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Stay on top of trading and investing: All of the latest news, product updates, daily recaps, and market analysis from eToro's top analysts Today, we share with the world some exciting news about a significant milestone for eToro - our... 1675 views. Mar 8, 2021 by eToro. Here's to 20 million eToro users! We can now say it officially, loud and proud: eToro has 20 million registered users worldwide
News and Analysis Featured Articles. May 31, 2021 by eToro. Crypto market finds footing on institutional support - Crypto Roundup, May 31, 2021. eToro is the world's leading social trading platform, offering a wide array of tools to invest in the capital markets eToro's CEO says the app added dogecoin because of its 'large and loud' fanbase - and notes shiba inu coin's similarly passionate following Harry Robertson May. 29, 2021, 05:33 A
Source: Adobe/piter2121. The attorneys representing European eToro users affected by the recent incident are exploring different options for a lawsuit in case the negotiation fails, but they might not wait with the motion to revoke the. The eToro platform and app offer a variety of financial assets in which to trade and invest and is used by people in 140 countries. Read more about: EToro , Initial public offering , IPO Related News eToro is a multi-asset platform that allows users to invest in cryptocurrencies. Trade with confidence on the world's leading social trading platform and join millions who've already discovered smarter investing by viewing the live portfolios of top traders in our community The Forex market is abuzz with rumors that famed broker eToro is currently in talks with Goldman Sachs to lead a $5 billion IPO, as originally reported by Calcalist.. While eToro declined to comment, it is widely speculated that the company aims to complete the offering by the end of Q2 2021, and is even seeking to merge with a special purpose acquisition company to accelerate its entry into.
eToro (Europe) Ltd., a Financial Services Company authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC) under the license # 109/10. eToro (UK) Ltd, a Financial Services Company authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the license FRN 583263 eToro News NewsNow brings you the latest news from the world's most trusted sources on eToro. NewsNow aims to be the world's most accurate and comprehensive eToro news aggregator, bringing you the latest headlines automatically and continuously 24/7 Multi-asset investing and trading platform and Robinhood competitor eToro announced Tuesday it will go public via a merger with SPAC FinTech Acquisition Corp. V in a massive $10.4 billion deal
eToro Market - Lasted strategies, tips, bonuses, platform guide and more for eToro Etoro, a trading and investing platform, has warned its customers to brace for possible limitations on their buy orders this coming weekend. The company says it might be forced to take this and. Latest Etoro News. Dogecoin. Dogecoin Hits New All-Time High After eToro Listing. 1 month ago by CoinDesk. eToro. eToro Adds Chainlink and Uniswap Amid Investor Surge For Crypto. 1 month ago by NewsBTC. Coinbase. Daniel Loebs $17B Hedge Fund Is Keeping Crypto With Coinbase - And Maybe Even Staking It
The latest news, videos, and discussion topics on Etoro - Entrepreneu Check latest eToro Euro news, including tweets,videos,blog posts. EURX news from all around the globe in one place Amid all the news of the last few days, you might have missed that eToro, an Israeli consumer stock-trading service, is going public in the United States via a SPAC.. Don't worry about the SPAC.
eToro says it is working hard to ensure that this is just a temporary limitation as its goal is to enable its clients to participate fully in markets in a safe and responsible way. We would like to remind clients that cryptoassets are highly volatile and stress the importance of holding crypto as part of a diversified investment portfolio EToro is running the promotion in the U.S. as new crypto accounts surge, but it has also halted margin trading after Bitcoin hit a record high
eToro Conclusion. As a leading broker with the number one trading network in the industry, eToro is leading the way for most other brokers. They are highly innovative and are always pushing for new developments and solutions to keep traders on the edge. eToro's selection is broad enough to fit everyone. eToro offers a truly unique product that we recommend you try if you want to be able to. Etoro For Beginners - How to Trade on Etoro (Perfect for Cryptocurrency, Stocks, Commodities, ETFs)Etoro is a great platform for more experienced and beginne.. eToro just added MANA, COMP, AAVE and YFI to its wide range of available cryptocurrencies and it also offers lots of stocks and shares - so it's well worth signing up if you're thinking about starting your trading journey and are looking for a place to start
eToro has informed Nugget's News that it's currently working with Australian regulatory bodies in an effort to receive approval to list actual stocks, commodities, and cryptocurrencies—like it already does in various other countries. eToro AUS Capital Pty Ltd ABN 66 612 791 803 AFSL 491139 eToro has already survived the 2008 financial crisis (as it was released in 2007). This is promising, as it shows that eToro is a truely resilient platform. A longer track record normally indicates this, as it shows a broker has survived market turbulence and other issues which is good news for you! eToro is a fintech start-up that is owned. Learn more & join eToro US: http://bit.ly/adavid-etoroWe cover the ins and outs of Cardano. From its inception to its reception, this altcoin is making headl.. The move by eToro follows Webull announcing it would offer Dogecoin to its customers. Robinhood users can also buy and sell Dogecoin. Price Action: Dogecoin trades at $0.4351 at the time of writing
As Bitcoin corrects, hovering in the low $50,000s, eToro announced plans to go public, whilst cryptocurrency exchange Gemini revealed its custodial holdings now exceed $20 billion. Bitcoin Ranges Bitcoin (BTC) started the day at $56,400.00, just under 10% below the the all-time high of $61,711.87 the top-cryptocurrency reached just days ago. BTC's price then promptly fell against .ly/stellarvidStellar is like XRP, but with a few key differences. It boasts a strong value prop, a devoted community,. Disclaimer: eToro is a multi-asset platform that offers both investing in stocks and cryptocurrencies, as well as trading CFD assets. Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider Dogecoin News: eToro Adds DOGE Trading as Dogecoin Prices Race Higher A new crypto exchange listing helped push DOGE-USD to a $50B market capitalization today By Vivian Medithi May 3, 2021, 4:59.
eToro have added 185 new options to trade stocks on their platform.. While eToro have well-established themselves as a CFD and crypto trading platform over the last few years, they opened their doors as a platform built to help users to trade stocks.This has long been one of the key market sectors they have continue to target and new stocks to trade have been continuously added to their platform [Here is a simple guide on how to buy Bitcoin from eToro.] The two tokens were largely unmoved by the bullish news. Uniswap gained a paltry 1.56 percent to trade at $32.21. It's currently the 11th largest crypto by market cap. Chainlink, on the other hand, lost 3 percent for the day to change hands at $37.05 Dogecoin Hits $0.40 on eToro News. The Dogecoin crypto has installed a new ATH at $0.4377. A few weeks of consolidation are behind us. During the week the price of cryptocurrency increased by 62%. Analysts say that the new rise of the crypto is associated with the addition of it as a means of payment to eToro
. eToro Promotions. eToro offers an extensive array of promotions regularly Home › Latest News › eToro lists Dogecoin ahead of Musk SNL appearance. eToro lists Dogecoin ahead of Musk SNL appearance. Jack Pearson. May 4, 2021. Markets. The meme coin has now been listed on eToro, after a 42% gain in the last 24 hours eToro already offers crypto services in the U.S and aims to expand into stock investing in the second half of the year. The expansion comes amid intense competition from apps like Robinhood. Dylan Holman, global sponsorship senior manager at eToro commented: We are delighted to add eToro Racing to our global sponsorship programme. As a leading investment platform with over 20m registered users worldwide, we believe sponsorships are a powerful tool for delivering financial education and opening up the global markets to everyone
The pioneers behind social trading and investing have launched a new portfolio, giving its retail traders direct access to some of the most innovative tech start-ups in the Chinese sector. eToro, the hugely successful multi-asset social trading platform, has revealed its ChinaTech portfolio, spanning 30 of the most intriguing Chinese tech firms eToro has unveiled a new insurance plan that will cover up to 1 million euro for customers, but cryptoassets are excluded from the policy. EToro Boosts Insurance Cover-Up to £1 Million, but Crypto Investments Excluded | Blockchain News EToro warns clients that unprecedented demand for crypto coupled with limited liquidity may present challenges for supporting orders
. This clarification came after Fintech News Malaysia reached out to the regulator about eToro's. Etoro News. 852 likes. 'RoboHon' is the tiny robot smartphone you never knew you neede EToro knows that people are scrolling other trader's profiles for tips, tricks and strategies, and to say that this is not intended to help people make trades is more than a little disingenuous But eToro has so far refused to comment on the report. The news comes just three weeks after eToro jumped to a $2.5 billion valuation, after being valued at just $800 million two years ago Browse the latest news about eToro GBPX from multiple news outlets and get the latest information for your eToro GBPX research. M. Cap: Market Cap: $2.43 T (2.83%) 24H Vol: 24H Volume: $608.53 B (-19.41%
Digital brokerage eToro saw new users jump by more than 200% in the first quarter of the year, as the GameStop frenzy and demand for cryptocurrencies boosted trading activity. The platform registered 3.1 million new users on its platform in the opening three months of 2021, up from 1 million during the same period last year and 5.2 million for the whole of 2020 Such news could help Bitcoin steal the limelight back from Ethereum and claw back towards its own all-time highs above $64K. Meanwhile, Ethereum looks set to continue booming after cracking the key milestone of $3K. This post originally appeared on the eToro blog Check latest eToro Pound Sterling news, including tweets,videos,blog posts. GBPX news from all around the globe in one place The acquisition news comes soon after eToro launched its flagship product, CopyTrader™, for crypto traders in the US The firm said that the platform is now available to American customers from 32 states with plans to expand elsewhere in the US after receiving the necessary regulatory sign-offs
The good news is that eToro (UK) Limited is a member of the UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Although its advisory document states that UK investors are covered by up to £50,000, this has since been increased to £85,000 by the FSCS Dogecoin (DOGE) hit a new all-time high on Tuesday, May 4, climbing to the $0.488 mark. The meme coin is currently the fifth most valued cryptocurrency, with its market cap growing to as much as $63.1 billion, according to data from CoinGecko.. Dogecoin's impressive price surge followed its listing on popular social trading platform eToro, with trading in DOGE opening on Monday
Last Updated May 4, 2021 @ 11:36. Dogecoin's latest all-time high at nearly $0.50 comes after eToro listed the meme coin on its platform and engagements from world-known brands. Dogecoin continues to gather people's attention with a listing on eToro, another Twitter engagement from a popular brand, and being used as a payment method for MLB. Etoro also told SC that no new crypto accounts will be opened from December 31 and their users' existing crypto-trading accounts will be closed on January 23. This means the users will need to sell all the cryptocurrency in their account before the stated date, even if it means incurring a loss Find me on Etoro: https://etoro.tw/2rcYYm0How do we get these dividends on Etoro - this is the second video in my short series about dividends, a subject I'v.. The announcement by eToro follows the news that top 15 exchange Blockchain.com will be moving its U.S. headquarters from New York to Miami, with plans to create 300 jobs over the next 18 months eToro News: auf dieser Seite finden Sie alle eToro News und Nachrichten zur eToro Aktie. Dies beinhaltet die Agentur-Feeds auf finanzen.net, aber auch eToro News auf einer Vielzahl externer Seiten
eToro could be valued at $5 billion in an IPO that could come in the second quarter of 2021, the report said. eToro does not comment on market rumours, a company spokesperson said in a. eToro is an Israeli social trading and multi-asset brokerage company that focuses on providing financial and copy trading services. It has registered offices in Cyprus, Mexico, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. In 2018, the company's value was $800 million which tripled to $2.5 billion in 2020 eToro offers exposure to crypto market with new stocks portfolio. April 26 2021 - 03:00AM. PR Newswire (US) LONDON, April 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- eToro, the world's leading social investment network, today launches BitcoinWorldWide, a thematic portfolio based on the companies in the value chain behind bitcoin
PRESS RELEASE. Shopping.io - Los Angeles, CA the premier crypto E-commerce platform will donate $50,000 to eToro's flagship corporate socia eToro Group Ltd. is a Bnei Brak, Israel-based no-fee trading app. eToro raised US$ 150 million in venture capital funding from investors like Spark Capital, China Minsheng Financial, SBI Holdings, Bracket Capital, Korea Investment Partners, DCG, Ping An Insurance, Anthemis Group, and CommerzVentures. eToro had US$ 605 million in revenue for 2020 and 18.7 million [ Is eToro down? Last Updated 3 minutes ago: eToro is a social trading and multi-asset brokerage company that focuses on providing financial and copy trading services. eToro offers trading and investing in cryptocurrencies, stocks, ETFs, currencies, indices, commodities and more Company profile page for EToro Ltd including stock price, company news, press releases, executives, board members, and contact informatio Dogecoin price flies to moon on eToro listing and Elon Musk for rocket fuel. DOGE fans push Dogecoin price to all-time high (ATH) after eToro lists the joke coin for 20 million users, days before 'Dogefather' Musk appears on SNL. The Dogecoin price hit an all-time high of US$0.54 today, as DOGE coin traders gear up for the Dogefather.
Dogecoin (DOGE) hit a new all-time high on Tuesday, May 4, climbing past $0.50 to its current price of $0.531, per CoinGecko.The meme coin is currently the fifth most valued cryptocurrency, with its market cap growing to as much as $61.8 billion. Dogecoin's impressive price surge followed its listing on popular social trading platform eToro, with trading in DOGE opening on Monday Crypto News eToro adds chainlink and Uniswap to DeFi. April 20, 2021. eToro has added Chainlink and Uniswap to its platform, which has more than 20 million users. The latest additions reflect growing support that DFI is receiving from institutional investors as it continues to disrupt finances
eToro Reviewed For 2021 , Owing to the unique design of the WebTrader platform, there is no clutter and all the open trades, orders, history and news are easy to navigate through Credit Photo: asiraj Trading platform eToro has listed Dogecoin (DOGE), citing strong customer demand as the main reason. Around the time of the listing, the coin has seen another surge, reaching its current all-time high of USD 0.6953. Its year-to-date data shows that DOGE has grown an incredible 14,000 percent in that time, most of it starting April The News feed consists of posts by other eToro users. If you click on Help and then News and Analysis, a new tab opens with a series of somewhat disorganized blog posts. There are no screeners or. Etoro news,Ontem, o gerente de marketing Brad Michelson revelou que nos 11 últimos dias, mais de 380.000 novos usuários abriram contas na plataforma e que. For more information about the eToro Wallet, click here Etoro, one of the world's leading social trading platforms, has announced that it's funding rewards for the next one million users of its Gooddollar project, NEWS | 4 hours etoro.
Rugby Australia has today confirmed the 2021 eToro France Series with the first three Tests of the Wallabies' 2021 match schedule. Rugby Australia continues to work with State and Federal Governments, as well as the Fédération Française de Rugby and World Rugby, to ensure fans can safely enjoy international Rugby this year eToro Adds Support for UNI and LINK. eToro, a social trading and multi-asset brokerage, has added chainlink (LINK) and uniswap (UNI) to its crypto offering, the company announced is a press release. As said Doron Rosenblum, VP of Business Solutions at eToro, the company has seen an explosion in retail investor appetite for new tokens
Crypto Flipsider News - May 4th - Dogecoin, eToro, Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum, PancakeSwap, Changpeng Zhao, eBay Cryptocurrency May 04, 2021 10:00AM ET Saved Overview Market Historical Data Holders Wallets News Socials Ratings Analysis Price Estimates Share. eToro Euro Chart. Loading Data. Please wait, we are loading chart data. EURX Price Live Data. The live eToro Euro price today is not available with a 24-hour trading volume of not available. eToro Euro has no change in the last 24 hours
Etoro-News Montag, 8. April 2013. Sozialer Alarm 'Trade' wird zu 'Social ' Als ich heute den Etoro-Trader auf meinem Handy aktualisiert habe, ist mir eine andere App Namens Etoro Trade Alerts ins Auge gesprungen. Eines vorweg: Der Etoro Trader auf Android gefällt mir sehr gut Vi skulle vilja visa dig en beskrivning här men webbplatsen du tittar på tillåter inte detta eToro, the social investment platform with over 20 million users, has also backed the GoodDollar project financially as part of its corporate social responsibility initiative. About Shopping.io Shopping.io is the world's first International crypto e-commerce onboarding and fulfillment service Data from eToro 6/6/21, 3:18 AM. Past performance is not an indication of future results. This information is not an offer to buy, sell, or hold any cryptocurrency. Individuals whom you may copy within the CopyTrader program are not deemed investment advisors and their performances in the past are not indicative of future results


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In a widening crackdown on sweatshops that serve the Los Angeles garment industry, the U.S. Department of Labor has obtained consent decrees from two sewing contractors to halt abusive labor practices and has filed suit against four other suspected offenders.
One Garden Grove garment company, Su Enterprises Corp., signed a consent decree after federal investigators found a 7-year-old boy had been working on its clothing.
Federal attorneys are trying to persuade the Los Angeles manufacturer whose goods Su was making to sign a similar agreement. The manufacturer, En Chante Inc.--a dress and sportswear maker with sales of $40 million and a customer list that includes J.C. Penney, Wal-Mart and Sears--says it has tightened controls on its contractors.
Another Orange County sewing shop, T&T; Fashions of Santa Ana, agreed to repay 13 workers more than $13,000 in back wages, federal court documents show. One worker had been earning an average of $1.11 an hour, federal labor investigators said, although the shop owner denied this.
The agreements are the first sign that the crackdown launched last summer is beginning to reach not just small immigrant-owned businesses that contract to sew clothing, but also the larger manufacturers for whom the garments are made.
The case against Su Enterprises is the first time in recent memory that a garment company has signed a consent decree after its clothes were found in a sweatshop where minimum wage, overtime or child labor laws were violated, said Rolene Otero, director of enforcement for the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division in Santa Ana.
Previous state and federal labor enforcement efforts usually have targeted only sweatshop owners who paid their workers less than the $4.25 hourly minimum wage. Manufacturers who did business with the sweatshops rarely have been prosecuted.
Indeed, some manufacturers have profited by sending their garments out to be sewn at rock-bottom prices, while insisting they had no idea that the workers who did the sewing were being underpaid or abused, according to labor officials and garment industry reformers.
Su farmed out En Chante's work to a smaller company, Addision Fashions of Garden Grove. An inspection last summer revealed that Addision had failed to pay minimum wage and overtime to its workers, and also was having workers sew garments at home, in violation of state and federal law, according to internal investigative documents obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor under the Freedom of Information Act.
One of those home workers, Juana Valladares, and three of her children, ages 7, 10 and 14, sewed En Chante's designer clothes for wages that averaged about $1.45 an hour, documents show.
Last fall, Addision's owner signed a consent decree agreeing to repay 28 workers $54,563 in back wages--including nearly $3,200 owed 7-year-old David Valladares and nearly $3,652 owed his 10-year-old sister, Maria Elena.
Addision has gone out of business, however, and so far has paid only $3,960 of the $54,563 owed, Otero said.
Three other Orange County shops sewing En Chante goods for Su Enterprises also were found to be violating labor laws, according to federal documents and attorneys for En Chante.
Su Enterprises' owner, Andrew Su, and the company's attorney, Michael T. Sun, did not return telephone calls requesting comment.
On Jan. 10, a consent judgment signed by Su Enterprises was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Without admitting guilt, the company agreed to a restraining order barring it and its contractors and agents from violating labor laws in the future.
If they do, Otero said, the federal government will seek to have them found in contempt of court.
"This basically means he (Su) is accepting responsibility to see that his subcontractors are complying with the Fair Labor Standards Act," Otero said.
Federal attorneys are now attempting to persuade En Chante to sign a similar consent decree, Otero and other labor officials said.
"We had the little sewer, then Addision, now Su," said Herbert A. Goldstein, regional director for the Wage and Hour Division in San Francisco. "We're trying to lead it all the way up to the top."
En Chante's attorney, Alan M. Brunswick, said the company has offered to sign an out-of-court settlement with the Labor Department. En Chante already has begun a new policy requiring its contractors to inspect shops once a week to make sure workers who sew En Chante products are being paid properly, Brunswick said.
In addition, contractors delivering finished garments to En Chante now are required to sign a pledge that the clothing was made in accordance with labor laws, he said. "Obviously the government can't do all the policing that needs to be done of the thousands of subcontractors around L.A. County," Brunswick said. "That's the job we're assuming by this policy. We're not going to go around and police the subcontractors; we're forcing our contractors to do that."
Goldstein said the government crackdown, and the ensuing publicity, has persuaded other Los Angeles garment makers caught underpaying their workers to hand over the back wages rather than risk being hauled into court.
"They don't want to see their names in the paper, so it makes them much easier to deal with," Goldstein said.
Manufacturers and other labor industry sources, however, have warned that over-regulation is crippling domestic manufacturing. They have argued that they cannot hire a fleet of labor police. Requiring them to do so will only push more of the $6-billion-a-year Los Angeles garment industry overseas, they say.
In other legal action, within the last two months the Labor Department also has filed suit against four other small garment contractors in Santa Ana and Garden Grove.
Three of the sweatshop owners have closed their doors and could not be reached for comment. The government is seeking to collect at least $320,000 in damages and wages allegedly owed 49 workers, Otero said.
The owners of the fourth shop, Mimi's Fashions of Santa Ana, denied underpaying their workers and insisted the labor investigation was unfair. Dang Thai Tran, 36, and his wife, Hoa Thi Nguyen, said they are paid so little by the manufacturers that they themselves are barely earning the minimum wage.
"Sometimes we put in 20 hours a day but the Labor Department doesn't take that into consideration," Nguyen said in Vietnamese, speaking through an interpreter. "All they care about is what we owe the employees. . . . Why don't they go after the big manufacturers instead of picking on the little shops like us?"
Tran produced a dress he said took nearly three hours to sew for which the manufacturer paid him $3.50.
"Why doesn't the Labor Department go to the shops and ask us how much we get for one garment . . . and ask us to sit down and sew it?" he asked indignantly. "See how long it takes us. If they did that they would go (fine) the manufacturer because they didn't pay us the minimum wage."

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Efforts to label genetically engineered foods are on the rise, especially on the West Coast. California’s Proposition 37, the Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, is on the November ballot. In Washington state, signatures are being gathered in support of Initiative 522. If the initiative is successful, the Legislature or voters could decide whether to label GMO foods here in 2013.
Click on the player above or here to listen to the audio version of this story.
Trudy Bialic with PCC Natural Markets looks over petitions to require food companies to label products that contain genetically modified organisms. The Seattle based grocery chain has collected 142,000 signatures in support of legislative Initiative 522. If they and statewide supporters get 100,000 more signatures by year’s end, the initiative will be on the ballot in 2013. “It’s a simple right to know issue. We’ve had nutrition labels since 1990," Bialic says. "We got country of origin labeling in 2002. We got trans-fat labeling in 2006.”
Bio-tech giants Monsanto and DuPont have poured $40 million intp a negative ad campaign to defeat California's Prop 37, the similar measure on the ballot there this November. If Prop 37 passes, says Bialic, it will have a seismic impact across the country and could build momentum at the federal level: “So we feel having a second state in line behind Prop 37 really delivers another strong message that this is not just a one state issue this is a national issue. We need a national policy.” Forty-nine countries around the world, including the European Union, Russia, China, require mandatory labeling laws. In Europe only 5 percent of food sold contains GMOs, a figure that continues to shrink, according to research. “We’re simply asking to be given the same transparency that they’re already giving these other customers.”
But if those working for statewide labeling laws hope to see action at the federal level, they may have to wait a while. The FDA response to a petition earlier this year with a million signatures, says Bialic, was “mute.” Longtime non- GMO consumer advocate Jeffrey Smith, author of Seeds of Deception, says there’s been a revolving door between the Food and Drug Administration and Monsanto since the 1990s when the White House hired Monsanto former attorney, Michael Taylor, to promote biotechnology. “Then he became Monsanto’s Vice President and Chief Lobbyist. Now he’s back at the FDA as the U.S. Food Safety czar.” Tom Vilsak, secretary of Agriculture in the Obama administration, was named “bio-tech governor of the year” when he was governor of Iowa, says Smith. “The year before he’d given Monsanto an award.” Other pro-GMO appointees include the U.S. Agriculture Trade Representative and head of USAID, while ambassadors to France and Spain have been deployed on behalf of the biotech industry to promote GMOs, says Smith.
The driver behind U.S. policy to not regulate GMO’s, says Smith, was the promise of greater exports and greater domination in world food trade. The policy has not been good for US exports. “The European Union blocked imports of 99.6 percent of U.S. corn after 25 percent of U.S. farmers grew the genetically engineered corn. The U.S. export market for soy shrunk. So there’s been an interesting blight in export data following the introduction of genetically engineered crops from the beginning.”
Far more positive data is emerging from food companies who want to label their products. The Non-GMO Project, North America’s only third party verification and labeling program for non-GMO foods, has seen requests skyrocket. “It’s the fastest growing label in the natural products industry,” says Megan Westgate, the group's executive director. “Sales of Non-GMO Project verified products are approaching $3 billion annually.” Go into any natural food store, she says, any product category, any shelf, and you’ll find the label with the orange butterfly. “That really has just happened in the last couple of years and it’s continuing to grow exponentially.”
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The hot air balloon was manufactured in England for a Turkish hot air balloon tour company operating in the Cappadocia region. The balloon can hold 36 people and can fly as high as 2,000 meters.
The hot air balloon, manufactured in England over a period of eight months, is the world’s largest hot air balloon. “The balloon tours in Cappadocia are mostly preferred by foreign tourists but now it is also popular with domestic tourists. We are trying to increase the number of our balloons in order to meet the intensive demand,” Halil Uluer, the owner of the balloon tour company told the Anatolia news agency.
Thus they had the world’s largest hot air balloon made in England. “The largest hot air balloon in the world used to be in Egypt and carried a maximum of 30 people. Our balloon, however, can carry 36 people and started to serve tourists in Cappadocia, a region most famous for its chimney rocks,” he said.


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Tasmanian motorists are being urged to support fuel retailers with lower offerings as high prices continue to sting hip pockets around the state.
RACT Group chief executive Harvey Lennon said on Thursday it was “no secret” Tasmanians were paying too much for petrol – particularly in metropolitan areas.
With the wholesale price below $1.20 per litre, motorists should be buying unleaded fuel for less than $1.40 a litre, Mr Lennon said.
“This would allow for a reasonable profit margin for retailers as well as easing the burden on Tasmanian household budgets.”
IN OTHER NEWS
“As a general rule, we are seeing lower prices in regional areas, which indicates urban retailers are obtaining very high margins.
“We are receiving calls from motorists daily complaining about high fuel prices – it is time for the bigger retailers to act.”
Mr Lennon congratulated retailers who were doing the “fair thing” and selling petrol at $1.34 per litre or less, and suggested motorists to support those retailers to encourage others to drop their prices too.
He added that the RACT Group had also raised concerns with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Fuel, like most commodities, is an unregulated good in Australia, meaning providers are able to set their own prices.
As colluding on prices could constitute cartel conduct – a serious anti-competitive offence under the Competition and Consumer Act – prices are set independently of competitors.
The ACCC’s petrol monitoring report for the September 2018 quarter found average prices in Hobart were 12.4 cents per litre higher than the five largest capital cities.
At the time of the report’s release, ACCC chair Rod Sims advised customers to keep an eye on the price cycles information to figure out the best time to buy, and use petrol websites and apps to find the cheapest petrol stations in their area.
Only Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth are subject to price cycles.
“If you live outside the five largest cities, you can still use fuel price websites and apps to find the cheapest petrol stations in your town,” Mr Sims said.
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Contact tracing and digitalization are creating a goldmine of data and a litany of abuses. What can we learn from this?
Last year, drastic pandemic containment actions and reactions emphasized how a connected digital infrastructure can impact the management of data privacy.
Organizations of all sizes started to collect more data of a more diverse nature; governments responded with new regulations and laws; and advanced societies started seeing how a major crisis has opened a pandora’s box of data privacy issues.
In response, experts from cybersecurity firm Kaspersky have taken stock of the ongoing shifts and trends among the various stakeholders of data. They following tendencies and predictions may be useful in the formulation of business strategies and data privacy stances.
- Consumer privacy is going to be a value proposition and will become commercialized
Increased data gathering during the pandemic, and growing political turmoil that crossed into digital platforms, have combined to yield rapid growth in public awareness of unfettered data collection. As more users look to preserve their privacy, organizations are responding by offering privacy-focused products—the number and diversity of which is set to grow.
- Smart health device vendors are going to collect increasingly diverse data
Such diverse data can be tapped in far more diverse ways. The data gathered by fitness trackers, blood pressure monitors and other devices provides insights so valuable that they have already been used in court cases, not to mention by marketers and insurers who also find it extremely useful. And with health being a public concern, the demand for such data will only grow.
- Governments are going to grow increasingly jealous of big-tech data hoarding
As a result, they will become more active in regulating this data democracy. Having access to user data opens up a huge range of opportunities—think: fighting child abuse or tracking serious crimes. Also think silencing dissent. Yet, with most private organizations refusing to share this data, governments will undoubtedly respond with more regulations that hinder online privacy, with the most heated debates around privacy-preserving technologies such as end-to-end encryption, DNS-over-HTTPS and cryptocurrencies.
- Organizations will find ever more creative and/or intrusive sources of data to fuel analytics
Data-driven behavioral analytics is a dangerous game to play. Errors can be damaging to people, while the actual quality of these systems is often a trade secret. Yet, that will not stop organizations working in this field from finding more creative ways to profile users based on what they like and do—and thereby influence their lives, sometimes subliminally.
- The data tussle among stakeholders will necessitate new solutions
As companies become more conscious about what data they actually need, and consumers push back against unchecked data collection, more advanced privacy tools are emerging and becoming more widely adopted, while big-tech organizations move to guarantee users’ new and strict privacy standards. More advanced hardware will emerge, enabling developers to create tools that are capable of advanced data processing, thereby decreasing the amount of data shared by users with organizations.
Said one of the firm’s experts, Vladislav Tushkanov: “Last year, many users realized for the very first time how much information they share and what they get in return. With heightened awareness comes better understanding of the right to privacy and how to exercise it. As a result, privacy has become a hot-button issue at the intersection of governmental, corporate and personal interests, which gave rise to many different and even conflicting trends in how data is gathered and privacy preserved—or, on the contrary—violated.”
Tushkanov hoped that this year and in the years to come, people worldwide will be able to find a balance between the use of data by governments and businesses, and their individual and collective right to privacy. “On a final note, I’d like to assert that while as consumers we don’t have full control over our data, there is a lot we can do to reclaim some privacy and control.”


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A north-east man who bought pepper spray for his daughter to use as protection at university has been fined.
Arthur Buchan, 51, purchased a canister of the substance from internet auction website eBay in 2017.
The authorities were alerted to the package when it arrived at Heathrow Airport from Italy on May 16 of that year.
A search warrant was issued and police went to his home on Cairnhill Drive, Fraserburgh.
Fiscal depute Gavin Thomson told Peterhead Sheriff Court yesterday that Buchan was not in when officers arrived.
He said: “The accused was not present and his daughter said he has previously mentioned purchasing pepper spray.
“The accused spoke to detectives over the phone and admitted buying it from eBay for his daughter who was moving away to university.
“He made full admissions about purchasing it.”
Buchan did not appear in court and pled guilty to being concerned in importing a canister containing a noxious substance by letter.
He was fined £200.


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Below you’ll find an ongoing collection of what some brands are doing to market during these challenging times.
Adobe report finds that brands would be better served by focusing their ads on “everyday essentials and things that take consumers minds away from the crisis.” Meanwhile, GenZ wants luxury or nonessential brand advertising directed toward them, despite being the demographic hardest hit by the economic crisis.
Brawny, the paper towel brand, has sought to honor those individuals in its latest campaign, which features real people who have gone above and beyond to help their communities during the crisis. See campaign landing page at https://www.brawny.com/giants.
The brand and Leo Burnett have created “The Coors Light Clone Machine,” which allows people to record a 30-second loop of themselves looking interested that be exported to Zoom.
In-store samples and demos were one of the early victims of the coronavirus. Now, many retailers, brands, and agencies are questioning what role, if any, retailtainment can play in this restrictive, post-outbreak retail environment.
The Almond Board of California, a trade group that represents growers in the state, this month launched a campaign on livestreaming platform Twitch to show viewers how to power up their gaming sessions with a healthy snack.
Bud Light Reimagines Iconic Campaign in ‘Stay at Home Humans of Genius’ Ads. This campaign marks the third rendition of Bud Light's iconic 'Real Men of Genius' campaign.
The upcoming “Nacho Average Showdown," as it’s called, is being organized by Tostitos with the aim of raising money for the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund (RERF), which was created by Fieri and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation to help raise money for out-of-work restaurant operators and employees.
Molson Coors MOVO wine spritzers set up a “zero-judgment venting hotline” for mothers as part of a contest to win some of its canned wine beverages.
Mattel announced the launch of #ThankYouHeroes, a special edition line of 16 collectible action figures.


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Imagine wearing a computer in the form of a jacket. Now, it is possible.
“When somebody calls you, your jacket vibrates and gives you lights and [you] know somebody is calling you,” said Ivan Poupyrev, who manages the Google’s Project Jacquard, a digital platform for smart clothing.
Project Jacquard formed a partnership with Levi’s to create the first Jacquard enabled garment in the form of Levi’s Commuter Trucker Jacket. What makes the jacket “smart” includes washable technology, created by Google, woven into the cuff of the jacket.
“These are highly conductive fibers, which are very strong and can be used in standard denim-weaving process,” said Poupyrev.
A tap on the cuff can also provide navigation and play music when paired with a mobile phone, headphones and a small piece of removable hardware, called a snap tag, that attaches to the cuff.
“You get the most important features of the phone without taking your eyes off the road,” said Paul Dillinger, vice president of global product innovation for Levi Strauss & Co.
The Levi’s jacket is just one step to smarter clothing.
“Do they want to make shoes? Do they want to make bags? Do they want to make trousers?” Poupyrev explained, “The platform [is] being designed so that this technology can be applied to any type of garment. Right now, it’s Levi’s but right now, we’re very actively working with other partners in the apparel industry and try to help to make their products connected.”
That means designers need to be increasingly tech savvy.
“Fashion designers in the future are going to have to think about their craft differently. So, it’s not just sketching and pattern making and draping and drafting. It’s going to involve use case development and being a participant in cladding an app and becoming an industrial designer and figuring out what you want these components to look like.” Dillinger added, “What we found out is engineers and designers are kind of the same thing. They just use very different languages.”
New patterns and materials
From the functionality of clothes to how they are made, computing power is reshaping fashion. Designers can create structures and patterns that have never existed before current technology.
“Designers now have a new set of tools to actually design things they could never design before. We can use computational tools to make patterns and formats that we could not do individually, because they were too mathematically and technically complicated. So, we’re using algorithms to help us facilitate design,” said Syuzi Pakhchyan whose job is to envision the future as experience design lead at the innovation firm, BCG Digital Ventures.
New technologies are also being used to make bioengineered fabrics made with yeast cells in a lab. The company, Bolt Threads, is developing fabrics made out of spider silk.
“We take the DNA out of spiders, put it in yeast, grow it in a big tank like brewing beer or wine and then purify the material, the polymer and spin it into fibers so it’s a very deep technology that’s required many years to develop,” Dan Widmaier, chief executive officer and co-founder of Bolt Threads.
The company Modern Meadow grows leather from yeast cells.
“We engineer them to produce collagen which is the same natural protein that you find in your skin or an animal skin, and then we really grow billions of those cells, make a lot of collagen, purify it and then assemble it into whatever kinds of materials, the brands, the designers that we’re working with would like to see,” explained Suzanne Lee chief creative officer of Modern Meadow.
She said these bioengineered materials are more sustainable and can be described as both natural and man-made.
“So, we’re really bringing both of those fields together to create a new material revolution. The best of nature with the best of design and engineering,” said Lee
What’s hot and what’s not
Technology is also disrupting fashion trends.The prevalence of social media means it is not just the designers who decide what is the latest trendy styles in fashion.
“Fashion has been democratized. A lot of fashion is being made by influencers with zero design experience,” said Pakhchyan.
Replacing trend forecasters, artificial intelligence can now collect data from social media and the web to give designers insight on public preferences.
“This is actually I think changing the role of the designer. Cause now, you have all this information so what are you going to do with this information?” said Pakhchyan.
How clothes are marketed and sold are also increasingly dependent on technology. If a consumer has shopped on a website once, that data is collected to entice the user to buy other products through personalization.
“When I connect online with a brand, they know me. I feel like they know me. They know who I am, they know what I like, they know what I want,” said Pakhchyan.
The Levi’s smart jacket can also be purchased online. The price tag: $350.


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More of what’s going around:
-Christmas Jam Art Show opens Friday: Proceeds of the Christmas Jam Art Show at Satellite Gallery in downtown Asheville go to Habitat For Humanity. The show features local and national artists. The Asheville artists are Joshua Marc Levy, Stuart Engel, David Oppenheimer and Drew Findley. The show opening goes from 3-7 p.m. on Friday.
-Aluminum Christmas Tree Museum returns: Brevard’s aluminum Christmas tree museum is back. Check out RomanticAsheville’s coverage.
-New Ethiopian restaurant opening soon: The owners of Addissae reported on Dec. 2 that they held their first private party and planned to start taking reservations in 7 to 10 days. That’s, like, now. Follow them on FB for updates.
-New north Asheville restaurant coming along: The sign is up for Ghan Shan Station on Charlotte Street. Can’t wait for them to get open.
-Parking deck demo: Demolition is starting on this downtown Asheville parking deck at the corner of College and Broadway. The demolition work is scheduled to go through March, according to a permit posted at the property, and will affect downtown traffic with lane closures. A new parking structure and downtown hotel is planned to built here once demolition is finished in early 2015.
-New Chipotle restaurant coming along: Work is moving quickly on the new Chipotle on Hendersonville Road in south Asheville. They’re shooting for a Dec. 19 opening.
-New Elvis-in-Asheville record: ElvisNews.com reports that there’s a new CD coming next year of one of Elvis’s concerts in Asheville. Next year is the 40th anniversary of the Elvis show:
The Touchdown label has chosen the July 22nd 1975 show from Asheville for their next release. Rare songs are outstanding in this show like “Memphis Tennessee”, or “Shake A Hand”, both complete, and the only known live version from “Why Me Lord” with which Elvis also takes over the part of J.D.Sumner and joins in the singing not as usual only the refrain. The whole show is stamped by a fantastic set list. The Fans, who also have Audience admissions of the King with pleasure have in the collection, will be inspired.
And here’s a great review of the Elvis show from scottymoore.net.
-Diamond Brand Grand opening: There’s a grand opening event on Thursday to celebrate Diamond Brand’s new store in the Aloft Hotel in downtown Asheville. The event goes from 4-8 p.m., with a 5:30 ribbon-cutting. Diamond Brand recently opened two new stores – the one in downtown at Aloft, as well as one on at 1378 Hendersonville Road in Parkway Centre. The company also just moved its Frugal Backpacker store from south Asheville to Westgate Shopping Center.
-White Christmas in Asheville? Not likely, according to this AccuWeather long-range forecast.
-River Whyless record: The Asheville band River Whyless has announced it will release a new self-titled record on Jan. 20.
We spent 5 days at La La Land in Louisville KY with the amazing Kevin Ratterman and rather surprised ourselves with the finished product. It was our first time recording live to tape. It was our first time with someone else lending an outside ear. And it feels to us like the whole process brought new life to the band that we can’t wait to share with you. While we can’t quite give you any music yet, we wanted to share the news and let you know that we’ll be hitting the road in support of the release! Peep the album artwork and the tour dates below.
-Studio openings for John Nebraska: Here’s the info:
John Nebraska (aka Andy Levine) will be showing original art and hand finished prints in his studio in the Haw Creek area of Asheville, NC. 90 Alpine Way 28805 – http://jnebraskastudio.com/. There will be many styles, available for all budgets, (starting under $40, shipping included). Stop by for holiday mirth, art and refreshments. Phone orders are welcome. 718-757-9756. We look forward to seeing you and yours. On Dec. 20th we’ll do it again at the same times. More free cheese.
-Big Asheville City Council meeting tonight: Here’s the agenda for tonight’s Asheville City Council meeting. Lots of new developments on tap.
-Parsec Financial gets mention: Asheville’s Parsec Financial is listed as #16 on Bloomberg.com list of Top 50 Registered Financial Advisors.
-Climate change and Christmas trees: UNC-TV reports that scientists are studying the effects of climate change on Christmas trees grown in Western North Carolina.
-Mercedes commercial filmed in Asheville: Watch the Mercedes commercial here. Locations include Uncle Junebug’s store in downtown and the Blue Ridge Parkway in fall.
-Killer metalwork: I just really like Camille’s metalwork (rings and earrings and such) at Dirt Road Metals.


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CHICAGO — The RV industry continues to experience strong and steady growth, according to performance data from GE Capital, Commercial Distribution Finance, a provider of financing to the industry. Early headwinds this year including the unusually cold weather that impacted manufacturing and transportation issues that slowed down shipments haven’t derailed the positive trajectory of the industry, Market Watch reported.
This upbeat sentiment is expected to be on display at the seventh annual RV Open House September 16 to 18 in Elkhart, Ind. “This is a busy time of year for both dealers and manufacturers as new models are introduced and orders are placed for next year,” said Tim Hyland, president of CDF’s RV group. “Dealers should feel confident in continued consumer interest and a relatively healthy economy as they plan their inventory needs for next year.”
To read the full story by Market Watch, click here.


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Alleged Pixel 6 Pro benchmark results very promising, single-core score more than doubles last score
It's the last day of September, which means we are weeks away from the launch of Google's next flagship smartphones, provided that the leaked announcement date is correct. The company has been extensively promoting its new phones over the last few weeks, which it has already told us will be kitted with the in-house Tensor chip. The highest-end model, the Pixel 6 Pro, has been spotted on the benchmarking website Geekbench.
More Pixel 6 content you may like:
Reports say that the Tensor chip has been developed in collaboration with Samsung and it will be manufactured using the South Korean tech titan's 5nm process. Qualcomm, Samsung, and Apple's current flagship smartphone chips are also based on the same tech.
Perhaps a more interesting revelation is that the chip will feature a different configuration than current premium Qualcomm Snapdragon and Samsung Exynos chips, something which the latest benchmark listing corroborates.
Pixel 6 Pro Geekbench scores
Apparently, we are looking at a 2+2+4 configuration. Instead of adopting Arm's latest Cortex X2 CPU, Google has apparently opted for last year's X1 core, and two of them at that. They are seemingly running at 2.8GHz.
There are two middle cores clocked at 2.25Ghz, and four little cores with speeds of 1.8GHz.
This is not the first time that the Tensor-powered Pixel 6 Pro has popped up on Geekbench. It managed 1,034 points in the single-core test, and 2,756 in the multi-core test.
That's a significant improvement over the previous result (414 and 2,074), but it's still below what Snapdragon 888-powered flagships like the Galaxy Z Fold 3 (1,113 and 3,538) and OnePlus 9 Pro (1,097 and 3,566) got.
Still, it's a lot better compared to the Pixel 5 (588 and 1,597), the Snapdragon 765G-fueled phone that Google tried to pass off as a flagship last year.
That signals that the final score could go even higher as Google continues to work on optimizations. The phone, and the standard Pixel 6 model, will reportedly be released towards the end of the month, after their rumored October 19 unveiling.
The listing also reveals that at least one Pixel 6 Pro variant will have 12GB of RAM and it will run Android 12 out of the gate.
Snapdragon 898 and Exynos 2200 will likely be faster than Tensor
Back to the scores, keep in mind that benchmark scores are easy to game, and even if this one is legitimate, it may not be accurately representative of the actual performance. Also, since it's a given that Samsung and Qualcomm's forthcoming high-end chips will perform better than the current generation, the Pixel 6 Pro will likely lag behind the new Android flagships that are expected in late 2021 and early 2022.
Apple remains in a league of its own, though improvements have started to stall.
Apart from a tailor-made chip, the Pixel 6 series will also boast new camera hardware and a revamped design.
03 Dec, 2021Pixel 6 Pro vs iPhone 13 Pro, Galaxy S21 Ultra: Selfie comparison
08 Nov, 2021Durability test of the Pixel 6 Pro reveals how tough it is
03 Nov, 2021Google embraces Pixel 6 and 6 Pro DIY repairs by adding a fingerprint calibration tool
27 Oct, 2021Google Pixel 6 gets a camera temperature slider
26 Oct, 2021Pixel 6: Is Google staging artificial demand, or was it caught napping, unprepared to sell phones?


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Here's How Apple's Products Have Evolved Over The Years
APApple is known for its incredible product design, led by Jony Ive.
But Apple's hardware has come a long way to the sleek minimalism it's known for today.
Apple products used to be bulky, boxy devices that took up your entire desk.
Some devices turned out to be duds.
Now they make smartphones and tablets recognizable worldwide.
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The launch of the much-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S9 is fast approaching, so we have compiled a list of the top 5 reasons to get excited for the S9 ahead of the its Sunday February 25 release. From a revamped camera set-up to facial recognition to 3D emojis, it seems the Galaxy S9 is paving the way for the future of smartphones.
Super slow motion video
As part of Samsung’s trio of teaser videos that were unveiled on the Samsung Mobile Korea YouTube channel, the company has indicated that the S9 will be equipped with an extreme “Super Slo Mode”. This means that the S9 will be able to deliver a 1,000 frames per second slow motion, as well as a 4K resolution.
This slo-mo camera will reportedly have a two modes – the first, is the standard mode where the user taps the shutter icon to begin recording and again to stop, so as to control the timeframe. However, the second method is automated slow motion and involves the user tapping the record icon to start, so the phone will only start recording in slow motion when it detects movement in front of the lens. This is a very exciting feature for extreme sports enthusiasts!
Low light photography
In another video, Samsung teased a new low light photography capability in the camera. This could also be a nod to a new type of flash on the S9, so if there is truth to these rumours, you can rest assured that over-exposed low-lit photos will be a thing of the past. This will also mean that users will be able to capture sharp, clear photographs with the S9 Galaxy at all times, which will be a massive improvement on the S8.
Facial recognition & 3D emojis
Samsung always seem to have something up their sleeve when it comes to design and capabilities, so it comes as no surprise that they are stepping it up with the Galaxy S9. Taking a leaf out of Apple’s book, the S9 will add enhanced facial recognition and a possible iris scanner to the smartphone, so users can unlock the phone simply using the front camera. The combination of both the facial recognition feature and the iris scanner will work significantly better and means that it will be better for use in very low or bright light.
The teaser videos have also hinted at 3D emojis – much like the Animoji feature that launched with the iPhone X. However, unlike the Animoji feature, Samsung’s 3D emojis appear to create animated versions of the Galaxy S9 user (similar to the Bitmojis that were integrated into SnapChat).
Unique design & fingerprint sensor
Although the galaxy S9 may look almost identical to its predecessor in early leaks and renders – with its curved display and rounded corners – the story around its back is very different. Samsung has moved the S9’s fingerprint sensor so that it is located below the rear camera, rather than off to the right side, like you see on the S8.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S9’s camera stack is aligned vertically, rather than horizontally, which gives the phone a sleeker, more symmetrical appearance. It’s has also been rumoured that the S9 will be available in midnight black, lilac purple, titanium grey and coral blue.
Snapdragon 845 smartphone processor
If you take a look inside the Samsung S9, it’s expected that users will find Qualcomm’s latest mobile processor: the Snapdragon 846. This would make this the first time this chip has been featured in a 2018 smartphone device and is what will make the S9 extremely fast and boasts “vault-like security”. The processor is also reported to offer improved battery life and a brand new ISP (image signal processor) – meaning that it offers one of the best cameras ever seen on phones.
Whether you’ve got a need for speed or want to showcase your photography prowess with your phone’s camera, there is a lot to be excited about with the upcoming launch of Samsung Galaxy S9. Samsung may have kept shtum on the official features and specs of the latest Samsung phone until now, but if the S8 is anything to go off, you can rest assured that the S9 will not disappoint!


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Turkey defied expectations with a 0.2% growth last year, defying predictions of an economic contraction. This year, the economy is set to expand 3%, signalling an easing of the country's currency woes.
The figures came from an International Monetary Fund report. The report added that following the global financial crisis, Turkey's economic growth has become more dependent on external loans, and that change in market perceptions triggered 2018's currency devaluation.
Turkey has made a rapid recovery from its currency devaluation, which sent shocks through the country's economy. The IMF attributed this to a decrease in market pressures, as well as a stellar tourism season.
The report added that there was a need for more reforms, fostering stronger and more flexible growth in the medium term. It also emphasised that there was work to be done in lowering inflation: this reached 25% in October 2018, but dropped to 13% in 2019.
A recently revealed economic program for the next two years shows the government is aiming to reach an annual 5% growth.
US-based credit agency Moody's and investment bank JP Morgan have also revised their estimates for Turkey's economic growth, reflecting the IMF's positive outlook.
Spending boost from credit cards
Turkey is set to stay in its spot as leader of the European bank card market, with card payments by foreigners totalling US$13bn, and a healthy domestic market.
Payments made with foreign bank cards between January and November 2019 rose 83%, compared to the same period the year before, according to the InterBank Card Center (BKM). And as more tourists choose the country as a shopping destination, this number is set to rise.
Turkey has the largest credit card market in Europe, and in recent years has become a magnet for retail-loving tourists, who combine shopping with sightseeing. In 2018, tourists netted Turkey almost $39bn, and in 2019 this figure reached $35bn.
Domestic card activity is also growing, with card payments as a share of all retail sales increasing by 17% last year. More than 230 million Turks use bank cards, including 70m credit and 164m debit cards. Last year, 41% of Turkish household payments were made by card. And there's still room for growth, thanks to the country's fast-growing population, growing use of online shopping, and positive economic growth.
These luxury-designed villas are for sale in Yalikavak area of Bodrum and are just five minutes away from the famous Marina for sailing opportunities – ideal for families and living in Turkey all year round.
With panoramic views of the sea, this luxury-designed villa is on the market today as completely furnished and decorated in Yalikavak area of Bodrum and is just ten minutes walking distance away from the Marina.
Historically located within the central heart of Istanbul, these contemporary apartments are found in the sought after area of Beyoglu and are just a few minutes away from a range of transport, amenities, and things to do.
This boutique hotel for sale consists of four standalone bungalows and is nestled within the peaceful area of Samanli in Yalova – each property has its own private swimming pool and landscaped garden outside.


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We hope you’re enjoying January to the full. We’d like to present our top news stories of the week gone by:
1. Australians woken an hour earlier by network error
Virgin Mobile and Optus’ customers reported being woken up an hour before they expected to be, as key parts of the mobile infrastructure pushed clocks forward an hour. Optus took their apologies to Facebook, offering a free coffee to those affected by the mistake, if they showed their phones to café staff with an incorrect time.
2. Brand Beyoncé at the top of the celebrity league
According to information based on personal wealth, sponsorship earnings and social media presence, Beyonce Knowles has topped a list of the world’s most influential entertainment personalities. Keep up the great work, B.
3. Today’s challenges with Content Marketing
According to a recent report by Percolate, 31% of senior marketers admit that creating content at pace is a major obstacle for their marketing teams. Other challenges include creating a greater volume of content, having a single place for planning, content/media, and publishing but also knowing what their competitors are working on.
4. Burberry profits prospered over the festive period
British retailer Burberry announced growth in trade following Christmas, as total sales increased by 15% for the three months to December 31. Burberry’s heritage trench coats and cashmere scarves have contributed to the brand’s increase in sales. The demand for Burberry’s core pieces came largely as a result of their Christmas advert featuring Romeo Beckham, as well as its campaign starring Cara Delevingne.
5. Unusual finds at the Consumer Electronics Show
From new tech rollerskates named ‘The Rollers’ that help you to walk up to 7mph, to Panasonic’s Transparent Window Screen, take a look at some of the unusual designs that turned heads at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Have any other news stories caught your eye? Drop us a tweet and tell us all about them.


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|By Suzanne Marta, The Dallas Morning
NewsMcClatchy-Tribune Regional News
Nov. 8, 2007 - Corporate travelers take note: It's going to be more expensive to hit the road next year.
With prices for airfare, hotel rooms and rental cars increasing, the traditional push and pull between travel buyers and suppliers has intensified. Companies are looking to tightly control costs in an uncertain economy, while suppliers are battling rising energy costs and trying to leverage a seller's market.
Much to the distress of corporate travel managers -- and their road warriors, who increasingly face crowded planes and sold-out hotels -- demand is expected to continue outpacing supply next year.
As a result, the average cost of a domestic trip in 2008 is expected to rise 6 percent, or $63, to $1,110, according to research by American Express Business Travel. Overseas trips are forecast to rise 7 percent, or $205, to $3,171.
The growing costs have caused corporate travel managers to think creatively about ways to save.
In a survey by the National Business Travel Association, 16 percent of travel managers reported that they would restrict business-class airline tickets. That's up from 8 percent who said last year that they would limit the premium-class tickets.
At Dallas-based health care staffing firm Delta Cos., free rental car coupons generated from frequent bookings are reserved for the most expensive markets.
"We save a couple thousand dollars a month doing that," said Stacy Collins, Delta's travel manager.
7-Eleven Inc. travel manager Mona Crisp said the Dallas-based company is trying to hold its travel budget flat for 2008 by being savvier on trip planning.
She said the focus on travel costs has radically changed the way employees approach trips. Instead of booking airline tickets a week before departure, "our average is now 14 to 21 days in advance," Ms. Crisp said. "Our employees have educated themselves and become smart travelers."
This year, 7-Eleven is tackling an expense that has recently come under scrutiny by the travel management industry: internal meetings.
The convenience store franchiser -- which holds eight internal trade shows a year that require between 200 and 300 hotel rooms -- will implement an online meetings tool that makes it easier to get proposals from hotels and for employees to identify where they should book.
Kathleen Mason, president and chief executive of Dallas-based Tuesday Morning Corp., said she's trying to combine trips as a way to trim costs.
Ms. Mason, who travels nearly every week, uses a corporate booking tool to better track travel spending and has shifted internal meetings away from big cities where hotel prices have soared.
"We're going to places that are more cost-effective," she said.
Challenges for corporate travel management are not limited to rising costs.
Suppliers are also employing more sophisticated technology to make sure they're getting the highest price for their product. That's making negotiations for corporate discounts more complicated.
LQ Management, which operates La Quinta Hotels, has invested in sophisticated property management and reservations tools that enable hotels to juggle as many as 16 prices each day.
"Before we could only do three, and it had to be the same for weekday or weekend," said Feliz Jarvis, Irving-based LQ Management's executive vice president for sales.
Ms. Jarvis said negotiated room rates for the midprice hotel chain will rise around 5 percent for 2008, slightly lower than the average 8 percent increase this year.
John Hackett, who oversees global business sales for Irving-based Omni Hotels, said his deals are also getting more complex as his team crunches more data about demand and buyers.
He said deals today consider not only rate and a hotel's "last room available," but also room types, length of stay, days of the week and competition.
"These are things we didn't look at five years ago," Mr. Hackett said.
Airfare discounts have also gotten more complex as carriers create more pricing tiers.
"You can have as many as 10 to 15" fare types, said DeAnne Dale, who oversees travel forecasting services for clients of Southlake-based Travelocity Business.
"The deals and tiers are so complex that it's really hard for corporations to know what they're going to save."
In some cases, buyers have found that contract discounts applied to too few room types, meaning travelers ended up booking rooms without a negotiated price when the designated types sold out, Ms. Dale said.
David Cush, American Airlines Inc.'s senior vice president of global sales, said the carrier has been trying to smooth things over with corporate customers by talking about plans to improve service and avoid a repeat of the dismal delays last summer.
A little nervousness
"More than luxury, they are looking for a predictable and efficient process," Mr. Cush said.
Anecdotal reports signal that customers are "cautiously optimistic" about their travel, but "everyone has an eye on Wall Street and the mortgage situation," Mr. Cush said.
Fort Worth-based American maintains around 1,500 contracts for corporate-negotiated discounts, down from 2,000 just three years ago. Since then, the airline has overhauled its program and begun implementing a more sophisticated system for tracking customer volume.
Mr. Cush said the airline's biggest challenge remains tapping into small and medium-size businesses, many of which don't have a formal travel program.
"That's where a lot of business travel growth is," he said.
Southwest Airlines Co. has put more energy behind its corporate effort, boosting its sales team from five members to 15 and signing a deal to publish its fares on Galileo's central reservations system.
Recently, the Dallas-based carrier said it may consider corporate discounts for the first time. On Wednesday, Southwest announced its first-ever fares targeted specifically at corporate travelers that offer extra perks for a small premium.
Another big change in Southwest's sales pitch this year is its Dallas Love Field service. Eased restrictions under the Wright amendment mean the carrier can now talk to local travel managers about one-stop service around the country, rather than just to Texas and nearby states.
"We're now a player in those markets," said Rob Brown, the airline's director of sales and distribution.
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Bold experimentation brings success
Successful companies have the boldness to do less planning and go straight to experimentation with something new," say digitalisation specialists at DNA Business's Future seminar.
In a panel discussion, five specialists discussed how companies can obtain maximum benefits from digitalisation and be successful in a new situation.
Antti Koskelin, SVP of Global Development at KONE, points out that the technology is more readily available than ever.
“The challenge is in how we can integrate the existing technology on the market with our products and services.”
Koskelin says that digitalisation requires companies to operate in a more agile, customer-oriented way.
“Product cycles can no longer be years or even months. New products should be quickly introduced to the market with a focus on the user. Product feedback should be obtained and the next versions should be developed.”
Digital age changes operating methods
Taneli Tikka, Vice President and Head of Industrial Internet at Tieto, highlights that the utilisation of digitalisation will decide the fate of companies in all sectors. There are no other paths to take because competition is becoming more intense from all directions – increasingly from other fields of business.
“All organisations should start moving. And when this is done, less focus should be placed on planning, but immediate action should be taken and also learning should take place at the same time.
Tikka notes that industrial companies are now seeking new operating methods that are possible through digitalisation.
“For example, companies no longer need in-house production staff. These are being replaced by a network-like way of operating and organising.”
Industrial Internet is new asset
Tero Ojanperä, Managing Director of the Vision+ capital investment company, says that digitalisation is not only about new technology. It is about totally new business models, and Uber and Airbnb are prime examples.
According to Ojanperä, Finnish companies should aim to be the best in the world in carefully-selected competence areas.
“We do have technology know-how, we just need to select the correct areas.
Ojanperä says that the application of the Industrial Internet (https://www.dna.fi/yrityksille/oppaat-ja-vinkit/teollinen-internet) has huge potential. Finland’s solid expertise in engineering is helpful when creating new success stories.
More speed and boldness
Digitalisation is also unavoidably progressing in the public sector. However, Antti Ylä-Jarkko, IT Administration Director of the City of Vantaa, is hoping for faster development.
“We could implement digitalisation to a much greater extent. However, in many cases, digitalisation ceases when job losses associated with efficiency improvements are mentioned.”
Ylä-Jarkko says that public administration needs more courage and a new mind set. It is important to consider the long-term benefits of digitalisation.
Hannu Rokka, SVP Corporate Business at DNA, sums up the company's recipes for success in terms of digitalisation with three words: speed, boldness and ease.
He says that the entire organisation of the company should adopt an agile mind set and be taught to learn new things.
“Establishing an internal startup is not a viable solution if the basic organisation is slow and inflexible.”
However, Rokka says that internal startups are needed in companies that are seeking growth.
“The task of internal startups is to find new areas outside traditional business. In that way, it is possible to create a totally new kind of business and then start scaling it. ”


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NEW YORK STATE -- With the holiday season in full swing, the Stewart's Holiday Match program is also well underway.
Stewart's Shops collects donations throughout the month and then the company matches the donation. All proceeds benefit local children's charities.
Since the program launched last week, Stewart's has raised more than $147,000 and with the company's match, more than $294,000 will benefit kids.
Donations will be collected through Christmas day. Charities will receive the money in March.


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Westport considers plug-and-ride terminals for electric car owners
WESTPORT -- Hoping to set a new tone before electric cars hit the market, Westport officials are putting together a plan to add a solar-powered charging station for electric vehicles at the Saugatuck railroad station in the hopes of garnering federal funds, officials said.
"We think it is a unique project to benefit not only Westport but perhaps serve as a model across the nation," Westport First Selectman Gordon Joseloff said.
Under the plan, the town would install a 30-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system driven by panels on the roof of the station house that would fuel chargers at 20 narrow spots for electric cars that would be located close to the platforms, according to John Rountree, a Westport resident and president of Westport Solar Consultants who is working on the plan.
The town plans to seek $264,000 in federal funds toward the $330,000 facility through the state congressional delegation, Joseloff said.
The plan would require approval from the state Department of Transportation, which owns the station, he said.
"This is another attempt to promote people using green energy, and in this case it is electricity for automobiles," Joseloff said. "We figure if we can offer a prototype facility, it might catch on and people who have been waiting for parking permits for a couple of years would be able to move to the head of the line if they have an electric car."
Rountree said it is possible the charging station would be geared toward smaller short-range electric cars more suited to local roads, though new models of longer-range hybrid electric cars like the Chevy Volt, due for release next year, might also be accommodated.
"Hopefully, people would be able to leave their car plugged in at the charging station where they would lease a space monthly," Rountree said. "How many cars we can charge will depend on a lot of factors including the car, if you're just topping it off or charging it from zero."
Several top automakers have electric plug-in cars in the making or on the drawing board, including the Volt, which will operate off lithium batteries and is due late this year. Unlike gas-electric hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius, which use a gas engine to operate at higher speeds, the Volt's gasoline engine only operates to generate more electricity.
The Southwest Metropolitan Planning Organization, comprised of the eight elected officials from towns from Greenwich to Weston, voted late last month to support Westport's application for federal funds to build the facility.
New Canaan First Selectman Jeb Walker, chairman of the organization, said the arrival of electric plug-in cars with reliable performance will eventually dictate other towns and cities install their own electric car charging terminals.
"I've had initial conversations about doing it with private dealerships, but it probably won't come for a while," Walker said. "I think the time has come that it would be appropriate for towns to provide that service without a charge to underline the intent to be as green as possible."
Kimberly Lake, chairwoman of Westport's Green Task Force, said the group approves of the concept of the electric vehicle charging terminals at the Saugatuck station.
"I think in Westport, we look for opportunities to be ahead of the curve," Lake said. "If there are premium parking spots offered, that will also encourage people to think about electric cars more."
Staff Writer Martin B. Cassidy can be reached at email@example.com or at 203-964-2264.


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Mall of America officials confirmed Monday they have closed on $300 million in financing for its Phase II expansion plans.
The expansion plans include a new luxury hotel, an office tower called MOA Crossing, additional retail and a new food hall concept.
Mall officials said that anticipated completion of the new project will be in August 2015. "It's going to be a fast build," MOA spokesman Dan Jasper said.
The Mall of America expansion will connect to the existing building on the north side of the mall and stretch out toward Lindau Lane.
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community will help finance a portion of the project, but officials at the mall did not specify their role or the brand name of the luxury hotel to be built.
The Mall of America will have more details on the project in the next couple of days and groundbreaking for the project in a couple of weeks.
Last March, a luxury hotel opened on the south side of the mall. The 500-room Radisson Blu hotel is connected to the mall via a skyway. Construction on that $138 million hotel started in mid-2011 and the hotel opened in March 2013.


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CANADA – Partake Brewing, a category leader in the non-alcoholic beer space, is challenging society’s perception of non-alcoholic brews – poor quality, no flavor but loaded with calories and carbs – with the launch of its new Cheers to Adulting brand campaign.
Cheers to Adulting was developed in partnership with newly appointed creative agency of record lg2, and positions Partake as the ‘official beer of adulting.’ Through this brand platform, Partake aims to prove that adulting isn’t about being a straight-edged, naysaying, party pooper. It’s about connecting with others and being a part of the fun while still taking pride in evolving interests and priorities that come in this stage of life.
“Part of my mission with Partake has been to make non-alcoholic consumption not only commonplace in social settings, but always inclusive and fun without question,” said Ted Fleming, Founder & CEO of Partake Brewing. “Through Cheers to Adulting, we’re showing people that they don’t have to apologize for who they are or where they are in life. We’re empowering them to reach for a great-tasting, low calorie, non-alcoholic beer and to feel proud about their drinking choice whether they choose to cut back or to not drink alcohol at all.”
The brand campaign will be driven by digital and social media content including a series of humorous and relatable videos that will run in a robust media buy across multiple platforms throughout the United States and Canada. The brand platform takes a playful look at adults who do not have to worry about making compromises with alcohol in order to successfully “adult” and shows how Partake opens up new possibilities in the way they can enjoy beer.
The videos follow a variety of individuals as they juggle the many demands that adulting can bring and look to ultimately find balance. This includes a man who doesn’t have to choose between Friday night beers with friends before an early morning tee time, a mother and father who can crush a beer while still crushing parenthood and a woman who is able to have a refreshing brew while tackling some home renovations.
“Traditionally, if you reach for a non-alcoholic beer, you’d be questioned by friends or feel awkward in a social setting. But the Cheers to Adulting platform challenges that stigma,” said Chris Hirsch, Partner & Executive Creative Director at lg2. “We want to turn the idea of being responsible into a badge of honor. It’s ok to be just as excited about that 7am tee time as you are about the Friday night before it. We’re excited to partner with Partake, one of the fastest growing companies in the North American non-alcoholic beer category and support their growth ambitions.”
Health-consciousness is on the rise, and the “sober-curious” trend has helped the NA beer market grow. According to a 2021 report by Goldman Sachs analyst, Bonnie Herzog, no- and low-alcohol offerings are estimated to grow by 25% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) and reach $3 billion in total retail sales by 2025. Partake Brewing has already seen rapid expansion since it launched, with a three-year growth of 2,112%.
About Partake Brewing
Partake was founded in 2017 by Fleming, a former engineer on a mission to take the stigma out of drinking non-alcoholic beer. After a Crohn’s diagnosis led him to give up alcohol, he experienced a category traditionally low on selection and taste, and choosing an NA brew only invited judgement in most social settings. This ultimately inspired him to brew his own, giving consumers a variety of great-tasting, low calorie, non-alcoholic beers suitable for any occasion or location. Fleming’s belief is that giving up alcohol shouldn’t mean giving up the social connection that comes with it. And so, the brand’s quest for premium taste and selection became rooted in a purpose of inclusivity: to allow everyone to partake in the moment.
Partake currently offers PALE, IPA, BLONDE, RED, DARK, PEACH GOSE and limited seasonal editions including LIME and RADLER. Consumers consistently seek out Partake for its exceptional taste, unmatched calorie count (10-35 calories per can), vegan all-natural ingredients and brewing process.
For More Information:


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FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — The Fresno-Clovis area is in the midst of a hotel building boom that will result in 2,000 more available rooms when current projects are complete.
Four new hotel properties have recently opened up. Eight more were either in the process of being built or planned.
Fresno-Clovis Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO Layla Forstedt cited the area’s high occupancy rate as one reason why more hotels were going up.
“In the 30 years of the hospitality industry for me, I’ve never seen an occupancy of 70% and that’s every single motel average of every hotel-motel,” Forstedt said.
In Clovis, the occupancy rate was even higher.
Clovis Economic Development Director Andy Haussler explained, “We’ve seen occupancy rates into the 90%, which basically means we are full and what we don’t want to have is our town not being able to accommodate someone.”
Action News caught up with Haussler across from Costco, where Hilton was building a new Home 2 Suites.
Down the way on Clovis Avenue, La Quinta has squeezed into a tight space by building up and opening a new hotel.
Crews were also preparing to build a new Courtyard Marriott on Shaw near the Sierra Vista Mall. Two other hotels are planned.
“With what we recently completed and the new rooms coming on-line it’s about 532 additional rooms. That about doubles our hotel room count in Clovis,” Haussler said.
Hyatt Place recently opened a brand new hotel not far from River Park. It is also located across from Kaiser Permanente.
The Valley has seen more people coming to various facilities for medical treatment. But local hotels have found sporting events fill rooms. The state track and field championships at Buchanan High resulted in 6,000 room nights alone.
“We’re the only city that has three CIF events. That’s track, swimming and diving and cross country,” Forstedt said.
More visitors to our local national parks have been staying over in Fresno County.
Fresno has also seen a lot more business travelers so the new hotels offer the area rooms to grow.


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Business See Safety Stock Building Rise
January 19, 2023
GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index — a leading indicator tracking
demand conditions, shortages, transportation costs, inventories and backlogs
— shows declining demand for raw materials, commodities, and other
components needed to provide finished goods and services in December,
reflecting the growing risk of a recessionary period ahead.
Additionally, more businesses are safety stockpiling inventories,
particularly in Europe and North America, due to a resurgence in COVID-19
infections in China and increased concerns about future supply and pricing,
partly reversing destocking efforts seen in the prior six months.
As a result of greater safety stockpiling and worsening of labor shortages,
the GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index rose — up from 1.15 in November
to 1.61 in December — halting the improvements in the world’s supply chains,
which began in the summer of 2022.
Commenting on the latest results, John Piatek, GEP’s vice president of
consulting, said: “We are shifting from a sellers’ to a buyers’ market, and
companies should be pushing back hard on all price increases from their
suppliers, which will continue to drive down inflation. Falling demand
signals the increasing likelihood of a global recession in the first half of
The key findings from December’s report:
Demand for components, raw materials, commodities and any other items
companies need to provide their goods and services declined further in
December, especially in North America.
INVENTORIES: Global business reports of safety stockpiling are up since
November, which is a key factor behind December’s increase in GEP’s Global
Supply Chain Volatility Index.
LABOR SHORTAGES: Companies report an uptick in labor shortages, causing
supplier capacity to be stretched.
MATERIAL SHORTAGES: Global supply shortages are at their lowest level since
September 2020 as suppliers continue to adjust to market conditions. Easing
demand has reduced competition for items.
TRANSPORTATION: Transportation costs are at their lowest in over two years,
highlighting weaker pressures on shipping, train, air and road freight.
REGIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN VOLATILITY: Supply chains feeding into Europe remain
the most stretched, compared to Asia and North America, in December. A value
above 0 indicates that supply chain capacity is being stretched and supply
chain volatility is increasing. The further above 0, the greater the extent
to which capacity is being stretched.


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From December, showroom models will carry information detailing their emission standards, noise levels and fuel consumption figures alongside their price tags, under a voluntary code drawn up by the industry and endorsed by the government.
Potential buyers will be able to compare performance between cars on offer within dealerships which will also be expected to show customers how these rate against other types of car.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which has drawn up the scheme, says it hopes this will make environmental considerations a higher priority for consumers and change advertising priorities by the car giants which pay little attention to them. It has already issued guidance on greener driving, including reducing car use, and is gearing up for plans to link vehicle excise duty and company car taxes to a vehicle's green performance.
Christopher Macgowan, the society's chief executive, forecast that the environmental data would soon become common parlance. "By moving in advance of the changes the industry is providing consumers with the right information well before they need it." Other information, including the percentage of recyclable material in cars, might follow later.


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Home repair and insurance firm HomeServe will not outsource its customer complaints department as previously announced and will keep it in-house instead, the company said.
HomeServe had announced in December that it would outsource its UK customer complaints unit after previously failing to handle unusually high volumes.
However, after issuing an invitation for companies to bid for the work, HomeServe said it had decided to keep it in-house.
The very good progress we have been making retraining our customer relations staff gives us confidence that, following a thorough procurement process, consistently fair outcomes for our customers can most effectively be delivered by our own customer relations experts, a HomeServe spokesperson told Reuters.
We will be working closely with external advisers to ensure that we build a best-in-class complaints handling function inside the business.
A source familiar with the situation told Reuters that the external advisers would be global accounting and audit firm KPMG.
HomeServe, which sells cover for, and fixes, boilers and burst pipes, has endured a turbulent time since announcing in October that it would suspend UK telesales due to concerns it may be mis-selling products, prompting its share price to halve and customer numbers and renewals to fall.
The group, which is to cut 200 jobs, has since resumed mail marketing and reopened some inbound sales calls but outbound sales remain suspended as staff are retrained with new scripts.
Shares in HomeServe, which has said it is in regular contact with its regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA) but is not under investigation, were down 0.5 percent to 220.15 pence, down 53 percent on six months ago.
(Editing by Jodie Ginsberg)


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Data security and privacy aren’t just essential to your data governance strategy — they’re now key components of customer experience (CX).
As part of our inaugural CX IQ Index, we surveyed more than 400 consumers about what they find most important to customer experience — and how they believe brands are either meeting expectations or falling short.
Across various elements of CX — from personalized communications to loyalty programs — data security and privacy emerged as consumers’ top priorities.
When consumers were asked to rate how important different characteristics are when interacting with a company to get information, make a purchase or resolve an issue, 55% rated “protects my data” as “very important” (90 or higher on a 0-100 scale) — more than any other characteristic.
“Respects my privacy” was a close second, with 48% of consumers saying it’s “very important” to CX.
Read on to understand why — and what brands can do to measure up to customer expectations.
Data Security and Privacy Are Now Vital to Customer Experience
Why Security and Privacy Are Top of Mind
The results of the 2022 CX IQ Index align with recent digital marketing trends.
The death of third party cookies has been dominating headlines for months — and its origin can be traced back to consumer sentiment regarding how their data is collected, shared and leveraged.
From Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation to the California Consumer Protection Act, regulators around the world are working to enhance customer data security by introducing new protection and privacy rules at an exponential rate. And as technology companies such as Google, Apple and Facebook rush to stay ahead of new laws, brands find themselves struggling to adapt to a privacy-first marketing playbook.
One study revealed that 77% of U.S. consumers have found it harder to trust what companies say and do in recent years. Perhaps more concerning is that, after losing trust in a brand, 85% of consumers say they’ll avoid engaging with it again.
While poor product quality and misleading marketing tactics are sure to damage customer relationships, the results of the 2022 CX IQ Index — along with industry trends as a whole — make it clear that data protection and privacy are just as important to maintaining customer trust.
This puts brands between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Many consumers don’t trust them to use their data wisely, encouraging new regulations for how customer data can be gathered and used. At the same time, expectations regarding customer experiences continue to rise.
More than two-thirds of global consumers say they now have higher expectations for brands than they did previously. And 50% of consumers say they’ll switch to a competitor if a brand doesn’t provide them with satisfactory CX even one time.
Customer data is what fuels the personalized, highly relevant customer experiences consumers crave. But it can’t come at the cost of customer data security and privacy.
The answer? Ethically collected — and consented — first-party customer data.
Hear e.l.f Beauty explain why first-party data is critical in the face of third-party cookie deprecation in the video below:
The Role of 1st Party Data in a Privacy-First World
Unlike anonymous third-party data, first-party data is collected directly from consumers across various brand touchpoints, such as when a shopper signs up to receive an email newsletter or use a brand’s mobile application.
This data is more accurate, and, with the disappearance of third-party cookies, a first-party data strategy will be essential to customer acquisition and conversion in the future.
Unfortunately, brands aren’t competing on a level playing field. While some brands have direct access to their end customers and high volumes of authenticated traffic across digital channels, others do not.
That’s why businesses such as banks and streaming services — which have built collecting and authenticating digital traffic into their operating models — have a head start.
But no matter your customer data maturity, the goal is the same: collecting high-quality data and maximizing its business value. What brands have to keep in mind is how to do so while prioritizing data security and privacy.
Make Managing Data Protection the Cornerstone of Your Strategy
Brands in some industries may have an advantage when it comes to obtaining first-party data, but that doesn’t mean they’re meeting customer expectations.
For example, while financial services brands tend to do best in consumers’ eyes when it comes to data protection and privacy, businesses still overestimate their performance. While 62% of financial services brands rated themselves as “very strong” when it comes to respecting customer privacy, only 45% of consumers felt the same way.
To get the data necessary to provide superior customer experiences — and maintain customer trust in the process — brands must:
Voluntary agreement is now the standard for collecting customer data. But brands should also be clear about what kind of data they plan to collect, as well as how they plan to use it.
Explaining why you’re asking for this data, and how it can benefit customers, will go a long way toward building trust.
The goal should always be to collect what’s necessary to deliver better customer experiences, not just gather as much personal information as possible. By making transparent data collection based on open communication and consumer consent the norm, brands can demonstrate respect for consumer privacy while staying ahead of industry trends.
Inspire Consumers to Share
While there will always be consumers who prefer not to share their data, 66% say they’re willing to if it means getting additional value, such as better customer service or easier shopping experiences.
It’s up to brands to not only provide value in exchange for customer data, but give consumers a reason to confirm their identities. This will help brands provide more personalized, relevant CX as anonymous identifiers go away.
Special offers and loyalty programs not only help build customer loyalty, they also provide brands with a chance to authenticate customer data by requiring some form of registration.
Using a progressive profiling strategy, brands can collect the bare minimum of information to verify customer identities — such as an email address — and then enrich the customer profile over time by collecting new details at different stages of the customer journey.
Watch Michael Kors explain how it’s preparing for a privacy-first world in the video below:
Build Data Security and Privacy Into Your Tech Stack
The marketing technology you use plays a huge role in keeping customer data safe — that’s why it’s essential to work with partners that take data protection and privacy seriously.
Technologies built on anonymous third-party data — such as data management platforms — are becoming obsolete, forcing brands to turn to new solutions. For instance, 67.3% of marketers say they’re investing in customer data platforms (CDP) in response to third-party cookie deprecation.
But the right CDP offers more than a way to overcome the loss of third-party cookies for identifying and targeting prospective customers — it also provides brands with the safeguards it needs to maintain compliance with ever-evolving regulations. By ensuring you’re using a CDP designed with data security and regulatory compliance in mind, you can optimize customer experiences while reinforcing customer trust.
Learn More About Data Security and Privacy
Download the 2022 CX IQ Index to learn more about the role of data security and privacy in customer experience and what you can do to meet customer expectations.