.
After nine years of teasing, this June Razer finally launched RESPAWN, a powdered “mental performance drink mix” that, though it must be consumed orally, helps make good on that promise.
RESPAWN debuted at E3, the gaming industry’s leading trade show that is visited by both industry professionals and consumers. According to Sean Driscoll, product manager for RESPAWN, the drink was “uniquely positioned” to use Razer’s brand equity within the gaming industry to immediately appeal to their existing consumer base.
“We know, as gamers, that there could be better options out in the marketplace,” Driscoll told BevNET. “There’s a lot of energy drinks out there that we felt weren’t conducive to sitting stationary and staring at a screen for extended periods of time. They all promote a lot of physical energy. That was a lot of the motivation for building this product from the ground up as something for gamers by gamers.”
Currently available through ecommerce, Driscoll said Razer intends to roll RESPAWN out into retail in the near future, with a focus on college and university accounts. The goal, he said, is to make RESPAWN “the Gatorade of the eSports world” by promoting it as a healthy, functional sports drink.
RESPAWN contains green tea extract, choline, B vitamins, and 95 mg of caffeine per serving, and is promoted as increasing focus, reaction time, and mental stamina. The line includes Pomegranate Watermelon, Blue Raspberry, Tropical Pineapple, and Green Apple flavors and sells for $24.99 per 20-pack box of 0.22 oz single-serve sticks. Each flavor contains zero sugar and 20 calories.
“It’s great to see big food and beverage brands investing in this space, because gamers really need something different than a professional basketball player,” Driscoll said. “But there are a lot of similarities and crossovers — everyone wants to be healthy. So brands are targeting a health factor because you realize if you’re sitting stationary for long periods of time you don’t want these products that are full of sugar. I think that’s kind of in the past.”
Sneak Drives Growth with Casual Gamers
While G Fuel and RESPAWN have paid close attention to the rise of esports and the ‘gamer athlete,’ Manchester, England-based Sneak has sought to position itself for appeal to the “casual gamer.”
Launched in March 2018, Sneak is currently worldwide available via ecommerce; However, the U.S. makes up about 50% of the brand’s sales. Founder Jonny Teeling told BevNET that Sneak’s average consumer is between 23-34 years old and isn’t as likely to self-identify as a “gamer.”
“They have jobs and they’re not watching the esports tournaments, though they may play those same games,” Teeling said. “They’re a bit more of a casual gamer who play on the weekends and evenings.”
However, Teeling said, this demographic can also be more suspicious of “big brands” such as Mountain Dew that seek to “tack onto” gaming trends through marketing promotions. To create an “authentic” message for these particular gamers, Teeling said Sneak has enlisted a roster of “micro influencers” comprised of amateur gamers — such as users of the popular game streaming platform Twitch — to promote the brand. So far, this approach has resulted in brand loyalty with a strong repeat purchase rate.
“What we’ve found with the gaming community is that they can be quite fickle and can tell when a brand is making an authentic proposition or just trying to take advantage of a new market,” Teeling said. “So our whole approach was how can we approach this market not as a money grab but from a place where we can bring value back to the community.”
like G Fuel and RESPAWN, Sneak is also a zero sugar product; it contains 12 calories and 150 mg of caffeine per serving. Each 14 oz tub contains 40 servings and is available for $39.99 per tub. According to Teeling, the product is intended to improve “mental performance,” energy, and vision and contains ingredients such as L-Tyrosine, L-Taurine, Carnitine, and B vitamins. The line features Strawberry Watermelon, Blue Raspberry, Cherry Bomb, Tropikilla (pineapple, mango, orange), and Stealth flavors.
According to Teeling, Sneak plans to roll out new flavors over the next year and to drive growth by increasing its event-based marketing. While retailers have shown interest in the brand, he said, the focus will remain on ecommerce for the immediate future.


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Puma has announced today that its Regional General Manager Europe Richard Teyssier will lead the new Global Marketing Organization of the company as Global Brand & Marketing Director, effective 1 July 2023. In this role, he will report directly to Puma CEO Arne Freundt.
Teyssier has broad expertise in brand management and marketing after 17 years in leading Marketing functions at Mars Inc., where he was responsible for some of the company’s most iconic brands, such as M&Ms and TWIX in France prior to joining Puma in 2010. At Puma, Richard had been General Manager for the French market until 2021 before assuming responsibility for Central Europe, France, UK & Ireland, Southern Europe, and Northern Europe across all channels. He will continue to lead the Region Europe until his successor is announced.
“I would like to thank Adam Petrick for his significant contribution to PUMA’s success during his more than 20-year-tenure with PUMA,” said Arne Freundt. “With Richard Teyssier, we have found the ideal candidate to drive PUMA’s brand elevation strategy in the future. He is not only a true marketing specialist who comes with a strong expertise in brand management. He is also an integral part of our PUMA family and knows the business inside out from his more than 12 years of general management at PUMA France and PUMA Europe.
Teyssier succeeds Adam Petrick current Puma’s Global Chief Brand Officer.
In the context of the reorganization, Petrick has decided to not transition to Herzogenaurach (Germany), but to pursue new challenges outside of PUMA, after over two decades with the brand. He will be with the company until the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition.
This announcement is framed into the german sports products multinational brand’s reoragnization of its marketing practice worldwide.
Relocation of the marketing practice from the USA to the brand’s HQ in Germany
As part of the implementation of its strategic priorities, German sports company PUMA is reorganizing the global Marketing Organization. The decision lays the organizational foundation for further elevating the Puma brand, one of the company’s three strategic priorities. Going-forward PUMA’s Global Marketing Organization will be based at the company’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany to improve alignment and accelerate decision-making with the company’s Global Business Units, Global Go-To-Market function, and Creative Direction. This involves the relocation of the Brand Management and Marketing Operations departments from Boston to Herzogenaurach (Germany), effective July 1.
“Puma’s brand is at the heart of our company’s success,” said Arne Freundt, CEO of Puma. “Yet, our analyses clearly show that Puma has significant opportunities to leverage the full potential of its brand. This is why relentlessly elevating our brand is one of our key strategic priorities. With the Global Marketing Organization being based in proximity to our key central functions at the HQ, we will lay the organizational foundation for this. It will ensure brand consistency and speed up decision-making to further strengthen the Puma brand and it will make us even more consumer-centric. With the new setup, we will be able to drive more impactful campaigns to further establish our brand in the minds of our consumers.”
At the same time, the marketing organization of Puma North America will be further strengthened by the assignment of responsibilities for local sports marketing and local partnership management in order to elevate the brand in the US market, the multinational explains.
One of the leading sport apparel, footwear and sport inspired lifestyle manufacturer in the world
Puma is one of the world’s leading sports brands, designing, developing, selling and marketing footwear, apparel and accessories.
For 75 years, the company has relentlessly pushed sport and culture forward by creating fast products for the world’s fastest athletes.
The multinational offers performance and sport-inspired lifestyle products in categories such as Football, Running and Training, Basketball, Golf and Motorsports. It collaborates with renowned designers and brands to bring sport influences into street culture and fashion. The Puma Group owns the brands Puma, Cobra Golf and stichd.
The company distributes its products in more than 120 countries, employs about 20,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in Herzogenaurach (Germany).


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(ORDO NEWS) — The Wall Street Journal reported that some Tik Tok bloggers make more money than top US CEOs in the S&P 500 stock index.
For example, Charli D’Amelio, who started posting her dancing videos on TikTok in 2019, earned $17.5 million last year.
She has 133 million followers and earns money by selling her clothing line and promoting various goods in rollers. Moreover, the girl is only 17 years old.
In comparison, the median salary of directors of S&P 500 companies for 2020 was about $13.4 million. Damelio’s fee was higher than that of McDonald’s Chris Kempchinski ($10.8 million).
Contact us: [email protected]


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It's been widely speculated that Apple is planning to introduce iOS 6 at next week's Worldwide Developers Conference, but it looks like we needn't wonder any longer. A handful of photos posted by 9to5 Mac shows an iOS 6 banner being raised inside the Moscone West convention center, where Apple's WWDC 2012 gathering is scheduled to go down.
While it's not a total surprise to learn that iOS 6 will make its debut at WWDC, especially considering that Apple used WWDC last year to announce iOS 5, it's still nice to get confirmation of at least part of Apple's plans. Of course, we still don't know for sure exactly what will be different with iOS 6, but the rumor mill has claimed that some of the new features we may see include a new Apple-made Maps app, Facebook integration and Siri for iPad, just to name a few. Good thing we don't have much longer to wait before the show kicks off.
Via 9to5 Mac


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Continuing its low-key crusade for greater mainframe openness (or less IBM dominance of that market), Microsoft has invested an undisclosed amount of money in mainframe emulator provider TurboHercules, said the Paris company.
At a London press conference broadcast over the Internet, Ruslan Kogan -- founder of cut-price technology retailer Kogan Technologies -- has announced the launch of the company's 'LivePrice' incremental pricing scheme, which allows customers to purch...
Interpol has issued a so-called "red notice" for Wikileaks' Julian Assange, notifying police around the world that he is wanted for questioning by Swedish prosecutors related to sexual assault accusations.
Amazon has stopped hosting the Wikileaks website, according to U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut Independent.
Apple's iPhone and Google's Android might seem to have all the momentum these days, but RIM's BlackBerry OS is the surprise winner in StatCounter's latest U.S. mobile OS Internet usage numbers.
In the popularity contest between Android phones and the iPhone its tie. A Nielsen survey found even though Android phones are currently outselling the iPhone, potential phone buyers are equally likely to want either platform.
Hewlett-Packard has dropped plans to offer Microsoft's next version of Windows Home Server OS, code-named Vail, in its products, after retiring a line of servers carrying the current version of the OS, Microsoft said on Tuesday.
Muscling up on cloud technologies, Cisco Systems is in the process of acquiring network management software vendor LineSider Technologies, the company announced Wednesday.
AirPlay, one of the main feature additions in iOS 4.2, could soon work with third-party apps and Safari, according to a purported Steve Jobs e-mail that a reader sent to the MacRumors blog. The e-mail suggests that in 2011 users will be able to strea...
The race to become the most popular e-reading in the United States is down to Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle, according to a recent survey of 2,800 e-reader users by ChangeWave Research. ChangeWave found that Kindle's market share dropped in Novemb...
When you consider technologies that make corporate IT more efficient by improving utilization of computing resources, <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/060710-tech-argument-citrix-vmware-microsoft.html?source=NWWNLE_nlt_daily_am_2010-06-...
China has unveiled a sleek, ultra modern-appearing design for its new supercomputing center, apparently rejecting the windowless, boxy design of typical data center complexes with an architectural style -- including a saucer-shaped building -- that m...
ViewSonic is the latest manufacturer to announce the launch of a new tablet device that will compete with the popular Apple iPad.
IBM researchers have made a breakthrough in using pulses of light to accelerate data transfer between chips, something they say could boost the performance of supercomputers by more than a thousand times.
Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest wireless carrier, Wednesday will disclose details about its plan to launch its faster LTE 4G wireless network in 38 U.S. cities by the end of the year.
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My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.
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Xiaomi’s new smartphone will be launched in January.
There’s no doubt that Huawei has emerged as one of the best flagship smartphones with magnificent camera capability and offers a real 40-megapixel sensor on its flagship devices, like the Mate 20 Pro and the P20 Pro but that could change soon as Xiaomi is preparing to introduce a device with the 48-megapixel camera next year.
According to Lei Bin, President of Xiaomi post on Weibo suggests that Xiaomi is working to release a smartphone with a 48-megapixel camera. He also reveals that the smartphone with such high-resolution camera will arrive in the market in January 2019.
MIUI officially confirmed that the smartphone is running the MIUI 10 system, which could be based on Android Pie and not Android Oreo.
According to leaks, the 48MP camera Smartphone will not be a Mi series phone, but it could be first ever Redmi flagship smartphone. Thus Xiaomi could use the cheaper Samsung ISOCELL Bright GM1 48-megapixel sensor that was launch in October instead of costlier Sony IMX586 48-megapixel sensor to make the device budget friendly.
As per the design, the handset could be sporting a premium design since it features a glass rear. The 11nmSnapdrgon 675 octa-core processor could find his place in the Smartphone as the chipset supports 48-megapixel camera sensors, it is likely that the first Redmi flagship phone could be fueled by the same SoC. It could be priced well within Rs 20,000 mark.


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Chinese fashion group EP Yaying is planning to expand beyond Asia by launching in the US and Australia by next year.
The group is bullish about the increasing popularity of the Chinese culture-inspired fashion, and believes it will resonate with foreign consumers.
EP Yaying started as a small garment factory in 1988 and in 2016, it has adopted a dual-brand development strategy to cater to different customer bases. Its EP brand offers contemporary international fashion styles while Yaying focuses on “deep exploration of China’s traditional culture, aesthetics, fashion and craftsmanship for modern women with exquisite Chinese cultural identity”.
Today, the fashion group owns and operates multiple luxury fashion brands, with a store network of over 500 in more than 210 cities across China and Malaysia.
The group has recently launched a solo fashion show for its Yaying brand, featuring its 2020 haute couture collection, which is described as “a testament to the grandeur of the brand’s vision and the global relevance of its exquisite Chinese culture in picturesque fashion”.
The 2020 haute couture collection, designed by creative director Chen Xi, features motifs of Chinese fans, from geometric tailoring and structures that allude to ceremonial fans used by the royal family to symbolise their majesty, to precise hand-pleating techniques that resemble the three-dimensional texture of traditional folding fans.
Xi said the collection is inspired by The Forbidden City, which is celebrating its 600th anniversary next year, and a tribute to the finest of Chinese aesthetics and craftsmanship.
EP Yaying will also build a 15,000sqm HWA Fashion and Arts Centre, which will house fashion, arts and cultural spaces. The centre, to be opened to the public, is part of the group’s social responsibility initiative to foster increasing international cultural and artistic exchanges.
“We will continue to create more value for our customers and contribute to the great rejuvenation of Chinese culture in the global fashion industry,” said chairman Zhang Hwaming.[“source=insideretail”]


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THE Chinese economy grew at an average annual rate of 9.9 per cent in the 1979-2009 period and at 10.7 per cent in the 2001-2009 period. But growth is expected to moderate this year to below 9 per cent due to weaker internal and external environments, and inflation is expected to rise to around 4.5 per cent.
Growth dropped to 6.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 due to the global economic crisis but quickly rebounded to 9.2 per cent for the entire year, thanks to the government's huge stimulus efforts and the economy's good fundamentals.
The robust recovery continued through 2010, yielding a growth rate of 10.3 per cent for the year. This has helped precipitate a shift of the global economic gravity towards East Asia.
China displaced Japan as the world's second-largest economy in the second half of last year - though in purchasing power parity terms, China's gross domestic product (GDP) had already been the world's second-largest, after the United States, for many years now.
With renewed confidence, China's economic policymakers reckoned that the country's main economic challenges would stem from external sources. Indeed, China, with external reserves surpassing US$2.5 trillion (S$3.2 trillion), came under mounting international pressure, particularly from the US, to revalue its currency, the yuan. As its exports began to recover and expand, China was also subjected to increasing protectionist measures in developed countries.
Accused by the US of being a currency manipulator, Beijing stood its ground. Last June, however, it let the yuan go off its peg to the US dollar and it appreciated by 2.3 per cent, on top of the 21 per cent revaluation from July 2005 to July 2008.
Beijing has argued that any one-off large revaluation of the yuan would be too disruptive for both China as well as the world, and will not help the US to resolve its chronic trade imbalances.
As Premier Wen Jiabao put it in November, China's strategy of maintaining a 'stable' exchange rate with only gradual and discrete appreciation is vital for China's export-oriented economy. If its export sector were to falter, it would have serious repercussion for many Asian economies. Simply put, if China were to reduce its exports, it would also have to curtail its imports of raw materials from Australia and South-east Asia, and of machinery and high-tech components from Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
But keeping the yuan undervalued for a prolonged period will also hurt China's economy and impede the long-term process of economic rebalancing and industrial upgrading. In the short run, a rigid regime of 'slow and orderly appreciation' may give rise to asset bubbles. Any country with a grossly undervalued currency and with expectations of revaluation will invite a lot of speculative capital inflows, particularly when the global system is awash in liquidity.
In the first half of last year, a lot of foreign 'hot money' did find its way to China's real estate sector and stock market. The housing market was particularly overheated. Last May alone, the average house price in 70 large cities increased by 12.4 per cent. This prompted the government to introduce various measures to cool the market. But these 'have not achieved satisfactory results' as Premier Wen recently admitted. Housing prices rose 7.7 per cent in November.
More seriously, large capital inflows have generated too much liquidity in China. Apart from increasing the risk of asset bubbles, excessive liquidity stokes inflation. Inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) rose from 1.5 per cent in January last year to over 3 per cent in the middle of the year, before hitting 4.4 per cent in October.
The matter came to a head in November when the US Federal Reserve unleashed its second round of 'quantitative easing', flooding the world market with abundant cheap money. In response, the People's Bank of China introduced its own 'quantitative squeezing' by immediately announcing two rounds of a 0.5 per cent increase in the required reserves ratio of bank deposits. But domestic liquidity continued to surge and inflation reached a 28-month high of 5.1 per cent in November year-on-year. Though the inflation rate for the whole period of January-November averaged only 3.2 per cent, it surpassed the government's targeted ceiling of 3 per cent for 2010.
The November CPI hike was caused mainly by a 74 per cent increase in food prices along with a 14 per cent rise for housing, though food prices are expected to stabilise in the December CPI.
Still, the government took alarm at this sudden surge in inflation. Apart from ordering stringent measures such as setting price ceilings for essential food items and outlawing certain speculative activities, the government put inflation at the top of the agenda in its annual Central Economic Work Conference, chaired by President Hu Jintao.
China's inflation is actually quite low by the standard of emerging economies such as Brazil, Russia and India. The inflation rate is currently 6 per cent in Brazil, 7 per cent in Russia and 11 per cent in India. But the Chinese government feels spooked at the first sign of inflation. This is partly because price increases of basic commodities especially, disproportionately affect the poor and lower-income groups. With income inequalities so great, rising inflation is apt to create social instability. Thus, the government has to repeatedly assure the public that inflation will be contained.
By the end of December, the central bank had raised the reserve requirement ratio for banks six times and interest rates twice. The deposit rate is now at 2.75 per cent, as against 5.81 per cent for lending. The rest of the world should wish China success in its efforts to control inflation. As the world's largest exporting country, it can easily export its inflation to other countries.
In mid-October, the Fifth Party Plenum issued the draft Five-Year Plan for 2011 to 2015, setting out the broad policy guideline for China's economic and social development over the next five years. The plan highlights five major development objectives. They include restructuring the economic growth pattern towards greater domestic consumption and less export dependency, boosting market efficiency, and promoting faster urbanisation and regional development.
To be sure, some of the plan's objectives, such as greater efficiency and restructuring economic growth to create better quality of life, are actually old ideas from the previous Five-Year Plan. But they look more urgent this time. The overall institutional environment has also become more favourable for such changes.
More significantly, the latest plan has targeted for priority development seven industries: alternative energy, information technology, biotechnology, advanced equipment manufacturing, advanced materials, alternative-fuel cars, and environmentally friendly technologies. The government is planning to invest up to two trillion yuan (S$390 billion) each year for the next five years to promote these key industries.
Overall, the likely scenario for China's economy this year is a 'soft landing'. The growth momentum may be compromised by the need to combat inflation and rebalance the economy.
The government is confident that inflation will be contained. This explains why the central bank has left the new loan target for this year basically unchanged at 7.5 trillion yuan.
But even if the government regulates food prices, the cost-push elements in inflation - due to real wage increases, including the upward adjustment of minimum wages in the cities - may be harder to tame.
That said, China's growth this year may still end up a little higher than expected, as has often been the case in the past. China's economy is structurally and institutionally biased towards growth. At times, even as the central government wants growth to slow down to reduce overheating, most local governments still push for higher growth in their regions to create more employment and generate more revenue for themselves. China's high-growth dynamics are not likely to disappear soon.
The Chinese economy has been growing at near double-digit rates for the past three decades. China's total GDP today is already a huge base and further high growth would add another 'Japan' in five to six years. China's future growth in the medium term ought to settle down to the lower and more sustainable rates of 7-8 per cent.
Total car sales in China last year reached 18 million units, much higher than in the US. The potential negative implications of this - in terms of pollution, congestion and so on - indicate the risks of such a large economy as China's still growing at such a breakneck pace.
The writer is a professorial fellow and academic adviser at the East Asian Institute, NUS.
China's growth this year may still end up a little higher than expected, as has often been the case in the past. China's economy is structurally and institutionally biased towards growth. At times, even as the central government wants growth to slow down to reduce overheating, most local governments still push for higher growth in their regions to create more employment and generate more revenue for themselves. China's high-growth dynamics are not likely to disappear soon.


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The Kentucky Wesleyan College Department of Athletics has teamed up with Advanced-Online based in Coppell, Texas to create the school’s new online shopping center. The new Panthers online store, which officially launched today, can be accessed from the athletics website (kwcpanthers.com) or directly at kwcpanthersgear.com.
“We are thrilled to be working with Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics to provide an outstanding online shopping experience to their loyal fan base,” Advanced Online Director of Marketing for Athletics, Kara Stephens stated. “We work with some of the leading brands in the nation in providing the technology to facilitate on-demand production. Adding Panther Athletics to our portfolio continues to enhance our reputation as a leader in this field.”
“We are excited in establishing this partnership with Advanced Online,” said Associate AD for External Operations, Brad Moore. “Their resume speaks for itself with a portfolio of over 100 institutions both large and small. Advanced-Online has a proven system in place that provides quality merchandise, creative marketing and customer service that is second to none for our alumni, parents, and fans.”
With the Advanced-Online partnership, Panthers supporters will have access to a variety of superior products, including athletic apparel, home and office merchandise, tailgating supplies and much more. Parents, alumni, students and fans can order through a secure online ordering system with their credit card and have the items shipped directly to their door. Gift certificates can also be purchased online for any special occasion.
In addition to the regular line of products available from the online store, Panther students, parents, alumni, and fans will have the unique opportunity to purchase novelty items for team reunions, team championship merchandise, promotion night apparel and other marketing initiatives.
Advanced-Online is a team of IT professionals, account managers, customer service staff, operations professionals, graphic experts and production staff who implement and support world class online ordering programs including online company stores, online college stores and award programs. Their unique ecommerce solution allows corporations and universities to centralize ordering and control costs from anywhere on the World Wide Web. With more than 25 years of experience producing branded merchandise, apparel and print products, Advanced-Online acts as a long-term partner to client organizations, serving their staff and affiliates on a daily basis through online orders, their customer service center and account management representatives.
All proceeds generated through the online team-store will go directly to support the athletic department Fundraising Arm, the Panther Athletic Fund. For the latest on Kentucky Wesleyan Athletics go to kwcpanthers.com, and follow the Panthers via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.


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South Korea's exports reached 43.2 billion US dollars in February, up 20.2% from a year earlier. Thanks to soaring demands for the country’s semiconductors, both last month’s rate of increase and the export figure hit the highest marks in 5 years. After a long slump, South Korea’s export is finally showing some signs of recovery. To keep the momentum going, the government unveiled a set of measures aimed at further boosting trades. Economic analyst Chung Chul-jin (정철진) walks us through the major points.
The 11th trade and investment promotion meeting focused much on the diversification of export markets. South Korea’s biggest trade partner is China followed by the United States. Put together, exports to China and the U.S. account for over 38% of the whole. In other words, nearly 40% of our trades depend on the two countries. In the case of the U.S., President Donald Trump is a strong advocate of trade protectionism. Chances are high that Washington may place some restrictions on a number of countries with high trade surplus against it, including China and Korea, so we must make a preemptive move. Meanwhile, Beijing continues to ratchet up its trade retaliation against Seoul over the THAAD issue. In a nutshell, we’re in need of trade diversification because of the troubles we’re having with the U.S. and China.
After a meeting aimed at promoting trade and investment held on February 27, the government unveiled a set of measures to spur South Korea's export growth. At its core was the diversification of export markets. The plan is to promote trades with the emerging markets, in case trades with the U.S. and China, together which make up 38.5% of Korea’s exports, face more difficulties. First, Korea is turning its eyes to India.
What we consider the most important in an export market is the PPP, or the purchasing power parity, which measures the purchasing power of a country. Currently, India ranks third in the world, beating Japan. One of our major export items is the smartphone, and India’s smartphone market is enormous. According to a report by Morgan Stanley, India’s smartphone market is expected to grow about 23% each year for the next 4 to 5 years or more. Another factor that makes India a good trading partner for us is the Modi government’s “Make in India” policy. The policy encourages other countries to manufacture any goods in India. We should take advantage of this.
India is the next generation’s economic power. The country’s economy grew 7.5% in the fourth quarter of 2016. India’s population currently stands at about 1.25 billion, but by 2030, it is expected to exceed that of China, which is currently the largest. Economic growth and population growth together result in an explosive growth of the consumer market. India’s purchasing power is the third strongest in the world, falling behind only China and the United States. In such a market, Korea’s LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics are leading the home appliances sector, while Hyundai Motors’ small to medium sized cars are enjoying great popularity. Numerous Korean builders are also playing big parts in India’s infrastructure scene, constructing power plants, roads and more. Up until now, it was mostly the large conglomerates heading into the Indian market. But the government is now seeking to expand the presence of Korean SMEs there. A trade mission is expected to be deployed in India sometime in March.
The second emerging market Korea has its eyes on is the ASEAN, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The 10 ASEAN nations include the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. While Vietnam is already on a path toward growth, countries like Cambodia are only now opening their eyes toward the market economy, finally freed from the long political oppressions such as a dictatorship. All 10 ASEAN nations boast of overwhelmingly large growth rates, but the fact is their urbanization levels are extremely low. And such low urbanization level means there are many things Korea can do for them. Early on, we can start out by building roads, bridges and buildings for them. Once the money gets rolling, their quality of living will improve and they’ll need new daily necessities. They’ll need to buy TVs, smartphones, cars and so on. So when drawing up a long term export strategy looking at the next 10 and 15 years, it is said that there would be no better market than the ASEAN market.
The population of the ASEAN nations put together takes up 8% of the entire global population, but their economy still accounts for only 3.3%. However, with an average annual economic growth rate of 5%, and their young population with over 60% of the whole under the age of 35, ASEAN is the leading Post-China market. In order to get an inroad into the rapidly growing ASEAN market, Korea plans to actively utilize the ASEAN Economic Community, or AEC, which was launched in 2015, and expand large project orders. Meanwhile, the Middle East, where Korean construction companies made the so-called “oil money” back in the 1970s, has newly emerged as a new export market for Korean cosmetics.
Many reports point to the Middle East as the new big cosmetics market. According to survey results announced by the global market intelligence publisher Euromonitor, the cosmetics market of the Middle East was valued at about 18 billion US dollars in 2015, and it is expected to be more than doubled by 2020. There are no other markets that could double up in size in just 5 years. And the cosmetics industry just happens to be Korea’s strong suit. Also importantly, China’s trade retaliation is looking quite serious, and it seems unlikely that they would relax their stance easily. So what do we do with all the expanded infra and supplies of cosmetics with the Chinese market in mind? That’s where the Middle East comes in.
The Middle Eastern cosmetics market is projected to grow by an average of 15% per year and reach 36 billion dollars by 2020. To secure its foothold in this new blue ocean, K-beauty leader Amorepacific will open a cosmetics store in Dubai in the latter half of this year. As China, who accounts for 37.5% of Korea’s total cosmetics exports, continues to build up its trade barriers, the company is expanding its efforts to make its way into new markets. Such diversification of export markets is exactly what the Korean economy needs.
Korea’s export diversification strategy has to be successful. We’re actually in a dire situation. The Korean economy is heavily dependent on exports. We rely on exports to rev up the engine, which in turn churns the domestic consumption. Such a structure cannot be changed overnight. So we need such strategies as a kind of insurance that will allow us to react confidently to external changes.
The government has come up with various measures to fuel the recent upbeat trend of exports. Expanding new export markets, introducing new export methods such as cultural convergence marketing, and allocating more than 60% of its 2017 budget for overseas marketing in the first half of the year are just some of these measures. Time will tell what kind of fruits today’s efforts will bear tomorrow.


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Nvidia, a significant tech firm that has expanded aggressively into gaming, pays a $5.5 million penalty for failing to reveal that cryptomining was a big income progress from the sale of graphics processing items that had been produced and marketed for gaming.
Cryptocurrencies are extraordinarily unstable and the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission mentioned Friday that the Santa Clara, California company didn’t confide in buyers in 2018 the potential future dangers of such gross sales.
“Nvidia’s disclosure failures deprived investors of critical information to evaluate the company’s business in a key market,” mentioned Kristina Littman, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit.
The firm has additionally agreed to a cease-and-desist order, the SEC mentioned. Nvidia didn’t admit or deny the SEC’s findings, and declined to remark Friday.
Cryptominers are compensated for verifying crypto transactions. As the crypto craze started to unfold in 2017, Nvidia’s graphics processing items that had been designed and marketed for gaming had been more and more utilized by Nvidia’s prospects to mine cryptocurrency, in keeping with the SEC.
The firm reported materials income progress in its gaming enterprise in 2018 and knew these gross sales had been “driven in significant part by cryptomining,” nevertheless it didn’t disclose that in regulatory filings obtainable to buyers, the SEC mentioned.
“These significant earnings and cash flow fluctuations related to a volatile business for investors to ascertain the likelihood that past performance was indicative of future performance,” the SEC mentioned.
Crypto currencies are a wildly unstable market. Price for bitcoin, a extra steady cryptocurrency in contrast with a myriad of others, rocketed from about $35,000 every in January, to almost $48,000 by March. That value by Friday had tumbled once more to round $36,000.
The SEC mentioned Nvidia’s failures to reveal its impression of cryptocurrency on gaming gross sales had been notably deceptive as a result of the corporate did disclose that different components of its enterprise had been thriving resulting from demand for crypto, “creating the impression that the company’s gaming business was not significantly affected by cryptomining.”
Nvidia Corp. stories first quarter earnings later this month.
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SEC: Nvidia did not disclose crypto as income generator (2022, May 6)
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Apple To Release a 4-Inch iPhone Next Year, Analyst Says
The rumor mill is churning about Apple. Reports suggest that the company will release a new 4-inch iPhone next year alongside the iPhone 7. The rumor is being attributed to Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at KGI Securities whose predictions about Apple are widely considered accurate. In a research note, Kuo said Apple is working to refresh the older 4-inch model, according to reports.
The iPhone with a 4-inch screen would look something like the iPhone 5s and tote the A9 processor, according to Kuo. The exact design is unknown but it will reportedly have a metal casing rather than plastic. However, it won’t sport the 3D Touch feature that comes with the larger models, i.e., the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. As for the iPhone 7, Kuo predicts that the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will each tote an upgraded A10 chip and the iPhone 7 Plus will come with 3 GB of RAM instead of 2 GB to identify it as the high-end device, according to reports.
Could the 4-Inch iPhone Rumor Be True?
We caught up with Roger Entner, a principal analyst at Recon Analytics, to get his thoughts on the rumors. He told us it doesn’t make sense for Apple to roll out a phone model that was not selling well when it was on the market.
Is the rumor completely unfounded. No, it’s not impossible that Apple would go this route but it would break the company’s established mold, Entner said. Apple has demonstrated strict discipline by limiting the number of iPhones, focusing only on one or two devices at a time, he added.
“Adding a third device creates more complexity in the supply chain,” Entner said. “I don’t know how well a four-inch iPhone would sell unless it is priced at a substantial discount.”
Following Consumer Demand
Although smartphones are still about portability and what fits in a person's pocket -- and although the iPhone 6 is difficult to fit in the front of a pair of jeans -- Samsung proved portability was secondary to a larger screen size with its Galaxy line. In fact, when Apple didn’t have an iPhone 5 or iPhone 6, Samsung was beating the company soundly, Entner said.
“Only when Apple rolled out the the 5 and 6 did their fortunes change. To me, that indicates that the 4 isn’t really where the main consumer demand is,” Entner said. “If you want to round out at the bottom, that’s fine but I don’t think a lot more people will buy it.” If Apple reverts to a smaller screen, the company is likely to see lower sales, he added.
Does This Make Sense?
“Apple works very well as a premium product. There are very few companies that can raise the price of their product and sell more at the same time,” Entner said. “Apple pulled it off. Are they going to sell a 4-inch phone that’s even more expensive than the 5 or 6 or are they forced to sell it for less? Why would you introduce a new phone that cannibalizes the profits from the bigger phone unless you make a lot more in sales? I just don’t see it.”
Entner said he doesn’t see a new 4-inch iPhone model in Apple’s future because he doesn’t believe it will help sales or profitability. After all, the screen size doesn’t really make that much difference in terms of the pricing and a 4-inch iPhone would have a smaller battery.
“People would scream that the battery life really sucks compared to the 6,” Entner said. “I don’t think they want to sell a phone with a battery that sucks. I don’t think they are going to want fewer happy customers and less money. Maybe the analyst is right but I personally don’t see it.”
Posted: 2015-11-05 @ 11:09am PT
This is blogger nonsense. It's an economic bag of rocks!
Posted: 2015-11-04 @ 4:55pm PT
I hope the rumor is true and look forward to buying a 4" phone, whether from Apple or any other manufacturer. The gigantic devices on the market now remind me of the unwielding early phones. I long for the day of the Motorola clamshell that so many of us forgot in the shirt's pocket on the way to the laundry. A small phone is a beautiful phone, and for email, browsing, etc. there is a tablet that can WiFi or Bluetooth into that phone and that can be left at the office or at home when one wants to feel light.


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DaimlerChrysler Drops Mitsubishi
DaimlerChrysler ended its ill-fated involvement with Mitsubishi Motors as it agreed to sell its 12.4 percent stake in the Japanese automaker to Goldman Sachs for an undisclosed price. The German-American automaker once held 37 percent of Mitsubishi but has been reducing its stake as it concentrates more on its own Mercedes and Chrysler automotive groups. It expects to close the sale by the end of November.
Volkswagen Tallies Inquiry's Costs
Volkswagen said an investigation into claims of bribery and kickbacks would cost it about $5.8 million, and it named Audi executive Horst Neumann its personnel director.
A final report on the investigation was handed over to its board by KPMG International, which the automaker hired to conduct an internal investigation.
Other than the $5.8 million figure, the board released no further details of the report.
Prosecutors Speak Against Ebbers
Prosecutors said the evidence against former WorldCom chief executive Bernard J. Ebbers was "overwhelming" and urged a federal appeals court to uphold his fraud conviction and 25-year prison sentence. Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Anders said that Ebbers clearly participated in an $11 billion accounting fraud that helped drive the company into bankruptcy. Ebbers's lawyers contend that other former WorldCom executives might have cleared him but did not want to testify because they had not been granted immunity.
Allied Defense Delays Report
Allied Defense Group said it will delay its third-quarter report, citing plans to restate results for the first and second quarters of this year due to hedge accounting. The Vienna company also reported a wider loss for the latest quarter and reduced its profit guidance because of contract delays. The international defense and security firm said it estimates a third-quarter loss of $4.3 million (74 cents a share), wider than its loss of $567,000 (10 cents) a year earlier. Revenue fell to $23.5 million, from $34.9 million last year. The company said it expects to file its completed report by about Nov. 14.
Sony BMG Drops New Process
Sony BMG Music Entertainment suspended use of an anti-piracy technology in its compact discs because it can leave computers vulnerable to hackers. The "XCP" technology prevents customers from making more than a few copies of the CD and prevents them from loading its songs onto Apple Computer's iPod portable music players. Sony BMG made its move a day after leading security companies disclosed that hackers were distributing viruses over the Internet that exploited the anti-piracy technology.
Baltimore Sun to Offer Buyouts
The Baltimore Sun will offer buyouts to 75 employees, the latest in a series of staff reductions at Baltimore's largest newspaper, Publisher Denise Palmer said. Twelve to 15 of the jobs are expected to be in the newsroom, said Linda Geeson, a Sun spokeswoman. "It's always a possibility" there will be layoffs if fewer than 75 employees accept the buyout, Geeson said. But she said there are no specific plans for layoffs. Michael Hill, a Sun reporter and unit chair with the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild, said the departures would hurt the newspaper. "It's just bothersome that any place as profitable as the Sun and the Tribune corporation is resorting to reducing staff and threatening layoffs," he said.
P&G Plant Resumes Operation
Procter & Gamble's Folgers coffee plant in New Orleans has returned to full capacity, 11 weeks after being shut down by Hurricane Katrina. The plant, which produces more than half of Folgers coffee, has slowly resumed operations since the hurricane. P&G set up a trailer village to provide employee housing at the site, and it has provided other help including $5,000 no-interest loans to give employees cash in the hurricane's immediate aftermath.
Coffee supplies were disrupted, causing some shortages, and some Folgers was shipped in metal cans. Folgers said it has notified retailers that supplies will be back to normal by December.
P&G said more than 400 of the company's 554 employees in New Orleans are back at work.
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Six Flags Tries to Fend Off Bid
Six Flags urged shareholders to reject an offer by Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to boost his stake and said it received other takeover offers. Bids have come from "a number of capable strategic and financial buyers," and a deal may be announced next month, Six Flags said in a statement. It did not name the bidders.
Cogent Communications, a District-based Internet service provider for businesses, lost $16.1 million (37 cents a share) in the third quarter, compared with a loss of $23 million ($28.58) a year earlier. Net revenue grew 55 percent, to $33.8 million. The difference in per-share earnings reflects the conversion this year of preferred stock to common stock and a secondary offering, increasing the weighted average of common shares to 43.9 million from 806,000.
Versar, a Springfield company that provides environmental cleanup and other services to government and industry, earned $116,000 (1 cent a share) in its fiscal first quarter ended Sept. 30, down from a profit of $407,000 (5 cents) a year earlier. Revenue fell 29 percent, to $13.5 million. Shares closed at $3.50.
Compiled from staff and news service reports.


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CARY – Kronoverse, a Cary-based startup developing a platform by the same name and a 3D role-playing game called CryptoFights, has secured further funding.
The capital injection arrived via technology investment firm Persimmon Hill Ltd. and technology entrepreneur Calvin Ayre. This is Persimmon Hill’s first, and Calvin Ayre’s third, investment in Kronoverse, the company announced Tuesday.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 2018, the Kronoverse platform is creating a new world of competitive gaming by combining blockchain technology with online gaming. Built on Bitcoin SV, Kronoverse is a monetization and technology platform that helps game developers thrive in the fast-growing esports industry.
Last June, the startup, under the business name Thoughts in Motion, raised more than $550,000 in debt from one investor, according to a recent SEC filing.
Earlier this year, Kronoverse completed its second round of beta testing for CryptoFights, a skill-based strategy fighting game. It also confirmed in March a partnership with one of the world’s largest esports companies ESL to help develop its game and platform.
“The growth we’ve seen in a relatively short time is hugely encouraging for the company and, obviously, we hope that makes CryptoFights an exciting proposition for investors,” Kronoverse’ founder and CEO Adam Kling said in a statement.
“To have people with the business and blockchain knowledge of Persimmon Hill coming on board, and further support from online gaming entrepreneur Calvin Ayre who is also a big believer in Bitcoin is a clear endorsement for a transparent eSports experience.”
Original Article Source: WRAL TechWire


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UK: Tangerine names former UB chief Testard as CEO
Tangerine owns Butterkist popcorn brand
UK-based confectionery company Tangerine has appointed former United Biscuits CEO Benoit Testard as its new chief executive.
Testard, who joined Tangerine as a non-executive director in October 2013, will take up his new role from the beginning of March.
In the meantime Steven Joseph, currently chairman of the group, will assume the position of interim CEO in order to maintain the momentum of Tangerine's investment plans for 2014, the company said.
The appointment follows the departure of Graham Hunter at the start of the year. Tangerine said Hunter left the business after two years at the helm for personal reasons.
After joining United Biscuits in 1999 as MD of its French business, Testard took charge of its Northern European operation in 2001, went on to become MD of its UK business in 2004, and took the role of CEO for the UB Group in 2011. Testard's career, spanning three decades, also includes time spent at Reckitt and Colman and Fromageries Bel Group.
Joseph, chairman of Tangerine, said: "Benoit Testard is an outstanding appointment for Tangerine. He brings deep experience in FMCG in the UK and continental Europe and a track record of great success."
Tangerine Confectionery produces a number of popular lines including Butterkist popcorn, WHam bar, Sherbet Fountain, Dip Dab and Henry Goode's liquorice.
- General Mills sales woes continue - analysis
- Why personalisation will take-off in US food
- Comment: Meal kits in US - don't believe the hype
- US food next wave on display at Winter Fancy Food
- Column: Kraft Heinz, Unilever and sustainability
- Unilever 'lining up spreads sale'
- UK own-label firm Park Cakes sold in MBO
- Kraft Heinz cuts jobs in US, Canada
- Immigration crackdown "risk" for US dairy industry
- BRF plant suspended amid bribery allegations


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A new leak has shown off the possible design of the upcoming OnePlus One smartphone. Accessed courtesy of a sketch, this reveals that the smartphone will carry a unibody design, much like the HTC One.
The company has already revealed that the smartphone will pack a 5.5 inch 1080p display, a 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 800 SoC and a 3,100 mAh battery with something known as the Mystery Tech. The handset is also rumored to feature Android 4.4 KitKat with a custom CyanogenMod build. The company is expected to share more details on the hardware in a couple of days according to a company teaser, so we’ll know more then.
Looking at how things are panning out, it seems like the OnePlus One could turn out to be one of the most talked about handsets in the coming months. The CEO of OnePlus has confirmed that the smartphone will cost under $400, which could be crucial for the handset’s success. We’re hoping the smartphone will available in global markets as well, in addition to China.


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Mesut Ozil’s partnership with Adidas will cease this month, with the Arsenal star keen to take the opportunity to continue developing his own M10 brand.
Contrary to reports suggesting he has been “dumped”, The Athletic understands that the seven-and-a-half-year contract simply runs out at the end of June.
Reports in Germany had suggested that Adidas’ decision not to renew the £22 million deal had been informed by damage to Ozil’s public image and the financial implications of the coronavirus crisis. Yet it is understood both parties have been aware for some time that this contract would be Ozil’s last with the sportswear giants.
“There is no termination,” Ozil’s representative Erkut Sogut told The Athletic. “The contract is running out. It’s like any other contract agreement or contract you have with a club — like if Mesut’s contract runs out with Arsenal next year, Arsenal wouldn’t say one month before they were ‘dumping’ him.”
Ozil has endured a difficult relationship with certain sections of the German media since the summer of 2018. His willingness to be outspoken on social issues, such as the situation facing the Uighur population of Xinjiang, has led to him becoming a target for criticism.
Nevertheless, he has remained on good terms with Adidas, who are understood to be disappointed at the tone of stories in the German press. When Ozil was embroiled in controversy over the decision to meet with Turkish President Recep Erdogan, Adidas were one of the brands which stood by him, leading to Ozil praising them as being “extremely loyal and amazing to work with”.
“Mesut and Adidas had a fantastic seven and a half years together,” said Sogut. “He was very proud to represent Adidas and lead a lot of campaigns for them. They won the World Cup together with the German national team and they continue to work together as Adidas are an Arsenal partner.”
For Ozil, the decision is part of a long-term strategy to develop his own lifestyle and sportswear brand: M10. He set the wheels in motion five years ago and is aware that as he enters the final few years of his playing career, he should maximise the opportunity for exposure. While there are understood to be suitors to replace Adidas, Ozil has decided to go it alone.
“Mesut will be 32 in October,” explained Sogut. “He knows if he signs another two or three-year boot deal now, it could last for the remainder of his active playing career. For him, it’s not about the money — he wants to use that time to help build his own M10 brand.”
Ozil’s deal with Adidas runs until the end of this month but then an array of commercial opportunities will open up. He is already in discussions about a brand partnership to release some limited edition M10 sneakers.
“He recently launched his own online shop,” says Sogut. “He has his own esports team; they have their own jerseys. He wants to be free to promote those things as he wishes while he still has the platform provided by his playing career.”
While Ozil is currently training in Adidas boots, he’ll soon be at liberty to use whatever footwear he chooses on the field. There are not currently plans for an M10 boot, so Ozil will consequently pick whatever boot he wants to wear.
“After this contract, he doesn’t have to wear something just because the sponsor says,” revealed Sogut. “Maybe he’ll wear Puma for a couple of days, then one day, Nike; maybe a brand from Indonesia or Malaysia. Who knows? It’s up to him now. There are some classic boots from the past he wants to wear.”
For now, the Ozil camp are working on developing the M10 leisurewear brand, expanding the line of caps, t-shirts and hoodies with brand partnerships. Meanwhile, Ozil’s focus is on the imminent return to action in the Premier League. “He’s more than happy to be back,” says Sogut. “He loves the game.”
(Top photo: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)


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Instagram this week was purchased by Facebook for an astounding $1 billion and following the announcement of the buyout the Instagram App has become the number one downloaded mobile application inside the iOS App Store, marking the first time that that 30 million strong platform has risen to the top of Apple’s free-app catalog.
Instagram announced the milestone in a tweet. The downloads are well deserved as the program currently has a solid five-star rating that has been achieved with the help of 74,833 individual reviews which makes the program one of the most liked among users.
When the acquisition of Instagram was announced on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerbergs personal Facebook page there was skepticism from many people who thought Facebook who destroy the platform, yet the social networks reach to nearly 1 billion users seems to have had the opposite effect as millions of more people flock to the photo sharing service.
In response to the download new users appear to love Instagram, tweeting “too good” and “I use it every day!”
In the meantime some users are worried about Facebook’s privacy policies which they believe may open up their Instagram accounts to prying eyes when they want to keep their accounts private. As Watergirl123 writes, “Mark better not screw up Instagram like he did to Facebook with the timeline.”
In the meantime Instagram launched just last week for Google Android devices and the app receives one million downloads in the first day of release. Google Play now reports that more than 5 million users have downloaded Instagram for Android.


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LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. — Looking to further strengthen its position in the heavy duty vocational truck market, Mack Trucks, Inc. will be debuting another version of its highly successful Granite model at the 2005 World of Concrete show Jan. 18-20 in Las Vegas.
Almost as soon as it was introduced in 2001, the Granite model quickly became the number one selling conventional straight truck in the U.S, according to Mack officials.
Company officials reserved details about this new product until the formal launch, but indicated that it features all of the advantages customers have come to appreciate in the current model and more.
For more information visit Web site at www.macktrucks.com
Truck News is Canada's leading trucking newspaper - news and information for trucking companies, owner/operators, truck drivers and logistics professionals working in the Canadian trucking industry. All posts by Truck News


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Retailers worldwide are navigating a complex web of logistical challenges triggered by recent militant attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. The attacks have prompted major container ship operators, including industry giants Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, to reroute vessels away from the Suez Canal – the shortest route from Asia to Europe. This unexpected twist comes as retailers gear up for the approaching China Lunar New Year holiday, compelling them to stock up on goods and explore altern
alternative transportation methods to avert potential delays that could leave their shelves bare in the coming months. Fears of a prolonged disruption to global trade are palpable, particularly as supply chains are still recovering from the impacts of the pandemic. The Suez Canal diversions, while circumventing potential threats, come at a high cost – adding an extra $1 million in fuel expenses and approximately 10 days to the journey when circumnavigating southern Africa. Speaking to the Reuters Global Market Forum in Davos, Maersk’s CEO Vincent Clerc said that the disruption to global shipping caused by the attacks on vessels in the Red Sea would probably last at least for a few months, though it could be longer due to the unpredictability of the situation. Meanwhile, war-risk insurance premiums for shipments through the Red Sea are also rising. Industry sources told Reuters that premiums have risen to around 1 per cent of the value of the ship, up from 0.7 per cent previously. This translates into hundreds of thousands of dollars of additional costs for a one-week voyage. Banking executives have also speculated that this crisis might create inflationary pressures that could ultimately delay or reverse interest rate cuts. A nuanced perspective According to Chris Weaver, the chief commercial officer of Shippit, a software company that connects retailers with different carriers, around 15 per cent of global trade passes through the Red Sea and any disruption there will impact capacity. As a result, container prices and lead times are likely to increase as ocean liners are forced to take alternative routes and merchants compete for the capacity. “It is hard to flex capacity in the short term so the immediate impact will be high prices and longer lead times for delivery. Going through the Red Sea typically saves 10 days and therefore millions of dollars in fuel costs,” he told Inside Retail. In response to this current bottleneck in the supply chain, some companies have been adjusting their logistics strategy by front-loading orders and exploring alternative routes due to the Red Sea incidents. Weaver said that in the post-pandemic era, there has been a lot more talk about ‘nearshoring’ or even ‘onshoring’ manufacturing. He feels incidents like this will add further weight to those considerations, but this comes with higher capital expenditure and operational costs. “In all likelihood, the short-term fix will be to hold higher inventory levels which is already challenging in a higher interest rate environment and one where consumer spending is unpredictable,” he added. Exploring alternatives Some retailers are even considering air and rail alternatives to transport goods. While air freight is a viable alternative, it comes at a higher cost and Weaver believes that it is not a fix for all types of freight. “Air freight capacity is nearing pre-pandemic levels but there are also impacts here with the recent Boeing 737 Max-9 grounding meaning there is less capacity in commercial flights,” he said. “Rail infrastructure is lacking in APAC at the levels you see in Europe and North America and this impacts connectivity and is obviously unusable for water crossings.” With the Lunar New Year holiday approaching and factories in China closing in anticipation of the celebrations, companies are rushing to secure shipments. Nonetheless, Weaver believes there are plenty of tools available to logistics providers in the APAC region to help their clients navigate these time-sensitive challenges. “There are plenty of demand planning tools that can help merchandisers and buyers predict lead times and required order quantities. Lunar New Year is a known event and should be well planned into retailers’ buying cycles,” he elaborated. Diversification on the rise Recent years have seen a growing number of companies beginning to reduce their dependence on China by diversifying their supply chain sourcing from markets like Vietnam and Turkey. How feasible is this strategy for companies in the APAC and what challenges might they face? Weaver pointed to Apple, which is moving significant manufacturing plants away from China, as evidence of this trend, which he believes is likely to continue, with positive knock-on effects for the APAC region. “I think there is likely to be manufacturing moved to other Asian countries that are deemed more politically stable, but I think onshoring to high-wage countries is very unlikely to happen,” he added. He also stressed that competition is global now and the likes of Temu and Shein will continue to provide low-cost goods to Western countries. “It is hard to onshore supply and be competitive unless countries introduce high tariffs which seems unlikely when there is a cost of living crisis,” he explained. Weaver believes there are a few key points that need to be taken into consideration for companies in the APAC region to build resilience in their supply chains, amidst the current geopolitical and logistical challenges. “As much as possible don’t be single-point dependent and have a few options. Hold a certain level of inventory buffer so you can ride a shorter-term crisis. It is very hard to be prepared for a black swan event like the pandemic and the costs of being prepared for this likely outweigh the benefit,” he pointed out. At the end of the day, Weaver said that ‘just-in-time ordering’ or ‘just-in-time manufacture’ in the current climate carries the risk of stockouts and lost sales but businesses need to remain flexible to the challenges.


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Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that the FASTag initiative rolled out on December 15 has picked up in a big way with more than one crore FASTags issued as on date. Gadkari was speaking after releasing TV awareness campaign featuring Bollywood star Akshay Kumar.
According to an official release on Wednesday, the event held on Tuesday was attended by Akshay Kumar, who is also the brand ambassador of the Ministry’s Road Safety Campaign. Gadkari said FASTag transactions per day have crossed two million with over Rs 80 crore collection happening through the digital mode.
He added that the TV awareness campaign featuring Aksay Kumar will give it a further fillip. The minister called upon remaining vehicle users to switch over to FASTags as quickly as possible. He said issues arising in the course of transition from manual toll collection to digital mode were being attended on priority. Akshay Kumar said the FASTag initiative has put India at par with global best practices in providing hassle-free movement at toll plazas.


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If you own a Tablet PC and need a program for concept sketching or client review, Alias Sketchbook Pro 2 is worth looking into.
Pricing not available
SketchBook Pro has a new, simpler sibling: SketchBook Ink.
If you're an artist, the iPad's your oyster — especially with apps like SketchBook Pro.
Instead of fingers, how about a pen? Wacom, maker of pen-based tablets, has made their stylus for the iPad. We go hands-on.
A few passionate workers fostered the development of the hit app Sketchbook Mobile, changing the direction of the company, all without the knowledge of the leadership team.
To help Apple show off its new iPad's high-resolution gaming capabilities, developers from Namco and Epic Games demo their latest games. Software maker Autodesk also reveals a new drawing app for the device called SketchBook Ink.
Wacoms next-generation of its Intuos Creative Stylus gets some welcome changes, and the Bamboo Stylus Solo and Duo some minor updates.
Designer Mike Rohde attended several panels at SXSW Interactive last week and created 34 pages of sketchnotes for them in real-time, captured in a Moleskine sketchbook.
Ten One Design's Pogo Art Contest tasks creatives with drawing original work on an iPad or other iOS device using a stylus -- and demonstrates just how far digital art has come.
A new iPad animation app makes doodling flipbook-style moving pictures super easy.


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A new card set for Magic: The Gathering was announced Thursday morning at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
The Hasbro Media Breakfast event unveiled the Throne of Eldraine card set, with a prerelease date of Sept. 28-29.
One side of the card reads, "The Royal Courts of Eldraine Request the Honor of Your Presence," with the other revealing the Throne of Eldraine title and prerelease date as fairies soaring through the air with weapons at the ready.
More information will be revealed at Saturday’s Mark Rosewater's Panel on July 20, which kicks off at 6:30 PM in Room 24ABC.
The description of the panel is below:
This is the big one. If there's one thing you can't miss at SDCC, it's Mark's panel. This will be the official unveiling of Magic's fall set, codenamed "Archery." Yep. That one. If you're not able to join us at the panel, follow along with what's being shown on Twitter (@wizards_magic) and stay tuned to DailyMTG after the panel is over for an article detailing all the info Mark shares during the panel.
Throne of Eldraine was codenamed "Archery" and is the upcoming fall set from the card game publisher.


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According to a new media report from France, the 100% electric compact SUV planned by Renault for 2021 based on the new e-platform CMF-EV could have the model name Zandar. Other Renault E-SUVs are also prepared.
In the report by "Caradisiac" the size of a Renault Captur is discussed, the maximum range should be over 500 kilometres. It is also mentioned that there should be different battery sizes, for the smaller version there is talk of around 300 kilometres.
Thanks to the use of the new CMF-EV platform which will be used for the future electric models, Renault can consider increasing the number of “zero-emission” cars. Renault's future urban SUV should also have limited height in order to benefit from efficient Cx and sCx. The aim is to improve the Zandar's aerodynamics. The design should be based on the Morphoz concept car.
There is no information in the report on the charging performance of the Renault Zandar.
The French manufacturer is also considering a large e-SUV with seven seats. The brand's new electric models are to be manufactured at Renault's French plant in Douai.
The iconic MG, an acronym for Morris Garage, lives a second life since it passed into Chinese hands. Since its official launch last July 17, MG has received 1,000 reservations of the new MG ZS EV. One of the main reasons for its success is its price, which… Continue reading
Irizar e-mobility won a public tender for the supply of 49 electric buses to the French city of Strasbourg. The first electric buses are expected to be delivered later this year. These vehicles are intended to set up a sustainable public… Continue reading
Ford's first fully electric car has received an overwhelming reception since its launch earlier this year. Enthusiasm for the unique SUV is shared not only by customers but also by the automotive journalists who have just… Continue reading


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There is nothing quite like a new smartphone to get people excited and lining up outside stores. It is so common place when another iPhone is launched that it has stopped being news and it has become more newsworthy when there is no line up for the next "big thing".
Source: International Business Times
BlackBerry (BBRY) has drawn quite a few yawns in the past couple of years as observers have pronounced the company on life support with many looking forward to the funeral and competitors planning to attend the wake, no doubt. CEO John Chen's attempt to engineer a turnaround seemed all but hopeless but the faithful have kept their hopes up waiting for some sign that BlackBerry can achieve some of its former glory.
One of those who seems less faithful today is Fairfax Financial who dumped a pile of their BlackBerry stock recently cutting its position to 46.9 million shares by selling 5.2 million shares into the market, according to reports. Fairfax CEO Prem Watsa may have pulled the trigger a bit early on that trade. The BlackBerry launch of its new Z3 smartphone in Indonesia was a mob scene reminiscent of its past heyday.
Source: Inside BlackBerry
BlackBerry is an also ran in many markets with its positions devastated by Android and iOS but in Indonesia it is still a contender with almost 30% of the market, second only to Android and decidedly more popular than iOS or Windows devices although the latter is making an impressive charge.
Soucre: WM Poweruser.com
With a population of 246 million Indonesia is a large market not much below the United States. Annual volumes of smart phone sales in Indonesia are an estimated 16 million units with growth coming in over 50% according to Canalys's forecast during 2013. The actual market very likely turned out to be larger and growing even more quickly than that Canalys estimate since total year global smartphone sales came in around 1 billion according to IDC and Gartner versus the 837 million at the time of the Canalys forecast.
Regardless of the precise number, there is no doubt Indonesia is a large and growing smartphone market and may be the scene of a replay of Custer's Last Stand at Little Big Horn. Of course, investors in BlackBerry are hoping for a better outcome than that suffered by George Custer on June 25, 1876 and perhaps liken the company more to Sitting Bull who was considered to be no match for Custer as the battle at Little Big Horn approached.
In any event, one good launch is a straw in the wind but it does suggest that BlackBerry continues to have an audience and its joint venture with FoxConn appears to be hitting the market with a well-designed device at a price point where consumers are showing interest.
We have seen Motorola get from zero to 6% of the United Kingdom market with its Moto G device in just a few months; Xiaomi go from unknown to 40 million devices in just three years and outsell Apple in the March quarter in China; and, new entrant OnePlus One getting a lot of ink for its "Never Settle" high performance smartphone offered at a very attractive price. These small successes confirm my belief that the market is fickle enough that it is never too late and that just as iOS and later Android took the market by storm with severe punishment handed to Nokia and BlackBerry, the incumbents always face the risk that a new idea or new device will capture the imagination of consumers and take a large bit out of the sales and profits the leaders enjoy.
Reports suggest BlackBerry may be cash flow positive by 2015. If it is, the market might well take notice given the stock now trades at less than $10 a share and the market value of the company is a rounding error for its major competitors. It will take a lot more than selling a few thousand of the new Z3 on opening day to return BlackBerry to health, but for a change the news is a bit more upbeat.
I have a small long position in BlackBerry, more a trip down memory lane driven more by nostalgia than conviction, and I remind investors that BlackBerry stock could be a wild ride in either direction, but I am impressed it is still standing and like what I see from the reception to the Z3.
Good luck with your investments.
Disclosure: I am long BBRY. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.


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SunEdison posts Q3 loss
- Staff St. Louis Business Journal
SunEdison Inc. reported a third-quarter loss of $112.1 million — compared to a profit of $38 million in last year's quarter — as both revenue and margins fell in its semiconductor materials segment.
For the quarter ended Sept. 30, the company reported total net sales of $611.5 million, up 1.7 percent from the third quarter of 2012. However, net sales in its semiconductor materials segment fell 4 percent to $230.7 million in the recent quarter, as lower prices more than offset higher volume. Continued weakness in the Japanese yen continues to present a significant challenge in the competitive pricing environment, company officials said.
Sales in SunEdison's solar energy segment grew 5.4 percent to $380.8 million, driven primarily by higher solar wafer sales. Revenue in the segment included $22 million from the termination last month of a long-term solar wafer supply agreement with Gintech Energy Corp., a solar company based in Taiwan.
"Relative to last quarter, our solar energy segment generated improved results and grew our solar project pipeline and backlog. I am very encouraged by the near-term trends in our solar project business," SunEdison CEO Ahmad Chatila said in a statement. "In semiconductor materials, a continued soft market remains our primary challenge, but our position remains as strong as ever. We have achieved a more streamlined cost structure while maintaining key customer relationships, both of which we believe will drive value in the semiconductor business when the market turns."
St. Peters-based SunEdison (NYSE: SUNE) is in the process of spinning off its computer chip business through a $250 million stock offering.
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Starbucks is slated to shutter all of its Teavana stores, but it's not the only Starbucks brand that has been affected by slowing mall traffic.
Despite posting its highest U.S. same-store sales in five quarters Thursday, Starbucks CFO Scott Maw said the company is "a bit more cautious" about the current quarter amid broader pressure on slumping retail and restaurant sectors.
"What we see here in the last quarter is a little bit of softening, which indicates that consumers are spending their money on other things right now," CEO Kevin Johnson said on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" Friday.
Starbucks' U.S. sales were buoyed by the company's "Instagramable" Unicorn Frappuccino. However, the drink's magic wasn't sustainable for the coffee giant.
While the brand rolled out several new drinks during the quarter, including the Midnight Mint Mocha Frappuccino, an Ombre Pink Drink and the Iced Coconutmilk Mocha Macchiato, none elicited the same frenzy as the limited-time Unicorn.
"The slowdown included a lower-than-expected lift in non-discounted Frappuccino beverages following Happy Hour as well as somewhat lower-than-expected sales of other core beverages during the period," the company said.
And Johnson sees sales continuing to slow into the company's fourth quarter.
"We saw in the back half of last quarter, we saw industry data around away-from-home food and beverage that prompted us to take a cautionary posture for Q4," he said.
The company lowered its estimates for full-year 2017; it now expects to see earnings per share to be between $2.05 and $2.06. Previously, the company forecast EPS in the range of $2.08 to $2.12.
In addition, the company said it expects revenue growth will be on the lower end of its previous range of 8 percent to 10 percent.
"This is a near-term phenomenon," Johnson said. "Nothing to be concerned about long term."
Some may have expected Starbucks would benefit from back-to-school shoppers hitting the malls and discounters like Target, where Starbucks operates hundreds of cafes.
However, many retailers have been seeing softer sales in recent quarters. The National Retail Federation, the industry's trade group, expects fewer consumers will shop for back-to-school supplies in department stores this year.
That's bad news for Starbucks, since many of these department stores draw shoppers to the mall, where they might pick-up a Frappuccino while hunting for that first day of school outfit.
The NRF said that about 57 percent of customers will shop for back-to-school goods at department stores this year, down nearly 3 percent from last year.
In comparison, 46 percent of shoppers plan to purchase school items online this year. Last year the same percentage of customers said they would shop online, a 10 percent jump from 2015.
Shares of the company fell nearly 9 percent on Friday, amid several downgrades.


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WORLD BUSINESS BRIEFING | AMERICAS; Canada: Inflation Worries Continue
Published: July 19, 2007
Canadian consumer prices unexpectedly fell in June, but that is unlikely to deter the Bank of Canada from raising interest rates in September, analysts said, as the annual inflation rate stayed well above target. Annual inflation held steady at 2.2 percent in June. The core rate, which excludes volatile items like gasoline, jumped back up to April's four-year high of 2.5 percent, after easing to 2.2 percent in May. ''This is good news for a day, but the Bank of Canada will still continue to hike rates to try to minimize any inflation overshoot,'' said Carl B. Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics.