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The Internet is the last place Americans look to when they want to get high on prescription narcotics, according to government data. One-tenth of 1% (.1%) of Americans who obtain prescription opioids for non-medical purposes (to “get high”) say that they obtain them over the Internet.
This data is based on the latest survey, published in 2015, by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. Compare that to the main channels people use for prescription opiates for getting high:
50.5% from friends
22.1% from their doctors
10.9% buy them from friends
4.8% from a drug deal or other stranger
4.4% took or stole it from a friend
3.1% from more than one doctor
0.4% stole from a doctor’s office, hospital or clinic
3.6% some other way not asked in the survey
This information is important to the community of companies, organizations and consumers that support online access to safe, affordable medication and personal drug importation. Groups funded by the pharmaceutical industry use the tragedy that is the opioid crisis in America to oppose legislation and regulations that would otherwise help more Americans safely import lower-cost medication. They do so by naming the Internet the culprit for the epidemic. The data indicates that this blame is seriously misplaced.
Over the past couple of years, there has been a serious spike in illegally imported opioid ingredients, usually fentanyl and its various analogs, pill presses to make counterfeit prescription narcotics, and other related paraphernalia, usually from China. Law enforcement must continue to stem the murderous activity that is drug dealers sometimes ordering such products over the Internet.
There are rogue online pharmacies that sell controlled drugs, even prescription narcotics without requiring valid prescriptions and sometimes internationally into the United States. I believe SAMHSA’s data may not account properly for those instances of illegally obtained prescription opioids because the patient may believe they are buying the drugs for a medical purpose and not to get high. On the other hand, I suspect that of the Americans who fill out a bogus online health questionnaire to obtain a “prescription” because they can’t get one from their doctor, many know they are doing so to get high – and not for medical purposes. Whatever the statistical unknowns are, the government’s data is abundantly clear that far less than 1% of drug addicts are using the Internet for their next fix.
The PharmacyChecker Verification Program is not open to Canadian or any non-U.S. pharmacies that sell controlled drugs (such as Ambien, Adderall, fentanyl, lorazepam or Vicodin) into the U.S. For more, see Buying Controlled Drugs Online Has Serious Risks.opioid epidemic, SAMSHA


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Smashing Success on Kickstarter: Wiivv Wearables Breaks Crowdfunding Record for 3D Printed Products & Insoles
Wiivv Wearables is a company we’ve followed for quite some time, and while we thought these pretty fancy insoles were going to go far, it is a wonderful surprise to find that not only has their Kickstarter campaign been a smashing success—it’s broken a record!
Indeed, the bionics company creating 3D printed custom gear with human comfort in mind–and starting off with the feet—is certainly running on a direct path to success as the most funded 3D printed good in Kickstarter history. In a stunning show of support, those pledging helped them to go to full funding, and then on to reach 470% of their original goal. The company is now in the process of fulfilling orders, and we think it’s safe to say that everyone involved is going to be pretty happy, whether they are part of the Wiivv team, or a backer receiving some awesome rewards.
The company, based in both Vancouver and San Diego, is dedicated to seeing people lead active, healthy lifestyles. Their BASE custom arches are meant to allow everyone on their feet to be able to reach their desired potential without straining muscles. While that sounds amazing in itself, the crowning glory in their process is that customers are able to use an easy smartphone app to design their personalized insoles. And customization is indeed what makes a product like this so attractive to users, in that they are promised the comfort they should have had all along, with better alignment and elimination of fatigue. With the app, they can be designed in lightning speed—five minutes! Who would have ever imagined such options? As they say—‘it’s your shoes—with better technology.’
We’ve been following the wildly successful startup since last year, when they began amping up development. They went on to reach their goal for initial venture capital, and then shortly after, completed their final round of seed funding, resulting in $3.5 million. As excitement intensified and they began getting ready for Kickstarter, they also had the good fortune to be named runner-up at this year’s TechCrunch Hardware Battlefield at CES—along with earning a spot in the recent Forbes’ 30 Under 30, which featured Wiivv’s co-founders Shamil Hargovan and Louis-Victor Jadavji.
BASE is their flagship product which was launched on Kickstarter with the humble goal of raising $50K. It was quickly apparent, however, that consumers were ready to see this product come to market—and they were ready to buy—with $20K raised in the first day.
Led by co-founder and CEO Shamil Hargovan, the Wiivv team has been working on the BASE product over the last year. Those efforts resulted in 72 iterations before they came up with what they believe is the optimal biomechanical insole—and apparently many others have faith in them.
The BASE insoles are now actually available on Indiegogo, where one pair of insoles is available for $75. Two packs are available for $140, and if you have a group order, shoot for the $549 team pack offering a volume of ten insoles. With just five photos used to measure your foot and then uploaded to the mobile app, the Wiivv team offers a patent-pending design that ensures biomechanical neutrality to lessen pressure on the forefoot, thereby increasing stability and promoting healthy alignment. With emphasis on the fact that everyone has a unique foot—and arch—proper comfort and support are achieved.
“We are truly honored by the overwhelming positive feedback we’ve received surrounding BASE by Wiivv custom insoles,” said co-founder of Wiivv, Shamil Hargovan. “It’s a great feeling, knowing that we are creating a product that is accessible to the masses on a customized, individual level and we’re excited to share with the world later this year what we have coming next.”
The company certainly has a bright future ahead—and the world can look forward to much less foot discomfort, it would appear. In selling over 4,000 pairs to 2,750 backers they have become the most funded 3D printed good in all of crowdfunding history, along with being the highest funded insole—and third most funded footwear product. They’ve also received an enormous boost in social media, which is certainly not a surprise.
We think many will be thrilled to find out what an incredibly high quality insole they can get, completely customized, at a great price—with little effort—and all the while, looking toward reducing joint stress, helping to prevent injuries, and increasing performance. Discuss in the Wiivv 3D Printed Insoles forum over at 3DPB.com.
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domain: news


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Currently, analysts are determining the potential effects of the new smart contract on crypto assets, including BorroeFinance ($ROE), Stellar ($XLM), and Tron ($TRX) tokens.
Let’s analyze the recent developments and expert forecasts on these three tokens.
What you'll learn 👉
BorroeFinance Prepares to Deliver Massive ROI to Early Investors in Q4 2023
BorroeFinance ($ROE) is the world’s first web3 blockchain invoice discounting NFT marketplace, and this platform helps web3 businesses, content creators, and top DeFi projects raise instant cash.
On BorroeFinance, web3 participants can mint their future subscriptions, royalties, and invoices into trending NFTs and sell them to supportive communities at discounted prices.
Currently, BorroeFinance ($ROE) is in its second presale stage, and the token is selling for $0.015. In a few weeks, BorroeFinance ($ROE) will likely sell off the supply and wrap up all presale stages, and the token will sell for $0.040 on major crypto exchanges.
Analysts say this BorroeFinance ($ROE) price movement will deliver a 167% ROI to early BorroeFinance ($ROE) investors, making now the perfect time to join to reap the rewards of the bargain price.
Stellar Embraces Smart Contracts for Cross-border Payments
The Stellar Development Foundation recently introduced the Soroban smart contracts product to the public. According to reports, this innovative project is led by Tomer Weller, the VP of product at the foundation.
He said the Stellar Foundation “envision (s) a future rich in DeFi and Stellar ($XLM) aims to be at the forefront of this revolution.”
Stellar ($XLM) gained 6.73% in the third week of October, and analysts have attributed this to Stellar’s ($XLM) ecosystem progress. On October 14, 2023, $XLM traded at $0.1042. Within seven days, $XLM surged and traded for $0.1113.
According to experts, Stellar ($XLM) may hit $0.1700 in Q4 2023 because the new Circle smart contract platform will likely promote greater access to USDC balances and support Stellar ($XLM) blockchain.
Tron Partners with Google Cloud’s BigQuery
Tron ($TRX) recently entered a strategic partnership with Google Cloud BigQuery Analytics.
According to reports, this partnership will help facilitate deeper blockchain data insights, enable users to analyze on-chain transactions and bolster Tron’s ($TRX) utilities. Experts say this deal also highlights the growing collaboration between major web2 and web3 organizations.
As a result of this partnership, Tron ($TRX) averaged over five million daily transactions in October while sustaining a bullish trajectory. Tron ($TRX) traded for $0.08498 on October 14. A week later, Tron ($TRX) gained 7.96% and is currently trading for $0.09174. According to analysts, Tron ($TRX) recently surpassed 190 million user accounts, and Tron ($TRX) may trade for $0.10000 in Q4 2023 due to this growth in new users.
Learn more about BorroeFinance ($ROE) here:
Disclaimer: This sponsored content is not endorsed by CaptainAltcoin, which takes no responsibility for its accuracy or quality. We advise readers to do their own research before interacting with any featured companies. The information provided is not financial or legal advice. Neither CaptainAltcoin nor any third party recommends buying or selling any financial products. Investing in crypto assets is high-risk; consider the potential for loss. CaptainAltcoin is not liable for any damages or losses from using or relying on this content.


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The dispute between Apple and the FBI arises out of an application that the agency filed with a federal magistrate judge in California, seeking assistance with the search of an iPhone that was seized during the investigation into the December 2015 attacks in San Bernardino, CA. The FBI was unable to access data on the locked iPhone, which was owned by the San Bernardino Health Department but used by one of the perpetrators, and requested that the Court order Apple to provide assistance in decrypting the phone. But because Apple has no way to access the encrypted data on the seized iPhone, the FBI applied for an order requiring Apple to create a custom operating system that would disable key security features on the iPhone. The Court issued an order requiring that this custom hacking tool be created and installed by Apple without unlocking or otherwise changing the data on the phone. Apple has opposed the order on the grounds that it is unlawful and unconstitutional. Apple argues that if the order is granted it will undermine the security of all Apple devices and set a dangerous precedent for future cases.
The dispute between Apple and the FBI arises out of a warrant application that the agency filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in December 2015, following the attacks in San Bernardino. The case is captioned “In the Matter of the Search of An Apple iPhone Seized During the Execution of a Search Warrant on a Black Lexus IS300, California License Plate 35KGD203.” The FBI filed an application for an order of assistance under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651, on February 16, 2016. The Court granted the application the same day and issued a three page order requiring apple to “assist in enabling” the search of the phone by “providing reasonable technical assistance,” which “shall accomplish the following three important functions”:
it will by pass or disable the auto-erase function whether or not it has been enabled;
it will enable the FBI to submit passcodes to the SUBJECT DEVICE for testing electronically via the physical device port, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or other protocol available on the SUBJECT DEVICE;
it will ensure that when the FBI submits passcodes to the SUBJECT DEVICE, software running on the device will not purposefully introduce any additional delay between passcode attempts beyond what is incurred by Apple hardware
The Court also specified that “Apple’s reasonable technical assistance may include, but is not limited to: providing the FBI with a signed iPhone Software file, recovery bundle, or other Software Image File (“SIF”) that can be loaded onto the SUBJECT DEVICE.” This custom software would need to be able to “load and run from Random Access Memory (“RAM”) and will not modify the iOS on the actual phone, the user data partition or system partition on the device’s flash memory.” Apple would also need to uniquely code the software to the phone at issue and provide the government with a means to “conduct passcode recovery analysis” on the device in an Apple facility or government facility.
The Court noted that Apple may seek to comply with the order “using an alternate technical means” if “it can achieve the three functions” stated in the order. The Court also noted that “Apple shall advise the government of the reasonable cost of providing this service” and that “[t]o the extent that Apple believes that compliance with this Order would be unreasonably burdensome, it may make an application” to the Court “within five business days” of the Order.
Shortly after the Court granted the FBI application and issued the order to Apple, the FBI moved to unseal the documents and notified the press of its request for Apple’s assistance in the case. In response, Apple CEO Tim Cook published a letter to Apple customers, making clear that the company would oppose the order and that the order would set a “dangerous precedent.” The Court subsequently issued a scheduling order, establishing deadlines for briefs in the case and setting a hearing for March 22, 2016 at 1:00pm. The FBI also filed a motion to compel compliance with the court’s February 16th order.
On February 25, 2016, Apple filed its motion to vacate the Court’s order, arguing that the order is unlawful and unconstitutional. Specifically, Apple argued that “[t]he All Writs Act does not provide a basis to conscript Apple to create software enabling the government to hack into iPhones” and that the Order “would violate the First Amendment and the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process clause.”
Since its founding more than 20 years ago, EPIC has been an advocate for the rights of consumers to use strong encryption and the promotion of privacy enhancing technologies. This issue was at the center of the national debate 1990s after the White House introduced the Clipper Chip proposal in 1993 and the FBI led an effort to outlaw non-escrowed encryption. EPIC lead one of the first major Internet petitions in opposition to the Clipper proposal after a group of leading cryptography experts sharply criticized the Clipper Chip technology in a letter to the President. EPIC also filed amicus briefs in two important cases concerning export controls and other restrictions on the use of encryption software, Bernstein v. U.S. Department of Justice, 176 F.3d 1132 (9th Cir. 1999), vacated, 192 F.3d 1308 (9th Cir. 1999), and Karn v. U.S. State Department, 107 F.3d 923 (D.C. Cir. 1997). The district court decision in Bernstein established that code is speech and that restrictions on the dissemination of encryption software burdened the First Amendment rights of a computer researcher. Ultimately the Clipper Chip proposal and efforts to ban strong encryption were defeated.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Nos. 16-cm-00010 and 15-mj-00451


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News UK’s David Dinsmore: ‘Advertising is quite challenging’
News UK is home to major British newspapers including The Sun, The Times of London and The Sunday Times. It’s found that among some of its key publications, the print audience is growing but advertising is falling.
“Advertising is quite challenging,” said David Dinsmore, COO of News UK, on the Digiday Podcast from Cannes, France. “We’ve tried a lot of things, and nothing is changing that downward trajectory for print advertising. And digital advertising is starting to flatten out. That’s not surprising when 95 percent of the growth is going to [Google and Facebook].”
Here are edited highlights from the episode:
Print ad revenue is still in decline
“Their audience is growing, but their advertising is declining. That’s the first time in history that has happened. You have this situation where the customer is saying they really like this, but the advertiser isn’t advertising against this.”
Media needs to get closer to transactions
“There isn’t a silver bullet. We have to have things that generate tens of millions of pounds of revenue to be meaningful in our [profit and loss statement]. If I was Google and Facebook, my biggest concern would be with Amazon because they book the transaction.”
News providers need more from platforms
“We are providing a lot of content. We’re not getting the value back for it. We have an important part to play in that ecosystem, but we just won’t have the revenues to sustain the 1,500 journalists we employ at News UK.”
More in Media
The Guardian US is entering the race for political ad dollars.
Some people in the know at Possible said they see the conference taking a bite out of Cannes’ attendance, most acutely by U.S.-based marketers who could save money by staying on this side of the Atlantic.
To boost its efforts around brand safety, IPG is adding more tools for identifying harmful content while also helping advertisers avoid appearing near it.


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Loyalty management and customer engagement tech firm Capillary Technologies has announced the successful closure of its Series D funding round, during which it raised $45 million from a consortium of global investors — Avataar Ventures along with its limited partners (Pantheon, 57Stars, and Unigestion), Filter Capital and Innoven Capital.
The funds raised will be crucial for the firm’s global expansion efforts and supporting its mergers and acquisitions strategy.
Capillary Technologies witnessed exceptional growth in the United States, expanding 3.5 times since the acquisition of Persuade in 2021. The US now accounts for more than a third of Capillary’s revenue, said the company in a statement.
Capillary Technologies Founder and MD Aneesh Reddy said, “It has been an incredible journey over the past decade and a half. Commitment from marquee investors from Avataar’s LPs along with existing investors Avataar Ventures and Filter Capital is a testament to the value Capillary Technologies has created in the loyalty domain. With this new funding, we are poised to expand our footprint in North America and Europe and pursue strategic acquisitions that align with our vision of becoming the preeminent loyalty company globally.”
Founded in 2012, Capillary Technologies has presence across the US, India, West Asia and Southeast Asia.
“The strategic decision to diversify from Asia into the US and Europe, encompassing various consumer verticals beyond retail, has been nothing short of impressive. This move has catapulted Capillary into a leadership position in loyalty software and this has been recognised by external mentions like the Forrester Wave. Given the expanded addressable market and the immense potential that lies ahead, Avataar is wholeheartedly committed to supporting Capillary in its pursuit to become a global market leader,” said Mohan Kumar, managing partner at Avataar Ventures.
Sony Bravia XR A80L OLED series TVs with Google TV OS launched: Details
Samsung to unveil flagship Galaxy devices at Unpacked event today: Details
BCCI to sell digital, TV rights for bilateral series separately: Report
Xiaomi Redmi A2 series smartphones go on sale today: Price, specs, and more
Honor MagicBook X 14, X16 laptops available for purchase on Amazon India
Reliance Industries, Jio among top 10 Indian brands in terms of value
TCS set for 'exciting new journey ', says new CEO & MD K Krithivasan
Manappuram Finance launches digital lending app to widen reach
Edtech major Byju's lenders scrap talks to restructure a $1.2 bn loan
Sebi to tighten FPI rules it was forced to dilute for Adani: Congress
Capillary works with more than 250 brands including the likes of Tata, Puma, Shell, Al-Futtaim, Petron, Domino’s, Kanmo Group, and Marks & Spencer. With a reach of over 1 billion consumers and processing 5 billion annual transactions, the company has the backing of Warburg Pincus, Sequoia Capital, Avataar Ventures and Filter Capital.


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The automobile industry in Ghana is male-dominated but a team of Ghanaian female engineers is embracing this frontier and changing the status quo.
Solartaxi Ghana, a green energy automobile start-up in the country has created the platform for a team of young female engineers to support the mission of finding greener solutions in the automobile industry.
Catherine Ama Wilson and Belinda Akaba together with nine others are taking Ghana’s automobile industry by storm by building solar and electric automobiles under Solartaxi.
Despite the platform provided by the female engineers, SolarTaxi Ghana faces major challenge which its co-founder George Appiah, explained.
“We have engaged with the consumer power unit of the electricity company of Ghana, on the possibility of charging all our units across the country. But as a local assembling company that assembles electric vehicles here, being the bikes, the tricycles, and also we are moving towards the cars, we don’t have that support yet. Our biggest challenge has to do with the taxes that we pay. That is not something we are getting support for,’’ he said.
In a press briefing last year, the Growth Associate of the company, Eugene Amponsah, made it known that electric vehicles had the potential to mitigate climate change and provide affordable transportation to Ghanaians.
“They don’t produce fumes so we mitigate climate change. So, when we have more of these cars in the system, that would control the impact on the environment. We are trying to make a major statement in the transportation industry, we know that there is a huge influx of a lot of fuel cars in the system. We are also much concerned about climate change and with that, we want to try and help the environment by introducing cars that are efficient in terms of servicing, cost of fuel, and all that,” he said.
Recent launch by Solartaxi
Solartaxi Ghana launched the Cherry Tiggo 3xe 480 EV SUVs last year with the following specifications
53.6 kWh battery good for a range of about 401 km (NEDC)
95 kW motor producing 280 Nm of torque
Top speed of 151 km/h
Dimensions of the Tiggo 3xe 480 EV SUV are 4200 mm long, 1760 mm wide, and 1570 mm high.
The wheelbase of the Tiggo 3xe 480 EV SUV is 2555 mm, and it has a ground clearance of 150 mm.
Besides electric cars, the company produces other products such as solar-electric bikes, tricycles, and charging stations.


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October 25th, 2005, 22:20 Posted By: wraggster
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed that the company is aiming for a simultaneous worldwide release of its next-generation gaming console, the Revolution. Iwata also confirmed that the system will be coming out after March in 2006.
Talking about the Revolution in an interview with Nikkei Business, Iwata stated, "I can only say that it's coming out during 2006, but it will be after the current fiscal year. We hope to make it a simultaneous worldwide release as much as it's possible."
Since the current fiscal year for Nintendo ends on March 31, 2006, it means the Revolution, as predicted by analysts, will likely be released somewhere between April 1 and December 31, 2006.
When asked by Nikkei Business if he has any specific sales figure targeted for the Revolution, Iwata stated that he hopes the console will sell at least more than the GameCube, which has shipped 18.76 million units as of June.
"It [the Revolution] would be a complete failure if we didn't sell more units than the Nintendo GameCube," said Iwata.
The system's controller, which was revealed in September, was the focus of much of the console's buzz. Surprisingly, Iwata revealed to Nikkei that Nintendo's former president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, was not involved in any way with the creation of the Revolution's controller.
Iwata told Nikkei Business that the Revolution's controller uses several different types of technology, though he did not go into specifics. However, he did note that the controller can be used with any kind of monitor, even digital projectors.
For more information and downloads, click here!
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A Reuters poll has indicated that Thailand’s economy likely grew modestly in the first quarter, thanks to robust exports and an easing of pandemic restrictions. This is despite tourist arrivals remaining low and high inflation dampening consumer spending.
According to a May 6-13 poll of 15 economists, the economy is estimated to have expanded 2.1% in the January-March period compared with the same period a year earlier. It showed annual growth of 1.9% in the previous quarter.
A smaller sample of forecasts showed first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated to have been 0.9% higher than in the previous quarter. That would be half of the quarterly growth of 1.8% in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Phacharaphot Nuntramas, chief economist at Krung Thai Bank, said, “A deceleration of GDP growth is expected due to impacts from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a decline in consumer confidence with soaring inflation and a decline in household non-energy spending”.
According to a separate Reuters poll, inflation has remained above the Bank of Thailand’s upper limit of 3% so far this year and is expected to remain there until the end of the year.
The tourism industry is meanwhile on track to receive just 6.1 million foreign visitors this year, falling short of an earlier projection of 7 million because of China’s travel restrictions and curtailment of Russian visits due to the war in Ukraine.
GDP for all of 2022 is expected to be 3.5% higher than a year earlier, according to another Reuters poll, in line with recently trimmed government projections and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).


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A new chapter in the Cléon plant’s story has begun: it has started up six lines to produce the ePT-160kW electric motor powering the All-new Megane E-TECH Electric. And this is just the first step for this industrial site that will soon be at the centre of electric motor production in France. To support this large-scale transformation, Renault Group is also helping its employees and industry partners to transition into new trades at the E-Mobility Academy.
Energy prices gained 6,4% in June, led by crude oil 6,1% and European natural gas 15,1%. Non-energy prices fell 4%. Agricultural prices dropped 3,7%. Food prices declined 4,7% led by grains -6,6% and oils and meals -5,7%. Beverages gained 1,7% while raw materials fell 2,3%.
CLUJ AUTO EXPO, the largest new car fair in Transilvania, will take place between 2 - 4 September 2022.
The representatives of car manufacturers will welcome you at VIVO Cluj-Napoca with information about the latest models, innovations in the field and attractive offers.
With a limited Founder’s Edition of their lightweight carbon Posedla Joyseat featuring padding individualized to each rider, the new Czech company’s 3D-printed custom saddle is no longer just a concept. The new Joyseat combines full carbon rails, a lightweight carbon shell for either on or off-road, and custom structured TPU padding designed to perfectly fit and support each cyclist.
Combining Plus One’s 3D and AI software with Tompkins tSort AMR system, the pair hope to provide more options for supply chain customers.
Plus One Robotics, a manufacturer of 3D and AI-powered vision software, this week announced a partnership with Tompkins Robotics, an autonomous mobile robot maker focused on sortation.
Many cities and towns limit speeds around schools, hospitals and shopping areas. Seeing the signs, however, can depend on how visible they are, whether they are concealed by branches, or maybe surrounded by a cluster of other signs. Now, Ford is trialling connected vehicle technology using geofencing – a virtual geographical boundary – that could one day do away with the need for speed limit signs completely. As well as potentially making streets safer for other road users and pedestrians, Ford’s Geofencing Speed Limit Control system could help drivers avoid inadvertently incurring speeding fines and improve roadside appearances.
Electromobility continues to gain momentum. This also requires consumer-friendly charging possibilities. HELLA is thus working on further automating the charging process, to which lighting and electronics solutions also contribute.


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MELKSHAM, England—Challenging dairy market conditions and a U.S. government partial shutdown earlier this year have impacted first half results at Avon Rubber.
Despite continuous growth in order intake for its defense rubber mask systems, Avon reported a 24.1 percent year-on-year decline in adjusted operating profit before tax $11.2 for the six months ended March 31. Avon attributed the drop to weak dairy market conditions in the first quarter, which led to reduced revenues for its dairy liners and tubing division.
The company's total received orders for the first-half rose 7.5 percent to $106 million, while revenue declined 5.3 percent to $93 million, Avon reported May 1.
Commenting on the results CEO Paul McDonald was upbeat about as order intake, and order book growth provided confidence for the second half. Over the "transformational six months", he said, Avon secured $340 million of key long-term contracts and grew orders across both businesses.
"Despite the financial performance in (the first half) being adversely impacted by the U.S. government partial shutdown and challenging dairy market conditions, the board remains confident in delivering full year expectations," McDonald said.
An opening order of $75 million and a recently-announced $16.6 million mask system contract are expected boost Avon in the second half of the year.
In addition, the company expects a rebound in milk prices and farmer confidence in the second half of its fiscal year.


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In the rough at Virgina Golf Courses (Virginia Business)
Virginia golf courses still are busy on weekends, but it is increasingly easy to get a weekday tee time. Sobered by the recession, fewer golfers are playing these days. If that trend holds, they will have fewer courses to choose from next year.
Contractor pulls out of riverside hotel job (Roanoke Times)
On Thursday, general contractor J.M. Turner & Co. pulled its work trailers off the construction site along Reserve Avenue in Roanoke and shortly thereafter terminated its contract with the owners and developers of a partially built hotel intended to be part of the Cambria Suites brand.
Steep Market Drops Highlight Despair Over Rescue Efforts (NY Times)
Fears that the world’s economies are even weaker than had been thought ricocheted around the globe on Monday as investors from Hong Kong to London to New York bailed out of stocks.
Tens of Thousands Could Be Added to Federal Payroll (Washington Post)
President Obama’s budget is so ambitious, with vast new spending on health care, energy independence, education and services for veterans, that experts say he probably will need to hire tens of thousands of new federal government workers to realize his goals. The $3.6 trillion plan released last week proposes spending billions to begin initiatives and implement existing programs, and given Obama’s insistence that he would scale back the use of private-sector contractors, his priorities could reverse a generational decline in the size of the government workforce.
To Beat Recession, Indies Launch Buy-Local Push (Business Week)
Most successful buy-local campaigns grow out of independent business networks that share three main elements, says Jeff Milchen, who in 1998 co-founded the first such group in Boulder, Colo. First, they educate consumers about the value of independent businesses in the community. Second, they jointly promote shopping at those businesses through advertising, coupon books, shop-local weeks, and other efforts. And third, they give independent owners a unified voice in government and media.
Biz is failing: Should you tell the staff? (Fortune)
Telling employees you’re concerned about the bottom line can be valuable, but owners also need to offer clear direction on what employees can do to help.


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Employees at two of the Ardagh Group’s glass companies in Yorkshire and Scotland will start industrial action from Saturday, September 14, after 78% of staff voted against the offer.
“This is a highly profitable company and could well afford to be more generous at a time when inflation is eroding our members’ take home pay and household bills, such as food and energy, continue to soar,” said Tas Sangha, deputy regional secretary for Yorkshire, Unite trade union.
But a spokesman for Ardagh Group told FoodProductionDaily.com it values its employees and currently pays double the UK national living wage.
Workers at the Barnsley, Doncaster and Knottingley sites in Yorkshire will enforce a 24-hour stoppage affecting different shifts between September 14 and 23.
Similarly, the strikes at Irvine in Ayrshire will follow a similar 24-hour pattern on September 16 and 21.
The pay offer that was rejected was 3% between February this year and January 2014 – 2% from February to July and an additional 1% from August 1 - and 2.5% between February 2014 and January 2015.
The package also included a review of ‘committed’ shift patterns, such as a reduction in the amount of hours across all sites.
Employees in Europe
“Our members voted overwhelmingly against the company’s offer and last week Unite and the GMB union asked the company to increase the pay offer – it refused,” added Sangha.
“Furthermore, the employees at two of the Ardagh Group’s glass companies in Europe have received bigger increases than that being offered to our members in the UK.
Employees at both sites voted for strike action and industrial action short of a strike – but industrial action had been suspended while they voted on the pay offer, now rejected.
Room for talks
An Ardagh spokesman said: “We are disappointed by this outcome after engaging positively and meaningfully in extensive talks to resolve the dispute.
"We have already made an increased offer following conciliation with ACAS and have also offered to enter into arbitration talks with an independent third party, but this offer has been rejected by the Trade Unions."
He added this year’s pay offer of 3%, representing an average of 2.51% for the year, is above that of its competitors and above the annual national average increase of 1.1%, as reported by the Office for National Statistics.
"Combining Ardagh’s pay awards of 2011 and 2012 with this year’s offer for a two year deal, represents a total increase of 14.2% over four years," he added.
43 new jobs
“In the past 12 months we have reinvested all our UK profits in projects to improve competitiveness and win new business. In the first six months of 2013, this amounted to £63.5m, which has resulted in 43 new jobs and safeguarded a large number of existing posts.
“We remain open to entering into binding arbitration talks at any time, to reach an agreement.”
Union rep Sangha added Unite’s door is open for further talks before the strike dates but only if the company comes up with a better offer.
Ardagh Glass employs about 1,300 workers. Unite claims the company is set to make $108m pre-tax profits this year.


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DEARBORN, Mich. (WJBK) - Saturday, May 7 is Free Comic Book Day. You can be a part of the big event at one of metro Detroit's finest comic shops, Green Brain Comics. Green Brain Comics has almost 50 different titles available to choose from, in a multitude of genres, styles, and reading levels.
Free Comic Book Day happens on Saturday, May 7th from 10am to 6pm at Green Brain Comics which is located at 13936 Michigan Avenue in East Downtown Dearborn. For more info, go to www.greenbrain.biz.
For a list of other participating stores, visit www.freecomicbookday.com.


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benedetti68 - Fotolia
Backblaze's latest software update for its B2 cloud storage service integrates more AWS S3-compatible features -- particularly ransomware protections -- while remaining competitive on cost with major cloud providers.
The company's focus for the biannual refresh of its flagship enterprise-grade object storage aims to increase the parity of the service with Amazon's own premium S3 offerings, said Nilay Patel, vice president of sales. The update will also lay the groundwork for Backblaze's own partner API release later this year, according to Patel.
"We've seen a shift of customers using our platform to build their applications," he said. "We're expanding the use cases -- both backup and software as a service and other ones -- [that] small and medium enterprises need."
Backblaze started in 2007 as a consumer-grade cloud backup service. The company launched its business-oriented B2 product in 2015 and has maintained a lone pricing tier of $.005 per gigabyte for storage. Amazon Web Services, for comparison, offers S3 storage starting at $.023 per gigabyte for the first 50 TB per month, with the price dropping for larger amounts.
"A key focus for the company from the very beginning was to make all our products very easy to use," Patel said. "It was very important for us to have that simplistic pricing."
Backblaze, unlike the globe-spanning AWS, currently operates four data centers across the western United States and in Europe. In the name of transparency, the company publishes its hard drive failure information each business quarter.
One new feature included in this update is integration with S3 object lock for any Backblaze B2 customer. The feature prevents objects from being deleted or overwritten for a set amount of time, or indefinitely.
"It's really made to stop ransomware and some human error as well," Patel said.
Other features touted in the new update include general network enhancements to increase speed and availability, as well as integration into HashiCorp's Terraform infrastructure configuration tool through Backblaze's partner program.
Secondary backup provider
Backblaze customer Continuity Centers, a managed disaster recovery and continuity service, has made significant use of the new object lock feature before its general rollout.
Continuity Center CEO Gregory Tellone said his company selected B2 for its secondary backups at the suggestion of the two companies' mutual business partner, Veeam Software.
Tellone said he signed up for Backblaze storage in October 2020 after learning from Veeam about the forthcoming S3 immutability and object lock. Veeam similarly provides its own form of object lock which, alongside the Backblaze integration, allows Continuity Center to double up the protection of its clients' data.
"That's the No. 1 reason we picked Backblaze," Tellone said, adding that the cost of Backblaze also helped in making the decision.
"The No. 2 reason was the price," he added. "It was just a real easy sell. This is our single focus for our customers. It saves us every day, knowing someone can't delete our backups."
Gregory TelloneCEO, Continuity Center
Tellone said Backblaze's technical documentation for its object lock implementation was slightly more complicated than other services. He praised the Backblaze support team members for their willingness to hear his concerns and work with him to improve the implementation.
"That's what locked me into them mentally. I was able to get other geeks on the phone," he said.
Raj Bala, a research director at Gartner, said those "technical chops" praised by Tellone are what has made Backblaze a popular choice since 2007.
"They're highly valued," Bala said. "They're not viewed as a fly-by-night operation."
Bala said the new features in the update point to Backblaze looking to expand into more enterprise storage operations, where he described the company's presence as "nascent."
S3 features such as object lock are not considered "meat and potatoes" needs for smaller operations, he added, but are signs the company is looking to expand beyond its usual client base of small and medium-sized businesses.


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GeForce Now has recently introduced two new tiers of paid subscriptions. Both levels double the price of the previous tier. If you are interested in learning more about the changes, read this article. You’ll learn about the new features and get a better understanding of the new pricing model.
GeForce Now now has two tiers
GeForce Now has two tiers: a free service and a paid service. Both offer similar functionality, but there are some differences. The free service has limited features and has a long server queue, which limits performance. Using the free service is best for testing streaming devices, but it’s not ideal for gamers who want exclusive access to a fast and reliable gaming environment.
The free service has some limitations, such as a one-hour session limit. Moreover, ray-tracing is disabled for free-tier users. In addition, the service may get unwieldy if many people are trying to play it. Those who want to enjoy uninterrupted gaming should upgrade to the premium version.
While GeForce Now’s free service offers some games for free, most of its games require a payment. The two tiers are designed to cater to gamers with different budgets. The free service provides the gaming platform, but users must provide the games themselves. The free tier includes a limited selection of titles, so it’s best to pay for the more popular titles.
Despite these limitations, GeForce Now’s two tiers offer a better experience. The free tier is limited to 1080p at 60 fps, while the paid service offers 1440p HDR resolution at 120 fps on the Mac. Meanwhile, the paid tier includes access to more powerful Nvidia servers and unlocks more choices on the local end. The GeForce Now service offers comparable computing power to a local RTX 3080 Ti GPU.
NVIDIA will be providing GeForce Now services in its commissioned data centers in North America and Western Europe. Other regions will be served by infrastructure partners of the GeForce NOW Alliance. These data centers are located near major cities. However, NVIDIA will continue to build and expand their infrastructure to ensure the availability of the service in all regions.
Nvidia has rolled out its GeForce NOW service with two tiers: Priority and RTX. The former has more features, including the highest resolution, lowest latency, and the most GPUs. While the Priority tier supports up to 1080p/60 FPS, the RTX 3080 has more performance and support for 4K.
The GeForce NOW service is still in the beta stage, but NVIDIA has a bullish view on the future of its cloud gaming service. While it’s still undergoing teething problems, the company has plans to increase its capacity and roll out a new data center in Montreal later this year. In addition, it’s expanding its partnerships with local servers and expanding the number of countries that have local servers.
New tiers double the price of the previous tier
Nvidia recently announced a new subscription tier for their GeForce NOW service. This service lets you play games on a powerful RTX 3080 GPU without having to buy the card yourself. It works by streaming games through the cloud. The GeForce NOW subscription costs $198 a year and gives you access to the fastest Nvidia servers. It also unlocks additional features on the local end. With this service, you can play games with performance comparable to that of a locally owned RTX 3080 Ti GPU.
The price for the Founders tier is the same as that for the previous tier. However, subscribers who subscribe to the Founders tier will get a special benefit called ‘Founders for Life,’ which will allow them to keep the $4.99 per month price indefinitely. The Founders tier will be available to customers from February 2020, when Nvidia brings GeForce Now out of beta.
GeForce Now also has an upgrade path. While the “Founders” tier will continue to be free, the “Priority” tier will cost you $10 a month instead of $4.99 a month. However, this new tier comes with several advantages, including a higher priority queue, faster servers, longer session duration, real-time ray tracing, and more.
GeForce Now is a great new subscription option and a great way to stay up to date on the latest games. It also offers a variety of other benefits, including game recommendations, updates, and more. It’s also easy to use and is perfect for those who love PC gaming. The price of GeForce Now is also affordable, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t try it out.
Previously, the GeForce Now subscription was free for a limited period. This has been changed to give people who want to play games longer access to the cloud gaming servers a chance to enjoy their games. The GeForce Now subscription tiers will increase to $10 monthly for new members and $100 per year for members who already have a subscription.
GeForce Now is similar to Xbox Game Pass in its growth, with a free tier, and a paid subscription tier. The paid subscriptions probably make up a smaller subset of the total. However, this is a sign of healthy growth and a service that is worth watching in the streaming game market.
As the number of subscribers for NVIDIA’s GeForce Now cloud gaming service reaches ten million, the company has doubled the price of the paid subscription service. In an effort to keep up with demand, Nvidia is expanding its network of data centers and plans to add extra capacity. The increased price will allow users to enjoy better performance and longer gaming sessions, as well as features such as ray-tracing and DLSS support. The company will also be moving existing members to the Founders plan, for which they will continue paying $5 per month for life.
The GeForce NOW subscription program is now available in priority tier, up from the previous premium tier. The only downside to GeForce NOW is the price tag. At $9.99 per month, it’s still not cheap, but the service does offer a lot of features, and will be a good deal for gamers who spend a lot of time playing PC games.
In addition to doubling the price of its Geforce paid subscription service, Nvidia is also adding new features and increasing its server capacity, which could lead to improved performance for GeForce Now users. For example, the company plans to add extra servers at its busiest data centres and add new locations, where members won’t have to wait as long.
The Founders tier will remain free, while the premium tier will increase to $10 per month. The free tier will remain available but come with limitations. The free tier is limited in the number of games it can stream, as well as having no queue priority. The new Priority tier will offer features similar to the Founders tier, but at a much higher price.


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This post is in partnership with Pantene.
You've probably heard the news by now: Black women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in the nation!
And to spell it out even further, since 1997, our women are holding it down with entrepreneurial growth rates that are peaking at a whopping 518 percent.
518 percent. Yasss, queens.
This is all good news for us, right? Well…
According to a 2018 State Of Women-Owned Businesses report, there is a huge revenue gap and Black women-owned businesses averaged revenue of just $24,000 versus $142,900 by all women-owned businesses. Furthermore, 88 percent of women-owned businesses are reportedly making less than $100,000 per year, and only 1.8 percent of women-owned businesses are successful in scaling past $1 million dollars in revenue. In 2015, only 2 percent of venture funding went to women founders and less than 1 percent went to black women.
Ladies, we are securing less than 1 percent of the pie.
When reflecting on my own entrepreneurial journey, I realized how fortunate I was to have reached an acquisition that came with a set of business development advisors and helped propel my brand to accomplish things I could only dream of.
But for those of us who aren't privy to the basics of acquisitions, or optimizing investment funds and shareholders, the question for me has become, how can we better educate women on how grossly imbalanced our entrepreneurial growth rates are to capital access? I knew that I needed to be present in spaces that allowed me to provide more. I knew we needed more bridges, more ladders, and more step stools.
My solution: get involved.
In December, I was invited to West Hollywood to join an expert panel for The Wing's Inaugural Pitch Perfect event in partnership with Pantene. In addition to myself, the panel also included Maris Croswell of Pantene, Susan Lyne of BBG Ventures and Lauren Kassam of The Wing.
During the inspiring evening, five finalists pitched their businesses in front of a live audience—with the ultimate prize being a chance to explore future investment opportunities with BBG Ventures (who has actually recently invested in two black women-owned brands, Mented Cosmetics and RadSwan).
The purpose of Pitch Perfect was for each brand to promote and potentially fund their business, while simultaneously bringing an awareness to the lack of diversity of awarded investment opportunities.
Pitch finalists included five innovative brands who were disrupting their respective industries: The Baalm, a membership-based skincare community, Glow Up Games, the self-described 'Fenty Beauty of Interactive Entertainment' gaming firm, Huggable, an organic baby formula alternative for moms transitioning from breastfeeding, Varnish Lane, a non-toxic and waterless nail salon, and Spacey Studios, a direct-to-consumer affordable art collaborator and curator.
"We believe that that is a massive gap in the amount of female-founded new ventures," Croswell of Pantene says. "We really just wanted to have a supportive environment where people could get feedback on their business opportunities and really have that exposure," adds Kassam.
Prior to going on stage, Mandi Nyambi of The Baalm, revealed to me that although this wasn't their first pitch opportunity, they have never pitched a woman before, let alone a black woman.
This moment stood out being that I knew over 90 percent of all capital investments were awarded by white men, to white men. And I knew women who had previously gotten the opportunity to pitch to investors, would have to go the extra mile to prove their worth, as research shows that we are more likely to be asked questions centered around anticipated problems, whereas a white male's questions focus on growth-hacking areas.
So, on the surface, Mandi was grateful for the panel's diversity, but in reality, she was expressing current concerns that so many black women founders know all too well.
As the pitches continued through the evening, we each actively took notes, listened to what each finalist had to say, and threw out questions before convening to make a decision on who would win the ultimate prize.
We took deliberation very seriously—asking ourselves, and each other, the very criteria that a VC investment firm would ask themselves before investing:
- Is the addressable market large enough?
- Are they solving a problem that millions of people share?
- Is their product or service unique enough that it is going to stand out?
- Is it scalable and what kind of capital will it need to get there?
- Are the economics of the business viable?
- Do we have confidence in the founder(s)?
- And in success, do we believe this has a shot to return 10x to the investors?
Business owners, I hope you wrote these down.
Eventually, we decided Glow Up Games were the finalists that stood out the most. They were the team that were going after a huge underserved market, of women and women of color, and they were disrupting a male-dominated gaming industry.
Most importantly, these ladies have a clear understanding of what their business would evolve into over time.
Glow Up Games now has the opportunity to meet directly with BBG Ventures to discuss potential future investments; an opportunity created by simply going after what they've envisioned. As if that wasn't a perfect ending to a night filled with Girl Power, Pantene's Maris Croswell revealed that all of the finalists would be receiving $20K each to go towards their business growth.
"At Pantene we believe that women and people are transforming their communities, their families, the world around them," says Croswell. "We feel that we have a responsibility to lift up those women who are transforming, so we thank you for the opportunity to do so with each of you and your business."
What an end to an inspiring night!
Featured image courtesy of Allison Zaucha/The Wing


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Nvidia is reportedly planning to abandon its $40 billion acquisition of British semiconductor firm Arm.
According to Bloomberg, which talked to sources familiar with the situation, Nvidia has "told partners that it doesn't expect the transaction to close." However, no decision has been reached yet.
SoftBank Group, which currently owns Arm, is reportedly preparing an IPO for the semiconductor firm as an "alternative" should the Nvidia deal fall through.
In a statement sent to Bloomberg, a spokesperson from SoftBank said they remained "hopeful that the transaction will be approved."
In early 2021, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority said it would launch a formal investigation into the acquisition, looking at "the deal's possible effect on competition" in the country. The in-depth investigation started officially in November 2021.
The purchase is also under scrutiny in the US, with the Federal Trade Commission announcing a lawsuit to block the deal in December 2021, among others.
Major tech firms including Microsoft and Google protested against the acquisition as well, which they said could limit the supply of components needed for their products.
In the summer of 2021, reports said that the acquisition was being delayed by antitrust regulators in China.
Last year, Qualcomm expressed interest in acquiring Arm if the deal with Nvidia was to fail.


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Mumbai:21/7/17:As the smartphone industry is going through a massive revolution, the feature phone market has not seen many innovations while internet connectivity grew from 2G to 4G.
“JioPhone is a move to reach out to the next 100 million users. With a installed base of 400 million feature phones in India, the market is big enough for Jio to target feature phone users with disruptive offers and an effective price of Rs ‘zero’ for a device,” Tarun Pathak, Senior Analyst, Mobile Devices and Ecosystems at Counterpoint Research
JioPhone is going to completely change the feature phone market for other players in the segment, feel experts.
Since the base for 4G feature phones is somewhat 400 million and even if one-third of these users plan to upgrade, this will lead to 133-150 million new user opportunity in short-term period, Pathak predicted.
The pre-booking for JioPhone will start from August 24 and it will be given away on a first-come-first-served basis. It will be available for all from September.
JioPhone will offer free voice calls and SMS to customers. For 4G data, customers need to pay Rs 153 per month. The phone is pre-loaded with applications like Jio Cinema, Jio Music and others.
For Narinder Kumar, an analyst at Cybermedia Research, the “world’s cheapest feature phone” will certainly impact the current market of 2G handsets as well as the entry-level smartphones segment.
“Initially, JioPhone holds greater potential for feature phones moving end of life in the near future,


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Here's one good way to consider the vote in 2012: It's about whether to re-elect President Lisa Jackson, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, which these days runs most the U.S. economy.
The EPA heaved its weight against another industry this month, issuing a regulation to sharply increase fuel economy. Under this new rule, America's fleet of passenger cars and light trucks will have to meet an average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, a doubling of today's average of about 27 mpg. By the EPA's estimate the rule will cost $157 billion, meaning the real number is vastly greater.
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This weekend, people will have the chance to celebrate Yellow Dog Bookshop’s 9th birthday. From 10 a.m.– 6 p.m Saturday. anyone is welcome to stop by the birthday bash at Yellow Dog.
Starting at 10 a.m. until sold out, there will be surprise book bags available, each with a different theme. From noon-2 p.m. there will be blind date books where Yellow Dog will wrap the books so you cannot see the title, only plot clues. There also will be a lemonade sale provided by the youngest bookseller.
Everything is donation-based at the birthday bash. All proceeds will go to an animal shelter in town; as of Thursday morning it was not clear exactly which shelter would receive the donations.
For more information, visit Yellow Dog Bookshop’s event Facebook page.


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McDonald’s announced that its sales at stores open at least a year in the Asia, the Middle East and Africa region declined 1.7% in May, with particular weakness in Japan and China.
In fact, sales in China declined for the first time since November 2009, said Lynne Collier, analyst at Sterne Agee. Collier said that her conversations with McDonald’s management suggested that the lower comparable sales in China last month is “not a one-off”, but rather the start of a new trend.
McDonald’s (MCD) stock slipped more than 0.7%. It was the biggest laggard on the Dow.
Related: U.S. companies betting big in China
Shares of fellow fast food giant Yum! Brands (YUM), which now generates more of its revenue in China than the United States thanks to the growing popularity of KFC there, took an even bigger hit. Shares fell 3.2%, making it one of the worst performers in the S&P 500.
Yum! Brands has been under pressure for weeks amid growing fears that a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy could have a big impact on the company. Shares sank more than 5% last Friday following news that Chinese manufacturing declined in May for the seventh straight month. The stock is down almost 12% in the past month.
In its latest effort to spur growth, China’s central bank cut the country’s deposit and lending interest rates on Thursday.


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Even before advertisers began jumping ship over Elon Musk's antisemitic shenanigans, the site had been in deep doo-doo — and now, it's hard to see how he plans to pull the site up by its bootstraps this time.
As TechCrunch reports, an October analysis from the market research firm Insider Intelligence found that X-formerly-Twitter was already barrelling towards a more than 50 percent decline in ad sales compared to the previous year. Those numbers were notably drawn up before Musk decided to agree with another user spewing antisemitic conspiracy theories, leading to the most recent advertiser exodus.
In other words, the situation may be even worse for Twitter now, with analysts predicting the company's decline in ad sales could be even more significant.
While things clearly weren't going great beforehand, the fallout from the brash billionaire's bigotry has been shockingly swift and severe.
After the inciting tweet, the media watchdog Media Matters for America (which, full disclosure, used to employ this writer) published an exposé about ads for huge companies like Microsoft and IBM running adjacent to explicit white supremacist content on X.
The watchdog's report, in turn, led to many of these big-name advertisers pausing their ad spend on X — and to Musk making good on his promise to sue MMFA for, as he alleges, manipulating the images that show the aforementioned ads next to Nazi posts.
Beyond the immediate drama, however, this arguably deserved kerfuffle is exposing what was once a crack in the dam of X's advertiser exodus that may soon become a full-on flood.
"The damage to X’s ad business will be severe," Insider Intelligence analyst Jasmine Enberg told TechCrunch. "A big-name advertiser exodus will inspire other advertisers to follow suit, and there is already likely a long tail of less vocal advertisers that have pulled spending."
Indeed, Musk himself admitted just a few months ago that the company's advertising revenue was down about 60 percent year-over-year from 2022. Characteristically, he blamed the decline on the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish nonprofit extremism watchdog that he also, coincidentally, threatened to sue.
In the aftermath of Musk's shocking faux pas, things have gotten so bad at the site formerly known as Twitter that CEO Linda Yaccarino has been calling on employees to pull new revenue streams out of thin air while privately fielding texts from concerned colleagues begging her to save herself while she still can.
There have, of course, been mass advertiser exits elsewhere before — but this time is, by all indications, substantially different given Musk's own actions.
"Advertisers are accustomed to dealing with brand safety concerns on social media, particularly during periods of political and social tension or war," Enberg said. "But they’re not accustomed to a platform’s owner amplifying misinformation and hate speech, and emboldening conspiracy theorists."
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Think Global has published a Fair Chocolate Guide. TG says:
“In the lead up to Easter this year, Think Global took part in a Europe-wide study (developed through our collaborative Supply Chainge project) investigating the ethics of supermarket chocolate bars and Easter bunnies. So how ‘fair and green’ are these sweet treats?
Overall, the report found there are major problems with ethics in the supply chains of major chocolate producers and retailers, including child labour, use of illegal pesticides, and exploitation of small scale farmers (who often struggle to live on less than £1 a day). In the UK, the report ranked own-brand chocolate bars and Easter bunnies for major supermarkets including Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s – take a look at our UK Chocolate Report Summary to find out how your favourite brands fared.”


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GM Will Build Honda EVs On Its Platform Using Cadillac and Hummer Batteries
Honda will design the cars, however.
General Motors and Honda have a new joint project beyond the development of fuel cells, the Cruise Origin (a six-passenger electric autonomous pod for ride sharing), and battery module work. The two automakers will this time be developing two new electric vehicles for Honda to go on sale for the 2024 model year in the U.S. and Canada. We don't yet know what form the Honda EVs will take (the brand's current Clarity EV, plug-in hybrid, and fuel-cell lineup is pictured above—well, most of it is, since the EV was just killed).
Honda will design the next-generation electric vehicles, both inside and out, but they will use GM's new global EV platform to take advantage of the greater scale which reduces cost. That includes using the Ultium batteries that GM has developed for its own slew of electric vehicles planned including the Cadillac Celestiq flagship and GMC Hummer electric pickup (which we've rendered, below). GM has said the batteries will provide a range of 400 miles or more, with a fast charge that provides more than 100 miles in 10 minutes.
GM is also installing more capacity in plants to make electric vehicles and will build the new Honda EVs at one of its facilities in North America. One candidate is the Detroit-Hamtramck plant where GM is dropping a cool $2.2 billion to retool it to build its first new electric pickups there by the end of 2021. GM will engineer the Honda vehicles to the Japanese specs so they drive like you'd expect a Honda to.
"This collaboration will put together the strength of both companies, while combined scale and manufacturing efficiencies will ultimately provide greater value to customers," said Rick Schostek, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., in a statement. The economies of scale will allow Honda to ramp up its electrification plans faster, he said.
And it might not end with the two vehicles planned. "We are in discussions with one another regarding the possibility of further extending our partnership," Schostek said.
From the GM side, the agreement further builds on its partnership with Honda and validates GM's Ultium batteries and new EV platform, said Doug Parks, executive vice president of Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. "Importantly, it is another step on our journey to an all-electric future and delivering a profitable EV business through increased scale and capacity utilization. We have a terrific history of working closely with Honda, and this new collaboration builds on our relationship and like-minded objectives."
Recently GM Mary Barra outlined some of the products and plans underway as GM amps up its focus on electric vehicles. Barra said the vehicles coming, from the compact Chevrolet Bolt to the Hummer and large Chevrolet SUVs, will be profitable.
Besides nabbing access to GM's electric-car platform, Honda will also use GM's OnStar services in the new EVs, integrating them with its own HondaLink connectivity system. Honda will also be allowed to use GM's Super Cruise hands-free advanced driver-assist technology.
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In the era of streaming, with physical album sales near all-time lows and services like Spotify and Apple Music paying artists only a fraction of a cent per stream of their song, artists are relying on touring more than ever to make most of their money.
And it’s even harder for smaller, independent artists: The ones that aren’t backed by a major record label, and who aren’t selling out arenas every night, meaning they have to be on the road even more just to pay their band and crew.
One way that artists make up a lot of their revenue is in merchandise sales. Whereas streaming an artist’s song (or even an entire album) may only pay a few cents at best, buying a t-shirt is one way for fans to put $30 directly into that artist’s pocket.
Well, unless the venue also requires that you give them part of your merch sales too…
The practice of venues taking a percentage of merchandise sold at a show isn’t new. Back when artists were able to sell 100,000 physical copies of an album and merchandise didn’t make up as large of a percentage of their revenue, giving 20% to the venue wasn’t as big of a hit to the artist.
Sure, this is a gross oversimplification of everything that goes into it. But times have changed, and artists are calling for venues to end the practice of skimming off the top of their merch sales.
Last night before their show at the Tower Theatre in Oklahoma City, the band posted a note to fans letting them know that if they bought merch at the show, 20% of that sale was going to the venue and not to the band:
“In the spirit of transparency, we want you to know that The Tower Theatre will be taking 20% of all merchandise sold tonight. To offset this, we have been forced to raise the prices of all merchandise by 20%. We are truly sorry for the inconvenience.
On a completely unrelated note, all merchandise you see here is available at www.americanaquarium.com and 100% of online sales go directly to the band.
Either path you choose, please know we appreciate you being here and thanks for supporting live, original, independent music.”
Now, the argument from venues (and from others who support the practice of venues getting a cut of merch) is that the venue is providing space for the artists to set up shop, so they should get a portion of the sales in “rent” for that space.
But as lead singer BJ Barham points out, it’s the band who’s doing all the work: Designing, printing, transporting, setting up and selling the merch. And it’s only because that band is there that fans are at the venue in the first place.
We travel with our own merch seller whom we pay out of our pocket. We designed, printed, shipped, transported, set up and sold the merch. Tell me again why they deserve a 20% cut? By your logic, don’t I deserve a cut of the bar, since I’m the ONLY reason folks are here drinking? https://t.co/cRzmBNvaon
There’s been a push, especially in the UK, for venues to end the practice of venues taking a share of an artists’ merch sales. And obviously there’s a lot that goes into how artists and venues make money, so it’s hard to simplify the issue when so much varies by artist and venue.
But for artists who rely on touring and merch sales to pay their bills, for a venue to come along and take 20% just makes it that much harder for artists who already have to spend so much time on the road just to break even.


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If you’re thinking of planning a short escape, next week might be the perfect opportunity to do so.
The UAE government has announced the date for the Islamic New Year holiday for federal employees. Friday, July 21, will be a holiday for those who work in the federal government, on the occasion of the Hijri New Year.
The Ministry announced today that the holiday marks the start of the Islamic year 1445, will result in a day off for public sector workers.
Per, The Emirates Astronomy Society (ESA), the new Hijri year (Muharram 1) is likely to be on Wednesday, July 19.
However, the dates can be changed based on when the crescent moon is spotted.
When is the next long weekend?
The next public holiday after New Year is just over two months away as Prophet Mohammed’s birthday falls on Friday, September 29, which also gives people a long weekend.
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Images: Supplied & Feature Image: Instagram @visitabudhabi


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When Bayou Road neighborhood bar Pirogues closed early on in the pandemic, it was the kind of loss that stirred up a sense of doom; a feeling that it was a sure sign of more to come. The new incarnation of the simple corner space, Velveteen Lounge and Restaurant, invokes the reverse — a sense of hope for new, sustainable opportunities in New Orleans’s restaurant landscape that also honor tradition and legacy.
“Pirogues was my regular, local establishment,” says Brendan Gordon, one of the trio opening Velveteen Lounge. “It felt like such a community crossroads, a place with a real mix of customers. When it closed, I was worried it might flip into something with an unaffordable menu, or a fancy coffee spot... I could not see a space like this becoming something that wasn’t inviting,” he says.
Though Pirogues opened in 2015, the address has been home to a number of similar establishments over the decades, including a place that sold horse racing forms (it’s not far from the Fairgrounds racetrack). Gordon says he met a lot of the customers who had been going there for 40 years. “It’s been a community space for that long.”
Not long after Pirogues closed in 2020, Gordon connected with Amber Rowley, who was working at the bar prior to the pandemic, and Mina Seck, a chef who was running her successful three-year old catering business, BeetsNthyme, about creating a worker cooperative in the space.
The idea was on its way to dying on the vine until July 2021, when the building’s landlord reached out to see if they were still interested in renting. Two weeks after they signed the lease, Hurricane Ida hit Southeast Louisiana and tore a hole in the roof in the unit above the restaurant. “It was a six-month mess,” says Gordon.
Now, after a few dry runs during Jazz Fest weekends, the 100 percent worker-owned Velveteen Lounge officially opens Saturday, May 28. Seck’s simple menu of items like jerk chicken and vegan tacos, a market salad, empanadas, and a burger is built around fair and affordable food prices; “a place like this shouldn’t sell $15 sandwiches,” says Seck. The pricing is also designed in the hopes of inspiring customers to “pay it forward” — an option for those who can afford to support the restaurant’s efforts to feed others for free, a practice that’s popped up at a number of local restaurants like Turkey and the Wolf in the LGD.
On the bar side, there will be some house cocktails but Rowley notes they’re not trying to be a cocktail destination: They’ll be able to make classic cocktails, but depending on the drink, maybe with a small spirit brand customers have never seen before. There are no beers on draft (they all come in a can or bottle), and while some are local or regional craft brews, brands like Bud Light are on offer in a nod to Pirogues customers. Well cocktails go for $4, tall boys for $3, and a few specialty cocktails will be just $5.
There are some unexpected wines thanks to Seck, who notes, “You can’t really go to a neighborhood bar here and order a decent wine for the most part,” says Seck. “You have to go sit at a restaurant or upscale bar. We wanted to make sure it was an option,” she says. The team is working on a zero proof program, but not just zero, Gordon says — “Zero proof, low proof, mid proof, and high proof. We want to have options for them all,” he says. They’ll also serve non-alcoholic wine and beer, in addition to stocking a few non-alcoholic spirits.
The trio has lofty goals beyond being a neighborhood bar and restaurant. The idea, Gordon says, is to eventually transition into a multi-stakeholder cooperative that includes consumer owners, investor owners, and worker owners (for now it’s not backed by any outside funding). Ultimately, he says, “we want to be able to have some of the capital that we’ve raised through profits go through a community investment fund... there’s been a lot of community organizing in New Orleans but it’s often missing a key component — [sustainable] capital. Linking the goal of equity with a generator of profit allows us to actually have impact.”
With their small corner community space, he says, there’s a lot of opportunity. To feature and sell artists’ work (with all proceeds going to the artist, who is currently Ariana Marisol); to become zoned to host public markets; and more. “Where can we go from here?” says Gordon.
For the grand opening of Velveteen Lounge on Saturday, May 28, musician Jelani Bauman will play from 7 to 9 p.m. From there, the restaurant will be open Thursday through Monday from 3 p.m. to midnight.
And what about the name? “Velvet is a luxury material,” Gordon says. “Velveteen is a knockoff material. Because everyone should be able to have nice things in a nice space.”


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Sat, March 25, 2023 | 20:49
Samsung SDI's stock on recovery track
Samsung SDI's stock is expected to take a stable upward trajectory in the coming months, based on expectations of its electric vehicle (EV) battery business achieving solid profits this year. A limited impact from the auto chip shortage on the battery maker's profits as well as plans to aggressively expand its battery product lineup are set to have a positive effect on Samsun...
| 2021-11-02 16:42
KT to pay W40 bil. in compensation for network outage
KT will pay out up to 40 billion won ($33.97 million) in compensation to customers of its wired and wireless services, which underwent nationwide disruptions Oct. 25, the company said. The telecom company outlined its compensation policy for the network failure during a briefing, Monday. A routing error disabled wired and wireless services from around 11:20 a.m. to noon a wee...
| 2021-11-01 16:42
'Subcontracted employee's mistake caused network outage'
A mistake by an employee of a firm KT outsourced for its routing work was to blame for the nationwide network disruption earlier this week, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Friday. KT's internet network error disabled both wired and wireless services around 11:20 a.m. on Monday. Most services were restored by noon, but some disruptions lasted longer.
| 2021-10-29 17:27
SK On confirms plans for LFP batteries
SK's battery affiliate is currently developing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for electric vehicles (EV), and the company said its battery business will turn profitable next year at the earliest.
| 2021-10-29 15:43
BMW's foundation leads corporate social responsibility
BMW Korea said Thursday it is seeking to offer a new model for multinational companies' corporate social responsibility efforts here. The carmaker established the BMW Korea Future Foundation in July 2011. Marking its 10th anniversary, BMW is seeking to engage in activities with greater positive social impact. This is centered on training young students to help them discover i...
| 2021-10-28 16:47
[ANALYSIS] Tesla's strategy to benefit, challenge Korean battery makers
Tesla's recently unveiled plan to power its standard-range electric vehicles (EV) with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode batteries is set to benefit Korean battery makers by opening new opportunities in the market, with other major automakers expected to follow suit.
| 2021-10-27 08:50
KT confirms routing errors caused network disruption
Routing errors by KT employees caused the company's nationwide network services disruption a day earlier, the telecommunications firm said Tuesday, pledging to compensate customers for any losses caused by the incident. "We confirmed that the disruption was caused by errors in designating network routes, which took place while switching to the latest equipment to upgrade serv...
| 2021-10-26 17:06
LG's flexible displays to be featured at London art exhibition
LG is increasing its collaboration with artists to present their works using its premium display panels. LG Electronics said Sunday that its flexible displays will be featured at a media art exhibition in London that will be held through the end of this year.
| 2021-10-25 08:45
All eyes on Lee Jae-yong's next move on late chairman's death anniversary
Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong is being watched closely over how he will steer the nation's largest conglomerate on the first anniversary of the death of his father and the business group's late chairman, Lee Kun-hee. Lee, who was released from prison in August, is seen to have three key missions - creating new growth engines through bold investments, overhauling corporate governa...
| 2021-10-24 16:36
Korea urged to monitor a possible shrink in exports
The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) on Wednesday warned of risks ahead of U.S. tapering measures, as Korea's exports to emerging economies with weak fiscal conditions could slow down.
| 2021-10-20 16:25
Zoo shares sad story of what caused Sero the zebra to escape
Burnout: Cardiothoracic surgery residents work 102 hours a week
Churches, Seoul gov't unite to fight low birthrate
North Korea will pay price for reckless provocations, warns Yoon
Genesis launches 2023 G90 sedan
Second daughter of Daesang chairman promoted to vice president
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More companies adopt electronic voting amid increase in shareholder activism
Over 70% of firms unwilling to embrace longer workweek
Samsung Display strike looms due to deadlocked wage negotiations
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The Broad Market Index was down 0.51% last week and 51% of stocks out-performed the index.
This is the last update for financial statements from U.S. companies for the second quarter of 2021. Quite a remarkable juxtaposition to the implosion of sales that the virus brought on us last year.
Strong Autos & Housing
Corporate growth has been invigorated by the ultra-loose money policy that has been prescribed as the solution to the virus crisis. Today’s financial data reveals that, behind the wave of improvement, is a strong automobiles and housing industry.
The autos and housing increase in sales growth is now spilling over, as it eventually does, to the broader industrial and commodity sectors. This sales growth uptrend is now in its 3rd quarter. These loose-money-driven consumer cycles have been seen and repeated over the last 60 years. Quantitative tools and active management such as Otos.io can predict how they end.
A clear sign of a cycle peak is marked by higher inventories and lower gross profit margins; the cycle is 8 to 10 quarters from trough to peak.
The wave of new financial statements for the 3rd quarter is just over the horizon. History shows that a broad industrial recovery is not fragile and takes a tighter monetary policy (less money available to lend and higher interest rates) to slow it down.
Sales Growth Predicted To Fall
The new wave of company numbers that Otos will sort through and analyze in the coming weeks will continue to show the effect of the virus impact last year. Sales growth is likely to fall from near the highest level ever. The critical and most predictive variable is the gross profit margin.
Gross Margin Distortion
The average gross margin decline in the recent quarter is a direct distortion from the virus. Companies in industries where the virus impact was most severe, industries such as airlines, leisure time and entertainment and gaming and lodging, all recorded margin declines steep enough to bring the average down even though 61% of companies accounting for 72% of market capital are achieving a gross profit margin improvement in the recent period.
Rising profit margins boost the cash flow effect of an improvement in sales growth and indicates that the company can increase output prices at a faster rate than input costs. This is critical to success in an economy with rising commodity prices and rising labor costs.
The big risk is in the structure of popular indexes that form the basis for most ETFs and mutual funds that investors currently own. A very small number of jumbo companies have come to dominate the indexes after years of improving growth driven by higher-than-average sales growth and persistent margin improvements.
Profit-Margin Trend Is Key
With the broad acceleration elsewhere, the dominant growth companies already show declining relative growth.
Otos identifies decelerating companies “Sell MoneyTrees” with a red stem (even high and falling sales growth is a very negative attribute), a brown globe (falling profitability) and a trim red pot (falling profit margins and no operating/financial leverage).
Review your portfolio for these financial attributes and since the stock prices of these companies are currently and broadly extended now this a fantastic opportunity to sell growth and buy cyclicals.


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On March 24th, BitMart Labs, an international blockchain incubator launched by BitMart Exchange, will host the China Digital Economy Global Innovation Forum and BitMart One Year Anniversary Convention in Shanghai, China. Sheldon Xia, Founder and CEO of BitMart Exchange, will attend the forum and speak on BitMart’s past success.
Co-hosted by HPOOL, China’s largest hard drive mining pool, BN Capital, a well-known blockchain investment institution and Windin.com, the new generation of finance information platform, this event features keynote speakers, BitMart Club opening ceremony, and the introduction of US Security Token Offering (STO) service launched by BitMart Exchange.
This global forum will bring together over 100 blockchain leaders across the globe. Project founders and professionals with extensive experience in oversea market operations will identify the direction of China’s digital economy and share their insights on future global trends. Attendees will be able to explore turning points and new opportunities for China’s digital economy companies, in the context of the uncertain global market.
BitMart Labs’ global management team will also come and share their unique insights on global economy, emerging technology, finance and global regulations. “We’ve made a lot of breakthroughs during the past year and we are delighted to share our successful experience with China’s new forces in the blockchain market,” said Sheldon Xia.
About BitMart Labs
BitMart Labs is an international blockchain incubation platform launched by the premier global digital asset trading platform BitMart. BitMart collaborates with world's top funds in providing a variety of powerful services, including technical and marketing solutions for high-quality projects, so as to help the development and incubation of potential projects. BitMart Labs is dedicated to selecting quality projects with the strictest standards and elevating them to the next level.
BitMart is a premier global digital asset trading platform in the cryptocurrency market with over 600,000 users worldwide and ranks among the top 5 crypto exchanges on CoinMarketCap. BitMart currently offers 199 trading pairs with one of the relatively low trading fees in the market. BitMart’s daily trading volume ranges from $30,000,000 to $50,000,000 USD and total trading volume has reached over $37,000,000,000 USD since launching in March 2018.


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Washington Post joins industry layoffs: 'It's bad, just bad'
CNN reports that The Washington Post will be announcing the number of layoffs soon.
The Washington Post joined on Tuesday the list of companies conducting layoffs, US media outlet CNN reported on Tuesday citing sources informed on the matter.
This comes just one month after WaPo’s CEO announced that the publishing firm will trim its employee count in early 2023.
According to the CNN report, the number of staff to be cut is still unknown.
In his December announcement, Ryan said the expected count of layoffs would be in the “single digit percentage," stressing that the staff cuts would not result in a “net reduction” of its workforce; rather, it will be invested in other areas of the company.
Ryan’s announcement caused outrage in the newspaper company, the report added, citing around a dozen employees.
“The mood is really grim,” one employee told CNN then. “People are just so livid right now. It’s bad. Just bad.”
On Tuesday, The Washington Post Guild, a Union representing over 1,000 WaPo employees, notified its members that it is working on determining the number of staff effect, CNN said according to a note it obtained.
The note added that the Guild had “good reason to believe that the number of people affected is far smaller than what Fred Ryan initially alluded to” last December.
“But to be clear, we believe any job eliminations right now — at a time of continued growth and expansion — are unacceptable,” the Union said. “To our colleagues impacted today, we are sorry, and we’re here for you.”
“Today is a hard day for us all,” the Guild said. “We’re devastated for our colleagues and angered by the irresponsible and illogical decision-making from The Post. But we’re not done fighting or standing up for each other.”
According to the news site, the layoffs announcement came just days after the company’s owner, Jeff Bezos, made a visit to the newsroom and met with Ryan and Executive Editor Sally Buzbee.
Kathy Baird, chief communications officer at WaPo, stated last December that the staff cuts are necessary as the newspaper is heading toward “evolving and transforming to put our business in the best position for future growth.”
“We are planning to direct our resources and invest in coverage, products, and people in service of providing high value to our subscribers and new audiences,” Baird said then.
In recent months, tech and media giants went on a layoff spree cutting tens of thousands of jobs, as the companies struggle with low ad revenue and a surplus of employees that were hired at a fast pace during the pandemic, according to their claim.
Most tech companies argue that they hired at a massive pace during the pandemic as a means of meeting the global demand for goods and services.
In addition to WaPo’s recent decision, major news outlets such as BBC, CNN, NBC News, MSNBC, Vox media, and other companies slashed their workforce recently.
Spotify Technology, the Swedish music streaming giant, said on Monday that it is planning on laying off hundreds of its workforce, just a few days after Google announced it will be cutting 12,000 jobs.
In October of last year, it was reported that the digital-advertising industry has shown signs of fragility, as search company Google reported its fifth consecutive quarter of slow sales growth.
Youtube, which figures among one of Google's core properties, has also indicated a drop in advertising revenues this quarter.
Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., racked up $69.1 billion in the third quarter last year, which highlights a meager increase of 6.1% compared to the same period the year prior.
Earlier last week, Microsoft announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs in the near future, like Facebook, Meta, and Twitter which did likewise recently.
It is worth noting that smaller tech firms like UK-based cybersecurity firm Sophos and cryptocurrency players like Coinbase have also announced job cuts affecting up to 20% of their employees.
According to data collected by the Layoffs.fyi website, more than 55,000 tech employees globally have been laid off so far in 2023.


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Consumers worldwide are strongly negative about retailers’ privacy initiatives, says a new study that uncovers the drivers of this sentiment.
The study from Capgemini Consulting points to the need for retailers to balance personalization and privacy infringement. The report is based on a social media sentiment analysis of more than 220,000 conversations over six months and covering 65 large global retailers that collectively generate revenues of over a trillion dollars
Key findings from the report include:
- Consumers worldwide are strongly dubious of retailers’ privacy initiatives: 93 percent of all consumer sentiment on this subject was negative.
- Security and invasion of privacy are key data issues: The main factors driving negative sentiment are data security (76 percent) and intrusive behavior by the retailer (51 percent).
- Data collection slips into intrusion: Technology perceived as intrusive was met with high suspicion, including in-store traffic monitoring (84 percent negative) and facial recognition (81 percent negative),
- Personalization initiatives have been received largely positively across the globe: 80 percent of all consumer sentiment on personalization was positive globally. But there are some discrepancies across regions – North America is positive about retailers’ personalized offers, while Europe displays a mixed sentiment.
- Striking the balance between privacy and personalization eludes most: Only 14 percent of retailers are perceived positively by consumers on both personalization and privacy initiatives. A significant number of brands actively antagonized consumers, with nearly 29 percent of retailers leaving consumers dissatisfied with both their personalization and privacy initiatives, largely due to intrusive loyalty programs, excessive promotional mails, poor in-store service, or confusing opt-in/opt-out instructions.
“The deluge of hacks on retailers’ data and misdirected personalization initiatives are having a dramatic effect on consumers’ trust,” said Kees Jacobs, global consumer products and retail consumer engagement lead for Capgemini. “The advent of digital shopping and big data analytics promised a golden age for retailers, but many of the world’s largest brands are finding the reality of safeguarding and properly utilizing this precious information very challenging.”
The report urged retailers to address associated privacy and personalization challenges, including the importance of being transparent with how and when they will use customer data. What is needed is a blend of trust, transparency and consumer control over data.


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Hyundai Sees Electric Cars As The Key To Beating Volkswagen And Toyota
Hyundai Motor Company, which consists of the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands, is now the world’s third-largest automaker and it intends to utilize its strong position to take on Toyota and the Volkswagen Group, the number one and two biggest carmakers, respectively.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Hyundai president and co-chief executive Jaehoon Chang said that “We’re on the right track, and this year we were very strong. Our supply chain management was key. We’re trying to be flexible, and optimize and protect production as much as we can in spite of the chip shortage.”
Last year, HMC sold a total of 6.6 million vehicles, directly behind Toyota (10.5 million vehicles) and Volkswagen (8.9 million). For 2022, Hyundai’s revenue is on track to increase by an impressive 21% for a grand total of around $108 billion.