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Asia's leading source of security and threat news
Online shopping stories
These search results are from across the Techday network of sites
Kiwis need to prioritise online security during Black Friday sales
"Although fake sites and scams have become more sophisticated over time, it’s not that hard to protect yourself."
Social commerce growing in South East Asia markets
"With 90% of internet users in South East Asia connecting to the internet using their smartphone, the opportunity to engage with shoppers is vast."
Online retailers adopting AI high rates, but still have room to improve
"Retailers are not usually technology experts. However, with new developments in AI and ML, it's gotten easier to quickly improve site performance without being a search expert."
Buy Now Pay Later users ditching their credit cards
"Buy Now Pay Later has changed the face of the way we pay for goods."
Mighty Ape offers Afterpay in New Zealand - finally
More than 350,000 New Zealand customers will now be able to use Afterpay, which is a ‘buy now, pay later’ service – finally. Previously it was only an option for Mighty Ape's Australian customers.
Much-anticipated Kiwi e-commerce platform launches
"Kiwis spent $4.2 billion online last year, and that figure is only going to get bigger."
Australian online purchasing lags behind global counterparts
“Despite the increase in digital users, our research shows consumers don’t feel they have everything they need."
Instagram: The next big thing in online shopping?
This week Instagram announced a new feature called checkout, which allows users to buy products they find on Instagram.
As online GST looms, Kiwis aren't too fussed about it
A recent Canstar Blue online shopping consumer poll found that only 29% of 1659 respondents will be put off buying things from international websites.
Samsung & Trade Me offer AI-powered shopping
The smartphone camera & AI-powered tech, Trade Me says, is a ‘glimpse into the future of shopping’.
Startup launches online marketplace for lending items in AU
Think TradeMe, eBay, Amazon, except instead of buying products, you’re renting spare items from everyday consumers.
How to stay safe when shopping online
Online shopping is a great way to avoid the crowds – but there are risks.
Don't let criminals ruin your online shopping
It’s that time of year again. Not only have New Zealanders developed a bit of a taste for sales like black Friday and cyber Monday, the holiday season is well upon us.
How online retail businesses need to bundle security into customer experience
E-commerce sites, in particular, are increasingly targeted by hackers due to the sensitive payment card information.
Cyber criminals using lookalike online shopping domains to phish buyers
Because they point to malicious online shopping sites that mimic legitimate, well-known retail websites, it makes it increasingly difficult for customers to detect the fake domains.
AR, VR ready to roll out and revolutionise retail - GlobalData
AR and VR technologies are reshaping the retail landscape by improving customer experience both in-store and online.
Online retail giant’s Australia launch shakes local market
“The company's top competitors have all dramatically increased their advertising budgets."
Adobe announces innovations for retailers in Adobe Experience Cloud
It’s critical for retailers to deliver an exceptional, cohesive experience along the entire shopping journey.
Westpac and Paymark team up to evolve digital payments
“Online EFTPOS enables consumers to use their mobile banking app to securely purchase goods and services online..."
Beware online shoppers, your details may not be safe
Mastercard has reminded Kiwis that any time is a great time to think about their online security...
Top tips for using big data to your advantage this holiday season
It is important you research the market to ensure that you can beat the competition and sustain long-term growth.
Adobe predicts what you will get for Xmas
Adobe released its online shopping predictions for the upcoming holiday season...
eCommerce apps - Worth the expense or a waste of time?
The eCommerce market in South Africa will amount to US$2.7 billion in 2017 with an annual expected growth rate of 14.2%.
Clunky wallets and cash payments, a thing of the past for Kiwi shoppers
“Laybuy is the only company to offer both in-store and online payment options in the New Zealand market...”


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What Happened: Bitcoin price briefly broke $25,005.53 and fell back to $24,971.23 before crossing the $25,000 mark and marching forward from there.
It traded at $25,500 as this article published.
Why It Matters: The main digital currency has had a record month, surpassing $20,000 less than two weeks ago, on Dec. 16.
It reached $24,000 three days later.
Crypto enthusiasts have been very optimistic about where today’s price is going.
Anthony Pompliano, a co-founder and partner at Morgan Creek Digital investment firm, suggested on Twitter that crypto traders are trying to pump the price to $26,000 today, for a “$26k on the 26th” push.
What’s Next: Analysts and trading experts believe there’s a bright future ahead for the leading cryptocurrency. A Citibank managing director, Tom Fitzpatrick, recently suggested that it might reach $318,000, while Guggenheim Investments believes it’ll cross $400,000.
Adam Black, a cryptography veteran and CEO of blockchain technologies provider Blockstream, believes that retail investors are behind this surge, as there’s no institutional trading during the Christmas holidays.
See more from Benzinga
© 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

domain: news


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The Comptroller General of Customs Strike force in zone A has made seizures worth over N6.6 billion within the period of eight weeks.
The Co-ordinator of the Strike force, Deputy Comptroller Mohammed Sani Yusuf made this known to Newsmen on Wednesday while conducting them round the warehouses in Ikeja and Ikorodu.
He gave the seized contraband goods to include no less than 4000 bags of foreign parboiled rice (an equivalent of about seven truck loads), 1,030 slabs of donkey skin, 387kg of cannabis sativa, 285 bales of used clothes and 1,613 cartons of Codeine cough syrup (100ml per bottle).
Others are 132 cartons of 200mg Sildenafil Citrate, 40 cartons of Tramadol, 5 cartons of Chilly Cutter, 1,080 pairs of ladies shoes, 110 cartons of ladies bags, 115 cartons of ladies gel among other items, with a total duty paid value of six billion, six hundred and fourty-four million, four hundred and seventy-two thousand, five hundred and twenty naira (N6,644,472,520).
Yusuf stated that the federal government through the ministry of health had banned the production/ exportation of codeine because of its gross abuse, noting that the use and abuse of drugs is responsible for the substantial cause of different social vices and criminalities in the society.
This is witnessed in the pervasive outburst of insecurity, hence all patriotic citizens are enjoined to support the fight against smuggling of any kind”.
He hinted that the quest to smuggle foreign parboiled rice into the country has been on the increase, despite concerted efforts by the federal government to encourage local production.
He stated that the attendant effects of smuggling foreign rice into the country include, but not limited to: increase in the rate of unemployment, draining of the nation’s foreign exchange, health hazards among others.
According to him, the continuous extermination of wild life, in this case donkey skin, has negative impact on the bio- diversity in the ecosystem, as consistent elimination of donkeys will eventually lead to the extinction of the specie, which will consequently affect the ecosystem.
The anti-smuggling unit boss said that by their mandate, “we shall always ensure compliance with all customs extant laws ensure complete payment of duties and penalties through the issuance of Demand Notices (DN) when necessary.
“Our resolve to step on the fight against smuggling and enemies of the economy is renewed every day because smugglers are unrelenting.
“We won’t allow them have their way through whichever means they choose.
Our 24 hour patrols using the logistics support provided by the Comptroller General, Col Hameed Ali (Rtd) has yielded more results in addition to seizures showcased in the last two months.”
DC Mohammed Sani Yusuf however warned smugglers to look for more rewarding job to do as the zone is a no go area for their illegal trade.


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The Postal Service is expected to announce on Wednesday morning that it will stop delivering letters and other mail on Saturdays, but continue to handle packages, a move the financially struggling agency said would save about $2 billion annually as it looks for ways to cut cost.
The agency has long sought Congressional approval to end mail delivery on Saturdays. But Congress, which continues to work on legislation to reform the agency, has resisted. It is unclear how the agency will be able to end the six-day delivery of mail without Congressional approval.
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Maker Business — Alibaba to invest $15b in tech, set up research labs around the world
Wearables — Hand beading mimicry
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Biohacking — Biohacking: Visioneer – AI Glasses to Assist the Visually Impaired
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Twice as many 18-to-34 years old consumers, 32%, are likely to use mobile wallets like Apple Pay or Google Wallet as those 35 and older (16%), according to a survey of more than 900 adults by Fair Isaac Corp.
That divide is even more pronounced among respondents 50 years or older, a group in which only 8% said they would likely consider using a mobile wallet in the next 12 months.
The survey also found that 52% of 18-to-34-year-old consumers, also known as millennials, already use or are very likely to use non-traditional payment providers in the next 12 months.
Indeed, already a sizable number of consumers from all age groups—39%—are likely to use a Venmo or PayPal account in the next 12 months, and 18% are likely to make a mobile payment.
Venmo, which is part of the Braintree unit at PayPal, enables mobile person-to-person payments.


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The ‘Great Uncertainty’ is over; here comes the ‘Greater Uncertainty’ - omni-channel retail’s relationship with the post-COVID consumer
- The unprecedented impact of COVID on the retail sector may be easing up, but what lies ahead for retailers and their relationships with post-pandemic consumers?
Retail’s ‘Great Uncertainty’ is over, according to the Chief Economist at the National Retail Federation (NRF) in the US, and “an unprecedented recovery” in the Vaccine Economy is underway.
Given that ‘unprecedented’ has been among the most over-used words bandied around across all sectors over the past 18 months, I suppose it’s inevitable it would be trotted out here to describe what the NRF is seeing as enough reason to up its forecasting for the health of the sector in the US. Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz says:
It has become clear that the US economy and retail sales are growing far faster and more steadily than anyone could have expected just a few months ago. We are seeing not just unprecedented growth from months of pent-up demand as the economy reopens, but momentum as well.
Our initial forecast was made when there was still great uncertainty about consumer spending, vaccine distribution, virus infection rates and additional fiscal stimulus. Since then, we have seen spending grow, vaccines have become available to virtually anyone who wants one, infections have fallen and additional stimulus in the form of the American Rescue Plan has been signed into law.
It was certainly an encouraging note for the US sector to have plowed into the 4th of July weekend holiday on and one that builds on earlier comments made by Kleinhenz at the NRF’s State of Retail event last month, when he declared:
We are anticipating the fastest growth that we've seen in this country since 1984. It takes a lot to reopen a $20 trillion economy. But in many ways, it's accelerated much faster than most of us had believed possible even a year ago. There will likely be some shifting of spending away from goods towards services. But the retail industry has greatly benefited from this acceleration of spending. This will only help increase employment and incomes leading to more spending creating a virtuous cycle.
We're seeing both business and consumer confidence improving, which would greatly influenced the contours of the economy going forward. Though confidence has recently slipped, likely a reflection of creeping inflation, economic conditions remain robust. The sheer amount of both fiscal and monetary policy intervention has lifted personal income, more than replenishing what was lost back in March and April of last year, and creating an overabundance of purchasing power. In addition, the historic stockpile of savings has a real potential for influencing the growth this year.
But it’s clearly not as simple as ‘in one bound we were free’. As diginomica has noted repeatedly in recent months, the emergence of the Vaccine Economy is one thing; what that economy looks like is quite another, right across the board from how we approach work through how our awareness of healthcare has altered during the COVID crisis to what our engagement with the retail sector now means in practical terms.
The explosion in e-commerce during the dark days of lockdowns and stay-at-home orders is well-documented, but while that genie is well and truly out of the bottle, how much of that societal shift online will remain in place? I noted a couple of months ago that one of the initial pleasures of lockdown restrictions lifting was the ability to roam the aisles of non-essential retailers once more. That’s a pleasure that was frankly short-lived and I’ve found myself doing as much online purchasing as I was before the store doors re-opened.
That said, we’ve seen retailer after retailer in recent weeks reporting a healthy return to footfall in-store as part of their quarterly fiscal updates, so it’s not an unreasonable thesis to argue that there is pent-up demand to get back out there and browse in person. But this brings us back to that perennial omni-channel retail Holy Grail - getting the balance right between online and offline now that real-world shoppers are back, but this time around far more savvy on a mass scale about the potential of digital. The challenge for retailers now more than ever is going to be to get that balancing act to even out appropriately.
The post-COVID consumer
The NRF State of Retail event picked up on some of the tricky manoeuvres that lie ahead as what it called ‘the post-pandemic consumer’ re-shapes the retail industry. Jean-André Rougeot, President and CEO, Sephora Americas, set out his firm’s stall coming off the back of a year in which e-commerce soared as storefronts shuttered:
The big surprise to us at the start of the year is, as our stores are re-opening and more and more traffic is coming back in, dot com has stayed extremely high. We have a very good story now which is that dot com is strong, nearly as strong as last year, but our stores are picking up dramatically. The last few weeks specifically, we have seen a significant pick-up in our stores. We actually had several weeks where stores were performing at a higher level than 2019, but dot com has remained very high.
What has evolved is the awareness of the need to be seen to be part of communities when considering consumers, suggested Vivek Sankaran, President and CEO, Albertsons Companies, as the pandemic has made shoppers a lot more aware of the important societal role of retailers:
As retailers, especially those of us with stores, we operate in communities. We hire from within those communities, we serve people in those communities, we occupy space in those communities. And I think through this pandemic, one of the big lessons we have learned - and we've renewed our commitment to - is that we are actually stewards of the communities we operate in.
Our customers are going to expect us to behave that way, that we actually steward the community, help when the community needs help, whether it's hunger relief, or in our case, to doing everything we can to allow people to get vaccinated quickly. It's making sure that the food supply is available and so on and things like that…So in addition to being faster and being safer and having the right product at the right time and all of those things, I think we as retailers have to add a new dimension of set of responsibilities for the communities that we operate in. Our customers and investors are going to expect it
This was an assessment backed up by Rougeot:
One of our key priorities right now is being really an inclusive community. D&I (Diversity & Inclusion) has always been part of Sephora values from the beginning. But obviously, the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement really had an impact on us as a company. We really had a chance, as a team as a leadership team all the way down to our store teams to talk about this. It basically has really strengthened our commitment to be a better company.
And that’s going to matter as post-COVID consumers decide where to spend their cash, he predicted:
It makes us a better company internally. It also makes us more successful commercially, because it's such a diverse consumer now in America. If we want to succeed long term, we need to be able to talk to consumers and our people, our leadership, has to reflect that diversity and that wealth of differences in America. It's a very exciting time. I've been a CEO for nearly 30 years now and this is the first time, the first year that I see meaningful change in this area. This is a powerful moment for everybody in business today.
I’m going to leave it to Rachel Bonsignore, Vice President at market research firm GfK, to sum up:
It's a complicated time, but it's also an exciting time. There's a lot of opportunities that brands can leverage. I would say a couple of key takeaways would be, number one, really looking inward, being very self-aware about the role that you as a brand, as a retailer play, in this marketplace play in this heightened, polarized environment. That can mean a lot of different things. It can mean being really clear about who your target customers are and how you want to align with them ideologically, but also being comfortable with losing some customers too and figuring out just what place you want to play in the world and what role you want to have.
It also means thinking bigger. This is a time we talk a lot about, post-pandemic, really rejecting the idea of going back to normal and actually imagining a better world and a newer world and something more interesting and more adaptable. So how can you really forecast a new role for your brand? As a retailer in this new environment, what are some new things you could do?
Those are questions that we’ll be returning to time and again as the Vaccine Economy builds out around the world. The NRF economists reckon there’s going to be more money to spend out there; the trick for post-pandemic retail is to wake up to the fact that consumers haven’t emerged blinking from 18 ‘unprecedented’ months ready just to slot back into their old behaviors. The winners will be those brands and firms that can build new relationships with their old audiences, as well as reach out to the new ones.


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India’s largest digital payments company Paytm, Thursday, said it was processing over 400 million transactions every month, cited Economic Times.
“We continue to witness impressive growth in transactions through the Paytm Payment Gateway across fast-growing categories such as transportation, food delivery, gaming as well as travel and telecom,” said a company spokesperson.
The company told ET that it has seen threefold growth in the number of transactions over the last one year after the digital payments and transaction gateway business are picking up steam in the country.
The company is pushing hard on the payments processing business as well, which is not much of a consumer-facing sector, but works closely with e-commerce companies to help them accept payments remotely.
Moreover, as reported, the company is also working towards deep platform integrations, mainly focusing on easy integration, from its earlier instant plugand play offerings.
The company further said that it has a high success rates for transactions, especially for RuPay cards and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
Adding on, Paytm competes with the likes of PayU and Razorpay in the payment gateway business.
While, PayU is the largest payment processors in the country, Razorpay has also grown fast to challenge the incumbents in this space.
According to Razorpay, it was adding fresh merchants at the rate of almost 20% per month and was seeing a 15% growth in gross payments through its platform, without divulging specific numbers.
PayU, on the other hand, said it processes around $1.7 billion per month and 12,000 crore transactions.


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The latest U.S. inflation numbers are out and they indicate that prices are increasing. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco inflation rate in the US is higher than that of the of the world by more than 3 percentage points. This could be the reason why the US inflation rate is higher than the global average rate over the past decade. However, the bank’s top policy advisor, Oscar Jorda, cautions that it is not necessary to read too much into those percentages. The overall picture is evident.
Different factors determine the inflation rate. The CPI is the price index that is used by the government to gauge inflation. It is calculated by the Labor Department through a survey of households. It is a measure of the amount spent on goods and services but does not include non-direct spending that makes the CPI less stable. Inflation data should be viewed in the context of the overall economy and not in isolation.
The Consumer Price Index, which measures changes in prices of products and services is the most widely used inflation rate in the United States. The index is updated every month and gives a clear picture of how much prices have increased. The index gives the average cost of both services and goods that can be useful for budgeting and planning. If you’re a buyer, you’re probably thinking about the price of products and services, however, it’s crucial to know the reasons for price increases.
The cost of production goes up, which increases prices. This is sometimes called cost-push inflation. It involves rising raw material costs, such as petroleum products and precious metals. It can also affect agricultural products. It is important to keep in mind that when prices for a commodity increase, it will also affect the price of its product.
Inflation data is often hard to find, however there is a method to help you calculate how much it will cost to purchase items and services over the course of a year. The real rate of return (CRR), is a better estimation of the nominal annual investment. Keep this in mind when you’re looking to invest in bonds or stocks the next time.
The Consumer Price Index is currently 8.3% higher than its level a year ago. This is the highest rate for a year since April 1986. Inflation is expected to continue to rise because rents constitute a large portion of the CPI basket. Inflation is also driven by the rising cost of housing and mortgage rates, which make it more difficult to purchase homes. This increases the demand for housing rental. The potential impact of railroad workers on the US railroad system could lead to disruptions in the transport and movement of goods.
The Fed’s interest rate for short-term loans has risen to an 2.25 percent level this year, up from its close to zero-target rate. According to the central bank, inflation is likely to rise by only one-half percent over the coming year. It isn’t easy to know if this increase will be sufficient to control inflation.
Core inflation excludes volatile oil and food prices and is about 2 percent. Core inflation is reported on a year over one-year basis by the Federal Reserve. This is what it means when it declares that its inflation goal of 2 percent is. The core rate has been lower than its goal for a long time. However it is now beginning to rise to a level that is threatening many businesses.


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According to a report released this month by the Oregon Economic Forum, Oregon's economic Indicators continue improving:
- Oregon's economic activity rose to 0.33 in April.
- The manufacturing and services sectors contributed positively to the measure, while construction and household sectors dragged.
- Overall, the Oregon economy is growing near to somewhat above its average rate since 1990.
- The University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators™ has risen in each of the last seven months.
- Initial unemployment claims fell again, and are now in a region consistent with strong job growth. Initial claims were the lowest since May of 2007, prior to the onset of the last recession.
- Residential building permits (smoothed) are at their highest level since February 2008.


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Hello Kitty has, somehow, gathered a cult following over the last 15 years or so. I reckon it's a nostalgia trip for many, since we all grew up with the TV show that brought Kitty her fame. Now, Kitty's branched out into the culinary world, and launched a Hello Kitty cafe.
Hello Kitty have had plenty of pop-up cafes over the years, and every one has been a resounding success. Last year, a Hello Kitty pop-up cafe appeared in Orange County, Florida, and was absolutely adorable. Now, they've launched a permanent Hello Kitty cafe in California, and it looks exactly as you'd expect. Full of sweet treats and Hello Kitty merchandise, the ubiquitous Hello Kitty logo is emblazoned in a neon sign.
The cafe offers a variety of pies, tarts, cookies, pastries and cakes, as well as hot and cold beverages. Apparently, there are plans to include seasonal food when the time comes. Does this mean we may see Hello Kitty themed ice-cream? I'm loving the latte art on the hot drinks, let me tell you.
According to Eater LA, the most popular items are the birthday cake, Mamma’s apple pie, and the Hello Kitty Pocket Pie. Their favorite is the Hello Kitty Pocket Pie, a strawberry-flavoured pop-tart in the shape of Kitty's face. The sweet treat has a strawberry filling, which "has a tangy, tart taste and is topped with some icing and sprinkles". Sounds delightful.
You'll have to be prepared to wait in line, however. Apparently, you may be waiting for at least an hour to get your paws on a Hello Kitty cake, as the cafe is proving to be very popular. On its opening day, fans queued for up to six hours before the store opened its doors.
According to Eater LA, the cafe will be running throughout the rest of 2017, so you've got plenty of time to save up for your plane or train ticket. You can find the cafe at Westfield Santa Anita Mall at 400 South Baldwin Avenue in Arcadia, across from Kiehl's.
The Hello Kitty Cafe will be open Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m, Friday from 11 am to 10 pm, Saturday from 10 am to 10 pm, and Sunday from 10 am to 9 pm. This is one of the high points of 2017 so far, I reckon.


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SEARCHED FOR:KIA MOTOR ANANTPUR PLANT SHUT
Kia Motors India gets 6,523 bookings for Sonet on day one
"The tremendous response to the all-new Sonet, proves that there is never a bad time to launch a good product. It also shows that the faith of Indian consumers in Brand Kia has grown leaps and bounds over just one year of our operation in India," Kia Motors India MD and CEO Kookhyun Shim said.
Kia Motors India temporarily suspends operations at Anantpur plant
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Auto industry stares at $2 bn loss, as factories and dealers shut shop to stem Covid-19 contagion
Companies expect loss of about 750,000 unit...
View: Manufacturing players to focus on easing production
Demand across sectors has understandably fallen and exports have come down due to movement restrictions and lockdowns in other nations. Amid all this, ET-ILC member companies are working with the government to ease necessary regulations and focus on safeguarding assets and employees.
Plant closures over coronavirus to lead to a loss of over Rs 2,300 cr per day: SIAM
Auto industry body SIAM on Tuesday said the closure of manufacturing plants by various automakers and component manufacturers due to coronavirus pandemic would lead to a revenue loss of over Rs 2,300 crore per day.
Lack of EV policy not to hamper launch of eco-friendly vehicles in India: Kia
The company feels that India will also eventually follow the global direction towards eco-friendly technologies led by electric vehicles (EVs).
Kia plans to produce electric vehicles, hybrids in India; targets 2021 for launch
Kia Motors India, the wholly-owned arm of Kia Motors Corporation, has lined also up three models to be launched here in the next three years as part of its plans to enter the market.
Kia Motors to invest $2 billion to set up plant, build supplier base
The additional investment will be to create the supplier base, said Tae-Hyun Oh, the chief operating officer of its international business division.
India has potential to be Kia’s 3rd largest market, says CEO Han Woo Park
We will first enter the compact SUV (segment), which is a growing segment. We are aiming to position Kia as a trendy and innovative company, said Han Woo Park.
Andhra Pradesh likely to bag Rs 10,000-crore Kia project
Kia’s decision comes amid India’s growing stature as a manufacturing hub, with several companies responding to the federal government’s Make-in-India initiative.
Automakers see massive drop in sales in March due to lockdown, BS-VI transition
Passenger vehicles' sales were affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent nationwide lockdown, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Business Unit President Mayank Pareek said. Similarly, TKM said its domestic sales declined 45 per cent to 7,023 units last month as compared to 12,818 units in March 2019.


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While Twitter flew onto Wall Street this week, busy readers were getting the inside scoop on how the now tech leader rose from a start-up that no one really knew how to use. Catch up on the social media company's big couple of days and a groundbreaking announcement in the world of comics below.
- The rise of Twitter documented in a new must-read — Twitter's big IPO wasn't the only reason it was on our radars this week. A new book by New York Times technology reporter Nick Bilton details the dramatic rise of the social media as told through interviews with founders and people on the scene.
- Meet Ms. Marvel, the first Muslim superheroine — Marvel introduced a new comic book character this week, Ms. Marvel. The 16-year-old girl makes history as the first superheroine with Pakistani heritage and as a practicing Muslim.
- How to get your space tourism on — Lady Gaga announced she's headed to space to perform in zero gravity. But celebrities aren't the only ones who get to have all the fun. Discover the companies offering an adventure in space tourism.
- Google's new service is here to help — Ever want a makeup artist to quickly show you the way of a perfect cat eye without having to leave your house to head to the mall? Google's new live video service, Helpouts, delivers advice to your living room from knowledgable experts.
- Nintendo's Wii goes mini — Previously available just to Canada, a smaller version of the Wii, the Wii Mini, will be available to American consumers in time for the holiday season this year.


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2 Stores Make Debuts in Tiffany Square Plaza
BOARDMAN, Ohio – Yesterday Gail McCullough was looking forward to having more elbowroom for his employees today.
McCullough is the operator of the new 5,000-square-foot Chick-fil-A Inc. restaurant on an outparcel at the Tiffany Square Plaza, which opened its doors at 6:30 this morning.
Until last Saturday, the Chick-fil-A’s freestanding Boardman store operated just across the road on the southeastern corner of where U.S. Route 224 and South Avenue intersect.
This morning’s opening is just one of two at the redeveloped Tiffany Square Plaza. Ashley HomeStore, a furniture retailer, opened a new store in the plaza a few weeks ago and held a ribbon-cutting Wednesday.
Chick-fil-A is celebrating its opening today with a ribbon cutting as well.
“We just outgrew the old location,” McCullough remarked of the Chick-fil-A. The old store across the street opened in 1997.
The new restaurant features two significant changes, Shelly LaBerto, general manager and marketing director, said. One is a double-lane drive-thru, which will allow the restaurant to serve more customers more quickly.
The single-lane drive-thru at the former store was “kind of cumbersome, hard to manage and hard for the guests to follow,” she added. Cars in line often circled the building and, occasionally, spilled onto Route 224.
The new restaurant also has a larger kitchen, “which means our capacity to grow has just been multiplied,” she noted.
“It’s more modern,” McCullough said. In addition to being larger, the kitchen has a center-line layout that allows cooking on both sides to accommodate greater volume.
“This whole [TIffany Square] plaza is being upgraded and we wanted to be part of that,” he added.
Other new tenants in the plaza, leased by Kutlick Realty LLC, include McDonald’s, which had been where Chick-fil-A built its new store, Hobby Lobby, Marshalls and Fin Feather Fur. Also preparing to open in the plaza is Tuesday Morning.
“This whole center has really developed over the last year and a half,” affirmed Matthew Schultz, co-president of Ashley HomeStore in Erie, Pa. He and his brother, John, the other co-president, are the third generation of the family running the business.
Ashley HomeStore, which Schultz says is the nation’s largest furniture store chain, offers Ashley-manufactured furnishings for every room in the house as well as home accents and mattresses, including brands such as Serta, Tempur-Pedic and Sealy. “We set it up by lifestyle so it creates inspiration and ideas for the customers,” he said.
Another Ashley store had been a half-mile to the west on Route 224 but the company “took the license away and we opened up,” he said.
“It’s been a great location,” he said. “We’ve been open now for a couple of weeks and it’s easy to get to, right off of [Interstate] 680, and we’ve been happy.”
The store, which is about 30,000 square feet, draws from Pittsburgh as well as the local area, he said.
The front third of the store is regularly given a new theme throughout the year. “Next up is ‘Hello, Summer.’ It’s going to be a little bit more coral-themed,” Schultz said. “It always keeps it exciting and fresh.”
Pictured: Shelly LaBerto and Gail McCullough say the new Chick-fil-A will serve more customers more quickly.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.


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Every weekday, PR Daily associate editor Alan Pearcy highlights the day’s most compelling stories and amusing marginalia on the Web in this, #TheDailySpin.
I have no mouth and I must scream
I have no idea what I’m doing
I have no friends
I have no life
Maybe if I ever dared to venture beyond the first or second page of any search results, I wouldn’t just now be realizing the depth and profundity of Google. From odes inspired by narcissism
and even the naïve mischiefs of childhood
, the search giant’s predictive algorithm has led to an anthology of inadvertent poetic works. The new Reddit thread “Google Poems
” chronicles them. (Co.CREATE
Google even draws upon the coffee shop
as a muse for its writing. Unfortunately, New York City doesn’t share the sentiment. According to the Associated Press
, the corner café is among the biggest targets for officials in the Big Apple, as they prepare for the nation’s first clampdown on the size of sugary beverages. Advertising Age
went as far to label sugar “the next public enemy No. 1.”
Whereas Dunkin’ Donuts has gone as far as putting up “confusing pamphlets” at its NYC locations to address the new regulations, Gothamist
reports Starbucks is doing nothing at all—or at least not yet. Linda Mills, a spokeswoman for the coffee giant, explained, "A majority of our drinks fall outside of the ban, and we’re not expecting to make any immediate changes next week.”
So just where, exactly, do lawmakers expect us caffeine addicts to get our fix? Might I suggest the gum in your pocket? Wrigley announced plans to launch Alert Energy Caffeine Gum, which is the equivalent to about half a cup of coffee. According to CNN
, the gum will be marketed to consumers 25 and older. Its packaging will also have a warning label on the back saying that it is "not recommended for children."
RELATED: Study: PR is now the fourth-most-caffeinated profession
Speaking of caffeine, Quartz
recently published the comprehensive guide to coffee at work.
compiled 10 great apps it contends every coffee drinker needs.
Although I’d certainly contest that adolescents are too young to regularly order that morning (and sometimes afternoon and evening) double espresso, The Huffington Post
’s teen sections suggests it’s just the right age to spot the signs of a writer.
RELATED: Are creative writer degrees worth the crippling debt?
Just try not to grow up ignoring women as much as past authors did in their work. A recent study published in Popular Science
found that men show up in literature three times more often than their female counterparts. Time
adds that while Shakespeare’s work was generally the average (3 male pronouns for every one female pronoun), 19th century British preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon used nearly 20 male pronouns for each female one, the most unbalanced ratio on the list.
RELATED: ‘The top jobs often elude women’
Hopefully proving less chauvinistic of a list, Likeable CEO Dave Kerpen shares the 11 must-read authors for every professional
RELATED: 10 books ever PR pro should read
From sexism to possible racism, USA Today
reports that a poster printed in the Caledonian Record got into some trouble, in part, because of its choice of typeface.
Supporting a local basketball team in a game against Rice Memorial High School of South Burlington, the poster read “Fry Rice” in a font associated with Chinese calligraphy. The paper defended itself in an unsigned editorial, saying:
“We sought a simple play on words in support of an extraordinary group of local student athletes. Indulging our critics for a moment, the outcry reminds us that racial and ethnic stereotypes can offend—regardless of intent."
I imagine there will be less drama to defend against for illustrator and advertising industry veteran Brian Sanders, who was hired by “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner to help turn back the clock on a new poster promoting the show’s season six premiere. The New York Times
recounts the full story.
RELATED: An urgent call for more ‘Donna Drapers’
That nostalgia carries over to a ‘50s-era cold cream commercial unearthed by Boing Boing
. In the ad, Dorothy Gray touts the strength of its facial cleanser in warding off all that radioactive dirt clogging our pores:
Continuing to ward off critics of its recent decision to ban employees from telecommuting
, Yahoo hopes taking part in this year’s South by Southwest festival
can help salvage its reputation. “When we look at Yahoo going forward, we want to reintroduce and remind people that Yahoo is at the intersection of media, technology and music,” said chief marketing officer Kathy Savitt. “SXSW is a great example of that convergence.”
RELATED: 6 tips for South by Southwest newbies
It remains to be seen how Marc Jacobs will rebound after a Humane Society probe discovered that the designer’s “faux fur” garments sold at Century 21 department stores were actually made from the coats of Chinese raccoon dogs. Read more about the incident at New York Daily News
Is there something you think we should include in our next edition of #TheDailySpin? Tweet me @iquotesometimes with your suggestions. Thanks in advance.


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Thursday, February 21, 2008
"Sixty-two percent of marketers believe traditional TV ads have become less effective during the last two years. Given that belief, it's no surprise that close to half of them already have experimented with other ad formats that work with digital video recorders or video-on-demand programs. And more than 50% of marketers reported that when half of all TV households use DVRs, they will cut spending on TV advertising by 12%.
Eighty-seven percent of advertisers believe branded entertainment is the key to TV advertising in the coming year, and 65% of them are eager to try ads in online TV shows."
"To CW Network:
We, the undersigned fans, want Supernatural renewed for a 4th season. Supernatural makes Thursday nights one of the best nights on TV. We love this show too much to let it go off the air without a fight.
Please sign this petition and show your support for a Supernatural Season 4. Send it to your friends, family, co-workers, put the petition widget on your MySpace and FaceBook page. Let's not see another great show become a memory."


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Lead Network, which aims to increase the female workforce and the number of women leaders in the retail and consumer products sector, has more than 8 thousand members in Europe.
LEADER Network's 50 institutional partners in Turkey and has close to 700 members.
Aysun Zaman said, “I dream of a world that does not need women's associations. Thanks to LEAD Network, I am happy to see that there are talented professionals who share the same dream with me. I will be proud to be the first Turk in the LEAD Network European Advisory Board. “I believe this is a unique opportunity to take concrete steps together in the concepts of equality, diversity and inclusion”.


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We get a lot of invitations through the door at Monocle but the call to become part of one of Europe’s most-loved design companies is certainly rare. Yet just before Christmas, a pink document landed on my desk asking me to do just that. It was sent to me by Vitsoe, the manufacturer of Dieter Rams’s 606 Universal Shelving System, and I have until Thursday to get involved.
Vitsoe’s proposition was this. Invest anything between £5,000 and £5m in a five-year fixed term bond, which will offer 6.06 per cent gross interest per annum, and become part of Vitsoe’s future. My money will help fund construction of a new production building for the company, whose current site next to the railway track in Camden Town, London, is vastly inadequate for a company of Vitsoe’s scale. The new wood-and-steel home has been designed by London-based architecture studio dRMM, and will be built in the West Midlands – with a little help from me.
The document came with a note from the owner and managing director Mark Adams, the man who oversaw Vitsoe’s transition from being a German company to one headquartered and manufactured in the UK in the 1990s. He called upon those who have, over the years, offered to help out the company by offering them a “front seat” in Vitsoe’s future. He implores, “We are asking you to lend money that we will invest in an asset: land and a building. Instead of paying rent, we will pay interest to you, our community.” He gives out his personal email address, his mobile phone number, and reassures the invited that the “self-funded growing business” will never be made public. It’s actually very touching.
Vitsoe’s choice to keep it in the proverbial family is an interesting and utterly charming decision in an industry that’s increasingly becoming like the fashion and luxury-goods markets in being dominated by groups and mergers. Late last week it was announced that US furniture company Haworth Inc would acquire a majority stake in the Poltrona Frau Group in a $270m deal. Last year, Finnish establishment Artek was purchased by Swiss manufacturer Vitra, proving that even companies of Artek’s clout need a leg up from time to time in order to project forward and grow – just like Vitsoe.
And yet where those two developments were big business chess moves, Vitsoe’s invitation for investment feels like parents helping out on the deposit for their child’s first home. It’s not charity: it’s staking a claim in the future of something important. It’s heartwarming. Mark Adams’ personal approach – the invitation was sent out only to customers and suppliers (and press: I’m sad to say its Dieter Rams shelving systems don’t support my books) – was charming, persuasive and considered. Bond certificates have already been issued, helping Vitsoe creep towards its £5m target. And I hope many more follow before the deadline of 13 February (which would have been founder Niels Vitsoe’s 101st birthday). A friend in need is a friend indeed.
Tom Morris is Monocle's design editor.


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Here’s how to spot a “true” craft beer
Smaller breweries to add seals on bottles to battle Big Beer
As Big Beer has snapped up craft breweries, it’s grown harder to tell who the true indies are. But a new industry effort hopes to clear up the confusion by declaring their ownership right on the bottle.
More than 800 breweries — including Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada and New Belgium — will soon begin printing seals on their beers that identify them as “Certified Independent Craft.” The initiative, which was spearheaded by the trade group for independent craft brewers, is intended to differentiate “true” craft beers from those made by the likes of Millercoors, Anheuserbusch and Heineken.
To qualify to use the seal, breweries cannot be more than 25 percent owned or controlled by any alcohol company that’s not itself a craft brewer. Its annual production also can’t exceed six million barrels.
The growth of the craft beer segment, once in the double digits, has slowed dramatically since those multinationals entered the fray: from 18 percent in 2013 to eight percent three years later. Some believe they could stem some of that decline if consumers realized some “crafty”-looking beers weren’t actually made by independent brewers.
“We’ve been hearing from our members for almost two years that there is a lot of confusion in the marketplace, fueled by the Big Beer acquisitions,” said Bob Pease, the chief executive of the Brewers Association, which represents the independents. “This is a way to give beer drinkers more transparency and more information.”
Small breweries have grown anxious about Big Beer’s incursion on their limited turf. Five international conglomerates — Anheuser-busch Inbev, Millercoors, Constellation/crown Imports, Heineken and Pabst — already control more than 80 percent of the U.S. beer market, according to the National Beer Wholesalers Association.
That market dominance has given the big brewers significant advantages. On the brewing side, large companies can leverage their volume, and their capital, to score more and better hops.
The larger issue, however, lies in distribution. Because the five Big Beer firms represent the majority of business for the middlemen who move beer from breweries to taplines and retail stores, they exercise enormous influence.
Distribution contracts frequently allow major beer brands to dictate where their beer is placed on shelves, for instance.


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After hearing about a friend who got tricked into thinking a letter in the mail was an Inauguration Day ticket, I discovered a variety of Jan. 20-related scams. First, beware of the fake tickets. The Inaugural Committee has warned consumers against buying tickets from third-party sellers. Since the tickets, which are free and handed out by members of Congress, require in-person pick-up close to the date of the Inauguration, anyone claiming to have tickets to sell is not telling the truth, the committee says. "We urge the public to view any offers of tickets for sale with great skepticism," says staff director Howard Gantman. Websites including eBay and StubHub have officially banned the sale of tickets.
While scalped tickets for ice hockey and other sports games are easy to find in Washington, they aren't a reliable option for Inauguration day, warns the Better Business Bureau. Scalpers may not be able to get enough tickets to sale, and lawmakers are also considering whether to make the act illegal.
Other scams include:
And, of course, think twice before purchasing Obama memorabilia. The Better Business Bureau warns that the only value it holds is of the sentimental variety.


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Meet the giant ash gourd weighing 16 kg
Palakkad: Ash gourd or white gourd is a common vegetable in Kerala. But a giant ash gourd that too weighing 16 kg is a rare sight.
It was grown in the yard of Jayaprakash from Vattanodu in Koottanadu. One of the seeds sown three months back bore such a big vegetable while other seeds had normal sized ash gourd.
Jayaprakash said that usually ash gourds of around 4 kg are grown here. No special care was take for this, he added.
A homemade fertilizer consisting of cow urine, cow dung, waste jiggery, cereal powder, and top soil is used for farming, Jayaprakash said.
Jayaprakash, an ex-NRI, uses his 80 cents of land to grow different types of vegetables including cucumber, tomato spinach and pumpkin. Variants of plantain and tapioca are also farmed here.
Normally the vegetables are sold at the organic vegetable market conducted by Thrithala panchayat. But the present ash gourd is demanded by a hotel owner, Jayaprakash said.


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Zaycon Fresh, a company that sells meat directly from farms to customers, has suspended their operations.
The company issued a statement on their website.
“It is with deep regret that we inform you that as of June 25th, we are suspending business operations. Zaycon Fresh has put forth monumental efforts to endure recent challenges but conditions are such that this suspension is necessary. Updates will be forthcoming as we are able to provide them.”
The company’s Facebook page has been deleted.
Customers with outstanding orders are advised to to dispute the charges with their bank or credit card companies.


text:
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Normal SEO only helps to optimise websites, sitemaps, directories, keywords and meta tags.
Our News SEO helps to optimise the editorials published on Chinese mainstream media and internet portals.
Moreover, our News SEO service is not charged by the number of clicks. Even if our service comes to an end, the news reports published online would not disappear. Through our service, we hope your company could accumulate a strong online reputation over time.
Our Media Resources
Access to the best media resources in Asia and Asia Pacific.
Coverage includes: Media platforms catering to state, province and city levels.
Industries includes: News, Fashion, Fine jewels, Finance, Sports, Education, etc.


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Electric Coin Company (ECC), the firm behind Zcash, has unveiled Halo Arc, the product that will kickstart the next Zcash generation.
The Halo Arc suite comes with Zcashd updates, ECC reference wallet apps, and ECC wallet SDKs (software development kits. The ECC wallet will allow the ‘shielded by default transactions,’ currently only available as an option for Zcash.
Halo Arc, which was set to be unveiled this summer, will be launched on Oct. 1, 2021. This will be in conjunction with Zcash’s activation to its new network Upgrade 5 (NU5). According to the press release, NU5 is set to be the inaugural mainnet activation of the Halo Arc.
The planned October network upgrade is set to bring onboard unified addresses, a feature set to formulate a solo Zcash address compatible with all Zcash value pools. This will also include shielded and transparent pools whereby users will not need to use various addresses anymore. Currently, upgrading the protocol required new addresses.
The new Halo Arc is set to eliminate Zcash's trusted setup. The trusted setups lead to the formulation of a secret number and a derivative of the Zcash protocol number. This number can be created in various parts by various actors.
“This is all built on top of Halo, which will usher in a new era of zero-knowledge cryptography and means, for this first release, increased confidence in the money supply by removing the trusted setup necessary for current zero-knowledge proving systems,” explained ECC Vice President in charge of company growth, Josh Swihart.
While Halo Arc comes with numerous products, the most notable one to enhance the users’ security and privacy is its wallet.
With Halo Arc, we’re making it easy for wallets to support shielded Zcash by default. “Users of supporting wallets will be able to give counterparties a single address and know that funds will be sent to their shielded address, regardless of whether the sender supports shielded addresses,” said Swihart.


text:
Things I learned reading Advertising Age coverage of the National Beer Wholesalers Association meeting in Las Vegas:
* Beer Industry Looks to Rebuild ‘Brand Beer’
I would not apply for that job.
I looked because National Beer Wholesalers Association president Craig Pursor says “there’s got to be some refocus and some collaboration.” Collaboration by exactly what brewing entities isn’t clear.
* “The brands that are growing are the brands the rich people drink,” said Harry Schuhmacher, editor of Beer Business Daily.
Thank goodness you don’t actually have to be rich to drink them.


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Network equipment vendor Cisco and Google have joined forces to get a foothold in the cloud market with a new hybrid solution.
The deal gives Google the opportunity to help Cisco's enterprise customers bridge their on premises data centres with Google Cloud. Google is considered the third-place runner in the cloud market behind Amazon and Microsoft.
Cisco and Google will offer a hybrid cloud solution built on the open source Kubernetes container orchestration technology and Istio microservices platform.
Cisco's HyperFlex converged platform and Private Cloud Infrastructure will be used on premises, with software components licensed on an annual basis in one, three or five-year terms.
Hardware required for the hybrid solution will be sold on a perpetual basis by Cisco.
Google said its Kubernetes-based Container Engine service would deliver a consistent environment for the Cisco on premises offering.
As the solution allows customers to use their choice of management, software, hypervisor and operating system, customers can avoid cloud lock-in, Google said.
The partnership follows Microsoft's tie-up with multiple hardware vendors, including Dell EMC, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Lenovo, with the Azure Stack hybrid cloud offering.


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Last week, the U.S. House committee on small business was presented testimony on the pros and cons of the online currency Bitcoin. Proponents of the new virtual payment system believe that Bitcoin usage can help small and midsize businesses grow their online businesses both in the U.S. and overseas.
According to Ripon Advance, the currency could allow businesses to significantly expand sales around the globe. Adam White, director of business development for Coinbase, an international digital wallet company that processes merchant and individual transactions for Bitcoin, explained how transactions could work for small businesses:
“Because of the borderless and global nature of Bitcoin, a Bitcoin payment made by customer in New York looks identical to a merchant as a Bitcoin payment made by a customer in London, Buenos Aires or Tokyo. Moreover, there are no international currency conversion fees associated with Bitcoin payments, so merchants can sell low margin items just as profitably abroad as they do domestically. The ability to easily begin accepting payments from customers around the world can open up whole new markets for merchants and significantly improve top-line revenue.”
But the virtual coin isn’t without a downside. Jerry Brito, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University told PYMNTS.com that the decentralized currency is not a new idea, and although it makes sense on paper for small business transactions, it has cons:
“It could also be an attractive electronic payments option for consumers, including the unbanked and underbanked. Risks include volatility and security, but these are not problems inherent in Bitcoin’s design. Its volatility is likely attributable to the fact that it is a new currency, still in the process of discovering its stable price.”
For small businesses, the low-cost transactions via Bitcoin look very attractive. For a company with fewer than 300 employees, paying 25 cents plus 2 to 4 percent per sale for items can really cut into profits. Bitcoin currency is handled through merchant processors such as BitPay or Coinbase, and these services charge only 1 percent or sometimes less per transaction.
According to the Bitcoin Wiki, because payment processing is simple and doesn’t require the fraud prevention measures that credit card companies rely on, Bitcoin transactions are considered final, so there can be no transaction reversal. This could also help businesses accept payments from those in countries where high fraud rates often prevent online transactions from being feasible.
However, other issues with Bitcoin brought up during the hearing included the recent IRS ruling that digital currency be taxed as property and not as currency. Also, recent crackdowns on illicit activity and money laundering via Bitcoin have tainted the image of the wonder coin. So although Bitcoin sounds like it could be the future of online payments for SMBs and others, it is still not without issue and the House Committee plans to further use information collected from the hearing to give information to businesses considering the currency and to help Congress make informed decisions as virtual currencies become more common in usage.


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France has officially banned restaurants from offering free refills of soda and other sugary drinks, effective immediately, reports the New York Times. The ban follows a recent World Health Organization (W.H.O.) statement that encouraged a 20 percent tax on soda and other sugary drinks to help fight obesity and type-2 diabetes. This isn’t the first time the French have passed fat-fighting regulations: The country’s schools have been stripped of vending machines, and cafeterias can only serve French fries once a week.
While French people tend to weigh less than other Europeans, a little over 15 percent of French adults are still obese. That’s compared to 36.5 percent of Americans, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While measures like a refill ban may sound drastic, the research speaks for itself. People who drink 1 to 2 cans of soda a day have a 26 percent increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes than people who don’t indulge in the sweet stuff, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Plus, we’ve seen soda taxes work in the United States. After Berkeley, California implemented the first soda tax in the country, consumption of sugary beverages fell by 21 percent and water consumption rose by 63 percent, according to a study in the American Journal of Public Health.
Recently, Philadelphia imposed its own soda tax, but no major U.S. city has gone so far as to ban refills in restaurants.
But you don’t have to wait for taxes and bans to kick your soda habit. Avoid quitting cold turkey and switch to diet drinks to reduce calories while getting your sweetness fix, recommends psychologist Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. After a week, switch over to seltzer water with a slice of lemon or other citrus fruits to wean yourself off the sugar.
“Substituting an alternative drink makes you two to three times more likely to resist temptation,” Halvroson says.
Additional reporting by Markham Heid


text:
Frontier Magazine is a monthly issue with informative articles on a range of topics concering the logistics and brokerage industries.
Articles InsideWorld Trade slumps Tariffs Under Review Protectionism creates trade wars, hurts domestic exports
News & Updates
Read up on current news and trends in the logistics and customs industry.
Treasury Board of Canada looking to modernize regulatory system
The Government of Canada is pursuing a number of initiatives to modernize the Canadian regulatory system and improve its performance for both Canadians and businesses. To inform the direction of these...
Tuesday, July 16, 2019 - 14:01
CFIA to hold webinar on labeling requirements
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency will hold a series of webinars in order to modernize the Canadian regulatory system and improve its performance. Modernization will take place for the Food and Drug...
Monday, July 15, 2019 - 20:22
Businesses, port authorities call on Trump to end tit-for-tat tariffs on China
More than 500 businesses, port authorities, and organizations have signed a petition calling on President Donald Trump to stop “tit-for-tat” tariffs on China. The letter, which was also sent to U....
Monday, July 15, 2019 - 20:06
Surtax remission orders for steel and aluminium
Businesses that send surtax remission orders for steel and aluminium products will see some changes to how their claims are processed. Department of Finance Canada is stating that a remission o...
Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - 19:55


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Welcome to Finance Insider, Business Insider’s summary of the top stories of the past 24 hours. Sign up here to get the best of Business Insider delivered direct to your inbox.
At one point, Musk cut off an analyst and turned the call over to a YouTuber. And he labelled questions about Tesla’s business issues “boring” and dry.”
In other words, Elon Musk has completely stopped hiding his contempt for Wall Street – and he’s paying the price.
Back in finance news, there’s a new pay czar approving how much Goldman Sachs’ top brass gets paid. Guggenheim has lured a senior healthcare banker away from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. And a top hedge fund recruiter says graduates should think twice about going into the industry.
In crypto news, bitcoin popped after a report that Goldman Sachs will start trading products linked to crypto. And Coinbase has made a key hire for a product aimed at luring Wall Street into the crypto market.
In markets news:
- “Earnings are not all that matter” – A Wall Street chief strategist breaks down the story he says the market is ignoring
- In its first quarterly report since becoming a public company, Spotify had disappointing news: a loss that came in much bigger than expected.
- Meanwhile, WeWork’s “entirely new, nonsense” way of evaluating its profits is eerily similar to the tech bubble.
- Fed holds interest rates steady, says inflation is close to its target
- Trump’s top economic advisers are embarking on a trip that could make or break the US-China trade fight
- 1,100 economists warn that Trump is repeating one of the biggest mistakes of the Great Depression
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The huge Communist Chinese mainland, government and people, is guilty of committing grand larceny on a scale only comparable in contemporary history to the expropriation of private property during the Nazi and Bolshevik revolutions.
Communist China’s expropriation policy is based on counterfeiting Western products — Christian Dior sunglasses, Gucci and Prada handbags, Louis Vuitton luggage, among others — and shipping these cheap copies as brand-name goods to foreign markets at prices far below those of the victimized original products.
Reporting from Shanghai to the Toronto National Post, Peter Goodspeed notes one of the mainstays of today’s burgeoning Chinese economy is copyright piracy with an estimated worth of $50 billion. And according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, intellectual property theft costs 750,000 jobs a year. And here’s a staggering finding:
More than 90 percent of all CDs and DVDs and computer software sold in China are pirated. Pirated copies of popular films are sold on the streets in huge quantities even before the movies are publicly released.
Mr. Goodspeed reports: “The situation is so bad that it has virtually destroyed China’s film and music industries.” And movie theatres as well. Why pay admission at the movie theater when you can see the same movie in the comfort of home for a few pennies? In other words, by normal moral standards, a large number of Chinese receive stolen goods and thus behave criminally, a behavior supported by their totalitarian party government. And there is no sign of any significant Chinese disapproval of the larceny. A business advisory from the U.S. Commerce Department says:
“On average, 20 percent of all consumer products in the Chinese market are counterfeit. If a product sells, it is likely to be illegally duplicated. China continues to be a haven for counterfeiters and pirates. According to one copyright industry association, the piracy rate [in China] remains one of the highest in the world.”
Were counterfeiting and piracy confined to commercial consumer products it would be bad enough but, unfortunately, it is not. Basic foods are being tinkered with as well. Thirteen children died and 200 others were seriously incapacitated in a town near Fuyang, 180 miles from Shanghai, because their parents had unknowingly fed their babies fake baby formula: a mixture of starch, sugar and dry milk powder without protein, fats and essential vitamins.
Investigation by the local media uncovered an unbelievable scandal: More than 40 companies in 10 provinces manufactured and distributed fake formula. Officials also found discarded toxic chemicals sold as table salt.
Everything is a target for the Chinese exporting counterfeiters. Cigarettes with pirated brand names are a favorite export. British customs say 15 percent of the British cigarette market consists of smuggled Chinese cigarettes.
Mr. Goodspeed writes: “A unique form of Chinese piracy is to use a product name that sounds like a trademark but is written with different characters to the registered name.”
For example, a chain of Shanghai coffeehouses goes by the name “Starsbuck.” Honda won a court case against a Chinese company building and exporting “Hongda” brand motorcycles, Honda lookalikes. General Motors is suing a Chinese auto manufacturer for producing a car with body structure, exterior design, interior design and key components identifical to a car GM builds and markets as the Chevrolet Spark.
The China-Britain Business Council writes:
“When a Chinese company manager sees something interesting at a trade show, his or her immediate thought may be, ‘Can I make the same thing more cheaply and sell it in China?,’ rather than ‘Is this protected by patents? And do I need to pay a license fee to the intellectual property owner?”
The gallows joke among U.S. businessmen is that research and development in China doesn’t stand for “research and development” but for “receive and duplicate.”
Piracy and counterfeiting could not have become so widespread in China without government turning a blind eye toward such larcenous activities. Local governments, says Mr. Goodspeed, are more concerned with protecting local jobs and industries than worrying about foreign copyrights.
So this violation of the norms of governmental behavior will go on and on. As an aside, were I a citizen of Taiwan would I want to live under the rule of a communist dictatorship that cheerfully tolerates grand larceny?
Arnold Beichman, a Hoover Institution research fellow, is a columnist for The Washington Times.
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In an era where logistics have never been more complicated, 3D printing in the military offers Marines the much-needed ability to travel lighter with a higher degree of adaptability. With LulzBot 3D Printers leading the charge toward fostering a culture of innovation, the Marine Corps is ready to incorporate additive manufacturing and uses for 3D printing into every aspect of what they do.
The Next Generation Logistics (NexLog) initiative, led in part by Col. Howard Marotto and Captain Matthew Friedell, was established in 2015 to accelerate the development and integration of emerging technologies like 3D printing in the military. “We see it as being absolutely transformative,” Marotto said. “It’s not just about untethering yourself from the supply chain. It’s also about being able to rapidly innovate to the threat in the field.”
“Charlie Mike:” Marines Continue Mission with LulzBot 3D Printers
Initially, 3D printing appealed to the military because it presented a solution to the ongoing shortage of spare parts for aging equipment. “A lot of our older equipment in the Marine Corps, nobody wants to make those items or parts for,” Marotto said. “So we might have to become our own manufacturers on certain low-demand, obsolete type items because the industrial base won’t support us, because there’s no money in it.”
Designing and 3D printing replacement handles for the notoriously fragile standard handles on some of their Humvees is only one of the many ways Marines are relying on 3D printing to “Charlie Mike,” their term for “Continue Mission.” Friedell expressed his affinity for the LulzBot MOARstruder Tool Head, which is a popular choice for those seeking rapid prototyping capabilities and part strength. “I use a MOARstruder on the thing and it prints in an hour, and you can’t break that thing… that’s my favorite example of using a LulzBot and more specifically, the MOARstruder.”
3D-Printed Solutions in Expeditionary Environments
The Marine Corps has also begun intensive training in extremely cold environments, which puts a whole new set of demands on their gear and presents more uses for 3D printing in the military. With LulzBot 3D Printers at the ready, the Marines now have a tool that enables them to continue charging ahead. “We have a snowshoe in our inventory and Marines keep breaking small retaining clips.,” Friedell said. “So we had Marines redesign them and we’re actually able to 3D print them and throw them on the snowshoes, and now we have snowshoes that don’t fall off our feet.”
Expounding on the advantages LulzBot 3D Printers provide for the Marine Corps, Friedell explained, “It’s stuff like buckles that you don’t think would be very valuable, but they’re huge in an expeditionary environment. If your buckle breaks that’s holding your weapon, your life is gonna suck for the next 10 miles or 3 weeks until you can get a new plastic buckle. So having that ability is huge.”
For those Marines stationed around the world in harsh environments, the ruggedness, reliability, and ease-of-use of LulzBot 3D Printers serve as mission-critical assets as well as personal life savers. “I’ve been a big proponent of LulzBot [3D Printers] because it’s just bulletproof, and that’s the reason we put it out there,” Friedell said. “We literally load them up in [watertight] cases, unbox them…. they level themselves, and they’re printing in five minutes. So the durability of them, the flexibility of them, is awesome.”
All multimedia content is considered public domain and has been cleared for release by the Department of Defense (DoD).
The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. Statements made here are the individuals' own opinions and do not represent endorsement or concurrence from the DoD or USMC.


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Logan Motorcycle Sales
Route 44 South Omar Road
Logan, W.V. 25601
Mike Ratz has leveraged his business assets by creating some friendly competition between the four powersports dealerships he owns or co-owns in West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. All are marketed under separate identities and draw in customers from throughout the region. Logan Motorcycle Sales in Logan, W.V., was the first outpost. Ratz’s father Steve opened the dealership in 1961. Keefer’s Powersports is also in Logan. The town serves as a central hub with Route 119 Powersports about a half hour northeast in Danville, W.V., and Hatfield-McCoy Powersports a similar distance to the southwest in Belfry, Ky. Ratz shares ownership in Route 119 Powersports and Keefer’s Powersports with Eddie Keefer. Ratz spent his high school nights and weekends sweeping out the powersports dealership his father started. It was a natural extension of his love for riding, which budded while riding the motorcycle he received when he was 12. Ratz eventually took over Logan Motorcycle Sales from his father and added the other three dealerships since the turn of the century.
Logan Motorcycle Sales carries new and used ATVs, motorcycles and UTVs. E-ton, Honda, KTM and Yamaha products fill its showroom. The dealership is housed in a long, narrow building, which Ratz’s father used to joke was “the longest Honda shop in the world – Guinness World Record.” The family business might continue for several generations to come. Ratz has a son and a grandson who are making their way up the ladder.
West Virginia has not escaped the economic slowdown that has plagued much of the country, and it looks to have a two-fold impact at Logan Motorcycle Sales. Not only will the downturn be detrimental for dealers immediately with slower sales, but even after an upswing, consumers might be slow to return to the industry, Ratz says. Another concern is rider safety legislation. The dealership does a lot of ATV and UTV sales, so Ratz monitors safety issues that come up, especially those related to children. “We want to make sure it’s fair and equal and not just one-sided,” Ratz said.
After a drastic drop in ATV sales during the winter months, they are starting to pick back up again with the arrival of warmer weather, Ratz says. One segment that stayed afloat during the cold season was UTVs. The sector was stable all winter for Logan Motorcycle Sales and might have even seen a slight increase in sales, Ratz says. Yamaha Rhinos are the company’s top sellers. Polaris Ranger models have done well at Ratz’s other dealerships and Kawasaki’s Teryx is coming in strong, he says. “I think the big thing is that it’s passenger friendly and being in the mountains here, it gives you an opportunity to ride together,” Ratz said of UTV popularity. “Plus some people feel it’s possibly safer than an ATV.”
CUSTOMER BUYING TRENDS
Along with a large volume of Internet research before the sale, Logan Motorcycle Sales has been getting a lot of phone shopping, Ratz says. It’s not necessarily that people are looking to order something over the phone, but they are price shopping. If they don’t hear something they like, they might avoid going to the brick and mortar store altogether. “Customers want to get prices and deals over the phone,” Ratz said. “There’s not much of the brand loyalty that we had years ago. Now it seems like they don’t really care.”
PARTS AND SERVICE
The parts and accessories department benefits from the collective buying power of four stores rather than one, Ratz says. Although it can be difficult having four parts managers at times, the group can save money with its distributors through bulk orders. Accessories for UTVs are especially popular at Logan Motorcycle Sales, Ratz says. The service departments welcome riders from outside the area who flock to the many trails there. The company has a policy that if a visitor is in from out of state, they get top priority for service. “They’re here on vacation, so we want them to be riding,” Ratz said. “We do a lot to accommodate tourists. We’ve had them come back and purchase from us or do more service work.”
PROMOTIONAL HOME RUNS
Logan Motorcycle Sales is connected. The dealership, along with Ratz’s four other dealerships, has its own Myspace Web page where customers can interact with the dealership daily. It also reaches out to its local community with the 35-foot trailer it fills with parts and accessories for off-road events at the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System and brings along some service personnel as well. The trailer, which the company started taking eight years ago, generates a lot of traffic, Ratz says.
WORDS OF ADVICE
“I think the big thing is this: when times are tough, you go back to basics,” Ratz said. “You’ll get through the tough times, and then you’ll pop right back once you’re out of them.”


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Do home ultrasonic pest repeller outlet plug-ins really work? --- Hebert, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Marshall Brain Answers:
In a word, No. Ultrasonic pest repellers do nothing. Which is amazing since you see these things being sold everywhere. They are supposed to eliminate roaches, spiders, mosquitoes, mice, rats, etc. Here is a typical ad:
The Federal Trade Commission has declared the devices useless:
Here is another article debunking these devices:
It would be great if they did work. Everyone would like to have a simple, carefree device that would eliminate spiders from the garage and roaches from the kitchen. But such a device does not currently exist.


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New Tech High @ Coppell sophomore Payton Hoenig and CHS sophomore Reagann Stolar launched their company, Coppell Crafted, after Hoenig created a scrunchie based off of a how-to video on YouTube.
Stolar, realizing they could take handmade creations to a whole new level, brought the idea of Coppell Crafted to light. Through lots of hard work, creativity and passion, the girls have built a successful small-business and donate a portion of their profits to charities.
Hoenig and Stolar started their business in May with the help of family and friends.
“Both of our parents helped and guided us through creating a small business and getting the word out.” Hoenig said. “We had a bunch of friends who were really supportive, bought products and told people about [Coppell Crafted].”
They began their launch via Instagram, their website, coppellcrafted.com, and advertising on social media. However, as happens with many startups, there were a few bumps in the road.
“We created a website and built [it in] about a month and a half.” Stolar said. “But, when we finally launched our website it crashed. [The] crash [happened] the day after we launched. We then made a new [website] in two days.”
Coppell Crafted’s social media accounts contain photos of their products, special giveaways, videos and information about upcoming events. Hoenig and Stolar have posted images of their modeled products with the help of their friends: CHS junior Abby Hendricks, CHS sophomore Grace Kates, CHS sophomore Belen Campos and CHS9 student Aria Jumas.
Along with running their company, Hoenig and Stolar are involved in many extracurriculars. Both girls participate in Taekwondo at Coppell Taekwondo Academy. Hoenig has been in Taekwondo for seven years and is a third degree black belt. She is also in DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America), YAFF (Youth Action Film Festival) and Yoga Club. Stolar has participated in Taekwondo for nine years and is a third degree black belt. She is also involved in theatre and golf.
“It’s hard [to balance my schedule],” Hoenig said.” “It’s hard balancing classes, clubs and school.The small business isn’t super stressful – it’s a creative outlet – something to work on in my freetime that I enjoy doing.”
Stolar and Hoenig sell scrunchies to donate to Christian Charities USA, ASPCA and Doctors Without Borders. Hoenig and Stolar chose these organizations to allow for a broad coverage of charitable missions. As dog owners, ASPCA became a clear choice. They also chose Doctors Without Borders due to the recent COVID-19 Pandemic to help those on the front lines and Christian Charities Association, which helps many charities and spreads Christianity throughout the world.
By selling charm scrunchies, the girls donate money to these charities. For each of these scrunchies bought, the company donates a dollar to the corresponding organization. The company donates monthly to the charities.
“[Hoenig and Stolar] have great character,” Campos said. “I think it’s good what they’re doing – donating some of [their] profits. Whatever you buy from them, you know you’re putting your money to a good cause.”
Follow Torie Peck (@torielpeck) and @CHSCampusNews on Twitter.


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Volkswagen brings Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and Mirrorlink to the dashboard, starting with the e-Golf, while demonstrating gesture controls in the Golf R Touch concept.
Technically Incorrect: The Stratos Card is a new so-called connected card that claims to be a fine solution to wallet overcrowding. But who will pay $95 for it?
Telstra is claiming a world first on recent trials of its LTE-A network, with a live test combining three data channels to achieve speeds of 450Mbps, three times the current theoretical 4G peak speeds available in Australia.
Demonstrations at Mobile World Congress show the growing momentum toward the launch of faster, more responsive mobile networks in 2020.
Cubli is a cube-shaped robot that can jump up, balance on a single corner, and "walk" itself across a desk, all using off-the-shelf parts.
Spain's giant telecom comes to Mobile World Congress with demo speeds of up to 375 Mbps on its LTE-Advanced commercial network.
Teams Hakuto and Astrobotic have agreed to a partnership that will see them hitching a ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. If all goes well, they could be on the moon before the end of 2016.
A concept 4K resolution 3D TV in Samsung's booth created the illusion of a third dimension better than before, and doesn't require you to watch from a particular seating position.
Audi used CES 2014 to give CNET a first taste of the future of autonomous vehicles, using an A7 equipped with its Piloted Driving feature.
There's still $30 million up for grabs in the Google Lunar XPrize, but five teams have taken home interim prizes totaling $5.25 million to help them on their way.


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Home » Multimedia » Podcasts » From the Cold Corner » CRB's Jason Robertson on Bringing New Products to Market
From the Cold Corner
Welcome to Refrigerated & Frozen Foods' From the Cold Corner podcast, where you can listen to and stay up to date on cutting-edge interviews with some of the industry's top experts. What's the latest trends? What's new in packaging? How do these trends impact tomorrow's supply chains?
PACK EXPO 2019: Packaging for Perishables
Marina Mayer, editor-in-chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, interviewed packaging experts on the show floor to discuss trends in packaging for produce and other perishables.
Here we have Jason Robertson, director, business development for CRB.
Many of today’s produce processors are turning to design-build firms for a turnkey approach to projects. Find out how CRB helps companies bring new product to market.
Rodolfo Haenni, VP of market & strategy development and Rafael Posada, director of sustainability at Tekni-Plex, a material sciences company and Meg Sutula, director of marketing at Clover Sonoma dairy, join From the Cold Corner to discuss the evolution of sustainable packaging and circularity.
Ben Rubin, co-founder and CEO of SnoFox Sciences, a data science and analytics company and Dan Postlewaite, manager of sustainable development and senior project engineer at US Cold, join From the Cold Corner to discuss energy-saving and sustainability in cold facility construction.
Allison Bodor, CEO of the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI), Bryan Freeman, executive chairman of REAL Good Foods, and Lucy Durbin, first vice president of the National Food Facilities Group at CBRE, join From the Cold Corner to discuss current issues impacting the frozen foods industry and a look at what’s ahead in 2022.
Ayeshah Abuelhiga, CEO of Mason Dixie Foods, joins us to discuss her clean-label, ready-to-bake line of frozen biscuits and breakfast sandwiches. The daughter of two immigrants from countries with very big food cultures, Ayeshah turned a love of soul food into a booming biscuit business, recently raising over $6 million in a Series A funding round. Mason Dixie products can be found in over 8,000 locations nationwide, including Whole Foods, Target and Publix.
Led by CEO Theresa Motter, Van’s Kitchen is a certified women-owned and minority-owned egg roll manufacturer supplying over 10,000 supermarkets and convenience stores across the U.S., with $45 million in annual sales. The Dallas-based company weathered the COVID pandemic, signing over 10 new distributor, supermarket and grocery accounts for a 40% increase in sales year-over-year.Read the full story here.
Helena Lumme, founder and president of Hälsa Dairy-Free Scandinavian-Style Oatgurt, and Mika Manninen, founder and CEO, join the Cold Corner to discuss winning the 2021 R&FF Best New Refrigerated Products Contest. They also talk about how the rapidly-growing company is addressing sustainability, innovation, and plans for 2022 and beyond.


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In 2013, Oxford Dictionary proclaimed `selfie` to be the word of the year and rightly so, after all the word came into mainstream usage almost instantly after front cameras on smartphones improved. Though smartphone manufacturers are doing their bit to improve the front cameras on smartphones.
Microsoft wants to improve the quality of these images by machine intelligence, and has now brought its Selfie app to Android.
Almost a year after being released on iOS, Microsoft Selfie has now been launched for the Android platform via Google Play. The app by Microsoft essentially improves the quality of images taken by your front camera using machine vision tech.
"Backed by computer vision technology, Microsoft Selfie intelligently considers age, gender, skin tone, lighting and many other variables - all with one click. Users can transform average photos into enhanced, natural photos in seconds," the company says in its product description on Google Play.
The Microsoft Selfie app adjusts the exposure, colour balance, and lighting among other things to improve the quality of your selfies and can be used to remove the slight imperfections by just one tap. Users also get the option of choosing the colour theme of their images in the app.
Just like on App Store, the app is available for free on Android and can be downloaded from Google Play
- Online dating conmen `using love letter templates`
- Cheating Frenchman sues Uber for tipping off wife about affair
- AMD`s New Ryzen Chips Could Threaten Intel Dominance
- Finding Proxima b: the `planet hunters` searching for signs of alien life around nearby stars
- Google will make pirated films and TV shows tougher to find from 1 June
- This newly discovered gecko instantly skins itself to flee predators
- Scientists have figured out how to actually stop an interstellar spacecraft
- Solar storms could be driving hundreds of whales to strand themselves in global die-off events
- Apple, Google, Facebook and 94 others fight Trump`s travel ban
- Samsung Gear VR shipped more devices than Oculus, HTC Vive, and PSVR combined


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Amazon sales exceed $100bn again
By Sophie Ladd | 30th July 2021
American online retail giant Amazon has exceeded $100bn in sales for the third quarter in a row, with profits of $7.8 bn for the last three months. Between April and June, it announced sales in excess of $113 bn, amounting to $1.4bn a day. This figure is much higher than the amount for the second quarter of last year, $88.9bn.
Amazon has fared so well during the pandemic year due to being one of the only retailers solely based online. As people were forced to stay inside, they continued their online shopping, much of which happened on Amazon's website.
The company's founder Jeff Bezos stepped down as CEO this month, being replaced by Andy Jassy.
Jassy said: "Thank you to all of our passionate, innovative, mission-driven employees around the world for continuing to stay focused on delivering for customers - I am very excited to work with you as we invent and build for the future,"
Copyright 2021 Moose Partnership Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any content is strictly forbidden without prior permission.


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The idea that a company's environmental footprint, employee welfare and social impact decides how its leader is judged is gaining traction
Business as usual is no longer good enough when it comes to sustainable investing, but the regulatory environment has yet to cause a seismic shift in markets
‘Businesses have greater opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations that will lead to conscious consumerism’
No matter their size, companies are concerned about social responsibility and what they can do to lower their carbon footprint. But taking action doesn’t have to be expensive...
Backlash against unrecyclables is pressing companies and consumers to search for alternatives. While card, glass and cotton packaging may be greener options, experts say a change in consumer understanding is still needed in order to be truly sustainable
‘It requires the whole supply chain to work together and focus on delivering solutions for the right reasons’
As the effects of climate change increasingly make themselves felt, successful companies will future-proof their business and limit further environmental damage
Many UK businesses are trying to reduce plastic waste and enhance energy efficiency in sustainable workplaces, but change is more difficult in a shared office space


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NY Now Begins on Saturday
August 16, 2013,
The summer 2013 edition of NY Now takes place Aug. 17-21 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and Passenger Ship Terminal Pier 94, featuring more than 2,800 exhibitors, 100,000 products, and 400 product categories showcased in four new market collections--Home, Lifestyle, Handmade and New!--and will introduce a new exhibit floor layout and extended show hours. Beginning this summer, the show hours have been extended--running 9 a.m.-7 p.m. on Sunday and Monday--allowing buyers additional time to source and shop the reorganized exhibit floor.
The third edition of Artisan Resource at NY Now runs Sunday, Aug. 18, through Tuesday, Aug 20, at Passenger Ship Terminal Pier 94. Artisan Resource connects U.S.-based importers with international producers and exporters.


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Looking to fend off competition from Internet-based entertainment providers and others, DirecTV and XM Satellite radio have signed a deal to offer subscribers of DirecTV access to streaming radio offerings of XM.
The two satellite-based companies said starting in mid-November DirecTV subscribers will be able to receive 72 of XM’s channels as part of the basic subscription package, with a heavy emphasis on children’s music and talk radio programming, including specialty channels. The lineup adds to the digital music offerings DirecTV already has in place.
The deal was widely hailed as a win for both parties. DirecTV gains another value-added service to fend off its own competitors — including cable providers and telecom players getting into the cable TV space — while XM gains huge exposure for its service. While XM has more than 5 million customers, DirecTV has more than 14 million subscribers, a huge audience that could become direct XM subscribers if they like what they hear over their DirecTV hookups.
DirecTV Vice President Dan Fawcett said the deal will help XM “deliver an unrivaled lineup of quality audio channels” and “continue to provide our customers with more entertainment choices, more value and the best service available.”
That’s important because every day, consumers have more choices in how to receive their entertainment. In fact, some analysts see the partnership as a long-term hedge against the rising threat of the Internet as an entertainment delivery channel. Already popular for streaming music, the Web is poised to become a hotbed for video-on-demand in coming years.
XM Vice President Patricia Kesling said the two companies were formalizing a “natural partnership,” since both deliver their content through satellite technology” and said that the in-home TV programming would become a powerful marketing platform.
“We know from experience that when people get to sample XM, they want to become XM subscribers,” she added, citing the service’s hand-picked music selection and the “creativity and freedom” of its edgy talk programming.
Analysts said the partnership was ideal for XM because it enabled more people to be exposed to the service without subscribing first. Such test-marketing is virtually impossible for XM and its key rival, Sirius, because the service can only be accessed with car-based or portable satellite receivers.
Sirius has a similar deal through which it provides music and other programming to Dish Network subscribers.
The satellite providers face a rising threat in the growth of Web-based streaming media, said Inside Digital Media analyst Phil Leigh.
“There is considerable traction being gained in the streaming music market,” he said. And unlike early attempts and streaming music online, providers are “discovering ways to monetize the services in a way that didn’t happen before.”
XM has tried to partner its way into the market, recently signing a deal with AOL to have that portal offer XM services as an alternative to Internet-based offerings from RealNetworks, Yahoo, Napster and others.
XM has also linked up with Napster in a deal that could enable users to hear a song on the radio service and mark it for purchase later through the download site.
Jupiter Research analyst David Card said the idea seemed to have potential. “Bookmarking a song you heard on the radio for later purchase is a great idea if it’s implemented smoothly,” he said. “Radio is still by far the number one music purchase influencer.”


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‘Websites in EU cannot just Share private Data via Facebook’. Websites may only share personal data with Facebook in Europe if consent is requested, writes Advocate General Michal Bobek in an advice to the European Court.
The Advocate General responds to the use of Facebook’s button on websites.
Pages on which they are posted automatically send private data from visitors to the social network.
Users should be valued if they want to send their data to Facebook before the liking button sends them.
That is usually not the case at the moment.
The European Court is currently considering a claim about the German Fashion ID.
This web store has the like button on its page and according to prosecutors would violate the privacy law.
No judgment has yet been made in the case.
The advice of the Advocate General is not obligatory and therefore does not have to be followed up by the judge.
In many cases, however, that happens.


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Sydney's Freshtel lists at 25% premium
Internet call services company Freshtel Holdings Ltd has listed on the Australian Stock Exchange at a 25 per cent premium to its initial public offer price.
The stock listed at 1130 AEST at 25 cents, up from its initial public offer price of 20 cents a share.
By 1145 AEST it was trading at 23 cents on turnover of $459,325.
Freshtel, which was launched in January 2004, had raised $3 million through the offer of 15 million shares at 20 cents each.
It had initially planned to raise $2 million but the acceptance of oversubscriptions pushed the total amount up by $1 million.
Freshtel develops and markets voice over internet protocol (VoIP) telephony products and services using Firefly software that allows users to make calls over the internet.
The business comprises three channels including retail of VoIP, making and selling VoIP handsets and hardware and providing wholesale call termination and software services.
The company has sought the funds to support its expansion in a
market that is expected to generate global sales of $5 billion
At end 2004, Freshtel had signed up more than 180,000 subscribers and said it was adding 5,000 new subscribers a month.


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Ofcom has published the findings of an Ipsos MORI survey conducted as part of its Market Impact Assessment of the BBC’s proposed on demand services. The survey shows the complexities of the market and in some cases the lack of understanding by the consumer – such as the 20 or so claiming to have used video over the Internet or podcasts when they don’t have access to the Internet.
Availability of a wide choice of channels was the key factor for viewers with access to free-to-air digital services. Sixty-seven per cent said their use of the analogue videos and DVDs had remained the same, but use of Sky+ had changed viewing patterns by 11%.
Asked what they would do if the analogue platform was no longer available, respondents said they would switch to another platform, Freeview, Freesat, Sky or cable or even watch more DVDs.
The survey found that only one in ten of cable and satellite households were using video on demand services, though it could be argued that this is a fair reflection of their availability.
The BBC Trust yesterday gave the go-ahead for its four on demand service, subject to a final consultation period.