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MARINE - Recently, the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Marine Coin Company in celebration of the company's 10th year in business.
Marine Coin owner Bill Weder established the company in August 2012 when a previous bank building came up for sale.
"I thought the building was really cool and figured it would be a good place for my business," Weder said.
The Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce said Bill and his team understand the need for estate planning and expert advice when it comes to coin and jewelry collections. They are proud to have served the Metro East region for the past decade and look forward to helping customers for many years to come.
Bill enjoys being a part of the local community and showing mutual support and respect for fellow business owners in town.
Whether buying or selling, customers are welcome to stop by the shop located at 155 North Duncan Street in Marine or call 618-887-2008 with any questions.
Bill says if you visit the shop, plan to stay a while and enjoy the history hung on the walls of Marine Coin Company and the array of stories from the shop owner."
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The executives worked at Samsung Electronics but the actions that will land them in jail for up to two years relate to Samsung BioLogics, the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) wing of the South Korean conglomerate.
Prosecutors accused the executives of ordering employees to destroy and hide evidence ahead of a probe into accounting practices at the CDMO, according to government-funded South Korean news agency Yonhap.
The alleged cover up entailed hiding computers, notebooks and computer servers under the floors of facilities run by Samsung BioLogics, according to Reuters. The judge was unimpressed by the actions of the defendants.
Judge Soh Byung-seok said, “The boldness of the defendants’ criminal acts was beyond the public’s imagination and stunned society.”
Earlier in the legal case, the court heard how the accused admitted deleting data, according to Korea Biomedical Review. The data was deleted ahead of a raid by officials investigating Samsung BioLogics.
The accusations against the executives are tied up with scrutiny of Samsung BioLogics’ accounting practices, which caught the attention of South Korean financial regulator, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
Last year, a FSS probe led to the accusation that Samsung BioLogics breached accounting rules, specifically by changing how it valued its biosimilar joint venture with Biogen. After the change, Samsung Biologics posted a net profit, ending four years of losses.
The upturn in the fiscal performance of the biologics business came at a key moment for Samsung, which was preparing to merge two of its units. The merger ratio, and by extension the value of the biologics group, was one of the discussion points regarding the transaction.
Samsung BioLogics strongly denied the allegations when the FSS reached its preliminary conclusion last year, going as far as threaten to sue if the probe ultimately delivered a decision “that we cannot accept.”
The court sentenced the executives without passing judgment on whether Samsung BioLogics did or did not break accounting rules.
Samsung BioLogics has continued to win business against the backdrop of the scandal, signing a deal to manufacture Ichnos Sciences’ ISB 830 and a third agreement with UCB in recent months. Sales in the third quarter totaled KRW 184.8bn (€141m), an 83% increase over the same period of 2018.

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Nothing defines the sound of summer quite like the tinkle of ice cream truck music. Often heard from a great distance, it at once inspires childlike excitement and accelerated movement toward wallets and piggy banks. Aside from offering a cool treat on a hot day, ice cream trucks provide a sense of nostalgia that is hard to resist.
Two mobile ice cream vendors are taking the opportunity to deal in happiness, as well as ice cream.
Tasty Treat Ice Cream, owned and operated by Charanjit Kaur and her husband, make their rounds throughout the Fox Cities from Menasha to Kimberly. They also will visit locations and events by request.
The couple has been in business for the last five years. And with two small children, ages 6 and 7, at home they both appreciate the flexibility of their schedules.
“It’s my own business. I can start and stop when I want,” said Kaur.
This summer’s most popular treat? A two-way tie between Spongebob and Hello Kitty ice cream bars.
Gary Wondrash of Appleton is a different kind of ice cream vendor. Instead of a truck, Wondrash runs his business, Walt’s Treats, from the back of a bicycle. He put together the system himself with a $10 bicycle, and a freezer and speakers from the internet. He carries 15 different ice cream products and bottled water. The bike, he says, keeps his business cost-effective and personal.
“I have started a lot of new friendships and meet a lot of new people when I’m out,” says Wondrash.
Walt’s Treats, which is now in its fourth summer, is based around Northland Avenue in Appleton. Wondrash rides out in a different direction each day to reach as many people as possible. For “Mr. Walt,” as the kids know him, his business is all about the people he meets.
“I have regular customers. We keep in contact on Facebook and they ask if I can hit their neighborhood,” says Wondrash.
Another benefit of the bike is a built-in workout. Wondrash has been a physical eduction teacher for the past 27 years and has been teaching in the Appleton area at Highlands Elementary School for the past 13. A self-proclaimed fitness enthusiast, his second summer job is as a personal trainer.
“I guess it’s job security,” he jokes. “I sell them the ice cream and then they need to work out.” He also incorporates his education background by talking to kids about nutrition and exercise.
Whether by bike or by truck, the ice cream business brings joy to both vendor and customer.
“It’s a business that’s low-stress and makes people happy. It’s part of summer. It’s a joyous thing to do,” says Wondrash.
— By Jennifer Clausing


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Food Analytics Startup Tastewise Raises $5 Million
The company uses artificial intelligence algorithms to analyze billions of data points, from food photos shared on social media to restaurant menus, reviews, and online recipes and offers insights on a monthly subscription basis
Tel Aviv-based food analytics startup Tastewise technologies Ltd. has raised $5 million from Malta-based foodtech investment firm PeakBridge Partners Ltd., the former announced Wednesday. This is the firm’s first investment in an Israeli company.
Founded in 2017 by entrepreneurs Eyal Gaon, formerly of web traffic analytics company SimilarWeb Ltd., and former Google executive Alon Chen, Tastewise offers a predictive food intelligence service that analyzes billions of data points, from food photos shared on social media to restaurant menus, reviews, and online recipes, using artificial intelligence algorithms. The company offers predictions on culinary trends, changing tastes, and dietary fads to restaurateurs and food companies on a monthly subscription base. The company analyzes menus from more than 180,000 restaurants in the U.S. alone, according to its statements.
Tastewise has raised $6.5 million to date, according to company statements. The company intends to use the new round of funding to hire developers for its Tel Aviv office, and to break into new markets.
Food (illustration). Photo: Yuval Chen


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The news struck Susan Evans like a thunderbolt.
"I called out to the office, 'Oh, my God, SimonDelivers is shutting down!'" said Evans, a local website publisher and longtime customer of the grocery delivery service.
It's true: The cheery yellow trucks of SimonDelivers.com will roll to a stop at the end of the month. After nine years, during which it survived the dot-com bust and competition from traditional grocers, SimonDelivers fell victim to rising food and fuel costs, its CEO announced Tuesday.
Sales were mostly flat at $55 million for the past few years at the New Hope-based company. Its 300 employees serve about 19,000 customers around the Twin Cities.
The epitaph may well be that while SimonDelivers won the hearts of a fiercely loyal core of trendsetting consumers, it never lived up to its promise of changing the way the masses buy groceries.
"I'm quite sure the original investors were never satisfied with the results," said George John, a professor of marketing at the Carlson School of Management.
"My guess is that they were reasonably profitable, but they were never growing as fast as the original storyline. And the storyline is that this would be transformative."
Tears and apologies
At its peak, SimonDelivers garnered 1 to 1.5 percent of the Twin Cities supermarket dollar, according to Simon Foster, the man who created the company.
A consultant at Spencer Stuart, a headhunting firm with offices in Minneapolis, Foster no longer sits on the board at SimonDelivers but has stayed close to the people running the company he founded.
"I've had better days," he said Tuesday when reached by phone at his Minneapolis office. He spent the morning in New Hope commiserating with employees.
"There were a lot of tears. It was hard. I said, 'Thank you, and I'm sorry.' I also said physical things die, the spirit and the knowledge doesn't," he said.
Company CEO Liwanag Ojala was unavailable for comment Tuesday.
An e-mail she sent out to customers on Tuesday apologized for the company's closing: "Today's economic conditions, including the spike in food and fuel costs, have forced us to make this very difficult decision."
Foster said the company struggled to find new funding, but without any growth, they couldn't find a partner. The competitive Twin Cities supermarket industry made it difficult to raise prices, even if the company paid more for its inventory. Rising fuel costs were disastrous to the bottom line.
Ultimately, there simply weren't enough customers to make it viable, he said.
"We tried everything to try to keep this alive," he said.
Some employees were let go Tuesday. Some will stay until the inventory runs out, he said.
"It was an incredible journey," he said. "I'm grateful to a lot of people."
The company rode out the tough times of the dot-com bust, when similar online delivery companies burned through their start-up cash and folded. The best-known collapse was Webvan, a San Francisco-based delivery company that consumed billions of dollars of investors' cash, went bankrupt in 2001 and is now remembered as a ruinous misadventure in national retailing.
Simon, founded in April 1999, set more modest goals for itself, limiting its delivery area to the Twin Cities.
"I think the first time we sent an order over we sent a case and a half," said Phillip Brooks, president of H. Brooks and Co. of New Brighton, the produce supplier for SimonDelivers. "My father was alive at the time and he said, 'Who the heck is this Simon guy?" said Brooks. "I said, 'They'll grow.'"
Sometime in 2000, Susan Evans, said she and her husband signed up for their first weekly delivery. They were soon avid users.
They rarely shopped at a supermarket, filling out the online order form for SimonDelivers every Friday night. The groceries were left the next morning at the base of their steep driveway in Newport, a text message to her husband's phone alerting them that their groceries had arrived.
"It was simple. It was easy. They were delightful," said Evans.
She plans to shop at a nearby Kowalski's for now but hopes to have groceries delivered to her door again someday.
'Business breeds business'
Nearly two years ago the company gained a major competitor when Lund Food Holdings Inc., the parent company of Lunds and Byerly's, announced its own delivery service and website.
Sales at Lundsandbyerlys.com continue to grow, according to a company spokesman.
"As for Simon Delivers ceasing operations, it's bittersweet for us," said spokesman Aaron Sorensen. "We are firm believers that business breeds business. Simon Delivers helped raise awareness about online grocery shopping in the Twin Cities."
A voice-mail message at SimonDelivers on Tuesday said the company will continue to take next-day delivery orders until inventory runs out. No phone calls will be taken, but e-mails are accepted at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Matt McKinney • 612-673-7329


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With Greta Thunberg as their poster girl and Extinction Rebellion as their leading light, Generation Z is leading the charge against fast fashion, says Majbritt Rijs.
If we learnt anything from the latest edition of London Fashion Week, it is that the conversation is changing. From Roland Mouret’s campaign against single-use clothes hangers – fashion’s plastic straws! – to Miuccia Prada encouraging consumers to “think how they spend it”, sustainability is hot news.
We already know the stark facts about fashion’s role in the climate crisis, although, to date, research shows not all consumers are well-informed. Our latest survey found British consumers put the industry in fifth place when rating the most significant contributors to climate change, behind oil, aviation, transport and farming.
It has been widely reported that clothing production creates more emissions than aviation and shipping combined. It also consumes freshwater at voluminous rates and contributes to chemical and plastic pollution. Meanwhile, an EU report published earlier this year accused some fast fashion brands of cultivating an attitude that clothing is “almost disposable”.
Netflix documentaries such as The True Cost and Extinction Rebellion’s behaviour at LFW, with its much-publicised die-in and funeral for the event, are putting the issue firmly on the public agenda. Now it is time for the industry to put its money where its mouth is.
Not that work addressing fashion issues hasn’t already begun. Millennial shoppers had already raised suspicions about the impact of fast fashion, not just on the environment but the people involved in their production. The UK government, meanwhile, has looked at solutions to tackle waste, such as placing 1p tax per item to avoid so much going to landfill. (That plan was rejected: the government said it believed “positive approaches” to dealing with waste textiles were preferable to imposing a ban on landfill. It is worth noting here that, according to the British Fashion Council, fashion contributes £32 billion to the UK economy and employs 890,000 people.)
Time for change
So, it is down to Gen Z to show brands that it is time to change, that excess has now become unfashionable and is not something this generation is willing to accept as it becomes the consumer group with the most significant spending power.
While Gen Z’s deeply held environmental and social beliefs mark them out against previous consumer groups, it is not the only thing that makes them different. Their whole mindset is entirely new.
They love to shop and show it off on social media, despite their reservations about the fashion industry. But they are not big spenders; on the contrary, they are very price-conscious and like to save money.
Our survey highlights this contradictory nature of the younger generation. While 65% of British Gen Zers say price is vital to them when buying clothes, nearly 60% say they would pay 5% more for clothes that did not harm the environment.
Brands should be concerned that less than a quarter of this age group regard them as important. What this generation wants is transparency and authenticity – things they don’t feel they always get now. Our survey showed that 40% of younger consumers find it hard to know if a brand is behaving ethically; more than a third want fashion brands to be more transparent.
Digital natives through and through, Gen Z is both well informed and sceptical and willing to do research into companies and brands before purchase. Raised in the age of the trust-crisis, they are attracted to brands that demonstrate honesty.
Brand loyalty is dead
Don’t mistake this for brand loyalty, however. They live in a brave new world where that no longer exists. Gen Zers do not define themselves through the brands they buy; they are occupied instead with cultivating their personal brands on social.
They will deftly move on to the next brand that demonstrates those open and honest values they’re looking for, particularly if the price point works for them. Any brand that does not meet their deeply held standards and beliefs should be prepared to face social media shaming.
We know Gen Z love to share and they do not hesitate to celebrate the good, or shame the bad. More than three-quarters of young Brits in our survey have shared stories about brands doing cynical, irresponsible or dishonest things.
Recycling and reusing old clothing speaks to Generation Z’s sensibilities. Thrift and second-hand shopping help to create a unique style or look that, in turn, can be used for their branding and social stories.
Initiatives such as using deadstock – unsold clothes from previous seasons – are also gaining traction, with designer Patrick McDowell, a leader of sustainable fashion, showing the way.
Younger generations are also questioning the need to own things at all, a Generation X obsession that is becoming increasingly outdated. The sharing economy is catching on with the rise of rental services: these range from MyWardrobe and Rent the Runway to peer-to-peer apps that help consumers access clothes while monetising their own wardrobes.
Gen Z is as unique as the style like to create, and their belief systems and behaviours are fresh and distinct from what has gone before. While socio-economic and political pressures are revolutionising the way we shop, the unconventional shopping habits of this generation might be the most transformative yet.


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EU court bans dairy-style names for soya and tofu
European Court of Justice rules names like milk and butter cannot be used to describe soya and tofu.
Plant-based foods cannot be sold in the European Union using terms such as milk, butter and cheese, the European Court of Justice has ruled.
The ECJ was ruling in a case referred to it by a German court and involving German food company TofuTown.
The company sells plant-based products with names including “Soyatoo Tofu Butter” and “Veggie Cheese”.
It said customers were not misled, because their products plant origins were clear……..


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VDONext pushes horse racing fun
Hong Kong - VDONext has created a series of branded videos for the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) to promote the entertainment side of horse racing among younger audience.
A total of three five-minute videos will debut on a weekly basis to promote the upcoming CX Hong Kong International Race, with the first one titled "How to have fun with horse racing" going online today. It will also be up on VDONext's mobile site, iPhone and iPad app, social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Sina Weibo as well as via its content distribution partners such as Sony Bravia TV.
Anthony Tsang, associate director of Next Media Webcast, said this probably is the first time HKJC leverages online videos to promote a major international event.
"As Generation X and Y's viewing habit is shifting from TV and magazines to the Internet and mobile, we believe more big brands like HKJC are keen to explore the marketing potential on online or mobile videos and social media," Tsang said.
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With solar stocks feeling the burn lately, Hanwha SolarOne (HSOL) may be seeing a bump — up nearly 3% pre-market thanks to a supply deal that may give it another boom.
The supply deal that was announced today notes that it will supply 11.5 MW of high quality solar modules to Ikaros Solar Belgium NV (the “Ikaros Solar”). The modules are scheduled for delivery this month and next, with installation scheduled for a solar park in Norfolk County, United Kingdom.
Hanwha SolarOne will supply its 72-cell module HSL-72, characterized by excellent real-life performance and extended durability.
“In Hanwha SolarOne, we have found a partner that can ensure both high quality and financial stability,” said Yves Devis, CEO at Ikaros Solar. “The PV modules from Hanwha SolarOne have demonstrated high performance and durability in our past projects. With the improved features of the new HSL-module series providing further benefits, Hanwha SolarOne was a natural choice for our latest large-scale project.”
The project supply deal comes at a time when HSOL stock is already running strong.
HSOL stock is up 178% year to date — and other solar stocks are burning bright as well.
The average solar stock doubled in 2013, so investors who started out 2013 with them are reaping the gains, while there are tougher bargains to find now.
Hanwha SolarOne could be a smart play — if the deal further pushes HSOL upward.
In fact, global solar installation are projected by some to grow some 20% this year.
If HSOL loses steam, still other solar stocks are poised to see growth in 2014.
For instance, First Solar (FSLR) last year began accelerating medium and long-term growth via its partnership with General Electric (GE), as FSLR were given access to GE’s sales channels and distribution capabilities through the deal.
Hanwha SolarOne Co. is one of the top 10 photovoltaic module manufacturers in the world, providing cost-competitive, high quality PV modules.


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Adaptive learning powerhouse Knewton has announced that it has signed up with its second major publisher – Macmillan Education. Knewton, founded in 2008 by a former Kaplan executive, is already working with Pearson, and a number of US-focussed educational publishers. Macmillan will now be looking to integrate Knewton’s adaptive learning technology into online ELT courses, with the first products promised in 2015. According to the Macmillan announcement, the main focus will be on adaptive content for grammer, vocab, supplementary and exam prep. Pearson have already integrated the technology into their MyLab LMS, although not yet for ELT (that’s coming, though). This means that, at some point soon, all Pearson ELT courses will probably feature an adaptive online practice option, with Macmillan catching up a couple of years later.
The key selling point of Knewton’s technology is that a student’s online learning is tailored in real time according to their performance, with their strengths and weaknesses constantly analysed and compared with every other student. The platform also provides analytics for teachers so they can track student performance easily. As well as expanding the range of their publishing partners, Knewton are also planning a move into direct-to-consumer (as this job ad shows), presumably involving opening up the platform to anyone – that sounds pretty intriguing.
Knewton have a big EdTech agenda. They’re not in the business simply to provide tech to publishers – as with many (all?) US EdTech startups, they are on a mission to transform education for the better through technology, or at the very least to ride the wave of total disruption that they see as the inevitable result of EdTech. This post from founder Jose Ferreira gives you an idea of the world view.


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The software in the center instrument panel module can cause several dash board functions, including the defrost operation of the HVAC system, to stop working. Under certain driving conditions, the loss of defroster operation could result in reduced visibility, increasing the risk of a crash. Dealers will replace the center instrument panel computer module to correct this problem. This recall is scheduled to begin during January of 2010. The General Motors recall number is 09298.
Recalls are issued for cars with safety-related defects or problems


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BOULDER, Colo. -- National natural and organic retail chain Wild Oats Markets, Inc., based here, opened its first Wild Oats branded nonfood store-within-a-store inside a unit operated by Northeastern food retailer Stop & Shop last week.
The 1,100 square-foot Wild Oats boutique, inside a newly remodeled Stop & Shop in Plymouth, Mass., is the first of five scheduled test units with Stop & Shop that Wild Oats will open in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
As reported by Progressive Grocer, Wild Oats said last November that it planned to open what it calls Holistic Health departments in a three-to-five-store test with Quincy, Mass.-based Stop & Shop.
The super natural retailer will host a grand opening celebration at the Plymouth Stop & Shop location this Sunday, June 5, with associates on hand to answer questions and provide health information. The boutique will also offer some items at special prices.
Wild Oats said the boutique is a state-of-the-art holistic health center, where customers can find a full line of nutritional vitamins and supplements, homeopathic remedies, and natural and organic body care products, as well as information on health and wellness. Staffed by Wild Oats holistic health associates, the boutique features information kiosks and educational health brochures as well as products.
"This store-within-a-store concept will provide an avenue for us to bring products and information that support health and well-being to people in Massachusetts and Connecticut," said Wild Oats v.p. of new business development Bruce Bowman Sr. "With more people seeking out natural health solutions, we believe our concept will complement the existing traditional health care and pharmaceutical products offered at the grocery store."
"More and more of our customers are clamoring for these products and wellness information," noted Stop & Shop e.v.p. for merchandising & marketing Don Sussman. "With Wild Oats Markets' credibility and expertise in the natural health industry, we believe Plymouth-area shoppers will benefit greatly from this unique offering inside our Stop & Shop store."
Wild Oats Markets operates 111 natural foods stores in 24 states and British Columbia, Canada, under such banners as Wild Oats Natural Marketplace, Henry's Farmers Market, Sun Harvest, and Capers Community Markets.
The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co., a division of Ahold USA, operates 360 stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York and New Jersey.


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Heart Foundation attracts criticism for fish oil logo
Fish oil products that have been independently tested and meet strict quality standards will be able to display the logo as part of a licensing program similar to the ‘heart tick’ for food products.
“It’s recommended that all Australians should aim to eat 2–3 serves of 150g of oily fish or seafood a week in order to reduce their risk of heart disease,” Tony Thirlwell, CEO of Heart Foundation NSW, said.
But nutritionist Dr Rosemary Stanton (PhD) questioned the wisdom of promoting the supplements.
“There is good evidence they reduce triglyceride levels but


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ValueClick Fastclicks To Online Ad Leadership
The purchase of tech firm Fastclick will make ValueClick the biggest online advertising network.
A stock swap worth about $214 million will bring online advertiser Fastclick into ValueClick’s fold as a wholly owned subsidiary, under the ValueClick Media umbrella. A joint statement issued by the companies says the deal will be completed in the fourth quarter.
Fastclick reaches 112 million users on about 9,000 web sites, according to a comScore report cited in the statement. Four divisions currently comprise ValueClick: Commission Junction (affiliate and search marketing); Mediaplex (advertising and email technology); PriceRunner (comparison shopping and consumer reviews); and ValueClick Media (brand, direct, and PPC marketing).
ValueClick will work quickly to integrate Fastclick’s advertisers and publishers, as search activity by users will increase rapidly with the approaching holiday shopping season. The firm will not want to disrupt business for what will be many advertisers’ busiest time of the year.
“The addition of Fastclick should give our ValueClick Media division the industry’s largest reach into Internet users, enhancing our Company’s overall leadership position with advertisers and publishers,” said James Zarley, chairman and chief executive officer of ValueClick, in the statement.
David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.


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Tech IPOs were at their slowest since 2009, but investors will be watching this offering for a number of reasons.» Read More
Struggling department store Sears is looking to revamp its apparel business, in part by reducing its footprint, according to a report.
Ford says it will buy back up to about 116 million shares of company stock worth about $1.8 billion.
The DOT said on Wednesday there is no need 'at this time' to advise owners of recalled GM cars to park them until repairs are made.
NBCUniversal announced Wednesday it has acquired U.S. broadcast rights with the International Olympic Committee through 2032.
As his contract is about to expire in 2015, Dave Barger, JetBlue's CEO, is weighing on the future of the company and the names of possible successors.
Jack Ma began his career as an English teacher. Today, two of his websites account for more than half of the packages shipped through China.
Hewlett-Packard said it plans to invest more than $1 billion in cloud-computing products and services over the next two years.
In a rare example of a major carmaker making a smooth leadership transition, Ford has tabbed COO Mark Fields to succeed Alan Mulally as CEO.
The once dominant Nintendo has taken a backseat in the gaming world, but the company is hoping that new launches will help it get back in the game.
Talks between Mondelez and D.E. Master Blenders began well before investor Nelson Peltz joined Mondelez's board, a source told CNBC.
Despite Barclays' disappointing results this week, analysts are not expecting any great changes when it reveals its strategy update this Thursday.
U.K. politicians from the right and the left are piling in to give their two cents on Pfizer's $106 billion bid for AstraZeneca.
Allianz endured intense public scrutiny by some of its largest shareholders over its lack of intervention at Pimco.
Alstom has only "one offer on the table" from General Electric for its energy division, the group's CEO told CNBC.
Emerging markets bets have led to losses for many over the past year, but among big investors few got the timing of their wagers as wrong as Pimco.
Much of the Alibaba IPO prospectus is old news for Yahoo investors. But there's one item they shouldn't overlook.
The latest version of Google Maps comes with a few nice new features, among which is the ability to check for nearby Uber cars and request one.
First JPMorgan, and now Barclays is reporting bad news about trading profit.
Cloud storage company Dropbox recently corrected a bug that allowed potentially sensitive data to leak to the Internet at large, reported the BBC.
Prudential Insurance mistakenly mailed the 1099s of 700 of its clients to the wrong addresses.


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We know that the new consoles are having problems but, despite the stock problems, PS5 is still selling very well.
Whenever the console appears on Amazon it is wiped out within minutes, a sign of how much a highly desired product by so many players is.
PlayStation 5 has been a sales success for some time, even with these problems in finding it in a normal way.
And in this scenario the first information on an elusive PS5 Pro is already appearing , with increasingly frequent clues.
sales are moving forward relentlessly then, with a PlayStation 5 showing no signs of stopping.
And, as reported by GamesIndustry , has also reached a new record: PS5 has placed 20 million units worldwide.
To think that this was achieved in a period of shortage of stocks and components is impressive.
That’s why Sony is striving to ensure simpler distribution, in the words of Veronica Rogers, senior vice president and head of sales and business operations:
«For those fans who have yet to get their hands on a console, please know that we are planning a significant increase in PS5 production this year and are working tirelessly to make sure PlayStation 5 is available to anyone who wants one. »
In a recent report, Sony stated that PS5 took 82 minutes to sell 80,000 consoles in its first financial year. For PlayStation 4 it took nine days in a comparable period.
While waiting to understand what Sony will do to make it easier to sell its consoles, we recommend our comprehensive guide to find, and buy, PS5 in the best way. p>
On PS5 have also accumulated many exclusives in the meantime, although many of these are increasingly moving to PC.
For other news from the PlayStation world , during the last State of Play there were many announcements: here is the complete list.


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To move beyond a looming sales plateau, automakers will need to appeal to the generation they’ve long-feared prefers car-sharing services and cycling to owning automobiles.
That’s according to automotive industry economists, who note that millennials — the generation many thought might shift buying habits for good — have started to enter the new car market, albeit slowly.
“We do see millennials starting to come in,” said Steven Szakaly, chief economist with the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA). “They are interested in cars and they’re starting to buy cars. But the question is why are they delaying these purchases?”
According to Szakaly, the answer comes down to fundamental economics.
“We all know they are getting married later, we all know they have student loan payments, (but) we also should realize that on average they make a lot less money,” Szakaly said during a presentation at the annual Management Briefing Seminars hosted by the Center for Automotive Research in Acme, Mich.
Vehicle costs have have risen steadily over the last decade in a climate of tepid wage growth, causing consumers’ monthly car payments as a percentage of household income to rise from 9.5 percent in 2005 to 12.5 percent in 2014, according to NADA data.
Average consumers now pay $503 a month for their vehicles. While that may be doable for some younger buyers with higher incomes, millennials are far from average when it comes to spending power, Szakaly said.
Millennials earn approximately $31,500 in annual wages on average, far less than the consumers earning $80,000 a year who do the majority of car buying, he said. In addition, only 29 percent of millennials make more than $100,000 per year, compared to the 52 percent of baby boomers and 52 percent of Gen Xers making more than the same amount.
In short, this income disparity amounts to a pricing problem for the automotive industry, according to Szakaly.
“A big question is how much bigger these payments can actually go,” he said. “How much more you can stretch the budget of these consumers and get them to continue to purchase these ever more expensive vehicles?”
It’s likely that those pricing pressures won’t abate anytime soon, as automakers continue to increase costs to compensate for warranty pressures and new technology mandates, sources said.
Of the millennials who are buying cars, the majority of them are doing so because they’re having children. A recent nationwide survey conducted by NADA found that 52 percent of millennials bought a new vehicle because their family needs changed.
For Szakaly, the research indicates that millennials are still a few years away from fully entering the car-buying market.
“(We’re) looking for at least another five, maybe even seven years before the generation really has an impact on this market and can fill the gap from those baby boomers,” he said.
To attract the limited pool of millennial car buyers, automakers have focused largely on integrating consumer electronics into their vehicles as a selling point. It’s a strategy rooted in consumer demand: Millennials listed updated technological content as their second-most influential reason behind the purchase of a new vehicle, according to the NADA survey.
“When you look at the infotainment integration and smartphone integration, it’s not for 60- and 70-year-olds that automakers are doing this,” said Mike Wall, director of automotive analysis at IHS Automotive, a market analysis firm.
Millennials also have been one of the driving forces behind the growing popularity of smaller vehicles, including compact crossover utilities, which often come with a corresponding smaller price tag compared to their larger cousins, Wall said.
Purchasing preferences by millennials, coupled with lower gasoline prices and other consumer desires, have made segments such as crossovers and trucks popular at the expense of other segments, notably sedans, sources said.
Going forward, analysts predict that more than 40 percent of North American production through 2020 will be dedicated to SUVs, according to data from LMC Automotive. Meanwhile, pickup trucks are expected to represent a steady 15 percent of the segment.
“(Crossovers) are the hottest pistol in the market,” said Sean McAlinden, vice president of strategic studies and chief economist at CAR, during a presentation at the Management Briefing Seminars. “If it doesn’t have a hatch or bed, it’s not selling. If it has a trunk, get it out of here — send it to the auction.”


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8:01 p.m. Feb. 7, 2019
The 100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies
Barron’s and Calvert’s second annual ranking of companies—based on hundreds of environmental, social, and governance factors—puts Best Buy, Cisco Systems, and Agilent Technologies at the top of the list.
4:51 a.m. Jan. 24, 2019
W.W. Grainger sales weaker than expectedSales at W.W. Grainger GWW Inc. were weaker than expected in the fourth quarter. The industrial supply company reported a profit of $209 million, or $3.68 a share, in the quarter, compared with $151 million, or $2.63 a share, a year earlier. Grainger's gross-profit margin fell to 38.7% versus 39.3%.
5:01 a.m. Oct. 16, 2018
Shares of W.W. Grainger hit by decline in profitW.W. Grainger Inc. (GWW) reported earnings of $104.4 million, or $1.82 a share, in the third quarter, down 36% from a year earlier, after the company booked a $139 million impairment charge related to its Cromwell business in the U.K.
W.W. Grainger's stock drops 8.7% premarket after Q3 results
5:00 a.m. Oct. 16, 2018
5:19 a.m. Aug. 3, 2018
- By Philip van Doorn
10 stocks in the S&P 500, including Apple, just hit all-time highs Market breadth isn’t particularly good; that’s why these stocks stand outMarket breadth isn’t particularly good; that’s why these stocks stand out.
1:25 p.m. July 27, 2018
Trump Tariffs Bite at Home
CEOs of industrial companies are starting to quantify the hit from the trade battles.
W.W. Grainger upgraded to neutral from sell at UBS
5:43 a.m. July 19, 2018
7:51 a.m. July 18, 2018
- By Tomi Kilgore
W.W. Grainger's stock rockets toward record, pacing gains among peers and the broader marketShares of W.W. Grainger Inc. rocketed $32.28, or 10.6%, toward a record high in midday trade Wednesday, after the maintenance and repair products supplier's . The stock was the biggest percentage gainer within the SPDR Industrial Select Sector ETF and within the S&P 500 , and was the biggest price gainer on the NYSE. The stock is headed for the biggest one-day price and percentage gain since it soared $42.52, or 18.5%, after reporting fourth-quarter results on Jan. 24. It has now run up 42.8% year to date, while the industrial ETF has slipped 1.4% and the S&P 500 has gained 5.2%.
4:20 a.m. July 18, 2018
- By Ciara Linnane
W.W. Grainger shares jump 4% premarket after earnings beatW.W. Grainger Inc. shares rose 4.3% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the supplier of maintenance and repair products swept past estimates for the second quarter. Chicago-based Grainger said it had net income of $236.9 million, or $4.16 a share, in the quarter, up from $97.9 million, or $1.67 a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales rose to $2.86 billion from $2.62 billion. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $3.70 and sales of $2.82 billion. "The second quarter exceeded our expectations, with strong growth from U.S. large and medium customers, gross profit that was better than anticipated and meaningful operating expense leverage," Chief Executive DG Macpherson said in a statement. The company raised its guidance for the full year and said it now expects sales of $11.0 billion to $11.3 billion, up from previous guidance of $10.9 billion to $11.3 billion. Adjusted EPS is now forecast at $15.05 to $16.05, up from $14.30 to $15.30 previously. The FactSet consensus is for full-year EPS of $14.99 and sales of $11.2 billion. Shares have gained 29.1% in 2018, while the S&P 500 has gained 5.1%.
7:09 a.m. May 21, 2018
- By Philip van Doorn
These ‘Dividend Aristocrat’ stocks have risen as much as 31% this year, bucking a bad trend Popular consumer companies have underperformed, but a group including W.W. Grainger, T. Rowe Price and AbbVie are easily beating the S&P 500Popular consumer companies have underperformed, but a group including W.W. Grainger, T. Rowe Price and AbbVie are easily beating the S&P 500.


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As the steady growth of the global vegan and vegetarian sector shows, more and more consumers are developing an appetite for tasty plant-based meat alternatives. Determined to keep this boom going, many alternative-meat brands are investing in research and development in hopes of making their meat substitutes even more delicious and appealing to everyone — not just strict vegans and vegetarians!
Recently, plant-based meat industry leader Beyond Meat began construction on a brand new research and development facility. Here, the brand’s team will undertake the challenge of building “perfect meat” entirely out of plants. In a similar move, Quorn, one of the UK’s biggest meat-free product makers, just announced that it plans to build a state-of-the-art R&D facility at its headquarters in North Yorkshire.
According to Quorn’s chief executive Kevin Brennan, the brand’s decision to invest in this new innovation facility, which will cost £7 million (around $9 million), was prompted by the company’s desire to keep up with its competitors. In the UK, where the market for meat-free products is growing by about 15 percent annually, Quorn aims to stay ahead of the curve by researching and implementing new technologies in order to produce the yummiest possible meat substitutes.
Currently, the company uses a “mycoprotein” fermented in vats from a fungus found in soil to make its alternative protein products. While this process has allowed Quorn to create a line of products that is totally vegetarian, many still contain egg and so are not vegan. In response to a surge in the vegan market, the brand plans to work on developing more products that are free of both meat and dairy in its new facility. Furthermore, the site will allow Quorn to experiment with new processes for fermenting proteins such as soy, thereby helping the brand churn out even better options for consumers looking to limit their consumption of animal products.
Brennan reportedly stated, “All over the world we have seen a real step-change in the way people are eating. Young consumers are really starting to have concerns around meat from a health and sustainability point of view. It’s not that younger consumers are all turning vegan or vegetarian but they are eating substantially less meat.” He went on to point out that the recent slew of Netflix documentaries which reveal the shocking environmental impacts of animal agriculture, such as “Cowspiracy” and “Live and Let Live,” are likely at least partially responsible for this trend.
We’re ecstatic to hear that both consumers and companies are making a change for the better by turning away from animal meat and toward the healthier, more sustainable proteins of the future! Not to mention, we’re eagerly awaiting the new meat-free delicacies that Quorn and Beyond Meat will surely roll out once their research facilities are up and running!
If you’d like to find out more about how opting for plant-based options in lieu of traditional meat can benefit the planet and your personal health, check out the #EatForThePlanet book!
Image Source: Quorn/Facebook


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On Tuesday, January 8, MoPub announced that it’s partnering with Pixalate and DoubleVerify to help reduce invalid traffic (IVT) and in-app ad fraud on the Twitter-owned mobile ad exchange. Pixalate and DoubleVerify are accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC) as mobile IVT-management vendors.
We’ve seen how investment in mobile advertisement has really taken off, but because of that, we’ve also seen opportunities for ad fraud take off as well. It’s estimated that In-app fraud has cost the industry almost $5 billion in 2018. The aim of the integrations made by MoPug, Pixelate and DoubleVerify is to vet traffic signals and blocking invalid bid requests in real-time, pre-bid and analyzing post-bid activity to help publishers improve their traffic quality.
Signals used to detect IVT will include:
- Viewability rates and ad implementation
- App store rankings, user downloads, descriptions and market reach
- App content, user experience and ad capabilities
- General invalid traffic (GIVT) and sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) fraud signals, including clicks and impressions generated by crawlers, scripts and agents; illegitimate traffic based on device and ad-tag hijacking; spoofed source information by Device ID and Bundle ID.
According to MoPub’s head of product, Boris Logvinskiy, bringing on Pixalate and DoubleVerify as partners was a crucial step in company’s goal to eliminate ad-fraud on its ad exchange. “MRC-accredited vendors like Pixalate and DoubleVerify offer the expertise, technology, data integrity and service needed to help us keep a clean exchange for the trillions of ad requests that we facilitate,” says Boris Logvinskiy
MoPub says, with the help of Twitter’s policy operations team, it vets publishers before they’re on-boarded and penalize any who are non-compliant.


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Climate Action – The ARSO Eco Mark Africa Project, launched on 8th March 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya, is geared towards promoting Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) in Africa. The programme integrates, the concepts of environmental, social and economic sustainability and is a useful tool for promoting sustainable production and consumption of goods and services as well as addressing various sustainable development goals, including the mitigating the climate action in Africa, while ensuring the production of eco-friendly African products for better regional and global market access. The certification is based on the ARSO Sustainability and Eco-labelling standards: ARS/AES 01: Agriculture, for the sustainable production, processing and trading of agricultural products; ARS/AES 02: Fisheries – for the sustainable harvesting of fish as well as addressing the Ecosystem issues; ARS/AES 03: Forestry- for sustainable management of forests; ARS/AES 04: Tourism for sustainable management of tourism, while promoting Eco Tourism and environmental conservation.
SMEs Competitiveness – The MADE IN AFRICA EXPO. – SDG Goal 17
In her Message during the MSME World Day on 27th June 2019, Her E excellency, Amina J. Mohammed, and UN Deputy Secretary General highlighted that the MSMEs are key to creating the 600 million new jobs needed by 2030 to keep pace with the growth of the world’s working-age population. SMEs across key sectors of national economies are an important element of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals – SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure) and ending poverty and hunger. Initiated in 2013, the ARSO yearly-week-long Made in Africa Expo is a programme that promotes the competitiveness of African SMEs, through creating awareness on how meeting standards and acquiring quality certifications are essential to access foreign markets and become part of the global value chains. Certified firms are typically more productive and supply better-quality products, facilitating access to new markets, new investors and greater buyer satisfaction. The latest Made in Africa Expo was held in the week of 17th – 21t June 2019 during the 25th ARSO General Assembly Events in Nairobi, Kenya, with Kenyan SMEs participating in the Expo and expressing their challenges with standardisation.


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TrustFord has opened a new FordStore in Epsom.
The new site, which has been built from the ground up in the Longmead Industrial Estate, replaces the previous TrustFord Epsom dealerships based at Kiln Lane and East Street and represents a £4 million investment.
It includes a dedicated Transit Centre.
The site boasts the complete range of 22 Ford vehicles – both car and commercial. It also features a further 100 display spaces for used vehicles.
At the heart of the new dealership, and central to the FordStore concept, is an 18 vehicle showroom, featuring dedicated stands, interactive displays, colour walls and a customer seating zone with free Wi-Fi and USB connectivity.
Supported by a team of 50 specialists, the workshop has extended opening hours, from 7am to 7pm, designed to allow customers to drop off and collect their vehicles before and after work. It features 17 servicing bays and an MoT bay.
The new Epsom TrustFirstParts operation is across the road from the dealership.
Steve Hood, TrustFord’s chairman and chief executive, said: “The creation of this all-new FordStore represents the very best in automotive retailing today – the facilities, operational hours and the expert Epsom team allows us to make sure our customers have the best experience possible.”
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Ross Young, founder of research firms Display Supply Chain Consultants and DisplaySearch, says Samsung is betting big on a new generation of its foldable smartphones.
Production of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 and Z Flip4 phones in July is more than double that of the Z Fold3 and Z Flip3 phones in the same period. This indicates a very strong start. Might see a price drop
Simply put, Samsung expects to sell more than twice as many new smartphones in the first months after launch as it did with its current generation.
At the end of 2021, the Korean giant sold four times more such smartphones than in 2020. Of course, the volumes of the first batch cannot be projected onto the results of the entire year as a whole, but Samsung clearly expects to again significantly increase the supply of the Galaxy Z line.
Among other things, perhaps she will be able to achieve this by lowering prices. That is, the same Galaxy Z Flip4 will fall below the psychological mark of $ 1,000, which can make it even more popular. Recall that in the current generation, Flip accounts for more than 60% of line sales.


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Kyocera to bring an Android phone next year
At CTIA show, Kyocera announced several new initiatives that could change its image.
* The company will launch a Google Android phone next year. Details on the device are unknown, but like other Android devices it should offer a touchscreen and multimedia features.
* The Google handset will be part of the company’s shift to high-end devices.


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Designing products for the developing world can be a hit-or-miss endeavor: While there may be a dire need for products addressing problems, such as access to clean water, sanitation and electricity, designing a product that consumers will actually buy is a complicated process. More often than not, such products go unused due to poor quality, unreliability or differences in cultural expectations.
And yet, an increasing number of organizations, companies and startups are targeting products at developing countries for one very practical reason: money. Rising economies like China and India represent potentially massive emerging markets, a large portion of which are made up of small “microenterprises”—informal, mom-and-pop businesses of five or fewer people that generate limited income.
In a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study (view PDF), researchers suggest that microentrepreneurs are a promising and largely untapped market. They say designers will have more success in developing countries by targeting products to microentrepreneurs, particularly if such products are designed to help make these small businesses money.
“If you can convince them you can make them money, you’re most of the way there to selling them your product,” says Jesse Austin-Breneman, a graduate student in MIT’s Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. “It seems obvious, but if you look at a lot of products out there, they’re not really doing that.”
Austin-Breneman and Maria Yang, the Robert N. Noyce Career Development Assoc. Prof. of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Systems, combed through the literature on product design in emerging markets and identified four case studies in which products had documented success in developing countries: solar-lighting technology, cookstoves, drip irrigation and a line of Nokia cell phones.
From their research, as well as interviews with product designers, the researchers drew up guidelines on how to design for emerging markets. In addition to designing products that can be profitable for consumers, the team advises designers to consider designing for reliability and service, as well as multifunctionality.
One of the most successful products in emerging markets, the researchers found, was a line of entry-level cell phones manufactured and distributed in developing countries by Nokia. The company designed phones with a number of features that turned out to have wide appeal for microentrepreneurs: Multiple contact lists allowed cellphone owners to rent out their phones to others, and a time display marking the length of each call served as a method of metering—an easy way for cell phone owners to charge per call.
Nokia also provided reliability via dedicated service vans that traveled to rural Indian villages to fix broken phones. This combination of features that help to make customers money, along with a service plan that established a continuing relationship with the company, likely swayed customers toward Nokia’s phones.
Yang and Austin-Breneman found that service and reliability were also big factors for small farmers in choosing a system for drip irrigation—an efficient means of delivering small amounts of water directly to the base of each plant. Farmers tended to choose systems that came with service plans, along with extras beyond the irrigation system itself. For example, some companies offered classes on the types of seeds that would likely be most valuable in the future—information that could help a farmer’s bottomline. The researchers also found that modular irrigation systems were attractive: Farmers could easily buy a small system, then add more components as their farms grow.
In the case of solar lighting, products that were multifunctional were most popular with microentrepreneurs. In particular, lights that doubled as cellphone chargers helped small businesses in two ways: The lights kept an owner’s store illuminated at night, driving more traffic to it, and the owner could rent the light as a charger for customers’ cell phones.
Interestingly, the researchers found that in all cases, microentrepreneurs tended to prefer products that were not necessarily the cheapest available: Factors such as reliability, profitability and multifunctionality often trumped affordability.
Going forward, the team will be looking through many more case studies, and perhaps focusing on one specific market sector. Yang says they will also dig deeper into the elements of product design to understand how both large companies and small startups can successfully sell to developing countries. For example, while Nokia was able to invest millions of dollars in developing a service network, a startup may not have such resources.


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J.D. Power: Cord-cutting Overblown30 Jun, 2011 By: Chris Tribbey
All this talk of American consumers canceling their pay-TV service in favor of other options is just talk, according to a new report released by J.D. Power and Associates.
In its residential pay-TV survey, the firm found just 3% of customers had recently canceled their pay-TV subscription in favor of online or other options, though the cord-cutting trend varies by age, with 6% of Generation Y consumers cutting the cord, compared with just 2% of baby boomers.
“The predictions of the demise of television subscription service as we know it are clearly premature,” said Frank Perazzini, director of telecommunications at J.D. Power and Associates. “The popularity of services such as Netflix and Redbox is a clear indication that consumers are enjoying the availability of alternative viewing options. However, with 52% of television customers reporting that they still watch regularly scheduled programming as it is broadcast, the current model will remain viable for the next two to three years, at a minimum.”
The study, conducted in April and surveying more than 6,800 households, rated customer satisfaction of pay TV across six factors, including variety of content, ease of use, customer service, billing, price and promotions. Overall pay-TV satisfaction averaged 743 on a 1,000-point scale, J.D. Power reported. Netflix and Redbox also scored very high among pay-TV subscribers.
More than a quarter of respondents said they watch video on mobile devices


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How the UK plans to protect children’s privacy
Social media and video-sharing platforms need to prioritize children’s privacy online, as emphasized by the UK’s data protection body, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO has outlined its strategy for the upcoming year, focusing on addressing privacy and security risks for children across online platforms. This includes areas such as default privacy settings, geolocation data, targeted ads, recommender algorithms, and obtaining parental consent for children under 13.
As part of its Children’s Code of Practice initiative introduced in 2021, the ICO has committed to collaborating with other UK and international regulatory bodies to enhance data protection standards for children on a global scale.
John Edwards, the UK Information Commissioner, stressed the importance of safeguarding children’s privacy in the digital realm, stating that companies must not compromise children’s privacy in pursuit of profit. The design of online services and the usage of children’s personal information significantly influence young people’s digital experiences.
The ICO highlights the need for social media and video-sharing platforms to assess and mitigate potential data harms that children may face, urging them to take steps towards protecting young users. Concerns such as the heavy tracking of location data, utilization of behavioral profiling in algorithms, and risks associated with targeted advertisements are at the forefront of the UK’s data protection regulator.
Efforts are being made to have default privacy settings disabled for children’s accounts, and changes are proposed in how services acquire consent to use children’s personal information. For account holders under 13, parental consent will be mandatory. Edwards stresses the importance of platforms understanding and addressing the risks children face, encouraging them to prioritize data protection practices for the safety of young users.
The ICO’s commitment to enhancing children’s privacy online extends beyond the UK, with plans to collaborate with organizations globally to elevate data protection standards for children. Edwards is engaging with international regulators and online entities to advocate for stronger digital protections for children. His participation in events like the IAPP Global Privacy Summit 2024 and meetings with tech companies aim to accelerate the implementation of the ICO’s priorities by 2025.
Children’s privacy is a universal concern, and Edwards emphasizes the responsibility of businesses worldwide to ensure the appropriate use of children’s personal information, safeguarding them from online risks.


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Harvey Nichols' New Sensual "Love Thyself" Ads
The latest campaign from the UK retailer will raise some hackles. The ads will certainly make many men perk up.
The campaign was just launched to promote the opening of a new "concept" store in Liverpool, November 7th. Beauty Bazaar Harvey Nichols will be "the ultimate one-stop beauty destination," according to their press note.
Ad creatives have already started lambasting the campaign as a ripoff of the work of two French photographers from 2006.
But, ad creatives have been ripping off photographers (and vice versa) since the beginning of advertising.
Women: what do you think of the ads?
Previously: Harvey Nichols sales fliers feature hot models pissing themselves.


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Inn wins 6th Certificate of Excellence
Inn at the WAC again honored by Trip Advisor.
Congratulations to the Inn at the WAC, which recently won its sixth consecutive TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence. With the award, the Inn remains on the TripAdvisor Hall of Fame.
TripAdvisor Certificates of Excellence honor hospitality businesses worldwide that deliver consistently great service. The designation is given to approximately 10 percent of total businesses on TripAdvisor.
Being in the top 10 percent is a testament to the Inn at the WAC’s commitment to excellence. Book your next stay, and find out why we’re rated so highly.


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SOUTH AFRICA: Distell appoints Australian as chief winemaker
Distell has appointed an Australian as its chief winemaker as it prepares its assault on world markets.
Linley Schultz, 38, who is presently with Banrock Station wines, joins the Stellenbosch-based beverage company at the end of September. The company has been on the lookout for a person to fill this position since merging earlier this year.
Schultz began his career at Wein Valley Estate, South Australia, in 1988, followed by a seven-year stint with Southcorp wines. He has worked as an independent winemaking consultant in about nine different countries. These include, Germany, Italy, Macedonia, Argentina, Hungary and England
It was this diverse range of experience that Distell was looking for, according to corporate affairs director, Andre Steyn.
"Nationality was not a priority, it was international experience and I think we have the man who fits the bill perfectly."
Wines & Spirits in Australia 2001
South African wine and spirits group Distell has posted a rise in half-year sales and volumes....
South African wine and spirit group Distell has been ordered to honour a contract it cancelled with a local grape farmer, according to reports....
Distell's broad-based black economic empowerment deal will cost about R870m (US$137m), but the new partners will be locked into an eight to 10 year agreement before any dividends are realised....
Distell today announced its broad-based transformation plans between a black economic empowerment group, certain employees and a corporate social investment trust (CSI Trust)....
KWV International has launched the second phase of its assault on the South African market with the introduction of its KWV 3-year-old brandy and Cathedral Cellar and KWV Classic ranges as it expands ...
Distell has appointed Don Gallow as its new director of international operations, in place of Etienne Heyns who left the company two weeks ago. ...
The Brown-Forman Corporation has added the Durbanville Hills range of wines from South Africa to its US portfolio....
Distell's headline earnings have rocketed by 34.5% to ZAR482.2m (US$75.2m) for the year to 30 June, thanks to improved performance from all the company's assets....
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Toyota recalls 180,865 vehicles in Britain: reports
A total of 180,865 vehicles might be affected by the problem, according to newspaper reports, and the company said it concerned seven models dating back to 2005.
Some 1.8 million cars are being recalled across Europe and millions more in the US and Japan over fears that accelerator pedals could get stuck.
A statement on the group's British website confirmed the recall but did not say how many cars were affected. Toyota could not be contacted early Thursday.
"It has been identified that there is a small risk of an accelerator pedal fault in certain Toyota models," said the statement.
"We are voluntarily recalling specific models from the range to investigate and eliminate the problem."
The 180,865 figure was reported by the Guardian, The Times and Daily Mail newspapers.
The seven models affected in Britain are the iQ, Aygo, Yaris, Auris, Corolla, Avensis and Verso, said Toyota. Reports said the first parts are due to arrive in the UK next week for repairs to begin.
The Times said that Toyota also has stopped delivering new vehicles of the seven affected models to British customers until they have been fitted with a new part.
The car giant's British recalls are the latest in a series affecting almost eight million Toyota cars worldwide -- more than its entire 2009 global sales of 7.8 million vehicles.
Pressure is mounting on Toyota, the world's top selling automaker, as angry motorists demand to know why they were not alerted sooner.
US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood warned Wednesday that safety officials "will continue to hold Toyota's feet to the fire to make sure that they are doing everything they have promised to make their vehicles safe."
American safety officials are investigating about 100 complaints of problems with brakes or sudden acceleration in Toyota's popular Prius hybrid.
The Japanese firm sought to reassure customers Wednesday that its vehicles were safe to drive despite the recalls.
"We want to make sure our customers understand that this situation is rare and generally does not occur suddenly," Toyota's US unit said in a statement.
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.


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Destiny beta will launch 23 July on Xbox One and Xbox 360
The Destiny beta will launch on Wednesday, 23 July on Xbox One and Xbox 360, Bungie has confirmed.
The beta is set to close on all platforms on 27 July, giving players little under a week to sample the Halo creators latest FPS world.
“As we prepare to launch our first Beta on multiple console platforms around the world, we are excited and eager to open the flood gates,” said Bungie’s president, Harold Ryan. “We already love to play Destiny, and with your help we can be ready for our launch in September.”
To get access to the beta, you’ll need to pre-order the title from a participating retailer.


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Articles Tagged ‘mobile’
Tapped Mobile targets local campaigns with new partnership
Pairing with B2B ad tech platform Chalk Digital, Tapped is aiming to capture both small and medium businesses, as well as agencies putting more spend into location-based advertising.
Mobile targeting: Where’s the line between cool and creepy?
Mobile ads served through public wi-fi and digital OOH are nothing new. But as technology improves and ad options increase, how much can scare consumers off?
CIBC goes digital to engage with hockey fans
The financial institution is a few months into its five-year sponsorship with the CHL, which it’s using to engage with smaller communities across Canada.
Smartphones key for shopping, but still not for buying: study
Nielsen Canada found that even if Canadians aren’t buying through their devices as much as they are at the store counter, clean mobile experiences still provide a make-or-break opportunity for retailers.
Growth in mobile, geotargeting fuels updates for Addictive Mobility
CEO Naveed Ahmed estimates that demand for geotargeting in campaigns has quadrupled since the launch of the company’s self-service platform in 2015.
Google adds cross-platform ad muting
The update is paired with YouTube changes including a reduction in relying on pixels and cookies as it gravitates to cloud-based tracking.
Mobile to dominate consumption and ad spend by 2018: study
The newest numbers from eMarketer show a steady decrease in time spent on all media except for mobile — and ad spend is gradually becoming more proportionate.
Gen X loves wearables, tablets and traditional TV: study
Canadians between the ages of 35 and 49 share the best of both worlds, watching their TV on traditional sets, but buying more wearables than other generations.


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The Houston retail market looks promising as it works to keep up with rooftops and strong consumer demand. Houston retail is the 5th largest market in the US with over 428 million SF supporting its robust, growing population. With only 20.6 million SF available, its 4.8% vacancy is primarily older centers looking for new life. This lack of new product has motivated tenants and developers to deliver over 993,000 SF in 1Q23 and start construction on over 4.5 million SF of new retail projects, which is already over 60% pre-leased. The Houston region will continue to be a bright spot in the quarters ahead as jobs and growth continue to attract all ages to move to Houston or one of its many suburban master-planned communities. Houstona™s retail sector remains optimistic due to its location, strong population, household growth, and affordability.
The retail market in Houston appears to be well positioned for a possible economic recession. Leasing activity is strong, and landlords are raising rents in strong, high-demand market areas. Consumer demand has been notably high for home improvement, drive-thru, discount, pharmacy, and beauty concepts. Similarly, the largest move-ins over the next couple quarters will be grocery stores. This high demand allows developers to continue to bet on Houston's eagerness for new retail development.


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Are Mississippi River water levels rising?
Levels were so low in the river last fall that barges were getting stuck in the mud, causing a disruption to the supply chain.
Drought disrupts Mississippi River shipping, threatens to impact inflation
Barges are getting stuck in the mud as low Mississippi River water levels delay shipping.
Truck driver backed for making "idiot" homeowner move trampoline himself
"Great job, he asked and you delivered," Redditor u/DRTvL added.
Stop Scapegoating Rail for Supply Chain Problems
Assigning blame for the worldwide supply chain chaos to any single sector is misguided and counterproductive.
Infestation of Tongue-Eating Parasites Discovered in Fish Shipment
Cymothoa exigua, otherwise known as the tongue-eating louse, were spotted in the mouths of a shipment of seabream arriving at a port in the U.K.
How Much Did Exxon Make Last Year? Biden Demands Oil Giant Pay Its Taxes
The president said Exxon "made more money than God this year."
Biden Fumes at Shipping Moguls Raising Prices: Makes You Want to 'Pop Them'
"Every once in a while, something you learn makes you viscerally angry," Biden said from America's busiest port on Friday.
Woman Said Father's Cremated Remains Were Lost in Mail for Days
Angela Johnson, 51, waited for the cremated remains of her father Thomas Moffet for three days before the box was delivered.
White House Says 200M COVID Tests Shipped, But Many Waiting for Packages
"Ordered 1/18. Hasn't even processed yet," said one Twitter user regarding her COVID-19 tests.
What Happens When Human Truckers Are Replaced by AI?
None of us should want to live in a world where hundreds of thousands of truckers are suddenly thrown out of work.
China Blames Packages From U.S., Canada, as Reason for COVID Spread
Chinese officials urged residents not to order packages from abroad and to open mail outdoors after traces of COVID-19 were found on international packages.
Ending Driver Exploitation Would Help Relieve Supply Chain Woes
As legislators and experts debate the best path forward, here is a simple fix that would bring significant relief to our supply chain woes: improve jobs in the trucking sector by ending driver exploitation.
Shipping Map of Antarctica Reveals Shocking Level of Travel
Scientists have warned this level of travel could cause invasive species to be transported to the frozen continent.
China Locks Down City Containing One of World's Busiest Ports For COVID
Ningbo is currently experiencing a small but impactful COVID surge out of a warehouse with ties to the port.
TikToker Says This Hack Could Get Your Amazon Order Delivered Faster
"I think I love you. Just changed delivery from the 23rd to the 18th. Thank you," said one commenter.
FedEx Packages Dumped in Alabama Ravine at Least 6 Times, Driver Fired
The identity of the FedEx driver accused of dumping up to 400 packages in an Alabama ravine has not been released.
Incredibly Rare White Sperm Whale Filmed Off Jamaica Coast
The sperm whale was filmed by the captain of a Dutch merchant ship and was estimated to be over 30 feet long.
FedEx Investigates After Hundreds of Packages Found in Alabama Ravine
FedEx has struggled with hiring workers and rerouting packages to ensure timely delivery during the busy holiday season.
China's New Data Law Disrupts the Congested Supply Chain Ahead of Holidays
Under the new law, foreign shipping companies are being blocked from accessing data necessary to plan shipping routes to avoid delays and congested ports.
Trump Says Unloading Ships 'Very Simple Task' in Dig at Supply Chain Crisis
The Biden administration has not ruled out deploying the National Guard to assist with unloading ships.
Supply Chain Woes Lead to Highest-Ever Numbers of Ships Stuck at LA Ports
The previous record for the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, 97 ships, was just set in September.
CA Ports to Operate 24/7 to Ease Shipping Bottlenecks, Supply Shortages
Supply chain issues are closely linked to recent consumer price increases, which pose risks both economically and politically for U.S. officials.
Port of Savannah Ships Must Wait at Sea Amid Global Supply Chain Disruption
"Things are really bad...it's like a huge rubber band that keeps getting stretched further and further," one expert said.
Walmart, Target Resort to Chartering Cargo Ships to Get Toys for Holidays
"We've never left product behind in this way," said the CEO of Basic Fun. "We really had no choice."
Christmas Toys Shortage Fears As Pandemic Disrupts Global Supply
Christmas may witness a scarcity of toys, due to crippling global supply chain struggles caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Ships Getting Stuck in the Suez Canal and the Fallout of Blockages
The Ever Given's blockage of the Suez triggered a hike in container spot freight rates, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
July 4 Celebrations At Risk Due To Nationwide Fireworks Shortage
Fireworks prices will also rise as Americans celebrate the "first post-pandemic major holiday," the American Pyrotechnics Association says.
'Block the Boat' is a Wake-Up Call to Prioritize U.S. Port Security
Emboldened by the recent outburst of noxious anti-Semitism in America following the violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza last month, Block the Boat was able to exploit a complicated mix of factors.
Maritime Traffic Halted in Bosphorus Strait After Oil Tanker's Engine Fails
The tanker called RAVA was carrying 249 meters of crude oil when a mechanical failure caused it to get dragged as it made its way back to the Yenikoy district of Istanbul, according to the Directorate General.
80 MPH Winds Logged Near Seacor Power Ship Before Capsizing, Captain Says
Wind and waves caused the commercial ship to flip over in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday. The U.S. Coast Guard has been searching for 12 missing people south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana.


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What Will Be the Biggest Driver for Corporate Sustainability in 2012?
What Will Be the Biggest Driver for Corporate Sustainability in 2012?
With 2011 coming to a close and 2012 just around the corner, GreenBiz asked executives from a range of companies and organizations to reflect on the past year and look at what lies ahead.
Here's what they said when we asked:
What will be the biggest driver for corporate sustainability in 2012?
Bart Alexander, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer, Molson Coors
No. 1: Our own people. In our annual employee survey, almost nine out of 10 employees believe that we are environmentally responsible and responsible in the community. And these beliefs are one of the top drivers of their engagement. Our employees reflect the wider community: Consumers care about the company behind the brand.
No. 2: Money. Being more efficient and reducing risk is good business, particularly in unsettled times.
Kathrin P. Belliveau, Esq., Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Government Affairs, Hasbro
As a company that’s all about play, earning the trust of the children and families who enjoy our brands is extremely important and a driver behind all that we do. We hope that by providing transparency into our CSR goals and journey, it will give consumers added incentive to choose our products.
Steve Clemente, Principal in Charge, Operations Services and Leader of Living Green initiative, KPMG
The biggest sustainability driver will be innovation. We will maintain a sustainability lens on our innovation efforts so they are aligned with our new 2015 Living Green goals. Innovation will change how we collaborate, engage employees and better serve our clients.
Eric Dresselhuys, Executive Vice President, Silver Spring Networks
The biggest driver will be a combination of policy and technology. There are great technologies coming onto the market as the result of the investments made over the last three to five years. They are commercially available and are proven to deliver value. The question therefore will be, will the policies at the state and federal level in the U.S. and globally allow for them to be adopted and scaled? If we don’t adopt technology, nobody will want to invest in developing it.
In the last 10 years, the impetus behind building green has shifted from being a good thing to do to a necessary thing to do. And the bottom line drives many of these decisions and making performance-driven choices of utmost importance. With square footage of LEED-certified existing buildings trumping new construction for the first time, it's evident that decision makers are looking at their existing building stock and current properties and asking -- how can we make what we already have better?
Michael Frank, Vice President of Operations, US Foods
Investments that improve efficiency and workflow while allowing US Foods to meet customers' needs in an environmentally responsible way will drive much of our 2012 sustainability efforts.
Amy Hargroves, Manager, Corporate Social Responsibility, Sprint
I can think of several. The increasing linkage between corporate responsibility and corporate reputation/brand identity and increasing shareholder activism on key issues. Also, driven by our depressed economy, increased realization of the potential of corporate responsibility to reduce costs and risks.
Neil Hawkins, Vice President of Sustainability and Environment, Health & Safety, Dow Chemical Company
Companies will continue to move beyond sustainability as an obligation driven by outside forces. They will uncover more tangible economic value that drives both top and bottom line growth. But they'll need to get ahead of the curve in order to do that. They'll need to become savvy life cycle practitioners, innovators, and collaborators. The recognition that economic value drives sustainable development should influence decision-making at every turn, from capital investments, to hiring, to marketing products and services.
Chris King, Chief Regulatory Officer, eMeter
Technology will drive us forward to Smart Grid 2.0. We’ll see utilities adding data analytics software to plumb the rivers of data now pouring in from over 150 million smart meters globally, to operate more efficiently and reliably. We’ll see consumers getting new options for dynamic pricing, detailed usage information options, and prepayment from upgraded utility IT systems – and they’ll be able to purchase exciting new energy management devices, especially smart thermostats like those offered by Nest Labs, Tendril, EnergyHub, Control4, and others, from utilities and retailers, including Best Buy.
Technology and innovation. For Method, the emergence of next generation green chemistry manufacturers is massively important. Green tech innovation has extended to start-ups developing some high-performance, low-impact materials with amazing functional properties. We're looking at innovation in this area as an opportunity to continue to change the paradigm in performance and impact of green cleaners.
Peter Malik, Director of the Center for Market Innovation at the Natural Resources Defense Council
The world is changing. Commodity prices will continue to go up, ushering a different world for decision-makers. If in the past businesses focused primarily on labor efficiency and low capital costs, the future will increasingly see focus on commodity throughput efficiency. We live in a “peak price” world: There is plenty of everything in the ground, but it will get increasingly expensive to get at it. This will drive sustainability even in the absence of any sensible government behavior.
Adam Mott, Corporate Sustainability Manager, The North Face
It depends on your company's values, scope of vision and the industry in which you do business. For most companies, it will be some combination of consumer demand, potential financial savings, constrained resources, regulatory requirements, long term business viability and company values.
Next page: Leaders from BSR, Waste Management, Intuit, Siemens, PepsiCo and Conservation International predict the drivers for corporate sustainability in 2012.
Eric Olson, Senior Vice President, BSR
Unfortunately, I believe we will continue to see the kinds of disruption -- both in the markets and in Mother Nature -- that have caused so many companies to question "business as usual" and to recognize the value of sustainability in navigating the risks and opportunity of a brave new operating environment.
Carl Rush, Senior Vice President, Organic Growth, Waste Management
I think we will continue to see an evolution in how companies view sustainability -- as an integral part of their business strategy to reduce risk, improve their supply chain and address their customers' needs and expectations.
Rupesh Shah, Director of Corporate Sustainability, Intuit
I think continuing economic headwinds will force companies to think more about resource efficiency. Companies will dive deep and look for cost-saving opportunities to eliminate waste and operate leaner in the areas of operations, supply chain and distribution chains.
Alison Taylor, Vice President, Sustainability-Americas, Siemens Corporation
If we are instrumental in embedding sustainability into our supply chain, then we will spread sustainable practices much more effectively than simply reducing our own operational footprint. I think that many companies have recognized the opportunity that exists in their supply chains. But, our supply chains are large, global, and diverse. We will be talking about these challenges and opportunities in 2012.
Robert C. ter Kuile, Senior Director of Environmental Sustainability, Global Public Policy, PepsiCo
Across all sectors, corporations have been setting five to 10-year sustainability goals and putting their organizations on a flight plan to be more socially, economically and environmentally responsible. As financial institutions start investing in companies that are setting and making progress toward long-term goals, and companies work closer with stakeholders and increase transparency in reporting, we'll make significant progress toward the best, long-term sustainable impact.clients.
Justin Ward, Vice President of Business Practices, Conservation International
A key driver for 2012 and beyond will be the increase in demand for food, feed, fiber and fuels caused by population growth, expansion of the middle class, and urbanization. The impacts of climate change on agriculture may motivate companies to invest in production systems that ensure long-term crop yields along with the healthy soils, watersheds and pollinators essential for food security. This will require harnessing corporate supply chains in ways that go beyond certified product sourcing to stimulate the development of sustainable agricultural landscapes that promote healthy, resilient economies.
Leaders in the private sector are ahead of most governments in understanding the urgent need for an integrated strategy that delivers funding and technical support to enable farmers to adapt to climate change, and to maintain productivity and profitability while contributing to reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
2012 image via Shutterstock.


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Clear M&C Saatchi
Thu, 27 May 2021 13:11:33 GMT
Clear M&C Saatchi, a global growth consultancy specialising in business, brand, experience and innovation, is thrilled to announce the appointment of João Marcopito as associate creative director in New York, effective immediately.
With over 15 years of experience as a graphic designer, brand strategist and marketing analyst in São Paulo and New York, João brings an incredible amount of expertise and talent to Clear’s growing team in the US.
João joins Clear from FutureBrand, where he spent two years as a design director. As a freelance design director, marketing analyst and photographer before this, he worked with multiple brand consultancies including Prophet, Siegel+Gale and Interbrand. Over the course of his career, he has done everything from bringing new brands to life to solving complex brand architectural issues.
Amanda Skudlarek, Clear’s US executive creative director, commented: “We are thrilled to have João join our team. His unique background and proven excellence in both design and strategy bring an invaluable blend of skill sets to our business. His contributions will help drive the creative practice as we further elevate our ability to craft design-forward strategies and unforgettable brand experiences for our clients. With a breadth of experience from both client and agency side, João will bring a fresh, global perspective to this exciting time in Clear’s development.”
João is one of several strategic hires for Clear in 2021 following a record growth year in 2020 as the team helped brands like Disney, PepsiCo and Bacardi navigate the chaos of the pandemic. In March, Matt Woodhams joined Clear as a strategy director from the consultancy Added Value (now Kantar Consulting) after over a decade on the client-side at P&G and Diageo.


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Stars of the blogging world are descending on Geneva over the next two days to debate the impact of new communication technologies on society.
The event – "Lift 06" – is the first of its kind in Switzerland and aims to harness the skills of those working in the new economy.
With a modest budget of SFr60,000 ($47,000), the conference has managed to attract 350 specialists from the world of new technology and one of its star applications: blogging.
"Switzerland is fortunate to have a high performance technological set-up. However, few businesses and projects are actually tapping into the new internet-based economy. It's time to wake up," Laurent Haug, founder of Lift 06, told swissinfo.
Haug and three other technology junkies – Nicolas Nova, Steven Ritchey and John Staehli – have invited like-minded souls from the United States and Europe to stimulate the minds of local talent.
Two star US bloggers, Cory Doctorow and Robert Scoble, will be sharing their experiences alongside lesser-known names such as Belgium's Régine Debatty, creator of the punchy blog "we-make-money-not-art".
There will also be a strong Swiss presence, with internet pioneer Bruno Giussani, Xavier Comtesse from business think tank Avenir Suisse, and ethnologist Stefana Broadbent of Swisscom Innovation.
"I am very impressed with the quality of participants," said Geneva's Emily Turrettini, who runs three blogs dedicated to the world of mobile phones.
The event, which takes place on Thursday and Friday, intends to cover some of the key themes of the internet revolution: citizen journalism, the copyright-less economy, control of the internet, nanotechnology and the impact of new technologies on international organisations.
Far from being a geeks convention, organisers say they want Lift 06 to really be a forum for discussion on the impact of new technologies on society and the economy.
"The internet bubble made everyone think that the new economy was simply an illusion," said Xavier Comtesse. "But firms that survived prove there is a business model which works."
Comtesse, who set up the Swiss House in Boston, says the way forward for companies is to boost productivity using computer tools and integrate the customer in the production chain.
Examples of winning business models are the computer manufacturer Dell and the online trading facility eBay. In Switzerland, successful online operations include retailer Le Shop, Mobility car hire and Swissquote, the share trading platform.
swissinfo, Frédéric Burnand in Geneva
The idea of a universal computer network was first developed by the US defence department at the end of the 1960s. The term "internet" dates from 1972.
In 1989 Tim Berners-Lee, an engineer at Cern in Geneva, invented the World Wide Web, a system based on hypertext links.
The first public internet surf engine, Netscape, appeared at the beginning of the 1990s. In March 2000 technology stocks started plummeting on the world's stock exchanges.
A blog is an easy-to-use online journal.
Visitors to the site can add their own comments.
There has been an explosion of blogs over the past few years.
According to the Blog Herald website, there are more than 100 million blogs around the world.
In compliance with the JTI standards


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The argument over labelling GM foods in the US is developing very differently from elsewhere in the world – and the debate is not as simple as it might first seem
Europeans and many other countries scratch their heads over why there is such a big controversy in the US over the labelling of foods that contain genetically modified ingredients. Sixty-four nations around the world have enacted mandatory labelling laws.
“GM foods are not proven safe. Why not just label them and let the consumer decide?” is a common thread on food blogs. “Governments must be kowtowing to the GMO lobby.”
That’s the liberal position: prioritising the consumer’s right to know. Many activist groups lobbying for labelling cite a New York Times poll that 93% of Americans support it.
So why do the leading independent science organisations in the US and the top liberal news publications oppose mandatory labelling?
The US Department of Agriculture maintains that mandatory labelling of GM foods would be “inherently misleading”, on the grounds that there is no substantial difference between GM foods and conventional or organic food.
That’s the strict scientific position. Genetic modification is a process. There is no detectable difference between, say, sugar made from GM or organic sugar beets. The seeds of the GM variety are engineered to contain Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a common bacterium that is not biologically active in humans but toxic to insects. Bt...


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The Model 3 is a major turning point for Tesla, and the next few years should paint a much better picture of where the company will fit in the grand scheme of the automaking world.
To say that Tesla's automotive production stats pale in comparison to the Big Three automakers would be an understatement, yet the Silicon Valley electric automaker's market cap and rapid progress is a completely different story.
Tesla caused quite a stir on Wall Street as its market capitalization passed that of Ford and General Motors. What this actually means is a point of much contention among analysts and investors. The most substantial question is:
Will Tesla be able to play a leadership role in the automotive industry as a whole?
While other automakers are slowly but surely joining the electric vehicle revolution, as well as moving forward with technology like autonomous cars and over-the-air software updates, Tesla only makes fully-electric vehicles (and anything else that CEO Elon Musk dreams up). The Palo Alto startup is widely seen as a niche automaker. Some actually refer to Tesla as a tech company, rather than a car company.
It was really only a handful of years ago that Tesla introduced its Roadster ... not even a decade.
The Big Three have a huge advantage when it comes to cash flow. Between the three automakers, there is about $83 billion in excess to throw around. Collectively, Ford, GM, and Chrysler have invested about $30 billion on new jobs and infrastructure over the past eight years. Tesla may have a market cap of some $50+ billion, but its cash balance of $3 billion is not much to work with.
It seems the electric automaker is constantly adding something new to the mix ... expanding, spending, planning for the future. At this point, keeping the cash flow high is not a priority for the company, because in order for its vision to reach insurmountable heights, the big investments need to happen now.
Many continue to argue that Tesla has yet to make a profit. This is true in part, as a whole, but recently the automaker has been able to show a profit. Tesla functions much like that of Elon Musk's personal story - in which everything that is made along the way, is pumped right back into the next big thing, with a goal of being "future proof."
It will be a long time, if ever, that Elon Musk's carmaker can sell more cars than the Big Three. The scale of Ford, GM, and Chrysler is tremendous in comparison. The three automakers, in combination, sell about eight million vehicles a year in the U.S. alone. GM sells close to 10 million per year worldwide. Tesla is looking at annual production of about 500,000 vehicles per year, after 2018. Ford will likely double that number in just F-Series pickup trucks sold per year in the U.S. in the coming years.
It's really much to soon to forecast what will become of Tesla in the grande scheme of the automaking world. The industry is transitioning more rapidly than ever before, and Tesla is really a brand new company when compared to these automakers that are well over 100 years old. In another 100 years, things will look vastly different. Perhaps the question should be:
Can Tesla achieve a level of success that exceeds that of any other automaker, in a markedly shorter period of time?
At the rate that Tesla has grown and influenced thus far, and considering the company's inconceivable market cap successes in less than a decade ... anything is possible.
Source: Library for Smart Investors


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Less beef, more beans. Experts say world needs a new diet
[AP, 1/16/19] A hamburger a week, but no more — that’s about as much red meat people should eat to do what’s best for their health and the planet, according to a report seeking to overhaul the world’s diet.
Eggs should be limited to fewer than about four a week, the report says. Dairy foods should be about a serving a day, or less.
The report from a panel of nutrition, agriculture and environmental experts recommends a plant-based diet, based on previously published studies that have linked red meat to increased risk of health problems. It also comes amid recent studies of how eating habits affect the environment. Producing red meat takes up land and feed to raise cattle, which also emit the greenhouse gas methane.
John Ioannidis, chair of disease prevention at Stanford University, said he welcomed the growing attention to how diets affect the environment, but that the report’s recommendations do not reflect the level of scientific uncertainties around nutrition and health.
“The evidence is not as strong as it seems to be,” Ioannidis said.
The report was organized by EAT, a Stockholm-based nonprofit seeking to improve the food system, and published Wednesday by the medical journal Lancet. The panel of experts who wrote it says a “Great Food Transformation” is urgently needed by 2050, and that the optimal diet they outline is flexible enough to accommodate food cultures around the world……….
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